Blonde and Ambitious

Welcome back!

I am sharing two projects using the new Kindred Stamps stamp set, "Blonde and Ambitious." I love how sassy and smart this set is and just had to make a few things that really felt "RIGHT" for it. 

I started with a bookmark, I bought a big pack of plain white bookmarks on Amazon a while back, and used one as the base for this project. I used i-crafter's pink i-brush blending brush to dust Radiant Neon Electric Pink Ink around the edges of the bookmark. 

Next, I colored up my brilliant fashionista using Copic markers on X-Press It card stock. I fussy cut her out and set her aside. Next, I used scrap black and gray card stocks with Frantic Stamper's Stack of Books die and cut just the top book off of 3, the whole stack was a bit overwhelming for the bookmark. 

There are some really cute sentiments in the "Blonde and Ambition" set, but for the bookmark, I felt like "You're like really smart" was perfect for a bookmark though! I stamped that in i-crafter's Hushed Darkness Black ink using my Mini MISTI. I finished the project off by adding some fun pink ribbon to the top.

My next project, I wanted to do a gift card holder. I have a Sizzix Bigz die, and used it to cut out my base with some bold pink card stock, then a white inner piece for the gift card holder. 

Again, I stamped my expert shopper from "Blonde and Ambitious" out and colored her with Copic Markers, then fussy cut her. 

I used a Sweet Stamp Shop die to cut out a cityscape in gray, then a Sizzix die to cut out a film negative in black and layered these both over a white piece of cardstock. I tilted it and cut it down a bit, then glued it to the top of the box. 

I added the "Snaps to you!" sentiment from "Blonde and Ambitious" stamped on the same pink card stock as the box in a Circle die cut from The Stamp Doctor.

The last step for this gift card box, was stamping the sassy shopper from "Blonde and Ambitious" using Ink on 3's Fade Out ink for a second generation stamping look, and the "You're legally awesome" sentiment from "Blonde and Ambitious" in a bright pink Catherine Pooler ink.

"Blonde and Ambitious" and the entire Kindred Stamps May release will be available Friday, May 22 at 8am PST/11am EST. Be sure to subscribe to the Kindred Stamps blog to see a daily line up of sneak peeks from our amazing Design Team and see the full product release on Friday! Come join the Fan Club and release event to be part of the release fun, and you may just win some Kindred Stamps credit!!

I hope you enjoyed my projects, and will see you next time!

~R. Winn

Bookmarks Worth Reading For!

Hi again friends! 

Kindred Stamps hosted a make and take table at the Simon Says Create Event that happened March 15th & 16th (it was sold out, woah!) I was able to assist Audra in planning out our table's projects. We decided to use the especially popular, Little Town Life stamp set to make bookmarks.

I started by using the princess and stamping her out with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Next, I stamped her little friends using Gray Flannel Memento ink, I wanted them a little angled rather than stamped straight on. I then stamped the sentiment "choose your own adventure" in Catherine Pooler Tiara ink.

Then it was time to color! For her skin, I used Copic E13, E11, and E00. The dress is Y19, Y13, and Y11, the overlay, I used just Y11 and added a layer of Clear Wink of Stella for some sparkle. Her hair is E79, E57, and E23. I finished her with RV29 for the rose petals and YG67 for the leaf!  

I chose a pink ribbon that matched the rose to finish my bookmark. Now you've got the chance to make your own bookmark! Go grab Little Town Life and have some fun! I am excited to see your take on this project... want a bonus?

I decided to make one more bookmark, this one using the beastly prince from this set! I didn't keep track of the colors because I didn't have to pass them along for the project. For his fur, I varied several shades from the earth tone collection so it didn't all blend together. 

I began by stamping him with black Memento, then chose to use Catherine Pooler inks that fit with the character for the little friends. The feather duster was stamped in the same gray Memento from the first book mark. The sentiment "you're my favorite guy" was stamped in red VersaFine. The bookmark was finished off with a red ribbon with dots on it.

I hope that you've enjoyed my bookmarks, I have a special home for them in mind. I really hope you try to make some for yourself or someone you love.

Thank you,

R. Winn

A Bit Spotted!

I'm back! It's been a chilly February so far here in WA, but this month's Kindred Stamps release has warmed my heart at least! I get to share with you, "A Bit Spotted". This set features 4 of the most adorable pups that I have ever seen, and one crazy fashionista!

For my first project, I chose a planner layout using the "A Bit Spotted" stencil, stickers, and bookmark! I started by using Catherine Pooler Twilight, Black Jack, and Midnight inks, on the stencil. I applied the colors using a toothbrush makeup brush that I got on Amazon. I made sure to rotate the stencil each time I moved it so that the spots became a bit more random and less patterned. My friend had decorated the edges with washi tape for me already so I made sure to work around that.

After I had created my spotted pages ready, I pulled out both sizes of the "A Bit Spotted" stickers, I like to be a bit random and am far from organized, so they are placed willy nilly! I really LOVE how well the smaller stickers fit into the daily columns in my personal planner size. Next, I picked a few of the larger stickers for the header sections. Lastly, I added my crazy fashionista, she is one of our newest products, BOOKMARKS!

My next project had me giggling while I made it! While at Creativation, I had the chance to learn how to use the Gina K wreath builder, well, I give you... a puppy wreath! I used the "A Bit Spotted" stamp set with the two smallest pups to make the wreath. I then watercolored (kinda) them using the Catherine Pooler inks and a TomBow blending pen! I wasn't using watercolor paper, so it's not perfect, but it is definitely fun!

