stamp out loud by tami sanders

happy turkey day!!!

I had originally intended to post these THREE cards separately - but you are getting them all THREE in one post! Think of it as Thanksgiving dinner AND the leftovers all at once!

 

I started with the same basic set of supplies for both of these cards: Colorbox Archival Dye Ink Queue - Coffee House and Pigment Ink Queue Woodgrain and cream and pumpkin cardstocks. After that, I selected some fall stamps from My Sentiments Exactly, Memory Box and Hero Arts and created this trio of cards using those supplies. I wanted to mix the sheer, clear color of the dye ink with the strong, bold opaqueness of the pigment inks.

For the first card, I used a create your own tree stamp by My Sentiments Exactly and stamped the tree using dye ink and the leaves using the pigment inks...

 

The leaves are NICE and BOLD...

 

For the center card, I wanted to create a "backdrop" for the fall leaves, so I used dye ink to stamp the background, then used pigment ink to stamp the leaves...

 

Since the pigment ink is opaque, the leaves really stand out from the background...

 

And for the last card, I used the same stamp, inked with 3 different colors of pigment ink to stamp the 3 designs. Then, I used Smooch Accent Ink to fill in the leaves...

 

The Smooch Accent Ink added a shimmery touch of color and helped tie the trio together...

 

Here are the directions for these 3 fall themed cards...

“fall tree” card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap:  ColorBox Archival Dye Ink Queue: Coffee House and  ColorBox Pigment Ink Queue: Woodgrain

My Sentiments Exactly: Thanksgiving and Nuture You stamp sets

Bazzill: Festive - Burlap, Candle Glow - Prismatics and Walnut Cream - Smoothies cardstocks and Brown Gingham ribbon

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors, adhesive, and stapler

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut a 7 X 6 1/2 piece of pumpkin cardstock and fold in half to make a 6 1/2 X 3 1/2 card.

2) Cut a 6 X 3 piece of cream cardstock and stamp tree and ink edges using Mudslide Dye Ink.

3) Use a different leaf stamp for each of these 3 colors: Roussillon, Amber and Ochre Pigment Inks, to stamp leaves at ends of branches and along the bottom of the card.

4) Stamp "Happy Thanksgiving" and ink edges of a 2 1/4 X 1 1/4 piece of cream cardstock using Mudslide Dye Ink. Mat piece on a 2 1/2 X 1 1/2 piece of mustard cardstock and staple folded piece of brown ribbon at upper right.

5) Adhere stamped cream piece to center front of card, then adhere matted sentiment at upper right.

 

“leaf trio” card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap:  ColorBox Archival Dye Ink Queue: Coffee House,  ColorBox Pigment Ink Queue: Woodgrain

Hero Arts: Real Leaves Clear Design stamp set and Old Letter Writing wood mount stamp

My Sentiments Exactly: Thanksgiving stamp set

Bazzill: Festive - Burlap and Walnut Cream - Smoothies cardstocks

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors and adhesive

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut a 4 1/4 X 11 piece of pumpkin cardstock and fold in half to make card.

2) Cut a 4 X 5 1/4 piece of cream cardstock and stamp using Old Letter Writing stamp and Putty Dye Ink.

3) Stamp leaves over background using: Roussillon Pigment Ink for large leaf, Amber for medium leaf and Ochre for smaller leaf.

4) Ink "give thanks" stamp using Chestnut Pigment Ink at lower left.

5) Adere stamped cardstock piece to front of card.

 

“maple trio” card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap:  ColorBox Archival Dye Ink Queue: Coffee House,  ColorBox Pigment Ink Queue: Woodgrain and Smooch Accent Inks: Gold Lame, Pumpkin and Molasses

Memory Box: Maple Branch wood mount stamp

My Sentiments Exactly: Multi Classic alphabet

Bazzill: Festive - Burlap and Walnut Cream - Smoothies cardstocks

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors, adhesive, and dimensional foam dots

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut a 5 X 8 piece of pumpkin cardstock and fold in half to make card.

2) Stamp the image 3 times on a piece of cream cardstock using a different color of pigment ink each time: Roussillon, Amber and Ochre. Cut out when ink has dried.

3) Fill in leaves on each stamped image using Smooch Accent Inks and set aside to dry.

4) Stamp "grateful" on a 3/4 X 5 piece of cream cardstock using Mudslide Dye Ink. Dovetail ends.

5) Adhere 3 stamped images using dimensional foam dots to upper portion of card front, then adhere sentiment beneath.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving; and counts all their blessings as they celebrate this special day set aside to GIVE THANKS! 

p.s.:

AND --- within the next few months, Clearsnap will be COMBINING Jean's and my blogs into ONE big blog with projects by guest designers too! You can take a peek at it HERE! In the meantime, both Jean and I will keep posting to our Typepad blogs, but the projects will also be posted on the Blogger blog --- so be sure to bookmark it!

Clearsnap has also started a FACEBOOK page, Be sure to check it out and join up so you can view projects posted by others as well as be the first to know about any news or special announcements!

a spell-cial halloween card...

What colors come to mind when I say "Halloween"?

Orange, Black, possibly Yellow? Maybe Lime Green or Purple?

How about Pink?

No, pink isn't a color I usually associate with Halloween either, that's why I thought it might be a fun color to try incorporating in a Halloween card.

I started with a pink card as the base, then added some touches of more "traditional" Halloween colors...

 

I stamped and embossed the cute little witch and her magical "wake" using Top Boss Tinted Embossing Pad and Black Embossing Powder. The images are nice and crisp so the designs are easy to fill in with Smooch Accent Inks. Top Boss Embossing Powders are very fine, so when you heat set them, even the tiniest details remain SHARP!

And thanks to the fabulous built in precision tip that Smooch Accent Inks have, you can "smooch" even the itsy-bitsy-est portions of your stamped and embossed designs...

  

The background paper for the "wake" is white cardstock that has been sprayed with Silver Foil Smooch Spritz, to add some shimmer...

 

The "moon" background that the witch is stamped on is just a circle that was punched from plain, white cardstock. Then ColorBox Pigment Ink in Canary was used to color it in. ColorBox Pigment Inks blend beautifully, even on plain cardstock, so by blending the color from the outside in, the outer edge stayed darker, easily creating a shaded affect.

The same technique was used to create the background for the sentiment, which was stamped and embossed...

 
 

If you'd like to make this card for a spell-cial friend or maybe a daughter, granddaughter or neice, here's what you need to know...

“witchie-poo” card

Skill Level: moderate

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap: Top Boss: Tinted Embossing Pad and Embossing Powder: Black, Smooch Accent Ink: Carrot, Sundance, Kiwi, Molasses, Grape Soda and Sassy Pink, Smooch Spritz: Silver Foil, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Canary, Stylus Handle and White Foam Blender Tip and Color Catcher

Hero Arts: Month - October ClearDesign stamp

Hampton Art: Mini Flip Flops: Witches Brew

Memory Box: Jewel Spiders

Bazzill: Card: Fussy from Cards & Envelope Set, Black Dashed Ribbon and Blackberry Swirl, Coconut Swirl and Intense Orange cardstocks

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors, adhesive, fine black pen, foam dimensional dots, 1 3/4 scalloped square punch, 2 1/2 circle punch and a heat gun

DIRECTIONS:

1) Trim 5 X 7 pink card to 4 X 6.

2) Cut a 3 1/2 X 4 piece of black cardstock and adhere to upper portion of card front.

3) Punch 2 scalloped squares from orange cardstock, add stitching lines with black pen and adhere to upper left and lower right corners of black cardstock.

4) Punch a circle from white cardstock and use ColorBox Pigment Ink in Canary, blended with the Stylus and White Foam Blender Tip, to apply ink from outside edge of circle in towards the center. Set aside to dry.

5) Cut a 2 1/4 X 1 1/8 piece of white cardstock and use same technique as in step {4} to color in cardstock. Set aside to dry.

