Alluring Impressions Stamp n' Stash Stamp Storage System WINNER!!!!

Just like with the World Card Day Give-A-Way I tossed every one's name into Random.org's hat and let it pull out the winning name....

And that winner is....

Brian K said...
I love this idea! Big & Sturdy! Love it!!!
September 24, 2008 6:48 AM

Congrats Brian ~ please e-mail me your snail mail addy and I'll get your Stamp n' Stash sample storage sheet out to you.

Thanks everyone for posting your opinions!

World Card Day Winner...

Hey everyone ~

Sorry I didn't post this earlier ~ Got side tracked with many things. I tossed every one's name in the random.org hat and it pulled out a name....

The Winner of the World Card Day Goodie Package IS.....

Shyra said...
http://shyramurphydesigns.blogspot.com/There's 3 cards. I'll be doing more this week! ~Shyra
September 25, 2008 10:12 PM

Shyra ~ please e-mail me your snail mail address so I can get your goodies in the mail to you :)

To everyone else ~ have no fear, more fun give-a-ways coming soon!

Harvest Trio

Today's Autumn themed project is a card I made using my favorite ink tool of all time...Yep, you know it ~ the Ink Blending Tool & Foams!!! I just LOVE that thing!

Anyway, the background was made using the Spritz & Flick technique. #4 on my list of Favorite IBT Techniques! (NOTE - you can see the complete list along the right hand side with links to each technique!)

Harvest Trio

Supplies:

Distress Inks - Ranger

Ink Blending Tool & Foams - Ranger

Archival Ink - Ranger

Mini Mister (filled with water) - Ranger

Cut & Dry Nibs - Ranger

Harvest Trio images - TAC

Leaves (in the background) - Clearly Impressed

Stitches - Fontwerks

Cardstock- Bazzill

Instructions:

1. Apply Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink over an entire piece of cardstock cut to card size. Remember to use swirling motions and keep your foam moving at all times. Never stop on your paper... it will create less than desirable results leaving marks where the foam pad came to rest.

I like to work extra ink into some areas while leaving others a bit lighter. It just adds depth to the finished piece. You may want a more even coverage for your creation. Just experiment...

2. Once you are satisfied with the ink coverage, squirt 2-3 pumps of water into your hand and "Flick" it onto the inked cardstock. Let it set for 20-30 seconds and pat dry. DO NOT RUB!! You want to just pick the water up off the surface, not wipe it away because you will wipe the ink away as well.

You will end up with water marks in your ink like this....

3. Stamp leaves over the cardstock panel with Walnut Stain Distress Inks. Apply Walnut Stain Ink to the edges of the cardstock as well.

4. Stamp Harvest Trio using Archival Ink. I love using this ink as it dries quickly and is waterproof. I use it all the time when I want to color my images in!

5. Color your image in using Cut & Dry Nibs and Distress Inks.

6. Mount images using pop-dots or double sided foam tape.

7. Stamp stitches around the edge of the cardstock panel. Mount on rust & brown cardstock panels, stitch on buttons. Mount on card base.

So there ya go...a fun Harvest themed card! The basic design of the card is one that could be used with virtually any holiday or theme. Simply change out the Harvest Trio of images with other stamps that fit your desired theme!! (you may see this design in the near future for a Ink Stained Sketch! - hint hint!!)

Have a happy harvest day everyone!!

Time is running out.....

You have until noon today to post your card creations to be entered to win the World Card Day goodie bag....which has increased in size since I first posted the photo. I have continued to add to it as I find more and more things to share!

Today is also the drawing to win a sample of Alluring Impressions new stamp storage system ~ Stamp n' Stash!! Just tell me what your first impressions are of the new system and you'll be entered to win!!

The links to both of these can be found at the right under Current Give-A-Way's!

Oh and as always everybody is invited to join in on the fun ~ United States and beyond!

Have a wonderful day and see you later!

Autumn Splendor

Ahhh...the temps are finally getting down to where they should be this time of the year for Indiana...a nice cool 72 degrees during the day :) I know many people don't have actual "seasons" to look forward so I count myself very lucky to live in Indiana. We most definitely have seasons, some more fun than others - LOL!!

I just love Autumn when the temps start cooling off, the leaves start turning and the corn harvest begins. It's a beautiful time of year and my favorite too boot!

I have decided that this week will be Autumn related fun!

I want to start the week off with a scrapbook lay-out I made honoring some beautiful tree lines located not too far from where I live. It includes a bit of stamping and quite a bit of embossing using both regular embossing powders as well as Distress Embossing Powders. (all Ranger of course) The stitches were stamped using Archival Ink and Distress Inks were used elsewhere.

