Are you ready for Spring?  And bunnies and mushrooms?  :0)

Here’s a sneak peek of my new set called Mushroom Friends!  It contains 3 different bunny & mushroom images, a single mushroom and a few fun sentiments.  And it will be available Monday night at ATS.  Scroll to the bottom of this post to find out how you can win this set!

I used my SU! Cutie Pie paper (and the cardboard insert!) to make this box.  This was a technique challenge over on Splitcoast not long ago.  You can check out the TLC203 Origami Box directions to find out how to make it. 

I used my Martha Stewart Cornice Edge punch on the strips across the top of the box.  I was actually cutting a long strip to fit around the sides but it wasn’t working out, so I cut it down and added two strips to the top instead.  And the main image was cut out with Labels 1 Nestabilities.

This box was made for a gift swap last weekend when I was stamping with friends.  It was filled with some stamping goodies but imagine the possibilities….this box would make a great gift package for just about any occasion!

Here is a close up of the main image.  And you can see that the Primas were layered with a jewelry spacer and a brad. 

 This is the inside of the box.  Normally you would only see the one side of the patterned paper but I wanted some of the other side to show also.  So I folded the sides up on the inside. 

 And finally, here’s a close up of the inside.  The large mushroom is a single image.  The smaller mushroom and flower were cut out and layered from the image used above.  You can also see the cute mushroom charm I found in the beading section at Michael’s.  I punched a hole through the lid so it hangs down on the outside when the box is closed. 

I hope you like it!  Now go and check out the ATS blog and gallery for a few more samples of Mushroom Friends.  You can also blog hop the ATS DT from the list on my sidebar. 

stamps- Mushroom Friends by Cookie Crumbs; paper- Black, White, SU! Cutie Pie dp; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Martha Stewart Cornice Edge punch, Copic markers, chipboard, ribbon, Sticky Strip, Labels 1 Nestabilities, gel pen, twine, mushroom charm.

Would you like to win this set?  Just hop on over to the ATS blog and leave a comment!

I hope you have been having a good week!  Tomorrow is Friday…yay!  It’s always fun to look forward to the weekend.  I sure hope the weather is warmer….I’m tired of the cold! 

Today at All That Scraps, Christine and the DT start previewing sneak peeks and gearing up for another fun release!  Wait till you see all the cute new images! 

This month there will be 4 new sets…mine will preview tomorrow (so be sure to check back!), Christine’s 2 sets will preview Sat. & Sun. and today we are previewing Amy’s new set called Friends Sentiments. 

All of them will be available for purchase at 10 pm on Monday, March 2! 

I have 2 cards to share today using Amy’s Friends Sentiments.  On this first one I also used Christine’s Bear Hugs set.  Who can resist these cute bears?  I never tire of them!  And I also cut up my new Basic Grey Porcelain paper which is sooo pretty!  I can tell already that it will be a favorite!

Here’s a close up view so you can see the pierced frame I made around the bear. 

It turned out so pretty but it’s a very subtle addition and it really needed a closer view to see it well.  I used a very fine Pergamano needle which makes a very tiny hole…much smaller than the regular paper piercers.

The pattern for the frame was printed onto paper from the computer.  You can download it here.  Yes, that’s a lot of piercing!  LOL.  And can you believe I made 2 of this card?  Yikes….I thought I’d end up cross-eyed!  hee hee.

You can also see the great texture on the heart in this pic.  I punched it from a paint chip sample that I picked up several months ago.  TOD (the other Diane), I finally used them!!

The bear was colored with Copics and I couldn’t help but to add a heart to him with one of my shades of red.  ;0)   

And here is the inside.  Click on the pic for a larger view.  I used up some scraps and added another one of Amy’s sentiments.

stamps- Bear Hugs- C.C. Designs, Friends Sentiments- AmyR Designs; paper- White, Choc. Chip, Basic Grey Porcelain, paint chip sample; ink- Palette Black; accessories- Copic markers, gel pen, circle Nestabilities, Pergamano piercing tool, paper template, lace, EK Success heart punch, button, Primas, Stickles.

