simple dreams

A is for Adorable - Lis Inspired

Stamping with friends is SO much fun! Last night my buddy Lis came down and ate some yummy cake with me to celebrate my birthday Ü I've been telling myself this past week that with each year that passes I must be getting a little more "learned" - can't think of it as getting older - right?!? So instead of celebrating with a birthday card I thought I'd go back to the very beginning of days when babies are simply "adorable" and celebrate those days instead.

One of the huge benefits of stamping with my friend Lis is that she stamps differently than I do. She will create key elements for her cards, using the oh so clever techniques she has learned over the years. Some of the techniques she has shared with me are from the courses she has taken, others are just things that are trial and error. So I just started to "trial and error" with her Ü. Using many of the fabulous stamping products that are tucked away in my cabinets brings glee to my heart. I am quite tickled with the finished trials of today. At first I questioned them, but I create with an end picture in my mind. I created my elements wondering if they would be good enough and WOW - they all came together when the finishing touches were added.

I began with the letter "a". Lis was playing with her grungeboard and I was loving her results, but instead of grungeboard I had Cosmo Cricket chipboard Alphabuttons. We discussed the merits of these different materials. Lis had also created a piece using a chipboard button and it really intrigued me. So I started off on my little journey emulating and learning from what Lis had done. I painted the chipboard with a handy white Paint Dabber allowing it to dry. Then the Large Polka Dot backgrounder was stamped over the white background and embossed with clear embossing powder. After heat setting the powder I then rubbed a Lettuce Paint Dabber over the letter. This is when the trial and error part started for me - LOL! Timing is obviously of the essence with this technique. You are supposed to let it dry a little and then rub off the excess paint with a damp tissue or wipe. Well this little exercise happened a couple of times before I felt like the color and look of the letter was "good enough".

I couldn't leave well enough alone and so at this point I inked up the Paisley backgrounder with Silver Encore and stamped my letter, quickly realizing - oops I shouldn't have done that if I wanted to keep the polka dots exposed. I grabbed my heat gun and began heating it to see what effect this would have. Not liking where it was headed I grabbed a paper towel and quickly wiped the entire letter. This is when accidents can turn into beautiful discoveries. You can not see it in this picture, but the letter has an almost irridescent quality to it and woohoo - the polka dots were still in place. Yep, a happy mistake.

I then took my blending tool and added several different Distress Ink greens to the edges of the letter. I love the soft feel that this spongey tool gives to my projects. This was followed by edging the letters with a Silver Leafing Krylon pen. Yeah - I had one fabulous element for my card and a fun adventure and new discovery that I wonder if I'll ever be able to emulate again - LOL!

The next component was the brown piece of cardstock. It is also difficult to see the beauty of this piece, but here is a closeup to try and give you a better idea of what it looks like.

This piece was created by taking Vanilla Bean CS and stamping the Paisley backgrounder using a Perfect Medium ink pad. I could have used an embossing ink pad or Versa Mark pad, but this is the one that was convenient - LOL! Once again I used clear embossing powder and then heat set it. I followed this application by sponging over the top of it in a circular motion using Distress Peeled Paint and my blending tool. This helped bring my brown cardstock closer to the brown/greens that were in the decorative paper I had selected from the new Memory Box Sprout collection.

Last but certainly not least was the little Sweet Pea that would be the focal point of the card. I stamped it on Arturo using Palette Burnt Umber (this is a waterproof ink) and watercolored the image using a waterbrush and Lyra watercolor crayons.

A scalloped classic circle, a little more sponging, some piercing, brushed silver brads and some pink gingham ribbon and wheeew - I was finished. Woohoo - I made it all the way through - did you? LOL! I think it took longer for me to describe this process then it took for me to actually make the card Ü So my final thought for today is don't be afraid to experiment - sometimes you discover fabulous things by doing so!

Recess Time

The paper collection Recess, from Basic Grey, was getting completey overlooked by me. I had totally forgotten about it being I seem to be in a rut reaching for the light and bright colors instead. Well Jasper, or perhaps it was Buddy, (one of our cute little puppy threesomes) reminded me that this was a very delicious paper indeed - the corner seemed to be especially tasty. So the girls pulled it out of our supplies and brought it up to my table. I flipped through it and absolutely fell in love with the funky designs and earthy colors that are a part of this collection.

For some time now I have been meaning to decorate a little notebook for Katrina's teacher and this series of paper just screamed teacher to me. No wonder they named it Recess, LOL - it was a bit of a duh moment for me.

This is just one of those cute little notebooks you can purchase at Target. Hunting through Target for little office supplies and booklets was once one of my favorite things to do. It's a good thing that I have a little stash of stuff to work with at times like these when time no longer is a luxury Ü.

