Thursday, November 25, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving!


Hello everyone, and to my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving! It is my sincere hope that you are enjoying your day with family and friends, and that you have a moment to count your blessings and give thanks.  I know that I'm counting mine and saying my thankful prayers.  

We are celebrating the day just the three of us, although I will be cooking enough for an army!  It's kinda hard to scale down these recipes, and we love the leftovers anyway.  (I love preparing this meal and would not miss doing it for the world, but one of the things I am thankful for is that Christmas dinner is not such a production!  ðŸ˜‚)


I wanted today's Stamp Simply project to be something for Thanksgiving that would be easily adaptable for Christmas or any other holiday, and when I saw this Youtube tutorial on Pinterest it was just right!  Although the project looks complicated it really isn't.  It comes together quite easily and fairly quickly.  I love that the original poster included various sizes...mine is the 8 x 8 size.


We have added quite a few Fall sets to our repertoire in the last year or two, but this one is still a favorite!


These alpha-beads have been in my stash for ages and they're fun to add to a little box like this.  It really dresses up a place setting. If you don't have any little alphabet beads, you could use small alpha stamps or even a typewriter or printer to make a name tag to include.

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Thursday, November 18, 2021

Favorite Things!


This week is "tags" week for our Stamp Simply team because really, one cannot have too many tags for Christmas!  

I bought this Christmas basket and these little jars a while back knowing that eventually I'd have an idea of something fun to do with it.  

There are lots of things you could put into these little jars!  Fill them with the recipient's favorite things!  Here are some ideas:
  • jams and jellies, pickles and peppers
  • coffee and creamer, tea and honey, or hot chocolate mix and marshmallows
  • herbs and spices for a cook or baker
  • sewing implements (threads, needles, tape measure, small snips, etc) for a quilter or seamstress
  • needlepoint or cross stitch (thread cards, needles, small snips)
  • knitting or crochet (stitch markers of various styles, tapestry needles, wraps per inch tool, etc)
  • beads and jewelry findings for the jewelry enthusiast
  • fishing lures, monofilament line, and a package of hooks for the fisherman
This would be really cute as a little bird feeder kit for a birdlover (or for anyone who's a kid at heart)!  With a jar of peanut butter and one of bird seed, the only other things you'd need are a few pinecones and some string for hanging the finished feeders. Wouldn't it be nice to also give our little feathered friends a gift in the heart of Winter?!


I had a few scraps of Studio Light Sending Joy designer paper tucked into the top of the pad from the last time I used it, so those were the first papers I grabbed for this project.  I used one of our new background minis to "skippy stamp" the Joy to the World background after stamping the music score.  The branches and bird were stamped, colored with Copics and die cut to fill in around the opposite corners.


I used scraps of the white wood print to die cut accents for the lids, stamping them in a similar fashion.  Finally, everything got a "snowing" of diluted white acrylic paint.  

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Thursday, November 11, 2021

Rise & Shine, Gather Together!

 


I know a lot of you are done with Autumn and are already into Winter, but here in Florida we just had our first few chilly days, so I just had to make a Fall card for this week's Stamp Simply project.  I sat in my studio and shuffled through my stamps and papers and the inspiration led me to combine several sets with this fun G45 designer paper.  It looks like they were all made to go together!


I used die-cut copy paper masks to stamp a seasonal decor box full of farm fresh produce!  I love the look of that cute chicken...this reminds me so much of the shabby chic crates, boxes and shelves I've seen at our local flea market.  


The inside has a die-cut pitcher filled with a bouquet of wheat.  I had a jar of cute Fall buttons (?! Michaels or Joann?!) so decided to use a few to add some extra interest.