Hope you enjoy!!

Autumn Splendor...

Supplies: Prima pattern paper, flowers & leaves; Distress Inks, Distress Embossing Powder, Embossing Powder, Embossing Inks, Archival Ink - Ranger; Cardstock & mini brads - Bazzill

Hope you all have a wonderful day and can enjoy some of the fall weather in your area...

whatever it may be!

Paper Artsy!

Today's featured rubber stamp retailer/designer is Paper Artsy! An amazing company with a fun, funky, eclectic line of stamps ranging from vintage to modern designs!

The owner of Paper Artsy ~ Leandra Franich was kind enough to share her thoughts, art and stamps with us!

When asked how Paper Artsy got started she replied....

"Originally ‘PaperArtsy’ was a stamping group of about 30 people who would meet monthly in Brentwood, Essex. 3 other craft ladies and I would teach 3 projects on a Saturday in a local hall. We would always teach with the latest products, ideas and techniques. The four of us would meet weekly to plan and kit-up for the classes – it was probably more work than we expected it to be, but it was a lot of fun.

At the same time I was demonstrating at Craft shows and on TV for another UK Stamp Company. They suggested I should design a line of stamps myself. As luck would have it, I knew someone who had designs ready to go to market, but didn’t have any idea about the manufacturing, and she didn’t want to be involved with marketing, branding etc. So we purchased designs from her and launched in 2004 with the Ink and the Dog collection under the PaperArtsy logo. The name “PaperArtsy” was the brainchild of Mark, my husband. It’s catchy, simple, easy to spell and representative of our style, so we felt this would be a good name to stick with.

Since then, every year we have introduced a new collection of stamps from other unknown but very talented designers, all people whom we have stumbled across at some point. My husband Mark (we call him Mr PA) is also fully involved these days, and he also has been designing stamps in the last 2 years. He has a great eye for design, if you have seen any of our adverts, catalogues or flyers, they are all his work. I guess it’s no surprise that he’s so ‘digitally’ talented considering pre-PaperArtsy he was a chiropractor! (Did you see what I did there…the pun on digits???). We’re lucky that we can work really well together, and we have different skill sets which are both valuable for running a business. It’s been a steep learning curve, but I’m feeling a bit more settled into it now. We have developed some unique tricks within our manufacturing process, and often when exhibiting here or in the USA we are complimented by competitors on the fantastic quality of our rubber stamps, which is a great compliment for us coming from other long-established companies."

When asked what inspires Paper Artsy's designs she replied, "We watch trends on the High Street fashion stores, particularly for colours and patterns. Interior design stores also reflect themes in the wallpaper or textile patterns and textures. Music videos and adverts also have subtle (or not so subtle) graphic trends. Mark reads loads of Photoshop and graphic design magazines which tip us to new trends very early. So I guess we pretty much look outside the Craft Industry for our ideas.

The next step is we discuss with designers what we are ‘seeing’ and how we can reflect that in our current collections. For example 4 years ago we saw altered art and making your own bespoke papers using inks and stamps as important, 3 years ago we identified flourishes and background elements as being wonderful to work with. 2 years ago, birds nests, birds, trees, twigs, and in the last year we have seen butterflies and dragonflies doing another round, plus small houses and of course hand-drawn elements have grown in popularity.

We work closely with designers to discuss how we can theme these ideas to seasons, and grouping sets of designs together. It’s a team approach - bouncing ideas off each other until we are all happy with the end result. Then we release stamps to the design team to come up with new art samples and ideas with new products. It’s important to have ideas of what you can do with the stamps when they are released to the public for sale. These ideas also can be presented to shops as ideas for art samples, classes etc."

Here are a couple of projects she made recently using the newest Paper Artsy release in the Squiggly Ink line of stamps ~ Egg Nog ~ just in time for Christmas!

On to the stamps!!

Paper Artsy offers 4 very distinct lines of stamps - Paper Artsy's original line - Ink and the Dog; Urban Snapshots, Paper Artsy Mini's (the perfect size for ATC's!!) and Squiggly Ink. In addition to the stamps they also offer some awesome German Scrap designs as well!!

I have to tell you about how these stamps are packaged...each set comes with it's own heavy duty plastic index card. It's got the stamped image on one side and the stamp is stored on the other. I love it!!

But I love the stamps even more!!!

Just a bit about each line....

Ink and the Dog is a line full of surprises ~ with varied subjects such as Ancestors, Buttons, Femme, Wings and more! This is my favorite line because you just don't know what you'll find...

