Experience the joy and excitement of creating cards, boxes, books and home décor items with stamps, dies, stencils and paper! Whether you are a beginner or an experienced crafter, you will quickly learn all about papercrafting through fun classes and beautiful projects.
Hello Friends. Today I will share with you several cards that use recent flower dies from Penny Black.
Penny Black Playful Stamp and Die
For the first two cards, one in red and one in yellow, I stamped the Playful stamp in black and colored it with Copic markers. Then I die cut the Playful die from white cardstock and glued it on top of the stamp. This adds dimension and frames the flower image. Add a sentiment and a few enamel sprinkles and your card is done. Be sure to click on the image to enlarge it and see more detail.
Playful Red – Penny Black stamp Playful; Penny Black die Playful II; Penny Black clear stamp set Happy Snippets; Memory Box die Cross Stitched Rectangles; design inspired by Judy Jung
Playful Yellow – Penny Black stamp Playful; Penny Black die Playful II; Penny Black clear stamp set Happy Snippets; Memory Box die Cross Stitched Rectangles; design inspired by Judy Jung
For this handsome navy blue card, I stamped the Playful stamp in white pigment ink and colored it (partially) with a white Prismacolor pencil.
Playful Blue – Penny Black stamp Playful; Penny Black clear stamp set Sentiment Collection; design inspired by Marion Vagg
Love this card! Lots of interesting and textural layers from vellum to burlap to twine. The Playful die was die cut from white cardstock then colored with Memento Morocco ink.
Playful Orange – Penny Black dies Playful II and Flights of Fancy; Penny Black clear stamp sets Textures and Sentiment Collection; design inspired by Jill Foster
Penny Black Flower Pop Out Cards
The Flower Pop Out die partially cuts the flowers so that you can pop out the petals for a dimensional look which is hard to capture in a photograph. Be sure to click on the photos below to see more detail. For the first card I added enamel sprinkles to the flower centers.
Sunshine – Black die Flower Pop Outs; Penny Black clear stamp set Happy Snippets; Spellbinders die Squares Lg; design inspired by Patti Kiehl
Here I framed the Flower Pop Out die cut with the new Taylored Expressions embossing folder Garden Party and matted it on some fun striped paper.
Garden Party – Penny Black die Flower Pop Outs; Taylored Expressions embossing folder Garden Party; design inspired by Judy Jung
This die is versatile because it does not cut out around the die so like the card below, the die can be centered on the front of the card or a top mat. I used light green pearls for the flower centers and light green ink for the sentiment.
Many Thanks – Penny Black die Flower Pop Outs; Penny Black clear stamp set Happy Snippets; design inspired by Elizabeth Allan
Summer's is drawing to an end and fall holidays are ahead. Stop in soon to see products perfect for fall stamping. Thanks for stopping by the blog today.
Hello Friends. I hope everyone is having a good week. I must tell you that it's a delight to come to work these days as my new refrigerated air conditioner is keeping the store so cool. Chloe is enjoying it too and sleeping much more comfortably.
As we gear up for fall and winter papercrafting, new dies and stamps are arriving! It's like Christmas opening the packages and seeing the new goodies. From Penny Black we have new dies including one that I personally think is a hoot! It's called Silly Birds -- birds dressed up as ghosties!
Penny Black die Silly Birds ($17.49)
In our recent order we also got the die and stamp to make this very popular card. Here's the outside of the card.
Penny Black die Glorious Poinsettia ($19.69) and stamp Snowy Hamlet ($13.09)
Inside of card (design inspired by Marika).
Another popular die is Penny Black's Into the Woods (birch trees).
Penny Black die Into the Woods ($25.19)
Here are a couple samples:
Penny Black dies Into The Woods and Love and Joy; Penny Black stamp Letter;Impression Obsession die Snowflakes small; design inspired by Judy Jung
Penny Black cling stamp Tall Timbers; Penny Black die Into the Woods; Impression Obsession die Snowflakes, large and small, and Small Deer set; Taylored Expressions die Frame in Frame; design inspired by Jill Foster
I love these two deer as they lend themselves to lots of different uses. Here are some samples:
Penny Black die Together (20.79)
Penny Black dies Together and Very Merry Christmas; Penny Black stamp Woodland Wonder
Penny Black dies Together and Crystal Trio; Penny Black stamp Woodland Wonder; Spellbinders die Circles; Taylored Expressions die Build A Scene Rolling Hills
Penny Black dies Together and Exultations; Penny Black stamp Woodland Wonder
Back to August 10 ... did you know today is National Spoil Your Dog Day?