6) Stamp witch in center of circle using Top Boss Tinted Embossing Pad and then emboss with Black Embossing Powder. Stamp sentiment in center of rectangle using same technique.

7) Place a 1 X 5 piece of white cardstock in the Color Catcher and spray with Silver Foil Smooch Spritz; set aside to dry.

8) Fill in witch design using Smooch Accent Inks.

9) Stamp and emboss border design on "smooched" cardstock. Cut out "wake" and fill in "bubbles" using Smooch Accent Inks.

10) To assemble, adhere ribbon about 3/4 from bottom of card, then adhere sentiment about 1/2 from right side of card; adding spider stickers. Adhere moon to center of black background, then use dimensional foam dots to adhere "wake" at bottom of moon.

MORE Halloween projects are on the way, so please stop back by to see what's new!

Also please check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog for more great projects featuring Clearsnap products!

world cardmaking day - SPOOKY STYLE!

Today is World Cardmaking Day, so in honor of that, I have not one card but TWO to share!

And since the current theme for the blog is "Halloween", both cards are "hauntingly" fun; but they differ in style.

First up is a fun and simple Halloween card playing on traditional colors of orange and black...

 

The row of pumpkins is made up of single pumpkins that have been stamped using Watermark Ink on orange cardstock and then embossed with Top Boss Black Embossing Powder...

 

Then, to add a little shimmer to the pumpkins, I used Smooch Illuminate to fill in the pumpkin designs...

 
 

Here's a closeup of the pumpkins with a little sunlight on them, you can see the shimmer better...

 

The stems of the pumpkins were filled in with Lucious Lime Smooch Accent Ink...

 

Next up is a Halloween card that is a little more on the "dark side"...

 

The background paper was made by spraying several colors of Smooch Spritzes on kraft cardstock, then, while the colors were still wet, the cardstock was shaken to create runs and drips...

 

The designs and sentiment were stamped with ColorBox Pigment Ink in Black and then embossed using Top Boss Clear Embossing Powder, Smooch Accent Ink in Moonlight was used to fill in the wording...

 

A different set of Smooch Spritz colors was used to create the background for the clock piece...

 

Then, a simple, black ribbon was pinned to the bottom of the card using a small, black safety pin...

 

So whether your Halloween-style leans toward fun and funky or distressed and spooky, you'll be able to send a card that reflects YOUR style!

Here are the directions for both cards...

 “happy haunting” halloween card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap: Smooch: Illuminate and Lucious Lime, Top Boss: Embossing Powder: Black, White and Orange Zest and Watermark Ink

Hero Arts: friendly pumpkin wood mounted stamp

My Sentiments Exactly: Retro Lower/Numbers and Perky Lower/Number clear stamp sets

Bazzill: Parakeet card from Card & Envelope Set and Blackberry Swirl and Intense Orange cardstocks

 Other: white brads and dimensional foam dots

Tools: paper trimmer, adhesive, scissors, paper piercer and heat gun

DIRECTIONS:

1) Stamp 5 pumpkins on orange cardstock using Watermark Ink, and emboss using Top Boss Black Embossing Powder.

2) Fill in pumpkins with Illuminate Smooch and stems using Lucious Lime Smooch, then cut put pumpkins.

3) Cut a 5 X 2 1/4 piece of black cardstock. Stamp "haunting" along bottom of piece using Watermark Ink and Retro alpha stamps, emboss with Top Boss White Embossing Powder.

4) Stamp "happy" above "aun" of "haunting" using Watermark Ink and Perky alpha stamps, emboss with Top Boss Orange Zest Embossing Powder.

5) Adhere sentiment at an angle at top left of card front.

6) Cut a 3/4 X 7 piece of black cardstock. Adhere about 1/2 up from bottom of card. Pierce holes at sides and insert white brads.

7) Adhere pumpkins along strip, using dimensional foam dots to adhere a few of them.

 

“spooky” Halloween card

Skill Level: moderate

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap: Smooch Spritz: Gingersnap, Cherry Ice, Silver Foil, Limolicious and Citrus Tickle, Smooch Accent Ink: Moonlight, Top Boss Embossing Powder: Clear, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Black and Fluid Chalk Ink: Blackbird and Color Catcher

Hampton Art: Flip Flop: Spooky and Clock clear stamps

Memory Box: Spooky Collage

Bazzill: kraft cardstock

Other: black ribbon, small black safety pin and small antique silver brad

Tools: paper trimmer, adhesive, scissors, paper piercer, dimensional foam dots and heat gun

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut an 8 X 8 1/2 piece of kraft cardstock and fold in half to make card.

2) Cut a 5 X 8 piece of kraft cardstock and place in Color Catcher. Spray different areas of paper, letting colors overlap a bit with Gingersnap, Silver Foil and Cherry Ice Smooch Spritzes. While paper is still wet, shake in a downwards direction to help ink run and drip. Set aside to dry.

3) Cut a 4 X 4 piece of kraft cardstock and place in Color Catcher. Spray with Limolicious and Citrus Tickle Smooch Spritzes and set aside to dry.

4) Ink Spooky Collage stamp with ColorBox Black Pigment Ink and stamp towards top of 5 X 7 piece of "smooched" cardstock. Emboss using Top Boss Clear Embossing Powder.

5) Tear around edges of stamped design, reserving excess paper for sentiment. Ink edges using Blackbird Chalk Ink.

6) Fold a 4" piece of black ribbon in half and dovetail ends. Safety pin to lower left of stamped piece and then adhere to front of card about 3/4 from top.

7) Stamp sentiment "haunted", "halloween" using stamps from Spooky set using ColorBox Black Pigment Ink and then embossing with Top Boss Clear Embossing Powder. Use Smooch Accent ink in Moonlight to fill in "haunted". Trim piece to measure 4 1/4 wide, then tear along top and bottom edges. Ink edges using Black bird Chalk Ink and adhere under background image.

8) Stamp "Clock Face" from clock set onto 4 X 4 "smooched" cardstock using ColorBox Black Pigment Ink and emboss with Top Boss Clear Embossing Powder. Stamp hands using black ink and emboss them as well. Fill in hour hand using Moonlight Smooch Accent Ink.

9) Use a paper piercer to place a hole at center of clock and insert brad. Adhere clock to upper right hand corner of card using foam dimensional dots.

I hope you are finding LOTS of inspiration for cards today, and that you enjoyed these two! Please stop back by for more Halloween themed projects. 

And if you'd like to see even MORE great projects featuring Clearsnap products, please be sure to check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog.

and the wheel goes 'round...

I made a happy little discovery today while stamping with the Rollagraph and I wanted to share it with you.

I usually spin the Rollagraph Stamp Wheel a few times on some scrap paper to get the ink started and "primed" before I begin stamping on my project. Most of the time, i just roll the wheel forward across the paper until I reach the end, then maybe go back and do it again. But today, I rolled the wheel forward and then back, and I noticed something interesting. I was using the Jumbo Rollagraph Palm Fronds Stamp Wheel, and by rolling the image once, then rerolling back over it, it created a "new" image. The palm fronds were thicker, giving the stamp a more "lush" look. So I began experimenting with different wheels and the number of times I rolled the image.

Here are some of the results...

 
 The above images were stamped using the Palm Fronds Stamp Wheel. The image on the right is what one roll of the wheel looks like. The image on the left is how the image appears when rolled forward, then back, then forward again.

 
These images were stamped using the Marble Background Jumbo Stamp Wheel; the image on the right was rolled once, and the one on the left was rolled twice - forward and back. I rolled the "forward" roll lightly, then rolled backward a bit heavier. This added some color variation as well as layering on more texture.

 

And finally, I tried using the Botanical Tiles Jumbo Stamp Wheel. Once again, the one of the right was rolled once, and the image on the left was rolled forward, back and forward again. The image was almost 3D. 

For all these images, the ColorBox Stamping Guide was used so that the rolled images came out nice and straight. This tool is VERY handy when using the Rollagraph - the guide has grippy little feet on it that hold it in place so you can roll the wheel along it.