Supplies:

Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - All Season Decor Bundle
Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Seasonal Wreaths, Fall/Winter Bundle 
Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Autumn Blessings
Stamp Simply Clear Stamps - Farmhouse Signage
Spellbinders Nestabilities - Standard Ovals LG
Graphic 45 Farmhouse - 8x8
Memento Full Size Dye Ink Pad - Tuxedo Black
May Arts Burlap String - 400 Yard Spool - Natural
Copic markers
Distress inks and oxides
buttons from stash

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Thursday, November 4, 2021

Thinking Outside the Box


Hello friends!  I'm back today with another new stamp set from Stamp Simply!  This is our new All Seasons Decor bundle!  It is such a fun stamp set that can be used in lots of different ways.  

This set is designed with a box for displaying a variety of decor items, but the box reminded me so much of one of the cute Christmas signs that I put out when I decorate every year that I decided to color and embellish it as a wall-hanging.  


The  sign I've modeled my card design from is a small plaque with routed letters and a narrow wood border nailed on as a frame. Stars, hearts, and snowflakes embellish the edges.  Here I used a small wooden heart along with stamped and die cut greenery and rhinestone berries.


There are lots of interchangeable stamps, sentiments, and dies in this bundle and some of our other seasonal sets work well with it too, so the ideas and combinations are endless!


I love getting extra mileage from my stamps and supplies, so I decided to continue to think out of the box (pardon the pun!) for this set, and used the die for the olive oil bottle to make a tall pillar candle for the candle stick.  I outlined the edges with a multi-liner and colored it in with Copic markers, adding sparkle with a gold gel pen.  The flame is actually one of the leaves from the little floral fruit/flower cluster.  You could actually use the jelly jar die upside down to make a smaller pillar candle in a similar fashion.  


If you follow me on Instagram or if you've read much of my blog, you might know that I spin my own yarn and usually spin with either a spindle or wheel every single day, so of course I *had* to use the ball of yarn from this new set on my card!  There is almost always a spindle or a ball of yarn on our table!  


On the inside of my card I stamped a sentiment from another one of our Christmas stamp sets that has the same lovely font.  I love using shimmering gold ink and usually stamp off with some brown ink first so that the gold ink shows up a little more clearly.  

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Thursday, October 28, 2021

Under His Wings

Today's Stamp Simply card is a combination of scripture stamps in a simple, serene setting that I hope will evoke a profound sense of peace.  The lovely designer paper brought to my imagination a prayerful walk in the forest on a quiet evening with the snow softly falling.  


These beautiful verses serve as a gentle reminder (to both the card-maker and the one to whom the card is given!) that we can cast all our cares upon him, and find refuge under His wings beneath the shadow of the Cross where He indeed will take care of us.  


Here's a look at the inside when the card is fully opened.

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Sunday, October 24, 2021

Christmas JOY


Today's Stamp Simply project started out with the intention to make a flat-for-mailing card, but as you can see, it ended up going in a different direction!  Sometimes it just works out that way and you gotta go with the flow, right?!


I stamped the holly leaves with Memento ink and colored them with Copic markers.  Then I used the coordinating dye to cut several masks out of printer paper so that I could stamp the background with text without inking the leaves.  I used Delicata gold ink and "finger-pressed" the stamp onto the paper over the masks to get a faint, partial impression (and I was bummed that it turned out so faint that it is difficult to see, especially in a photograph.  Because I did not use a stamp jig it was impossible to repeat the inking...I will probably try again with this original idea using a stamp positioner next time to improve upon the execution!)


I was disappointed but opted to keep going since I was happy with the way those berries turned out!  Then as I was clearing things from my desk, I dropped a big splat of ink right onto the middle of the card.  ðŸ˜³

So, QUICK! I grabbed the ivory acrylic paint and painted over it, and then covered it with this lovely die-cut shimmery gold cross. Whew!  JOY!  And then I immediately thought, wow,  this is a reminder of how I'm "covered by the Cross!"  Even stamping can be a spiritual experience with a lesson to be learned!


I used the same mini background to stamp the inside.  I'm sure now that you can actually see it, you're singing along too!  I just had to include that little music score (from another new set!) in the corner!  I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more of that one!