Of course at my house it's spoil your dog day every day! Any way, it's a good day to share some cards that feature new stamps and dies from Taylored Expressions. But first let me show you the new dog set from Penny Black:
Penny Black stamp set Love Me ($8.99)
Penny Black matching die set Dog Days ($15.29)
Here are the samples with Taylored Expressions' newest dog stamps and dies:
Max and Doghouse 1 – Taylored Expressions stamp and die combo set Max; TE dies Build A Doghouse and Doghouse Accessories; Impression Obsession die Frame in Frame Rectangles 2; design inspired by Shelby Mercado
Max and Doghouse 2 – Taylored Expressions stamp and die combo set Max; TE dies Build A Doghouse and Doghouse Accessories; Marianne Designs embossing folder Paws; design inspired by Jean Manis
Care and Comfort 1 – Taylored Expressions stamp Care and Comfort Pets; TE dies Doghouse Accessories and Frame in Frame 1; design inspired by Kim Singdahlsen
Care and Comfort 2 – Taylored Expressions stamp Care and Comfort Pets; TE dies Doghouse Accessories and Grass Border; Memory Box die Stitched Rectangles; design inspired by Stephanie Kraft
Happily Homed – Memory Box die Large Madison Window set; Poppystamp dies Cozy Kitties and Friendly Kitties; Paper Smooches stamp set Lucky Dog; design inspired by Yoonsun Hur
If you'd like to see more dog cards, go to this earlier post.
Thanks for reading the blog and stop in soon and shop at The Stamp Act.
Hello Friends! I hope you are planning an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Today I want to share with you a variety of welcome baby cards plus a few other samples for get well and other occasions.
Welcome Baby Cards
This card and the one below it are pretty straightforward. I did sponge the background behind the Welcome die with blue or purple to give the die a little more presence. You could easily turn this into a shaker card too.
Welcome Little One Boy – Taylored Expressions die Welcome Little One; TE stamp set Onesie Twosie with onesie die; design inspired by Jen Shults
Welcome Little One Girl – Taylored Expressions die Welcome Little One; TE stamp set Onesie Twosie with onesie die; design inspired by Jen Shults
Block Party Baby Feet – Taylored Expressions dies Block Party Baby, Treat Toppers Baby and Stitched Banner Stacklets; design inspired by Kerri Michaud
The star of this car is the Cable Knit embossing folder -- it looks just like a baby blanket.
Block Party Baby Safety Pin – Taylored Expressions dies Block Party Baby, Treat Toppers Baby and Stitched Banner Stacklets; TE embossing folder Cable Knit; TE stamp set Little Bits of Baby; design inspired by Kim Singdahlsen
Welcome Teddy Bear – TE dies Little Bits Teddy Bear, Welcome Baby and Build-A-Scene Nursery; Memory Box die Pinpoint Squares; TE stamp set Little Bits of Baby; design inspired by Courtney Kelley
Don't you love this little nursery? Taylored Expressions has such clever Build-A-Scene dies! See how the rug, curtain, lampshade and baby mattress match? So cute!
Nursery – TE dies Build-A-Scene Nursery and Build-A-Scene window; TE stamp set Little Bits of Baby; design inspired by Sankari Wegman
Get Well Soon
It's always a good idea to have a stash of get well cards so if you're going to pull out dies and stamps and papers to make one, go ahead and make several with the same design. For these cards I used the Memory Box die Curved Get Well; Paper Smooches die Bandaids; and Taylored Expressions dies Mini Bloomers and Bloomers Greenery. The papers are from Penny Black's paper pad Beau Jardins. I chose the papers and matching cardstocks then cut flowers and greenery in every shade I needed. I cut the bandaids from kraft cardstock then cut them again from coordinating cardstocks for the hearts. Assembly was quick and I embellished with butterflies and sequins.
Flower Portrait Frame
Penny Black's Flower Portrait Frame die is a very versatile frame with tiny openings all around. The middle of the frame is filled with flowers. I recently used this frame in a variety of different ways.
For this card, I cut the frame from white cardstock three times and glued them together to give the frame more heft and dimension. Then I removed the inner piece, sponged a background of greens and blues, sponged the flowers with red and green and arranged them around the dog.
Bring Me Joy – Penny Black clear stamp sets Man’s Best Friend and Happy Snippets; Penny Black die Flower Portrait; Impression Obsession die Banners and Tails; Taylored Expressions embossing folder Corrugate
Here the frame is sponged with orange and yellow inks. OMG Mom – Penny Black clear stamp sets Man’s Best Friend and Happy Snippets; Penny Black die Flower Portrait; Taylored Expressions die Conversation Bubbles; Penny Black stamps Skyline and Dots in Space; design inspired by Therese Schaffer
For this card I die cute frame and removed the flowers while I sponged the grass and sky background. I colored the flowers with Copic markers and reinserted them into the frame securing them on the back with tape. I also inlaid the flowers centers in white. Black-White – Penny Black die Flower Portrait; Penny Black clear stamp set Snippets
Remember in the cards above I cut the frame multiple times? Well that meant I had a lot of "middles" left over. I decided to sponge the middle (background) using Distress Inks Picked Raspberry, Wild Honey and Ripe Persimmon. I mounted the background on textured white cardstock then mounted this piece on a white card with foam tape. The flowers and stems are open except for the centers which I also sponged and inserted in the center of each flower.