I decided to use the technique to make a few cards; I'll be sharing one of the cards today, and the other two will be coming up later. All three cards are a little on the "vintage" side, so they go with the current theme on the blog. And if you happen to need a thank you card, or 2 or 3 - you are in luck! As all three cards are for that occasion.

Today's card features a background rolled using the Marble Background Jumbo Stamp Wheel. The image was stamped using the Bordeaux Ancient Page Ink Cartridge. I rolled forward using light pressure, then rolled back using heavier pressure...

 

here's a closeup of the background...

 

I wanted a soft pearly sheen for the leaf images, so i used metallic shades of ColorBox Pigment Ink.The leaves were pinned to a square of canvas for a rustic touch...

 

the sentiment was stamped using two ink colors and two different stamp sets...

 

Grab your Rollagraph and a couple of wheels and cartridges and give this technique a try. Experiment with pressure, placement and multiple ink colors.

If you want to start with this example, here's what you need to know...

“leaf trio” thank you card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap: Rollagraph: Jumbo Stamping Wheel: Marble Background, Jumbo Ancient Page Ink Cartridge: Bordeaux and Jumbo Self-Inking Handle, ColorBox Stamping Guide, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Gold Brocade, Raw Silk, Burnt Copper and Silver 

 Hero Arts: Small Variety Alpha and PolyClear Stamps and Scattered Leaves and Heartfelt Messages ClearDesign Stamps

Bazzill: Kraft, Walnut Cream cardstock and ivory card from Card & Envelope Set

Other: May Arts: jute - natural, JoAnn's: pearl tipped straigh pin and canvas

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors and adhesive

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut a 6 1/2 X 3 1/2 piece of kraft cardstock. Load Jumbo Self-Inking Handle with Bordeaux Ink Cartridge, then load Marble Background Stamp Wheel. Roll on 2 rows of design lengthwise down the cardstock using Stamping Guide. Use light pressure to roll on the first layer, then heavier pressure when you reroll over the first images.

2) Adhere background to front of card.

3) Use alpha stamps to spell "THANKS", and then ink using Burnt Copper Ink, stamp in lower right corner of card.

4) Ink "heartfelt" stamp with Gold Brocade ink a stamp above and to the left of "THANKS".

5) Ink "thank you" leaf using Raw Silk ink and stamp on cream cardstck. Then ink wide leaf using Gold Brocade and Oak Leaf using Silver. Stamp both on cream cardstock. Cut out when ink is dry.

6) Cut a 3" square of canvas. Pull threads around edges to distress them. Arrange pins on canvas and secure with staight pik.

7) Cut 3 - 8 1/2" pieces of natural jute; then adhere down center of card.

8) Adhere the canvas piece to the front of the card to finish.

I hope you will come back by to see what else I made using this technique {and there is another fun technique to be shared as well!}

And please be sure to check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog for more great projects featuring Clearsnap products!

end of summer...

School is starting soon and summer is fading fast, so here's the last project in the "Summer Series", a card with a simple sentiment that would work for a variety of occasions...

The colors came from one of the spectacular summer sunsets we are treated to here in Texas, this one in particular was a mix of golden yellow with touches of lavender. I thought the colors would be perfect for this summer project.

To create both the sentiment and the flowers, a resist method was used by embossing the images and then applying the inks over the them.

First, the flowers were stamped on white cardstock using Watermark Ink and embossed using Top Boss Embossing Powder in Pearl. Then, the Plum Berry Pigment Ink was applied in and around the outer petals using a Stylus and White Foam Tip...

The pigment ink is smooth and fluid and takes a little while to dry, so it is very easy to apply and blend. Once applied, the excess ink was removed using a clean white paper towel...

Next, the Sunflower Pigment Ink was applied in the same way to the center of the flower...

The same process was repeated to create the sentiment. The stamp set does come with an exclamation point, but I liked the small starburst that also comes with the set, so I paired it with the "l" to create my own exclamation mark...

You can use this resist technique with any of your stamps, and with any combination of embossing powders and inks you choose. For more contrast and a VIVID design, try it using black embossing powder and bright ink colors. If you'd like to try the technique out by making this card, here's what you need to know...

“enjoy!” card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap:  Watermark Ink, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Plum Berry and Sunflower {full or mini size}, Top Boss Embossing Powder: Pearl and Stylus and White Foam Blender Tips

Hero Arts: Real Flowers 4 X 6 PolyClear Stampsand Curly Alphabet ClearDesign Stamps

Bazzill: Coconut Swirl cardstock

Petersen Arne: Paper Accents: mustard cardstock

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors, adhesive, pinking scissors, dimensional foam dots, heat gun and white paper towels.

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut a 6 X 12 piece of white cardstock and fold in half to make card.

2) Cut a 5 1/4 X 5 1/4 piece of mustard cardstock and trim edges using pinking scissors. Adhere to center front of card.

3) Stamp 3 flowers on white cardstock using Watermark Ink, then emboss using Top Boss Pearl Embossing Powder.

4) Using Stylus and White Foam Blender Tip, dip tip into Plum Berry Pigment Ink and apply ink to and around outer petal of flowers using a circular motion. When done, wipe gently in a circular motion to remove excess ink. Set aside to dry.

5) Stamp "enjoy!" on a piece of white cardstock using Watermark Ink. Then emboss using Top Boss Embossing Powder in Pearl. Using Stylus and White Foam Blender Tip, dip tip into Plum Berry Pigment Ink and apply ink to and around the sentiment in a rough rectangle {about 3 1/2 X 1 3/4} Use a paper towel to remove excess ink as before, and set aside to dry.

6) Change or clean White Foam Blender tip on Stylus.Then use it to apply Sunflower Pigment ink to center of flowers. Use paper towel to remove excess ink and set aside to dry.

7) When inks have set, cut out flowers about 1/8 outside of design, and tear around edges of sentiment.

8) Adhere pieces as shown, using dimensional foam dots to adhere the flower at the center.

I hope you enjoyed this project and will give this technique a try. Also please check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog for more great projects featuring Clearsnap products!

---tami

 

leftovers...

Leftovers CAN be fun --- IF you use them creatively! You can also think of putting scraps to good use as recycling, so it’s Earth friendly too. But mostly, it’s about using up bits and pieces in a practical way that makes you feel good – that you are getting the most use from your supplies and your efforts!

As promised, today’s project utilizes some of the leftover papers created for the FUN AT THE LAKE Mini Book. The project starts with another bit of thrifty recycling as well, a brown paper lunch bag.

 

A folded lunch bag works great as a card since it provides a handy pocket for tucking in $$$ or a gift card…

In addition to the leftover “printed” papers, I stamped the embellishments on leftover scraps of white cardstock – who doesn’t have some of THAT on hand? I stamped all the designs using ColorBox Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink, then used ColorBox Pigment Inks, applied using beauty swabs, to fill in portions of the designs as well as some of the centers of the letters…

 

 

So, if you’d like to put YOUR leftover supplies to work, here’s the directions to tell you how…

“happy leftovers” card

 

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

 

please refer to the JUMP IN THE LAKE post for all the directions and supplies used to create the “printed” papers…

 

Clearsnap:  ColorBox Pigment Ink: Aqua, Marigold, Pink and Lime {full or mini size} and ColorBox Fluid Ink: Dark Brown {cats eye} and Chestnut Roan {full or mini size}

 

Hampton Art: Happy Birthday Clear Stamps

 

Hero Arts: Happy Letters PolyClear Stamps

 

Other: paper lunch bag, leftover scraps of white cardstock, and leftover “printed” papers

 

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors, beauty swabs {pointed cotton swabs} and adhesive

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

1) Fold paper lunch bag in half with notch at end to the inside. Glue down bottom half of bag that is loose.

 

CARD FRONT:

 

1) Cut a 4 ¾ X 2 piece of aqua bubbles on light aqua cardstock, a 1 ¾ X 2 ½ piece of yellow canvas stripe on white cardstock, a 2 7/8 X 1 piece of lime polka dot on pale yellow cardstock and a 2 7/8 X 1 ½ piece of pink polka dots on soft pink cardstock. Ink edges of all pieces using Dark Brown Chalk Ink and adhere as shown to front of card.

