If you stamp a fish . . . watercolor him!

Watercoloring is my favorite coloring medium, it's true! It's also true when I stamped fish from Under the Sea C1500, I grabbed my Blending Pen 3174 (p. 132 of the catalog) and the coordinating stamp pads and happily colored to my heart's content.

How do you do it, you say? It's so simple, really, I promise.

First, with your chosen stamp pad, lid closed, firmly squeeze, as shown here.

Next, open the stamp pad and presto, notice the ink in the white part of the lid. Plenty of watercolor for you to color your fishies!








With the blending pen, pick up some of the ink (Lagoon shown here) and begin coloring. To achieve a darker inked look of the waves, I used the ink immediately. To create shading, I used scratch paper to remove some of the ink from the marker.

To change colors, simply use the same scratch paper and color until no ink shows. This also uses up the clear fluid, so sometimes it is helpful to have several blending pens for different colors for a project or if doing more than one card. The pens are only $3.95 so buy several!

 My finished fishy card, made using Footloose paper X7151B and Seaside Wooden Shapes Z1693.

Best Fishes to you!!!!

Dress up your patterned paper with a stamp or two!

Pemberly, one of CTMH's newest lines of paper, is by far my favorite so far. The blues and soft yellows colors are balanced perfectly and the flower set that coordinates with it has dozens of tiny words. You can easily spell out just about any saying on the front or inside of your own card or scrapbook page.

My stamp sale last week featured a make and take, pictured here:

The card itself was a breeze to assemble and created an elegant look for that special someone's birthday. Or change the words from the Card Word Puzzle C1494 and make it a Just Because card or Happy Anniversary . . .

One of the special techniques we covered at Saturday's event was the stamping directly on the patterned paper to create your own special look. Here we stamped the rose from the Card Word Puzzle stamp set in black ink directly onto the soft yellow paper from the kit. No need to color the flowers in, it adds just the right amount of pizzazz to your artwork just as it is.

And then to accessorize! I chose the Bouquet Assortment Z1694, page 128 of the new catalog to add a bit of flair to my card. These self stick beauties can be used stand alone as I did on this card, or added to the center of flowers. Very easy and very pretty.

Hope you are having fun with your accessories. Remember that adding some fun to your card can be as easy as a stamp on the paper or a little accessory to your finished product.

Have fun!

The new card KIT!

That's right! For those of us who love to make cards and can't resist a good card kit, you will want to play with this new addition to the Close To My Heart line of products. Located on page 123 of the Spring/Summer catalog, this kit has everything you need to make 10 3D type cards.

For just $19.95 your kit includes adorable stickers, decorative chipboard, cards AND matching envelopes, the little cups to hold your treats and ideas for assembling the cards. It really was super fun to make although, here are a few tips to make the process go a little better for you.

When attaching the self adhesive little cup, fill with candy, remove the sticker back and line it up with the envelope closed and then set it down on the paper.

When applying the chipboard use a strong glue like Liquid Glass to make it stick.

This is what the card looks like open. You will have extra stickers, so you could potentially add more decoration to the inside as well.

This is your finished card. Isn't it so pretty? I would love to receive this from a friend. Easy and fun to assemble, this card kit is a blast!

See page 123 of the new catalog.

One Stamp Set, Three Looks

One of the best things I love about stamping? Making 3D items! I recently made this little box with a group of friends in Colorado. It was so darn easy to make and can be used for so many things! I'm keeping cards I've made so I can easily find a card if I need one. It can also be used to store important trinkets and memorabilia. It's up to you.


The box is available in the most recent catalog (we have a new Spring/Summer one now) and is SO affordable! Located on p. 131 this white chipboard box is one of many chipboard 3D items that can be decorated as your heart desires. This particular item is less than $5 and includes a magnetic closure so it stays closed and keeps your memories (or greeting cards) safe.


To start decorating choose your adhesive (make sure it's permanent). I have used my Tombow permanent tape runner, but the really cool adhesive (not sold by CTMH) is called "Yes Paste" and makes adhering paper to the chipboard easy and wrinkle free. Just apply a layer to the back of your paper (edge to edge). Then run your finger around the edge to keep them all down and flush with the box. We also used a sponge and Olive ink to sponge the box so it would no longer be white, but Olive to match the Sonoma paper.

I hope you have as much as I do decorating these fun items. Whether you give one as a gift or are selfish like me, and keep it for yourself, it's easy, fun, and beautiful!

I'm stamping away . . .

The best medicine is a good day in the Stamp Studio. Someone, and I apologize for not knowing who gave this little box to me (Sharyn?) and I took the measurements and stamp lifted it, using Sonoma paper. So easy and so much FUN!

This adorable little gift box measures 3"x3" and is made with just scraps. I used a piece of self adhesive velcro (found at Michaels) as a closure for it and it perfectly holds those square Ghiradelli square chocolates (my favorite).

This is the little box open. I found it more sturdy to add the vecro over the decorate smokey Plum piece as well as part of the Olive paper.

This is box open, with a top view. The box is built in two pieces. The outside section and then an interior section that actually holds the treats. I did have to use the extra super duper tape (comes on a red roll) because the weight of the candies will pull the box apart and then you are forced to eat those candies while you try and glue it back together. Darn.

If you are interested in learning how to make this box, let me know, perhaps you could come and play in my Stamp Studio, or better yet, schedule a fun class. The cost would be the cost of material only. :-)


Hope to stamp with you soon!  Happy New Year, Elaine

It's Beginning to Look like the HOLIDAYS!

The holidays are HERE . . . so fast, I say, so fast!

I did make my tags this morning and thought you'd like to see how fun and easy they are. I used the Believe paper pack and the December 25th stamp set. Oh, and of course, the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge cut all the tags for me. As easy as 1, 2, 3 presto!

First batch of pretty tags. Merry Christmas!

This set went roundish . . . very chic! And ready for me to actually do the shopping so the wrapping can begin. LOL

I did also start some Christmas cards . . . this cute one is my favorite I stamp lifted from the card the Corporate CTMH office sent all Consultants. Cute!

This card was made with the Remarkable Wreath set (CTMH) and the Believe paper pack. I love the Friends saying . . . all of you, my friends, do warm my heart!

Enjoy the season!!!

Rockin the Block with this Special!

Hello Stamper friends!

I am remiss in getting my blog updated. I know, what kind of a person lets the blog stay just the same for a month? Oh the horrors! But I have been stamping so I have something to post. LOL

Here's an adorable card I made for the season:

And speaking of seasons and gift giving, the special this month is perfect for a quick and easy gift for someone!

The stamp set that comes with the Rock the Block 

stamp set

The special is easy, spend $25 on anything in the catalog and for just $15 you receive the blocks set (made of chipboard) and the adorable stamp. Can't wait to get mine .. . but don't wait it's only available through January 31st. Eeeep. :-)


The Stamp of the Month this month is also very versatile:

 

And here's a card I made for my hubby to celebrate our anniversary. Note any of the images outline in red have a coordinating Cricut image. Stamping has never been this easy and fun!


Happy Stamping this month. Tis the season to make a few cards for those closest to your art. Be sure to let me know if you need anything or would like to purchase a gift certificate for the person who LOVES stamping, and Cricutting and Scrapbooking!


Yours in Stamping Bliss,
Elaine Hagebush
Close To My Heart Consultant since 1997