Wendy Stamps

Decorative Holiday Plates

This summer, I had the opportunity to attend Convention in Salt Lake City and let me tell you, it was AMAZING!  I took several hundred photos of inspiring creations.  All of the sneak peeks, make and take projects and main stage demonstrations were incredible.  One such demonstration, presented by Carrie Cudney from Stampin’ Up!, featured projects for the kitchen.  She showed several clever ways to incorporate paper crafting in the kitchen – everything from customized recipe scrapbook albums and recipe boxes, to cupcake and smores kits!  One project that caught my eye was her Decorative Plates.  She purchased an inexpensive clear glass plate and made 12 circular embellishments that she put behind the plate – on for each month and holiday of the year!  When I returned home from Convention, I picked up a pile of these plates and a wrought iron decorative plate rack and have never looked back!  For Halloween, I used the Ghostly Greetings Double Sided Designer Series Papers to back the plate.  For Thanksgiving/Fall, I featured the Season of Friendship stamp set and Autumn Vine Double Sided Designer Series papers from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Here is my creation for winter:  

For this set of plates (I did make two, but photographing them in my kitchen is near impossible!), I chose Baja Breeze cardstock for the circle.  I cut a snowflake from white chipboard using the Sizzix Big Shot and the Snowflake #2 Bigz Die.  Using a two-way glue pen, I applied Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the entire snowflake, making it nice and sparkly.  Then I found a two bowls to use as patterns – one to serve as the circle for the Baja Breeze background piece, and one a little smaller to create a mask for embossing the pattern and defining a circular area in the center of the plate.  I traced and cut the Baja Breeze piece out of 8 ½” X 11” cardstock, and the smaller piece out of regular copy paper.  I used the copy paper to cover the center of the Baja Breeze circle and stamped the berry image from the Kindred Spirits stamp set in versamark ink for an all over print.  I embossed this in Silver detail embossing powder.  Then I used the versamarker to create a rim on the outer edge of the Baja Breeze and an inner circle on the inside of the circle.  I embossed these in Silver detail embossing powder as well

  

To finish things off, I centered and attached the sparkling snowflake using mini glue dots to secure.  Then I added a clear rhinestone using another mini glue dot.  With each of these sets of plates, I have always run into the same dilemma… how to attach to embellishment to the back of the plate without make the adhesive obvious.  On the Halloween set, I tried Crystal Effects – it worked beautifully, but you could definitely see where it was applied once dry which took away from the overall design of the plate.  For the Thankful Fall set, I used mini glue dots, placed evenly around the outer edge of the cardstock circles.  These were also visible on the finished side, but I tried to make them look as much like a part of the design as possible.  For this set, I was at a loss!  These plates are intended for display only, so my options are more open versus someone wanting to serve food on the finished plates.  Because they are for display purposes only, the adhesive only needs to be strong enough to hold the embellishment to the glass.  Finally it occurred to me to try a mini glue dot on top of the rhinestone, hoping to camouflage the glue dot with the rhinestone.  It worked wonderfully!  I was very pleased with how it turned out!  So, if all of my future plates feature rhinestones, you’ll know why! 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Leave me a comment if you get a chance.  I have been on a sparkly snowflake kick for the last few days... must be I could sense the storm we had overnight!  Stay on the lookout for more of these sparkling beauties over the next few days as I have more to share.  And don’t forget to check out my website – www.skidamarinkers.stampinup.net - to take advantage of the Retired Stamp Set Sale and Free Shipping offer!

 

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Seasonal Wreath

I came across this wreath made with recycled Christmas Cards in an issue of Good Housekeeping  and thought “Hey!  That would be fun to recreate with my stamping supplies!”.

    

I wanted to pull some colors from my holiday decorations for this project so it would coordinate with what I’ve put together so far.  This year, I’m all about silver and blue – whether a light blue or a turquoise shade – with white and LOTS of sparkle!  I decided to use Whisper White, Brushed Silver and Baja Breeze cardstocks as the base for the leaves.  Here is the finished wreath:

I wanted to pull all the colors together so I chose to emboss an all-over pattern in silver on each one before die cutting the leaves.  I started with the Brushed Silver and used theBella’s Border wheel to create an all-over pattern.  I repeated this to create a total of three 8 ½” X 11” sheets with the pattern.  I cut the sheets down into 2” X 3” pieces to run through the Big Shot with the Leaves #2 die.  My original plan was to use the wheel on the other two colors of cardstock, but then I decided the different colors might get lost and it may look too busy if I used the same pattern for the entire projects.  So, I decided to switch things up and use the Brocade Basics stamp set for the Whisper White leaves (better to use it now before it retires, right?!?!) and the Polka Dot background stamp on the Baja Breeze cardstock.