 

2) Stamp 3 gifts, “it’s my party” circle, “happy day”, and “happy birthday” on scraps of white cardstock using Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink.

 

3) Color in portions of the designs and letter centers using Aqua, Marigold, Pink and Lime Pigment Inks applied using Beauty Swabs. When inks are dry, cut out pieces and adhere to front of card as shown.

 

INSIDE CARD:

 

1) Cut a 2 X 4 ¾ piece of aqua bubbles on light aqua cardstock, 2 ¾ X 4 ¾ piece of pink polka dots on soft pink cardstock, a 1 ¾  X 4 ¾ piece of lime polka dot on pale yellow cardstock and a 3 ½ X 4 ¾  piece of yellow canvas stripe on white cardstock. Ink edges of all pieces using Dark Brown Chalk Ink and adhere as shown to inside of card.

 

2) Stamp “a”, “gift”, “for” and “you” using Happy Letters stamps and Chestnut Roan Chalk ink on scraps of white cardstock. Add birthday hat over swirl stamp at the end of “you” as an exclamation mark. Cut out words and ink edges using Dark Brown Chalk Ink and adhere as shown to inside of card.

 

3) Cut out an arrow from a piece of aqua bubbles on light aqua cardstock and adhere as shown.

 

Didn’t make the mini album? Don’t worry, you can use ANY leftovers to make this card, or stamp some of your own “printed” papers using scraps you DO have on hand! Also check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog for more great projects featuring Clearsnap products!

 

---tami

jump in a lake...

Smooch spritz and chipboard go together like sun and fun; the colors are vivid and oh so shimmery! You can turn raw chipboard into something special with just a few spritzes of Smooch.

The pages of a scalloped chipboard mini album were “Smooched” with several different colors to create the base of the book…

All of the papers in the book were stamped, as were the word embellishments. Background cardstocks, ink colors and stamp designs were selected to accent the photos for the book: yellow, aqua, lime and pink with some brown added for good measure. Pigments Inks were used for stamping the papers as I wanted bright, bold designs and colors.

Here are close-ups of all the papers created and used in the book…

lime polka dot on pale yellow cardstock…

 

 

 

yellow canvas stripe on white cardstock…

 

 

 

aqua circles on white cardstock…

 

 

aqua bubbles on light aqua cardstock…

 

 

pink polka dots on soft pink cardstock…

 

 

Molding Mats were used to stamp some of the patterns. Molding Mats are great to use to create impressions in polymer clay, Magic Stamp or Stylus Black Foam moldable tips, but they are also wonderful to stamp with. Just place a little double sided adhesive on your acrylic block and adhere the molding mat to it to use it as a stamp. The rubber is deeply etched, so you can get crisp, clear impressions.

 

For the word embellishments, Chalk Ink was used to stamp the background pattern; then words were added using Pigment Ink. The paper was torn along the top and bottom and the edges were inked with Chalk Ink for a distressed look …

 

 

 

For the title of the book, I stamped “lake” twice, to create a shadow effect…

 

 

 

Flowers with button and pearl centers were scattered throughout to accent the pages…

 

 

 
 

After adding the book ring to bind the pages together, colorful, coordinating ribbons were added to finish the book.

 

This project can be completed in 2 to 3 hours, so if you’d like to create your own summer themed mini book, here’s what you’ll need to know…

 

“fun at the lake” mini book

 

Skill Level: easy to moderate

 

SUPPLIES: 

 

Clearsnap:  Smooch Spritz: Electric Blue, Pink Sprinkles, Gingerbread and Sea Kiss, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Apricot, Cyan, Marigold, Pink and Lime {full or mini size}, ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink: Dark Brown {cats eye} and Chestnut Roan {full or mini size} and Molding Mats: Woven Threads, Circulate and Spots

 

Hero Arts: Art Flowersand Card Buttons– Summer, Pearls: Pink Accentand Light Yellow, Happy Letters PolyClear stamps, Canvas Stripes Cling Stamp and Dots Cling Stamp

 

Memory Box: Pearls Stickers: Frost Blue

 

Bazzill: Coconut Swirl and Kraft cardstocks

 

Petersen-Arne: Paper Accents: light yellow, light aqua and light pink cardstocks

 

Other: 6 X 6 chipboard book and ribbons

 

Tools: Color Catcher, paper towels, paper trimmer, scissors, corner rounder, black pen and adhesive.

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

To “Smooch” chipboard book

 

1) Place chipboard page in Color Catcher and spritz front and back using Sea Kiss Smooch Spritz, repeat with 1 more page. Lay pages on paper towels to dry.

 

2) Place chipboard page in Color Catcher and spritz front and back using Pink Sprinkles Smooch Spritz, repeat with another page using Gingersnap Smooch Spritz, and last page using Electric Blue Smooch Spritz. Lay pages on paper towels to dry.

 

To create printed papers:

 

1) Ink Dots Cling Stamp using Lime Pigment Ink and stamp design onto 10 X 10 piece of light yellow cardstock.

 

2) Ink Canvas Stripe Cling Stamp using Marigold Pigment Ink and stamp design onto 10 X 10 piece of white cardstock.

 

3) Use double sided tape to adhere Circulate Molding Mat to acrylic block, then ink using Cyan Pigment Ink and stamp design onto 10 X 10 piece of white cardstock.

 

4) Use double sided tape to adhere Spots Molding Mat to acrylic block, then ink using Cyan Pigment Ink and stamp design onto 10 X 10 piece of light aqua cardstock.

 

5) Ink Dots Cling Stamp using Pink Pigment Ink and stamp design onto 10 X 10 piece of light pink cardstock.

 

To create word embellishments:

 

1) Ink basket weave portion of Woven Molding Mat using Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink and stamp pattern on a 10 X 10 piece of Kraft cardstock. {hint, I cut apart the 3 patterned sections of the molding mat to make them easier to use separately}

 

2) Stamp word using Happy Letters stamps and Cyan Pigment Ink on paper, cut out around words, then tear along top and bottom edges. Ink edges using Dark Brown Chalk Ink, add additional wording using black pen if desired.

3) For title, stamp word first using Apricot Pigment ink, then stamp again slightly up and to the left of the first stamp to create a shadow effect.

 

Putting it together:

 

1) Use pieces of the stamped printed papers to accent your photos, rounding some of the corners as shown and inking the edges of the papers using Dark Brown Chalk Ink.

 

2) Add word embellishments to each page.

 

3) Add flowers and button and pearl centers to accent each page.

 

4) Connect your book using book ring, then tie ring with ribbons to finish.

 

Have some papers left over from this project? Then please stop back by for an idea using them! Also check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog for more great projects featuring Clearsnap products!

 

---tami

"wood" you like to SMOOCH???

Summer accessories are fun, breezy and casual, and they can also be easy to make yourself. This necklace can be make in just an hour or so and uses stamping supplies you probably already have on hand…

Plain wood beads were first “stained” using Smooch Spritzes. Smooch Spritz can be sprayed on any porous surface, and works beautifully with wood. I sprayed the wood beads with an even coat of the spritz on all sides and the result was beautiful, vivid colors with a pretty shimmer. When the beads were dry, they were rolled across stamps inked with Silver Pigment Ink to add the designs…

When the ink had dried, a protective coat was added and the beads were then strung on leather cording with simple knots in between each one.

I selected sand and sea colors for my project, but bold, bright rainbow colors would be beautiful too.

If you’d like to make this necklace yourself, here are the supplies and directions you’ll need…

 

“sea kiss” necklace

 

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

 

Clearsnap:  Smooch Spritz: Log Cabin, Spun Sugar and Sea Kiss and ColorBox Pigment Ink: Silver {full or mini size}

 

Hampton Art: Artsy Edges clear stamp

 

Indus Trading Co:Build UR Beads – Wood Tube Beads – 10mm and 18mmand Realeather Craft Lace: Deerskin Lace – Chocolate - 3/16

 

Tools: scissors, Color Catcher, paper towels and heat gun {optional}

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

1) Place 3 large beads in the Color Catcher and spritz beads using Log Cabin Smooch Spritz, turn beads to spray all sides as well as ends. Place beads on paper towels to dry {or speed up drying time using heat gun}.

