Best Storage Ideas Ever!

Click on the title of this post and it will take you to a blog completely devoted to stamping/scrapping storage ideas. It is amazing!

KS Hydrangea

Stamps for main image are Kitchen Sink and stamped with Papertrey Perfect Match Inks. The background is a double background made with SU Handstitched and SU Linen stamps. Ribbon from Papertrey.

Cute Paper Purse

Isn't this cute! My friend, Lana has a template for these. If anyone is interested, I will try to find out from her the site where you can purchase the plastic template. She told me, but I forgot.

Click the subject line and it will take you to the place to get the template.

What Do Men Know About Stamping?

Click the subject line above to read Joan's "quizzing" of her husband about stamping. It is very funny! I never miss Joan's stamping blog because her humor is so much fun.

Inching By

All stamps by Papertrey. Ribbon from All That Scraps. Paper is Memory Box. Glitter is Stickles clear.

10 Club Card

PTI Amazing Grace

All stamps and ribbon are Papertrey. I used the Memory Slot punch for the ribbon openings. I like the dark brown paper contrast with the Blush cardstock.

Kitchen Sink Rose

Background is a repeated Hero Arts stamp. The rose is stamped over the top of SU Linen ini Adirondack Cranberry and Rose Romance inks. The leaves are certainly celery.

Heather's Card

This is the card our friend Heather brought to our stamp group for us to make. All stamps by SU.

Cricut Ice Cream Cone

I made this sample using the Cricut. I am planning to have my students make some summer cards after the first part of June.

10 Club Sympathy Card

Lady Bug, Lady Bug

Stamps: Papertrey
Ribbon: Paper Trey
Embellishments: Robin's Nest Dew Drops, Prima Flower
Paper: Papertrey, SU, and Vellum
Accessories: Scallop Scissors, White gel pen from www.jetpens.com
Glue Dots from JoAnn

No Stamping Cricut Card

I have been experiementing with the Cricut. This is one of the first cards I made with it.

Sparkling Card

Diane N. made this very cheerful and glittery card. It is no secret that I love sparkle and she remembered that when she sent me a colorful birthday card. I must contact her and find out how she did this.

Birthday Card from Colleen

Colleen O is another GW friend who sent this card which can only be described as very feminine and pretty. I just love the flowers with the sponged edges and Dew Drop Centers. This card is just lovely!

RAK from Sharanlee

This is from another GW friend, Sharanlee. I love how she did the felt flowers and I had not thought of coloring the swiss dots after making a Cuttlebug background. Everything about this card is just so much fun!

Gorgeous Card from Martha M.

This card is simply stunning. It is so thick it came packaged in a box!! I had to show this card to all my stamping friends who were here yesterday. It is truly amazing.

Cricut Sample from Jacki J.

Get Well Card from Jacki J

Longtime GW friend, Jacki J made this card for me when I was sick with my stomach and eye problems. It is gorgeous and I love how she used the Papertrey Ribbon.

A Card with Quite a Story Behind It

My friend Pat is not a stamper. She commissioned her friend Gigi, who is a stamper to make a card for me. Gigi asked some questions and learned that she and I are in the same stamp club. We had no idea we all knew each other. Anyway, this adorable card by Gigi is the result. I just love it.

Creatively Fishy

A get well card from my longtime GW friend, Martha M. I love how she used paint chips in such a creative way!

Get Well RAK from GW Candy D

My photos never do these RAKs justice. This is so sparkly and so cheerful! Thank you Candy!

Cuttlebug Dies For Sale: SOLD!

I have the one that makes 4 sizes of ovals, 4 that make layering daisies, and a square postage frame. You can have all of them for $10 plus $2.50 shipping. Email me at rubyslippers@neofast.net.

Birds Galore

I couldn't get the photo to show the browns right, but this is done with Close to Cocoa and Creamy Caramel.

Hero Arts Birds and Flowers

These are new spring stamps from Hero Arts. Ribbon is from American Crafts.

Verve Visual in Bright Colors

This is one of the early Verve Visual stamp sets that I bought. I saw a similar card somewhere so this card is kind of CASE'd but I am not sure how much since I saw the original long ago. The background is Cuttlebugged.

Baby Buggy

I cut out the center of the first layer so the second layer could show through. I also cut up this stamp so I could stamp the wheels seperately. The centers are tiny brads. Main images are SU, but background is CHF.

Rumor Has It--

That the acetate boxes Papertrey stamps come in are just right to store your 6 x 6 Designer Paper in! So, I tried it. Yes! Another organization solution!

