A NEW CHALLENGE!!! Hand Stamped Sentiments

This will remain at the top until 2-7-10, please scroll down for NEW posts!!

I am SUPER excited to announce the start of a NEW CHALLENGE BLOG, Hand Stamped Sentiments (HSS). Myself, my cousin Shannon and my newest down-line Genevieve all contribute to this new venture. I am so excited to show you my projects for this fun COLOR SPLASH challenge. You can come play along with us, so here we go...

My first project for this weeks Color Splash Challenge is a gift item. I did this entire project using mostly the My Digital Software, man I love this stuff!! I will give further details on techniques and steps later in the post. Now for my next project...

For my second project I created a cool geometric inspired card. I was going for a more masculine Birthday card. I rarely have these on hand for when I need them and thought that would be a great jumping off point for this card.

So back to my first project, this by far was my favorite card to make!! So I started out with the printed MDS (My Digital Software) image on Whisper White card stock and I cut down the piece of card stock to a 2-3/4" x 2-3/4" piece, then I sewed the side and bottom with my sewing machine. Then I gathered different sizes of Rich Razzleberry, Dusty Durango, and Tempting Turquoise card stock and attached them all together in a random way. Then I gathered and sewed my Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon along the other side of my image.

Yes, I did use MDS to create this candle as well- it was EASY!!! So first step- wrap a piece of white tissue paper (roughly 8-1/2" x 12") around a piece of card stock and tape the ends onto the back, then run through your printer like normal. Then cut excess tissue paper away from your image area and place gently onto your candle. Then wrap a piece of wax paper around the entire candle and using your Heat Tool, heat the wax paper just enough to fuse the tissue paper onto the candle. The wax paper will release enough wax to seal the tissue image onto the candle. (note that after I took this photo I added a rhinestone brad into the middle of one of the flowers simply by making a hole with my paper piercer and pushing in the brad into the candle).

Once I sewed the ribbon onto the layered papers then I placed Dimensionals onto the entire piece and attached it to the 5"x5" card base. I ruffled the Basic Gray ribbon as well to get some lift and dimension from it.

I had a small piece of excess Taffeta Ribbon left after sewing and wrapped it and glued it to the back side of the layered pieces, just a simple touch of Pizazz!! I do just LOVE the sewing on the cards- My next new purchase will be to get a plethora of thread colors for my future cards!

I just loved this project, and I am going to make 2 more of these for my sisters that I visit teach...hopefully they wont see this until after they get them. :)

Now onto my next project for this Challenge- I thought this would be a great masculine Birthday Card. I am always left empty handed when it comes to guys and cards, since most of my creations are a bit FEM. So i thought a bit geometric would be a great start...

I took all my different circle punches ( 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1-1/4", 1-3/8", 1-3/4") and started punching away with the different colors, then placed them all to the side. I then took my card base of Basic Gray and ran it through my BIG SHOT using my Backgrounds 1 texture plate which gave me the dry embossed Polk-a-dot background. I found one of my circles that had a fairly large surface area and stamped my tiny sentiment there from the Vintage Labels Sale-A-Bration set, it is simple-understated-manly.

The hard thing about this card is that on some of the thinner circle the dimensionals, that POP some of these shapes up, are visible from the side- which is not an effect that I am fond of. So the rule for the person that receives this card is that you can ONLY look at it straight on, don;t even think about looking at it from the side! :)

I interlaced the different circles by cutting a small slit on many of them and then placing them where I wanted and adhering them in such a way that the slit is hidden behind another circle.

I hope you enjoyed today's project and come take part in this FUN challenge, the MORE the MERRIER!!! We hope you become a FAN and get MESSY with HSS!!!

ORDER ALL YOUR STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS 24/7, SHOP ROUND THE CLOCK IN YOUR PAJAMAS!!!