My second card today uses a Stampavie image from the Lelo Designs line.  This one is called Natural Boy.  I thought it would be great paired with Amy’s “thinking of you” sentiment. 

Once again, I pulled out my Basic Grey Porcelain paper and this time I chose some of the more masculine patterns. 

For the main image, I first stamped and colored it with Copic markers.  Then I lightly traced a cup around the top of the image to the flowers.  I cut along the traced line and then cut around the image on the bottom. 

I thought the cute little butterfly brad in the top left corner would be a nice addition….that is until I lost one somewhere while I was working.  I was on my hands and knees for a long time looking for it but no such luck.  I was afraid that Riley would find it and want to eat it.  *sigh* 

Here’s a pic of the inside of this card too.  I used up a few more scraps.  Nothing special here but I wanted you to see another one of Amy’s great Friends Sentiments!

Well, that’s all for today.  Sorry for such a long post!  Pop on over to the ATS blog to see more great samples and stop back tomorrow for more previews! 

stamps- Lelo Designs- Natural Boy, Friends Sentiments- AmyR Designs; paper- White, Choc. Chip, Basic Grey Porcelain; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Copic markers, Primas, gel pen, Stickles, brads. 

On Saturday I attended another fun stamping event with my friends from NY and PA.  We have so much fun when we get together!  It is a lot of work for the organizers, though…especially when our coordinator this time had to scramble at the last minute to find us another location!  Yikes!  Thanks, Kris, we appreciate your efforts!

This style of bag is called a Genie bag and it was my shoebox project on Saturday.  I started with small, white lunch-style bags from Michael’s and cut pink cardstock for the front and back covers.  The handle was created with one of the Ribbon Tags Trio Nestabilities dies.  I loved the shape for the handle!  I also used the Mega Curved Rectangles to cut the layers and a Cuttlebug Charms die for the tag. 

The flower was punched with the SU! 5 Petal flower punch and layered with a Prima.  In the center a jewelry spacer is attached with a brad.  All images are from my Cookie Jar and Cookie Jar-gon sets.  The cookies were stamped on tan paper, cut out and stacked up.  The cookie jar was also cut out and then popped up on dimensionals. 

stamps- Cookie Jar and Cookie Jar-gon; paper- Pixie Pink, unknown pink, yellow, brown and white, dp- DCWV; ink- Basic Brown, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron; accessories- Mega Curved Rectangle and Ribbon Tags Trio Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Charms die, pop dots, bags by Paper Reflections, May Arts ribbon, corner rounder, SU! 5 Petal flower punch, Prima, brads, jewelry spacer, gel pen.   

Cookie Crumbs stamp info:

I also wanted to take a moment and talk about my stamps.  I am often asked questions such as how to use them, etc.  You can click on each of the thumbnail pics below for a larger view.  I apologize for the poor photos but I think you’ll be able to get a good understanding of how they work.  Since I was currently working with the cookie images, I used that set for an example. 

C.C. Designs (All That Scraps) manufactures my stamps and Christine uses high quality, deeply etched red rubber.  The images come on a sheet of rubber, with thin EZ-Mount backing which contains a foam cushion.  All you need to do is remove the paper backing and cut the images out.  This type of stamp is called “unmounted” because it is not permanently affixed to a block (like the SU! sets which are mounted onto wood blocks).  They are temporarily stuck to an acrylic block for usage and then removed which saves a LOT on storage space. 

Most of my stamps are sold as a set and come inside a tin with a label on the top as shown in the first photo.  Occasionally I may have a single image or, as in this case, a small set which will come in a baggie.  The Cookie Jar set has so many images that there simply wasn’t room for the words so they are sold as a separate smaller set which comes in a baggie.  But when all of the cookie images and words are cut out, they all fit together in one tin, using the lid and the bottom. 

