Turning stamps into clear mount....

Alrighty folks - I'm so excited about this clear mount option that Stampin' Up! is now offering, and even more excited that I learned how to turn my unmounted stamps into a clear mount stamp....and here's how you do it.... Start with your unmounted stamps...

I took a photo copy of the sticker sheet before I do anything. This will serve as my "cover" on my stamp case - like the clear mount sets have now.

I start with my stamps, peel off the paper backing to expose the foam. Then I lay the sticker that would have normally gone onto the wood block onto the foam, being careful to line it up really good.

More than likely the sticker will be too big. I just go around it with my Craft and Rubber Scissors from SU! - you know, those ones that we USED to use ALL THE TIME to trim down our stamps before SU! went die cut!!!!. You might notice that you clip a little of the foam here and there, and that won't hurt anything as long as you don't take a huge chunk out of the foam!

Now for the magic ingredient! Believe it or not.....TOMBOW!!! You don't need very much at all, just a little dot on small stamps, a couple of dots on larger stamps.

See that little dot of Tombow on the back of the stamp?

Brush it all over the sticker with a foam brush. It will dry clear, don't get too worried about seeing streaks in the glue - it will be fine! (sorry about the blurry pic!)

Use your judgement on how much to use on a large stamp - this stamp is about the size of my hand - and really, I still didn't use that much glue!

Once you have the glue spread around with your foam brush - you need to let it dry for several hours or even overnight. This is what turns the Tombow into repositionable glue.

This stamp I "treated" yesterday, it's now ready to go. One thing you will notice is that they have a LOT of "tack" to them. You will want to remove some of this tack by pressing the stamp onto your hand or jeans - anything that will get rid of some of that stickiness.

And, voila - you now have a clear mount stamp!!!

There you have it!!! You can also un-mount your already mounted stamp sets. Carefully peel the sticker off of the wood block. To remove your stamp from the wood, put it in the microwave for about 5 seconds, then the foam and rubber should peel right off the wood block. Now, you can put the sticker on the foam - you may need to use a bit of SNAIL on the foam to get the sticker to stick again. Then go ahead with the same process you did with the Tombow! EASY PEASY!!!

And, if you don't already have Tombow among your supplies, give me a shout - I can hook you up! AND, SU! is offering empty stamp cases - 4 cases for $4.95. The amount of space you save is amazing, and I LOVE the fact that I can see where I'm stamping!!!

If you have any questions - please leave me a comment!

You too can go clear mount...

Alrighty peeps - I know I haven't been here for a few days - I've been busy!!! I had an order for 42 Valentine's tags....so, I've been hard at it. Got them done - then my sweet hubby and I rearranged and "upgraded" my stamp room. I love it now! I got a new work table, and added another table to my space, so I have a much larger workspace now. I'm afraid that might mean more space to spread out my clutter - but I'm gonna try and stay organized.

I wanted to pop on here and let you know that while I don't have a card or a project to show you, I will be back tomorrow with a cool tutorial. I am going to show you how to transform your unmounted wood block stamp sets into clear mount sets - using what you more than likely have on hand!!!! I've tried it - and it works.

Now, this won't be up right away in the morning - I'll probably photograph this tomorrow afternoon during nap time - as long as all goes well....

In the meantime....go stamp something would you?

:) Jen

My Love Sparkles for you!

This card just screams love! This is was a pretty simple card, and I {heart} how it turned out. I am learning tho, you must put a solid image behind the Pinking Hearts border, or it just doesn't show up. I don't know how many times I've tried to put it on top of DSP, it just won't look right!

The hardest part about this was the glittering of the letters and then popping the letters off the card. Had I been thinking, I would have die cut the letters out of sticky cuts paper....but I wasn't thinking (my husband would agree most days). Instead I die cut the letters from Very Vanilla and then used 2 way glue to adhere the glitter.....this did work. I also used the 2 way glue on a bit of the main heart. Easy Peasy - and just stinkin' cute too!!!!

Okay peeps - I need my coffee to kick in...and since I'm only doing half caff these days, it takes a little longer than normal. Must go wake up now!!!

I should have napped....

Do you ever feel like you should have just sucked it up an taken a nap? I love a good nap in the afternoon when the boys take their naps, and today, I should have listened to my body and laid down. You see, I got some much awaited new stamps today. I was stalking the door waiting for the UPS man to show up. And he came thru, and, well I was SO excited to get to play with them. One that I was waiting for is the new dot, dot, dot stamp. This is a single stamp, and is quite a bit bigger than what it shows in the Occasions Mini. I knew it wasnt' going to go all the way across a card without using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. I broke that out (another reason I like those clear mount stamps!!!), and then I struggled. I typically like to use vellum cardstock instead of the imaging sheet b/c I can then keep that vellum with the stamp, and not have to re-do the imaging sheet. So, I stamped it onto vellum, and that was all fine and dandy. But once I went to line up my images side by side on the card front, I just COULD NOT get it to line up! That just means I needed to figure it out, and decided to document my progress, so you can be in the know... first, I marked the corner of the vellum that was going into the corner of the SAMJ.

Then I marked my wood block also. This tells me which corner of the block goes into the corner of my SAMJ.

Then, because of the row placement of the polka dots, I had to turn my vellum image to fit on the card the best. The way the polka dots line up if you don't turn the stamp just right, well, it won't line up...period. You'll end up with 2 rows of dots that are exactly the same instead of off center....hope you can see what I mean....and trust me....I know from experience!~!!

So, where the arrows on your vellum imaging sheet are, is where the arrows need to go on your block.

Then, once your ink is good and dry ( I used Close to Cocoa Craft Ink here, so heat set it), then place your imaging sheet over the already stamped image and line up (see yellow arrow below):

Make sure you note where your direction arrows are on the vellum, and keep your stamp going the same way. You'll end up with a perfectly aligned polka dot border:

And while these directions are a bit lengthy, it's not that bad once you get it going. My hard part was I moved my vellum after I stamped it and before I put direction arrows on it. Trying to figure out which way was up was a bit of a challenge for me.....

Well, all of this does lead up to a super cute card!

The base is Melon Mambo, with that Close to Cocoa polka dot border (which really adds to this card I must say!) I stamped the cute little fox (from Fox & Friends) in Choc. Chip, then cut him (or her) out and popped up off the card. The hearts are all punched with the Heart to Heart punch and patterned paper from the Welcome Neighbor Sale-A-Bration paper pack. The sentiment is from the new hostess set in the mini - Picture This - I just left of the "friend" portion. The ribbon is Choc. Chip satin, and yes, you do see that adorable Pinking Hearts border punch!!!! Cute - eh?

So, tell me what you think - does the little tutorial help? What do you think of my card? Inquiring minds want to know!

Factory in the making!!!

Wow! I have been a busy gal this weekend!! I was so excited by the instant success of my Etsy shop (link is on the right side) that I couldn't sleep, I just dreamed about stamping, laid awake thinking about what to create.....and so, like a little Valentine elf, I got to work! Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho!!!

My mother in-law had given me these great antique muffin tins, and finally! I put them to good use. I sorted my punched and cut items in them, my buttons, and formed an assembly line.

I had been brainstorming about offering a Valentine's kit to all of you, and I do have something different in the idea box for you - OR - feel free to purchase one of these great kits oer on my Etsy shop.

This bundle includes 6 tags (the hearts are from the Love You Much set, border is punched with that oh-so-sweet Pinking Hearts Border Punch, and a little smidgen of the shiny Sending Love DSP), 6 cellophane bags (4x6 size), and 6 - 8 inch satin ribbons to tie the treat bag shut.

Here's a closer pic of the tag:

There's that super sweet Pinking Hearts border!! And look at that DSP shine - it is so nice to work with something glittery, and not have glitter all over! I {heart} this paper!

I also did the the same set, but changed up the tags. This stamp set is now retired, but it is my go to set for making Valentines for the boys. Last year when they were still going to the sitter, I used it, and I will use it again for Will's preschool Valentines. It's a nice look for kids and isn't over the top mushy! Plus, I like the doodled Friends stamp!

