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!
Spring is springing up all over the place, isn't it? I'm so inspired by all the colors and sounds. I only 
wish that the bulbs (purple tulips, no less!) that my dad got for me last fall were in the ground and not still in the garage. Most of all, I'm inspired by my friends and family. Love and happiness to you all!
I haven't done a lot of stamping during the last week or two... but I did make a hundred pairs of earrings and design special retail holders/displays for them. A new store is opening up nearby and I'll have more details on that soon.
Here's a quick card to share. I think these birdies are adorable and are even cuter when paper pieced with cute patterned papers.
Supply List:
Stamps: Anniversary Birds & Thankful Blossoms (Verve Visual)
Paper: Dutch Girl (Cosmo Cricket); Pearlized White (Verve Visual)
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), Black grosgrain ribbon (May Arts), Cool Gray marker C-0 (Copic)
Happy Stamping!
Get ready for three terrific new releases from Verve Visual! First up is Easter Elegance, complete with an ornate swirly cross and decorated Easter eggs. Then there is Anniversary Birds, with two adorable modern birdies with great sentiments. And last is Thankful Blossoms, featuring flowers, a butterfly, and six sentiments in
wonderful fonts. Love them all! The best part? Saving nine bucks when purchasing them all together in the Spring Launch Pack.
My card today features the beautifully unique cross from the Easter Elegance set. I just love it! This card frames the stamped cross with a big, bold cut-out using a die-cut card from Creative Cuts & More. I wish the photo showed this a little bit better, but you may be able to see that the largest swirl in each quarter of the cross look like it's lighter in color. It's actually a very fine application of micro glitter atop the stamped image.
Supply List:
Stamps: Easter Elegance (Verve Visual)
Paper: Sparkleberry Delight & Grape Delight (Bazzill Basics)
Ink: Wisteria ColorBox Chalk Ink (ClearSnap)
Accessories: A7 Cross Window Card Die & Nameplate #07 Die (Creative Cuts & More); Bright Jewels (Doodlebug Design); Twinkle Micro Fine Glitter (The Stamp Doctor)Happy Stamping!
On the Verve Visual blog today, I went Back-to-Basics!My very first "technique" was edging. It was taught to me by Gwennie, who was my very first stamping teacher. She worked at one of only two independent rubber stamping stores in the Treasure Valley at the time. (Sadly, both have since closed their doors.) Her cards seemed to have such depth and richness. I wanted to learn from her right away.
The trick to the dimension and depth, she said, was the brushing of the ink pad against the edges of the cardstock -- a technique known as edging. The technique is very flexible. Using different amounts of pressure when edging, you can control the amount of color that is imparted to the paper. You can also vary inkpad types to achieve different looks. My favorite ink pads for this technique are the very spongy ColorBox Chalk Cat's Eyes, and Gwennie used these too. Supply List
Stamps: Fancy Florals Remixed, Thoughtful Florals and Fancy Florals (Verve Visual)
Paper: Wild Wasabi & Whisper White (SU!)
Ink: Blue Iris ColorBox Chalk (ClearSnap); Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Bayou Blue (SU!)
Accessories: White Glaze Pen (Sakura); Stitched Ribbon (SU!); Brad (Karen Foster Designs); Flowers (Prima Marketing)To see the other photos of this card in progress, click here.The Verve Visual stamp sale only lasts until Friday. You definitely don't want to miss it.Happy Stamping!
There was a little treat waiting for me in my mailbox today -- The Stampers' Sampler Take Ten issue for Spring 2008. I hadn't ordered it yet, so this must be my "artist comp" copy. Yeay!
Five of my cards are in this issue. Do you recognize them?
Many Thanks appears on page 4. Snow, which I created as part of the Mandarin Pixie DT finalist challenge, appears on page 28. Make Me Smile, my very first Verve card ever, appears on page 113. Then two cards are in special areas of the magazine. Beaming with Happiness is featured on page 138 in an advertisement for the Summer 2008 Take Ten issue. Then, most exciting for me, is Wishing You which appears on page 26. It's exciting because it has been chosen as the DESIGN CHALLENGE TEMPLATE for this issue. *squeal* Since I haven't shown Wishing You yet here on my blog, here it is:
Supply List:
Stamps: Starlight Starbright (Verve Visual)
Paper: Cowboy Collection (Crate Paper), Star Kissed Star Mile (Daisy Bucket)
Ink: Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink (ClearSnap), VersaFine Vintage Sepia (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Extra Jumbo Scalloped Oval Punch & Super Jumbo Oval Punch (Marvy Uchida); Grograin w/ Satin Center Ribbon (May Arts)
Thanks for sharing my special news! I have quite a bit of stamping time scheduled over the next couple of days, and I hope to have more projects to share with you soon!
Happy Stamping!
Supply List:
