Sneaky Peeky coming your way!!

HI Stampers!

I have a sneak peek of the project we are making at the Vintage Vogue Stamp Camp tomorrow.  I don't usually post our projects, but I feel frisky today.  lol! 

Here is the first impression of the ensemble:

wanna see the side???? 

I figured you did!  lol!!
love that dimension!!!!!
Doesn't this make you feel like Spring just might actually be around the corner?? 

oooo.....here it is open:

note: I see now I didn't include the envelopes...they wer eon my desk when I took the picture....they will go right in with the cards :)

Here is a few of the cards:

The "campers" will receive the Vintage Vogue Stamp Set as well as the template to recreate this gift again and again.

What do you think?
I would love to know :)

To wood or not to wood.....

THAT is the question.......to suffer the weight and space of precious shelves....
Did you ever think I would do a stamping title to Shakesphear's "to be or not to be" ????  yeah, me either!  lol!!

But what I come today with is a tutorial for you.....so sit back and be ready to wood or not to wood.....

I have tons....not really tons....but I have a crazy amount of stamps that are meant to be wood mounted that aren't mounted yet....so what is a a girl to do????  I must tell you....I LOVE the new unmounted option that Stampin' Up! is offering us now....but the sets in the regular idea book and catalog are still wood mount.  BUT - they don't come already mounted, so really - you do have an unmounted option.  following me??

hehe!!  I recently earned the "Just____" sets from sale a bration for free - just basketball, just tennis, just soccer....you get the picture.....  Well, they are all three stamp sets - three blocks, each in their own clam shell box....weighing down my shelves, taking up valuable space that I could be using for more new stamps....lol!!  So I decided to go unmounted, baby!
Ok, so I started with the Just Basketball set.

I will start with the ball/hoop stamp.  It is meant to be one stamp.  It has one block, one sticker.  Well, going unmoutned allows you to customize your stamps without worrying about not having any extra blocks. So i cut my stamp apart to have the ball and hoop separate images.  (this is how I would want to use them anyway, probably)

Next, I took the ball and layed it upside down over the sticker sheet, lining it up as best as I could.

Then, I took my craft and rubber scissors and trimmed around it, holding the rubber stamp in place.  You could trace on the sticker, but I thought this wouls be just as easy and would skip a step.

Next, peel the backing off the rubber stamp and lay it rubber side down on yoru work surface.  Then, peel the backing off of the sticker and put it on the back of the rubber stamp.  Now you have what looks exactly like a clear mount rubber stamp.....except - this is a sticker, NOT cling vinyl.  There is  big difference.  The sticker will NOT cling to the clear mount blocks like the cling vinyl that comes with the new clear mount rubber stamps.  So, what's a girl to do????

I pulled out my Tombo Mono Multi glue.  I rubbed a thin layer all over the sticker label and set aside to dry.  The Tombo Mono Multi is repositionable when it is allowed to dry - genius!!

After the glue layer is dry, you still need to tap it on yout hands to take some of the "stick" off - the tombo glue is very strong....so this just lessens the grip a bit.

Place the stamps in an empty stamp case available through Stampin' Up! and enjoy all of your extra space!!!

There are 6 stamp sets in this one case.  They are all the same theme, so finding them on my shelves will be easy as well as labeling them.  Can you believe that all of thee boxes now only take up the amount of space that a dvd case takes up?????  LOVE it!

This really isn't any harder than mounting onto wood, just a couple of extra steps, but they are well worth it, in my opinion.

well, that's all folks!

Pawsitively Praying for You

Hmmmm?????  Wonder where that title came from????  lol!  I am in desperate need of praying/thinking of you and sympathy cards lately.  Not good.  I pulled out this week's sketch challenge over at scs and immediately wanted to use the level one hostess set, Of the Earth for the square images.  But, I dug around looking for something else that might stike my fancy, just in case....no luck....I had my mind set on Of the Earth!  I really like this set....the bird images and the single stem flower are just gorgeous, in my opinion.  I also wanted to card to have a spring feel to it. 

wanna see????

I knew I wanted to use soft, springy colors.  I went to my store stash of designer series papers and pulled out the Pawsitively Prints pack.  It was designed to be used with the Build A Bear dies made exclusively for Stampin' Up!.  The delicate patterns lend thenselves well to the clothing prints.  I have also found that they are wonderful for so much more!!
The card came together pretty well.....just about exactly what I had in mind.  Here is a closer look at the goodness.

I even stamped the inside.....sorry this picture is fuzzy - for some reason, my camera would not focus right on it.  ARGH!!!!!!  I didn't stamp a sentiment, though, I may use this as a note card to send to a friend.  If not, I can always add the sentiment when I need to send it out.  Makes me feel that I made it just then.... ;)  hehehe!

Tip Alert**** One more thing!!!  If I weren't going to use a padded envelope to mail this card, I would definitely cut a piece of card stock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 and run it through the paper crimper to lay over the front to protect the pearls from the postal service machines.

stamps: Of the Earth, Matchbox Messages, Thoughts and Prayers
card stock: certainly celery, blush blossom, very vanilla, pawsitively prints designer series paper
ink: pretty in pink, old olive ( both stamped off before stamping)
accessories: 5/8 inch vanilla satin ribbon, pretties kit flat backed pearls, stampin' dimensionals

What do you think?

