Wonderful Washi

How wonderful is washi tape? This card was so fast and easy I could easily make a dozen! (In fact, I made about a half dozen in less than 20 minutes, using images I had already stamped and colored.)

I’ve had this Stampendous! image (which I loved so much I bought two of the matching images)for more than a year, but never did much with it. The washi tape did the trick, presenting a perfect platform where the image could shine. First, I used a rainbow Kaleidacolor inkpad (Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko) to brayer color on a scrap piece of cardstock. The image was stamped and embossed in black, then cut and edged with a Krylon gold metallic marker.
The sentiment is from Hero Arts CL480. And the washi is from the K and Company Smash collection.

Thanks stopping by here, where the temperature outside is topping 100, but the stamping is always a cool thing to do.

Fabulous Finds Friday — Multi Circle Die

Have you ever needed several circles for layering? But it’s so tiresome because you have to cut them over and over? This die cut from Lifestyle Crafts just made my life easier!

This die is so handy for making multiples. I often just cut out a bunch to have on hand. And if you just want one? A solo circle is included in the set. And here’s my other fabulous find: Magnetic strips for the inside of my closet door! This die was too long to fit in my die box, so I hung it on the inside of a closet door in my craft room. So handy. I like it so much, I may hang more of my most often used dies there! The magnetic sheets have a self-adhesive side and are really designed so you can make your own photo magnets. But this is a picture perfect use for me! I cut the sheet in half, peeled off the backing, and presto sticko!

And just so you know I really used the die, here’s a quick card:

Thanks for coming by … have a great weekend.

Summer’s Here!

Friday was the official first day of summer and I’m in a beachy-kind of mood. Here’s a card to celebrate:

(Paper, stamps, ribbon, buttons all from Close To My Heart. the shells were heat embossed using Stampendous! PearlLustre, fussy-cut, and attached with mini Zots, as were the buttons. The sentiment was embossed in black. The beach scene was colored with watercolor pencils.)

Have a sunshiney day!

Fabulous Finds Friday — Candi is Sweet

How sweet is this … Candi: little paper dot embellishments from Craftwork Cards. What I love about these is that they are light weight, which is great when I make cards for Operation: Write Home (which sends blank handmade cards to military personnel. If you are not familiar with the group, do check it out).

Aren’t they fun? These were attached using a hot glue gun but the company also makes Candi Fix, teensy tiny foam squares (great for tiny embellies of all sorts).

(paper by Hot Off the Press; stamps by Hero Arts)

And this one:

The Candi was attached using Candi Fix.

(Sentiment, Hero Arts; paper Hot Off the Press.)

Here’s a detailed shot (eek, I didn’t realize I didn’t attach them quite straight! They are a little wonky):

And just in case you want to take it up a notch with some glitz here’s Crushed Ice Candi:

You can’t tell, but they are silvery.

Thanks for coming by!

Ah, the Sweet Smell of Scraps

I was in a groove, going through my hoarded scrapbook paper, using it up and having fun in the process.
First, I randomly covered card fronts with leftover paper:

(the blue/pink combos are from Hot Off The Press.)

Then I added images and embellishments:

(typewriter by Hero Arts; Stampin’ Up punch; imaginisce hot-fix metallic dots)

Here’s a close-up of the embellies:

And another card:

(Sillyscape by Hero Arts; clouds dies by My Favorite Things.)

Card for a teen:

How fun is the above image from American Art Stamp? The speech bubble is a Marvy punch; the “wheeee” is hand written. The images were colored with watercolor pencils.

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll be showing some fun embellishments on Friday!

Using Up Those Booklet Scraps!

So… I had one more small scrap piece from my booklet-making adventure (see last two posts).

Here it is:

To make the paper design pop, I layered it first on black cardstock. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz’s Simple Sayings set, stamped in VersaFine.

I also needed a graduation card, so since the BasicGrey Carte Postale papers were out, and the stamps were out… here I go….

When I have double-sided cardstock, as these papers are, I can’t stand to hide the other side. So one of my favorite things to do is to cut a piece that is a little bigger than my base piece and hinge it, like so:

Cut the top piece so that it overlaps the bottom, score it, then attach it to a base. In this case I used Ah, That’s Great Tape from USArtquest.

Here’s how it looks on the inside:

Thanks for coming by!

Booklet Scraps Don’t Go to Waste!

In my last post I showed a quick and easy booklet using the new Carte Postale paper from BasicGrey.

Since the booklet measures only about 5 inches, I had plenty of paper left to make some cards … and another booklet!

Check it out:
First, a look at some of the neat paper and embellishments:

Love this sheet! I left one as-is and cut apart one:

… and used some of the pieces on a card:

The background (if you cans see it under the tickets!) was made using Hero Arts’ new Painted Canvas S5782 stamp inked with Distress inks (frayed burlap, peeled paint, wild honey). Next, I attached the cut-up tickets. I made the rosette (scoring it with my Stampin’ Up! score board) using leftovers from the booklet stock (BasicGrey) and a little somethin’ from the set’s sticker sheet. The airplane image is from Close To My Heart, embossed in Stampendous! Pearlustre platinum. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz’s Simple Sayings set.

Here’s a look at the stickers:

And I still had more scraps! Next post, more cards from leftovers. Thanks for coming by!

Crazy For This Booklet

I learned how to make this fast and easy booklet from a Paper Source workshop, and I’ve been going crazy all week making booklets from scrap cardstock. When I got the new Carte Postale papers from BasicGrey, well… it was a natural fit.

Here’s the front cover:

… the back cover:

…a detail of the spine:

… and a decorated inside page:

… a quick look at part of the process (made easy with a Stampin’ Up! scoring board):

Come back tomorrow to see what I did with all those leftovers!

More Painterly Brights

In my last post, I started playing with the new Stamp Your Story sets from Hero Arts.

Here are more:

This was such fun! And so fast and easy! All the stamps are Hero Arts and I used all Hero Arts neon inks. The coffee ring and splat are new from the Texture and Shape set LP283. The rest, including the sentiment, are from old sets. The darling bird is from another new set, Friendly Birds, LP 285.

Tried something a little different here:

Still used the Texture and shape set but this time used them with Tsukineko’s Kaleidacolor Tomato Vine rainbow pad, plus a little Hero Arts Cup O’ Joe. Yum. Sentiment from Inkadinkado. Fast and easy!

The last one I almost tossed out. Just didn’t come out the way I had envisioned (as so often happens.)

But once I added the Robin’s Nest Dew Drops, I liked it a little more. All images Hero Arts (bird from Friendly Birds LP285; patterns from a couple of clear sets.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bright, Bold and Painterly

These cards should have been part of a Fabulous Finds Friday because I love these new stamps from Hero Arts.

This fabulous stamp looks just like dripping paint — such a fun image! I inked the stamp first with Ranger’s Milled Lavender Distress Stains and stamped it. But it was too light and too boring. So without cleaning the stamp, I added streaks of Broken China, misted it and stamped it over the first stamping. Much better! The sentiment is from Inkadinkado. (Another fave!) I trimmed the piece, edged it with a black marker, then ran it through my Xyron Creative Station so it would really stick to my card front.

Here’s another version of that stamp:

Wasn’t as fond of this one, which used darker blues and a spot of Distress gold metallic. Sentiment is an old Hero Arts stamp.

Went crazy with the neons here:

The brush stroke is from Hero Arts Texture and Shape set LP283. The little color spots are Dew Drops from the Robin’s Nest, attached with mini Glue Dots . Inks are Hero Arts neon ink pads (except the purple, which is a neon dauber.)

I’ll post three more cards tomorrow. Such a fun set! Thanks for stopping by.