I adhered the striped Recess paper using my ATG gun. I then used the seed packet to create the little envelope on the front of the notebook and slipped one of the lined papers cut out as a tag into the little packet. Rather than embossing this little packet I just ran it through my Wizard using the "cut only" option so that the word "seeds" would not be visible. I adore the little curve in the top of this packet - with spring time right around the corner I think I will be using this little packet to perhaps house some real seeds. Can you imagine a garden journal with these little pockets tucked in to the pages?!!

One of the things that people always ponder is the layers of color that appear when using colored pencils. I took a quick picture of the range of Prismacolor (and Faber Castell, yep one lonely one) color pencils that I used on this little colored pencil jar. Beginning with a light color tone and adding layers of varying depth aids in creating the round shape of the pencils. To finish it off I used a layer of Glossy Accents on the jelly jar. I wish I could capture in this photo the incredible depth this adds to this little piece.

The tag was finished off with some of the coordinating Recess ribbon and a red brad that I added some R89 Copic marker to to make it work better with the Dymo Label. I had not yet tried my new little Around the Block labeller until today. I must say that I am VERY pleased with the results - I'm loving the clarity of this particular font and look forwards to trying the lowercase one at some point as well.

My plan is to have Katrina write a short note on the little tag. For once I am ready for teacher appreciatian!!! WOOHOO! Being that you don't have a little puppy reminding you that some of the best stuff you have may be stashed away I hope that this little project inspires you to pull out some of those goodies you may have completely forgotten about.

Monochromatic Bugs

As we go about making cards we sometimes get stuck in a rut. Being that many come to me for guidance in coloring most of my creations incorporate coloring to some degree, but I also enjoy stamping without doing any coloring at all. When I need a really quick card I go back to some very basic stamping techniques. The Lockhart Stamp Company images are ideal for coloring in, BUT they are also adorable just simply stamped on colored cardstock or patterned paper.

I thought about stamping each bug in black on the circles I had cut out using the smallest Nestability circle die. The more I thought about it the more I realized I wanted them to just be a subtle part of the card and not jump off of the paper as a black image would. The final destination I wanted your eye to settle on is the floral piece. Monochromatic stamping is subtle - select an ink color that is slightly darker than the color of cardstock you have selected and stamp your image in this tone on tone format.

It was quite easy to eyeball and stamp each bug in the coordinating ink color, but if you are afraid of missing and having to start over you can always pull out your Stamp-a-ma-jig. It is a tool I use often, but found unnecessary in creating this card. I then placed the circles back in the Nestability die and embossed the images. I find it easiest to cut, stamp, and then emboss.

I am loving my new CHF backgrounders! They are allowing me the freedom to be a "Stampy Stamper". This is a phrase that Mona Lisa coined and it describes me to a "T" - I love stamping and to have the freedom to create distinctive papers that coordinate has given me much pleasure Ü The scale of the Large Polka Dot backgrounder was perfect for this card.

One other design element that I thought about as I created this card was the repetitiion of the circles - it's a LOT of circles I used, but it was this repetition that I felt would bring a strong statement to this card! If I could nudge my focal line of circles over to the right about 1/8"-1/4" then my layout would make me much happier - yes, it's the perfectionist in me. I should have laid my circles down before applying adhesive - LOL!

To finish this card off I felt that the sentiment "It's the little things in life that matter most" would be perfect with all these little bugs. Try creating one of these tone on tone, circle cards and link me up girls - I'm still waiting to see what you are all creating!

Sharing the Love - FREE Hearts!

ETA: Please be advised - we are now out of the incorrect sizes of Spellbinder's Scalloped Heart Nestabilities! Thank you all for your enthusiasm and support! We will do our best to get as many orders out as possible today and the remainder on Monday. Have a marvelous weekend - I am hoping to finally post something creative here over the weekend - whew - life is BUSY!!! Ü

I also want to update our customers regarding the new replacement sets - those were shipped out to you on February 13th - YIPPIE!!!! If you do not receive your replacement set sometime next week please advise us ASAP so that we can be certain to follow through. We will be receiving our replacements towards the end of next week and will put them back up on the store for you to enjoy at that point. I know that Valentine's is over, but I do think that you will enjoy them for Mother's day and other upcoming events as well. Thank you SO MUCH for your patience with this situation!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! We are thrilled to let you know that we are giving away a fabulous Valentine's day gift with all orders that include Spellbinder's Nestabilities! We have been given the go ahead by Spellbinders to share the Scalloped Heart sets that are the incorrect sizes with you! Being that they are still 100% functional we did not want to relegate them to the landfills just because they didn't nest properly. Spellbinders is a generous and thoughtful company and when I asked whether we could just give these away to our customers who purchase Nesatbilities through us for FREE their response was an immediate, YES!

