Use It Tuesday : Stamping On Layouts

Good morning! It's time for another challenge with Use It Tuesday! Today we're requesting you dig deep into your stash and create something CREATURE themed. My fellow design team members have some great inspiration up on the Use It Tuesday blog - You'll want to make sure to take a look! 

I didn't have any creature-themed stamps or papers in my hoarded supplies, but I did have some recent pictures from the Wildlife Sanctuary here in Green Bay, Wisconsin. My friends and I had a countdown to the arrival of the new wolf cubs and immediately went to see them. When you walked up to the window, they'd stick their nose to the glass. I chose to think they were interested in being our friend over eating us alive. They were so adorable! Here's the layout I created...

As mentioned above, my hoarded items weren't creature themed. But don't worry, I still used hoarded supplies! You'll see I stamped in three different areas of the layout. All of the stamps were from sets I haven't paid much attention to in a long, long time. I dusted them off and was so happy to breathe some new life into them. 

The numbers were a Studio Calico set received in the Planetarium Project Life kits. I don't number the weeks of my PL spreads; therefore, I just set this set aside. Having the numbers symbolize the year was a fun, new way to use them. 

The other two stamps were from Market Street Stamps. Unfortunately, this stamp company has since closed its doors. The 'remember this' sentiment went well above my journaling which was created with my typewriter. After typing it out, I cut the words into strips and adhered it onto the page. The 'cheesin' sentiment was stamped onto a scrap piece of patterned paper. Triangles were cut out of each end to create a banner. I clustered it with washi tape, an arrow die cut, and a few pearls. That sentiment really fits our personalities and this picture. Of course I had to add just a little stitching to a few areas of the page! 

Now it's your turn! I encourage you to grab some of your stamp sets and see if you can add them to your scrapbooking layouts. However, the true challenge for Use It Tuesday is to grab any hoarded supply and USE IT to create a creature themed project. Then link up your project on the Use It Tuesday blog. As always, one lucky participant will be chosen to be a guest designer on an upcoming challenge! I can't wait to see what you create.

SUPPLIES :: American Crafts (Cardstock, Puffy Vinyl Thickers) We R Memory Keepers Forest, Studio Calico (Darling Dear Gems, Planetarium Project Life Kit Stamp), A Muse Studio (Stormy Sky Spray Ink, Pearls), BasicGrey Washi Tape, Market Street Stamps, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

TOOLS :: Silhouette Cameo, Fiskars Scrapbooking Rotary Paper Trimmer, CTMH Paper Distresser, A Muse Studio Acrylic Block, MyStik Permanent Adhesive, Brother Sewing Machine, Typewriter

Drill #7 :: Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Good morning and HAPPY NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY! Sadly, I don't have any layouts to share with you today. But I do have paper projects and a great challenge for you to enter! It's time for Drill #7 at the SWAT Blog! For the challenge, you'll need to pick a row on the tic tac toe board below. Pick three across, down, or diagonal. If you have trouble seeing the grid, you can click on it to enlarge the photo.

As always, there's a great prize package up for grabs! Link up your own creation... We'd love to stop by and give you some blog love. And one lucky winner will go home with this beautiful kit!

How about some inspiration to get you started? I chose the third row down: Stamping, No patterned paper, and Chipboard. I also chose to create a card rather than a page for this challenge. Here's the creation:

I inked just a small portion of the Vintage Music background by Market Street Stamps and stamped it onto my white card base. Not using patterned paper was a HUGE challenge for me. So I created my own patterned paper! I stamped the swirl background with VersaMark Watermark onto a heart I cut out freehand. I then sprinkled clear embossing powder over the image and used a heat tool to cure the powder, resulting in a light, glossy pattern. 

The letters were cut out of a 12x12 piece of chipboard using the AccuCut machine at my local scrapbooking store. I stitched a line through the letters onto the card base to keep them in place.

Thanks for stopping by today... I hope to see your creation linked up at SWAT.

