Monster Party with i-crafter!

It's release day with i-crafter and that means I have something spooky to share! I got to play with the new Impossible Box, Monster die set and created 3 fun projects to inspire you!

We'll start with my favorite, I'm calling this one a coffin. I used the pieces meant to create a mummy to create the coffin. I created different colored by smushing multiple shades of Catherine Pooler brown inks onto a sandy colored cardstock. I spritzed the cardstock, sponged some color off with a towel then blow dried it most of the way with my heat gun. Next, I used the Kindred Stamps Woodgrain stencil and dry embossed the cardstock to create a wood texture. 

I cut the mummy pieces out repeatedly, and added a few of the vampire hair pieces in as well (with the points covered by the other pieces.) My box was a darker solid brown. I covered all four sides and the bottom of the box with these panels layering them so they looked like a roughly built coffin. I chose to use red and white for the eyes to make them really POP out at you. The top I left as is so it didn't interfere with the open/close mechanism.

Next up is a fairly simple box! I used old Halloween patterned paper from a Graphic 45 paper pad to create a simple box, I added some bat sequins that I found in the dollar section at Target. I really love that this box can be used dressed up or stand-alone!

I wanted to show the box in use so I added a few of the bats to the inside... then spilled them out for effect. 

Last, we have the first box I created. I want to put the disclaimer out there that this was my learning curve box and it can be done much better than this one... but he's sure a cute little vampire either way!

I added details using Copic markers, using Cool Grays for his hair, blue to add details to his eyes, and red to color his lips. I added buttons to his vest and shirt with a fineliner.

The last few details may be a bit silly, but I thought they were fun. For his cape, I cut the shape out twice, once in black and once in red. I backed the red with the black, then used my i-Press tool's round handle to curl the edges of the cap inwards. 

I hope that you have enjoyed my project for today and can't wait to see how you use the new Impossible Box, Monster die set in the future!

Until next time,
R. Winn

For more inspiration, updates, and news make sure to check out these awesome places!

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Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Crabby Card

Hello again friends,

I am so excited to show you my card for today! I played with Sassy and Crafty's Sassy but Sweet Stamp set. This set features an adorable mermaid and fantastic "king" crab along with some amazing sentiments.

I decided to stamp the crab from Sassy but Sweet for my card today. I stamped him using Ink On 3's Fade Out Ink and colored him with Copics. To add a bit of extra fun, for the gems on his crown, I used clear rhinestones colored red using a Copic. I also stamped each of the shells from Sassy but Sweet a few times to color in different fun bright shades, again using Copic markers.

Once I had finished coloring, I focused on the background next. I used black cardstock and the Mermaid Tails Stencil for this. I used my i-Brush Blender Brushes and Distress Oxide inks in various shades of blue and one purple to create a watery feel. I added a few spritzes of watered down Ink on 3 Liquid Pixie Dust to add some shimmer to the background.

Next, I cut out Kindred Stamps "Sorry" word die. For the bottom layer I used a purple scrap with a kind of watercolor or bubbled look to it, and for the top layer I used a blue glitter cardstock scrap. The sentiment I stamped on to a silver cardstock scrap and heat embossed it with a metallic light purple WOW embossing powder. I trimmed this down.

When it came time to build my card, I layered my dark watery sheet over a light purple card base. TIP: I like to buy card bases and envelopes in bulk from box stores when I find them on sale, this saves my energy so I'm not constantly cutting and scoring card bases. Once the card front was adhered to the card base, I glued the "sorry" layers toward the top center of the card. I added a strip of Thin Double Thick Foam Tape to the back of my "I've been crabby" sentiment strip and positioned it under but crossing into the "sorry" layers.

I added my king crab to a mini wobbler to give him a fun little interactive element and positioned him towards the center(ish) of the card. To finish the card, I added the shells that I had previously colored up and a few clear sequins.

Here is a short video of the crab in action!

Well, I hope that I've inspired you to check out Sassy and Crafty for yourself and look forward to seeing what you create next! 

Until next time,

R. Winn

Kindred Stamps Earth Day Birthday Card!

Hi friends!

I am excited to share my card showing off the new Kindred Stamps Earth Day stamp set. I love these little robots and wanted to let them have a little fun in space for my cards.