 

2) Spray large beads again, this time using Spun Sugar Smooch Spritz, set aside to dry {or speed up drying time using heat gun}.

 

3) Place 12 small beads in the Color Catcher and spritz beads using Sea Kiss Smooch Spritz, turn beads to spray all sides as well as ends. Place beads on paper towels to dry {or speed up drying time using heat gun}.

 

4) Ink large border of your choice from Artsy Border stamp set using ColorBox Silver Pigment Ink. Place one large bead horizontally across stamp at one end of it and gently roll bead across stamp towards the other end until the design is applied around the entire bead. Set aside to dry {or speed up drying time using heat gun}. Repeat with other 2 large beads.

 

5) Ink small border of your choice from Artsy Border stamp set using ColorBox Silver Pigment Ink. Place one small bead horizontally across stamp at one end of it and gently roll bead across stamp towards the other end until the design is applied around the entire bead. Set aside to dry {or speed up drying time using heat gun}. Repeat with 3 more small beads. Change stamp design, and roll 4 more beads, then use another border design to roll the last 4 beads.

 

6) When beads are dry, apply a sealant to protect them and set aside to dry again.

 

7) Cut a 32” piece of leather lace, begin stringing beads on lace about 8” from end of lace. Pattern is 3 small beads, then one large bead, with simple knots in between each bead. Repeat pattern 3 times, then add 3 more small beads to finish. Trim cording so that both ends are even. I decided to leave the ends plain so I could adjust the length of the necklace with just a knot.

 

Please stop back by for more summer projects and also check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog for more great projects featuring Clearsnap products!

 

---tami

"pails" in comparison...

Wedding favors come in all shapes and sizes and can be costly both in time and price. Sometimes it's difficult to find a premade favor that reflects the couple and feels "personal", but it can become quite expensive to have custom favors made.

 

Todays project addresses each of these problems, it starts with a plain pail that has been spruced up with some paper, ribbon, flowers and of course stamps and ink...

 

The pail itself was inexpensive and the embellishments are thrifty too; a little goes a long way in this project. It is also easy to find paper and ribbons to match the wedding colors given the variety available.

 

The front of the pail has a "seal" that includes the new couple's monogram, which is a classic way to personalize a wedding favor a ring of pearls around the seal adds a little classic elegance...

 

 

The paper band was made by first stamping and embossing a scroll pattern on 2 pieces of cardstock using an ink color {ColorBox's Pigment Ink in Robin's Egg} that complimented the wedding colors. Finding the right ink color was was VERY easy to do given the wide selection of inks Clearsnap has available. The tips of the scroll design were filled in using Smooch Accent ink, also in a coordinating color, and then the stamped pieces were matted on a cardstock band.

 

To add a subtle touch of sparkle, Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder {Top Boss} was used to emboss the scroll designs...

 

 

The flowers were pretty on their own, but adding a grouping of pearls and rhinestones at the centers made them something special...

 

 
And, don't forget about the lid, it needs a little attention too, I found a doily stamp that fit perfectly, so i stamped and embossed it, then cut it out and glued it to the lid. A flower at the center added the crowning touch.

 

If you'd like to make some of these favors yourself, here's what you need to know…

beyond the "pail" altered pail

 

Skill Level: moderate

SUPPLIES: 

Clearsnap: ColorBox Pigment Ink: Robin's Egg {full or mini size}, ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink: Creamy Brown {full or mini size}, Smooch Accent Ink: Snickerdoodle and Illuminate  and Top Boss: Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder

Hero Arts: Flourish Background and Circle Doily Cling Stamps and Happy Letters PolyClear stamps

 

MySentiments Exactly: Romantic Caps

 

Memory Box: Pearl Stickers: Frost Blue and White and Jewel Stickers: Deep Lagoon

 

Bazzill: Kraft, Buttercream Powder Blue cardstocks and Ribbon: Brown Gingham, Brown Stripe, Whirlpool Gingham,  Whirlpool Stripe, Whirlpool Edged and Brown Dashed

 

Prima: E-line Flowers: Brown

Other: quart size metal and clear acrylic pail

 

Tools: adhesive, scissors, paper trimmer, 2" and 2 1/4" circle punches and heat gun

DIRECTIONS:

1) Stamp and emboss doily image on ivory cardstock using Robin's Egg Pigment Ink and Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder. Cut out and adhere to lid.

 

2) Cut 2 - 6" X 2 1/4" pieces of ivory cardstock. Stamp with Flourish image using Robin's Egg Pigment Ink and emboss using Opalescent Clear Embossing Powder.

 

3) Cut 2 - 7" X 2 1/2" pieces of kraft cardstock. Adhere strips end to end and then starting at one side, wrap around pail about 2 1/2" down from top. Trim excess if necessary, overlap ends slightly and adhere.  

 

4) Adhere stamped panels to the front and back of band {they will not cover the sides of the band, there should be about a 3/4" gap at each side}.

 

5) Punch a 2" circle from blue cardstock, and stamp using Creamy Brown Chalk Ink and monogram made using Happy Letter stamps for first name initials and Romantic Cap stamps for last name initial. Go over initials using Smooch Illuminate.

 

6) Punch a 2 1/4" circle from kraft cardstock and adhere stamped monogram seal in the center. Adhere a ring of white pearls around monogram.

 

7) Wrap a 13 1/2" piece of blue ribbon edged in brown around center of band, overlapping and adhering at the FRONT. Adhere  monogram seal at center of band.

 

8) Adhere a grouping of 3 flowers around monogram seal and 1 top top center of lid. Using blue jewels and pearls, place a ewel at the center of each flower and then surround with 4 pearls.

 

9) To finish, cut pieces of ribbons and tie at left side of handle.

 

10) You can fill your pail with whatever you would like. Use some coordinating paper shred to partially fill the container, it will look pretty where it shows below the band, and the "top" of the shred can be hidden behind the band so that only what you are filling it with shows above the band.

 

This would also make a very pretty gift for the bridesmaids when filled with their favorite bath and body products. You could even use a mesh loofa instead of the shred at the bottom of the pail.

 

Please stop by Jean's Colorstyle Blog for more exciting projects using Clearsnap inks and products.

 

And, if any of you are attending the CKC in Houston, I might see you there! i'll be teaching 2 classes as well as enjoying the shopping, crops and taking a few classes myself!

---tami

let them eat cake...

When I think of cakes a vision of a French Bakery pops in my head; pink cake boxes tied up with ribbons, wrought iron cake stands and paper doilies lining all the goodies. And a French Bakery conjures up images of the shabby chic style for me; a timeless mixture of classic, vintage and romance.

 

So that is where my mind had wandered when I was sitting down to design this wedding thank you card…

 

 

 

The cardstock colors were easy to pull together; I selected an ivory and a pale pink for the main colors and white and brown for accent colors. As for ink, I chose ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in several shades of brown as it is soft and opaque and would enhance the vintage, romantic feel I wanted.

 

Finding the right stamps though was a bit more challenging! I found the perfect stamp for the sentiment on the Wedding set of Hampton Art stamps the font was just right; classic and timeless…

 

 

 

There was a cake stamp on the same set, and it was on a wrought iron stand, but it seemed too modern, it wasn’t quite right. I looked through a few more sets of wedding stamps, but couldn’t find anything else that was closer to what I was envisioning. I thought I’d just have to settle for “close-enough”, when I noticed a script block stamp I had sitting out from a previous project. Would it work to transform the “modern” wedding cake into something more “vintage”? It was worth a try; so I stamped a piece of ivory cardstock with the script block first, and then stamped the cake stamp over it, and VOILA, it was PERFECT! The script block background added just the touch of vintage romance that I was looking for.