Sponged Flowers – Penny Black die Flower Portrait; Penny Black clear stamp set Sprinkles and Smiles; design inspired by Therese Schaffer
One more sample: I embossed the background with the Zig Zag embossing folder then added color to the embossing by holding my ink pad (Memento dye ink New Sprout) perfectly level and sliding it across the top of the embossing. I die cut the frame several times then glued them together over the stamped flower image.
Zig Zag Background – Penny Black die Flower Portrait; Penny Black clear stamp sets Enamor and Snippets; Taylored Expressions embossing folder Zig Zag; design inspired by Elizabeth Allan
Bookmarks
I know these days many people don't need bookmarks as much because they read books on their tablet or e-reader, but bookmarks are still fun to make and give. Taylored Expressions has a new die set called Build-A Bookmark and a new stamp set called Plot Twist that coordinate with their previously released Mark Your Spot Bookmark die and stamp set to create delightful bookmarks.
Tip: Add a ribbon accent that's not bulky by threading ribbon through the die cut opening then tying twine or thinner ribbon around it into a bow.
Bookmarks -- Taylored Expressions dies Mark Your Spot Bookmark and Build-A-Bookmark; TE stamp set Plot Twist
A Few More Fun Samples
Memory Box has several Triptych dies. Perhaps you remember I just posed this sample using the Dogwood Blooms and Stem Triptych dies.
Today I have two samples using the tree Triptych die.
I die cut the tree triptych and the fence from decorative paper that is embossed with a woodgrain design (American Crafts). To bring out the woodgrain, I colored the embossed woodgrain with a Prismacolor pencil (Dark Brown). I glued the tree frames to green decorative paper and added pink flowers accented with tiny crystals.
Tree Triptych 1 – Memory Box die Tree Triptych; Memory Box stamp Seeds of Happiness; Poppy die Johnny Jump Ups; Taylored Expressions die Picket Fence; design inspired by Pam Going Postal
For this card I die cut the Tree Triptych from the front of a top folding card then adhered blue cardstock behind the openings. I inlaid the tree frames and added little flowers, sequins and a sweet sentiment.
Tree Triptych 2 – Memory Box die Tree Triptych; Penny Black clear stamp set Happy Snippets; Poppy die Hydrangea Blooms small; design inspired by Michele Henderson
Switching gears a little, here's a very happy birthday card! I cut the balloons from glitter paper (blue and white which I colored with a yelow Copic marker); cut the candle border from white cardstock then colored it with Copics; and cut the Best Day Ever from blue cardstock. Cute card!
Best Day Ever – Impressions Obsession dies Rectangle Frame 6 in 1, Best Day Ever, Heart Balloon and Candle Border; Penny Black die Balloons; design inspired by Kittie Caracciolo
One more ... my friend Jane Smith made this funny gal -- isn't she hilarious! I love the way Jane made her standing in the corner -- very cleverly drawn lines and coloring. Thanks Jane!
Sylvia – Art Impressions stamp Sylvia; sentiment stamp unknown; card designed by Jane Smith
Have a great weekend and please stop by the Stamp Act soon!
Hello Friends. I sat down recently in my stamping studio with two Penny Black clear stamp sets featuring a lot of cute dogs and one fabulous duck! Once I started I couldn't stop making cards so please enjoy them all. My precious Chloe is struggling with old age right now so it was fun to play with these stamps and remember her younger days. I am grateful for every day I have with her.
Because most of the cards are self-explanatory, I will just list the supplies I used. If you want more information or to order any of the supplies, please contact me through email or telephone (915-833-9500).
Here are the two Penny Black clear stamp sets I used for these cards.