I began by coloring them with Copic markers. For the white robot, I used VERY light colors in the Blue and Cool Gray families to create a  light shadow affect for her body. Then I covered her face with Nuvo Crystal Glaze I fussy cut both robots out and used a black water-based marker on the edges.

Next, I created a space background with watercolors, I used a mixture of brands, but was really impressed with the new colors I got recently from HydraColour. I used a mixture of different white watercolors to make some little "clouds" like the yellow robot was being propelled by something. I mounted my watercolored background onto a black card base.

I stamped the binary "happy birthday" and "(Happy Birthday)" sentiments from Earth Day onto the Squiggle Mat Die from Stamp Anniething and trimmed it down to put on the top corner of my watercolored background. I used a black paper and stamped in Hero Arts Unicorn Ink. I was pretty pleased with the way it stamped since this was my first time using this ink.

I popped my robots up on some thin foam tape and placed them on the card. To finish my card off, I added some clear droplet pieces from the Unicorn Legend Shimmerz to embellish the card. It's hard to photograph but the card is covered in a fine shimmer creating a magical affect.

The new Kindred Stamps Earth Day set will probably end up being my favorite stamp set ever! I love these sweet little robots and the sentiments are super fun, I chose the happy birthday sentiments because I seem to always be short on birthday cards. I look forward to see what you create with these cuties when they make it to your craft room.

The entire Kindred Stamps January release will be available Friday, January 29 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!!

Until next time,

~R. Winn

Highlander Travels through Standing Stones

Hello friends!

I am excited to show off the new Kindred Stamps Highlander Travels Stamp Set. This is such a fun set and the people are so fun to color up. I colored each of them up with a combination of PrismaColor and Chameleon colored pencils. I don't use gamsol like a lot of folks, but I do occasionally use a PrismaColor Blender pencil.

The first gentleman, I turned into a English Captain with the fun hat that is included in this set. Next, I used the Kindred Stamps Distress Brick Stencil with Catherine Pooler Twilight and Black Jack Inks. For this card, I used i-crafter's Flip Card, Dashed Circle die. I used the small circle to die cut a piece of the brick paper. 

I used a sheet of paper that has text on it for one side of the flip and then for the other side a sheet that looked like a fancy wallpaper. Next, I added the word "legendary" on the front.

My final touch was a sentiment from Kindred Stamps Villainous Sentiments underneath the flap.

My next card is a little simpler, I used a fancy oval die to cut out the new Kindred Stamps Standing Stones Craft Die then ink blended using Catherine Pooler Inks. I added a second oval out of a dark blue patterned paper that looks a night sky. I stamped and heat embossed "dinna fash" from the Kindred Stamps Highlander Travels Stamp Set which means "don't stress" or "don't worry".

My last card had this beautiful family from the Kindred Stamps Highlander Travels Stamp Set in front of the Kindred Stamps Standing Stones Craft Die! 

I created a blue sky with fluffy clouds using The Stamp Doctor's Cloud Dies and green grass using their Grass Edger Dies. All of this was layered over a sheet from an Echo Park paper pad that reminded me of burlap. 

My last touch for the card was stamping the "Anything is Possible with Family" sentiment from Kindred Stamps Highlander Travels Stamp Set on the same burlap looking paper, and layering that with the same green from the grass for the interior of the card!

The entire Kindred Stamps October release will be available Friday, October 30 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!!

Thank you for visiting today, I hope that you enjoyed my take on this set.

~R. Winn

Annie's Adventures: Happy Hanukkah

 Hello again friends!

Today, I am sharing my project for the Kindred Stamps Monthly sets. I used the new Annie's Adventures Happy Hanukkah stamp set. 

I started by coloring up Annie using Prismacolor and Chameleon colored pencils. I wanted a soft look and really find that colored pencils give me just that. I used a circle die from The Stamp Doctor's Circles #1 set to cut her out and layered it with another circle from the set and used a die from Stitch Circles #2 to add a bit of detail to the bottom layer.

Next, I placed the Kindred Stamps Blizzard Stencil on a sheet of blue cardstock and covered it with a layer of the DecoFoil Blanco Transfer Gel with my Stencil Pal. This I foiled with a Heidi Swapp Iridescent Silver Foil. I cut this down and layered it onto a white card base.

 I used an extra piece from The Stamp Doctor 's A2 Card in a Box to cut out the sentiment "Happy Hanukkah" from the Annie's Adventure's set. To add a bit of  interest to the die cut piece, I used i-crafter's i-brush Blender Brushes and Skysail Blue Hybrid Ink around the edges of the rectangle.

I'm excited to send this off to my friend Laura this holiday season since I colored Annie up in her likeness! Be sure to check out all of the new monthly sets available on the 16th at Kindred Stamps!

~R. Winn 

Kindred Stamps and Sassy & Crafty Under Water

Hello friends!

I'm excited to show off a few projects using Kindred Stamps "Seas The Day" stamp set and Sassy and Crafty's "Salty but Sweet" stamp set. 

I started by stamping out each of the seahorses from "Seas The Day" and the mermaid from "Salty but Sweet" and then several of the seashells from each set. I colored them up with Copic Markers. For the mermaid, I covered her tail in Liquid Pixie Dust from Ink on 3 to give her an extra magical finish.

For the background, I used a Gel Press and alcohol inks with Sassy and Crafty's Mermaid Tails Stencil.  It took me a few times to get be happy with the results, this was really only the second time I've used my Gel Press! When I was happy, I used the Kindred Stamps Waves Craft Die on two of my prints and a light blue scrap paper to create 3 layers of waves for my seahorses and mermaid to swim in.

Next, I used a combination of DecoArt Texture Sand, Picket Fence Studios Brown Dahlia Paper Glaze, and Deco Foil White Pearl Metallix Gel on the bottom layer of the waves to create an ocean floor. I added a ton of  my colored up shells and included just a few starfish from an old embellishment pack. 

The end result is fun, and makes me happy to just look at!

I did manage a second "bonus card" using the Kindred Stamps "Seas The Day" stamp set and the Sassy and Crafty's "Salty but Sweet" stamp set too! I took the left over shells, and a Sassy and Crafty's Mermaid Tails Stencil "mess" up Gel Press print, and created a 3"x3" card. 

"Salty but Sweet" has these fun sentiments that can be build-able, or stand-alone. I stamped the "what the shell" sentiment on to the Gel Press print using Stazon Pigment ink to start the card. 

Then I added my shells that I had covered in Ink On 3's Liquid Pixie Dust and topped with Nuvo Crystal Glaze to add extra dimension to the shells. I sprinkled them across the card front, and mixing them with the shellfish embellishments. 

Again, the end result makes me smile, and they both could be used for a variety of occasions!

Be sure to head over to the Kindred Stamps blog to see the rest of the projects created by these two talented teams! Follow these links to grab the awesome stamp sets, (and lots of other goodies too): 

Kindred Stamps "Seas The Day" stamp set 

Sassy and Crafty's "Salty but Sweet" stamp set

Until next time,

~R. Winn

Pixie Dust

It's release week at Kindred Stamps and I have 3 cards that I am so excited to share with you! 

My first card shows off the new Pixie Dust Slimline Stencil paired with the Kindred Stamps Happily Ever After Glitter Gloss. I used Pixie Spray to hold my stencil down while I added the Glitter Gloss which allowed me to easily reposition the stencil from the top edge to the bottom edge. 

I used Catherine Pooler Blue Suede Shoes ink to stamp a sentiment from the new Pixie Dust stamp set and placed it in the center of the trails of pixie dust. 

For the adorable fairy from the Pixie Dust stamp set, I colored her up with Copic markers and added blue Wink of Stella to her wings which made them SO sparkly! I stamped out the "I believe in you" sentiment onto dark blue paper, and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. Then I added the "pixie dust" above that and mixed a sparkly embossing powder with WOW Opaque Bright White powder. I positioned my fairy over the dust.

Next, I started to build my TV using the amazing new TV Time Die from Kindred Stamps. I began by blending brown ink over a burgundy piece of card stock to darken the paper to a "cherry wood" color. Then I used a darker brown ink smudged into a Tim Holtz 3D Woodgrain Embossing folder and put it through my die cut machine. I was REALLY happy with the end results.

