Inspired By Stamping Sneak Peeks - Build A Snowman

Sneak Peek parties are always fun, and the party continues for the September releases at Inspired By Stamping.  Today we highlight Build A Snowman.  He's so stinkin' cute!

On a white card base, I sponged on a blue sky, and created snowy hills from more white cardstock and glitter, of course.  A sentiment from Festive Frames was stamped on the snow.

On a scrap of white cardstock, I stamped the snow man's body, used a Copic marker to create shadows, and trimmed it out.  On the card base, I stamped his twig arms with brown ink.  The hat was stamped in pear green, trimmed, and a slit made in the cuff so I could fit it onto his head.  There's glitter on the hat and the snow guy, too.  I created the face and added a sweet heart to his torso.

Squeak!  I felt pretty darned creative about this branch, which is actually snowman arms joined together.  The "berries" are created with a stamp that could also be used as a snowman nose, or buttons.  The little sign is part of the set, too.

See what kind of snowmen the rest of the team created, too:

Joanna - Grace - Leah - Pam - Rose - Shea - Vicki - Rebecca  

Stuff to Know Before You Go:
FREE shipping on all orders over $25, from September 10th 7 p.m. Brisbane time to September 13th 7 p.m. Brisbane time.  Coupon code:  SeptFree == Buy the whole bundle of release stamps and SAVE 10% == Get your chance to win BLOG CANDY each day during the release by leaving a comment at Joanna's blog.

Inspired By Stamping Sneak Peeks - Holiday Tags & Holiday Washi Tape

It's Day Three of our September Release Party at Inspired By Stamping!  Today, we are giving you peeks of new sets called Holiday Tags and Holiday Washi Tape.  (links for new sets will work beginning on September 10th, when the sets are available for purchase.)

First up, a very "kraft-y" Christmas card.

On a piece of patterned paper, I stamped a musical tag from Holiday Tags with suede brown ink.  A reindeer postage stamp from Vintage Postcards Add-On I happened to fit perfectly inside the tag.  A cheery red poinsettia flower tops off one corner.

Sprinkled here and there are snowflakes from Elegant Christmas Sentiments, some postmarks from Vintage Postcards Add-On I, and a fun new sentiment from this release, from a set called Holiday Sentiments.

This month at IBS, there's something new and different about this release.  Joanna has unveiled digital patterned papers and printable tags.  On the card below, I've used two of them:  red polka dots, and blue/red chevron stripes.

The new Holiday Washi Tape set is fun, and covers multiple holidays/seasons.  I used a snowflake washi design and placed it in a Mason jar, then covered it in crystal glitter.  The label is from Mason Jar Add-On II, and the sentiment -- Holiday Tags.

Behind the Mason jar, there's a bit of twinkle from a smattering of sequins upon a white doily die cut.

A close-up below shows you not only those new digital papers, but also a strip of Silver Glitter Tape.  It's SO festive!!

Inside the card, I used a sentiment from Christmas Greetings and a little ornament from Holiday Ornaments.

More inspiration pour vous....

Joanna - Calypso - Kendra - Leah - Tina - Vicki - Shea - Pam - Grace - Rebecca  

Stuff to Know Before You Go:
FREE shipping on all orders over $25, from September 10th 7 p.m. Brisbane time to September 13th 7 p.m. Brisbane time.  Coupon code:  SeptFree == Buy the whole bundle of release stamps and SAVE 10% == Get your chance to win BLOG CANDY each day during the release by leaving a comment at Joanna's blog.

Inspired By Stamping September Sneak Peeks - Holiday Sentiments

Welcome to Day Two of the September release party at Inspired By Stamping!  Today, we are featuring Holiday Sentiments.

I stamped the sentiment on a Fancy Labels 2 die cut in black ink.  Then, on a scrap of cardstock, I stamped the "Merry" banner in a suede color, trimmed and added with dimensional stickers.

This month, IBS is rolling out brand-new Digital Patterned Papers and Printable Tags, and I used two on my project:  light blue music notes, and a pale, linen-colored paper featuring this beautiful Christmas tree.  I stamped snowflakes in shades of taupe to decorate the patterned papers using Elegant Christmas Sentiments.

 Betcha thought this tree was a stamp!  I just trimmed it out of the patterned paper, decorated it with some Liquid Pearls and added a rhinestone for a star.