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Thursday, October 21, 2021

My Refuge and Fortress


Hi everyone!  

Lighthouses have always been so interesting and intriguing to me! They are each so very individual and have their own unique history, but collectively they have played such an important role for maritime travelers throughout time that they've come to represent a place of safety and refuge, which for Christians is very powerful symbolism indeed. 

Our recent Stamp Simply release included two new lighthouse stamp sets.  This is the lighthouse in the Keweenaw Waterway North Entry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, featured in the new set, He Stilled the Storm.


I had so much fun combining sets from this release for today's project!  The branch in the upper left corner of the card is from another new set, God Will Take Care of You.  The background stamp is a scripture from Psalms in one of our new background minis.  


Here's a peek at the inside, which includes another beautiful scripture. There's lots of detail and interest in this card, yet because there are no ribbons or rhinestones, it is still ideally flat-for-mailing.

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Thursday, October 14, 2021

New Release!


I'm so excited to share with you one of the new sets that was released by Stamp Simply this week! We are introducing some mini backgrounds, a lighthouse series, a bird set and a decor set.  The mini background set I have used for today's project includes some beautiful scriptures.  This particular one is from Proverbs 31.  


I stamped the scripture several times diagonally, then inked over it with a mesh stencil and shimmery copper ink, tearing and fraying the right edge of the paper.  It makes a nice backdrop for a big beautiful sunflower!   (That mesh stencil always makes the think of the windows of the church that I grew up attending!)


There is more stenciling on the inside of the card, along with another encouraging passage from Proverbs 16.  

Be sure to visit the Stamp Simply blog and scroll down through this week's posts to see all the inspiration that our design team is sharing!  We have specials on Tim Holtz products, and of course, you have to see the sets for this new release!


 


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Thursday, October 7, 2021

Peace


Hello friends!  Back again after bit of a break!  Our family took a vacation and then needed vacation to recover!  Anybody relate?!  

At Stamp Simply, we're currently featuring Tim Holtz products...they're on sale for the entire month of October.


I love his style and have enjoyed using his stamps, stencils, and dies for all kinds of projects.  Their versatility for card-making and mixed media, and their timelessness make them a consistent favorite!


For today's project I used a beautiful quatrefoil die from the Thinlets Mixed Media #1 set to cut an accent in the corner of a lovely patterned paper from a brand new Christmas designer paper pad by Studio Light.  In my imagination the patterned paper evoked a feeling of peace in the midst of a snowy Winter's day, so I wanted to keep things simple, elegant, and monochromatic.  I used grey ink for the sentiment with splashes of silver and gold inks and diluted white acrylic paint.  The tree was stamped with distress oxide ink in a coordinating color.  


The paper on the inside is from Craft Consortium's Grunge Dark pad.  It was a great match, especially with the added splatters and splashes of ink and paint.  The camera does not capture what a pretty, sparkling card this is!  If the rhinestone "tree ornaments" were omitted, it would also make a great card for mailing.

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Thursday, September 16, 2021

Give Thanks!

 


Fall is one of my absolute FAVS when it comes to crafting and it is mostly because of the gorgeously vibrant colors.  Maybe it's partly due to the fact that we live in Florida so I am more likely to get my color fix from pretty papers than from the Fall view from my window?!  (Here the colors do eventually turn, but in small volume and much later than elsewhere!)


Today's Stamp Simply project is a relatively clean and simple card using some of my favorite Fall stamps and new designer papers by Carta Bella.  The bright colors really pop against that dark background!  

I used Copic markers to color the leaves and acorns, and then splashed a few drops of Copic refills on as well, so if your coloring skills are not as awesome as you would like, no problem!


I love this scripture that is stamped on the inside.  A very long time ago I was part of a women's chorus that sang a song based on this passage.  Every time I see it, the song starts to replay in my head.  It not only brings the scripture to mind, but the bonds of friendship that I shared with those lovely ladies.  ❤️

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