So starting with the shipment of today's orders of Nestabilities we will be including a FREE set of the old discontinued version of the Scalloped Hearts set, the set that is NOT compatible with the Classic Heart Nestabilities, with each order. All it takes to qualify for this gift is purchasing a set of Nestabilities of any type. We want to be certain that these dies will be given to those of you who have already made a commitment to the line and have the necessary tools to use them.

This offer will be continue until we run out of sets. We will make an announcement on our site and here on our blog when we run out of the discontinued Scalloped Heart Nestability sets. We sincerely appreciate your support and hope that these beautiful hearts will be put to good use Ü

CHA Day 1 and 2 - Spellbinders Listens

Excitement is in the air!!! If you are here at CHA I would LOVE, love, love for you to head over to the Innovations display - I am SO thrilled. To see a vision I shared with others as being innovative - well... needless to say I am thrilled! BUT we need your votes - if you are at the show and you are excited about this product we would love to have you share your opinion with the crafting world, by placing your vote.

Be certain to check out the beautiful framed artwork that has been created by Debbie Olson. It is beautiful in this picture, but the depth when seen in person is truly stunning!

Now the news you have all been awaiting. Yep, I've seen it, touched it, watched it in action and learned more about it. Xcalibur is smooth, quiet and does a beautiful job of both cutting and embossing!

If you have the opportunity to head over to the Spellbinders booth and see it, you really should! They have a questionnaire that your participation in may make a difference in the final product. Spellbinders is a company that cares about what it is that their customer is looking for. They would like to hear your reaction to this machine - do you like the color? What do you think of the fact that it has a handle on the top to carry it? Do you like the fact that there is a drawer in the bottom to hold all your plates?

I know you are all wanting to know the price point of this fabulous new tool. I am thrilled to tell you that it will be less than $150, with the goal being $129!!! Being that it is still in prototype stage it is difficult to pinpoint a final pricepoint.

Will it cut and emboss at the same time? This question has been one of the questions that has been asked most frequently. One of the distinctive qualities that Spellbinders dies offer is versatility - the option to cut only, emboss only, as well as cut and emboss. If Spellbinders designed the Xcalibur to cut and emboss simultaneously that flexibility would be lost. Thus this machine works identical to the Wizard in how the sandwiches are designed. The space between the rollers is the same as the original Wizard - and thus there will be no new sandwiches for Wizard users to use. Yes, you will still need sandwiches. Why? The answer again is simple - versatility. This machine will still have the flexibility to use most manufacturers dies. The only ones that will not be recommended for use with the "X" will be the ones where you would actually need to push the die in further using your fingers. As soon as I can confirm the details I will share them with you. (I learned so much these last two days that it is all beginning to muddle in my mind - LOL!)

What has impressed me most so far? Well it's little things -

• Xcalibur of course - that's a given :D
• We have NEW NESTABILITIES!!! The much anticipated long rectangle series - I believe I asked for them to be 6" in length. Again they reduce in size scaling down to a size that will be PERFECT for sentiments. Wait until you see some of the ideas we have for using these!
• More TAGS! developed methodically by my wonderful colleague and friend Debbie Olson!
• Yes - mine was the first order placed and so I am hoping to have news for you soon as to when they will be arriving in our store!!!
• COPIC has some new prototypes on display. A fabulous new larger sized glitter pen that is quite stunning and works on fabric. A metallic pen that the jury is still out on being I really need to see it in broad daylight instead of under the convention center lights.
• Ranger's new white pen is the talk of the town! It is totally cool! and the new ink pads - I can not wait to give them a whirl today.
• New adhesive - a girl can never seem to have enough glue in this industry.
• Felt abounds everywhere and I have some fabulous ideas I cannot wait to share with you in regards to using rubber stamps and felt together.
• What are the trends - black and white, black and white and color, bright neon-like color, more purple than I have seen in previous years; new chipboard shapes, colors

Oh dear - I am running late again, so I will stop for today. I will get back to answering more questions, probably upon my return home. It is ubber busy here and finding time to blog is extremely difficult. The best part of the show in a nutshell are the people! I am having SUCH an AMAZING time meeting women who I have only had the opportunity to meet over the internet. It is such a thrill to be able to put a real person together with women that I have had the pleasure of knowing for years!!!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to share more news soon!

Backgrounders - what makes them special?

