No Card Today, Either

I stamped yesterday at Lila's and had planned to finish up a couple of cards today to share with you, but no dice. Why? I left my entire binder of Cornish Heritage Farms stamps at Lila's! (Do you think they're safe!?) I did get to play with her new Kim Hughes Tiled Scallops Backgrounder. It was heavenly. I also stamped a couple of paint chips with the Grunged Flower daisy. They turned out great!

Some quick sale news:
- Purple Onion Designs is having a spring cleaning overstock sale. Seven full pages of stamps. Hers are all very nice quality red rubber un-mounted. Stamps in the sale include alphabets, definitions, and sentiments. 50% off and more. Reasonable shipping.
- Hope Stamps Eternal is liquidating inventory. Big savings here, too.

Also, if you're local to the Boise area:
- The Re:Use Market in the Linen District will be open this weekend. Check their Web site for directions and hours. All sorts of goodies are free for the taking, from wallpaper books to tile samples and everything in between. Bring a bag.
- Need to Bead on Vista is having a trunk show & sale this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Inside the store, everything is 20% off -- and the trunk show vendors have great deals, too. Some of the strands of funky-shaped pearls were marked $9 and were on sale for only $2. Bargain!

Happy Stamping!

New Die Goes Vintage

There's a brand new die at Creative Cuts & More -- the Cupcake Box. Although it is the perfect size for a cupcake, it's also a great container size for all sorts of trinkets and ephemera. In fact, my very first thought with the Cupcake Box was that it would make the PERFECT gift box for a rolled-up necktie for Father's Day. So I asked my husband for a tie I could use as a prop to photograph with the box and he said that he doesn't have one! Yep, "Captain Casual" is his new superhero name.

I went ahead and decorated the box with a more neutral collage of postage and mail themes -- so now instead of dad's tie box gift, it'll be on Grandma's writing desk holding her postage stamps and return address labels. Isn't it funny how projects evolve?Supply List:
Stamps: Vintage Postcard Set, Vintage Numbers & Late 1800s Script Background (Purple Onion Designs); Keys (Innovative Stamp Creations); Old-Fashioned Pen Nibs (Stamp Francisco)
Paper: Almond Cream (Bazzill Smoothies)
Inks: Vintage Sepia VersaFine (Tsukineko); Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink (ClearSnap)
Accessories: Cupcake Box Die, Clear Acetate Sheet & Killer Red Tacky Tape (Creative Cuts & More); Authentic antique letter & postage stamps; Buttons (various)

Happy Stamping!

More Bargains!!

It's about an hour into "Black Friday" here in Boise and have I got some bargains to share with you:

* Verve Visual is having a "So Thankful Sale" through Sunday the 25th. Stamps are 10% off, designer paper is 25% off, and lots of other great supplies and embellishments are on sale too! Plus, orders over $50 save an extra 10% off their purchase. You must use the coupon code THANKFUL to receive the discount.

* Purple Onion Designs has released a bunch of fabulous new rubber. Check out the adorable cupcake and the gorgeous damask flourish. YUM! Even better? The new stamps are included in the 25% off Holiday Sale. You must use the coupon code HOL2007 to receive the discount. POD also has a new blog.

* Mandarin Pixie's stamps are all 40-60% off through the end of the month. Through Saturday (11/24), they're sweetening the deal by offering free shipping for orders over $20.

Happy Shopping! And, of course, Happy Stamping!

Big Bunch of Stamp Sales

It's a party not to be missed if you enjoy stamping! Rubberstampchat.net is celebrating its 1000th member with a virtual rubber stamp show. Each 'booth' is a thread on the message board and the top post explains what that vendor has on sale. These vendors include favorites like Purple Onion Designs and Starving Artistamps offering 25% off all stamps -- a total of fifteen vendors in all. (UPDATE: They're up to TWENTY-THREE vendors!)

This sale runs today (9/7) through Monday (9/10).

Happy Stamping (and Shopping)!

Pixie Projects

I sent off my projects tonight for the final round of the Mandarin Pixie DT contest. The rules were simple: create a card and a scrapbook layout that each use alphabet stamps and image stamps.

Inspired by acetate, I created the card first. I stamped flower pieces from the Verve Visual stamp set called Fresh Florals as snowflakes (a la Bethany Paull) on the back of the acetate sheet in opaque white and blue StazOn. Then the word "snow" was constructed from letters in the Skinny Dip alphabet from Purple Onion Designs. Card assembly continued with holes punched by the Crop-a-dile and ribbon and cording tied through. Two Heidi Swapp clear snowflake shapes were dyed with Midnight Blue StazOn (to match "snow" exactly) and some bling was added to the centers.


Supply List
- Stamps: Fancy Florals (Verve Visual); Skinny Dip Alphabet (Purple Onion Designs)
- Ink: Midnight Blue, Opaque White, Opaque Blue (StazOn by Tsukineko)
- Paper: Acetate Sheets (Archiver's); Patterned Papers (Chatterbox)
- Accessories: Ribbon (Chatterbox); Silver Cord (Stampin' Up!); Acrylic Shapes & Bling Gems (Heidi Swapp)

I've been contemplating the page for several days. My husband is growing a handlebar moustache, and I'm still trying to learn to like it. I've never been into facial hair. Yuck. I had planned to get the papers and colors finalized tomorrow, but fate had other plans for me. Luckily, I already had photos printed and I had already made a photocopy of his "The Stache" t-shirt.

Supply List
- Stamps: Paisley Set (Purple Onion Designs); Misunderstood Foam Alphabet (Making Memories)
- Ink: Blue Iris Chalk (Clearsnap); Paint (Making Memories)
- Paper: Solid Cardstock (Bazzill); Patterned Papers (Chatterbox)
- Accessories: Wood Frame, Photo Corners, Big Brads (Chatterbox); Green Bling Gems (Heidi Swapp)

So they're on their way to the judging process right now. And I'm off to bed. I'm grounded tomorrow so I can clean off the dining room table. Before I go, though, a big shout out to Lila, Lori, and CeCe who each crossed my path today -- and Julee who I got to see yesterday.

Happy Stamping!

POD Faux Tear & Wax Resist Card

Purple Onion Designs (or POD for short) has been one of my favorites for almost all of the 4 years it has been open. Michele, the owner, started out with great alphabets, words, and definitions... then branched out to many more fun images.
  
If you're serious about stamping to the point that you're submitting cards to magazines, POD is very generous! Each time one of your cards gets published and her company's name is listed in the credits, you receive $25.00 worth of stamps -- your choice! How's that for an incentive?
 
So onto one of my favorite cards that fits this bill. It was published in the Stampers' Sampler Catch Up Issue Volume 11 on page 90. It features a faux tear technique and a wax resist technique. 
    

Supply List:
- Sentiment stamp from Purple Onion Designs
- Leaves stamp from Maryse Carrier
- Stampin' Up! cardstock in Glossy White, Barely Banana and Forest Foliage; dye ink in Basic Black, Barely Banana, Old Olive, and Forest Foliage; Black Magic Mesh; Black Hemp Twine, Black eyelet, Sponge
- White Crayon from Crayola

TIP: Until recently, I thought it was important to always use a white crayon when doing the wax resist technique. You don't have to! In fact, using a colored crayon is helpful because you can SEE where the wax is. Any color wax will wipe off.

For those wondering about whether the card in the previous post won: Nope. But guess whose project won the title of Most Innovative Design? Lila, my best friend and Stamping Idol did! Check out her fabulous card by clicking here. She always does terrific work, but this particular card is exceptional.
    
Happy Stamping!