Who doesn't love Cardinals? Well, at least their bright red colouring works so well with our Christmas palette! This is a design board from Northwoods Rubber Stamps.  When they told me the entire board was to be done with Cardinal designs, I couldn't imagine there would be this much variety.  All of Northwoods stamps are wood mounted and priced from $4.50 to $13.50. I still have a good selection of these in stock. These images would make great winter cards for birthdays etc. We all know winter lasts for ever here!!

Happy Stamping!

The sillicone sets from Viva Decor continue to impress me.  This set has six seperate images in a Vintage Christmas theme.  The red card in the top corner has the Ornament Postcard stamped in black in the background, and we have used the reindeer's antlers as a scroll on the brown craft card backing.  The top layer is white gloss distressed with Antique Linen ink.  We then stamp the girl/sled image in Archival black ink.   Final colouring was done with Tombow markers.

The card on the bottom right has the reindeer stamped in Sepia ink on Cream cardstock, cut with Labels 2 from Nestabilities.  The embossing plate underneath is from Sizzix (657066) Sugar and Starry Night set.  Brown coordinations paper was used so we could sand the surface after it was embossed.  These sets sell for $13.95 and there sure is a lot of product for the money.

Happy Stamping

Quite often as stampers, we tend to overlook the 12 x 12 paper packs, presuming that the designs will not translate well to card fronts. What a misconception! These beautiful papers from Hot Off The Press have some incredible visual effects. Love the Masculine(Steampunk) / Fall (Spicy) collections, and the Christmas (Vintage Roses). I find all of these collections to be very unique and love that they offer such a wonderful alternative . 



 Each pack contains 2 sheets of each design for a total of 12 pages, at $7.50.

Below is an example of overlapping using some of the Steampunk paper and Cheery-Lynn Leaf dies.
Just a little Hello is a Magenta cling stamp.

Happy Stamping.

The Bow Maker

Are you having difficulty making bows for cards? This handy little tool will help you to make ribbon bows in a snap.  As with all things, you just follow the steps. It's that easy. 

Step 1: With 2 pegs set at the total width of the finished bow, bring your ribbon from behind and place the right over left.

 Step 2:  Right ribbon will tuck under partially formed bow, between the posts. Then bring the same ribbon tail back toward you on top, and between the 2 posts. 

Step 3: With the top ribbon tail in your hand, create a square knot with the bottom ribbon and pull it taut. 

 Step 4: Slide the completed bow off the pegs. The kit comes with four pegs, if you want to try your hand at double bows. There are written and pictured instructions on the back of the package.  I change my bow a bit by using the top tail to tie the square knot.  

One advantage to this bow is that it is knotted and will not come undone on you as you adhere it to your card. Please note that heavier cotton ribbons like Grosgrain will not pull a tight center due to their weight.  At only $6.95, you'll wonder how you ever made do without it.
Happy Bow-making.

Delicate Dies Just Keep Happening

The Fanciful Flourish die below is from Cheery Lynn Designs (price $10.95).  I absolutely love the delicate scrolls and the fact that the leaf veins are cut for extra detail.   This die helps to create a very quick card.  The card below simply uses Inkadinkado's "Flower Oval Wood Set" (price $14.95).  The Pansy corner was stamped in two corners as well as on the raised label. 

The two kits used below are the Exotic Butterfly Mini (set of 3 @ $10.95), (size is approx 1 and one half inch wide, by approx 1 inch high) and the Mini Angel Wing (set of 3 @ $5.95).  These butterfly dies are incredibly detailed and even after running through your pressure machine, you will need to take a pin and pop out the cut-out segments.  The Mini Angel Wings are in the exact same shape as the lacy butterflies and each die in this kit is only one half of the butterfly,  so they need to be cut through on the fold of your cardstock in order to open as a complete Butterfly shape. This half image accounts for the much cheaper price on the Angel Wing set. 

These dies below are just the larger cousin of the mini butterflies.Pack of 3 designs @ $12.95 .  Approximate size is 2 inches square. Again, the Angel Wings set is a collection of 3 one half butterfly images designed in the exact shape of the lacy butterflies.Price is $6.95 for the set.

We're off to CHA in Chicago to see the new and wonderful!!! We'll try and post another blog soon.
Happy Stamping.

New Magenta Cling Stamps

This is a new stamp from Magenta, designed by Helene after she returned from a trip to Asia.  An easy way to show colour on dark cardstock is to emboss the image with white embossing powder, heat, and colour with chalks.  This is a card that Bev made.  The stamped layer was white embossed on black and coloured with chalks. She has lightly distressed the edges before she put it to a lavender layer. It was then added to a black gloss card.  This technique works well with fairly solid images.  If you try and use just an outline image, the thin lines really aren't enough to pick up good colour with chalk.

This unmounted stamp sells for $11.95. I presently have a good number in stock.  If you are not able to get to the store, we can ship this item to you in Canada for an additional $2 plus tax.  Please email me at: sillystamper@hotmail.com. 

Happy Stamping

Quick Cards to the Rescue!!!

Although you won't see the metallic shine, this cardstock is embedded with incredible lustre.  It is from Kanban Crafts and a package runs for $2.75. In the package there is a 12 x 12 sheet, with another 4 x 12 strip in the opposite colour.

The card below is done with Bella Paisley - Chocolate cardstock backed with Champagne shimmer cardstock and a flower punched with the Pop-up Water Lily craft punch from Martha Stewart. It couldn't be any easier to put together.

In this card we used Bella Paisley - Mocha cardstock backed with the same Champagne shimmer cardstock.  The layer was made with Nellie's Multiframes in the Rectangle set and the flower is the same punch as above.  The sentiment is a woodmounted stamp from Inkadinkado. Again, it doesn't get much quicker than this.

Hope you have an opportunity to drop into the store and see these great foil masterpieces from Kanban. Here's hoping the weather continues to improve, Happy Stamping.