The second photo shows the stamps stored inside the tin.  And since I combined the two sets, I simply applied the second label to the bottom of the tin as shown in the third photo.  (I have also done this with other sets that don’t have a full tin so that I can maximize on storage space.)  If my second label is from images that come in a baggie and don’t have a sticky back to them, then I just cover the label with clear packing tape to stick it down.

Now, to actually use the stamps…  :0)

The EZ-Mount backing has a cling quality to it and sticks nicely to clear acrylic blocks.  All That Scraps sells these as well as most chain stores such as Michael’s, Jo-Ann’s, etc.  I have several sizes and I prefer the ones with the etched lines for when I am working with words or images that I want to get straight.  The etched lines help tremendously!  But any clear block will do…and if you are in a pinch, you can try sticking them to any smooth plastic surface such as a cassette or CD case.  Look around…I’m sure you can find something! 

When you are finished stamping your image, simply clean it like you would with your wood mounted stamps.  Then you can peel it off of the acrylic block and return it to your tin for storage. 

I hope I answered any questions you may have, but if I missed something, just leave a post here and I’ll try my best to answer it!    

TGIF!  :0)  I have two posts today, so be sure to scroll down and check out the SCS DD/DDA challenge below.

Today the design team at All That Scraps is reviewing Christine’s new Rockin’ Out set and I have 2 cards to share with you.  I decided to make one for a boy and one for a girl to show how fun and versatile it can be! 

For my first card, I thought it would be fun to only use the guitar image and make a “guy” card.  This set is perfect for the teens who love Guitar Hero and Rock Band, don’cha think?

The guitars were colored with Copics and popped up on dimensionals.  I used the hard tip on the blending marker to “erase” some diagonal lines on the middle guitar.  And I embossed a few stars on the right side of the card base.

stamps- Rockin’ Out by C.C. Designs; paper- White, black, dp- Die Cut with a View; ink- Memento black; accessories- Copic markers, Cuttlebug Decorative Stars folder, Stickles, pop dots   

For my second card, I knew I wanted to make a pink bear.  I think he (or she…lol) looks great in pink.  :0)

I used one of my Cuttlebug alphabets to die cut the letters “u R a” and I stamped the “super star” words that are included in the stamp set.  Then I pulled out more of the fun DCWV paper to make a background for Bear.  The yellow layer was embossed with the Cuttlebug Traffic Jam folder.  It goes nicely with the squares in the patterned paper.  The images were colored with Copics here too and once again I used the blending marker to make dots and stripes on the guitar.

stamps- Rockin’ Out by C.C. Designs; paper- Pixie, White, yellow, dp- Die Cut with a View; ink- Memento black; accessories- Copic markers, Stickles, pop dots, Labels 2 and Double Ended Tags Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale alphabet dies and Traffic Jam embossing folder, Prima, brad.  

Now hop on over to the ATS blog and check out what everyone else created!

It’s the 20th of the month and that means…it’s time once again for the SCS Dirty Dozen and Alumni to participate in a challenge.  Jami issued a tough one for me this month….here’s the details:

 Know When to Fold ‘em!

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

Challenge Focus: Cards/Poker/Games/Gambling/Luck - anything loosely related

Required Element: A card made with other than a standard fold

Restricted Element: No buttons.

I really thought I’d have to pass on participating this month since I can’t think of any game related stamps that I might have.  But then my sweet tooth saved me.  LOL.

I had a few fortune cookies laying on the counter and I opened one up to eat it.  When I read the message, I thought it would be perfect for the theme!  It said “Life is a gamble- so roll the dice.”  Well, Jami said that we could use anything loosely related, so this was good enough for me! 

I stamped a few fortune cookies from my Cookie Jar set and cut them out.  Then I trimmed the fortune down to fit the cookie better.  On the opposite side of the pieces I trimmed off were some lucky numbers, so I decided to add those as well.  And hey…while I’m at it, I might as well add the package it came in, right?  LOL.  I wanted to add some dice, but I didn’t have a stamp for them so I printed some clipart on the computer and cut them out.  Then I covered them with Crystal Effects so they were nice and shiny. 

