Handstamped Coasters

Hey there, Stampy peeps!  I wanted to take a quick reprieve from the Halloweening to show you some prototypes that I'm working on in preparation for some holiday sales.

These handstamped tile coasters will protect your furniture from cold and hot things (i've tested them out with sweaty drink glasses and hot mugs) and they are super simple to make!  All it takes is some 4x4 Travertine tiles, Staz-On ink in your favorite colors, Cork Sheets and your favorite stamp sets!  

Michey's Note:  These tiles are unglazed 4x4 Travertine from the tile aisle of Home Depot. They are grounded smooth on one side, but they are rough on the other (which is why i've covered the back with cork sheeting). My advice is to open up the box and go through each tile to make sure it meets your standards, sometimes you'll come across a tile with a pit on the top or a damaged edge.  In my area, a box of 9 of these tiles sells for just over $5.

The best part is that you don't even need to seal these - the Staz-On ink is impervious to whatever I decide to throw at it! I advise you to wash your tiles when you first get them home - that's to get rid of any lingering stone dust - and also make sure you let your tiles dry completely - overnight if you have to.  Any trace of water on them and your image will be hopelessly blurry (ask me how I know >.<)

Some of the sets i've used on these include Creative Elements, Field Flowers, Inspired by Nature, and My Friend. 

The cork sheets are cut down to size (you can just use regular scissors, your big shot,  or a sharp blade) and glued to the back of the tiles using Crystal Effects.

A project like this really shines with larger scaled stamps.  I've even pulled some of my favorite stamps out of retirement to come up with a few different designs. what do you think?

Thanks for taking a peek!

Michey

Falling for French Foliage

Here in Maryland, the leaves are starting to turn and there's a clean crispness in the air that just begs to be captured on paper. (Of course, this statement is on the heels of the nearly unheard of "Snow-tober" event we experienced yesterday... but we won't talk about that ;-)

Anywho, back to todays card! It uses the French Foliage stamp set in some deliciously yummy fall colors. The larger leaf was Rock 'n Rolled in Peach Parfait and Cherry Cobbler, while the smaller leaf was stamped in So Saffron (For more about the Rock and Roll technique, check out this card project from earlier this year). Sahara Sand was used to darken the edges, add waterspots and to accent with some collage script. Finally, Champagne Shimmer Paint was dabbed on using crumpled cellophane to add a network of shimmery veins across the whole panel.

A simple sentiment panel is brought to you by Thank you Kindly and a die-cut from Lots of Tags, again with some sahara sand distressing.

I wrestled with possibly adding some kind of ribbon or twine to this piece, but in the end, decided I wanted the beautiful leaves to take center stage... what do you think?

Thanks for taking a peek!

Michey

Michey's Note:  I am playing along with the Paper Players Challenge #70.  Their design team ALWAYS rocks my socks, so be sure to pay them a visit when you get the chance ;-)

DETAILS - Products are available for purchase from me at Stampin' Up

Stamps: French Foliage, Thank You Kindly
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Naturals White
Ink: Peach Parfait, Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Lots of Tags Sizzlet, Big Shot, Champagne Shimmer Paint, Edge Distresser (from the Cutting Kit).

A Halloweeny Treat!

Hi Stampers!  I've been a flurry of activity for the last few months, although my blog doesn't *quite* show it... but I have TONS of creative stuff to show you, hopefully you'll find some sort of inspiration from it.

This first card is one of four from my October class series. Full disclosure here, I'm not much for Halloween.  It's not that I don't like the holiday itself - I do!  But, combine the fact that I don't have alot of "spooky" stamp sets with the fact that I don't usually do the whole treat bag or Halloween card thing,  and I was in a pickle!

Despite that, I still managed to squeeze out a Halloween card this year:

I have a heck of a time trying to come up with something that's cutesy, so my creative direction for this card was "gothic sophistication".  The Candelabra and sentiment are from the Dark and Dreary set, with an embossed, versamarked, and iridescent iced spiderweb textured accent.

Finally, the background is "prettied" up with my favorite-est flourish from the creative elements set.  (I seriously can't put this flourish back in its box... it's got a permanent place of honor on my stamping table) and then "dirtied" up with the Wonderfully Worn background stamp.

And so, with this card, I feel as if I've been promoted from Hallow-weeny to Hallow-queeny!  What do you think?

Thanks for taking a peek!

Michey

DETAILS - Products are available for purchase from me  at Stampin' Up

Stamps: Dark and Dreary, Wonderfully Worn, Creative Elements
Paper: Whisper White, Peach Parfait, Wisteria Wonder, Basic Black
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Basic Black & Pumpkin Pie Markers, Versamark
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Iridescent ice Embossing Powder, Decorative Label Punch, Spiderweb Embossing Folder, Big Shot