More etching.... I can't stop!!!!

So.....I decided to try some more etching and entering in to the Kitchen Sink Stamps monthly challenge. Now, this may be a stretch for this month's theme: Celebration!, but how about if I'm providing the plates and cups for the big celebration?! Does it work???!!!!

I used Kitchen Sink Stamps' 3 step Butterflies, but only used the last step images for stamping on here. It's glass, so it's not like I can do 3-d effects. Unfortunately! Again, I used the Armour Etch and waited a lot longer. And can I just tell you, that it really does make a difference how you apply the Armour Etch. If you splotch it on (is that even a word?!!), then it's not going to be a clear etch. If you go up and down like Lauren (see link in previous post) Meader showed in her tutorial, then it comes out nice and clean! Another thing I learned is that it's SOOO much easier to scrape off the embossed images under lukewarm running water rather than let it dry and THEN try to scrape it off. I learn things the hard way.... And the last thing I learned was that it doesn't matter if you put some reinker into the Armour Etch, the etching doesn't pick up the color. :( I thought that would have been cool!

Anyway, tell me what you think!!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

Etched tea cup

I was checking my email and I regularly get email newsletters and stuff from PaperTrey Ink. I love their stamps and everything else they have come out w/! And I vow, that when I have money, I will buy some of their stuff! And I love reading Nichole Heady's blog. She comes up w/ some really awesome ideas! Anyway, they have something else that they send out via email that has designer tips. So, one of the design team has a special thing on their blog that they have a tutorial for. I went to the blog, today's is from Lauren Meader and she showed how to stamp on glass and then etch the image permanently. I actually had come across this somewhere when I used to teach at Michael's. I bought a bunch of glass ornaments and etching cream called Armour Etch, brought the bag home and then forgot about it! Until today! I went right to the bag, (since my crafting room has recently been reorganized, I knew where it was!) and took out the Armour Etch. I collect snack dishes as a hobby, and with those snack dishes come tea cups. So, I have a TON of teacups that I just don't use. Ever. So, as I was thinking about what I could etch, I suddenly thought about these teacups, and instead of throwing them away, I could stamp on them, etch the design and sell them! So, I grabbed one, cleaned it of fingerprints and dust!, and stamped it w/ the clump of trees from Lovely As A Tree (only since I had it out!) w/ Versamark. Then, I clear embossed it, and then sponged on the Armour Etch. I let it dry for about 15 min. I couldn't wait!!!!

When I washed the residue off, I thought it had all come off! I got so mad! I thought, I should have waited longer!!! Then, I dried it off and realized that there was a film on the glass, and then the image started to appear and I knew it had worked! Now, this is obviously my first time, so the etching is rather faint, but it's there! The next thing Lauren says to do is to scrape off the embossing. So, I did that and washed it again and it's even prettier!!!!

I put a cinnamon stick tealight from PartyLite (since it's a clear tealight) in there and decorated w/ fallish ribbon for a small detail.

What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

Kitchen Sink roses

I was messing around w/ Kitchen Sink Stamps 3 Step Hearts and Roses and thought a trio of roses would make a nice image on a card. So, I after a couple tries, I got it right!

I wanted to use hardware, and I don't usually choose more than one piece, but when making this card, I thought that if I could connect a bunch of pieces together, I could create a unique little border, or accent. I didn't want the S-clips and circle clip to get lost in the background, so I added a piece of pink taffeta (SU!) to break up that silver on white. The white is embossed w/ Swiss Dots through the cuttlebug. The Pretty in Pink paper behind has been inked along the edges in Versamark and then Pearl-Exed. The roses were done in Pretty in Pink. The leaves were done in Certainly Celery, Mellow Moss, and Always Artichoke. I think those colors work well together for leaves when using SU! colors!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!

Happy Stamping!!!

Lumiere swirls

Today's card was made for the Monday Technique challenge: Embossed Shimmer.

This is a little bit of a process, but well worth it in the end! And the hardest part is waiting for it to dry!!!! To make your own, read this post.

I used Mellow Moss, Certainly Celery, and Always Artichoke as my reinkers. The ribbon and pearls are from Martha Stewart. The chipboard snowflake and sentiment are from Kelly Panacci's Christmas Collection from Michael's. The paper behind the acetate is Mellow Moss and vanilla.

Thanks for looking!

Christmas is closer than you think! Scary, huh?!

Happy Stamping!!!

I love coffee!

The main bag

Here's a closer picture.

And here you can see the vellum steam, kind of!

Today's challenge on SCS was to use coffee and orange together. Well, I kind of cheated and didn't really use orange, but I overcompensated by using A LOT of coffee! A whole bag, in fact! Hahaha! When I saw the challenge, I instantly thought of the bag of coffee that I am giving to my dad, and thought how cool that would be to decorate it! And it just kind of fell into place from there!

To get all the details go to my gallery on SCS. I don't have time right now to write everything down! Off to preschool and work!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Starbucks cup of coffee today!

Happy Stamping!!!

Did you know....?