It was with great interest that I learned the story of Cornish Heritage Farms (CHF) and the details regarding their backgrounders. My little discovery in backgrounder history started about a year ago. It has been an absolute privilege and delight to be able to work with and get to know Richard and Liz Pomeroy, the owners of this family owned business, over this past year. I am VERY much looking forward to meeting them at CHA in a couple of days! I hope that you enjoy the tale of the road to backgrounder discovery that I have followed.

I fell in love with background stamps as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. It was one of my passions to "collect" background stamps and use them to create distinctive papers and looks. I do believe that I owned almost every Stampin' Up! background available - LOL! One of the details that intrigued me greatly was the discovery that SonLight Impressions was the manufacturer of the first background stamps that Stampin' Up! carried. When Stampin' Up! grew they decided to open their own plant and manufacture their own backgrounds. DId you already know this? It was one of those "duh" moments for me - no wonder I loved the CHF backgrounders! Backgrounders were actually "the" first backgrounds created - LOL!

CHF purchased SonLight Impressions in 2005 and they have strived to provide their customers with well-made, high quality products at fantastic prices and with great service. There are little details that we as consumers don't really pay much attention to, but it is this attention to detail that makes a deep-etched red rubber stamp completely distinct from acrylic stamps or lesser quality rubber stamps.

So what makes this difference? It all begins with a metal master plate which is usually made by an engraving company. This is typically done with a chemical etching process - the deeper the etching the higher the rubber image will stand up away from it's background. This is where the "deep etched" part comes in to play. It costs more to make a deep etched master plate, but the difference truly shows in the detail. Cornish Heritage Farms uses this deep etch process to create their stamps.

Then the metal plate is used to make a matrix board. This is a negative plate of your images. There are different materials used to make these matrix boards - some withstand a little pressure and others withstand a lot. Well, CHF wants their images to stamp with precise detail and therefore they use the materials that will withstand a lot of pressure.

The rubber comes on big rolls. Guess what - there are different types of rubber. The denser the rubber, the better your stamped image detail will be. This of course costs more as well, but CHF continues with their pride in quality by selecting the densest rubber available. This rubber is cut to fit the plate size and put into a vulcanizer with the matrix board which has the stamp images impressed into it. Heat and pressure are applied. The greater the pressure, the greater the certainty that the rubber will get squeezed into each and every crevice of the matrix plate.

Therein lies the beauty of a red, rubber stamp - detail. Detail that will not be lost or damaged when the stamp is inked repeatedly or heat is applied for special background techniques.

I believe that Cornish Heritage Farms has achieved their mission and so it has been with great delight that I accepted their invitation to be a part of educating, selling and using backgrounders on a daily basis. Their new designs continue to be innovative and current - I am thrilled to be able to work with CHF!

Yesterday I shared the first of my new Lockhart image designs - today I wanted to share another new design and a different way to use your background stamps.

I began by coloring the image of the Leaves Backgrounder with Lyra Watercolor Crayons. Stampin' Up!s Watercolor Wonder Crayons are the exact same and I believe that Lyra probably makes them for Stampin' Up!

I then use a Mini Mister filled with water to lightly spritz the surface. The fine mist from this spritzer seems to be perfect for use in creating special effects when stamping. Next I placed my cardstock face down on to the colored stamp and rubbed my hand evenly over the entire surface. The look that results reminds me a little of those tie-dyed/marbled Easter eggs that Katrina likes Ü

This is where I decided to try something a little different - I wasn't certain if it would turn out, but I thought I will never know if I don't just try it. The jury was definitely still out once I had stamped the image, but after watercoloring in the cute little carrots and composing my card - I think I like it!

It is difficult to see in this photo, but the image from the background stamp is ever so light in behind the colored in pattern of the carrots. It really is ubber-cool in person!

Once again I selected an idea from Dave's book when composing this card - this one is from page 43. So many of you have purchased this wonderful book and I really want to help you put it to good use - thus the page references for you to be able to see his original idea and the twist I have used with his design. I am hoping to encourage you to begin looking at ideas you see in a new way.

Below is another sketch for you to try. Each of the little circles represents an embellishment, with the focal point layer separated by a small "gap".   

OK - so what is with the bright red lines on this sketch? I wanted to share with you how it is that I select the positioning of my focal point when designing a new layout. Many times I use the rule of thirds. Divide the project into thirds both vertically and horizontally with "X" marking the spot where you are trying to lead the viewer's eye. This is the approximate position that you should try to place your focal point image.

This will be my last creative post for a few days. I will try and find some time to log on from Anaheim. I have so many thoughts I have wanted to share with you regarding trends, what I think will be new, yada, yada, yada. Why is there just not enough time in the day (or night) to do all of these things? Here's to hoping for a few minutes here and there to bring you some of the fabulous creativity that will be my viewing pleasure over the next few days!