Urban Snapshots are contemporary images with a twist. Modern day images paired with great quotes, sayings and sentiments. Such as Nature, Stage Lights, Young Love and...well, I'll let you find your favorites. These stamps will surely spark your creative imagination!

Paper Artsy Mini's are the best of Paper Artsy's images shrunk down to credit card size for use on ATC's, Cards, Inchies and more! Individual stamps mounted on EZ Mount foam ready to go right out of the package. You'll see very quickly which is my favorite below!

And last but certainly not least....Squiggly Ink! Wildly fun stamps with all of the squiggles, dots and doodles that is so very popular right now... You'll definitely find something that is a must have for your stamp collection!

Below are some of my favorite images offered by Paper Artsy....

Sportsman - (mini 08)

Father - (mini 08)

One True Friend - (Kids Plate 6)

Jack & Jill- (Kids Plate 6)

Two Roads... (Nature Plate 4)

Now, you might be wondering why I didn't use any stamps from the Squiggly Ink line of stamps....

Wellllllll.....

I am saving that set for one lucky reader!!!

Yep, that's right...just tell me what your favorite(s) stamp(s) are in the entire Paper Artsy line and you just might be the proud new owner of...

Egg & Nog Plate # 8!!

You have until October 5th to post your favorite stamp set. At which time I will draw out one lucky winner using Random.org. So...have fun window shopping and remember.....

YOU CAN"T WIN IF YOU DON"T POST!!!!

Have a great evening everyone ~

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Cool Rubber Stamp Feature Coming Tomorrow!!

I just wanted to give you the head's up...

I'm going to be sharing another great Rubber Stamp Designer/Retailer Feature coming tomorrow...AND a great set of NEWLY released stamps!!!

Not going to tell you who though so you'll just have to stop by and see for yourself ;)

Left Brain/Right Brain....

Here is a cool Left Brain/Right Brain test offered by the Art Institute of Vancouver. It's kind of fun and it seems to be right on for me!

Here are my results. There is a whole page full of explanations on the various characteristics once you're finished explaining what it all means.

Thank you for taking the Creativity Test. The results show your brain dominance as being:

Left Brain 32%

Right Brain 68%

You are more right-brained than left-brained. The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. In addition to being known as right-brained, you are also known as a creative thinker who uses feeling and intuition to gather information. You retain this information through the use of images and patterns. You are able to visualize the "whole" picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the "whole" picture. Your thought process can appear quite illogical and meandering. The problem-solving techniques that you use involve free association, which is often very innovative and creative. The routes taken to arrive at your conclusions are completely opposite to what a left-brained person would be accustomed. You probably find it easy to express yourself using art, dance, or music. Some occupations usually held by a right-brained person are forest ranger, athlete, beautician, actor/actress, craftsman, and artist.

Your Left Brain Percentages 27%

Reality-based (Your most dominant characteristic)
22%
Linear
21%
Logical
17%
Symbolic
9%
Sequential
0%
Verbal (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages 68%

Fantasy-oriented (Your most dominant characteristic)
37%
Concrete
25%
Nonverbal
24%
Intuitive
23%
Random
12%
Holistic (Your least dominant characteristic)

Thanks Phree!!

I am the lucky recipient of the "One Sweet Blog Award" thanks to an "Ink Stained Survivor" - Phree!! That's the name of her blog ~ isn't it great?!? I LOVE it ;) If you haven't checked out her blog you should...she's got some beautiful cards posted over there!!

Now I get to have some fun and pass the award on to another Sweet blog who is btw a fellow Hoosier!!! Kristin Hubick's Retro Cafe Art! She's an amazing artist and shares lots of very cool altered goodies she creates!

Fun & Funky Wedding Guest Book

This isn't your Mom's Guest Book....or even your own probably!

Here is the Wedding Guest Book I've been working on since Wednesday a.m. and it's FINISHED!!! I am so excited...it's way different than most other things I've ever made ~ especially for a wedding!

My guest book was one of those ~ white books w/plain pages and all...very bland and boring. Well Mindy asked me if I would make her one and sent me several examples of new guest books and mini albums she liked. I combined features from each and this is what I came up with....

All of the pages are hand cut ~ Bazzill Bling cardstock on each side (colors from their wedding). The decorations in the book are either Cricut die-cuts or American Crafts rub-ons. The image on the front of the book is actually taken from their wedding invitation to make it a bit more personal. I bound it using 1" black Bind It All wires. The box is what my MM distressing kit came in about 6-7 years ago!!! See, this is where my pack rat mentality is justified ~ I knew that box would come in handy for something!!!! LOL!! The black flourishes on the box are Grunge Board painted & Stickles added. All flowers are Primas & all of the edges (of the book & box) were sanded & inked as well.

