America, Land That I Love!

Hello everyone!  Stamp Simply has some new brand patriotic stamps and I'm so excited to share them with you!

The American Eagle

Pledge of Allegiance

These new stamps can stand perfectly on their own, but they are so much fun to combine with our earlier patriotic sets.  They are for sale individually or in a variety of bundles.  See them all here!

One of the things that I love about these stamps is their versatility. They can look rustic or elegant, vintage or modern, and are just as at home on a clean and simple card as they are a fancier project.  

In fact, they can make CAS look quite elegant!  All it takes is a few minutes with stamps, dies and markers, pretty pearlized paper and gold ink. 

Beside the fact that we're proud Americans, the 4th of July is a big deal in the Felts household since my husband is retired USN, and also because the patriotic holiday follows my birthday.  Usually we have a big fireworks party in the cul de sac.  

I decided that this box of sparklers could use a rustic patriotic make-over for this year's celebration!  This photo shows the before and after!  

I used the original box for a rough template, tweaking it to fit onto an 4.5 x 11" sheet of card stock.   I stamped the stars in black ink, colored and shaded them with Copic markers, then masked over them to stamp The Pledge in metallic ink.   I used a variety of patriotic sentiments from our sets, old and new, to create a set of (Tim Holtz) tags for an embellishment.  There is also a sprinkling of small gold stars die cut from pearlized gold paper.    

The entire project was distressed with tea dye distress ink and given a few splashes of diluted Delicata gold/copper inks to add to the rustic feel.   Here's the box viewed from the back.   

Supplies:

• Patriotic Bundle
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Tag Collection
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals SM
• Echo Park Let Freedom Ring 6x6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Gold 6 ct
• May Arts 1" Sheer - 100 Yard Spool - Dark Gold
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Delicata inks
• Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink

Copic markers

Be sure to visit the Stamp Simply blog for more patriotic inspiration as our design team has been posting patriotic cards each day this week.

He Stilled the Storm

Hello again!  I hope you're having a good week!  So far mine has been fun because I have been playing with some of my favorite products and trying to think a little more out-of-the-box.  Today's project started with the idea of a hat card for the fisherman/sailor. I showed my husband my first attempt and he said, "It needs to be rounder" so off I went to search for origami hat instructions on YouTube, only my version is on a much smaller scale.

The strip of paper I used to make this little hat was ~ 2.25 x 7 inches scored 1/2 inch from each end and then at one inch intervals between, with one scoreline ~ 1/2 inch along one long edge.  Then it was folded accordion-style and an inverted V cut into the top, just like making paper dolls!  I snipped at regular intervals from the bottom up to that long scoreline to make it easier to shape into the round.  

I used a paper piercer to make a hole into the top of each triangle, then held it all together with a tiny brad from my stash.  I felt it needed some reinforcement so I glued a couple of circles of different sizes into the inside just to help hold it all in shape.  Then I set it atop a piece of scrap paper to hand-sketch a pattern for the brim.  Once that was the appropriate size/shape, I cut one out of designer paper and adhered everything together.  

All of the stamps I used are from our Lighthouse bundle.  Moving clockwise around the card, there is the wheel...

...waves splashing around some pilings (the water was colored with Copics, then dabbed and splashed with white acrylic paint and blotted, and finally topped with clear Wink of Stella)... 

...and finally the sentiment in the bottom right corner.  I thought it would be fun to add a tiny hook but the smallest one we had was too large for the project, so I grabbed some silver wire and jewelry pliers to shape one the size I wanted.  I swiped the string from a fresh tea bag.  It shows up a little better than monofilament would've.  

Here's the inside.  This paper is full of lots of fun images of all shapes and sizes and has strips that are perfect for borders.