Celebrating my Mojo

HI Stampers!!

Oh, how I needed to stamp this card today.  My little one starting showing her usual sick symptoms this weekend along with a cough that sounded deep.  Yesterday, she woke up with all of that and a runny nose...so I thoguht to myself....well, we are adding, not losing, symptoms....we better get to the pediatrician today.  So.....she was diagnosed with croup.  Hmmm....that seems like a standard diagnosis with little ones that aren't flemghy, in my opinion.  So, maybe she has croup, maybe not but I am doing the medicine regimine anyway.  Long story short, things got worse this morning involving red popcicles and medicine on a too empty stomch.....so when we got things together this afternoon, she wanted to do crafts in my room....so we headed up there!  YAY!!!!!

So I pulled out the mojo monday sketch and got busy!  I have a huge list of things that need stamped or created so it was justified, right????  lol!!  Here is what I came up with today:

I absolutely love the Vintage Vogue stamp set in the occassions mini!!!! Every image is gorgeous!  Now, I know this card isn't mailable....but there are always instances to hand deliver a card, always.  :)

See that flower up close????  It is simply gorgeous!  (humble, uh?)

I also stamped up the inside:

stamps: vintage vogue, they say it's your birthday
card stock: kraft, very vanilla, bordering blue, bella bleu, chocolate chip
ink: sahara sand, bordering blue, chocolate chip, creamy caramel
accessories: 5/8th inch chocolate chip grosgrain, tool kit, scallop circle punch, vintage brad, scallop edge punch, stampin dimensionals

leave me some love.....i sure could use it :)  lol!

My Sweet Valentine.....

Do, Do, Dooo......

Now, go back and read that title again, singing "My Sweet Caroline....." with my words.....

No?  ok....

Today is my daughter's Valentine exchange at her preschool, she was so excited today!  She wanted to buy premade Valentine's from the store that were Toy Story - I Know!!!!!  Right!??!??!?  Well, I let her - but we disguised them in these:

LOL!!!!  I was so proud of her, she hand wrote each child's name on the front and wrote from her on the back.  (She writes too big to put the to and from on the front where it goes :) )  Hey, she's 4!  you know?

The two buckets are for her two teachers.  They are filled with a bag of Lindor Truffles.....Oh sweet Mother of chocolates!!!!  You know I appreciate you when the truffles have been pried out of my hands to give to you :)  hehehe!!!  I got the buckets half off at a dollar spot after Christmas.....Hello red Christmas stuff on sale that can be used for Valentine's Day!!!  {luv} it!  But they had an ugly wrinkled up red bow tied on the front, so I had to take care of that!  I cut it right off!!  There were two holes already in the bucket so I threaded some vanilla satin ribbon through and tied a nice, new, beautiful, satinny, smooth, luxurious (getting the picture that I love the new satin ribbon????) bow.  I put the truffles into a large cello bag and tied it shut with the same (I won't go into the details....)satin ribbon.  I made a tag by cutting a heart with the new embosslit, Stampin' Up Heart of Hearts, and my big shot and backed it with a heart cut from one of the heart sizzlets.  The stamped heart was the three heart stamp from I (Heart) Hearts and it coordinates with the Heart to Heart punch.  I put a small rhinestone brad through that heart and adhered it to the die cut heart with a stampin' dimensional.

I used the same heart dies to make the kid's valentine clips for their treat bags.  I started by puttting their candy treats and my daughter's valentine in a new glassine bag from the Occasions Mini.....I love these!!!  The clips are made from clothes pins that I picked up at a dollar store.  I covered the front of the clothes pin with the sending love specialty designer series paper.  I then adhered the heart to the clothes pin with mini glue dots.  Their names were added by taking strips of very vanilla and stamping the neames with my calendar alphabet and number stamp set.  I adhered them to the heart my layering dimensionals in the middle and gluing the ends to the heart with tombo mono multi.

I then added a magent to the back, with the thought that the parents could put them on the refridgerator and clip their school papers or artwork to them.

What do youthink of these?  I am happy with them....they were easy but cute.  I think ;)

Six Weeks until Spring?!?!?!?!?!?

Well.....not in my stamp room!!!

I pulled out the scs sketch challenge today and got busy making a springy card.  I have been wanting to use my new set, Abundant Hope, for a while now anyway.....I have alot of rubber that needs my attention!

As soon as I saw this set offered in the Occassions mini....I knew it had to be mine!  I have been waiting for a daffodil stamp set.  I have tons of flower stamps, but I still "needed" it.  lol!  Wanna see what I came up with?

The desigenr series paper here is Tall Tales.  I used my FREE sale a bration punch, Scallop Trim Border and it's mate, the Scallop Trim Border Corner punch that is available in the Occassions Mini.  The daffodils and setniment are stamped on watercolor paper.  The sentiment is from Well Scripted, also from the Occassions Mini.  I have been long negleting my grommets....so I pulled out a white one today and accented the center of it with a knot tied with chocoalte chip satin ribbon......YUMMO........

I even did up the inside :)

I would love to know what you think.....comments do make me feel warm and fuzzy inside :):)