That April 23rd is World Laboratory Animal Day? Just thought you might be interested! I was playing around w/ my new stamps from Kitchen Sink Stamps and I brought out Pretty Tera Drops. This set is kind of like Pick a Petal from Stampin' Up. You have a few petals to choose from, a stem, and some little petals that you can use for other things. So, I took one of the large petals and made a mouse! And what goes better w/ a mouse, than some cheese! Now, do mice really like swiss cheese? Who knows! But, since this is the most popular in regard to mice, I figured I would make swiss cheese out of my cardstock! I used several circle punches and two different eyelet hole makers (is there a proper word for these?) to get the look I wanted. Then, I "sliced" the cheese down to make it more like cheese. I grabbed Celebrate from my All Year Cheer and stamped that on vanilla. Oh, the cheese is Barely Banana. I drew a banner around the celebrate and cut it out. I attached w/ a toothpick!

For the mouse: I took that large petal and ran it across my Sahara Sand ink pad to make it look furry. I don't really know if I achieved that look! Then, I used a small circle stamp to make the eye. And a small petal stamp stamped in Pretty In Pink and cut out. I stamped the same petal and just used the top round part for the nose and mouth I guess. The tail is a small stem.

So, it's something different from this Pretty Tera Drops! Can't wait to find more uses for this set!

Thanks for stopping by!
Have some cheese!
"Cheese" you later!
Happy Stamping!!!

My first Halloween card of the year!

Happy Early Halloween!

This card was made for today's Sketch Challenge on SCS. It seems like more stampers are moving on to the next holiday, Halloween! Scary, frightening, fun Halloween! I decided to join the masses!

The paper is from The Fall Stack by DCWV. Buttons are just an assortment of what I have collected over the years. I twisted wire to make stems and leaves to really make the buttons look more like pumpkins! The tree s are from Inkadinkado which I found at Michael's. These trees are scarier than the Lovely As A Tree set of trees! I used two circle punches to make the moon. The sentiment is from All Year Cheer. I put white taffeta ribbon on to separate the two different papers. And I used Prisma Colored Pencils and gamsol spirits to create the evening sky. I really like how it blended in! I'm learning more and more!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!!!

Artfully Asian....Finally!

So.... I finally inked my Artfully Asian stamp set that I bought way back in June for my annual Stampin' Up retirement party. I have quite a collection of stamps, so it takes me a while to get to every stamp set that I have! However, for this card that I was thinking about all day, I wanted something w/ clean lines and easy to color. I wanted to stick to two colors, and make simple but look difficult. I don't know if I achieved that, but I tried!

I used Artfully Asian for the main image. The swirl in the background is from Autumn Leaves. The sentiment is from Fancy Flexible Phrases. I did faux stitching, because I vow to never buy a sewing machine and if I want to create that look, this is what I have to do! The ribbon is pink taffeta from Stampin' Up!. The paper is white, Regal Rose and Basic Black. The little rhinestone brads are from Michael's.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!!!

Elegant Thoughts of You

This card was made for a packet of cards for someone. I wanted to make an elegant card w/ some of the designer paper I have. I found this stack called Old World Stack by Die Cut W/ A View, and I just love the swirly designs! I based my card on the color and swirls. The watermarked (actually stamped off) leaf is from Paper Salon. The sentiment is from 3 step Hearts and Roses from Kitchen Sink Stamps. I stamped it in Memento Black and then stamped it again in Sahara Sand just off kilter a little so it looks like a shadow. Obviously, you can't see that in this picture, but that's what it looks like in real life! Once I put the rectangle on the card, the rest of it just fell into place. I knew that I wanted to use pearls, because I wanted to keep that soft, elegant look. I only wish I had pearls encased in gold! I have seen those on cards, and they are just beauiful! The big pearls are from Martha Stewart, and the smaller ones on my chipboard swirl are from Kaiser Scrapbooks. I bought these from eclecticPaperie. The swirl is from Kelly Panacci Holiday Collection of chipboard. The ribbon is Vanilla taffeta from Stampin' Up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!

Happy Stamping!!!

Loads of.....Flowers!

I have been wanting to make a card and use my old stamps. I tend to reach for my new Kitchen Sink stamps, and I have to give them a break and use what I have! So, I started out w/ Loads of Love and Living Large. I had several backgrounds in mind, and then I thought about all the designer paper that I "forget" I have, and make scenes instead. Which, there's nothing wrong w/ that, but when will I ever use up all this paper I have!!! So, I looked through a drawer and found a Glitter Mat Stack from who knows when and flipped through it. I really liked the sparkly flowers, so that's what got pulled. I really like this paper because it looks like it's raining flowers! Then, I remembered a layout from a long time ago where someone had a half circle on the folded part of the card and then designed their card around that. So, I wanted to try it out. I love that scalloped look around different shapes, so I thought I would achieve that same look w/ my decorative scissors. Then, I wanted to do something w/ the truck from Loads of Love, so I made it 3-d! I love doing this w/ different things! Look below!

I wanted to do something for the inside, and I had this girl that I had decorated to put on the outside, and ended up running out of room. So, I stuck her here! I like her here actually, because she ties the outside to the inside!

To keep the flap closed on the front of the card, I have a magnet that seems to be doing the job! Woo hoo! I used a metal tag to connect the Wild Wasabi ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm sending Loads of....Flowers your way!

Happy Stamping!!!