Buddy and Duck Cards
Buddy Balloon – Penny Black clear stamp set Buddy and Duck; Spellbinders die Petite Ovals; design inspired by Birgit Edblom
Buddy Cupcake – Penny Black clear stamp set Buddy and Duck; Spellbinders die Classic Ovals
Buddy Umbrella – Penny Black clear stamp sets Buddy and Duck and Sentiment Collection
Buddy Balloon Clouds – Penny Black clear stamp sets Buddy and Duck and Snippets; My Favorite Things die Round Banners; Poppy die Fancy Clouds; Taylored Expressions die Love Confetti; Memory Box die Mini Heart Collection; design inspired by Christine Drogt
Duck Hearts – Penny Black clear stamp set Buddy and Duck; Penny Black paper pad Painted Blooms; Spellbinders die Classic Circles; Memory Box die Stitched Circles; Taylored Expressions die Love Confetti; design inspired by Cathy Andronicou
Duck Balloon – Penny Black clear stamp set Buddy and Duck; Memory Box die Stitched Ovals; Impression Obsession die Greetings Edgers; design inspired by Judy Jung
Buddy Present – Penny Black clear stamp sets Buddy and Duck and Man’s Best Friend; Taylored Expressions die Frame in Frame
Duck Umbrellas – Penny Black clear stamp set Buddy and Duck; Penny Black die Feel Better; Memory Box die Puffy Clouds; design inspired by Judy Jung
Man's Best Friend Cards
Birthday Stars – Penny Black clear stamp sets Man’s Best Friend and Snippets; My Favorite Things die Brushstroke Greetings; Paper Smooches die Stars; design inspired by La Von Hall
Bring Me Joy – Penny Black clear stamp sets Man’s Best Friend and Happy Snippets; Penny Black die Flower Portrait; Impression Obsession die Banners and Tails; Taylored Expressions embossing folder Corrugate
Circle Clouds – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend; Memory Box die Stitched Circles; Spellbinders die Classic Circles; Poppy die Fancy Clouds; design inspired by Debby 4000
Hello – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend; Memory Box die Hello Balloon; My Favorite Things die Mini Scallop Border; design inspired by Debby 4000
Hi Hey Hello – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend; Taylored Expressions die Peek-A-Boo Circles and Hey, Hi Hello; design inspired by Helen the Heffalump
Jumping Dogs – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend
Love – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend; Penny Black dies Polaroid and Love and Joy; design inspired by Judy Jung
OMG Mom –This card may need an explanation. My niece Emilee just graduated from veterinary college at Texas A & M University. Yeah! She and her 2 dogs will soon be moving to start work at a veterinary practice in Las Vegas, Nevada. I thought this would be a cute congratulatory card to send her from her dogs! Inside the sentiment "we did it!" would be appropriate!
Supplies -- Penny Black clear stamp sets Man’s Best Friend and Happy Snippets; Penny Black die Flower Portrait; Taylored Expressions die Conversation Bubbles; Penny Black stamps Skyline and Dots in Space; design inspired by Therese Schaffer
Paw Prints – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend; Memory Box die Pinpoint Squares; Paper Smooches die Dog Icons; design inspired by A J Bodine
Smile – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend; Penny Black die Doodles; design inspired by Therese Schaffer
Thinking of You – Penny Black clear stamp set Man’s Best Friend; Spellbinders dies Classic Circles, Scalloped Circles and Petite Scalloped Circles; design inspired by Helen the Heffalump
Thanks for reading the blog today. Please stop by the store soon to see these and many more samples in person!
Hello Friends. I hope you had a good weekend. Today I'd like to share with you several samples that I recently made with new products that have arrived at The Stamp Act. You can see all the new products on our What's New page hereand see these cards and more in our Gallery here.
The Mad Rider from Art Impressions
A friend of mine lives in a senior community and recently traded in her car for a golf cart. I thought this stamp was a perfect way to commemorate the occasion! I stamped Mad Rider, colored her with Copic markers then cut her out. I drew the sidewalk and mounted it at the bottom of the cute house paper. One thing I love about Art Impressions is that they always have really cute sentiments to go with their stamps. The sidewalk sentiment is sold separately -- Mad Rider comes with the "Born to be Wild" sentiment (see below). Design inspired by Diane Zechman.
For this version I stamped The Mad Rider and die cut it with Memory Box Pinpoint Squares. Where the two papers met I added a Ric Rac Border die from Taylored Expressions. The retirement sentiment is also by Art Impressions. Design inspired by Tammie Koehnen.
To Go Please by Art Impressions
Who hasn't had a day like this? I think I am having one today because I took my car in for maintenance and the service rep just called with the price to fix the driver's side window -- Wowza! I think I need that special cup of coffee!
For this card, I die cut Penny Black's Love Cup die from orange, white and kraft cardstock and glued it together. I added the bright pink heart and the straw cut from striped yellow paper (both are part of the die set). The background is green cardstock punched with the EK Success Binding Edge Border punch; I added the stitched line with one of the dies from the Stitched die set by Paper Smooches. The notepaper is white cardstock stamped with an Impression Obsession Grid Stamp. Embellishing this piece are some yellow and white twine and a little strip of bright pink, polka dotted washi tape. The sentiment (Art Impressions To Go Please) was stamped and die cut with Memory Box die Stitched Ovals. The final embellishment was a scattering of coffee beans die cut with Impression Obsession Coffee Set.