Once I had everything embossed, it was time to die cut all of the leaves.  This project used a LOT of leaves – I should have counted! – and it would have been quite a chore to cut them out with scissors or to punch out that many.  The Sizzix Big Shot made quick work of the leaves and I was done in no time!  I put them through with 4 – 6 sheets at a time and soon had a large pile to work with.  I followed the directions on the Good Housekeeping website and hot glued toothpicks to the backs of the leaves.  I pushed all of the tooth picked leaves into a 10" Styrofoam wreath form, trying to fill in all of the bare areas.  The toothpicks in my wreath are securely in place, though you may want to add a dab of Tombow multi-purpose adhesive to the tip of each toothpick before pushing it into the styrofoam for added security.  At the last minute, I decided that this wreath needed a feathered friend, so I used the Bird w/ Leaves and Flower die to cut out a Lavender Lace bird and some brushed silver branches.  I sponged the edges of the bird with Lavender Lace classic ink to add dimension and to help define the edge so the eye could see where the bird ends and the wreath begins.  Then I added some silver embossing to the bird using a berry branch from the Kindred Spirits stamp set.  I attached the bird and branches to a leaf in the wreath.  I have not determined if I will hang it using an invisible method as in the photo, or if I will use some purple-wired wide organdy ribbon I have to make a hanger that shows.

 

I hope you enjoyed this project – feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this, or any of the other projects featured on this blog.  I also  love to get feedback, so leave a comment if you have a chance!  I have been working on several other projects I can’t wait to share with you.  Until then, be sure to check out Stampin’ Up!’s list of retiring stamp sets that are on sale and pick up those sets on your wish list before they are gone!  From now until December 23, 2008, you can also take advantage of free shipping with any order over $70!

Happy Stamping…

Wendy

Spook-tacular Banner

Ever since the release of Stampin' Up!'s Decor Elements line and the Sizzix Big Shot Announcement at Convention, I find myself creating more and more home decor items!  Here is another banner made with the Sizzix Big Shot and the Pennant Bigz XL die.

 

The biggest difference between this Spooky Banner and the Boo Banner in this post is that this one has absolutely no paper!  It is made from felt and fabric!

The Big Shot cut the felt effortlessly and made things so fast.  I used Heat and Bond to apply the striped fabric to the black felt pennants.  A little fabric glue holds the felt letters to the felt scallop circles.

 I used my crop-o-dile to make holes in the pennents and set jumbo eyelettes to reinforce the holes.  Everything is strung together with old olive grosgrain ribbon.  Pumpkin Pie 1/4", Old Olive Wide and Basic Black 1/4" grossgrain ribbons adorn each end.

To finish the banner, I attached sparkly spider rhinestones and Halloween pom-poms in orange and purple. I am very pleased with the final look, and happy to know this banner will hold up for years to come! 

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping (or should I say, happy die-cutting!?!)!

Wendy

Birthday Cake Centerpiece

At long last, here is the next installment of the Birthday Party decor for my almost 5 year old's party.

I was inspired by a centerpiece Shelli Gardner shared at Convention.  Hers used round paper mache boxes and featured the new In Colors Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss.  It was adorable, and I knew the moment I saw it that I would have to make one for our party!

I didn't have any round paper mache boxes on hand, but I did have a set of square ones.  I stuck with the color scheme to coordinate with the Birthday Banner - Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery.  I started by covering the three boxes and their covers with cardstock.

Next I created the accordian pleated bands by scoring long strips of Chocolate Chip cardstock every 1", alternating sides of the cardstock.  I adhered these with Tombow multipurpose adhesive.

Grossgrain and gingham ribbons are tied in a simple knot around the sides of the covers of each box to finish off the layers.

For the "Ben" on top, I used the Sizzix Big Shot to cut a large scallop circle in Chocolate Chip and the letters for his name.  I used the Colluzle cutting system to cut the Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery Circles, sponging Bashful Blue ink along the edges of the Bashful blue circle.  Everything got adhered together with more of the Tombow multipurpose adhesive.

I put the topper on a photo clip I purchased at Joann's $1 spot. 

For the curly ribbon, I used Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue and Celery grossgrain ribbon from Stampin' Up!.  This is a technique I learned about at Convention - I'll be posting a tutorial on how to make the curly ribbons soon.  In the meantime, if you must know, drop me an email!

Here is a close up of the ribbon detail around the lids:

Now that I put the effort in to create this centerpiece, I thought it would be fun to see if it could be used for another occassion.  Here is a picture of the centerpiece modified for a baby shower:

Thank you for stopping by.  Be sure to check back over the next few days for more!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Birthday Banner

My youngest boy has a big birthday coming up... he'll be 5 in September!  It's hard to believe how fast these years have flown by...