 

Layering stamps is an easy way to change either the style or design of the images, and is a great way to get more use from your stamps. You can also use different inks when you layer to add dimension. I used Creamy Brown chalk ink to stamp the script, then used the darker Chestnut Roan chalk ink to stamp the cake. This added some depth to the stamped images, making the cake come to the foreground.

 

The roses needed to be pink in order to pull the design together, so I used a beauty swab to fill them in with creamy ColorBox Pigment ink in what other color than Shabby Pink! To add a bit of luster, I used Illuminate over the pigment ink when it had dried.

 

Here's a closeup of the finished cake...

 

 

 

The only thing missing was the ribbon and doily, so I added a wide brown ribbon with dashed white lines at each side, and a doily-like border strip in white beneath it…

 

 

 

This card could be used as an invitation simply by changing the sentiment to “you are invited” and adding the nuptial details inside, or switch the sentiment to “congratulations” and use it as a wedding card. Don’t need a wedding card? How about a sophisticated yet “girlie” birthday card or invitation? This would make a very sweet, sweet 16 card or invitation as well.

 

Here are all the supplies and info you need to make this delicious card yourself…

 

“la parisian” thank you card

 

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

Clearsnap:  ColorBox: Fluid Chalk Ink: Chestnut Roan, Dark Brown and Creamy Brown, ColorBox: Pigment Ink: Shabby Pink and Smooch Accent Ink: Illuminate

 

Hampton Art: Wedding clear stamps

 

Memory Box:Script Block wood stamp and Pearl Stickers: white

 

Bazzill: Frosted Pink, Coconut Swirl, Suede Brown Dark and Buttercream cardstocks, Dashed Ribbon: brown and Half the Edge: cardstock strips - white

 

Tools: adhesive, scissors, paper trimmer, double sided tape and dimensional foam dots

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

1) Cut a 5 ½ X 8 ½ piece of ivory cardstock and fold in half to make card.

 

2) Cut a 5 ½ X 1 ¼ X strip of pink cardstock and adhere about 1 ¼ down from the top of the card.

 

3) Cut a 5 ½ piece of brown ribbon and apply 2 strips of double sided tape to the back, one along the top and one along the bottom edge. Cut a 5 ½ piece of the white border strip and adhere it to the bottom edge of the ribbon by placing it along the lower part of the bottom strip of double sided tape. Adhere ribbon to card along bottom edge of pink cardstock strip.

 

4) Ink script block stamp with Creamy Brown chalk ink and stamp on a piece of ivory cardstock. Ink cake stamp with Chestnut Roan chalk ink and stamp at center of script. Cut out to measure 2 1/8 X 3, and ink edges using Dark Brown chalk ink.

 

5) Use a beauty swab to fill in roses with Shabby Pink pigment ink. When dry, go over roses with Illuminate Smooch.

 

6) Cut a 2 ¼ X 3 ¼ piece of pink cardstock and mat on a 2 3/8 X 3 3/8 piece of brown cardstock. Use dimensional foam dots to adhere stamped cake piece to mat, then adhere matted image about ½ from left edge of card.

 

7) Stamp sentiment on white cardstock using Chestnut Roan chalk ink; cut out to measure 2 X 1 1/8 and ink edges using Dark Brown chalk ink. Adhere sentiment on pink strip to the right of cake.

 

8) Add 2 pearls on either side of the sentiment.

 

Come back soon! And be sure to check out Jean’s ColorSyle blog for more great projects featuring Clearsnap products!

---tami

here comes the bride!

...and the groom too!

It's time for some wedding projects! I love weddings; I always wanted to be a wedding planner, but after helping a few friends plan theirs and planning my own, that changed, but my love of weddings didn't. I love the whites and ivories with a pop of color - either bold or soft and the crisp black of the tuxedos, I love the textures of the satins, silks and lace, and of course the BLING! There has to be some bling, think diamonds and pearls.

So, I made a “Congratulations” card for the first wedding themed project and tried to incorporate some of the things I like best about weddings in it…

The card base is a soft ivory as is the cardstock for the background and the dress, then I added a POP of color and a touch of lace with the stamped background designs...

 

The black mat adds that touch of crispness, and finally pearl accents provide the bling...

 

Here are the supplies and directions you need to create your own special wedding card…

“all dressed up” card

Skill Level: easy

SUPPLIES: 

Clearsnap: Vivid! Dye Ink: Black and ColorBox Pigment Ink: Cyan {full or mini size}

Hero Arts: Hero Hues: Folded Cards – eggshelland Heart Accent Pearls - white

Hampton Art: Mini Flip Flops: Elegant Flourish and Wedding Clear Stamps

 

Memory Box: Pearl Stickers - white

Bazzill: Blackberry Swirl and Vanilla cardstocks

Tools: adhesive, dimensional foam dots, scissors and paper trimmer

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut 3 ¼ X 2 piece of ivory cardstock. Ink oval medallion stamp with Cyan Pigment Ink and stamp image at center of cardstock.

2) Cut a 3 ½ X 3 3/8 piece of black cardstock and adhere stamped ivory piece at the top leaving a scant border around the top and sides.

3) Cut a 3 ½ X 7/8 piece of ivory cardstock and adhere it about 1/8 below the top piece.

4) Ink border stamp with Cyan Pigment Ink and stamp image on a piece of ivory cardstock.

5) Ink “congratulations” stamp with Black Vivid! Ink and stamp sentiment at center of stamped border. Cut out image and adhere to center of ivory piece.

6) Ink gown and tux stamp with Black Vivid! Ink and stamp on ivory cardstock; cut out and adhere to stamped oval using dimensional dots.

7) Adhere black cardstock to front of card about 5/8 from top.

8) Add heart shaped pearls at either side of sentiment.

9) Finish card by adding 2 rows of tiny pearls spaced ¼ apart about ¼ below black cardstock.

Please drop back by for more wedding projects! And if you'd like to see MORE fabulous projects using Clearsnap products, please check out COLOR STYLE by Jean Okimoto.

---tami

chocolate or vanilla...

This project will be the last for the "masculine" theme I've had going on the blog for the last few weeks. So i thought I'd make it DOUBLE-ly delightful! You get TWO cards, well to be fair it's the same card, you just get a FLAVOR choice. So would you like CHOCOLATE or VANILLA? Which does your guy prefer?

I thought it would be fun to create two yummy versions of this card and both use pretty much the exact same supplies. The main difference is that the CHOCOLATE cakes and sentiment were stamped on white cardstock while the VANILLA cakes and sentiment were stamped on kraft cardstock.

Here are some closeups of the details...

first the CHOCOLATE card...

 

 

 

and now, for VANILLA...

 

 

 

If you'd like to "whip up" one or both of these card confections, here's what you'll need to know...

"flavor"-ite cake card

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

Clearsnap:  ColorBox Pigment Ink: Cape Cod, Lettuce, Plumberry, Robin's Egg and Canary {full or mini size}, Top Boss: Clear, White and Cocoa Bean Embossing Powders and Tinted Embossing Pad, Smooch Accent Ink: Sundance, Moonlight and Molasses 

Hero Arts: Hero Hues: Daffodil folded note card

 

Hampton Art: Happy Birthday clear stamps

Bazzill: Kraft, Coconut Swirl, Pear Crush, Wildberry Pie, Sparkleberry Delight , Chocolate Cream and Lemon Bliss cardstocks

 

Tools: adhesive, scissors, paper trimmer and heat gun

DIRECTIONS:

1) Cut a 5 X 3 1/4 piece of yellow cardstock and tear about 1/4 off along one long side. Ink edges of cardstock using Canary Pigment Ink and set aside to dry.

2) Cut 1 - 1 X 2 piece of blue, lavendar and green cardstocks. Ink edges of blue using Robin's Egg Pigment Ink, the lavendar with Plumberry and the green with Lettuce and set aside to dry.

for Chocolate Card: 

1) stamp cake image on white cardstock using Cape Cod Pigment Ink and emboss with Clear Embossing Powder. Repeat using Plumberry Ink and once more using Lettuce. Cut out cakes, leaving a scant border around the design.