Hope you enjoy!!

Mindy's Guest Book....

(sorry ~ some of the photos aren't the best but I was in a hurry...)

(not sur why these colors are so off but all of the paper is the same color though out...no brown or icky greens!)

Sooooo, what do you think?

Told you it wasn't your mama's guest book ;) LOL!!!

Boys Will Be Boys Mesh Hanger

Whoo Hoo...here is a project I had LOADS of fun making :)

I wanted to make something dedicated to the guys in our life and the Curious By Design - Boys I Collage Sheet was PERFECT for this fun and unique collage project. It incorporates not only the CBD Collage images but it also has loads of Tim Holtz's Doo Dads and many other dimensional embellishments.

Just a note ~ The rusty mesh comes in a long strip folded like an accordion album approximate ATC size. You will need to cut it into pieces using heavy duty shears. BE VERY CAREFUL...as with any metal screening or mesh there are lots of sharp little edges which can cut you.

Hope you enjoy!!

Hannah Grey Supplies:
Rusted Mesh
Vintage Photos - Boys 1 Collage Sheet
Various Tim Holtz Doo Dads
Wooden Bingo Chips
Large Silver Crown
Gold German Scrap Accents
Stagecoach Concho
Stickles

Other Supplies:
Sepia Accents - Ranger
Glossy Accents - Ranger
Tim Holtz Sprocket Gears
Tim Holtz Philosophy Tags
Ticket, Skeleton Leaves & Wire - Unknown
Hanger - Unknown
Heavy Duty Shears

Instructions:
1. Carefully cut 9 panels from the rusty mesh. Each panel should measure approximately 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ (ATC size).

2. Trim images and word strips from collage sheets.

3. Cut out desired “Doo-Dads” from Tim Holtz Collage Sheets.

4. Layer each panel as if it were an ATC card. (Note: I used Glossy or Sepia Accents to adhere all of the items to the mesh. It was thick enough that it held the pieces in place but didn’t drip/run.)

5. Add embellishments to each card.

6. Apply a layer of Glossy or Sepia Accents to various pieces to give additional dimension. Let dry.

7. Wire the panels together and attach hanger.


Here are some photos of each individual section...

So there you go...a fun project celebrating all the boys in your life :)

Have a great day!!

Project Preview...

Here is a little preview of a project I'm going to be sharing with you tomorrow :)

Yep, it's got to do with boys...any guesses on what it is? No...well that's o.k. ~ I promise to share the whole deal with you then!

Hope you had a wonderful day...been working furiously on a special book for a special friend. I promise to share it as soon as I finish it...it's very unique and something I've never tried before. I'm pretty tickled with how it's turning out so far!! Hope she likes it as well!

G'night Friends!!

Alluring Impressions Stamp n' Stash Rubber Stamp Storage Sheets

Amy over at Alluring Impressions has come out with an exciting new 3-ring stamp storage sheet called Stamp n' Stash. She was kind enough to share a couple sheets with me to review for the blog and share my opinions with you.

The first thing you will notice about these sheets are they are perfectly clear and larger than standard storage sheets. (Note - even though these sheets are a bit larger they still fit into standard 3-ring binders.) Both very unique when compared to other stamp storage systems on the market.

The storage sheets are made from a clear solid plastic so the pages won't separate like the heavy fiberboard or thinner storage sheets currently available. They are light weight enough that you could fill several sheets and store them in one binder without the normal added weight and bulk of other UM storage sheets.

Amy sent a little flier that states these boards are compatible with Static Cling mounted stamps; Acrylic stamps; Halos (if loop is attached) and other self stick methods of UM stamps. So I put it to the test...and they all worked very well! I was very impressed.

Up until now ALL of my acrylic stamps have remained in their original packaging stuffed into 3 giant baggies...sitting on my floor. Why? Because I just couldn't find a good system to store them all. CD jewel cases just will not work ~ you are very limited on the size of stamps stored in the cases. Besides size, most of the time, whole sets have to be stored in 2 or 3 seperate cases!! In the end the CD cases take up loads more space that my baggies do. I have some of the other 3-ring storage sheets...the fiberboard & it's thinner brother but the acrylics never seemed to stay stuck...they were constantly falling off for whatever reason. So, in the bags they sit. ..... WELL....NOT ANY MORE!!! These sheets are PERFECT for acrylic stamps! The stamps stay where they are put and you can store so many stamps on one sheet! It's amazing!!!! While playing around with the Stamp n' Stash sheet I was able to put 3 full sets of the Inkadinkado stamps on one side of the Stamp n' Stash page! If you were so inclined you could actually store 3 more sets on the other side! All of the stamps stuck perfectly with no peeling away, sliding or popping off like they did on the other storage boards.

