I Tried It ~ Silver Embossing

For You ~ Thank You Card

Today I decided to try a card idea that Kristina Werner demonstrated using Amazing, a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp March Kit.  She makes it look so easy and fun!  I have included her video as she provided a lot of helpful tips. The tip that I found most helpful was to dry your image before embossing. Let's just say I didn't believe the ink I was using was slow drying... wrong.  The embossing powder will stick to wet ink and that is not a pretty look. 

I have a lot of embossing powder but do not use it enough on projects. It was very easy to emboss the sides of the cards as well and took very little time.  

~Recipe ~ 

Stampin Up'  Silver Emboss Powder

Stampin Up' Inks ~ Tangerine Tango - 

                                 Daffodil Delight -

                                 Bermuda Bay   

SSS Stamps ~Amazing

Hero Art ~ Kindness

I also embossed the inside of my card to continue the design.

I would love to see your ideas from using this month's SSS Kit or with the Amazing stamp set. 

                                           

thanks KIM 

                      

   

Lucky Rainbow ~ SSS March 2019 Card Kit

Have you seen the March card kit from Simon Says Stamp?  I love kits that include stamp sets that allow for creating outside of the kit.  This kits includes two versatile stamp sets, Wooly Lucky and Amazing. Wooly Lucky includes a llama that is a perfect size to be a focus of any card.  And as you have probably noticed, llamas are super trending too. In addition, Amazing is the second versatile set included in this kit.  It is full of various designed circles with verbiage  for many occasions too. 

 Wooly Lucky Shaker Card 

Recipe for Wooly Lucky Shaker Card

Base ~ Neenah Solar White      4 1/4 x 5 1/2
Front Layer ~ CS from SSS Kit
Shaker Window ~ SU' Stitched
Circle Shaker Window Adhesive ~ SU FoamStrips
Embellishments ~ Lucky Charmz SSS kit                             
                                   

Personalizing Your Envelopes and Cards

Over the years I have collected various cute stamps to add to my finished projects, cards and or envelopes.  As cute and cleaver as they are, I felt like I needed something more personalized that fit my style.  Usually after I stamp with one of these cute stamps, I add my initials and the year.  But apparently I forgot to do this to a friend's birthday card a few weeks back.  I was caught off guard and even surprised when she asked me why I didn't add my hand stamped signature to the back.  Wow... do people really notice that special effort?  This encouraged me to find a special personalized stamp for my projects. 

This morning, before I found out school was closed, I decided to look at options currently available from a company I have used before for personalization options and two of my favorite stamping  sites that just so happened to be offering ideas too.

My first suggestion is if you have a specific design that you have created or have a vision to represent your handmade creations, then  Zazzle might be for you.  I have used this site in the past for creating graduation cards, personalized notepads for my classroom and business cards.  

This easy to use site allows you to upload your own design into a template or create your personalized stamp from a large collection of designs and images.  It is very easy to modify text and fonts as well as center your stamp for the perfect image.  Their stamp options are either self-ink or wood block and come in several sizes.  And best of all, they offer 100% guarantee on your purchase. 

The next option for a personalized stamp is from Taylored Expressions.  I really like this company for several reasons.  I love earning a little cash back from my purchases and they always seem to include a little die with my shipments as a gift.  Another reason I like this site is that they offer an on-line chat where you can ask product related questions about items on their site and they respond in seconds. (Thanks Charlie)  Yesterday, TE announced a limited offer on four personalized stamps that are super cute starting at $30.00.  

And finally,  today on Jennifer McGuire Ink's blog she shared a posting that Simon Says Stamp will be releasing a set of nine unique envelope stamps created by nine different companies and one is her own design. And what is also cool is that 100% of the profits are going to the Dreaming Zebra Foundation.  

I hope one of these creative companies have encouraged you to think about personalizing your unique creations and hand stamp with a stamp that individualizes you and your talents.  

Share how you personalize your creative projects.  Thanks KIM                                             

Valentine's Day Nugget Treat ~ MFT Nugget Label, Frame & Treat Tag Die-namics

I love making 3D projects for my friends.  So when I saw this project from My Favorite Things for Valentine's Day, I knew I wanted to try it.  But before I purchased the supplies, I researched several places, including Pinterest to see options for using these dies.  And sure enough, there are many options of using this set of dies through out the year, including some on MFT Blog.

If you haven't looked at My Favorite Things, it might be worth a look.  They offer several perks called Ways to Save that offer free shipping with a minimum $50.00 order, a free die with every $60.00 order and discounts are set up for larger orders.  Its a great place to create a wishlist until you can meet one of the minimums.

Wow!! This a great freebie item. 

 The dies do not include instruction on how each piece is used to create the final project.  But once I played around with the different options, I was mass assembling in no time.  The photo below can give you an idea of how all the pieces work. Before you do the cut out for the opening, line up both tags to get a visual of where to make your cut.  This is helpful for the recipient to open the back flap.

There are many videos showing how to create this fun project.  I have attached the instructional video from MFT.

I would love to hear how your creative ideas or your thoughts on how you are using this great die set.  

Thanks KIM 

Welcome 2019 With A Crafting Goal

        If you are like me, I feel like I have spent more time searching for ideas for organizing and storing my pretty supplies than I actually spend time creating with them.  And I can easily get overwhelmed with all the supplies I have collected once I begin working on a project.  This year, I made a goal for myself to be more mindful of my supplies and future purchases.This led me rethink my crafting style and to explore more options in the techniques I have been using since I am not always using the supplies I have purchased for them.  It is time for a purge!

Set a Goal.   I wanted to use my collection of dies outside of their coordinating stamp sets. As well as to explore new ideas and techniques to freshen up my card making.  

Purge and Donate.   I have done this several times over the past 10 years, but this time I did it with my goal in mind. Do not keep supplies with they do not align with the goal. Go through everything, paper stashes, stamps, embellishments and pieces of kits that have not been used in at least two years.  I have donated boxes of cherished supplies to teachers at my school, friends new to the hobby and even the local library for their teen programing. Another consideration is your local senior center or daycare.

Take Inventory and Organize.  Now that I had my basics again, I could focus back to my goal of utilizing my dies with projects around them. I decided to maintain the idea I had started a few months ago and continue using magnetic plates from Taylored Expressions because they were simple for me.  The only thing I did was to label each set from its vendor which allowed me to review each of the dies for future designs. 

Learn Something New.  As in clothing and decorating, crafting trends also change over the years too.  This is the perfect time look for online lessons or classes in your area. There are a lot of great professional crafty bloggers sharing their fabulous ideas and techniques.   After reading past posts on Jennifer McGuire Ink, I decided to try one of her sites on-line classes, Stretch your Dies, that matched my goal new goal.

Feel free to leave a suggestion of your New Year's Crafting Goals.  I would love to know what you think.           KIM

Christmas Cards 2018

I love making cards and projects to share with friends.  This year I decided to invite them to the cabin to create their own Christmas cards to share with their friends and family.  Here are few of the cards they created. 

Stamps ~ Dies: Taylored Expression Build A Gingerbread and Attire 
Front ~ Cricut

Stamps ~ Stampin' Up (Retired)

Stamps~ Stampin' Up Merry Patterns
Card Stock ~ Stampin' Up Cheers to a Good Year
Die ~ Swirly Frames