2) Fill in the candle flames using Sundance Smooch Accent Ink. Then fill in the icing on the cake using Molasses Smooch.

3) Adhere each cake to it's matching cardstock piece.

4) Stamp "make a wish" on white cardstock using Tinted Embossing Pad and emboss using Cocoa Bean Embossing Powder then cut out.

5) Cut a 5 1/2 X 1/4 strip of brown cardstock.

for Vanilla Card: 

1) stamp cake image on kraft cardstock using Cape Cod Pigment Ink and emboss with Clear Embossing Powder. Repeat using Plumberry Ink and once more using Lettuce. Cut out cakes, leaving a scant border around the design.

2) Fill in the candle flames using Sundance Smooch Accent Ink. Then fill in the icing on the cake using Moonlight Smooch.

3) Adhere each cake to it's matching cardstock piece.

4) Stamp "make a wish" on kraft cardstock using Tinted Embossing Pad and emboss using White Embossing Powder then cut out.

5) Cut a 5 1/2 X 1/4 strip of white cardstock.

to assemble either card:

1) Adhere yellow cardstock piece towards top of front of card.

2) Adhere cakes to front of card, staggering heights as shown.

3) Adhere 1/4 strip under yellow mat, then center and adhere "make a wish" on the strip.

the next theme coming up will be wedding, so please stay tuned if there are wedding bells {yours or someone else's} in your future!

---tami 
 
 
 
 
 

bling me up...

I received some wood bangles from DIY Bangles that I have been anxious to bling up. Creating your own unique jewelry pieces can accent a new outfit, or help update one from last season. It only took an hour or so to transform these 3 bangles…

 

 

Crafter’s Ink works well on wood; it covers well and dries quickly. You can also use pigment inks, but they will take longer to dry and you have to be careful not to smear them until they do. I used both on the bangles I made.

 

Here’s a closer look at each of the bracelets…

 

 

I inked a damask background stamp with several colors of inks, then rolled the bangle across the stamp …

 

 

for this one, I first stamped on the script design, then went back and stamped tiny flowers in different colors along it...

 

 

 

Rhinestones added the finishing touch…

 

 

This bangle has large flat panels on each side that are perfect for stamping on, I inked the panels a different color than the rest of the bracelet and stamped flowers on the panels…

 

 

 

I used a beauty swab to color in the flowers centers, and used the stylus and blender tip to “antique” the edges of the panels…

 

 

The BIG jewelry trend right now is just that – BIG! Stacks of bangles in different sizes and colors are showing up everywhere, so make your bangles in colors that coordinate and you can mix and match and STACK!

 

 

Here’s what you need in order to make your own fashion statement…

 

“Damasked” bangle bracelet

 

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

 

Clearsnap: Crafter’s Ink: Sunflower, Pink and Lime, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Turquoise and Stylus with Blender Tip

 

Indus Trading Company: DIY Bangles.com: ¼” flat wood bangle

 

Hero Arts: Antique Brocade Cling stamp

 

DIRECTIONS: 

 

1) Use Sunflower Ink, applied with Stylus and Blender Tip, to ink outside edges of bangle; let dry.

 

2) Apply Turquoise ink to stamp, then use Stylus and Blender Tip to apply touches of Lime and Pink inks to stamp {make sure you clean off tip between inks to prevent contaminating your pads}

 

3) Carefully roll bangle across stamp using even pressure. When you get to the end of the stamp; start rolling again where you left off on the bangle along a new place on the stamp. Let dry.

-----------------

 

“Flower Script” bangle bracelet

 

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

 

Clearsnap: Crafter’s Ink: Sunflower, Pink and Lime, Frost White and Dune, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Marigold and Stylus with Blender Tip

 

Indus Trading Company: DIY Bangles.com: 5/8” flat wood bangle

 

Hampton Art: Friends clear stamp

 

Memory Box: Script Block wood stamp and Jewel Stickers: Diamond

 

DIRECTIONS: 

 

1) Use Frost White ink, applied with Stylus and Blender Tip, to ink outside edges of bangle; let dry.

 

2) Ink Script Block stamp using Dune ink, and then roll bangle across stamp using even pressure. When you get to the end of the stamp; start rolling again where you left off on the bangle along a new place on the stamp. Let dry.

 

3) Stamp flowers using Pink, Lime, Sunflower and Marigold Inks and let dry.

 

4) Apply rhinestones to centers of flowers.

-----------------

 

“BIG flowers” bangle bracelet

 

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

 

Clearsnap: Crafter’s Ink: Sunflower, Pink, Lime and Dune, ColorBox Pigment Ink: Marigold and Stylus with blender tip

 

Indus Trading Company: DIY Bangles.com: 1 ½” pentagon

 

Memory Box: Big Flower wood stamp

 

Tools: Beauty Swabs

 

DIRECTIONS: 

 

1) Use Lime ink, applied with Stylus and Blender Tip, to ink outside edges of bangle except for the panels; let dry.

 

2) Use Sunflower ink, applied with Stylus and Blender Tip, to ink the panels; let dry.

 

3) Stamp flowers using Pink ink and let dry.

 

4) Use a beauty swab to ink the center of the flowers using Marigold ink.

 

5) Use Dune ink applied with Stylus and Blender Tip to ink the edges of the panels to distress them.

 

Wear and enjoy!

---tami

 

mother's day frame...

Mother’s Day is early this year… are you ready for it? 

 

If not, you may want to check out today's project and drop back by on Monday for a trio of quick and easy Mother's Day cards.

 

Today’s project is a frame all decked out in flowers, to hold a special poem or photo...

 

 

I used the four new ColorBox Fluid Chalk Inks on today’s project. They are bright, spring-y, happy colors that are just right for Mother’s Day.

 

I started with an unfinished wood frame and “stained” it using ColorBox Pigment Ink. Then I stamped a bunch of flowers...

 

 

 

And to add a touch of bling, I overstamped the flowers, slightly offset, using Watermark ink and then embossed them with a shimmery embossing powder. This technique adds a little dimension too...

 

 

Then, I just cut them out and adhered them to the frame. 

 

Here are the supplies you need to make this special gift for YOUR mom…

 

"Flower Bedecked" Frame

 

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

 

Clearsnap: ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink: new colors! Butterscotch, Berrylicious, Deep Lagoon and Blackberry (full or mini size), ColorBox Pigment Ink: Lime (full or mini size), Top Boss: Embossing Powder – Opalescent Clear and Watermark (full or mini size)

 

Memory Box: Large Vintage Flower, Big Sunshine Daisy, Foo Foo Daisy and Solid Marigold wood mount stamps

 

Bazzill: Coconut Swirl cardstock

 

Other: 4 X 6 unfinished wood frame

 

Tools: paper trimmer, scissors, heat gun, white paper towel and adhesive

 

DIRECTIONS: 

 

1) Lightly dab Lime ColorBox Pigment ink along one side of frame, then wipe with paper towel to spread ink and “stain” the wood. Continue working one side at a time until the entire frame – including inside and outside edges have been inked.

 

2) Stamp the following onto white cardstock:

 5   --- Big Sunshine Daisies with Butterscotch chalk ink

 6   --- Solid Marigold with Berrylicious chalk ink

 5   --- Large Vintage Flower with Deep Lagoon chalk ink

13  --- Foo Foo Flowers with Blackberry

3) Working  on 1 style of flower at a time, overstamp each, moving slightly down and to the right, with Watermark Ink. Sprinkle with Opalescent Clear embossing powder and heat set.

4) Cut out flowers, leaving a thin white border around each.

 

5) Arrange and adhere flowers around frame, making sure placement won’t interfere with how the frame stands.

 

6) Fill frame with a poem or photo.

 

Be sure to stop back by on Monday! The post will include 3 cards, one for mom, one for Grandma and one that's so easy – even a child can make it!

 

---tami

fiesta!

