NEW: Photopolymer Stamps!

We've searched long and hard for just the right material to be able to introduce completely clear stamping. And we've found it. We're excited to announce that we now have wood-mount, clear-mount AND photopolymer stamps! The new photopolymer will be an addition to our stamp line and will appeal to all types of stampers. Our top-quality photopolymer has just enough give to create a perfectly stamped image every time and with the introduction of our firm-foam pads, let's just say they're meant for each other! Photopolymer stamps will also be unique, fun designs that will inspire you and provide more versatile options you may not see in our traditional wood- and clear-mount stamp options.

What makes them so great?

• They're entirely transparent for perfect placement every time! 
• They are durable. The photopolymer material is designed to last. 
• Can you say sticky? (Don't worry; in a good way.) These stamps stick amazingly well to our clear blocks.
• They're age tested. They won't yellow or cloud up over time. 
• They use FDA, food-safe material. How far can you stretch your stamping creativity? 
• We could go on, but we'll let you try them for yourself.

They are clearly a great choice.

Item	Description	Price
132956	Designer Typeset Photopolymer Stamp Set Recommend clear blocks A, B, G, F, and I. Purchase separately. Includes 57 pieces. (Don't faint! This is a good overwhelming feeling.)	$13.95

The Fine Print

• Photopolymer stamps will be offered on a trial basis. Based on popularity, we hope to release more photopolymer stamp sets over the coming months. At this time we don't plan on offering a line of photopolymer sets as expansive as our wood-mount and clear-mount lines.
• Not available in wood-mount or clear-mount.  
• All photopolymer will be packaged in cello bag w/insert, but don't forget you can store them in our clear cases

Home Sweet Home :)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Gather Inspiration In Your Travels And Carry It With You Wherever You Go!
Home sweet home!  I have been away for over 3 weeks and am happy to be sleeping in my own bed again :)  Now you know why my posts have been quite sporadic this month :)  My travels, for both vacation and then work, took me to Turks and Caicos, Melbourne, Australia, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, and Bangkok, Thailand (and a few airports in between!).  It was a wonderful trip and now I am trying to recuperate and figure out what time zone I'm in :)  I was inspired by so much along the way.  This is just one photo from my time in Bangkok.  Hopefully I can share more pictures with you over the next few weeks.  I am also hoping to let everything I experienced inspire me :)  I feel like I have filled my well with so much!  I will be able to sip from this well for a very long time.  Here are  just a few more photos to share:

Creating A Palette To Travel With Watercolor Wonder Crayons

Have you ever wanted to travel with your Watercolor Wonder crayons but were afraid they might get lost?  Or maybe you wanted your kids to be able to use your Watercolor Wonder crayons, but you were afraid the crayons might get broken.  If so, you're in luck!  You can create a very simple palette that you can take with you or give to your kids without worrying about loss or breakage!  I just created a simple table on my computer - but you could just write on a piece of copy paper - and then I laminated it.  Once the sheet is laminated, you can create a whole area of color by drawing on the laminated sheet.  When you are ready to do some coloring, just use an Aqua Painter or brush with a bit of water and use the colors directly from your laminated sheet!  You can even create a little laminated booklet with luggage tags with one color per tag!  With a little creativity, you can take your supplies on the road :)

Oh, Whale Thank You Card!

This amazingly cute card was sent to me by Sharri A.!!!!!!  Thank you Sharri!!!!  I love it!!!!!  She used the adorable Oh, Whale bundle to create this gorgeous scene!  Gotta love that cloud embossing folder too!!!!  So talented!!!!! :)

That's The Ticket Masculine Birthday Card

I love it when you find the perfect use for a stamp set!!!!  I was wondering how I would use the Feeling Sentimental Sale-a-Bration stamp set and when I saw it sitting on the craft table with the Just The Ticket stamp set, magic happened!  I heat embossed the ferris wheel with black embossing powder and stamped the tickets with More Mustard and punched them out.  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to help line up the stamp across the bottom of the Naturals Ivory card base.  A piece of linen thread finished the look!

Patterned Occasions Get Well Card

Don't forget, it is still Sale-a-Bration and there are all kinds of fun stamps available for FREE when you place an order of $50 in products!!!!  I stamped the band aid twice and cut out the center so that I could pop it up on a dimensional.  I love using bright colors on get well cards!  And if anyone out there is under the weather....I hope you recover rapidly!!!!!!

Just Believe Papercut Card

You have to have a bit of patience for this one, but I like to think of it as a meditation :)  I stamped the image from Just Believe onto a scrap piece of paper and then temporarily adhered it to the card front.  I then used my hobby blade to follow around the image (that's the quiet meditation part) and then extended the final cuts to create a rectangular border around the entire image.  This card is so delicate and peaceful.  I hope you like it!

Doily and Two-Tone Ribbon Love Card

You can't go wrong with a combination of yummy two-tone ribbon, doilies, glitter and butterflies!!!! :)  I added some scoring using the Borders Scoring plate.  This ribbon makes me swoon :)  I hope you like it!!!!  Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!  I hope you have a weekend filled with love and creativity!!!!!

