Fabulous Finds Friday — Nesties

OK, Nestabilities are not really new finds… but I do love them! I bought these frames quite a while ago but never used them. I finally broke them out last weekend, and once I got started, I couldn’t stop. (And I used up lots more scraps… and yet there is more…)

Take a look:

For the base, I cut out two pieces of card stock using the largest Nestabilitie frame. Since I was covering the front with decorative paper, I used old folders that had writing on one side. The white strip in the center was embossed using a Cuttlebug die and my Sizzix Big Kick. The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch. The sentiment is Hero Arts.

Others:

Thanks for stopping by. For more info on Nestabilities, visit www.spellbinderspaperarts.com.

Scrap-a-licious!

Good grief! How many scraps can one stamper collect? (Oh, you don’t want to know….)

Sunday was a clean-off-my-desk attempt. The idea was to use only what I found scattered, piled and dumped on my desk (and under it… and on the floor… )

What better way to use up scraps than to make tags? Tags are small enough that the tiniest bits of paper and ribbon fit nicely, and they are so quick to make. Instant gratification!

The papers are just random pieces so I have no clue whose they are. I just glued them to scrap cardstock (sometimes covering the writing that was on the cardstock). I believe all the stamps above are by Hero Arts. The green butterfly was embossed using  American Crafts’ Zing embossing powder. Oh, how those colors pop! This is great powder. 

Even the ribbon came from my scrap jar!

Here are two more:

For this one, I ran the tag through my Xyron machine to put adhesive on one side. Then I cut some scraps into strips and just stuck them on.

The butterflies are gold embossed (not a good photo!) using a stamp from Layers of Color.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday Findings

When I first started stamping (back in the Pleistocene era) I bought stamps on an individual, need-to-have, basis — I saw it, I loved it, I bought it. There weren’t many coordinated sets around and it was easier justify spending a mere six or eight dollars at a time (Yeah, like that ever happened!) 

In this process, if I wanted to create a coordinated look, I needed to hunt around for images that would go together, a task I found daunting because my artistic eye was not exactly 20/20. 

As my stamping has become more sophisticated, I learned two things: 1) buying a set can make the creative process easier and 2) look at a stamp in a different way — see  the stamp as a component and not always what it is. 

With that in mind, I have been having so much fun working with the On a Pedestal set from Stampin’ Up!

First I used it in the traditional way, playing with the pieces to make cakes and cupcakes and fun cards, such as these:

And these quick tags (I made a dozen in just a short time!):

Then I started to look at the pieces in a different way. Doesn’t that cupcake look like an upside down bowl? That cake could be a vase or a present!

(background by Hero Arts)

(tiny flowers by Technique Tuesday)

I found that if I stamped a bunch of the images in various colors, I’d have a nice stash to play with:

(My bead tray was the perfect place to sort the pieces.)

Then I went even wilder — I started cutting apart some of the pieces and found:

Butterfly wings! This was made by cutting apart the cupcake. The other part of the cupcake would make a great crown … I just haven’t gotten there yet!

What shapes do you see in your stamps?

Vintage Cards from Crafts ‘n things

Happy Friday!

Time to catch up on some card making. In this post  I mentioned the article I wrote for the October issue of Crafts ‘n things (on the newstands now!)

Three of my cards were featured and a few people asked me about the stamps or techniques I used for these cards. So, with permission from my editor, here is the 411:

“Road Trip”

Doesn’t this image remind you of road trips with the family? (“Mom, he’s touching me….” “I’m thirsty…” “Do I have to turn this car around?”) All images are from Artistic Outpost. The focal image (the car) was stamped first, then masked. Then the map was stamped in brown Distress ink. The edge of the card was distressed, inked, then slipped into photo corners.

“Old Friends”

The background image for “Friends” is from Alpha Stamps, the “sisters” image is from The Stampsmith, the fun film strip felt is from Creative Imaginations, the saying from Hero Arts, and the buttons are just random. The plain and scalloped circles are cut using Spellbinders Nestabilities.

“Bathing Beauty”

I’ve had this bathing beauty (A Tin Can Mail stamp from Inkadinkado) in my collection for ages — love her, but hardly ever use her. Until now! This was such a fun card to put together. She was stamped first on white scrap stock then cut out and painted using watercolor pencils. The “sand” is a piece of textured card stock from Core’dinations. Don’t you just love the darker “core” color peeking through? The paper was lightly sanded to bring out even more texture. The blue sky is also from Core’dinations, run through a Cuttlebug embossing folder (on my good ol’ Sizzix Big Kick) and sanded to bring out the other shade. The ribbon is from Maya Road. Yum.

And while the gal was hangin’ at the beach, I made another card. So here’s a bonus card that did not appear in the magazine:

“Blue Beauty”

The flower background (dotted with Perfect Pearls)  is from Hero Arts, the damask image (stamped in white on blue) is from Judikins and the ribbony thing is from Making Memories.

Thanks for stopping by!