It’s fiesta time here in San Antonio and the parties and celebrations have been in full swing for a week or so. To me, fiesta means color! Lots and lots of color! And of course you have to have some bling! You can’t have fiesta without some bling!

 

Today’s project is a layout featuring a photo of my youngest son Chris, leading the sidewalk fiesta parade at his school last year. {My parents bought that adorable little red fire truck!}

 

I used Design Adhesives sprinkled with multiple colors of glitter to create some BLING-Y embellishments for the layout. If you aren’t familiar with Design Adhesives they are a bit like a rub-on, but with adhesive. You just rub on the design with your finger or a rub on tool; then lift the backing. What’s left behind is the design in an adhesive. Then just sprinkle on your glitter or embossing powder and you are done. No muss – no fuss!  

 

Here's the layout...

 

 

Here are a few close-up shots of the embellishments...

 

 

 

 

And here are the supplies and directions you need to make your own…

 

"Happy Fiesta" 8 X 8 layout

Skill Level: easy

 

SUPPLIES: 

Clearsnap: ColorBox Pigment Ink: Canary, Fresh Green, Cyan and Scarlet (full or mini size), Top Boss: Glitter – Emerald City, Fool’s Gold, Ruby Slippers and Twinkling Turquoise and Craft Funnel, Design Adhesives: Happy Birthday, Fancy Edges and Spots & Dots

 

Hero Arts: Curly Alphabet Poly Clear Stamps

 

Bazzill: Kraft, Coconut Swirl, Blackberry Swirl and Raspberry Splash cardstocks

 

Tools: paper trimmer, rub on tool, 1 ¾” circle punch, adhesive and dimensional dots.

 

DIRECTIONS: 

 

1) Cut an 8 X 8 piece of Raspberry Swirl cardstock for the background.

 

2) Cut a 4 ¾” X 7” piece of Kraft cardstock and adhere to the right side of the layout, about ¼” from sides.

 

3) Cut a 2 ½” X 7” piece of Blackberry Swirl cardstock and adhere it to the left side of the layout, butting it up to the Kraft piece.

 

4) Mat photo on a 5 ¾” X 4 ¾” piece of Coconut Swirl cardstock, then adhere photo about ¼” from top right corner of Kraft cardstock.

 

5) Cut apart and apply 4 circles from Spots & Dots Design Adhesives to 2 ½” squares of Kraft cardstock. – hint: use your finger or a rub on tool to transfer the design to the cardstock. Lift a corner to see if adhesive has transferred, then continue lifting slowly. If any portion has not transferred, replace backing and rub again.

 

6) Working one color at a time, place a small pile of glitter on a clean sheet of paper that you’ve folded in half. Dip your finger into the glitter and rub over portion of design you want that color on. Repeat for all 4 circles. Tap excess off onto folded paper. Place funnel in glitter container and pour remaining glitter back into bottle. Repeat for all 4 colors of glitter.

 

7) Punch out circles using craft punch – hint: hold punch upside down so you can line up the design correctly. Adhere circles down the left side of the layout, using a dimensional dot to adhere the 3^rd circle.

 

8) Cut off “happy” from Happy Birthday Design Adhesive, and apply under photo. Apply glitter as before, one color at a time, creating a multi color design.

 

9) Stamp “fiesta” one letter at a time on scraps of Coconut Swirl cardstock, using all 4 colors of ink. When dry, cut out in random “squared” shapes, and adhere under “happy”.

 

10) Trim the row of diamond shapes from the Fancy Edges Design Adhesives to fit along the bottom of the Kraft cardstock under “fiesta”. Then apply and glitter as before, coloring each diamond with one color of glitter.

 

¡Viva La Fiesta!

 

---tami

pretty petals...

I've got another spring themed project for you today, and it's bursting with soft, pretty pastel colors: pink, lavender, blue, yellow and spring green.

Often it’s difficult to find printed papers or embellishments in color combinations that match your photos. But since Clearsnap has so many different types of inks in SO many beautiful colors, its easy to make your own papers and or embellishments that will match your photos PERFECTLY. 

Here’s today’s project, a layout titled “Spring Fair”... 

 

(Special thanks to Laura E for the photo of her beautiful girls!)

This 8 X 8 scrapbook page features a pretty bouquet of inked and "smooched" chipboard flowers. The flowers, part of Hampton Art's Flower Press line, started out as plain white chipboard. First they were tinted using ColorBox Pigment Inks. Then they were stamped with a coordinating stamp - made to fit each flower – that was inked with Fluid Chalk Ink. Finally accents were added or filled in using Smooch Accent Inks.

ColorBox Pigment Inks were the perfect ink to use to “paint” the chipboard; they are easy to blend, are very opaque and cover well. I decided to use the ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink to stamps the designs on the flowers with as they add a soft but crisp look and dry quickly. And to add a bit of color AND shimmer, the Smooch Accent Inks were the obvious choice. They are opaque and cover in one coat, so there was no bleed through of the base ink color, and they have a fabulous precision applicator built into the top so that I could get into all the little nooks and crannies of the stamped designs.

It was easy to ink the chipboard flowers as the surface is nice and smooth and since they are bright white the inks really "pop" once you apply them. I placed each flower on a clean white paper towel, and working one at a time with the ink pad held upside down, I dabbed the ink onto the chipboard until I had the coverage I wanted. I used the Pigment Inks in the mini size as they are very easy to handle. 

After the flowers were dry and I stamped the accents on them and then used spring shades of Smooch Accent Inks to fill in some of the designs of each of the flowers. 

Here's a few closeups of the flowers:

 

 

I used some pretty pearls, from Hero Arts, to embellish the centers of the flowers. I also used them to "dot" the "i's" in my title:  

 

Once all the flowers were done, all I had left to do was stamp the title and assemble the layout.

Here are the supplies and directions you'll need to create this project yourself:

"Spring Fair" 8 X 8 scrapbook layout 

Skill Level: moderate

SUPPLIES: 

Clearsnap: ColorBox Pigment Inks: Orchid, Aqua, Sunflower and Heliotrope (mini or full size), ColorBox: Fluid Chalk Ink: Chestnut Roan and Blue Lagoon (mini or full size) and Smooch Accent Ink: Carrot, Pool, Taffy, Grape Soda and Sundance  

Hero Arts:  Curly Alphabet Clear Design Stampsand Accent Pearls: Pink, Light Yellowand Light Lavender

Hampton Art: Flower Press: White Chipboard Flowers, Large White Chipboard Flowers, Petal Patterns Clear Stamp, Petal Words Clear Stamp, Large Petal Patterns Clear Stamp and Large Petal Words Clear Stamp

Bazzill: Lime Sherbert, Coconut Swirl and Banana Blis cardstocks

Tools: acrylic block scissors,paper trimmer and adhesive 

DIRECTIONS: 

1) Select 3 large, 3 12pt and 3 chipboard flowers and ink them using your choice of ColorBox Pigment Ink colors. Place the flowers on a clean white paper towel, and then holding the ink pad upside down, dab ink onto chipboard until desired coverage is reached. Set flowers aside to dry.

2) Using Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk Ink, stamp flowers with your choice of coordinating stamp design and set aside to dry.

3) Use your choice of Smooch Accent Ink colors to fill in portions of the stamped designs and set aside to dry.

4) Cut an 8” X 8” piece of yellow paper.

5) Cut a 1 ¾” X 6 ¾” piece of white cardstock. Stamp “spring fair” title near the top using Blue Lagoon Chalk Ink. Adhere piece about 1/8” from the left side of the yellow background, having the top and bottom evenly spaced.

6) Cut a 6 ½” X 7 ½" piece of lime green cardstock and adhere about ¼” from the right side and from the top and bottom of the yellow background cardstock.

7) Adhere photo about ¼” from upper right corner of layout.

8) Arrange and adhere flowers on layout.

9) Cut apart your choice of size and color pearls and adhere them to the flower centers. Select 2 pearls to “dot” the “I”’s with.

You can also make these pretty little flowers to use on an altered project or card – they’ll be cute on whatever you use them on!

---tami