Next, I used roughed up some gold foiled paper to make it look aged. I used this for the "dials" and other details of the TV. For the TV antenna, I pushed the ball end of the i-press in small circles on the back which made the paper kinda rounded like an old timey antenna! I went a head and repeated that process the entire TV, 

I wanted this to pop up on the inside of the card the i-crafter Hello Sunshine wiper die and mounted the TV to the front of it.

Next, I used these two adolecents from "Pixie Dust" for a slimline card using the Kraftgali Stitched Scallop Slimline dies I created a starry sky using Color Burst Powders and Crafter Companion glittery watercolors for them to fly off into.

For my last card, I paired the Kindred Stamps Dragon Scale Stencil with the crocodile from the Pixie Dust stamp set. To start, I dry embossed a bright green cardstock using the Dragon Scale stencil, then ink blended 2 darker shades of green over top.

I colored the crocodile from the Pixie Dust stamp set using Copic markers and put him on a circle die cut from The Stamp Doctor. I layered this over a 1.75" strip of dark brown that I had heat embossed "after a while crocodile" from the Pixie Dust stamp set.

I wrapped a bit of plain white twine around the brown strip. To finish the card off I used a few Hazelnut DoubleClickSkittles sprinkled across the stenciled scales!

The entire Kindred Stamps July release will be available Friday, July 24 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 cards as much as I enjoy this set! See you next time.

~R. Winn

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

En Pointe!

Hello again friends! 

I'm so excited to show you the light up box card that I made using Kindred Stamps new "En Pointe" stamp set! This set is full of the cutest little critters doing ballet!

I started by coloring up the ballerinas in realistic colors using Copics. I gave them each their own colored tutus, and for the unicorn, I went with bright bold colors. After they were colored I used Ink on 3 Liquid Pixie Dust painted on with a small paintbrush to accent their tutus, headbands and shoes.

I decided that I wanted to make a box card using The Stamp Doctor's A2 Card in a Box #2 die set to make a stage for my dancing cuties.  I started with a tan cardstock and cut 3 of the panels for the card using it. Then I cut the 4th out of black cardstock.

I built my card and used a champagne bokeh (I think that's how it's spelled!) scrapbook paper to create panels on the 3 outward facing tan panels. For the front top panel I stamped the "Dance Your Heart Out" sentiment from "En Pointe."

For the inside, I used the Kindred Stamps Woodgrain Stencil, I ink blended Catherine Pooler Sand Castle and Over Coffee inks to create a wood floor for the stage. I did this on the 3 tan panels for their inner facing side. I added the same scrapbook paper to the 3 inner facing tan panels too. I used the stencil on the 3 strips I was  placing my ballerinas on too.

For the back of the stage, I sprayed Tonic Nuvo Mica Mist in Fog on the black cardstock. After the card was built, I decided I wanted to make it light up so I took a second layer of the black card stock and sprayed it. Then I used a star hole punch and punched out a few stars in the second layer. 

I used Pear Blossom Press EZ Lights that come pre-wired with 3 led lights. I chose where to put the lights and fed them through the back of the box securing them with glue dots and the wires with washi tape. The Power Pack battery holder and button for the EZ-Lights is secured in the bottom of the back half of the card using larger glue dots. I covered this with another panel of the tan woodgrain stenciled cardstock. I marked the button with a "Press here" stamp from Heffy Doodle's Interactively Yours stamp set.

For the back, I cut down a piece of white cardstock and used i-crafter Candy Coated ink to stamp the "I hope your birthday is" and "en pointe" sentiments from "En Pointe" leaving space for the card to be written on as well.

The entire Kindred Stamps April release will be available Friday, April 24 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!!

Until next time,

~R. Winn

Secret Agent

The new Kindred Stamps "Secret Agent" stamp set was so fun to work with! I made two cards to show off this set, I hope you enjoy!

I colored up the Secret Agent using Copics. I decided to color him different ways to show off how he fits well in different skin tones and colors, he stands out because he's handsome, but he blends in because he fits into any crowd. (Okay, I overthink things...) 

