Inspiration Strikes! Blinged Night Cream Jar

It seems I haven't had much time or energy for crafting these days; which is usually the case when the kids are home for summer break. But I was cleaning the bathroom this morning and noticed how many jars and bottles I have setting on the countertop. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice if I could pretty them up a bit?" So I grabbed the hot glue gun, some odds and ends from my craft stash, and here's one of the first results.



A "blinged" jar of night cream. (The jar on the right serves as a "before" sample.) The label peeled off very easily. Then I simply hot glued some beads and baubles on the lid. I was thinking when I finish the night cream inside I can use it to store earrings on my nightstand, or as pretty little packaging for a gift. Guess it just goes to prove, inspiration can strike anytime.... even when you're cleaning.

What do you think about these?

Lately, I have been playing around with my Sizzix dies to make other projects besides cards. Here are a couple of the results. What do you think?


I made both of these necklaces using the Beautiful Butterflies die (one of my favorites) from Stampin' Up, catalog #114507. For this first necklace I used some makeup bags that my daughter was throwing out because they had broken zippers.


For this second one, I cut the butterflies from upholstery material I picked up from the clearance bin at the fabric store. Then I sewed them onto a fabric collar I made from some black denim.

So what do you think? Would you wear them?

Secret Keepsake Box

Hello Stamping Friends. I am so excited to share this project with you. These "secret" boxes are really fun to make, but the instructions are rather lengthy. I finally found some time this week to edit down the video tutorial I shot. Because of youtube.com's (the video host) 10 minute limit, I had to break the tutorial into 3 parts. However, I think that maybe this works out better. You can watch one part, then finish your project to that point before watching the next part. There's a supply list below. Have fun with this one!









Supply List:
10 Envelopes in a variety of colors
9 pieces of cardboard to fit inside envelopes
Note card to match top envelope
Piece of card stock for template
Decorative paper for lining
Adhesive
Rubber stamps & ink
Ribbon or string
Bone folder
Scissors
Craft knife & cutting mat
Metal ruler
Marker

Tip: I forgot to mention in the video; to give your envelopes a more aged look, use a distressing tool or sanding block along the edges to lightly fray the paper.

Magazine Sampling

Do you have a favorite "go to" rubber stamp related magazine for tips or inspiration? Whether you are a faithful subscriber or not, there are a number of online sources where you can access free tips and projects ideas. It is an excellent way to "sample" before you commit or in this case, subscribe. Here are a few.

Craft Stamper
This is currently one of my favorite magazines. Published in Great Britain, Craft Stamper magazine covers a wide variety of stamping projects. I purchase copies at my local Barnes and Noble. The magazine's website has a couple of excellent resources for novice stampers. A glossary here provides descriptions of stamping terms, products, and techniques. An article here titled "Get Started with Stamping" has helpful information on what to buy and how-to instructions on creating your first stamp images.

Paper Crafts
Under the Downloads heading on the Paper Crafts website here you will find several card patterns and sentiments you can download and print out. There is even an embroidery stitch guide. Paper Crafts publish several special issues throughout the year highlighting card and gift projects. You can access a list and purchase them here.

Rubber Stamp Madness
Rubber Stamp Madness magazine has been around for ages and focuses exclusively on rubber stamping. Their website features a comprehensive list of stamping tips here for all levels of stampers.

CardMaker
As the name suggests, CardMaker magazine specifically features cards. Currently under the newsletter heading on the website's menu bar here, you will find a tutorial on dry embossing. CardMaker magazine is one of the few magazines to offer a digital subscription which not only allows you instant access to the current issue, but also access to the past two years of issues. You can view a sample issue here.

Love to hear of any magazine related resources you all know of. Please leave your suggestions under comments.

How to Make a "Tag" Notebook

Materials & measurements:

• 5" x 8" Memo pad
• 8" x 11" card stock (scored at 2 3/4", 3", 8", 8 1/4")
• (3) #5 Manila shipping tags
• (4) 2 1/2" x 7 3/4" Pattern paper/card stock
• (1) 2" x 5" Pattern paper/card stock
• Elastic cord or ribbon
• Sticky strip
• Adhesive

Samples

This is the one I showed in the video.




Here is another one I made some time ago. I thought I would include it to show you another example of this project.

Black Velvet Technique

After a somewhat longer hiatus then I intended, I'm finally back and had a chance to put together this tutorial. I hope you enjoy it.



Here is the list of supplies you will need for this technique.

• Black card stock
• White ink (white pigment ink or StazOn)
• Rubber stamp
• Color pencils
• Pencil sharpener
• Sansodor (low odor solvent)
• Fixative

To Mary from Texas (how to stamp on a tile)

This morning I received a voice mail message on my phone from Mary in Texas. As I understood the message, she has been trying to emboss on some tiles and was having problems with the image scratching off. Anyway, she called for some advice, but she didn't leave her phone number so I couldn't call her back. With no other way to contact her, I am hoping that that she will see this post and for all you other faithful readers of my blog, maybe you will also find this information helpful.

Mary, I'm guess the problem is that the embossing powder on your tiles is not completely melting. This is because it takes forever to get the tile hot enough to melt the embossing powder using a heat tool. You can solve this problem by placing your tiles in the oven set to 325 degrees for about 10 minutes to melt the embossing powder. You can also use a toaster oven. If you are using your regular kitchen oven I would suggested setting your tiles on a cookie tray to keep the powder from falling onto the bottom of the oven. Since I don't have time today to make my own tutorial, here is an excellent video posted by another Stampin'Up! demonstrator, the Stamp Shack Lady, that demonstrates this technique.

You can also stamp on tiles using Staz-On ink , which creates a antiqued or shabby chic type look that is very nice. Here is video posted by Michelle Joy Wecksler, yet another SU! demo, demonstrating this technique.

Well, I hope you see this Mary and that it solves your problem. (If not, contact me at michellewedemeyer@sbcglobal.net.)

Best wishes to all.