Turning 5 is a big deal, so I want to make his party extra special.  When Shelli announced the partnership between Sizzix and Stampin' Up! at Convention, and showed the new BIGZ dies for pennants and baskets, I knew I would have to used them to make all of Ben's party decorations and favors. 

Here is the first project I created using the Big Shot and BIGZ XL Pennant Die.  I love how it turned out, and yes, it does coordinate with my dining room and Decor Elements... that will make the pictures of his birthday much easier to scrapbook!

Here is a close-up of his name on the banner.  For the letters, I traced chipboard letters, cut them out, stamped them with the dotted background and sponged ink around the edges to add dimension.  I can't wait to get a larger alphabet for my Big Shot so I won't have to cut out letters by hand!

The scalloped circle behind the letters was cut out of Chocolate Chip cardstock using the Scallop Circles #2 die.

Here's a close up of one of the pennants:

The pennent die has several scalloped circles on it.  Three of the circles have a score mark down the center making them perfect for creating this little ornaments you see hanging from the pennenants.  I just put six of them together, alternating chocolate chip with bashful blue and certainly celery that I stamped with the dotted background in chocolate chip.  They came out really cute.  One piece of advice I have is to use a strong adhesive - I used Tombow multipurpose adhesive to make them super sturdy.

I can't wait to make more decorative banners for all of the holidays.  The next one I'll be working on is Halloween!

Be sure to post a comment and come back over the next several days as I'll be posting more pictures and details about the other Birthday projects.

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

The grand finale!

Drum roll, please!  Here is the final installment of "For the Birds":

The final bird house in the middle of the wreath features some brand new die-cuts I created using the Stampin' Up!'s Sizzix Big Shot!  This machine is the greatest thing since sliced bread!  I've been having fun with it since returning home from Convention and can't wait to share some of my new projects.

I enjoyed making these so much that I have been inspired to look at items in whole new way!  On my list of "to do" projects are some items for my kitchen... stay tuned!

If you would like to see the new Sizzix Big Shot for Stampin' Up! in action, feel free to join us at our monthly gathering Wednesday, August 13th, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. or at my Used Stamp Garage Sale Thursday, Augus 14th at 7:00 p.m.  Contact me today to RSVP for either of these events.

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Another one for our feathered friends

Here are the next two bird houses in the grouping. 

I pulled the color pallette for these from the wreath in the background.  I wanted to utilize one of the new In Colors and found Riding Hood Red coordinated beautifully!  After choosing that color, I pulled out Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal.

To unify the grouping I tried to include scalloped details on each. 

Tomorrow I will post the final picture of the entire grouping together.

Email me for more details or information on these projects.

This is for the birds...

Well, not exactly!  I was so inspired by some of the gorgeous bird houses on display at Convention that I had to come home and try some for myself.

Here are the first two in a series of five bird houses that I created to display in my dining room.  These were a lot of fun to make, though a bit time-consuming.  I used a variety of Double Sided Designer Series papers and stamped cardstock to cover plain wooden birdhouses.  I found the best adhesive for the job was the Tombow multi-purpose adhesive.  That stuff would stick bricks together!

I wanted to add some bling to these, so I put rhinestones on the end of the little perches.  What bird wouldn't want to move right in???

Look for the other birdhouses over the next few days...

On another note, if you are interested in coming to our monthly demo gathering, there is still room to sign up. Email me to RSVP today and join us to see the latest and greatest in new products and projects from Convention.

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

Tie The Knot Wedding Box

This past Christmas I received a sweater from my friend in a sturdy silver box.  Along the sides were snowflakes in several bright colors.  I saved the box for a rainy day.

I pulled it out a while back and decided to make a decor piece using the Tie The Knot Simply Scrappin' Kit.  The layout on the lid was inspired by one of the samples on the product packaging.  I covered a scalloped square On Board Accents frame in textured Chocolate Chip cardstock.  Satin Chocolate Ribbon and a hat pin from the Pretties Kit add just the right touch.

For the rest of the box, I simply covered the sides in the double-sided papers that come with the kit.  To cover the seam between the designer paper and Certainly Celery paper, I used a long piece of Twill Tape.

The finished piece is a nice momento of our wedding day.  I keep it on the coffee table in our fireplace room and use it to stash miscellaneous items.

Contact me for more details about this project.

Happy Stamping!
Wendy

CREATE with Bali Breeze

Here is another item I made featuring the Bali Breeze Double Sided Designer Series Papers.  I covered letters with the papers, using a different design for each letter.  Buttons, ribbons and rhinestone brads add dimension and interest.

These are a fun and funky decor item which now brighten up my creative space.  Contact me today to get these papers while they are still available!

Happy Stamping!
Wendy