My first agent is colored as a blonde, who fair skinned, I really hope he wears sun block so he doesn't burn! For this card, I wanted to used the martini glass stamp that comes with the set, you could fairly easily mask the gun out of the agent's hand and put the martini glass there instead... but masking isn't my favorite thing, heat embossing is. So, I used Ink on 3's Juicy Clear Embossing Ink, and a green embossing powder from Lindy's Gang to heat emboss a patterned paper and created a side panel for the card. I finished the panel off by adding a small amount of Nuvo Claze to each glass, making them appear to be filled with liquid. 

I used a black cardstock for the base and added my panel, then layered my "Stay Classy" sentiment (LOVE that font!) which was stamped on some silver, mirrored paper that my grandma found at a garage sale. The silver paper is highly glossy, so I used my MISTI and stamped it out using Stazon Pigment ink in blue, to match his suit. I cut the sentiment down to a long strip using my My Sweet Petunia Cut Align and a Pen Blade to make sure it was nice and even. 

After placing my agent in the middle, I felt like I needed a few embellishments, so, I reached for my Silver Love From Lizi Peel Offs, and added 3 to the side that didn't have the panel to balance it out. Last, I added a couple gunmetal/silver embellishments that I got from CTMH years ago. To get a clear picture of the sentiment, the picture lost a lot of the luster and shine that the martini glasses have, but this was a really fun card to make.

Playing with EZ Lights

I am SO excited to share with you my project using Pear Blossom Press's new EZ Lights; I absolutely LOVE these little guys and think you will too! Pear Blossom Press invited me to participate in a blog hop to help introduce EZ Lights, and I was completely honored and thrilled!

The EZ Lights, are a set of 3 pre-strung LED lights attached to the base of the Power Packs by Pear Blossom Press. They make doing a light up card so simple, and they last for such a long time.

I started my card by blending some Catherine Pooler inks, focusing on a dusk/sunset palette, after I had it blended I used a hole punch to create a space for the lights to shine through. I wanted lots of layers on this card, I used die cut trees directly on top of my dusk sky and added grass die cuts to the bottom. 

I mapped out my EZ Lights after punching the hole, a simple pencil mark on the card base so I know where the lights go, then deciding where the best space for my button is. It's almost error proof, honestly. 

For my images, I used the Kindred Stamps "Kindred Camping" stamp set and colored up the tent, campfire, and two of the campers using Copics.  I wanted a scene that would be beautiful on it's own, and stunning lit up.

The awesome thing about the EZ Lights is how powerful they are, they shine bright even though I don't have any transparent vellum or acetate to help them.  My campfire is on XPress It Paper which is a nice heavy cardstock, then my campfire is colored with Copics, adding another layer. As you can see below, the lights still shine through perfectly, lighting up the campfire! In fact, the light shines through in the background as well, giving my dusk sky, a bit of a more realistic feel and look.

I stamped my sentiment onto a scrap of kraft cardstock using Ink On 3's Juicy Clear Embossing Ink. I heat embossed in a nice dark brown embossing powder. I arranged my girls and the tent onto my card and added the sentiment to the top right. My EZ Light button is on the top left, so I used a Lawn Fawn stamp that says "Push Here" stamped in a dusky blue to mark it.

Now... Who wants to win an awesome prize from Pear Blossom Press?? Two prizes will be awarded to two separate winners, chosen at random, from comments left on participating blogs and videos. 

No purchase necessary. Comments must be posted by 11:59 pm PST on March 25, 2020. Only one comment per blog or video will be counted, but you can comment on multiple blogs and videos in the hop for additional entries. (This is to prevent spam.) Contest open internationally to participants over 18 years of age. Void where prohibited by law. Any personal information collected will only be used for the purposes of contacting winners, your information will never be shared or sold. Comments left on YouTube videos must not violate community guidelines. This contest is not sponsored by YouTube. Winners will be announced on April 1, 2020 at pearblossompress.com and prizes must be claimed within thirty days of announcement, or new winners will be drawn.

Make sure to visit the rest of the hop for more chances to win, and to see some pretty amazing projects!

Amanda

Lynnea

Niccole

Justin

Carol

Tanna

Nicole

Alison

Sue

Rachel (You are here!)

Your next stop is Erin

Thank you for visiting me today, I can't wait to see what you dream up with EZ Lights!

Until next time,

~R. Winn