Lockhart Surprise Release Ü Somebunny Loves You!

It is with great excitement that I share this newest little release!!! Karen surprised me with some totally fun new spring stamps. These are over-the-top cute in my opinion and my day has been fun, fun, fun creating with them!

Being they just arrived on my doorstep yesterday and I didn't have the opportunity to create until today I am excited to share my first creation with you as I announce these new images. There are five new Itty Bitty's - just the perfect size for Inchies. Who can resist this cute little inch worm?

The additional two images that have been added to the Spring Collection are the two I elected to use in today's creations. Stay tuned for the other new card idea tomorrow. They just make me feel all happy and cheerful - LOL! These remind me a little of Easter Eggs Ü So I selected colors that I like to use when my girls dye eggs with me. I love the bright colors and polka dots!

Using Palette Noir ink I stamped on watercolor paper with Dottie Bunny and then used my Lyra crayons to watercolor the image. This sketch idea was spurred on by a layout that Dave used in his book, Card Design, which you can find on page 58. I have turned to this book time and time again for some simple inspiration. Each time I find something different that I can use as inspiration for a new layout or idea. This time I used his idea of layering colored squares. His were more random, being the stamp design he used was more random. I love to look at something and see if there is a "twist" to what has been done and then develop a new idea from that inspiration.

Today's idea was the card sketch. I know there are myriads out there for you to select from, but if you give this one a try I would enjoy it if you would post a link in the comment section below - I would LOVE to see what you create!

The Kim Hughes sentiment "Somebunny Loves You" turned this little creation into something that you could even use for a valentine! I adore Kim's handwriting and wish I could write even half as beautiful as she does. It is with great excitement that I look forwards to seeing Kim come Friday when I head to CHA!

A couple of dew drops and a little Spica sparkle and the project is complete. This funky color block twist is a true eye-popper!

Stamp of the Month, February

This month's creation was TOTALLY inspired by Debbie's "We're Quite the Pair". I absolutely adore how she used her creativity to showcase these socks in a different light. Being that this month is Valentine's I wanted to share how it is that this could be turned into an absolutely darling Valentine image. I think that the words "Sole Mate" or "We're a great pair!" would make the cutest little greeting inside the card or in the lower right corner of this card. Or hey - if you are not being all lovey, dovey you could just put "Love Stinks" on it instead - LOL! Another option being that we are in the prime of cold and flu season would be to use the awesome Lockhart sentiment "get comfy, rest and get better".

I decided to show something a little different this month. Rather than stamping on white or off-white paper I elected to stamp on one of the wonderful textured pattern papers included in this months Stamp of the Month Packet. It is from the Memory Box Enlighten series. The texture in this paper reminded me of the texture you would find in a pair of comfy socks Ü

I stamped the Warm Socks image directly on the patterned paper. I colored the image using the  grouping of Copics below. Just adding a hint of Warm Gray around the sock edges helped pop the image off of the background.

Next I created a reverse mask for the sock exposing only the sock on the right.

Then flip your image upside down and using the tip of your Copic Sketch Markers add the heart details.

Sharon has shared the wonderful trick of creating hearts with you on her blog. I will share it with you once again here. This time I would like for you to consider some other shapes you can create using the same type of brush marker position.

The brush tip when lightly "laid down" on your paper leaves a wonderful tear drop shape. When combined in fun ways you can create all sorts of different images - the biggest skill you will need to develop is the ability to place the tip of your marker in the correct position as you consider what it is that you are creating.

This flower was created by layering "tear drops" in a circle. Then repeat a second time, adding a second tear drop slightly off from the first. Complete the flower by adding a yellow dot to the center.

The butterfly is created by placing the tear drops and then adding the body and antennae detail with a multi-liner or the brush-tip of the Black Sketch.

Add random hearts using Copic color G40 to the area at the top of the card front.

To complete the card use a pair of scallop edged scissors and a hole punch or Crop-a-dile to add the eyelet effect to the scalloped edge of the striped paper. Color the silver brads with Copic Marker RV34.

I use a pair of self-closing tweezers to hold my brad in place as I color it. Allow the brad to dry for a few seconds. Adhere the twill to your project and insert brads in place as shown above. At times I need to retouch the tops of the brads with a little more color after I push them in to place.

I hope you enjoy the versatility of this month's Stamp of the Month and I look forward to hearing if you have any other thoughts about what it is that you can create with a tear drop. So put your thinking caps on and see what else you can come up with Ü