Another New Company for Stamped Designs - La-La Land Stamps

We have picked up another new stamp company here at the CHA show. La-La Land Stamps! These are character images that work wonderfully with Copics. In fact, they work so well that the demonstrators in the Copic booth were using these images for demos. The card shown is a sample that was on display in their booth at the show. They are great images and for those of you that prefer mouths on your little people images, these stamps might be for you. I have seen them on some of the popular blogs out there and I think that they will make some wonderful cards. Designed and made in the USA - we should have faster shipping!

We are actually leaving LA a day early due to the snowstorm that is bearing down on the midwest and northeast. Made for a very busy day trying to drop off orders and check with some vendors as to how long the show specials last, so I can write some orders after returning to New Hampshire.

Thanks for paying us a visit today!
Jeannette

New Penny Black Images...

These are some cards that were on display in the Penny Black booth showing off some of the new "non-cute" images that are in the new supplement. Very elegant and classy. We'll be doing a class with these - likely in April, as the March calendar is already set. They should be in the store by the end of February. These designs are of the same style as some that were introduced about a year ago that we made some wonderful cards with.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Jeannette

New Company Coming to Stamped Designs - Stampavie!

Several people have asked me about picking up this stamp company - the images come from France. They are great image for "tween" kids - the ones ages 7-ish through early teens. Not saying that you cannot use them for older ones, but I know a lot of folks are looking for cards for children and grandchildren in that age group. The card pictured here is one that was on display in their booth - gives you a good idea of they style of their designs. They have several artists and I think I have some images coming from each artist, so there should be a pretty good cross-section of designs. If the company was telling the truth, they should be shipping very soon and we should have them in the store within 2 weeks!

Thanks for checking out the blog today!

Jeannette

Fresh from a Class with Ranger!

I took a class this morning with Ranger. It was a marathon - we did 4 projects in 2 hours. Fortunately, they did a TON of prep work so we could actually complete the projects on time. This canvas is one of the projects we completed. It is using products from the Studio 40 line from Wendy Vecchi. The canvas was pre-prepped and we sprayed it with Ranger Colorwash, then brushed that out with a piece of Cut 'n Dry Foam to give it a washed out look. The edges were distressed a bit - the brown dots were pre-stamped for us. The "Art Parts" frame was pre-stamped with the screen mesh image and we added a little ink to distress it up. The artist words piece was glued behind the frame. We sprayed a couple more Arts Parts pieces with green Colorwash and attached them to the frame. The flower was made with this amazing product called Clearly for Art. It is a plastic that comes in clear, white and black. In this case, we used the clear and applied Denim Alcohol Ink with Pearl Metallic Mixatives on both sides. Then we stamped a word stamp with Archival Ink. Next is the fun part. You heat the plastic and it softens and allows you to bend it and shape it. Then it re-hardens. Don't like the way you bent it? Not a problem! Simply re-heat and fix! Amazing stuff.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jeannette

It's TRUE - Lacey Ovals are Coming!!!!

It was not part of the Spellbinders New release Blog Frenzy, but some of you noticed a card on a blog that used a Lacey Ovals die. I just spoke to Spellbinders and it is TRUE!!! Lacey Ovals are REAL and should be shipping in March! I don't know about you, but I am SO EXCITED!!!! I love ovals and the Lacey Ovals are GORGEOUS!!! There are a handful of other new die sets that were not part of the blog frenzy, more on those this weekend! But, some of you also saw a card online and immediately asked me about it. I had no confirmation until today, but just wanted to let you know that they ARE coming!

Keep checking the blog for other new items being released and pictures from the show!

Jeannette

Have a Sweet Day!

This card was made with an "A La Mode" stamp from My Favorite Things. I have had these stamps in the store for a while - and just made a couple cards from this line and they are WONDERFUL! Now I wished I had picked them up sooner! These are great designs and can be used for young and old alike. I really like the fresh style and think that they would be great for teens and young adults - a group we always have a hard time coming up with designs for them! This image was colored with Copics and I did some fun layering. To perk up her dress, I added some white dots with a white opaque pen after coloring. It really changes the look - and is simple to do!

Sorry for the delay in posting! Been crazy getting ready for the show. Be on the lookout for updates. Thanks for stopping in!

Jeannette

Stamping Baby Gifts...

I was invited to a baby shower where you are supposed to bring a decorated onesie to the shower for the mother-to-be to try to guess who made each onesie. Well, of course I was going to stamp something! I used some animal images from a Stampendous clear baby set. I used VersaCraft ink from Tsukineko and heat set the ink with an iron. I placed a Cuttlebug B plate with a piece of white cardstock on top in the middle of the onesie to create a good stamping surface and catch the marker ink after it soaked through the fabric. Then I colored the design with Copic markers. It is a little tricky, as the markers like to move quickly in the fabric. What I discovered worked best was to color a small area, then quickly iron over it (I placed a clean sheet of paper between the iron and the onesie) to dry the ink quickly and keep it from running.

I also made a quick card using a fun Noah's Ark image, colored with watercolor pencils and cut out and layered with a couple Spellbinders dies. Lacey Circles is one of my favorites! The border punch is an EK Success punch and I added a white satin bow wrapped around the layer.

Thanks for checking out the blog today!

Jeannette