Charming Chalk Techniques

Happy Bugday, and Hello to all the new friends I met at the stamping convention this weekend! It is so much fun to spend a day and a half with people who love to do what I do and share ideas. Here is a card from my Saturday class. We made the card tin and filled it with four cute cards. This one uses our Versamagic Tea Leaves chalk ink. It's so soft and velvety. I added a little blue sparkle to his wings with Jewel Tones chalk. I love those chalks! You can color with them using a blender pen, sweep it over Versamark or add it to an image that's been freshly stamped with chalk ink. It's such a nice effect. I also created faux brads with Liquid Pearls and I have a really fun tip for how I did the grass. Well, you love using Versamark on cardstock to give it that watermark look, right? On Matchmaker Cardstock, there's a little trick to get that look. After stamping, you lightly sand the paper with a sanding block and the image appears like magic! You've got to try this! Have fun and stay tuned for more techniques and darling details! (PS-Are you looking for this set? It's from Spring Fling and paper if Bella Flor.)

A Card for a Friend

I was just saying the other day that there is nothing like getting a card in the mail. Especially those "just because" cards. I talked to my friend in Hawaii, who occasionally misses the mainland and I thought, "she could use a 'just because' card."

I went to my handy card tin (I'm teaching this class on Saturday at the stamping convention in Denver) and found this one I made when I got my new Spring Fling sets. What a perfect way to show her I'm thinking of her. These are the card ideas I love to share. They don't take much time and just a few supplies, but just imagine the smiles you'll create with just a little paper and ink.

Have fun creating today!

Ink Meets Carpet and the Miracle of TAC's Stamp Cleaner

I swear that only about 6.5 seconds went by, but my Lily is a master at waiting for Mom's back to be turned. This is when I learned the Miracle of TAC's Stamp Cleaner. I was already a fan, but little did I know, this stuff could actually save a life (well, at the very least, a marriage.)
Anyway, if you have a little one at your house and she's seen you do "direct to paper" and decides to try "direct to carpet", here's what you do:


Spray the area with stamp cleaner. (It will look like the stain actually gets darker. Don't panic. It's just the color going to the surface of the carpet.)
Blot with a clean paper towel and repeat spraying and blotting until no color remains.
Rinse the area with a clean, damp sponge or wash cloth or use a spot carpet cleaner to remove all traces of stamp cleaner.

You can also use our cleaner to clean off your blocks and any other surfaces that have picked up a little ink. And your stamps? What do you know? It's great for those too!

Fabric Glittering

Yesterday's team time activity was so much fun! We glittered t-shirts and aprons with Angel wings. The Angel Company has some great fabric glue and beautiful glitter kits. This is a great project to do with your kids and you can glitter almost anything: hats, sneakers, backpacks. I can't wait to try this on some jeans! If you'd like to see detailed instructions, check out my Glittering Slideshow.

Memories on the Move

I was just looking at some of the photos next to my desk. I love those smiling faces, but it got me thinking . . . "That little chubby-legged crawler is now six!" I decided to go grab this project I made that is so easy to update with my latest favorite memory. I found this metal photo holder at a discount store near Valentine's day and I just added a little brown ink to make the sparkly red magnets match perfectly with the paper. Now I can update the photos on my desk as quickly as I can find that digital camera, chase them down, capture their cute smiles and then . . . .get those photos printed! (Singing badly: "Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be Jpegs . . .")

Egg Hunt Mini Scrapbook

What could be more fun than sharing your memories? That's why I love mini scrapbooks so much. You are much more likely to carry and share your latest smiles when they are so cute and easy to slip in your purse.
I made this book as a thank you gift. My friend Annie throws a huge egg hunt at her house every year and I think she will love having this little book as a reminder of the fun we had this year. The size of the book is 4x6, so it was so easy to put together. Also, if she wants to add pictures, she can just punch a hole in the picture and place it inside.
I used Mulberry Meadow paper and pulled the purple, green and pale blue colors out for the pages. (We have a Matchmaker Cardstock Stack that is filled with colors that coordinate with TAC's papers.) For inks, I used Versamagic inks: Purple Hydrangia and Sea Breeze. You've got to try these inks. They are so soft and pretty! To hold it all together, I used a ring that I got from one of the kid's little activity books, but a book ring would work great too. Add a few ribbons and you're done!

Bella Flor Photo Box

Happy Easter! I woke up early this morning (as Easter Bunnies often do) and I had a little time to put the finishing touches on this gift for my friend's 40th birthday. (Shhhh! Don't tell her--it's tomorrow!) I can't give her the gift of time, but I can help her preserve the memory of times spent with friends. Our families do everything together, so I'm filling the box with photos of all of us celebrating holidays and just having fun. I used Bella Flor paper and borrowed the button trick from my friend Jen Carter. (Thanks, Jen. Love your ideas!)

I hope your Easter is filled with good times with family and friends!

Indexing Unmounted Rubber Stamps

I've been asked often about a process I teach that makes using unmounted rubber stamps even easier to use. It's called indexing, and when done during the assembly of new rubber stamps, you can see the actual image printed on the Creative Cling through your acrylic block.

The supplies include Kai or other sharp, sturdy scissors, Palette ink and your rubber stamp. Palette works well because it is fast drying and waterproof. Creative Cling, which comes with all stamps from The Angel Company(tm), has a sticky side, which adheres to the rubber, making a permanent cushion for the rubber image. The other side is a revolutionary surface like window cling, which allows you to mount the rubber stamp onto an acrylic block for stamping and remove for storage.

**UPDATE** See my You Tube Tutorial here.

Here are the steps:

Determine the sticky and cling sides of the Creative Cling, but leave the paper backing in place. Position the rubber onto the cling with the sticky side laying against the back of the rubber (the way in which the stamp will eventually be assembled.) Match up one corner so that the rubber and cling line up as closely as possible and cut out a notch. This willl serve as a guide through the rest of the process.


Lay the rubber on the work suface and pat the inkpad on top of it to apply ink to all areas of the image. Remove the paper backing from the cling side of the foam. Using the notch as a guide, lay the foam onto the inked rubber, to transfer the image. Press lightly with your fingertips to be sure that the entire image gets transfered.

Carefully pull the foam back and clean the ink from the rubber. Allow the cling to dry for a few moments.

Peel back the liner on the sticky side half way, starting with the notched edge. Carefully line up the rubber with the foam as closely as possible, using the notch as a guide. Remove the remainder of the foam.

With the rubber side facing up, cut out the images, being sure to hold the scissors at a 90 degree angle with the rubber. This ensures that the gray foam remains behind the rubber surface as a foundation.


Your stamps are now ready to use and even easier to position (and read) as you stamp your projects!

No-Sew Spring Card

I love this Stamp Stitching technique. It's so quick and easy and really looks like fabric. You start with stitches from the Running Stitches set and then just rough up the edge of the paper with an edge distresser. (Click on the photo for a larger view.) Of course, every card could use a few Stickles. Sew fun!

Sloppiest Stamp Studio Contest

Well, they do say that a messy workspace is a sign a creative mind, right? So, enclosed is my entry for the Sloppiest Stamp Studio Contest. It's a competition I have going with the oz-some Heather Scott of Oz-some Stamps. (Actually it's one of those mischievous "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" challenges. :) As you can see, when I have run out of workspace in my stamp room, my strategy has been to get out a new folding table and finally just spill over into the adjoining room! I'm just too busy having fun stamping to put my toys away. The only trouble is, I have trouble finding my stamping goodies when it gets this crazy. Now where did I put that Whimsy Blossoms paper? . . . .