A Stampendous Hop from the Heart

Wow, what a week it's been. Hopefully you were inspired by some of the handmade gifts that we've been sharing at Stampendous. If you missed the project I posted earlier in the week, you can find it here.

I made two projects for today's hop. The first gift is a coaster set.

We are lucky in Columbus to have a very cool interactive art studio called Creation Nation where you can paint ceramics, fuse glass or make jewelry. I purchased this unglazed ceramic coaster set there. Normally, you would stay at Creation Nation and paint it, then they would fire it for you...but I had other ideas.

Have you seen the new Cling Jumbo Christmas stamps? Every single one of them is a must-have. They are perfect for both cards and gifts. So I stamped each coaster with one of these stamps, using Tsukineko StazOn Jet Black ink. I then colored them with Prismacolor Premier colored pencils. To give them that 'glazed' look, I coated each one with a layer of Fast Finish Decoupage from Beacon Adhesives. This is a fantastic, acid-free, non-toxic product that you can find at Michaels. The Stampendous stamps I used are Cling Jumbo Amaryllis, Cling Jumbo Cardinals, Cling Jumbo Poinsettia* and Cling Jumbo Magnolia. There are direct links at the bottom of my post.

My second gift is a necklace made from a domino. I sanded the face of the domino with 120 grit sandpaper, stamped the Stampendous Cling Blossom Spray image (once again using StazOn Jet Black ink) and colored using Prismacolor Premier colored pencils. I used the Beacon Fast Finish Decoupage again to seal my domino and then drilled a hole in it using a Fiskars Handheld Craft Drill. Before I strung the domino on the chains, I added a little more bling by generously painting the sides of the domino with Beacon Gem-Tac Embellishing Glue and then sprinkling it with Stampendous Silver Crushed Glass Glitter.

I love the chunkiness of this glitter which comes in so many great colors and is perfect for a project like this. The best part is when teamed with Gem-Tac, the glitter is there to stay. I even tried to rub it off but it stayed put. These very cool chains I found in the jewelry department at Michaels.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my gift ideas. Please remember to comment when you visit the following blogs. The more comments you leave, the better chance you have of winning.

Cyndi Bundy

Janelle Stollfus

Krissy Fossmeyer

Kristine Reynolds

Melinda Gleissner (That's me)

Pam Hornschu

Tenia Nelson

Wendy Jordan

Wendy Price

Jennifer Ingle (Jingle)

Lea Kimmel

Don't forget to play along with this month's Saturday Challenge. The theme is embossing techniques.

Thanks for visiting!

Noteworthy Supplies:



*Please note the Cling Jumbo Poinsettia is currently available at Michaels and your local craft stores. It should be back in stock soon at the Stampendous Online Store.

SNSDC71 It's a Pop Up!

The theme for this week's challenge over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge Blog is pop up cards. How fun it that! I hope you will play along with us.

As you play along, remember to only use digital images. You don't have to use Sweet 'n Sassy digital stamps but it would be terrific if you did. Please share a link to your creation using the Linky feature at the end of today's Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge post. If the link feature is down, please add a link with your comment. When uploading to online galleries, please use keyword SNSDC71.

For every card you link to the Challenge Blog throughout the month of September, you will receive one entry in the monthly drawing. One lucky winner will receive 3 digital images of his/her choice from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store. Please note, if you use Sweet 'n Sassy digital images to create your project, you will receive two entries! Be sure to play along every week... The more you play and/or use SNS digis, the more chances you have to win!

My card uses the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Pumpkin Patch Digital Stamp. The sentiment is from the Sweet 'n Sassy Many Thanks Digital Set. The patterned paper is from the Bo Bunny Forever Fall Collection. The design of my pop up card was inspired by Beate Johns' wonderful Surprise Pop Up Card tutorial on SplitcoastStampers.com

Thanks for visiting today!

Noteworthy Supplies:

Stampendous Handmade Holiday Gifts

It's hard to believe but the holidays are right around the corner. So all this week, Stampendous is showcasing homemade holiday gifts. Please stop by my fellow design team members' blogs to see what they have created. Taylor Usry and Kristine Reynolds have made stunning gifts. You will also want to join us this Saturday for our huge homemade holiday gift blog hop.

The theme of this month's Stampendous Challenge is heat embossing so my desk is covered with my favorite bottles of Stampendous embossing powders, enamels and glitters. These bottles inspired me to create my gift, this blue enameled vase.

This is a fun and easy project which isn't complicated at all. You will need an unglazed ceramic vase. I purchased mine at a paint-your-own ceramics shop. You'll also need your favorite color of Stampendous embossing enamel and a liquid adhesive. For easy clean-up, keep some baby wipes and a Swiffer duster handy. Sorry my pictures show two different vases. I forgot to take a picture before I started embossing but I wanted you to see what the unfinished vase looked like.