I have to tell you, I am sold...ALL of my stamps will now have a new home thanks to the Stamp n' Stash storage sheets. I most definitely give them two thumbs up!!

BUT....

you don't take my word for it...

Amy was kind enough to include an extra Stamp n' Stash storage sheet for me to give away to one lucky person!!

So, tell me what your first impressions of the Stamp n' Stash are and you'll be entered for a chance to win a Stamp n' Stash sheet to try for yourself.

You have until 9-30 to post your impressions!!

World Card Day Goodie Bag!

As promised here is a photo of the World Card Day Goodie Bag I have for one lucky winner!!

You will win everything shown in the photo plus a few extras not pictured. ;) (sorry it's blurry...trying to take the pic with my dog's help!!)

All you have to do to be entered to win is make a card and post a link here or on the World Card Day announcement to your card! That's it!

So...go make a card :)

You just might be the lucky winner!!

Stamp News & Show Times

Hey all...

Just wanted to pass on some sale info....

Red Lead Paper Works is offering up a FREE Halloween Hanger Kit with the purchase of 25.00 or more from their web-site or store. (One kit per customer - valid through 9-27)

and post a reminder -

QVC is craft day today!! Tim Holtz will have some cool kits up for offer. I believe that he's going to be on around 3:00pm EST today so be sure to tune in and check out all the cool goodies :)

A bit later today I will have a product review to share on a new Storage System for UM, Semi- Mounted and Acrylic Stamps as well as the photo of the World Card Day gift pack I've prepared for some lucky poster!

Have a great day everyone...

Streuter Glue Film Image Transfers

Hey Everyone!!

Whew...it was one hectic weekend...not only did I not get back to post the Image Transfers on Sat. like I had planned I didn't get to post my newest Rubber Stamp Feature yesterday either! Well, I'm here now and ready to get caught back up!

We all know how tedious and difficult image transfers can be ~ well here is a quick and easy Image Transfer using Streuter Glue Film. I am going to be using the Clear Glue Film but the Pewter Glue Film would be perfect for making a Faux Tin Type Image Transfer! An added benefit to using this method is you don't have to have any special copies of your image in order for it to work. Many image transfers require a toner-based copy which isn't always easily obtained for various reasons. Streuter's Image Transfer will work with Ink Jet copies; Laser copies; Glossy Images (from a magazine or collage sheet); etc. It's the most versatile image transfer technique I've tried.

Supplies:

Streuter Glue Film - Clear

Collage Image

Cardstock

Iron

ATC Blank

Embellishments

Instructions:

1. Trim collage image to desired size. Using the trimmed collage image as a guide, cut a piece of Glue Film to fit your image.

2. Remove the liner from the Glue Film and discard. Place the Glue Film on a piece of cardstock or pattern paper. Layer the Collage Image **FACE DOWN** on the Glue Film. Trust me, I've messed up and ironed it face up a couple times without thinkin...it's very easy to do when you're used to using the Glue Film as an adhesive - LOL!!

3. Iron to meld all 3 layers together....

4. Spritz the back of the collage image and let it set for 20-30 seconds. This gives the water a chance to soak into the paper.

5. Gently begin to rub the paper as shown...this will slowly expose the collage image. Spritz with additional water if needed.

6. Once you are satisfied that you have removed enough of the paper set aside to dry.

NOTE - these will not be perfect ~ notice how the upper right hand corner has a bit of the image missing... It just adds to the vintage, distressed feel of the image!

Once dry, your image transfer is ready to be used on your project!

I have used this particular image transfer for a Halloween ATC. The great thing about Streuter's Glue Film is you can make very large image transfers where you would run into limitations with other types of image transfers.

Halloween Excitement....
additional supplies: Pattern paper - Cosmo Cricket; Dresden Trim - The German Store; Distress Ink- Ranger

Moonstruck....
Additional Supplies: Distress Inks, Archival Ink, Distress Stickles, Stickles, Color Wash, Ink Blending Tool & Foam - Ranger, Flourish Stamps - Autumn Leaves

Told ya ... Easy as pie!

Hope you give it a try!