Create x3

Finishing February with a Card!

Well, I thought I would end the month of February with a card. I haven't done one in several weeks as I have really been hooked on layouts! I also decided to pull out my Copic Markers! Let's see what I created.

First, I stamped the Daphne Heart E1422 in Memento london fog. At first I was a little hesitant to use grey on the heart but I wanted it to match the greys in the beautiful Brioche papers. Even though I was hesitant, I like the end result. I don't use grey often but it definitely is a great color to use with these papers. Here is how my card turned out:



I chose Copics that matched the Brioche papers.  Here are the Copics I used:

Papers:  Memory Box Brioche, Memory Box licorice nc, Memory Box licorice distressed dots cs, X-Press It cs
Stamps:  Memory Box Daphne Heart E1422, Memory Box Just a Note B1053
Stamp Ink: Memento london fog and tuxedo black
Copic Markers: R22, R24, YG03, YG11, YG23, Y000, Y11, Y13
Embellishments: Stickles gunmetal, Tim Holtz bracket die, hand-dyed Hug Snug, Pop Dots, sewing machine

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's quick inspiration! Happy Monday, and see you in March! 

A Different Take on {Dave's} Printer's Tray

So, did y'all see Dave's "What's in the Box 2011" printers tray? He tweeted about it last week. If you missed the tweet/photo, look here. :) Awesome tray, huh?  Well, Dave painstakingly made these for ALL of the stores that are part of the What's in the Box program! Is that not amazing? I bet he doesn't want to look at another printer's tray for a LONG time! Well, I will be teaching this workshop in March so I wanted to share with you my class sample (though it will hang in my craft room once the workshop is over). :) :)


It's hard to see all of the details but I will share those and a complete product list once the workshop is over.  And if you notice, there are a few pictures of my precious parrots. :) I would love for each class participant to be able to personalize their trays so we will be using some photos of pets, grandchildren, kiddos, anything meaningful to those attending class. Here are the worshop details for those in my area:

Where: Stamp Salado, Salado, TX
To Sign Up: Call the store at (254) 947-8848
Date:  March 19, 2011
Time:  10:30 a.m.

There is limited seating, so you will want to call quickly to reserve your spot! :)

Well, I hope you liked today's inspiration along with Dave's amazing tray!  They are fun to do, and there are other Memory Box designers also teaching this class around the country so be sure and check your local store or check our listing of classes here! Thanks for stopping by! 

Create a "Journey" Background

I just LOVE this technique and this stamp. It can be used on cards, layouts, altered art, ATCs, anything. I thought I would share with you a simple way to make a fun background thus creating your own patterned paper.  First, here is what the little background looks like:


To begin, get a piece of white cardstock (or any color cardstock you want to use). One thing I love about Memory Box cardstock is that the back is white and the paper has a white core. What that means is that if you don't have white cardstock, turn over ANY piece of Memory Box cardstock to get white! And the white core means you can sand it! I have shared a sanding technique before in this post here on the blog. 

To create this background, first spritz your paper in the corners with Glimmer Mist. I chose to use Spring Rain and Gumdrop.  After drying, I inked up the bottom 3rd of the Memory Box Journey Collage {G1733} stamp with Walnut Stain distress ink.  I stamped it randomly on the paper in two corners. I usually stamped twice before re-inking so that I also got a faded look. Once that was done, I then designed my layout to create my 8x8 page you can see here:



Papers:  Memory Box Minuet, Paper Trey Ink cs
Stamps:  Memory Box Journey Collage G1733, Memory Box Cocoa Bean Butterfly C1714, Memory Box Butterfly Collage E1060
Stamp Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Inks walnut stain
Embellishments: Glimmer Mist gumdrop and spring rain, Imagination Project coaster, Martha Stewart lace tag, Paper Trey Ink buttons, Zva Creative pearl flourish, Rose Moka alpha stickers, Derwent watercolor pencil cedar Green 50, Basic Grey Olivia chip stickers, Enamel Accents black, Glossy Accents, pop Glue Dots

If you are doing this on a card, it works the same way just on a smaller scale. :) You could certainly have lots of fun with this using different colored inks, different Memory Box collage stamps, etc. You could have many different looks and fun backgrounds for any creation!

The butterfly stamps I used were the Memory Box Cocoa Bean Butterfly {C1714} stamp and the Memory Box Butterfly Collage {E1060} stamp. After stamping, I colored the wings with my Derwent watercolor pencils.

I hope you have enjoyed today's creation and tutorial! Have a great Wednesday, and thanks for stopping by!

Trolleys & Trails

When we go home to South Carolina, we love to ride our bikes. There are trails everywhere, and then there are trolleys that take people to and from shops, etc.  I thought it would be fun to do an 8x8 layout of the trolley stop and the map of the bike paths.  The new Brioche papers and some of the new What's in the Box stamps were perfect for my layout.


Papers:  Memory Box Brioche, Paper Trey Ink cs
Stamps:  Memory Box Birch Branch Print G1720, Memory Box Vintage Record Sheet G1712
Stamp Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Inks barn door, Ranger clear ep
Embellishments: Memory Box berry pearls, Spellbinders grand labels one, Quickutz Metro '&', Making Memories Noteworthy chip alpha, Elle's Studio journaling tag, Scenic Route chipboard heart, Tim Holtz scallops die

Let's look at how I used the stamps on this layout:

Vintage Record Sheet G1712:  I inked up the stamp with red ink, and then stamped it on a pre-purchased journaling tag. The stamp gave me some lines for a bit of journaling and also brought in more red to the layout.

Birch Branch Print G1720:  After adhering my papers to my page, I used red ink again to stamp this image directly onto my paper. I then embossed it with clear embossing powder and added some Memory Box pearls to add some dimension.

So have you tried stamping on your layouts yet? I would love to know how it's going! I don't think I can create a layout without stamps anymore! It's truly such fun! Happy Friday!