Papercrafting with Polly

Spellbinders Birds, Butterflies and Flowers Dies

            My afternoon class on Sat, February 14 will be all about using three relatively new Spellbinders dies: Nested Birds, Nested Butterflies and Nested Flowers.  Each die includes a set of three dies, graduated in size.  I have had such fun playing with these dies and yet I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of their possibilities.  Let me show you the samples I have made.

My first card is a copy of one I saw on Ellen Hutson’s blog so please let me give her full credit for the design.  It uses the wonderful Basic Grey paper collection called Urban Prairie.  I cut the large and medium flower from two of the papers and the small bird from the teal paper.  Isn’t the background paper (Meadow) perfect for a bird card?  The sentiment (Savvy Stamps) is stamped on a tag cut with the largest Double Ended tag from Spellbinders.

Staying with the bird dies, I created a mobile based on a Christmas ornament that I saw on Becca Feeken’s blog.  The bird die is cut twice, once in each direction and then the wings are cut.  You’ll have to come to the class to discover which die I used to  make the wings!

My next card features the medium bird sitting on a leafy branch cut using Spellbinders “Bugs” die and K & Company Blue Awning paper.  The music paper is by Creative Imaginations.  This bird’s wing is cut with the same die that I used on the bird mobile above.  Can you guess which die I used?  The three layers of DP are cut with Spellbinders Mega Curved Rectangles.

This card was a quick and easy.  The DP is Graphic 45’s Baby 2 Bride collection and the bird was die cut then stamped with the flourish stamp from Hero’s new Artistic Windows set.  The bird is sitting on a branch (Hero’s long stem blossom) and the sentiment is from Hero’s new All Occasion Messages clear stamp set stamped on Spellbinders label tags.

Next I played with the flower die again, this time using new paper from the Doodlebug Bunny Hop collection.  The center is accented with a round Nestabilities die and an orange dew drop (Robin’s Nest).  For the flower’s stem I used one of the Spellbinders Doodle Parts.  The sentiment (Impression-Obsession Alesa Baker) is stamped and embossed in white.  How did I make the photo corners?  Come to class and find out!  You probably have the die I used!

Can you tell I couldn’t stop playing with these dies?  They are so much fun!  Next I combined all three dies on one card using Graphic 45’s Baby 2 Bride collection DP for the flower, butterfly and bird and Basic Grey’s Urban Prairie for the background.  Notice that the butterfly has vellum wings stamped with a new Hero Arts stamp (one of four in the Artistic Windows set) and antennae made of silver wire. The sentiment is from Rubber Soul/Wordsworth.

The Butterfly die was next up and although you may not be able to tell from this photo, I die cut a card that opens (hinged at the top) using the largest of the three butterflies.  Not original, but very clever and certainly will impress your friends!  The sentiment is from Memory Box and it is stamped inside a flower border stamped with the 1 5/8” round stamper from Just Rite.  The flowers are accented with Stardust Stickles glitter glue.  Background paper on the butterfly card is Urban Prairie!

Last but certainly not least, I just had to use another Urban Prairie paper that’s covered with butterflies.  This card is quite large and has a border created with the Treading Water punch and mini pinking decorative scissors (both by Fiskars).  I die cut the butterfly from another Urban Prairie DP and from vellum.  Then I stamped the vellum with the flourish stamp (Hero’s new Artistic Windows) using Versamagic Pixie Dust ink.  I added tiny pale pink crystals and antennae made from silver wire.

I hope these projects inspire you.  Please sign up early for the class Sat, Feb. 14, 2 to 4pm as I anticipate a lot of interest.  Please let me know if there’s one of these dies you can’t live without and I shall put it aside for you!  Happy Stamping!

VALENTINE'S DAY CARDS

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!

Valentines Stamped Samples

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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!