Card 3

Card 2

Stretch Your Stamps Day 1

 Not only did I clean today, but I also made five cards for Day 1 of Online Card Classes' Stretch Your Stamps! I did a very naughty thing and bought all the stamps for the class, but they won't be here for a day or two. In the meantime, I'm playing with what I already own, which is what prudent people do.

The first card was supposed to be made with a homemade stamp pad. I could not do this because A. I sold all of my SU! dye ink reinkers. B. I don't have the Ranger make your own pad stuff. Instead, I sponged A Muse Studio ink all over my background stamp and stamped away. a|s ink is my favorite anyway, so I was happy enough.

 For this card, I used a Creative Memories punch that I have had for at least 10 years! Hexagons are back! Everything old is new again! I stamped a background stamp inked up with a|s Watermelon all over some Tinkering Ink paper which I cannot stand. I found it very satisfying to have my way with it. It's possible, though, that I made it uglier than it already was. Oh well, I never fret when I make something weird. It's paper. Who cares?

 This is the craziest card I have ever made. Well, they say that neon is back, so I'm on trend, right?

 I used an eight million year old SU! stamp set for this card. I also added some of the much despised TI paper. I hope all the other additions mellowed it out a bit. I'm a colorphobe. I admit it.

Stamping on transparencies is slippery business. Who needs perfection, anyway?

I thought Day 1 of SYS was super fun, and I look forward to the rest of the class. I am really looking forward to my new box of stamps. A Muse Studio is my favorite stamp company, so I don't buy from other companies very often, but I splurged big time.

July Spotlight

I have the cutest projects all planned out for your July workshops! During the month of July only, these five stamp sets are on sale, and you can get a professionally designed paper pack! This paper pack has five gorgeous a|s colors, all perfectly coordinated, and designed to work with the sets on sale this month. I especially want to spoil my Holyoke customers this month as a thank you and a farewell for being such great friends and customers!

Have you started Halloween yet?

 These are the last of the new colors of trinket pins for my Etsy shop. Pink hearts, and pale pink, rose and green pearl pins.

I made these tags using Too Cute to Spook by A Muse Studio. This is an extremely versatile Halloween set. It has nine images, and 11 sentiments. You could literally do all of your Halloween projects with this one set. I stamped it in Charcoal Black ink and sponged the edges. These tags are ready to be attached to small treats or gifts. Fun, fast, and easy. To make them more special, use your Quickie Glue Pen to draw an hour glass on her abdomen and sprinkle some Cherry glitter on top. Instant glam and creep factor!

Can I tell you a secret? Promise not to tell! I have a big box of goodies from the new Holiday Hoopla catalog arriving on my doorstep this Friday! Be sure to check back for a preview of just a peek of the fun stuff we have for Halloween, Autumn and Christmas!

Some shabby goodness...

 I had all my Crafty Secrets stamps out the other day and made lots of shabby little tags for my shop. These will wind up in someone's antique shop, or as tags on a favor bag for a ladies' event or wedding.

 Don't ya just want to stick these on a card? I have a hard time not using all the embellishments I make before they go in my shop. This green is such a great color for summer!

 These are as easy to make as they look. They are half-size clothespins and measure  just two inches long. You can get small and mini clothespins from my A Muse Studio shop. You get 36 small ones for $3.95 and 50 mini for the same price. Now that's a lot of fun for not too much money! Check it:

	clothespins - mini
	1 inch clothespins. Adds an adorable touch to any project.  50 per pack.
	clothespins - small
	1.5 inch clothespins.  glitter, cover with washi tape, or use as is.  a great embellishment for cards, treats, and great to use with garlands. 36 per pack.

 More Crafty Secrets tags.

White Pearl Heart pins. The Little Black Dress of the Shabby Chic paper crafting set.

A special shout out and thanks to my two truest blogging friends, Amy Tsuruta and Pat Dadisman. No matter how long I go between posts, they are always there with a kind word as soon as I surface. Go see them, you won't be disappointed. Amy & Pat I hope to see you again soon!

A little bit of this...

 Custom badge order for my Etsy shop. A gal ordered 24 of them for her 12yodd's birthday party. She was going with a show horse theme, and these were the colors on her invitation. I hope they were happy with them! I love making badges because you can just use anything that goes with your color scheme. The green crepe paper ribbons are hand cut from some vintage crepe paper I bought at a garage sale. I think it's older than I am, and that's old, I tell ya!

 Crafty Secrets Cotton Scraps. Fabulous vintage images printed on cotton. What's not to like?

 Terrible picture-but that is a Crafty Secrets stamp. Tags are a popular item on Etsy I don't know what the world is tagging with all these tags, but I've sold at least a thousand myself, and I'm Etsy small potatoes!

 I buy these heart pins and glue pearls to the bottom. Trinket pins sell pretty well in my shop, and they are fun to make.

I use this bird stamp from Artistic Outpost constantly. I love it to death.