Keep Calm and Craft On!

While are all safe at home, we may be missing our friends but there are other ways we can reach out to each other – and, as a long-time crafter, sending cards is the obvious first choice.

I made a stack of these to send to my direct team members. Using three different stamp sets, I managed to come up with the perfect image and sentiment for our times. Those stamp sets? You Always Deliver, Happy Tails and Crafting Forever.

I coloured the images using Stampin' Blends – no mean feat when you are making a big batch!  

To isolate part of a stamp from the rest – in this case the word ‘CRAFT’ from the ‘Crafting forever, housework whenever’ stamp – the easiest way is to use a Stampin’ Write marker. Don’t use a Stampin’ Blend alcohol marker as they dry too fast to stamp with and also stain your stamp. The less easy way is to mask using sticky notes or tape, but this is fiddly, especially when making a batch of cards. 

Keep Calm and Wag On with Happy Tails

We live in strange times and never has this sentiment seemed more appropriate. Keeping calm may be beyond us some of the time but we can keep wagging on as best we can.

Crafting on is something we can do, too, of course – so I spent the afternoon making a big stack of these for my March customers. I used the fabulous Happy Tails stamp set, which I haven’t used in a while, so that was fun, and finished off the last of my Golden Honey Designer Series Paper, too.

Use the Stamparatus with a two-step stamp set like Happy Tails and, once it's set up, every single one will be a hit.

Cats and dogs... the ones that got away

This is a project that got away ... I made it for my recent Cats & Dogs workshop but decided not to use it in the end because I just didn't love it. But the more I look at it, the more it's growing on me.

I used the Stamparatus to get the clever mirror effect. You can see how to achieve this look here:

Cat and dog treat boxes using the Gift Bag Punch Board

I used the Gift Bag Punch Board to make this cute treat box. You need to make two gift bags – one in black, one in a contrasting colour (I used Lemon Lime Twist, before it goes!). It's a snug fit but the lid does go on if you are careful.

The main image panel is attached to the Lemon Lime Twist on the top, so it slides off with the lid. 

Dog on a log... mog on a log

With all the promotion of Simple Stamping projects, I somehow failed miserably and went completely the other way with this one! It uses not one but FIVE different stamp sets! I can only plead guilty and say I was trying to get some use out of stamp sets before the excitement of the new catalogue kicks in.

It’s a simple masked project, using a mask across the tree stump (Foxy Friends) to enable the tree trunks (Winter Woods) to be stamped and the ground to be created using Waterfront.

The cat and dog are stamped on separate cardstock and punched out. And as for the words, they are created using the Labeler Alphabet stamp set... but I didn’t ask the ladies at my Cats & Dogs class to replicate this, they could simply choose their own greeting.

EVENT: It's All About Cats & Dogs

Animal Outing new baby card

I love this Animal Outing stamp set, which I received as part of a kit to create projects for OnStage Local back in April 2018 It's a lovely stamp set for lots of occasions, including for a new baby so I was delighted to have the opportunity to make this baby card recently. It was supposed to be a simple project but I ended up using three stamp sets plus dies and Stampin' Blends... oops!

Can you work out which stamp sets they are? (Clue - the answers are in the labels)

Cats and Dogs class registration now open

Simple Stamping: Happy Tails

I couldn't resist these cute dogs in the Happy Tails stamp set – I love how you can stamp them to resemble various different breeds. Above the dog is stamped in Soft Suede onto Crumb Cake, with Crumb Cake patches stamped on top, while below, the dog is stamped in Soft Suede onto Whisper White, with Crumb Cake spots. Cute, eh?

Cat or dog? One card, two pets...

Whether you’re a cat fan or a dog fan, there’s a stamp set for you in the Spring/Summer catalogue, and both are really cute.

Here I’ve made the same card design using Nine Lives and Happy Tails; I just changed the layer colour to match the Pumpkin Pie of the ginger cat the Real Red of the dog collar. It’s even the same piece of Designer Series Paper; just flip it over to get polka dots or stripes.

The dog is coloured with Stampin' Blends... and also stamped with the cute patches which come with the set. I stamped and coloured a batch of these, so you’ll be seeing him again. The background is stamped in Crumb Cake, but stamped off for a lighter effect.

The cat is simply stamped in Pumpkin Pie, then stamped on top with the tabby-effect stamp. You have to get your eye in but it’s not too difficult and you can always fill in any white areas with a Blender Pen and the ink from your ink pad lid. The little bow is a two-step stamp, too; I stamped off in Blueberry Bushel to get the background.

As a bonus project, I made this little cat box. It's a slider, so when you pull the ribbon, the chocolate slides out with it.  As you can see, this is no tabby cat... there’s another stamp within the set that enables you to create a pretty tortoiseshell, or a lovely ginger and white, as here.

Cat or dog? Nine Lives or Happy Tails?

The two stamp sets in the new Spring/Summer catalogue which caused me the most excitement are these... Nine Lives and Happy Tails. At last we have a stamp set to go with the lovely cat punch, and now there’s a dog punch, too.

I made two very simple cards in the same design, so appeal to both the cat people and the dog people. Which one is your favourite?

Happy Tails bundle card and picture frame

How cute is this little dog? You’re going to love him - you can stamp patches on him, like I've done here, leave him plain, colour to match your own pooch, or add the spotty image to turn him into a Dalmatian. Cute, eh? And yes, there’s a punch!