Our team has more inspiration for you, too:

Joanna - Vicki - Tina - Shea - Rose - Rebecca - Leah - Kendra 

Stuff to Know Before You Go:
FREE shipping on all orders over $25, from September 10th 7 p.m. Brisbane time to September 13th 7 p.m. Brisbane time.  Coupon code:  SeptFree == Buy the whole bundle of release stamps and SAVE 10% == Get your chance to win BLOG CANDY each day during the release by leaving a comment at Joanna's blog.

See you tomorrow with another peek!

Inspired By Stamping September Sneak Peeks - A Spooky Halloween & Happy Fall

Welcome to Day One of the September release party at Inspired By Stamping!  I LOVE the stamps being released this month, and can't wait for you to see them.  Lots of holiday goodies involved, including Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Winter.

Today we are showcasing A Spooky Halloween & Happy Fall (links will work beginning September 10th when the sets are available for purchase).

First up, my autumn thank you card, which could of course be used at Thanksgiving time, too.

I stamped the argyle label from Happy Fall on a die cut using Fancy Labels 2.  I stamped little leaves from the set and hand-trimmed them, though if you have a Silhouette-type machine, there are FREE cut files for you to use.  Just click on any stamp set in the store and they are listed with the set.

I had such FUN making the Halloween decoration below for my home!  I used A Spooky Halloween and the brand-new Digital Patterned Papers from IBS, and some of my children's old wooden blocks.

A Spooky Halloween has neat-o silhouette images like those you see here, plus a few more.  I stamped them on die cuts, inked the edges, applied to the white-washed wooden blocks, then covered in glitter.

To spell out "Boo", I used Fancy Alphabet.  It's just perfect for the size of these blocks, which measure a little over an inch.

So that each block has visual interest from all sides, I stamped crows, spiders and black cats to place around them.  On the larger block, the skeleton fit just right on the front; then I used the chevron-striped digital paper on the top, sides and back.

Our design team would like to share their creations with you, too:

Joanna - Vicki - Rebecca -  Leah - Kendra - Calypso - Rose - Rose - Shea - Tina

Stuff to Know Before You Go:
FREE shipping on all orders over $25, from September 10th 7 p.m. Brisbane time to September 13th 7 p.m. Brisbane time.  Coupon code:  SeptFree == Buy the whole bundle of release stamps and SAVE 10% == Get your chance to win BLOG CANDY each day during the release by leaving a comment at Joanna's blog.

Thanks for dropping by today!

Dogwood Love

Hello there.  :-D  I had some happy mail from Hero Arts recently, in the form of this beautiful dogwood rubber stamp.  It did not take long to put it to use.

One day, my 15 YO came up to my crafting studio and told me she felt very, very sad, and wanted me to make something for her.  I kept it simple, since she sat and waited for her card right beside me.  The sentiment from Anna Griffin is one I just treasure, and is so appropriate for my dear girl.  She loves bling, and requested that I add some rhinestones to the card.

So glad you dropped by!  Your visit always brightens my day.

Stamps: Dogwood - Hero Arts; sentiment - Anna Griffin Paper: Certainly Celery - SU; white - PTI Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: rhinestones - Queen & Co; Copic markers

Polka Dots & Roses

It's my turn to be featured on the Inspired By Stamping social media sites -- Facebook, Instagram, and the like.  So happy to share this card with you, and hope you like it!

The sentiment is from Mason Jar Add On II,

and the little polka dot banner from Whimsical Banners is so darned cute!  Here's the set:

By the way, I tried something on Pinterest I saw not too long ago.  I 'cooked' my clear plates from the Big Shot.  HERE are the step-by-step directions to do it.  It worked okay for me.  This is one of the plates before cooking:

It was a bit warped, as you can see next:

After cooking, I was able to brush off lots of paper-bits that stick in the cuts made by metal dies, as you can see below.

It still looked rather marked-up, though, and it got a bit flatter (no pics to show of that).  The tutorial I linked above tells you to cook your plate for 30 minutes.  One the first try, I followed directions to a tee.  With my second plate, I cooked it for about 45 minutes.  I don't recommend going quite that long.  When I picked it up, it actually started to melt like a Salvador Dali painting.

source 

However, that second plate was much clearer than the first, looking almost like brand new.  Sorry I did not take pictures of THAT one!