This card is a standard sized 5.5 x 4.25 inch card but the hat is about 1.5 inches tall so it would require a box for mailing. Alternatively, it would sure be a fun in-person, by-hand delivery for the sailor/fisherman in your life!  When I showed the finished card to Patrick he laughed and said, "It's a HAT!" so I think I got it right after all!  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Lighthouse Full Bundle
• Graphic 45 Catch of the Day - 8x8
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Circles SM (used for reinforcement inside the hat)
• Copic markers
• "hook" (made from silver jewelry wire)
• tea bag string
• small brad and tiny button from stash
• white acrylic paint for splashes and splatters

Graduation 2023

The 2023 graduation season is fast approaching, so I am here today with a slimline card (finished size 3.5 tall x 8.5 wide) in local high school colors with diagonal lines inspired by the school's website banner.  All of the stamps, dies, and papers I've used are available from Stamp Simply.    

The sheet of gold-green from the Patina paper pad is perfect for representing FIHS colors!  The Ink Drops line has colors of nearly every hue so I'd bet you can find one that will work for your school's colors too!  Here's a link to all of the store's Craft Consortium papers including Ink Drops papers and more.    

These Countdown numbers from Tim Holtz are so perfect for birthdays and graduations.  I cut them from the gold pearlescent paper and added one of our die cut graduation caps on top of the zero.  

The die has a tassel but I decided to replace it with a tassel made from gold cording.  The cording I used is one we have for hanging Christmas ornaments and it's a little stiff which made it perfect for this purpose.  I just tied the cording into a tassel, then made a loose knot and threaded the ends through a hole pierced into the cap.  I used my piercing stylus to guide the placement of the knot as I tightened the cording, then taped it to the back securely.  A tiny thread of glue holds the threads in their proper place on top and a little glue dot holds the top of the tassel to the card base allowing the threads to fall freely.

Here's the inside.  The green and gold theme is continued here with a ribbon die cut from the same papers using dies from the Tim Holtz Collector die set.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Graduation Bundle TRIO
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Countdown
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Collector
• Craft Consortium Patina 6x6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Gold 6 ct
• Delicata ink
• gold cord

Enjoy the Little Things!

 

Hello y'all!  Happy Thursday!

It has been absolutely gorgeous here lately with bright sunny days and just enough rain to keep things beautifully green.  I've been participating in Sock Madness and so, knitting a lot lately.  Our current sock is inspired by Winnie the Pooh, so as I sat down to stamp this week's Stamp Simply design team project, my thoughts were of celebrating everyday moments and "enjoying the little things!"  We all need to keep our inner Eeyore in check!  A Springtime floral is just the ticket!

I love combining colors and prints from different paper pads (I suppose from my years coordinating fabric designs back when I sewed all my own clothing) so I used a floral print from Graphic 45 with Ink Drops papers for the background and the focal element. The Ink Drops colors bring out some of the soft blues and the brighter yellow oranges of the Fairy floral paper.  The floral stamp (Seasonal Wreaths Srping/Summer) echoes the motifs of the designer paper.  The sentiment is from one set of our Farmhouse collection.  The flourished font used in this series is one of my favorites!  

The inside is simple, with a scrap of that beautiful Fairy paper and a soft pink heart from our Farmhouse Signage set.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Simple Sentiments
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Signage
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Seasonal Wreaths, Spring/Summer
• Graphic 45 Fairie Wings - 8x8
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Ocean 6x6
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Sunset 6x6
• May Arts 1.5" Striped - 30 yard Spool - Light Blue/Ivory
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Rhinestones - Split Pea
• Copic markers
• white acrylic paint for splattering

And oh, if you're curious about that sock, Round 3 of Sock Madness on the Ravelry website (Socks of Little Brain? by Anne Rutgrink), here it is...well, what I've knit so far, representing Pooh in his red shirt with lots of bees buzzing about!  See, that Pooh yellow was one of the things that really did inspire my card!  I had red yarn but no gold, so I had to dye some gold myself and at first the pot of dye looked a lot like that swirly ink drops paper!    

I'm about to pick up stitches at the bottom of the shirt and knit the leg/foot in a yellow honeycomb stitch pattern.  Hopefully I'll finish the pair in time to make it on to Round 4!

Wish me luck!  See you next week!

