Shoebox Swap

Well Saturday we had a our Shoebox swap. It was a small group but lots of ideas were flowing! Everyone had great samples and now I'm all set for the coming holiday with card ideas. If you don't know what a shoebox swap is, it's making a sample and you cut and prepare everything for each participant to make the sample. It's a great way to learn a new technique or idea. Here are the tags that I did.

 This one I copied right out of the catalog! I did change it up just a bit. I used some linen thread and the clay. With the clay I took a tiny piece and made a ball, flattened it and stamped the bird in cherry cobbler. In the catalog they used a button, which I did have but liked the white with red. Since the stamp set is photopolymer, it's much easier to stamp through the punch, although some did have a bit of difficulty. On the back has a to/from so you can use it as a gift tag and then later or instead of an ornament! Hope you like it!

This tag I found on Pinterest, sorry I don't remember the name, but they weren't SU. It used other product and I thought this could easily be a SU tag! Again on the back has the to/from. I punched six 1 1/4" circles from the DSP stack in the holiday mini. Sorry I don't remember the names, and folded them in half and burnished with a bone folder. You then attach the folded circles to each other but two. You don't want to make a full circle because those two get attached to the tag, which was made with the scallop tag topper. There are also holes along the right side of the circles to add some interest. To do that I used the piercing template and piercing pad and paper piercer, you know that pointy thing!

Ok, I just realized I haven't taken pictures of the other swaps, so that will have to wait until tomorrow. Have to keep you coming back for more!

Please post a comment and tell me what you think.

Happy Stamping!
Cyndy

Weekly Deals

Yes, I'm a little late posting, but it does show up under the tab for weekly deals each week, so I'm not always in a rush to publish it. But there are several items this week that you might be interested in. The Truly Grateful stamp set is perfect for this time of year. Also the decorative window box is a great box to put some treats in for any time of year. I could go on about each item, but here just let me show you all of them! To make any purchase, just click on the "shop now" button at the top.

Happy Stamping!

Cyndy

Tissue Box

Well as promised, here are the other two sides of the tissue box we did this past weekend. We had a lot of fun and they learned several new techniques.

 I loved making all the sides for this box and wanted it to be good for not just Halloween, but for the entire fall season. This ghost I think took the most amount of time. The background was the masking technique. I started with a piece of Whisper White card stock and die cut one of the smaller circles. I then sponged on Daffodil Delight, then added Elegant Eggplant, and ended with Night of Navy. After I took off the mask I gently rubbed over the moon with the Elegant Eggplant. The stars are from the new star border punch and adhered with the two way glue. The bat is the larger butterfly punch and 1/2" circle punch. The "tomb stones" are made from the Modern Label punch. The grass is cut with the fringe scissors. I did sponge it before I cut it and then crinkled it to add more texture. I also added some leaves from the new fall frame lit, which is the same one that has the ghost.

This side was pretty simple. I used the woodgrain stamp and Early Espresso ink and stamped on Soft Suede card stock. The wreath I used the baby wipe technique. I used the same inks as the DSP. The phrase inside is from the new Hostess set you can earn for FREE! It's called Good Greetings. It's a great set that is so versatile. The promotion ends on the 31st. You do need to host a workshop with sales of $300 (before shipping and tax).

Well I hope you enjoyed this box. I've already made, a very simple, box for the Christmas season. If you need any of the measurements or directions, please contact me.

Happy Stamping!

Cyndy

Weekly Deals & Stamp A Stack

Here is my INK swap from convention I made using the Apothecary Accents Framelits. This is such a versatile die. I also used the mosaic embossing folder which the punch that is also part of the weekly deals would coordinate very nicely with the folder.

Are you in need of holiday cards? Well I can solve that problem! I can do a Stamp A Stack in your home! How convenient is that! Get a group of your friends together for an evening out or during the day and I'll do the rest! You will make 12 cards in total, three each of four designs with envelopes. All for only $25.00! I'll have everything cut and ready to go. Everybody loves getting a handmade card. So why not make some great easy fun cards for those special in your life!

Happy Stamping!
Cyndy

Pumpkins, Pumpkins! Where are the pumpkins?

They are here! My husband likes to plant pumpkins, tomatoes, and watermelons each year. He has a couple of small gardens and likes to get as much as possible planted. His tomatoes were late this year, but boy are they coming in now! The watermelon didn't fare as well. We think the horses or deer kept eating whatever was growing outside the fence line. These vines would take over everything! But the pumpkins did great! He did have a few jumbo pumpkins going but only one survived. We do have many small pumpkins which are great for making pumpkin pie and bread.

Over the weekend my son and his girlfriend picked the pumpkins and gathered them up. Here is a picture of all the pumpkins. Surprisingly his girlfriend had never gone pumpkin picking as a kid so this was a real treat for her.

Then they carved one of the pumpkins. What a great job!

Here are some gourds I plants along with more tomatoes! The grape size tomatoes, I think there is at least 2 lbs in that basket!

Happy Stamping!
Cyndy

Happy World Card Making Day!

Yes, I'm a bit late posting today. I've been working still, on typing up instructions for my projects for next weekend. I got the easy ones out of the way and now for typing up the directions for the tissue box. The box itself is very easy, it's how you decorate it, and as you can see from the two sides (from the previous post) each side is a bit involved. I will be making a couple more, less involved ones and will post when they are complete. But as for now, let's stick to a card.

I actually did this card at Fall Fest, but thought it was a cute card for today. Simple and easy. Are you a washi tape horder? I love the stuff but don't seem to use it much. Here is an easy way to use it.

Just take strips of washi tape and adhere it to your card stock. Lining up the edges gives it a smooth surface to stamp on and then stamp your image! It's that easy! Make sure your ink is darker then the washi tape you're using. I've also used washi tape to secure photos or anything else you want to secure. Using it as a piece of ribbon or embellishment on a card or scrapbook page. I'm working on another way to use it that I saw on another blog but it isn't working for me so for now, that will wait. Enjoy this sample and this beautiful fall weather we are having!

Happy Stamping!
Cyndy

Preparing for Octoberfest

If you haven't been to the Girl Scout Adult weekend, Octoberfest, you're missing a lot! It's a great time to get away, relax, hike, ride a horse, stamp, get a message, or just read. This is an adult only weekend and we have a great time. I've been doing this weekend for many years. I teach a stamp class that's usually geared toward home decor. This year we're going to do several projects. One is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Several years ago I saw someone cover a tissue box. I thought this was great, you could make one for the different seasons or holidays. Here is a picture of the one I had started back then and like a bunch of things, never got to finish.

 I just did two different sides. I felt like I was killing myself by overthinking what it should look like. What was nice that the paper on the two sides had the bird printed on it. This paper coordinated with Nature's Walk (retired), along with the embossing folder that I used.

Here is the other side. I used more of the DSP with the stamp set. All is retired :( . I really liked this set. On this side I stamped the bird and the background.

Here is the box they're going to make next weekend. I did all sides different, so here you can see two of the sides. I had a lot of fun making this box cover. What's nice is you can just pop off one and replace it with another. I'm going to try and make some for the other seasons, to give them some ideas of other designs. This box has a lot to it. You can keep this as simple or more involved as you want. Check back in a couple of weeks to see the rest of the box and other samples.