The inside sentiment is Bad Day by Art Impressions. I stamped it then die cut it with Memory Box Stitched Squares. The cute little coffee cup is Memory Box die Coffee to Go Small.
Triptych Dies from Poppystamps
These are the new Triptych Stem and Triptych Dogwood Bloom dies from Poppy dies.
For this card I die cut the Triptych stem from green cardstock and the Triptych Dogwood Blooms from white cardstock and glue the white frames over the green -- they were designed to match perfectly! Then I die cut the Stems Triptych from blue cardstock and inserted these pieces on the back to form the background. Finally I die cut the Dogwood Blooms from yellow cardstock and inserted the flower centers. "Spring" is die cut with Poppystamps die Freehand Happy Spring. A really clean and simple Spring card.
Did you know this is Teacher Appreciation week? I made this card for my niece Jennifer who teaches high school geography in Central Texas. She will be honored at an awards ceremony this week because one of her students wrote an essay about how she inspired him to succeed in his studies. That makes the blackboard quote above especially appropriate for her. For the front of the card I used Memory Box die Jumbled Alphabet and inside I used Taylored Expressions stamp set Make the Grade and the TE die Blackboard.
I love this die. It's very graphic and makes a very quick and easy card that is appropriate for lots of occasions including "guy" cards! I used Poppy die Mod Hex Background and Poppy clear stamp set Hope and Thanks. Design inspired by Irena Kowalczyk.
The last card I will share with you today is made with Penny Black's stamp set Totally Fabulous. I have three good friends with black poodles and I know they will love this card. I stamped the elegant lady and colored her and the dogs with Copic markers. The sentiment stamp comes with the set. Fun!
Please stop in soon and see all the new fun products! Thanks!
Hello Friends. I hope you had a good weekend and are looking forward to a great week. It's spring which means lots of wind in El Paso, but since that and a little dust are about as bad as the weather gets here, I don't mind it. It is annoying that the wind shakes a storm of little twigs out of my mature elm trees all over the back yard, but compared to the massive floods my brother has had in Houston and the upcoming tornado season in my sister's hometown of Dallas, I will take a few little twigs. I hope the weather is pleasant where you are.
Today's blog is all about Penny Black stamps and dies. Penny Black is known for her gorgeous floral images and her dies are just as artistic and unique. For the cards I will share with you today I used new dies, but per usual there are even newer dies coming soon! Be sure to check the What's New Page to see all the dies and stamps in stock and on their way!
Sweetest Sound -- Two sweet little birds sitting on a branch take center stage on this card (Penny Black die Sweetest Sound II). I die cut a circular frame from two Spellbinders Classic Circles dies and mounted it over a background stamped with the music score from Penny Black's clear stamp set Footnotes. The large flowers were cut with Penny Black die Pinwheel and the smaller flower with PB Tweet Things. I also used two Memory Box dies: Create Art and Tender Leaves. The card's design was inspired by Jill Foster.
Playful Posies – Penny Black die Playful Posies is so sweet and it includes three more flowers that I did not use on this card. I stamped the background with an old Notebook paper stamp from Hero Arts (it's so old they just reissued it in their latest stamp collection!) The notepaper edge is punched with EK Success Binding Edge punch. The cute little H.e.l.l.o. sentiment is from Penny Black clear stamp set Snippets -- if you don't have it get it -- it's been extremely popular and Penny Black just released a new set called Happy Snippets (see it here.) Design inspired by Jill Foster.
Butterflies – This butterfly flew out of the store as soon as I made this card! But good news: he's already on his way back! The solid butterfly comes from a set (Penny Black Flights of Fancy) with several other smaller butterflies in different poses. The overlay butterfly (appropriately called Swirling Wings!) is a perfect match. I die cut the background greenery with Taylored Expressions die Bloomers Greenery and added the sentiment using Penny Black die Doodles. Design inspired by Heather Telford.
Petal Power – Yes you've seen this flower before. It's from Penny Black clear stamp set Petal Power, a classic set with lots of flowers, leaves and sentiments. Speaking of sentiments, the happy sentiment on this card is from a new Penny Black clear stamp set called Sprinkles and Smiles. Design inspired by Marion Vagg
Birdhouse – This birdhouse from the Penny Black clear stamp set Fly High makes a colorful house for all the birds of spring! I stamped the birdhouse then colored and cut it out. The background was stamped with Penny Black stamp Letter; to get the "splotchy" look, ink the stamp, dab off areas with a baby wipe then stamp on background. I distressed the background with Distress Inks Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain and colored in a patch of green using Copic markers. Next I made an oval frame using Spellbinders die Classic Ovals and popped it up with foam tape. To complete the card, I die cut the feathers (Taylored Expressions die Fine Feathers) and sponged them with two colors of yellow ink. The birdhouse was popped up over the frame and the cute little sentiment was stamped on the wonky frame (both are in the Fly High stamp set), cut out and mounted over the feathers and a messy thread nest. Design inspired by Jill Foster.