STAMPS: Vintage Labels {118392}

PAPER: Dusty Durango {115321}, Tempting Turquoise {102067}, Rich Razzleberry {115316}, Basic Gray {108692}, Whisper White {100730}

INK: Taken with Teal {103257}, Dusty Durango {115654}, Tempting Turquoise {100814}, Rich Razzleberry {115658}, Basic Gray {109120}, White Craft Ink {101731}

TOOLS: My Digital Studio {118108}, Petal Pizzazz Digital Stamp Brush {118840}, My Sweet Pea Digital Kit {119978}, Simple Friendship Digital Stamp Brush {119835}, Heat Tool {100005}, 1/2" circle punch {104390}, 3/4" circle punch {107217}, 1" circle punch {109046}, 1-1/4" circle punch {104403}, 1-3/8" circle punch {104401}, 1-3/4" circle punch {112004}, paper piercer {116613}, Big Shot {113439}, Backgrounds 1 texture plate {114512}

ACCESSORIES: Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon {109064}, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads {109111}, Vintage Brads {109109},

Teacher's Gifts Complete~

Good Morning Stampers!! Whew~ I finally finished my conceptual Valentines project for my Kids Teacher's...so let's get started! I wanted to make these cute bag/boxes that I originally posted HERE, that much I knew~ and then had to figure out what to put inside and how to turn them into a Valentine's Day themed gift...that was the conceptual part for me. :) Here is what they ended up looking like, and now to work our way backwards to see what I did.

Of course I have fallen in LOVE with the sewing technique on my paper projects, if you haven't been able to tell from reading and viewing my other posts...so I started out with that touch first. I used the Certainly Celery (retired SAB ribbon from last season) Grosgrain Ribbon, you can find all different colors HERE that would work great with any project.

Then using some scraps of a Simply Scrappin' Kit (also retired from last years Idea Book & Catalog) I made a tag for the front of my bag/box. The Simply Scrappin' Kits are NOT just for scrapbooking, see all the different kinds available and you can do anything from gift items to cards with these kits!! They come with a slew of card stock self-adhesive embellishments.

This tag was made by layering the Kiwi Kiss textured card stock (that came in the kit) to the back of the self-adhesive shaped label and I simply hand cut the card stock slightly larger to frame it. Then I took a word strip that said "TOTALLY SWEET" and trimmed it out to stack it. Tip: I trimmed out the sides of this sentiment using the edges of the Round Tab Punch to mimic the edges of the large card stock tag. I took a smaller embellishment that said "You're a *" (it had the star shape) and covered the unwanted part with a Kiwi Kiss heart embellishment from the same kit. Then just attached it to the front of my project.

I used some Designer Series Paper from the Cast a Spell pack (yes, it is a Halloween themed paper pack, but you can use most of the designs YEAR ROUND!!) to decorate the other 3 sides of my project.

Check out what I made to lay inside the 4 little pockets of the bag/box...yes, they are heart shaped cookies- or actually it is a cookie bar recipe (because actual cookies are way too runny when they cook) and I placed it in a heart cookie/candy mold and baked them and wrapped them in the Medium Flat Cello Bags and finished them with some 1/4" Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain Ribbon.

Here is what the inside looks like. I needed to fill the bag/box with something that would weigh down and stabilize the final piece that I was going to put in, which you'll see in a moment. These are dark chocolate Kisses, but best of all they are wrapped in a coordinating color for my project. The colors I used for this project were Pale Plum textured card stock (which came with the Simply Scrappin' Kit) and Basic Gray card stock, Perfect Plum DSP (in the Cast-a-Spell Pack), Kiwi Kiss (retired, but available through My Digital Studio) textured card stock (in my SSK) and Certainly Celery ribbon.

Here is the inside of the Pretty In Pink color theme. These are a Rose Red colored Kiss that have dark chocolate coating and cherry filling inside. I don't particularly care for the flavor (I don't like cherries) but I can't keep my husbands hands out of this thing!!!

So here is the item that I made for the center of the bag/box's... I saw a concept of this idea from another blog...and I didn't write down the name- you should see how long I blurf at night and when I come across a cute idea or inspiration I jot a note and move on...I need to get some sleep. :) So if this looks familiar to you please leave me a comment and take credit where credit is due! (Oh, the original idea was in a metal bucket and they had made like a bouquet of these cute things!)