Stamps: Whimsical Banners, Mason Jar Add On II - Inspired By Stamping Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip - SU; roses - K & Co. Ink: Chocolate Chip - SU; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Fibers: Cappuccino twine - The Twinery Other: pearls - Queen & Co.; corner rounder punch - Fiskars

Autumn Wreath Thanks

It's the day after Labor Day here in the U.S., and though the temps are still quite warm where I live, it feels like Autumn has arrived. 

I inked up a gift from my friend Chris R. to celebrate the season: Remarkable Wreath by Close To My Heart. Had to add some signature pearls to the wreath.

More new toys I played with from Memory Box: Bracket Edge die and a sentiment from Thankful Leaves. 

That's it! Sweet and simple. I am ready to welcome the cooler days and nights of Fall, and when they arrive, I will give thanks.



Stamps: -- Close To My Heart; Thankful Leaves - My Favorite Things Paper: white -PTI; Really Rust, Chocolate Chip - SU Ink: Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko; Pumpkin Pie - SU Fibers: Venise lace - ebay  Accessories & Tools: pearls - Queen & Co.; Bracket Edge Duo die -Memory Box

Beautiful, Two Ways

I've got a "self-challenge" going on:  use stash items that haven't been touched in a while, or have perhaps never been used at all.  I created two different cards from the same piece of DCWV Vintage Collage Stack paper, mounted on Mellow Moss card bases.

The first card wears a piece of DCWV paper with a big, bold "beautiful" sentiment already on it.  I let it cover the entire card base front.  Then, I grabbed some things that were near my craft desk (didn't feel like reaching too far):  silver sequins. gray ombre ribbon to frame the sentiment, a text die cut, a cereal box-chipboard star, a tiny framed silhouette, and vintage thread.

Card #2 sports more of that same DCWV paper, cut from a different section of the 12 x 12 page.

I painted a Maya Road chipboard frame white, then added crystal glitter and framed one of the big flowers.  Pearls decorate the blossom's center.  A loosey-goosey arrangement of patterned paper scraps are tucked under the frame.  The "Gratitude" sentiment was stamped with the new September release Happy Fall set by Inspired By Stamping, and a framed damask accent placed on the side.  I deliberately left one corner of the paper unglued, giving it a little lift.  

Which one do you like better?  They both feel a little outside the box for me, but that's part of the fun of creating, isn't it?

Thanks for coming by!

Card #1:

Paper: Mellow Moss - SU; Vintage Collage Stack - DCWV; First Edition - SU; cereal box chipboard Ink: Walnut Stain - Ranger   Fibers: vintage thread; gray ombre ribbon - Martha Stewart  Accessories & Tools: silhouette framed accent - TPC Studio; silver sequins; star punch - Fiskars; Crystal glitter - Martha Stewart; round die - SU

Card #2:

Stamps: Happy Fall - Inspired By Stamping Paper: Mellow Moss - SU; Vintage Collage Stack - DCWV Ink: Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko Accessories & Tools: damask framed accent - TPC Studio; white craft paint; chipboard frame - Maya Road; pearls - Queen & Co.

Anna Griffin Aviary

Welcome!  I got some new crafting goodies this summer, and combined two of them to help create this card:

Pretty simple in style, but the little details make it a bit more special.  The sentiment is from Thankful Leaves by My Favorite Things.  I am new to this company, and am quite impressed.  Their customer service is terrific.  I had bought one of their doily die sets through Joann.com, and there was a manufacturing defect on it.  I contacted MFT through Facebook, and someone got back to me within 24 hours.  I was given a store credit to replace not only the defective die, but also to cover the shipping costs on the MFT website.  LOVE when a company stands by their products and offers good customer relations.

The embossing folder is Aviary by Anna Griffin.  I found that at JoAnn.com, too.  It is so pretty that I did not want to cover it up with too many details, hence the simple design.

Thank you so much for dropping by today!



Stamps: Thankful Leaves - My Favorite Things
Paper: white - PTI; Basic Gray - SU
Ink: white opaque ink, Pumice Stone dye - Ranger; Versafine Onyx Black - Tsukineko
Accessories & Tools: Ribbon Banners die - Spellbinders; Aviary embossing folder - Anna Griffin; pearls - Recollections