Home For the Holidays Card

Who else is guilty of buying a stamp and not using it because you HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH IT?!?!?! I'm sure we all are. This card that I have made was used with a stamp set I had to have to have a long time ago and just never did anything with. But since I've had all of my Christmas stamps out, I brought it out and vowed to give it life! 

First I stamped the images and colored them and the darn thing sat for ANOTHER three days. Where did I go from here? How could I make this badboy look okay??? I truly did not know. But this is what I came up with and I'm hoping that you all enjoy it too.

I tried something new with this blog entry... I made a picture that has a pictorial representation of the materials used. I have not yet had the patience to sit and post pictures with links of everything I used lol this is partly due to the fact that some of my stuff is really old (my embossing powders, embossing inks, etc.).

The card itself is pretty explanatory, but if there are any questions about its specifications or about any specific materials or processes, please do not hesitate to ask! I would love to get a crafty conversation going :D

See you soon!

Chey :)

Watercolor Autumn Tree Card

I have to say. I love all of the seasons for each of their respective reasons. (I'm a poet and I didn't know it? :P ) Spring for the way everything bursts into life, for the blossom trees and flowers, the way it's not too hot and not too cold, and for the way it fills me with hope; Summer for the road trips, BBQs, family, and vacations; Winter for the way the fresh fallen snow looks, for my grandparents at Christmas, sleigh riding and bulky snow suits, mittens, hot cocoa, my anniversary and the way Christmas Eve is the most silent and peaceful night of the year; and fall... for the way mother nature can make change seem like a beautiful experience, for the way the leaves dance on the wind, for apple cider, Halloween, Thanksgiving, football, and reflection.

Given that fall is almost upon us, I thought I would create a card that celebrates the season. I watched a video on YouTube for a similar technique. You can watch it here. I have a long way to go before mine are as beautiful as the talented Sandy Allnock's, but it didn't turn out too bad I didn't think :)

Materials:

1.) Watercolor cardstock

2.) Sheltering Tree Stamp from Stampin' Up

3.) Distress inks (pick a red, orange, a yellow, a green, a brown, and a blue)

4.) Black ink for sentiment

5.) Thin black marker or pen for outline

6.) Water & Paint Brush

Let me know what you all think. Share with me your favorite season and why. Do you have any seasonal cards you would like to share with me?

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Yeti or not... Winter's Here!

Well... almost ;)

I know we have to get through fall first but seriously I can't resist making Christmas cards. I have been having so much fun lately whipping out my Christmas stamps that I have accrued throughout the last year. A new member to my stamp family is this stamp set by Hero Arts & Kelly Purkey:

Here are some things I don't know about this stamp set:

1.) When it came out... or

2.) How long it's been out... &

3.) Why there is not more hype about it. 

Firstly, who doesn't love a stamp set that comes with matching dies? Second, WHO DOESN'T LOVE BUMBLE?! Perhaps for copyright reasons this little guy isn't actually called Bumble, but he looks like him so that is what I am calling him. Yeti/Abominable Snowman/Snowmonster/Bumble. I, yes I, Cheyenne... made a B U M B L E    A R M Y. Details below...

                                             

Directions:

1.) Stamp & cut 5 Bumbles

2.) Color with copic markers (B00 - B05 - R29)

3.) Stamp trees randomly in the background in your choice of green inks (Seen here are Memento Dew Drop inks in Bamboo Leaves & New Sprout)

4.) Randomly emboss snowflakes on the background with Stampin Up Gold Glory embossing powder (not sure if this is still available as I have had it for a looong time)

5.) Position the Bumbles so you know where to place the sentiment. Go ahead and stamp said sentiment.

6.) Draw black lines around the edges (not measured or straight here- I liked the imperfect look of it)

7.) Glue Bumbles down (Center/head honcho/Leader Bumble is raised up on foam squares)

8.) Take B00 copic and draw lines under Bumbles to make it look like they're standing on snow.