So because I LOVE the sewn ribbon I stamped a heart image from the Sweetheart Clear Mount set and hand cut and punch out the needed areas using my paper snips and the Full Heart Punch. This stamp set is on Special right now and coordinates perfectly with the Heart shaped Treat Cups that I used for this project as well!! Then using the same Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon (I believe it is 5/8" size) I sewed and gathered the ribbon to get this adorable effect.

I recreated the same look with the coordinating colors for the Pretty In Pink bag/box I have

Here is a shot at the inside and outside of the hearts, you need 2 identical heart cups for this project. The kisses that go inside are simply too big to fit inside just one treat cup. I did place a small glue dot at the top and bottom of the sewn card stock/ribbon portion that would adhere to the treat cup once the treat cup was slid into the fitted heart slot. This was meant to keep the treat cup from becoming separated from the embellishment.

Then I place 3 Kisses inside one of the treat cups, and removed the paper strips from the treat cups to expose the sticky parts of the cups.

Then if you look closely, you can click on the picture to see a larger view, I placed 4 glue dots on one treat cup and just 1 glue dot at the bottom of the other (where the sucker stick goes) so that the treat cups can hold the weight of the Kisses and not come apart.

Hopefully this view helps as well...

See just one...

Then I place my stick on the LONE glue dot to hold it secure first, then place the other treat cup on top to complete your Kiss sucker center piece.

When they are finished they will look like this. The great thing is that they can stand for a LONG time without falling apart. Mine have been up-right for almost a week and have yet to sway or come apart.

I hope you enjoyed this complete project and have fun making your Valentines projects. Please don't forget about the NEW Challenge Blog that I have~ I want to see your creative ideas come to life. Visit it today and get started on your submission, there are only a few days left before this weeks challenge ends- Let's get cracking!!!! Until next time~ TTFN

TO ORDER ALL YOUR STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE SIMPLY CLICK HERE, ANY TIME DAY OR NIGHT 24/7!!!

STAMPS: Sweetheart Clear Mount Set

INK: Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Rose Red

PAPER: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Old Olive, Rose Red, Taken with Teal, Pretty in Pink, Designer Series Paper, Whisper White

TOOLS: Simply Scrappin' Kit, Full Heart Punch, Paper Cutter, Stylus, Heart Treat Cups, Round Tab Punch

ACCESSORIES: 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Blog Candy Winner!!!

Congratulations to #34 {kreationzbyzabrina}!!!!! You were the lucky winner of the BLOG CANDY give away! email me {erin@handstampedstyle.com} and send me your snail mail add and I will get your prizes headed your way. I am so glad that you all played along!

Be sure to check out the exciting news tomorrow and I hope you play along!! Until next time~ TTFN

It's Almost Time!!!

The hours are few until I pick a winner for the BLOG CANDY!!! Get all the details HERE and remember that those who become FOLLOWERS are entered in the drawing twice, if you leave a comment in this or the official BLOG CANDY post AND become a follower you can get up to 4 entries!!! Good luck and I will see you back here on Monday, Feb. 1st!!!!!

REMEMBER YOU CAN ORDER ALL YOUR STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS HERE 24/7, ON-LINE AT YOUR CONVENIENCE!!!

It's Challenging Today!!!

Good Afternoon Stampers!!

I have been away for a few days but I have been dieing to get this project done and posted- I have been thinking of it for a while. I decided to make these for my kids teachers for Valentines Day. I will post pics later this weekend of the complete set with them filled with treats and cards to boot! BUT today is CHALLENGING for many reasons- first it is nasty outside- AGAIN...yeah I am trying to pull color into my room through paper :-)

It is ALSO challenging today since this project was designed around a few of them I am taking part in today. The first one is over at Just Add Ink and it is for challenge JAI2 and the second challenge "Happy Heart Day" (also for Valentines Day gifts) is over at Sheli Gardner's blog- So Sheli.

I had such a great time making this and started with the idea of making a gift item for this loving holiday, then I wanted to tackle something I have wanted to do for a LONG time which was to sew on my card stock. So I accomplished both desires with one project.