Penny Black Medallion
Blue and White – The new Penny Black die Medallion is so stunning. I die cut it from blue cardstock and cut the separate center medallion from yellow cardstock. The Cricut Cuttlebug embossing folder Rebecca forms a perfect frame for this handsome die.
Love – Look how different the medallion looks as a background image. I die cut the Impression Obsession die Boy with Flowers from dark grey cardstock and a rectangle to mount him on using Memory Box Pinpoint Rectangles die from lighter gray cardstock. The sweet "love" die comes with the Medallion. The pretty papers are from Penny Black paper pad Beau Jardin. Inside the card I die cut Happy Mother’s Day using an Impression Obsession die and mounted it on a background die cut with Paper Smooches die Notebook Basic. You can see the inside of the card in out Gallery here.
Purple Medallion – For a quick and easy card for just about any occasion, die cut the Penny Black Medallion and mount it on a background embossed with Taylored Expressions embossing folder Dotted Lattice. The sweet little bow was cut with Paper Smooches die Baby Bow. Add a few gems and you're done!
Penny Black Pillow Box
Pillow Box – The Penny Black die Pillow Box includes a die to make the pillow box and the little stitched label shown above. In addition it includes dies to cut the Happy Birthday Ice Cream Cone shown below, plus decorative little stars, hearts, button and another smaller stitched label. The pillow box is just large enough to hold a gift card. To complete the pillow box above, I die cut Penny Black Leaves and sponged them with inks then mounted them behind a butterfly (Memory Box die Cascadia Butterfly 3) and the label stamped with a sentiment from Penny Black clear stamp set Snippets.
Ice Cream Cone Striped – Penny Black die Pillow Box; Taylored Expressions die Label Stacklets 2; design inspired by Elizabeth Allan
Ice Cream Cone Plaid – Penny Black die Pillow Box; Memory Box die Pinpoint Squares; design inspired by Judy Jung
Va Va Voom – Isn't this the cutest card? I stamped the new Penny Black cling stamp Va Va Voom in black ink and colored it with colored pencils. The sentiment is from the Penny Black clear stamp set Sentiment Collection and the clouds are from two sets (both retired) Memory Box die Puffy Clouds and Poppy die Fancy Clouds. Design inspired by Judy Jung who has a precious bichon named Cooper!
New Make and Take
It's graduation time and our free make and take card this month is perfect for any graduate. We will be using special die cut paper from The Paper Cut and a boy or a girl graduate die from Impression Obsession. Please stop in any time and make a graduation card.
And speaking of graduation, we have everything you need to make or decorate graduation cards, party favors or other paper crafting projects. Stop in and see our selection.
Hello friends. Today’s post is going to be a compilation of miscellaneous samples starting with a few cards suitable for the men in your life. March means birthdays for my brother and brother-in-law so I always have to scramble for guy cards. Here’s what I came up with:
Masculine Cards
Mustache Birthday 2 – My first mustache card and I must say I like it. I didn’t have one of the cute mustache joke stamps so I made my own using various stamps and dies.
Supplies – Paper Smooches die Mustaches; Memory Box die Pinpoint Rectangles; Paper Smooches stamp set Sentiment Sampler; Impression Obsession stamp set Sentiments 2; Memory Box die Classic Alphabet U/C and Numbers
Mustache Birthday 1 – This is a simple version that you can make lots of and keep on hand for male birthdays. Switch the sentiment for other occasions.
Supplies – Paper Smooches die Mustaches; Memory Box die Pinpoint Rectangles; Paper Smooches stamp set Sentiment Sampler; design inspired by Jocelyn Olson
Hoppy Birthday – My brother grew up loving all animals; he even had an iguana in college! So a card with a frog jumping across is perfect for him.
Supplies – Poppy die Pond Frogs; Memory Box die Stitched Rectangles; Impression Obsession die Plain Alphabet; Taylored Expressions stamp set And Many More; design inspired by Stephanie Serrano
Here's an easy card perfect for any man's birthday. I cut a strip of the numbers paper and then cut it in 2 pieces (the reverse side was a perfect match!) and rounded the ends. I added two brads, wrapped natural twine around the brads and tied a bow. Add a sentiment and a balloon and you're done!
Supplies – My Favorite Things die Brushstroke Birthday sentiments; Penny Black die Uplifting
Diamond Border – I love this card! The new diamond border die from Penny Black cuts the solid and the outline diamond borders. Choose a color scheme and cut 2 of each from both colors. Glue the outline borders on top of the solid borders. Cut a strip of cardstock 1” x 5½” and adhere the middle border to the middle of this strip. Then adhere one border above and one below, leaving a little space between the borders. Finish the card with a sentiment die cut from same colors and adhered slightly off set. I plan to make this same card in a variety of different color schemes and sentiments.