Happy Birthday to Me!

When my students asked how old I was I told them "older than dirt". They thought that was hilarious!

This card is done with Kim Hughes' owl set at CHF.

PIF---Wanna Play?

Some bloggers are doing a PIF offer. It stands for Pay It Forward. Through some means, they choose a couple of their readers and mail card kits to them. I got my 2 card kits today from Bela at belascreatingplace.blogspot. com. Then I am to make a post offering a chance for 2 of my readers to receive card kits from me. In turn, they will post on their blog and keep it going. Soooo, the 8th and the 31st emails I get from readers with comments, will be my "winners" and each receive 2 complete card kits from me. Email me at rubyslippers@neofast.net with your comment about my blog, a card I have done, or a general comment or tip about stamping. My card kits will also each contain one brand new stamp to complete your cards with. Good luck!!

Baby Birds in Spring

I just love this smARTworks birds stamp. I stamped it on a light blue in Dark Brown Colorbox Chalk ink and sponge the edges after I cut with my Nesties. The background paper is from JoAnn. I love the shimmer it has.

Grad Hat Card

I made the little hat with cardstock and embroidery thread. You can put the numbers for the year or the initials of the school on the little black squares down the side.

Berry Sweet PTI

The cardstock, pink inks, and ribbon are Papertrey's Berry Sorbet and Sweet Blush. The green cardstock is SU and the green ink is Certainly Celery. This stamp is from the Green Thumb set.

I was disappointed to learn that PTI is only releasing one color this month.

Half Price Cuttlebugs!

Click the title of this post and you can get a Cuttlebug at half price. WOW!!

Just a Note

I still have some of the wonderful RAKs that GW friends sent me along with an amazing card a local friend made for my birthday. One of these days I will get caught up on my photgraphing and they will all appear here eventually. Just didn't want anyone to think I chose not to post their card.

KS Rose Mother's Day Card

This card was made with SU linen behind the KS rose in the cneter. The edges were scored with my home made scoring board that works wonderfully for pennies. Click the title of this link and it will take you to directions to make your own scoring board.

Check Out My New Blog

Click the title of this post and it will take you to my new blog about my adventures teaching in a juvenile detetion (jail) school for the last 10 years.

Looks Like Rain PTI Style

I love this little boot. I was inspired by a similar card I saw somewhere. The back ground top half of the card is Cuttlebugged with Swiss Dots and I left the lower part unembossed. Ribbon from JoAnn. The black dots are done iwth a gel pen.

Blue CHF Owl

I am so glad I bought this Kim Hughes Owl set over at CHF. I am enjoying it so much. This card is similar to another one I did where I colored the owl in brown. I decided there was no reason in the world an owl cannot be blue!! The color combo was inspired by some Martha Stewart linens I saw in a magazine.

10 Club Card

All stamps by Stampin' Up.

Color Comparision of Ink--1 of 2

Ink Color Comparisons

Also in the post before this one there is a flourish done with PTI Sweet Blush.

Loads of Birthday Love

All stamps and the roller are SU. I used the Word Window do create the little black areas where the ribbon is attached. You can untie the ribbon and open the flap. The windows and hub caps are done with a silver pen.

KS Hydrangea Topiary

I really love the butterflies that come with this set and have not used them much. The flowers are done with (bottom layer up)" Cool Carribean, Sweet Blush (PTI), Certainly Celery, Adriondack Pesto. The vase is Bordering Blue tapped off, Bordering Blue Full strength, black tapped off, black full strength. The butterfly is yellow, orange, navy.

PTI Boots in Spring

I just love these little Papertrey boots in the new colors. All cardstock is PTI. The lace is done on computer-weight paper with the Fiskars Lace Border punch that punches and dry embosses. Background is Sweet Blush that has been run through the Swiss Dots CB folder. I just love how that cardstock takes the ink so evenly.

Lady Bug in Pink

This is the PTI lady bug. The background is a Hero Arts stamp stamped in Sweet Blush. I just love the PTI ribbons that match everything.

How Do I Keep Track of My Images?

I have a list of reader questions and will do them one at a time as I find the time. I got really behind and plan to get caught up.

Anyway, to answer the question, I stamp every stamp on a baseball sized piece of cardstock. I put them in a notebook filled with baseball card pages. I have dividers between sections (flowers, animals, Christmas, words, bugs, etc.) When I sell or give away a stamp I pull the card. It is the best system I have come up with.