Now for the required fold….everything I tried just didn’t work out.  Ugh.  So forgive me, Jami, but I just added an extra folded mini card to the inside.  I hope that didn’t stray too far!   

You can check out all of the DD cards in the gallery here.  Have a great weekend!  :0)

stamps- Cookie Jar set by Cookie Crumbs; paper- Real Red, Night of Navy, Kraft, Saffron, white; ink- Memento Black; accessories- fortune cookie wrapper and fortune, brads, Crystal Effects, computer.

Here’s a 6×6 recipe page I recently did for a swap.  Of course, I had to try out the recipe first to make sure it was a good one and it got the family’s approval.  ;0)

Someone said they thought that this was a Pampered Chef recipe?  I don’t really know where it came from….I found it on a website somewhere but I never go to the PC site so I’m not sure if that’s where it originated.

Anyway…I used my Cookie Jar and Cookie Jar-gon sets for the Oreos, mixing bowl and words.  The truffle is one of Anna Wight’s images and I thought it would be a perfect addition.  The Oreo cookies were stamped with black ink onto brown paper.  Then I used a white gel pen to color in the white center.  It was much easier to do it this way when mass-producing and I thought they turned out kinda cute.  One was popped up on a dimensional.

The base cardstock has a swirly embossed design which is sort of hard to see in the photo.  The cardstock came already embossed which made my background easy!  I chose the colors for the base layer and the printed recipe by looking at the package of cookies.  That gave me the inspiration I needed to start the project. 

Well, I am off to bake another favorite cookie….molasses!  And work on a few more projects.  Have a great day!

stamps- Cookie Jar and Cookie Jar-gon by Cookie Crumbs, truffle by Whipper Snapper; paper- Making Memories Swirl Blue, white, brown, dp- EK Success; ink- Memento Black; accessories- SU! Top Note die, Copic markers, Stickles, SU! Scalloped Circle punch, Circle Nestabilities, SU! Word Window punch.

Hey, if you haven’t checked out Jessica’s blog, there’s still time!

Sorry I’ve been absent a few days again!  I’ve been working on some projects for an upcoming stamping event with friends.  I’ll share those projects soon!  But in the meantime, you gotta go check out what Jennifer did with the cookies!  :0)

Today the All That Scraps DT is having another Review Preview Friday and this time we are using my new sets, Cookie Jar and Cookie Jar-gon. 

I decided that I wanted to use the mouse and have him stealing a sweet treat from a stack of cookies.  The mouse was stamped directly onto the vanilla panel but the cookies were all stamped on a separate piece and cut out. 

I just got the Basic Grey Bittersweet paper and was anxious to use it.  Isn’t it gorgeous paper?  I love it!  I layered it with some unknown brown cardstock that I had on hand and one piece of the brown was punched with a Martha Stewart Valentine border punch.  Next I chose a sentiment from the Cookie Jar-gon set that is one of my favorites.  And I stamped and cut out the cookie jar for an accent.  (Had to add a little Stickles too!)  I am still on a mission to use my eyelet stash, so I added a few of those as well!

You can check out the other cards the DT created over on the ATS blog and in the gallery. 

Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend!  :0) 

stamps- Cookie Jar and Cookie Jar-gon by Cookie Crumbs; paper- Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, brown, dp- Basic Grey Bittersweet; ink- Memento Black; accessories- Copic markers, Mega Curved Rectangle Nestabilities, Martha Stewart mini-hearts border punch, Stickles, gel pen, eyelets, pop dots. 

Would you like a chance to win some great blog candy?  You’ll want to check this one out!  :0)

Stampavie is giving away to one lucky winner the entire Oooh La La Collection from Leere Aldrich! 

You can check out the details on Jessica’s blog, the newest member to the Stampavie DT.