Thin Blue Line/Thank You for Your Service!

Welcome back!

The house across the street from the turn into our subdivision has flags on either side of their driveway, one the American flag and the other one a police flag representing "the thin blue line" so I was inspired to make a Thin Blue Line thank you card.  

I used one of our Stamp Simply patriotic stamp sets, stamping with Memento ink and coloring it with Copic markers.  I used a few neutral grey colors, along with several shades of gold and blue. Using darker greys rather than true black allowed the stippled shadow details of the stamp (stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black) to show through since it was stamped in darker ink.   

I used red and blue Copic markers to color strips of card stock, then glued them next to one another atop another scrap of card stock and die cut them with a banner die.  The sentiment was stamped on another banner die from the same die set.  

I learned while reading about police flags that police officers wear silver badges, and detectives wear gold, so I decided to include a star "badge" on the card front.  This is a Spellbinders die that was scored from the point of each star to the  ^  angle between two points, then folded mountain/valley style to make it three-dimensional.

Another thing I learned in my research was that there are colors for other disciplines of public service as well.  There are so many public servants to whom we should voice our gratitude!  

Here's a peek at the inside.  I stamped the word collage stamp in black, accented with silver Delicata stars, and carefully colored the words RED, (white), and BLUE their respective colors.  That would probably have been easier with colored gel pens but since I didn't have any I just used my Copics.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - The Red, White & Blue Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Patriotic Sentiments
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Spellbinders Stars Five
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Ocean 6x6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Silver 6 ct
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Silvery Shimmer
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Copic markers (red, white, blue, gold, and neutral greys)

Special Occasions!

This week our Stamp Simply team has been highlighting cards for Life's special occasions, so I am here with an anniversary card that has romantic travel/honeymoon remembrance inspiration  (My husband and I got married in St. John, honeymooned there, and have taken memorable trips to the Caribbean, France and Monaco so I suppose that's what led me in this direction).  

I love those Caribbean colors peeking through some pearly lattice work, bordered with some pretty pink trim and romantic vintage postcard paper.  The sentiment was stamped in vibrant turquoise ink on more of that lovely pearlescent paper.  

The colors of the vintage paper are reflected in the gorgeous shiny variegated silk ribbon, the colors of shell and sand, layered with frayed tulle and a pale Caribbean blue blossom.  

Here's the inside, with a sentiment from  our LOVE set paired with one from the set used above.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Wedding & Anniversary Wishes
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Love
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Mixed Media #1
• Prima Capri - 6x6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Quartz White 6 ct
• May Arts Vintage Sampler - Pink & White w/Rosettes
• May Arts 1.25" Variegated Silk - 32 yard spools - Pink/Champagne
• Kaisercraft Mini Paper Blooms - Sea Breeze (a sub for the one I used)
• Kaisercraft Self-Adhesive Round Rhinestones - Light Pink
• distress oxide inks
• tulle

God Bless the USA!

Hey y'all!  Happy Thursday!  

If you've been visiting my blog for very long you probably already know that my husband retired from the USN after 28+ years of service.  Proud to be an American, and also a proud military wife! Where we live, there are lots of current and former military, so any day is a good day for a patriotic card!  

Today's card was inspired by the many murals I've seen painted on the sides of old brick buildings!  For that reason I stamped the flag and the background words directly onto the Brick designer paper. The flag was colored with Copic markers.  I followed the Center Step Card Tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers for the layout, using Echo Park's Let Freedom Ring designer paper to create the illusion of another flag along the card folds.  

The Pledge of Allegiance is stamped on the inside.  I used Spellbinders classic square dies to cut notches into the top of the designer paper so that it would fit into the framework of the center step design.

I cut the stars from a few scraps of gold pearlescent paper and used glimmery Delicata ink to stamp the USA letters, too.  To me, shiny gold stars always up the ante for a card with a patriotic or military feel.

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - The Red, White & Blue
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Old Glory Bundle
• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Scripty Background Minis Set 2
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Squares SM
• Echo Park Let Freedom Ring 6x6
• Craft Consortium Brick Textures 6x6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Gold 6 ct
• Memento inks
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Celestial Copper
• Tea dye distress ink
• Copic markers

Believe!

Hello friends!  I'm back today with a CAS card and a go-to layout for when the paper is just too pretty to cover up!  I thought this paper looked rather "cosmic" and it made me think of our long ago homeschooling days.  During that time there was a popular bumper sticker that said, "I believe in the Big Bang Theory...God spoke and bang! it happened!"  (😂  One never knows from where inspiration will come! )  

But seriously, sometimes we could all use a little reminder that indeed, all things are possible with God!

Once again I used some beautiful pearlescent card stock to elevate a super simple design.  You can see it peeking out from under the layers of card stock matting the designer paper, in the banner for the sentiment, and on the inside too:

We have a fancier cross but I love this simple "old rugged" version which is especially pretty die-cut from that pearly paper.  I used a few colors of distress oxide re-inkers to splash colors onto the ivory card stock underneath just to give some cohesion to the design.  

I love all of these Ink Drops papers, but I think splashing them with diluted inks and/or acrylic paints makes them feel more "alive" and even more elegant, especially if it's sparkly/metallic.  

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Simple Sentiments
• Craft Consortium Patina 6x6
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Gold 6 ct
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Fishtail Sentiment Banners
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Easter is for Jesus Cross, Rabbit, Eggs
• Gems
• Delicata Non-Tarnishing Ink Pad - Celestial Copper
• various distress oxide reinkers

Sunrise (Sunset!)

Hello and happy Thursday!  I am back with another Craft Consortium Sunset card (I'm kinda stuck on this gorgeous paper lately!) although it is an Easter SunRISE card that I'm sharing today (and I hope you're humming a song from Fidler on the Roof along with me!)

 

I used some beautiful pearlescent paper for the card base, and kept everything really clean and simple because sometimes that is what lets the special elements shine the most.  This He Lives set is one of my Stamp Simply favorites.  

LOVE these soft but intense colors with a pop of the complementary!  

I used the same lovely paper on the inside because I wanted to feature our gorgeous cross, die cut and embossed from that elegant pearlescent paper.  So beautiful!

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - He Lives Bundle
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Crosses
• Luxury Pearlescent Metallic 105# Cardstock - Quartz White 15 ct
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Sunset 6x6
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals SM
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals LG
• Sizzix Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz - Tag Collection
• Seam Binding Sampler - Spring Pastels - 30 yards
• Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Espresso Truffle
• Copic markers
• gold metallic gel pen

Happy Day Iris

Hello again!  I'm here with a pretty-in-pink Mother's Day card today.  Since I made it on Mardi Gras I just had to add those sparkly beads!  Do they make you think of playing dress-up with your mother's hats and old costume jewelry?!  Or maybe remind you of dressing up and wearing corsages for Mother's Day and Easter Sunday?!  I love it when a card makes me feel nostalgic!

I used nested squares to die cut through the Ink Drops designer paper so that the white layer underneath would show through and frame the little floral square, which is from the My Valentine paper pad.

The irises were colored with Copic markers in soft hues to match the designer papers.  Yay for stamps with matching dies!  It's nice to not have to fussy cut (you have to be in the mood, right?!)  

I stamped the sentiment directly onto the Ink Drops paper and splashed everything with Delicata ink to make it sparkly.  

Here's the inside, with more of both the Ink Drops and My Valentine designer papers and another Happy Day Iris sentiment.

Supplies:

• Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Happy Day Iris Bundle
• Carta Bella My Valentine 6x6
• Craft Consortium Ink Drops Sunset 6x6
• Stamp Simply Steel Dies - Farmhouse Pierced Nested Hearts
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Squares SM
• Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Squares LG
• May Arts 1/4" Silk - 54 yard spool - Pink
• May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Pink
• May Arts Vintage Sampler - On Fire with Orange & Yellow
• Memento ink
• Delicata ink