I used the NEW clear mount stamps from Stampin' Up! and got to say I LOVE THEM!!! I have tried others before and never got a great image from other companies but because Stampin' Up! has such a great red-rubber quality their images are just perfect and beautiful! I used Sweetheart Stamp set from the Occasions Mini and the Whimsical Words which is a SALE-A-BRATION set that I GOT FOR FREE!!!!

I used a retired Designer Series Paper called Bali Breeze, I just love the colors that are offered and combined in this package...although the new Designer Series Paper pack named Sweet Pea are VERY close if not an exact match to these colors...I just LOVE THEM!!! I already downloaded the digital version into My Digital Studio, who knows you might see some blog changes soon... :)

I love making a card or items with texture and depth and I LOVE using dimensionals to create that effect with my projects.

Check out a top view of this project, a tip for ya- I made this super-sized...I used a 12x12 piece of card stock to make this nice and large to include lots of treats for the teachers. I am going to make large cookies to go in the 4 open slots and then I will fill and line the bottom with some kind of cute chocolates. Who could resist this? Wait till you see it completed with the food!

I started by scoring and folding just like I did in THIS post for a similar project. Then I sewed my 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (I used So Saffron- retired but I love the width of this ribbon) to my card stock using Taken with Teal sewing thread (it is nearly an exact match- amazingly). Then I folded my score lines and made my holes with my Crop-A-Dile for my 1/4" Tempting Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon.

Then on the outside of the folding box I decorated the display sides with coordinating patterned paper from the Bali Breeze Designer Series Paper paired with Taken with Teal card stock.

For the front display I used Rose Red card stock and my scallop edge punch to create a decorative base to my stamped image.

Here is a close up of the sewing I did in the corner, here's a TIP- when coming to the corner leave the needle in the card stock when you raise your handle on your sewing machine and while the needle is still in the card stock twist your piece of card stock and repositioned THEN lower your handle to secure the card stock in the right place before beginning to sew the next side of your box.

I manually inserted the ribbon as I sewed the project, which meant i did have to go a little slower than I would normally would when I sew, but the effect turned out so nicely.

I can't wait to see the teachers faces when they get my gifts...they work so hard for my kids and I really enjoy spending time on rewarding them with handmade items. I hope they know that I really appreciate all they do for my kiddo's, I truly think that handmade items say more then just THANK YOU, they say I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOU!!!

I hope you enjoyed today's project and inspiration. Don't forget to be on the lookout in February for the new HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS challenge blog. BE SURE TO ENTER TO WIN free BLOG CANDY that I am giving away, check it out here!! There are only a few days left, so don't miss out and thanks again for stopping by and until next time~ TTFN

GET ALL YOUR STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS 24/7 FROM MY ON-LINE STORE AT YOUR CONVENIENCE!!

STAMP SETS: Sweetheart {120780/CM}, Whimsical Words {119119/CM}

PAPER: Taken with Teal {101584}, Rose Red {102544}, So Saffron {105118}, Whisper White {100730}, Chocolate Chip {102128}, Pretty In Pink {106546}, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper {117161}

INK: Rose Red {101778}, White Craft Ink {101731}

TOOLS: Rose Red Stampin' Write Marker {100063}, Scallop Edge Punch {112091}, Full Heart Punch {113693}, Paper Cutter {104152}, Stylus {100663}, Crop-A-Dile {108362}, Clear Block Pack {118491},

ACCESSORIES: 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/4" Tempting Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon {109038}

My PPA26 Challenge

Happy Monday! I have been meaning to complete this project for WEEKS now...OK truth be told, MONTHS! I will explain in a minuet why getting this completed was so important, but I was so excited to finally have the motivation to complete it thanks to the PPA26 challenge. I decorated this cute cork memo board for my daughters room. It was EASY and FUN, and no stamping was involved!!!

I painted and decorated my daughters room almost a year ago and I used these Definitely Decorative Flowers on her Bathroom and Closet doors that coordinate with the butterflies I have placed all over her room. I have been meaning to create a memo board for her to coordinate with her room and if I can do this ANYONE can do it, and what a cute little embellishment this would add to your office or child's room!