9.) Get matching green cardstock and make a card base.

Measurements:

White panel = 4x6

Green card base = 6 1/4 x 8 1/2 (folded in half)

So what do you all think?! I hope you get the stamp set and love it as much as I do. Please share your Bumble creations with me! ♥♥♥♥♥

How to clean your acrylic blocks!

I realize there are many different types of inks out there. Dye ink, pigment ink, water based ink, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on! One of my absolute favorites is StazOn Jet Black ink. I use it for E V E R Y T H I N G. It is super juicy (and somehow manages to smell like juice, if you’ll believe it!) and creates great crisp lines. It’s perfect for when you want to stamp an image and color it in with markers, watercolors, etc… whatever you fancy.

However. If you’re like me, you’ll notice that StazOn (or any other difficult ink) tends to stain your stamps as well as your acrylic blocks. I understand that this staining does not affect performance of either the stamps or the blocks, but sometimes you just want a crystal clear block, right?! After all, that is the purpose of the clear stamp/clear block system... so you can see right through to where you're going to be putting the stamp!

WHAT?!

So, I have found a solution. This one actually comes to me from my little 7 year old who taught me that most ink or paint can be removed this way. I have never tried StazOn’s ink or stamp cleaners, and I do not know if my method would be safe for stamps… but here’s how you can clean your acrylic blocks:

You will need:

• Cotton balls or q-tips
• Nail polish remover (the one in the pic has acetone, I am not sure if acetone-free works, but feel free to give it a shot!)
• Dirty nasty filthy inked up acrylic blocks :P

Step one: Open Nail Polish Remover Cap
Step two: Apply nail polish remover to cotton ball/qtip
Step three: Scrub Acrylic block until clean

AND VOILA! 

Here is the finished product. Look at all that clear see-through goodness! 

I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you rush straight to your inky blocks and clean em up good and right. (For the record, I do not know how nail polish remover would work on stamps. I mean, I'm sure it would remove the ink... but I do not know if it would damage them in the long run. Does anyone know?! Has anyone tried it?!)

See you all soon!

Chey :) 

Quillflake Card ♥

I was going through my Christmas board on Pinterest... because I've been getting into the spirit lately and wanted to do something to prepare for it, when I saw these snowflakes and thought to myself, "OMG I SHOULD PUT THAT ON A CARD!" lol! I know it's bulky and giving it to someone could be difficult... but a thin handmade box for a bulky card might do the trick.

Twirly Swirly Christmas Card

Hey fellow Crafters... check out this beaut. 

Used the Cricut (a cartridge I don't even HAVE ahaha!) + pearly paper + snowflake embossing folder + Cuttlebug + ribbon for the double bow. I hope ye liketh. 

DIY Christmas gift bag

Who DOESN'T love custom crafty awesome ways of wrapping stuff at Christmas time? All you need  for a bag like this is some awesome paper, ribbon, tissue paper, and the We R Memory Keeper's Gift Bag Punch Board. And an embellishment if you so choose. They work great for birthdays too.

Inspiration can seriously strike just about anywhere. I was CLEANING OUT MY CLOSET the other day when I found this sparkly purple leftover Christmas ornament. That's when the fire lit inside my brain and I was like OMG! PURPLE CHRISTMAS GIFT BAG!

Go get this punch board and see what you can make with it!!! Share your creations with me.

And hey- if you stop by, leave me some love! I haven't gotten any comments yet and would love to respond to some peoples! Thank youuuu!! ♥♥♥♥♥

Halloween

I made these treat bags for my daughter's class this year.. for Halloween! I did it with the Cricut! It's great because Cricut now has a subscription service.. like Netflix has for movies or how other companies offer something in exchange for about what? 7-10 bucks a month! The Cricut subscription service is $9.99 per month and you have UNLIMITED access to all of their cartridges (sans the licensed Disney ones, of course). Truly phenomenal deal! Imagine all the ways in which you could craft your brains out!!! :P XD