For the sentiment, I chose the birthday sentiment from "A Bit Spotted" stamped on to Stampin' Up cardstock using Delicata black ink and die cut using a Stampin' Up circle die. I layered the same blue cardstock behind the puppy wreath, and mounted it all on a white card base. I finished the card off with a few sequins in each corner from the "Yo Ho" shaker pack.

The entire Kindred Stamps February release will be available Friday, February 22nd at 8am PST/11am EST. Be sure to check out the Kindred Stamps blog on Friday for the full product release as well as the complete line up of all the Kindred Stamps Design Team projects from release week! If you visit and comment on all of the designers' blogs this week, you could win $15 in Kindred Stamps shop credit! So join the Fan Club and release event, show the design team some love, and get ready to empty those wallets this Friday!

Thank you for visiting me today!

~R. Winn

Adventures Abroad Continues, In Italy!

Hi friends! I hope you've enjoyed the Beth Duff Designs Winter Release so far! I get to share the newest in the Adventures Abroad line, Italy. I absolutely adore this line, and this newest set is a fantastic addition.

I was shown a tutorial about for a card that was super 3D with floating floor. I started by creating the background using a MFT brick stencil, two gray Distressed Oxide inks, and Tonic Expanding Mousse.  In the future I would cut it down to be smaller than the cardbase like a card front layer would normally be, but this was still a bit of trial and error for me!

The floor is cardstock cut to 4 1/4" x 6 1/4" and is scored at 3/8", 4 3/8", and 4 6/8". The short score ends up attaching to the back wall, while the longer end is used at the front of the card. I used a Pen Blade to cut small pieces out of the floor where I wanted my pieces to stand. 

I chose to use 4 pillars, 2 scooters, and of course, the chef! They were colored using Copic markers. I can't remember all of the colors I used, but the pillars are W-1, W-5, and W-7! They are standing up by using small paper "L brackets", to create these I cut several small strips of cardstock and folded them in half. I glued them to the underside of the floor first, then the back of my pieces. 

I staggered the pillars, then I put the scooters in front of the back set. I wanted my chef front and center. I finished my card off using the "Grazie" sentiment, which I love the font of! I heat embossed this in a Wow Gold Pearl powder.

As a bonus, I made a bookmark, I used the small pieces from the set in different light colors, stamped at random. Next, I stamped my favorite sentiment from the sent in black VersaFine Clair ink. I finished this quick project off with a light blue ribbon, knotted simply at the top.

I hope you've enjoyed my take on this set, and cannot wait to see what you make with it! If you want to see more of our team's creations, you're always welcome to visit the Beth Duff Designs blog! Make sure you join us at Unicorn Crafts on Facebook to share your own projects, and see a bit more of all of us, and of course, like the Beth Duff Designs page to see when new and exciting things are happening.

And don't forget to go shopping with Beth Duff Designs!

~R. Winn

Quick Fun Makes With Manatee Love!

So, one of the adorable sets that Beth Duff Designs released this Spring, is our Get Kids Crafty Exclusive, Manatee Love.  I NEEDED it, the second I saw it!


As you know, I've been obsessed with No-Line Coloring lately. I used my InkOn3 Fade-Out Ink and stamped out the manatees to color. I used a combination of Copic Markers and Brutus Monroe StyleFile Markers to color the cuties. I wasn't sure what I was going to with them, but they begged to be colored.

For this little heart hugging guy, I decided on a bookmark. My sister sent me a link to some bookmarks on Amazon, and I decided to give them a go!  This project probably took me 10-15 minutes total, INCLUDING the No Line Coloring.

I used my new Altenew Ink Cubes that I got from Crafty Doodle Chick (that link will get you 5% off your first purchase, and I will get points too!). I used various green and pink shades and stamped out the seaweed and clam shells. For the "Hi there", I stuck with my favorite sentiment ink, Versafine in black.

Next, I put my fussycut manatee on a piece of navy cardstock, and added some Nuvo drops around the outside to make it glossy, like water!

To finish it off, I took this fun rainbow ribbon from Fun Stamper's Journey (that's my friend Alex's link, she's pretty amazing and SO SO helpful. I bought it to use with all of my unicorn stamps, but I love the burst of color from the top of the bookmark. My family is full of readers, so I'm sure one of them will get to enjoy this cutie!


Next, I had to used this hilarious sentiment. I just love it. Well, it doesn't really fit on a bookmark does it?  I have a TON of pre-made card bases, so I snagged this aqua striped base from my stack.  I love the idea of this happy little guy brightening someone's rough day.

I used Kat Scrappiness's (my referral link!) Double Stitched Rectangle Die with Stampin' Up Brown Sugar Cardstock for the sentiment, which was stamped in Versafine.  Underneath, I layered a piece of gold cardstock that was pre-embossed with scales.

The left side of the card felt really empty to me, so I took my Kindred Stamps (you get 10% off your first purchase, and I get points!) Mermaid Princess Shaker Pack and some Tombow glue and built a shiny little something in the top left corner. I added a blue shell to the bottom right of the sentiment too. To finish the card off, I used my Kat Scrappiness Clear Droplet Sampler Pack for some air bubbles!

This card probably took me about 20 minutes, that may have been in part because I had too much fun building my shiny something. HEHE!

I hope you enjoyed my projects, and that they have inspired you too look around and find those quick projects that you can sneak between the duties of life! And that you aren't TOO annoyed by all my links, after all, a referral is the biggest complement you can give, and I only shop from the best. Good customer service, a friendly attitude, and a willingness to go the extra mile in the craft industry is SO important. I LOVE shopping from these small business and getting to know the people behind my craft addiction!

Until next time,

~R. Winn