SUPPLIES
Cardstock, Vellum, Chipboard: Paper Cut
Stamps: Market Street Stamps (Vintage Music), Tim Holtz
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), VersaMark Watermark
Embossing Powder: Ranger (Clear)
Die: AccuCut (Chunky Letters)
Extras: Tim Holtz Distressing Tool

Interactive Stamps

Thanks for joining me today. I have a card to share with you using Stamps By Judith interactive stamps. You can check out her stamps and ideas here. I love her interactive stamps. Not sure what that word means? The Judith line has a wide variety of stamps that work with each other to create multiple different scenes. Rather than buying one scene stamp that can be used in only that capacity, you purchase individual pieces.

Here are the four interactive stamps I used for today's card:

I have used the second flower top pictured above on top of a square stamp to create a birthday present, and I've filled up that jar with strawberries for a summer themed card. And those are only a few suggestions! Here's what I created with them today:

I stamped the jar in a grey ink. The small space below the jar was masked by placing a piece of scratch paper there while stamping the stems. I stamped the stems and flower tops multiple times to create a fuller bouquet. Tombow markers were used to get the two colors on the red and yellow-orange flower. Lastly, I used the Judith dots stubby to bring the pieces together.

I teach and interactive stamping class using Judith stamps once a month at Creations Galore. It's one of my favorites due to the endless possibilities available. Thanks for stopping by today-Enjoy your day!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Paper Cut

Stamps: Stamps by Judith (Jar, Bold Stem, Aster Flower Top, Amaryllis Flower Top, Dots Stubbie)

Inks: Adirondack (Denim, Meadow, Hazelnut), Memento (Gray Flannel), Tombow Markers

Ribbon: A Muse Studio

Creating Titles with Movie Quotes

Hello! Yesterday I shared a sneak peek of today's post on my Facebook page. I've been spending my nights working on my travel albums, including this layout from a recent trip to New York City.

My roommate and I love the movie, Remember Me. We quote lines from the movie often, including this one: 

"Yeah, Tyler. Can we make this a non-smoking statue?"

The statue they're talking about in the movie is located in NYC's Central Park. Therefore, we just had to locate it while there this past summer. I used the quote as the title of this page documenting that special moment. It's the small details like this that I want to remember long from now.

I layered a few different patterned papers to the base cardstock, adding a few doodle lines to each piece with a black marker. I've seen vellum popping as a layer on various blogs and loved the added texture it gave. For this page, the vellum works as a mat for two of the larger photos.

The title is a mixture of American Crafts Thickers, BasicGrey sticker letters, and stamped words. I used KinderStampO's Say It In Type clear stamps and StazOn black ink to finish off the quote. 

Thanks for stopping by today! Come back tomorrow for a new layout sketch from Practical Scrappers. 

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: American Crafts (Light Kraft)

Patterned Paper: GCD Studios (Melody Ross Soul Food)

Chipboard Embellishments, Metal Flair, Alphas: BasicGrey Facts & Fiction Collection

Bling: Paper Studio, A Muse Studio (Black Pearls)

Stickers: American Crafts (Organize Yes, Please Amy Tangerine)

Chipboard Letters: Studio Calico (Heyday Black Bliss Thickers)

Cut Outs: Ormolu (Made Little Labels)

Stamps: KinderStampO (Say It In Type)

Inks: StazOn (Jet Black), ZIG Writer (Black)

Caring Thoughts

Good afternoon! This afternoon I'm bringing you a card that started out as a bit of fun and experimentation. I have a few interactive Judith stamps. The collection includes stamps that can be used in numerous ways and scenes, working well with each other. I usually pass them over wanting to create a card quickly and be done. I find in those moments that I shut down my creativity, focusing on a finished product and forgetting why I actually love paper crafting. Pulling out the stamps, inks, markers, and papers and really thinking through a design energizes me and brings back a passion for the craft. Forgive my crazy ramblings... Sometimes it's just too exciting to get out of a rut and break free of routine. So let's take a look, shall we?

