True Beauty
This card was created using The Angel Company’s True Beauty stamp set, VersaMark Ink, and Pebbles Jewel Tones Chalk Kit. The camera doesn’t exactly do the image justice in capturing the beautiful shimmer of the chalk. I absolutely love this set of chalks!
There are at least 5 different sets of chalks in this series by Pebbles. (More may have been added since this original post from 2010.)
The Jewel Tones Chalk Kit is my favorite! The colors are rich and bright and shimmer when applied to images.
The Shimmers Chalk Kit is very similar to the Jewel Tones Kit but with lighter colors. It coordinates quite well with the Jewel Tones Kit.
The Basic Brights Chalk Kit is a wonderful collection of basic colors. These are regular chalks without the shimmer.
The Pastels Chalk Kit is another set of colors without the shimmer.
Last but not least is the Earth Tones Chalk Kit. It is a wonderful set of rich earthy colors without the shimmer.
I can’t say enough good things about these sets! They come with reusuable pom poms and an applicator tool all within a metal storage case. A must have for any stamper. The hardest part is choosing just one set — but then again, why limit yourself to just one!
Seeing Shamrocks
It’s time for the wearing o’ the green!
When The Angel Company Inspiration Book & Catalogue came out in June 2010, one of the stamp sets I knew I had to have was “Cheers to You”. I just loved the little mouse with the 4 leaf clover and of course the beer mug!
Here are the cards I created for St. Patrick’s Day:
The mouse card is a modified retiform technique. It is a great technique for making some amazing looking cards very quickly. The mouse has been colored using colored pencils and gamsol.
The background on this card was created using shades of green ink and daubers. I then randomly stamped the shamrocks in black. It was torn and matted. There is a cluster of shamrocks that are cut out and pop dotted on top.
The image on this card was colored using Twinkling H2Os. These are watercolors that give any image a very pretty metallic sheen. Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t do them justice!
My last card is a shaker card. I had found some shamrock confetti that I knew would be perfect. I used VersaMark to watermark the shamrocks on the green card stock. Of course the mug of beer makes it complete. What better way to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
How To Index Unmounted Stamps
This is such a clever idea! While acrylic blocks go a long way in positioning stamps, an index helps even more!
I’ve begun to use this with all my new unmounted stamps!
ThinkTV Programs – March 2012
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 7-6:30 AM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 7-12:30 PM
Scrapbook Memories-ThinkTV14 DT/HD (14.5/14.1)-Wed, Mar 7-1:30 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 7-6:30 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 8-12:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 8-6:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 8-12:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 8-6:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Fri, Mar 9-12:30 AM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 14-6:30 AM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 14-12:30 PM
Scrapbook Memories-ThinkTV14 DT/HD (14.5/14.1)-Wed, Mar 14-1:30 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 14-6:30 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 15-12:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 15-6:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 15-12:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 15-6:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Fri, Mar 16-12:30 AM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 21-6:30 AM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 21-12:30 PM
Scrapbook Memories-ThinkTV14 DT/HD (14.5/14.1)-Wed, Mar 21-1:30 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 22-12:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 22-6:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 22-12:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 22-6:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Fri, Mar 23-12:30 AM
Scrapbook Memories-ThinkTV14 DT/HD (14.5/14.1)-Sat, Mar 24-2:00 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 28-6:30 AM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 28-12:30 PM
Scrapbook Memories-ThinkTV14 DT/HD (14.5/14.1)-Wed, Mar 28-1:30 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Wed, Mar 28-6:30 PM
Scrapbook Soup-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 29-12:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 29-6:30 AM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 29-12:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Thu, Mar 29-6:30 PM
Crafting At The Spotted Canary-ThinkTV16 Life (16.3)-Fri, Mar 30-12:30 AM
Scrapbook Memories-ThinkTV14 DT/HD (14.5/14.1)-Sat, Mar 31-2:00 PM
Tree-Mendous
Just when I had promised myself I would not buy any more stamps until I had played with all the ones I already have, Technique Tuesday comes out with a set I’m totally in love with!
Check out their blog posting at http://techniquetuesday.typepad.com/ideasandinspiration/2012/02/just-plain-tree-mendous.html.