Folded Card Stock Valentine's Treat Container

It is so easy to create a simple treat holder by scoring a piece of card stock!  You can adjust where you place the score lines to accommodate the candy that you want to fit inside.  I secured my bag of candy to the card stock using a small piece of sticky strip!  Happy Valentine's Day!!!! :)

Upcycled Tape Roll Valentine's Treat Box

Today's Treat Box began its life as a roll of packing tape!  Once the tape was done, I kept the inner cardboard roll and decided it would transform into a beautiful box!  I covered the inside and outside with designer paper and then adhered a chipboard circle bottom.  The top was put on by adhering 2 strips of ribbon to the inside of the box using sticky strip and then punching 2 holes in the lid with the crop-a-dile.  The red ribbon tie is what holds the lid to the box.  I hope you like it!

Honeycomb Embossing Folder Butterfly Card

This card is appropriate for Valentine's Day or just to say I love you!  I am in love with the Honeycomb embossing folder...and the butterfly punches too!!!!!  I used Primrose Petals Core'dinations card stock and sanded it after running it through the Big Shot with the embossing folder.  I hope you like it!!!!

Masculine Birthday Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sometimes Some Things Have To Give...
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, things are lining up to be a bit hectic for me this month.  As I tried to get through my "to do" list I realized that I wasn't going to be able to post as much as I'd like this month.  Sometimes, some things have to give.  I hope you will understand and I will be posted a few times a week - most likely projects that I have created (and maybe one that I've received :).  Please feel free to share your own lessons from the craft room in the comments section.  I would love to hear what you are learning on your creative journey!!!! :)
Masculine cards always challenge me a bit.  Here I created a little masculine magic with some designer paper, the Borders scoring plate and some stamping!

A Change In Schedule For February

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by!!!!  I just wanted to let you know that for the month of February things are a bit hectic for me.  As a result, I have decided to just post a few times each week.  Most posts will just be pictures of projects I have made - without my usual lessons from the craft room.  I would love it if some of you might be willing to add some lessons that you are learning from your creating in the comments sections of the posts!  I will look forward to hearing your thoughts!!!!!  Thanks for understanding and I hope you enjoy the posts! :)

Silver Glimmer Heart Mini Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: The Simplest Things Can Be The Most Enjoyable :)
Our new kitty, Loki, has been teaching me a lot over the past few weeks.  He is obviously here to continually remind me that the simplest things can be the most enjoyable :)  Whether it is an empty Stampin' Up! box, a crinkled piece of packing paper, or a string with a knot tied at the end, Loki can have hours and hours of fun!!!!!  What are some of the simplest things that you find most enjoyable????
Today's card is a mini Valentine's card :)  I began with a 6"x3" piece of Very Vanilla card stock and scored it in half.  I then ran a strip of Core'dinations Primrose Petals card stock through the Big Shot with the honeycomb embossing folder and sanded the top with my sanding block.  I punched a heart from silver glimmer paper using the Full Heart punch.  I then stamped the ticket from the That's The Ticket stamp set using Primrose Petals ink on Crumb Cake card stock and punched it out with the Ticket Duo punch.  The heart and ticket were then layered onto the card with dimensionals.  I hope you like it!

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Fun In A Box!

For today's Out On A Whim Wednesday I wanted to share a video that I posted over the weekend on YouTube.  The lesson I learned from this video was to find joy and laughter in the simple things :)  Enjoy!!!!

p.s.  In case you're wondering, the critter in the box is our new kitty, Loki :)

Sweet Treat Cups Valentine's Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Ask A Question And You May Just Find An Answer!
I have had my sweet treat cups sitting around the craft room for awhile and they were starting to gather dust.  I was doing a Valentine's stamping event this past weekend and I knew that one of my friends who would be attending had recently purchased some sweet treat cups as well.  So, I asked myself a question, "How might I use the sweet treat cups for Valentine's Day?"  I hadn't bought any of the accompanying stamp sets, so I just had the cups and my 1 3/4" circle punch.  The more I looked at the cup, the more I pondered...and finally the thought hit me!  It looks like the letter "O!"  Once I had made that discovery, the rest seemed easy!  I knew would create the word "love" and my Typeset Alphabet Bigz dies were just the right size!  So, I die cut the letters from Cherry Cobbler card stock and began figuring out how to fit everything onto a standard card.  This was the result!  Sometimes if you stop to ask a question, you may just find an answer!