I had to do a bit of masking for the wheelbarrow. After stamping the main image, I began to fill the wheelbarrow with different flowers, leaves, and grass. The image was then colored in with Tombow Markers and Distress Ink was added to the paper edges.

Thanks for stopping by today!

CARD SUPPLIES
Cardstock: Bazzill Dot, American Crafts, Paper Cut
Stamps: Stamps By Judith
Inks: StazOn (Jet Black), Tombow Markers, Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
Brads: Gary M. Burlin

Stamp Out Breast Cancer

Have you ordered your FREE Fight like a Girl stamp set from A Muse Studio yet? That's right, FREE! A Muse Studio is graciously giving away 10,000 free stamp sets to promote breast cancer awareness. 

The most exciting part? Each set includes a 'push pin' stamp that women can use to stamp their calendar each month to serve as a reminder to do a self-exam, which is so critical for early detection. There will also be information on breast health, "The ABCs of Breast Cancer Early Detection" from the American Cancer Society, included with each stamp set.  The goal of this campaign is to help spread the message that early detection saves lives. 

Visit this link now to claim your set and information packet. Let's stamp out breast cancer!

Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. If you ordered other products with the stamp set, those products will be sent out immediately. One free stamp set per customer. 

Forest Collage Card & Mini Tutorial

I've been addicted to this stamp set from Market Street Stamps, designed by Julie Day. Check out Julie's blog for endless inspiration! She creates snowmen out of the circles, trees from the triangles, and so much more! After seeing one of her tree designs, I was inspired to give it a try. 

Here's my take on her tree scenes:

Curious to know how I created the trees with this stamp set? Here's a mini tutorial:

Step One: Stamp the triangles onto your cardstock.

Step Two: Stamp the same triangle onto patterned papers or cardstock scraps.

For the circle collage behind the trees, I used VersaMark Watermark. Versamark creates just that: a watermark. The circles will show up just a bit darker than the cardstock you've chosen. 

Don't worry about stamping inside the triangles. You'll cover that up with your paper pieces.

Cut out the triangles stamped onto colored cardstock and adhere to your collage. Ink up the line stamps in the set and press down over the triangles to create the tree trunks.

This would be great to recreate on a camping or road trip themed scrapbook page! Looking for different styles of trees? Try a circle, or multiple triangles on one tree trunk! 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend in your neck of the woods!

CARD SUPPLIES

Patterned Paper: A Muse Studio, Reminisce

Cardstock: Paper Cut, American Crafts

Stamps: Market Street Stamps (Nuts about Nature)

Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), VersaMark Watermark

Edge Punch: EK Success (Scallop)

Corner Punch: EK Success (Purple Round)

Cool Cats

A little Market Street Stamps lovin' tonight.. 

A mixture of work and play...

Today you can find me posting over at Creations Galore's blog, sharing a few photos of my preparations before teaching a class. I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a few ladies all about stamping, papers, coloring with water based markers, masking, and card making. They were so fun to teach! When I first took this job, I could not have imagined how many friends I would make. Every day I'm blessed with new crafters to share ideas with. While inspiring each other and connecting over the mutual love of crafting, we learn about each other's lives. I take pride in knowing that Creations Galore, the business I work for, is not just a business... but a place where you can find retail therapy, a new crafting technique, and friends. 

Stop by Creations Galore's blog today to see that behind the scenes look. And if you're in the Green Bay area, stop into the store and say hi. 

love you to the core

today i shared a quick and easy technique over at creations galore on how to create a stamped multicolored image with markers instead of ink pads. head on over for the full tutorial and to see the cute card created. 

continuing with the apple theme, i'll share with you this morning's quick sketch. yes, folks, that's 4 oz of the greatest cinnamon applesauce the world has to offer and the most messed up drawing of a package of crackers. please laugh it up with me... it's a polka-dotted mess! 

  

it's a cold and rainy day here in wisconsin. i think i'll be putting down the drawing pen and snuggling up on the couch. however you chose to spend your wednesday, i hope it's a good one :)