A genius octopus...

Hey!

Happy Monday! It's the final week before the half term so it's countdown time to yet another bank holiday - hooray for May, the bringer of bank holidays galore! :)

May is also the time of year where we get stuck into the exam season. No doubt there are a few nervous students cramming for their final exams right now. I'm planning ahead with today's project and celebrating exam success with the help of a Top Dog Dies glasses die.

I used the glasses from the Top Dog Dies Photo Props Die Set to make this cute octopus from Clearly Besotted Stamps look intelligent. So simple to do! The hastag die from Top Dog Dies Camera Finishers Die Set adds that trendy, youthful vibe to the sentiment - well it's as trendy as this gal can be anyway LOL!

I created a quick video to show how I created the tag which involves a masking technique with Distress Inks galore but I'm having a few technical issues with it. I'll have it uploaded here as soon as I can get my resident geek on it!

• I'm not even sure that orange octopus/octupi exist! However, I opted for orange as it's a complimentary colour to blue. Check out colour theory for the thinking behind colour combinations. 
• Hashtags can make give any sentiment a modern, trendy vibe. Perfect for the younger generation!
• Don't limit yourself to these glasses and an octopus. The Top Dog Dies Photo Props Die Set comes with a variety of props so experiment to see how you can dress up your character stamps with them! 

Here's hoping that this octopus will be swimming its way to a student after exam results. Until then, it's back to the books and back to the revision classes! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by here today!

Products Used
N.B I've listed some products that are available here as well as across the pond in the USA via Amazon. They appear below as multiples of the same product - just click on the one based on your location. :)

Apologies that the 'genius' stamp was from a Sweet Stamp Shop set that has since been retired. 

InLinkz.com

A lightbulb moment...

Hey!

Happy Sunday! I hope the weekend is treating you well. For us it's been a weekend of sorting and organising. Admittedly it's kinda tedious, but the end result is so refreshing. I even have a tidy creative space; you can see my desk and everything! Not sure how long it'll remain in that state though LOL!

I'm here with the final day of sneaky peeks from the Clearly Besotted Stamps January release (available for purchase tomorrow 10pm GMT) and today's card is giving you a peek at what I think is a versatile die. :)

I had a lightbulb moment when I checked out the coordinating dies for the new set, Up in the Air. You could even call it a literal lightbulb moment as that balloon-shaped die transformed into a lightbulb shape before my very eyes!

This was so easy to create. If you're interested, here's how easy it is:

• Die-cut the balloon/lightbulb shape from yellow and light grey card
• Stamp a lightbulb related sentiment on the yellow die cut
• Smother in Glossy Accents 
• Practice patience in waiting for it to dry! ;P
• Decorate by adding detail on grey die cut to adhere to shape and add extra shine with a white gel pen

So there you have it: a balloon die disguised as a lightbulb!

Here's a shot to show those Glossy Accents at work. :)

Right, I'm off to create some crafting chaos in my tidy craft area. I'm going to promise myself that I'll tidy up after *wink*. In the meantime, why not pop across to Stephanie's for more sneak peeks? :)

Thanks so much for visiting today!

My kinda maths....

Hey!

Happy Friday! Happy half-term (for me anyway!) :)

Today is my spot as a guest designer over at the Sweet Stamp Shop. I'm sharing a few extra projects made with the new stamps from May's release.

Now Maths was never my strong point, but today's card is the kinda maths I likey! Admitedly my guy hasn't got a mustache though...I wonder if I should persuade him to grow one so I can give this card to him?!

• Add little details to small images to give them more 'oomph'! I added glossy accents to the lips, white lines to the mustache and a mini-gem to the heart. 
• I used an impression plate on my card base to add more texture (it's hard to see in the pic), but I always stamp my sentiments before impresing my pattern so I have an even texture to stamp on.  

Next up is a fun (well, it's fun to me!) interactive card. I do love to make them when I've got the time, and it's even better when it's a super easy one to make.

Simply lift up the lever to reveal the message this card conveys in two simple words:

Hee! So simple! Just thread a brad through a strip of cardstock (I folded mine over so it would hide the brad) to create a lever and have a little message/image waiting behind the object your moving.

• I was originaly going to stamp the eye chart in a grey ink, but it was too dark and took the focus (pun not intended there, but I'll take it anyway - ha!) from the 20/20 sentiment. So cue some clear embossing - works like a charm for subtle elements.
• Stamp anything you want to sit on your embossed elements in black/coloured ink first and let that ink dry before embossing larger elements on top with clear ink and powder.

That's all from me today, but before I scoot I just wanted to give you a heads up that the Sweet Stamp Shop is having a DT Call. Take a peek and get that sweet application in! Oh, and one more thing: A big thanks to Nicole for having me as a Guest Designer this month. Thanks, Nicole I had a super sweet time! :D

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a great weekeend!

Gettin' sweet...and weird!

Hey!

Happy Tuesday! It's a particularly 'sweet' Tuesday here on the blogeroo as I'm hopping on board this month as a guest designer for Sweet Stamp Shop!

Today is release day and three super sets have been released. I was sent two of them to play with: Eye Love and Weird Love.

The card above features some weird love. Never thought I'd type/say that here....ha! But fear not, this is no weird set, but a sweet (what else?) mini-set featuring a lovely sentiment that pretty much sums up how I feel about my fiance and I: we're both a little weird...and I can't quite believe our luck that we found each other and fit together so perfectly (altogether now: awwwww!) The heart is stamped from the set 'Eye Love' and is covered in a good dollop of Glossy Accents.

So enough weird love, how about some eye love? Yup, the name kinda sums up the set: love with a focus on some items you may just find at the opticitans. However I went for something a little more....geeky! :)

The set has this oval shape and as soon as I saw it I thought 'atom'! Then I got thinking 'ion'! And this led to the pun 'ion U' as in, 'I've got my eye on you...' I just stamped and rotated the oval to create the atom shape, adding red dots with a marker and stamping the 'U' from the set in the centre.

Now as I understand it, an atom can be an ion, but not all ions are atoms. I didn't have time to hit the science textbooks to research it! So my escape from any geek design faux pas I may have unintentionally created, was to stamp the inside with another sentiment from the same stamp set.

Now if you subscribe to this being a mini card with an atom, it'll read U....genius. And if you subscribe to it being an ion then the card will read 'ion U...genius'! It's win/win in my book! :)

That's all from me today! I'll be back later on in the month with a couple more projects to share featuring these sets, but for now be sure pop across to the Sweet Stamp Shop blog for more inspiration!

Thanks so much for stopping by here today! Wishing you all a 'sweet' Tuesday!








Products Used

InLinkz.com