I painted the wood frame of the cork/memo board first, since it came in a raw state. I used a celery color that would coordinate with not only her wall colors but the flower stems too. Then with my Definitely Decorative applicator I prepped the vinyl pieces by braying the grid side of the images first and then separated the two pieces of paper the images are house in between, making sure the vinyl adheres to the NON-GRID piece of paper (the sticky one).

Then I placed them where I wanted them and then ran over them evenly with my applicator to apply the flowers to the cork surface. Then using tension I made sure to remove the sticky paper piece used to apply the flowers being sure the flower adheres to the cork itself, if it doesn't adhere initially press back down and using the applicator to brayer the image down again.

I love these colors of the flowers in case you can't tell from the photo quality they are: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, So Saffron, Certainly Celery. Someday if I can get my daughter to clean her room well I will have to take pics of it to show how well it turned out. :) Thanks for taking a moment to peak at my little project and DON'T FORGET to enter to win some BLOG CANDY, check it out here!! Thanks for stopping by and until later~ TTFN
(there are issues with my On-Line store for Definitely Decorative links currently so please check back again for the link)

ORDER YOUR STAMPIN' UP! SUPPLIES 24/7 THROUGH MY ON-LINE STORE, JUST BY CLICKING HERE!

Check out all the Definitely Decorative items available and order all the items to embellish your rooms or craft projects, this product isn't JUST for your home!!!

New Crafty Kit Bits Available!!!

Have you ever wanted to use those FUN and ADORABLE shapes made with the famous BIG SHOT die cutting machine but you don't have one of those machines- yet?! Well here is your chance to get the shapes you need for the projects you want to create.

I am now offering certain shapes available in each color family for order. You will have 3 options when ordering your shaped dies:

Opt. 1-receive 24 shapes (2 of each color) standard color families

Opt. 2 receive 24 shapes (4 of ea. color) for neutral color family*

Opt. 3- and 20 shapes (4 of each color) for In-Color family.

I have displayed the BOLD BRIGHTS color family but you can choose any color family you would like.

The different color families available are:

Bold Brights- Glorious Green, Green Galore, Gable Green, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, Real Red, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Orchard Opulence, Lovely Lilac, Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise.

Earth Elements- Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Old Olive, Garden Green, Not Quite Navy.

Rich Regals- Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy, Taken with Teal, Handsome Hunter, Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Bravo Burgundy, Elegant Eggplant.

Soft Subtels- Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom, Apricot Appeal, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Mellow Moss, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, Lavender Lace.

In-Colors- Rich Razzelberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede.

*Neutrals- Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Kraft.

(the colors marked with a * are the ones included in your die pack)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(These Crafty Kit Bit prices include shipping costs)
Top Note Die- 24 dies (2 of ea. standard color family) $8

Top Note Die- 24 dies (4 of ea. Neutral colors) $8

Top Note Die- 20 dies (4 ea. In-Color family) $7

Pillow Box Die- 24 dies (2 of ea. standard color family) $8

Pillow Box Die- 24 dies (4 of ea. neutral color family) $8

Pillow Box Die- 20 dies (4 of ea. In-Color family) $7

Scalloped Envelope Die- 24 dies (2 of ea. standard color family) $8

Scalloped Envelope Die- 24 ( 4 of ea. neutral color family) $8

Scalloped Envelope Die- 20 (4 of ea. In-Color family) $7

Two Tags Die- 24 dies (2 tags of ea standard color family) $8

Two Tags Die- 24 dies (4 tags of ea. neutral color family) $8

Two Tags Die- 20 dies (2 tags of ea. In-Color family) $7

You can purchase these Crafty Kit Bits on the right side bar of this blog. Thanks for checking this out AND don't forget to enter for some FREE GOODIES in the form of BLOG CANDY, simply click on the link and read the details and enter today!!!

Thanks for checking in and until later~ TTFN



ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE 24/7 AT YOUR CONVENIENCE, JUST BY CLICKING HERE!!!

If you order your OWN Big Shot Die Cutting Machine TODAY during SALE-A-BRATION you could earn TONZ of FREE stuff!!! Have questions, please feel free to contact me at any time!