Key to my Heart

I needed a birthday card for my better half and I wanted something a little different. So I started with a blue Creative Café card on which I stamped Hero Arts Clings “Aged Print Frame” with Color Box black ink. I also heat embossed it with Stampendous “Detail Clear” embossing powder. This is probably my favorite embossing powder ever! I painted a Maya Road Chipboard “Antique Key” with Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam “Stiletto” and used Studio g’s “series 11” Happy Birthday to stamp on the tag. For the inside I went a little crazy with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Crème de Cocoa, Jazz Blue, and Graphite. I also stamped the envelope front with the “Aged Print Frame.” This is a simple, but not plain, card that is pretty quick to make yet still has a lot of personality. I call it my clean-grunge look or maybe my grungy clean look. Oh well, whatever you want to call it…I like it.

It’s that time, new month…new calendar. This month I was on a Stampendous snowman kick. I used their “Mini Snowman,” “Winter Family,” and “Snowflake Symphony.” The “Merry Christmas” was from 4Klear “Season’s Greetings.” And of course Heidi Swapp’s month stamps. Since this is as close to snowmen that I’ll get here in Alabama I plan to enjoy them all month. Those of you who get real snow, enjoy it enough for me.

What a call!

We recently repainted my craft room in green and orange and I really wanted an orange phone for it, trust me they are not easy to find. So we went to see my parents and in my step-dad’s garage he had an old rotary phone…it was orange and it worked!!! I had never even noticed it. He let me bring it home and of course I had to play with it a little. So I used rub-on transfers from Me & My Big Ideas’ “Decorative Ornaments” and the fly rub-on by Tinkering Ink “Blur/Cake.” I love it and it is sooo perfect for my room. Let me know what “everyday” item you have made into your own piece of art.

November

I love this plain desk calendar from Mead that I can decorate myself! For this month I used…
Stamps from Heidi Swapp month stamps, Inkadinkado’s “Fall Season,” Inkadinkado’s “Harvest Assortment,” studio g’s “series 20 and 34,” and Autumn Leaves’ “Fall in Love” and “Scarecrow.” Color Box Mini Black, Tsukineko’s Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate, and Tsukineko’s Versa Magic Gingerbread were the perfect inks for this project. Add a little color with some color pencils and you're done. I hope you are adding a little “art and crafts” to your days! Tell me about it.

Pumpkins!

A little vinyl, a Cricut machine, a few pumpkins and some time to kill will give you some cute decorations with no mess. I used “Plantin Schoolbook,” “Opposites Attract” and “October 31st.” I love the bat as an apostrophe and the raven perched on the “L” on the “Long’s pumpkin.” And while spiders are far from my favorite creature I’m afraid I’ve gotten very attached to this one.

"Stamped" Candles

Ok, these “stamped” candles are so cute I had to make some just for me. However, I also make them for quick gifts anytime I need one. Most people enjoy getting candles and getting one that has been personalized just for them makes it extra special. These are also great for weddings, just monogram them for the happy couple in the wedding colors.

I used Inkadinkado’s “Halloween Trails,” Stampendous’ “Swirly Owl,” and Hero Art’s “Scroll Tree,” but you can use any stamp you have. I colored the owl with markers but you can also use colored pencils. All you need is some white tissue paper, a heat gun (and of course I use Ranger’s “Stickles”) for an original gift for your one of a kind friends.

Anniversary Mini Album

I don’t like having my picture taken so when I made this mini album I decided to use music instead of pictures. Each page has a quote from a song that means something to us and a few words about why that song is special. There is a paper disc holder fastened to the back page with a cd of all the music used in the book.
The paper I used was Cosmo Cricket’s “Love Notes.” This is one of my all time favorite papers. I printed everything on my computer and then just rubbed an ink pad across the white cardstock to add a little color. On the front cover I stamped the flourishes with a stamp from the “Pollen Dust” stamps. Inside I used Prima “Obsession” flowers and various bling. On the tabs of the album I stamped “I’ “love” “you” with Hot Off the Press “Artsy ABC’s.” The back cover was stamped with Inkadinkado “Fall Season” tree and Scrappy Cat “Inspirations.” Of course I also used Ranger’s “Stickles” in Diamond. Hope this gives you some ideas for albums that don’t use pictures…just use your imagination. And let me know what you come up with.