Kit details are the same as above: 6 tags, 6 cellophane bags, and 6 - 8 inch ribbons.

The friends image was stamped using Stazon ink and then colored with my SU! markers. Again, I used the Pinking Hearts border punch - it's just too cha-cha for words! It's a capped off with a bit of DSP (retired) and offset with a little red button.

Lastly, I did a set using the same set as above - it's called Love Matters btw - but remember, it's no longer available - SORRY!

I stamped the flower image 3 times across the bottom with Stazon, then colored with markers. Then I distressed the edges (Bonnie style!) with Close to Cocoa and a sponge dauber. I punched a heart with the Full Heart Punch, and roughed up those edges, the added a scrunchy little flower to the heart that is accented with a red button tied up with some jute twine. The top of the tag is a 1/2 inch circle punch, folded in half, then a hole punched with a 1/16 inch punch.

Aren't these flowers just too cute?

Okay folks! Tell me what you think - would you like something like these as a kit? I'm wondering if you'd like them stamped, punched, etc; then you could just color and assemble. I'd really like to hear some opinions - so PLEASE leave me a comment....I do value what you've got to say!!!

Thanks! Hope you enjoyed!

Money may not grow on trees....

....but hearts do! Before I get too far into this post, my son Will, who is almost 4, insisted that I put some of his creations on my blog. He usually wakes up from his nap and goes straight for my scrap drawer. I let him take whatever he wants and he goes to his table and cuts and glues and cuts and glues. He's always very proud of what he comes up with and of course I give him a ton of praise to help boost his ego. So, today he created the little top note Valentine on the left below. On the right is a gingerbread man that he made a couple of days ago and it just had to be in the photo too. He's a creative guy in the making....he didn't fall far from the tree!

And...then I have to show you the pheasants that are still coming around. Still 4 of them, and they are happy as can be because Andy is still out feeding them.

In this picture below, you have to notice the platform birdfeeder behind the pheasants - that stands about 5 feet high from the ground - it appears that about 3 foot of it is covered up by snow. If you look beyond that feeder, you can see that the drifts just keep going up and up from there. We think (but haven't gone out to confirm) those drifts reach a peak of about 12 ft from the ground. I can't wait until Sunday and Monday when it's warmer - I'm gonna be out taking some photos of our awesome drifts.

Oh, and where those pheasants are standing - somewhere under there are some Blue Spruce trees....

Okay, on with the show! Here's creativity in progress:

If you notice over on the right side of my blog, I've opened an Etsy Shop!!!! You can click over there to get there or go to: http://stampedsilly.etsy.com For those of you not familiar with Etsy, it's a website that sells only handcrafted and vintage items. You can find all sorts of great things over there, and I think it's great to support crafters - handmade is so much better than mass produced......
Here's the finished product:

Cute - huh.....and see hearts DO grow on trees! For those of you that are in the Denison, IA area, these will also be for sale at Splurge! in uptown Denison - across from the courthouse.

Here's a detail shot:

And here's the same card, I just swapped out the DSP.

And a detail shot of that one:

FYI - I love the new Satin Ribbon - it is just SO easy to work with. Oh, and those clear mount stamps - phew....they are lifesavers! I just don't see much for wood mounted stamps in my future....poor things!

Okay - time to go. Enjoy your day - the sun will come out tomorrow, and it'll be about 50 degrees warmer!!! (that is really something - huh?? )

Poppy Love

that's right - POPPY love. Not puppy love. I've been seeing these little flowers all over, and I love them. I need to perfect them quite a bit, but still, I really like them.
And, well, my ric rak is a little off proportion wise, but it's what I had....I'm on the hunt for something new there.....

Here's a detail shot. Don't be suprised to see more of these from me - I just think they are adorable. And my mother in-law really likes poppies too, so I need to dream up a card for her upcoming birthday!