Supplies – Penny Black die Diamond Border; Paper Smooches die Quote Tag; design inspired by Elizabeth Allan
Welcome – The die does all the work for this card. I cut the die from white cardstock and mounted it to blue cardstock. Then I cut the same die from green and inlaid the hills. Next I cut the houses and trees from various colors and glued them over the white version. I added cloud above and a sentiment below.
Supplies – Poppy die Brevilla Hillside; Taylored Expressions Stitched Clouds; TE stamp set Welcome Home
Ironwork Window Bird – It’s easy to spot a Penny Black die! I stamped the background with a PB stamp then cut the window in the center of the stamped panel. Next I cut the window again from white and glued it on top of the stamped version. The bird was mounted behind the window. Finally I die cut the finished piece with the Memory Box die Pinpoint Rectangles to add some more textural interest.
Supplies – Penny Black dies Ironwork Window and Perched Bird; Taylored Expressions stamps and dies Many Minis All Occasions; Memory Box die Pinpoint Rectangles; Penny Black cling stamp Star Ivy; design inspired by Jean Manis
Ironwork Window – Quick and easy. Cut the window from white and glue it over yellow cardstock. Add a few red hearts, a sweet sentiment and an embossed background and you’re done!
Supplies – Penny Black die Ironwork Window; Taylored Expressions embossing folder Leafy Vines; TE Little Bits die Love Confetti; sentiment stamp from Printworks; Memory Box die Pinpoint Rectangles; Penny Black clear stamp set Snippets; design inspired by Jean Manis
I hope you've enjoyed these cards to day. Be sure to click overto the classes page to see the samples for the Negative Die Cutting class coming up Saturday, April 2 at 10am. And stop in soon to shop. All Easter stamps and dies are 40% off until April 9!
Hi friends.Sorry I haven’t blogged in a few days.Running the store is more than a full time job!I am even working on Mondays which is supposed to be my day off!Many of you may not know that I also run another full time business from my tiny office at The Stamp Act.For my advertising business, called Hello Polly, I write and produce message-on-hold advertising for businesses nationwide.These are the advertising messages you hear playing when you call a doctor or a travel agency and are put on hold.I have had this business for more than 18 years and have two people working for me, a professional sound engineer with a studio and a professional voice talent.In addition to the advertising end of things, we also record the messages that we all hate to hear when we call a business and are told “press 1 for this and press 2 for that.” It’s an interestng business, and one that demands its share of attention!
Classes … Classes … Classes
I want to take a minute and invite all of you to come to a class soon.Last weekend we were happy to have Ann from Minnesota come to our Penny Black Critters class.Denise, an experienced stamper and lover of ATC’s, learned a new way to apply rub-on’s in the Basic Grey Card Kit class.In the same class, Maumi learned a new way to distress papers.Classes are fun and informative, inspiring and creative.Take a couple hours out of your weekend or evening and join us!
Valentines Classes Coming Up this Weekend
Don’t miss our classes this weekend as we continue to make cards that are perfect for sending warm greetings to loved ones for Valentine’s Day or throughout the year.For the morning class I designed three elegant cards that feature decorative papers, pretty embellishments and unique stamping techniques.
Hidden inside the layers of this beautiful “card-within-a-card” are a pair of Basic Grey magnet discs which magically close the smaller heart-shaped card into the larger card.This lets you stamp a secret message inside to someone you love with all your heart.
“You are in my Heart” uses bold and beautiful Basic Grey Bittersweet paper as a background for a lacy punched border (Fiskars) and several die cut hearts (Spellbinders).Chocolate pearls (KaiserCraft) and a Penny Black sentiment complete this handsome card.
For the “LOVE” card I turned the Just Rite rectangular stamper on its end (so to speak) as I stamped the “Love” vertically using the 50 point Brayton font alphabet.Next to it I stamped the Memory Box swish border and added some pale pink crystal hearts (A Muse).The tiny tag was die cut (Spellbinders) and stamped with the same Brayton alphabet this time using the 25 point type.
Felicity has created three colorful cards using new stamps from Outlines Rubber stamps for her afternoon class.For “Sparkle Love” card she decided to “color” the stamp in a unique way, and she continued this treatment inside with the “Sparkle To You” stamp.And aren’t these “Courting Snails” darling?Not only are they colored beautifully, but Felicity also used the Just Rite rectangular stamper to create her own sentiment.Isn’t she clever?Her third card features a library pocket with a “Valentine” bee flying over lots of pink and red hearts.We can’t do all three in the class but Felicity can tell you how to complete the ones she doesn’t have time to teach.Join us for the fun and learn some new techniques too!
