twisting it up!

I'm getting ready to host another Stamp Camp! This is a good thing for so many reasons.

1. It forces me to make time to craft. 

2. I get to catch up with people I don't get to see that often.

3. It gives me a "valid" excuse to browse Pinterest for hours with no guilt!

Most of the time I use Pinterest to get new ideas. To find a jumping off place for my own creativity. To discover new color combinations. But sometimes I come across a card that is so beautiful, that I must make one just like it. Here is one such card:

http://jen-icreate.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-birthday-to-my-aunt.html

And here's my own twist on it! I changed the layout, but kept the colors and stamping. 

I think that my Stamp Campers are going to love making this card!

Happy stamping!

spring green

Here in the Northeast, it has been one long, cold, snowy, relentless winter. Ice and sleet and -20 degree wind chills and blizzards and three foot snowfalls and shoveling! Lots and lots of shoveling. Enough is enough! It's mid March, and we are still lighting fires in the wood stove for warmth. There is still a foot of snow in my backyard. We even have a flooded area that has frozen over. Anyone for some ice skating? I need spring. I need spring more than I have ever needed spring before. Spring has never been my favorite season because of all of the mud! But this year, I'm almost looking forward to mud puddles because it will mean that the snow is melting.

So today, I sat down at my crafting table and made a couple of cards inspired by early spring. The colors are a bit muted, nothing like the pansies and violets that will soon be popping up in gardening centers. But still, the hope of green things and warm, yellow sunshine. Shy flowers tentatively peeking around corners, wishing for June.

I've been playing with direct to paper techniques lately. Bravely swiping my ink pads across crisp, white card stock, praying for favorable results. You never know what you're going to get! Some happy accidents, and some destined for the trash. I feel like our family is destined for Florida after enduring this winter! 

Happy stamping!

Little notebook

I found a cute little pack of notebooks at Staples and, with it being almost school time, I bought them! But of course, I couldn't just use them as is. I had to pretty them up! I remembered a project that I had seen on good 'ole Pinterest, and I did my own riff on her idea. Here's the link to the original project.
http://brandyscards.com/stampin-up-secret-garden-stamp-set-notepad-cover/
This project couldn't be easier and it comes together quickly.

I made a matching card to slip into the pocket, just in case I want to use this as a gift for someone special!

Happy stamping!

Mall stamping

At the end of every school year you'll hear me saying, "I can't wait for summer vacation! Our schedules will finally slow down." Somehow, I must trick my brain into thinking that this ever happens! But inevitably, every summer, things are crazy and I'm running around more busy than I was during the school year. And so it has come to this. I'm sitting in the food court of the mall finishing the card for today's blog post. You may wonder why. It's a long story. 

My 13 year-old daughter, W, is experiencing community theater for the first time. And she landed the role of Patty in Grease! Way to go W!!! So now I'm stuck driving 40 minutes into the city so that W can attend rehearsals. Because it's so far to drive, it doesn't make sense for me to go home, so I've been spending countless hours sitting in my car. Waiting.

Tonight, it was time to leave for rehearsal, and I hadn't quite finished today's card. So, I gathered up the supplies I would need to finish it, dropped W off, and drove to the mall. I felt like a criminal smuggling my scissors into the mall in my purse! But a crafter's gotta do what a crafter's gotta do.  

And here's the finished product! I just might be taking more cards to the mall this summer while I wait for W. beats sitting in the hot and stuffy car!

Happy stamping!

Summer Silhouettes, two ways

Oh my, I love these beauts! Playing with ink can lead to some pretty sweet eye candy! I have to be honest, I keep whipping out my camera just to gaze at these cards over and over again! Clearly I have issues. 

I love the acrylic block stamped backgrounds using the technique from yesterday's post, but what I'm crazy about on this card is the dry embossing! I even embossed that teeny, tiny 3/4" circle sentiment. I know adorable, right?!

I loved that card so much, that I decided to make day and night versions. Here's the night version. I used the collage technique to tone down the bright background, and I didn't use Melon Mambo, because that color is bordering on neon!

Some polka dotted black ribbon helps to pull off the "night" feel without taking itself too seriously. I can tell that I'll be playing with different color combinations in future posts! 

Happy stamping! Oh! And a big thanks to a stamping friend who tried out this technique and sent me a picture of her beautiful project! I love to see what you are working on!