A Revolution

This is the time of year when I have a big clean out of my craft room.  It's so liberating!  And I often discover hidden treasures :)

This year though, there's a change coming......

What are all those sticky things you say?  Yep, the labels on my clear mount stamps are comin' off!  I've been having trouble getting the stamps to stick to the blocks despite regular "block cleaning".  So, when some new stuff arrived in the mail this week.....giggle.....I decided not to add the stickers to the unmounted stamps and just try them directly on the blocks.  OMG what a revolution it was!  

Yes, there will be some adjustments.  Like how do I feel about not "seeing" the image through the block?  And how many times will I stamp upside down?  Not me, the stamp!  But I feel like I'm ready to try it and it really is refreshing to not have the stamp fall off right at the moment of truth!

Now, here's some pics of a couple of postcards I CASED from the current catalogue:

 I've use the Post Card stamp - LOVE it! And it's so perfect for dropping someone a quick note.

 The Postage Due stamp set is gorgeous in a collage style on the reverse side.

And the greetings are from Four You.  All these stamps are in the current annual catalogue.

If you'd like to order any of the items you see, send me an email or give me a call and I'll be happy to help you.
Cheers
Karen

Thought I'd whip up another masculine birthday card using the annual catalogue for inspiration again - this time from page 101.

TIP: Cut the banner or flag ends on your cardstock by centre-ing a square punch.  Then curl the ends up with a bone folder and only apply glue to the flat area of the banner, not the curly end.

I'm really into combining stamp images from different sets at the moment, and I think that's the great thing about playing with your stamps;  you can find all sorts of different combinations that work well together, so don't think you can only use stamps from one set on a project.  Mix it up!  In this card, I've used the map log as a background and the compass which all reflect travel for a cyclist friend of mine - and that's where the bike comes in!

And seriously, is there anything that Gorgeous Grunge DOESN'T go with?!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set:  Postage Due, Clockworks & Memorable Moments, Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White
Ink:  Night of Navy, Coastal Cabana
Paper Clay - for the button, coloured with Night of Navy marker when dry.
Apothecary Accents Framelits for the Big Shot

Wrapping Special Presents for Special People

Do you like to wrap your presents and make them "special" for each gift you give?  I do!  And the best thing about that is you can co-ordinate your wrapping with your cards & tags too!  Yay, love that.

Here's a really easy way to personalise your gifts using brown paper (I love to re-use the packaging paper that comes with my Stampin' Up! orders), wheels and custom-made tags.

This wheel is called Travel Journal (#126937) and can be used on it's own as I've done here, or as part of our builder wheels where you can put 2 or 3 designs together in one jumbo handle.  The tag was made by cutting a rectangle using Night of Navy cardstock with a layer of Crumb Cake, also stamped with the wheel. I hand cut the corners off - measure if you want it to be even....giggle.  Soho Subway DSP adds a bit of pattern and colour as well as the Postage stamp from Postage Due that was cut out using the Postage Punch. A clay flower makes a cute embellishment and I put a drop of So Saffron ink on it before I blended it and pressed it into the mold.  I didn't mix it thoroughly because I wanted a marbled effect.  Punch a hole in the top of the tag and add some scraps of ribbon, and ta-da you're done.

Happy wrapping!
Karen