Basic Grey Card Kit Class
I am repeating the Basic Grey Card Kit class this Wednesday evening from 6 to 8pm.You will make 8 cards using the new Bittersweet papers, chipstickers, die cuts and rub-on’s.Don’t miss it!
What’s Coming to The Stamp Act this Week?
A lot!A huge Hero Arts order from their brand new catalogue will arrive Wednesday chock full of their new designs as well as the catalogue itself.Wait until you see all their new clear stamp sets – they are wonderful!
Wednesday UPS will also deliver an order from one of our largest distributors.It will include a beautiful array of Basic Grey Urban Prairie papers – very shabby chic pretty!I’ve reordered many of the perennial favorite Cuttlebug embossing folders so if you don’t have Swiss Dot, Textile Texture, Congratulations, Bird and Swirl, Floral Fantasy, Divine Swirl or Stylized Flower, stop in.You never know when these will be discontinued, so don’t put off getting them.I also reordered the Border Set “With Love” which is perfect for the season of love stamping!
Among the new products coming are Dew Drops in a wide array of colors from Robin’s Nest.These small acrylic rounded “drops” are perfect for adding a touch of dimension to cards.I also ordered some fabric scrap panels from Crafty Secrets.These are like clip are on homespun cotton fabric and are often featured on the blogs.
Call me at 915-833-9500 or email me at [email protected] to register for our classes this weekend or the Inchie class on February 7.We would love to see you!Happy Stamping, scrapping and paper crafting!
Did you know that you can subscribe to my StampAction blog?Just sign up for email updates (see the box on the left) and all new blog posts will be sent directly to your email.Why not subscribe and know you’re always getting the latest news from The Stamp Act?It’s easy and convenient.I promise you won’t get a lot of junk email as a result of subscribing and if you ever want to unsubscribe you can do that easily too.
Penny Black “Hugs” Valentines Stamps
Today I have three delightful Valentines to share with you.They are all created with the new Penny Black “Hugs” clear stamp set which includes hedgehogs, kitties, mice and more!I will be teaching this class on Sat, January 24 (10 to noon) and I hope you can join us.The techniques I will teach in this class include coloring with Twinkling H2O’s; die-cutting; using border punches; and making a gatefold card.I will also show you an easy ribbon trick.Call me to register and plan to have a great time with these playful critters!
Here’s another card that Felicity made using a Penny Black bunny with his arms full of hearts.He was colored using Prismacolor pencils.
Deadbeat Designs
If you’re not familiar with Deadbeat Designs stamps you have missed some great fun!Mark Jetton, the owner and creator of these stamps, has the most irreverent sense of humor and his stamp designs are fresh and creative.
Mark’s a Texan through and through and he has pretty much cornered the market on Texas stamps.He’s got everything from the Alamo to bluebonnets (our state flower) to all manner of western attire.Here are just a few of his many samples.
Mark’s other passion is chocolate and his chocolate stamps are equally wonderful!Not only does Mark create unique stamps, but he sends along terrific samples for us to share with you.Pictured below are many of his “chocolate” samples.
Recently Mark released a new collection of Valentine stamps and included three creative samples.Felicity has reproduced them adding her own special touches, and she will teach a class with three of his sample ideas on Sunday, February 1 from 2 to 4pm.Here are the projects we will make that day.
Mark just joined the blogoshpere (kicking and screaming I might add) so be sure to check out his blog at www.deadbeatstamps.typepad.com.I would subscribe to it just for Mark’s humor!
Sneak Peek
Last Sunday my friend and fellow stamper Nancy needed to make thank you cards.I needed some too so we decided to make them together, and since it was getting late, we thought a simple design that we could reproduce quickly would be the best bet.Well, anyone who knows me knows that I don’t do simple very often.
Nancy chose Scenic Route paper with tree branches on it and that got me to thinking of the Spellbinders Nested Bird die that had been calling my name for some time.I grabbed one from the showroom and off we went die-cutting birds for our cards.Here are the samples we made – doesn’t that bird just make the card?
Monday when I finished my Black and White Cards, I made this card using the Nested Bird dies (it’s a set of 3 birds).If you look closely you will notice that the wing of the medium bird is actually the small bird with its beak cut off.Tooooo cute!I have lots of other ideas for these birds plus the Nested Butterflies and Nested Flowers (each a set of 3), and I will teach them in a class on Sat, Feb 14.Several of my ideas are home décor projects so it should be a fun class!I will post them as soon as I make them!
Thanks for stopping by and please tell your friends about our store.The only way to keep a small retail store like The Stamp Act alive and creatively active is to come to the store and buy your stamps and products.It won’t happen by itself – we need YOU!