Oh the ideas I have dancing in my head!
And then to make matters “worse”, my friend Betsy recently gave me the new Close To My Heart Spring & Summer 2012 Idea Book. Lots of wonderful news stamps sets there as well! You should see my wish list!
Be sure to visit Betsy’s blog at http://betsygully.blogspot.com/. She is sure to be posting some of her fabulous creations with all the new products.
Something tells my hubby will have no problem shopping for me for my birthday this year!
Happy Day
I was first attracted to this stamp set because of the adorable images. My daughter is away at college studying to be a zoologist so this was also a just the set for creating some special cards to send to her.
This cute little monkey made his way to her during exam week. The “hang in there” message was perfect for her as she prepared for her finals.
Flamingos and feathers! They just seem to go together.
I originally stamped the toucan vertically, but then decided I liked him better on the diagonal so I could trim the cardstock into a diamond shape.
Very Mary
Anyone who has been to my house knows I absolutely love Mary Engelbreit. Both my office and kitchen are Mary themed. I am very blessed to have a husband who doesn’t complain one bit.
It comes as no surprise that I collect everything Mary. Books, figurines, magnets, etc. I’ve had several calendars and planners over the years and when the year is over, I haven’t been able to part with one of them. I carefully trim the artwork and place it in my “Mary Drawer” in my craft room where it is ready when I get an idea.
When I was a consultant for The Angel Company, I needed to create some sample pieces for displays at classes. One such item was an 8 inch by 8 inch album created from one of their paper collections. When I first leafed through the pad of paper, all I could think of was how well it would coordinate with Mary Engelbreit’s art work so I decided to do an album to showcase some of her prints from my collection.
Recycle and Reuse
With my busy work schedule and many family responsibilities, I did not get my Valentines made as I had hoped. The past few months have left me exhausted and without much opportunity to play.
Lucky for me, I keep a drawer full of unfinished bits and pieces of cards. Some of the items are from techniques with which I’ve experimented. Others are items I’ve put aside just because I couldn’t bear to part with them. I find myself thinking maybe I might use them some day.
This really paid off this year when Valentine’s Day rolled around. I had picked up treats for my family a few weeks earlier, but realized I didn’t have any cards made for them. I didn’t have much time before I needed to leave for work when I remembered some left over covers I had made for crayon boxes last year.
I trimmed them down and matted them on white card stock transforming them into the perfect little Valentines. A quick stamping of a sentiment on the inside and I had them finished!
I left the treats to be discovered on the table when I left for work.
Later that evening, my husband reported that my son was especially excited about the little Valentines cards. They were smaller than regular cards and he thought that I should make more of them to be packaged and sold in sets at craft shows.
You know, that’s not such a bad idea! The design is such that it could be modified in a variety of ways.
I always knew that boy was smart!
Faux Cloissone
I stumbled upon this technique as I was browsing for ideas. It’s very simple and very striking.
Simply emboss stamped images on old magazine or catalog pages and then cut them out! They can be used on cards or scrapbook pages. I found I prefer to use heavier pages such as covers. Of course the more color there is on the page, the more dramatic the effect will be.
Here are some samples I made:
I used a page with less color for the doves to give them a more natural look.
Just one word of warning… You’ll never look at junk mail the same way again!
Tickled Pink
And yes I am! I love these whimsical flamingos! ”Tickled Pink” is one of my favorite stamps sets from The Angel Company. The stamps are so much fun and the sayings that come with them are just perfect.
I added some Flower Soft to this flamingo’s hat and used a Fiskars edge punch and a bit of bling. The stamped image is colored with colored pencils and Gamsol.
Somehow feathers just seemed to be an appropriate embellishment! The stamped image is colored with colored pencils and Gamsol. It is pop-dotted for dimension.
Back to the bling with this card! I also glittered the flamingo’s hat and shoes. Her boa is flocked in white and I used a lacey corner punch. The stamped image is colored with colored pencils and Gamsol.
And it is a gate fold card!
All I could think when I stamped this flamingo was the song “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” so I went with a different color palette. I used layered daisy punches with a brad for the center and bright yellow rick rack. The image is colored with colored pencils and Gamsol.