Glass-Etched Votive Holders

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Enjoy Watching The Magic When Someone Else Creates!
I had a few women over for a Valentine's Stamp-A-Stack this past weekend.  It was a bit more than just stamping on cards.  One of the projects was actually a glass-etched votive holder.  It was AMAZING to watch the women as each of them decided how they wanted to decorate their votives.  Some chose to mask areas with clear contact paper that had been punched with the large heart punch.  Others decided to just use the Versamarker and write their own messages (which were then temporarily heat embossed so that the areas would be masked to the etching cream).  Some chose to combine punches and words.  What I loved the most was after the etching cream had sat on the glass and needed to be washed off.  One by one the women would go over to the sink to wash off the cream and each one of them would say something like, "I don't think it worked."  The wonderful magic of etching cream is that when you are washing it off, the water makes it look like nothing has happened to the glass.  But once you begin to dry the glass, the etching appears.  I loved watching the magic sparkle come alive in the eyes of these women as they began to see their creation come to life once it was dry!  Yes, I strongly recommend watching the magic that happens when someone else creates - it will definitely inspire you!!!!!
Today I'm sharing two different etched votives with you.  The first was made by Anna B.  She used a Versamarker to draw the symbol onto the glass.  We then heat embossed it with black embossing powder (I like to use black so you can see what you have drawn and decide if you want to proceed or if you want to wipe it all of and start over).  She then used painter's tape to mask off the diamond shape and applied etching cream over the masked off area (including over the black embossed symbol).  Once the etching cream sat for the required time, she washed off the cream and used a tool to scratch off the embossing powder.  We used flameless candles inside the votives.  Here is a picture of the votive without the light:

This second votive was made by Jeanne.

She punched a heart out of a square of clear contact paper and applied the "negative" of the punch to the votive and burnished the edges down.  Next she used the Versamarker to write "I love Chad" and then heat embossed with black embossing powder.  She then brushed on the etching cream within the heart shape and over the embossing.  After she let the cream sit, she washed off the cream and the words came out perfectly!  I love how you can add the personal touch of your own handwriting to glass using a Versamarker - such a special gift!

Papaya Collage and Broadsheet Alphabet Love Card

Today's Question From The Craft Room:  "However afraid we are of change, the question that we must ultimately answer is this:  What's the greater risk?  Letting go of what people think or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?" - Brene Brown in The Gifts of Imperfection
I have been enjoying reading a few books by Brene Brown lately and laughed and cried when I watched her recorded Ted talks.  I am embedding both of her talks here...I thought you might enjoy them!


Today's card began with a Crumb Cake card base :)  Really, it did!  I kept stamping on that Crumb Cake card base until I felt I had a very ugly card!  Then, rather than start all over, I decided to tear apart the card front and use it as a panel on a Pool Party card base.  It's amazing how if you are willing to keep working through the creative process you might actually come up with something that makes you smile :)  I used Island Indigo, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede ink along with images from Papaya Collage and Broadsheet Alphabet.  A piece of Pool Party baker's twine finished the card.  I hope you like it! :)  Wishing you a wonderfully creative and love-filled weekend!!!!!

Art Journal Pages #4

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Sufficiency isn't an amount at all.  It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough.  Sufficiency resides inside of each of us, and we can call it forward.  It is a consciousness, an attention, an intentional choosing of the way we think about our circumstances. - Lynne Twist in The Soul of Money
Today and moving forward, I am working on my experience of sufficiency.

For today's post I decided to share art journal pages that I completed earlier this week.  I thought it was a good way to show you how you can incorporate your Stampin' Up! products into more than greeting cards :)  Can you figure out which products I used????  I used both current and retired stamps for the words and the background images (see the butterflies?).  I also incorporated some embossed tissue paper tape that I had made (check out the video here) - which required embossing powder, Versamark, and a heat tool!  See what other avenues you can explore with your Stampin' Up! products!  Here are a few more pics of the pages:

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Wire Bulletin Board

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Upcycle :)
There are times when old (and ugly) frames can be found in our home.  Michael is an antique dealer so at times he may purchase something that comes in a frame, but it is what is on the inside of the frame that he is interested in.  So, the frames will make their way out to the garbage or recycle bin...unless I intervene :)  I had it in my mind that I wanted to try to make a bulletin board using wire, so I snatched a recent "doomed" picture frame and brought it into the craft room.  I began by lightly sanding the frame (it was a dark brown) and the painted the frame with gesso.  I had originally planned to use additional paint, but once the gesso dried, I loved the distressed look!  So, I just gave certain areas another light sand and decided to leave the gesso layer alone!  Next, I began hammering little nails into the back of the frame - all along the long sides - with the nails being about 2 inches apart.  I then took some wire (I'm not exactly sure what the gauge of the wire was, but it was not too thin and it was quite flexible) and I would the wire around one of the nails and then worked my way down the frame - wrapping on a nail and then crossing to the opposite side of the frame to wrap another nail - until I found my way to the bottom of the frame.  I then worked my way back up since I had skipped some nails along the way.  Since the frame already had a wire for hanging on the back, I decided to just leave that.

Of course, if you didn't want the hanging wire to show you could remove it and just add a sawtooth hanger at the top of the frame.  I used clothespins to hang items from the wires, but you can use wire hangers, mini clips, or even altered paper clips for hanging too!  I might have to decorate those clothespins...they are crying out for some color :)  What can you upcycle today????