Working in small sections, brush adhesive on your vase, sprinkle generously with the embossing enamel and melt it using a heat tool. Repeat these steps until your vase is completely covered. I told you, simple! There are so many wonderful colors of embossing enamel you could make lots of vases, each one completely different. I used Aged Marine Embossing Enamel. Here's a close-up of my vase.

On Saturday, our design team will be back with even more gift giving inspiration. Hope to see you then.

Thanks for visiting.

Noteworthy Supplies:

Way Down Yonder in the Pumpkin Patch

Please click here for today's SNSDC Challenge post.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the colors and smells and textures of fall so I thought I'd share a card using another new Stampendous image. It's called Picket Pumpkins. It cracks me up how that cat is tormenting that poor pumpkin.

Picket Pumpkins is such a great image that I kept it simple. It's stamped on X-Press It Blending Card and colored with Copics. Before I adhered it to the card base I gave it a little extra sparkle by adding Stampendous Stardust Embossing Powder. I also added some texture to the card by gluing some Sage and Leaf Green Color Fragments to the grass line. Color Fragments are flakes of color that you can glue to any surface. No special adhesive is necessary. I used Scotch Quick-Dry. Why? Because it was sitting there. You can sprinkle Color Fragments into embossing powders while it is still hot for an amazing Encrusted Jewel look. You can also crush the fragments into smaller particles. It's easy, just roll some between your fingers. Color Fragments are available in so many great colors. You can see them all here.

Have you checked out this month's challenge over at Stampendous? It's all about the cool effects you can create with heat embossing. I'll be sharing cards throughtout the month that are made with a bunch of different embossing techniques so please stop back.

Thanks for visiting today. Have a fantastic weekend!

Noteworthy Supplies:

SNSDC70 Birthday Boy

This week's challenge over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge Blog is called Take Me Away. Use any image(s)/element(s) that take you somewhere such as a train, airplane, car, truck...

As you play along, remember to only use digital images. You don't have to use Sweet 'n Sassy digital stamps but it would be terrific if you did. Please share a link to your creation using the Linky feature at the end of today's Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge post. If the link feature is down, please add a link with your comment. When uploading to online galleries, please use keyword SNSDC70.

For every card you link to the Challenge Blog throughout the month of September, you will receive one entry in the monthly drawing. One lucky winner will receive 3 digital images of his/her choice from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store. Please note, if you use Sweet 'n Sassy digital images to create your project, you will receive two entries! Be sure to play along every week... The more you play and/or use SNS digis, the more chances you have to win!

My card uses the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Soar Above the Rest Digital Stamp.

Thanks for visiting today!

Eeek!

Thought I'd share a card today that I made using some really fun Stampendous stamps and an Action Wobble.

I just love this cute Kitty Candy Kiddo stamp! It's a brand new image released just in time for Halloween. Stamped on Copic X-Press It Blending Card, she's colored with Copic markers and then fussy-cut. I added a little Stardust embossing powder on her hat...love that stuff! It has all the sparkle of glitter but because it is embossing powder, it stays put.

The very cool branch background is called Crowscape. I stamped it in the new Memento color, Gray Flannel. I then used my new 'go-to' stamp on the orange cardstock. It's called Crumpled Edge Border. This stamp is so versatile. You can use it to create the look of crumpled paper and yet when stamped tone-on-tone like I did here with Memento Morocco ink, it looks like leather.

The sentiment was created using the Small Typewriter Alphabet. The patterned paper is from the Authentique "Enchanted" collection. I attached this kiddo to an Action Wobble. For more wobbling inspiration, please check out the recent Stampendous/Action Wobble Collaboration.

By the way, there is a new challenge over at the Stampendous Impressions Blog. All this month we are showcasing cool techniques using heat embossing. Play along and you could win a fantastic prize package.

Thanks for visiting today. Hope it's a crafty one!

Noteworthy Supplies:

SNSDC69 Something Old, New & Blue

There's a new fun challenge over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge Blog. Use something old, something new and the color blue.

As you play along, remember to only use digital images. You don't have to use Sweet 'n Sassy digital stamps but it would be terrific if you did. Please share a link to your creation using the Linky feature at the end of today's Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge post. If the link feature is down, please add a link with your comment. When uploading to online galleries, please use keyword SNSDC69.

For every card you link to the Challenge Blog throughout the month of August, you will receive one entry in the monthly drawing. One lucky winner will receive 3 digital images of his/her choice from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Store. Please note, if you use Sweet 'n Sassy digital images to create your project, you will receive two entries! Be sure to play along every week... The more you play and/or use SNS digis, the more chances you have to win!

My card uses the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Pippin's Christmas Lights Digital Stamp. I colored it with my very new, first-time-out-of-the-package Spectrum Noir markers on Copic X-Press It Blending Card. The patterned paper is from the Bo Bunny Snowfall collection. I finished my card by adding a very old rub-on sentiment from American Crafts and some Fun Flock by Stampendous.

Thanks for visiting today!