So, other than being snowed in, or really drifted in - I've been stamping like mad, and have lots of new things to show you! I'll warn you tho - Cupid is still in my pocket, and I don't think he's going anywhere for a while. I haven't been this into Valentine's ever - wonder what's gotten into me? Maybe it's all of those pregnancy hormones...I just don't know. And, maybe I'm making up for those first 12 weeks when I just couldn't do ANYTHING!

Well, peeps - I'll be back with more for you to drool over.....

Jen

My Heart's All a Flutter!!!

Alrighty - the mad recycler that I am....I had these really cute jars that I saved (after cleaning out the refrigerator when we lost power during the last blizzard). I thought they would be really cute with some candies in them for Valentine's and here's what I came up with.
I decorated the lid using Real Red Satin Ribbon. This stuff is awesome to work with. I'm not sure I love the way I did the ribbon here - almost wish I would have just broke out the sewing machine and stitched it into a ruffle....now I have another idea tho (secret, secret - I have more jars!). I tacked it to the lid using sticky strip, then cut a piece of pattern paper (from the Sending Love DSP) using the circle cutter, and attached that to the lid. Added my sentiment - viola - lid done. It's the most important part after all.

Then I stamped the hugs & kisses in Real Red on Very Vanilla. I colored in parts of the image with my Pretty in Pink marker, and the dots with the Real Red Marker. Then I glittered to my hearts content. I thought that was fitting with the very glittery DSP.

There's an close-up for you.

I cut one of the flowers out of the DSP, and tacked it onto the other side. The opposite sides then have hearts punched out using the Heart to Heart punch. Other than the ribbon, I really like it. Now, it just needs to be filled with some Hershey's Hugs and Kisses and it'll be perfect. (Unbelievably, I couldn't find any *ANY* Valentine's candy in our local Wal-Mart - usually they start putting that out before Christmas is even over. Maybe I need to send Cupid their way??)

Let me know whatcha think....

Jen

Cupid has struck me!

Here's another little card for you using the Love You Much stamp set. Remember you can earn this stamp set free - check out this post.
This card is super easy peasy and just as sweet as can be. I stamped the heart trio image from the Love You Much stamp set with Whisper White Craft Ink on Real Red. Then, I punched those out using the Heart to Heart punch. I trimmed some of the bottom of the front of the card off - about 3/4", then used that awesome new pinking hearts border punch. (You gotta get this!) I layered a strip (out of my scrap pile) of Real Red onto some sparkly new Sending Love DSP, then put that behind the border punch so that it really popped! Oh, and to make the hearts appear like flowers, I used my paper piercer and free handed some stems. Then stamped a couple of leaves in Old Olive Craft Ink. (Craft ink is GROWING on me!!!)

I decided to leave it just this simple. I wanted a clean look, and that's what I think I got! Believe it or not, NO RIBBON!! The ribbon was calling my name, and I tried to add some, but I just couldn't make it happen.....I could have maybe substituted the leaves with some ribbon knots.....there's an idea.....hmmmm.....I should have thought of that earlier!

What do you think? I love to hear your comments!

How I love you....

.....let me count the ways. I'm on top of the Valentine's this year. I've been very inspired by other stampers, and seeing the Valentine's just has gotten me in the mood. Plus, it helps too that my 3 year old, Will, is constantly calling hearts Valentime's. I think it's so cute. So, these little birds, below, are each holding Valentime's.

So, this card was quite simple and I came up with the whole thing all by my lonesome! No sketch to follow, no inspiration. I just stamped the row of birds (from The More the Merrier Stamp Set), and went with it. And I gotta tell you - I {heart} this card. The birds are stamped with black stazon on watercolor paper, then colored using markers and blender pens. I really like to color this way. You've got a lot of control, and you can even take color away if you need to highlight here or there.

And what do you think of those hot new epoxy brads??? (You need these!) Aren't they super cute? Today is the first day you can order these. And remember - if you place an online order - either from my website or email me - you will get your name put in the hat to win the Love You Much stamp set.

Alrighty peeps - I must go - it's freezing (literally) here, and I need to get a fresh cuppa coffee!