Also, for my Papertrey stamps, I just print the page with the picture of the set from their sight and all of those go in my PTI notebook.

Lots of NEW and a little Used Stuff

I have an $8.95 flat ship box crammed full with lots and lots of brand new things and some used. There are punches, stamp sets, loads of great unopened embellishments, eyelets, ribbon, etc. There are several brand new SU sets that are duplicates, etc. I am cleaning out my stamp room again and some of this is duplicate items. I am great for buying 2 of something, and I have decided that anything I have 2 of and I have not used the first, has to go. Very few of the stamps have been opened, much less used. There are woodmounted and clear sets in the box. I have been cleaning off and on and these are things that I didn't have the heart to part with the first and second times through since I started this project in February, so this stuff is kind of "cream of the crop" of the stuff I am finally parting with. The box is worth at least $150 if you bought the stuff new. I am selling it for $40 plus the postage. Insurance is extra. Email me if you are interested. I may have 2 boxes before the day is over. Email is rubyslippers@neofast.net

KS Hydrangea using fewer inks

I have found that I don't have to use a different color ink for each of the 4 steps of the hydrangea. Tapping Off (which I will call TO and I will call not tapped off, full strength FS) gives you a perfect way to layer shades. For the hydrangea starting with the first layer and working up to the fourth, I used: SU Pretty in Pink TO, SU Pretty in Pink FS, SU Pink Passion TO, and SU Pink Passion FS.

I did the same thing with the leaves using Certainly Celery for the first 2 layers and then I used Old Olive FS for the last.

The vase is Cool Carribbean TO, Cool Car. FS, Black TO and Black FS.

This Card is AMAZING!!

Viki B sent this card to me. I have never seen a card like this and I asked her the process. The card looks like it must have taken hours to make and I am so thrilled to have received it. This was her reply:

It is called parchment work and the brand name of the most common supplies and patterns is "Pergamano".
This particular type of work originated in the 1800's by monks in South America.
They used the dried skin of sheep stomachs to emboss on. Now of course, it is done on special heavy weight vellum called parchment paper that Pergamano dealers sell.
You trace the design onto the heavy vellum with a nib pen and white ink and then you emboss the areas that you want to be white with different embossing tools. Then you cut the x's with a special tool. Once that is done, you pick out the paper you want to go behind it (ie, the stardream that I used) and then use another special tool and go around the three outside edges to separate it from the single sheet of paper you worked on. It is very time consuming, but I love doing it! It is how I got into stamping. Now there are easier ways to trace (ie, white pens and there are stamps you can use with Brilliance "Moonlight white". Takes much less time than the nib pen.

My tools came from Australia (Parchcraft) and are made of metal. Pergamano sells the same type tools, but the handles are plastic and tend to break, but they are much less expensive. I haven't been able to add to my collection of Parchcraft tools as the only distributor here in the US shut down her online website 3 or 4 years ago. Since this is a tedious type of work, and not too well known, there wasn't enough demand to keep her in business. There are still internet sites out there that sell the Pergamano supplies here in the US, but this type of card can take up to a couple of days to do and most folks don't want to put that much time into a card. Me, I don't care. I love doing it.
The card that I sent you is actually two different patterns that I combined and were designed by Janet Wilson. Since these patterns are copyrighted, it is important to give her credit for the actual designs.
If you to go to Amazon.com and type in the search field by author, it would bring up her books. You can also do a search by "Pergamano" and see other books by many great designers. I have a lot of their patterns and love to collect them. I never know when I will get in the mood to do one, but when I do, I put on some good music and go off into a world of my own. I may spend 2 or 3 hours a day until I finish, but the good thing about it, is you can start and stop at your own pace. It's just not a "make and take" type of card. I have also made frames which I designed for photos and they are really neat and actually don't take as much time.

What is a Chic Stand?-- (thanks Gigi!)

One of our stamp club members, Gigi brought each person a Chic Stand. It is a handy little tool that does several things. Click on the title of this post and see what a Chic Stand does for a stamper or scrapper. Thanks, Gigi, for that and also for all the support you have been to me recently.

Happy May Day with HA Birds

I got this stamp in Seattle and I love it. It is one of the new stamps from Hero Arts and they have them at Impress. I colored it with a marker. The background is Bazille that was cuttlebugged and then sanded so the while core shows through her an dther. The edge punch is the Fiskars lace punch that punches and dry embosses at the same time. The 3 dew drops at the top add a bit of sparkle.