Honey Bee Scraps Design Team Announcement

Good morning everyone! I have a super exciting announcement to make that I have been waiting to reveal!  I have been chosen as a full time designer for Honey Bee Scraps.   Melissa has developed some incredible images and super quality stamps- she has introduced her first collection and the line is growing rapidly.  Myself and the other members if the DT will be sharing some really fun ideas and inspiration over the coming months- so stayed tuned to my blog, Honey Bee's Blog and be sure to like the Honey Bee Facebook page to stay up to date.  Honey Bee's stamps can be viewed and purchased online here at the Etsy shop.

So head on over to the Honey Bee Blog for the DT Announcement  and meet the designers-we have a whole array of different styles which will be sure to inspire you!

Here's a preview of the first 4 sets in the collection:

Not to Shabby, No Place Like Home, Oh Snap! and Life Right Now

      

Creative Vision Stamp Showcase: Stay Strong

Good Morning!  With spring in the air I wanted to share a card I made featuring two of the stamps from the Something will Grow Set from Creative Vision Stamps.  While I have showcased this set before it was in a very different card and a different sentiment- showing the versatility of this set and it's sentiments.

For the background I used the large flower stamp, stamped with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.  Using an hombre technique I then applied various shades of pink Ranger Distress Ink over the background using it as a resist.  This just makes those flowers POP!

I actually cut the rubber stamp sentiment "stay strong" apart because I wanted to use it horizontally for this card.  Using a grid block I was able to line it up straight for stamping!  A couple of embellishments- the pink and white flowers and a ribbon finish the card.  Both flowers and the sentiment flag were adhered to the card using homemade foam tape made with my Xyron Creative Station. As you may have seen in my video- I match the foam to the color of my project so the adhesive is not so obvious if looking from the side.

You can check out this set and sooooo many other great stamps on the Creative Vision Stamps website and be sure to like Creative Vision Stamps on Facebook. Laura is fantastic and will take great care of you and all your stamping needs!

Introducing the NEW Xyron Creative Station!

Good morning!!!! Today I am super excited to share with you a couple of videos  that I created featuring the BRAND NEW Xyron Creative Station!  I just received my box of goodies from Xyron and wanted to share this FAB machine with you. 

This first video is my Introduction to the Xyron Creative Station:

As a bonus I also created a quick video showing how I use the Xyron to make homemade dimensional foam tape- super easy and cost effective when you use as much dimensional adhesive as I do!

Hope you enjoy today's videos and hope you head over to the Xyron website to check out all of their fabulous products!  Stay tuned to the Xyron Facebook Page and here on my blog for more videos featuring this great machine and other Xyron Adhesives!

Comments, questions and thoughts are always welcome below!

In Honor of April: National Humor Month

Hello all! Did you know that April was National Humor Month!  I have a ton of humorous sentiment stamps so I decided to pick one to work with this week as myDesign Team inspiration project for Challenge #121 613 Avenue Create . While I am not a martini fan, I prefer the bubbly myself, I have a ton of friends and relatives who just love their 'tini's and who are going to love this card!

The sentiment reads 1 martini 2 martini 3 martini floor.... and it's from retired company Rubber Soul and the Olives in the background and martini glass are from Art Gone Wild.  

This is one of my favorite background techniques- I altered the patterned paper (script) with various shades of earthy green distress ink and then stamped the olives in a random pattern.  I then stamped the olives again on a piece of Neenah Solar White card stock, colored with Copics and fussy cut.   The colored images were then adhered over their stamped counterparts by running each through my Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker- this is a MUST HAVE tool for this sort of background! 

I just love the color's on this card- I am thinking of making a set and including 2 other cards I created in the same fashion:

All of these cards were created in a similar fashion as the above and all use the Xyron to adhere the stamped images onto the background paper!

Hope this inspires you to create and send a card with a humorous sentiment in celebration of National Humor month. Please join us for this week's challenge at 613 Avenue Create!

Technique Junkies Stamps Feature: You Can only Be Brave

Good Morning Junkies!! Another project featuring TJ stamps today!  For this project I started with a piece of manila card stock and used Ranger Distress Paint (antique linen) through the Crafter's Workshop stencil Time Travel. This then creates a resist effect when distress ink is rubbed over the stenciled image. Tim Holtz Cargo layering stencil was also used with black soot distress ink to add the shadows of the numbers in the corners. 

Two different Technique Junkies stamps were used on this card :

Clock Woman

and 

the sentiment 

Afraid to Do

I thought these two images complimented each other well for this card! 

Some Tim Holtz idea-ology trinkets to the center of the Clock Woman to accentuate the time piece!

The project was masked with black card stock cut with the Sizzix Alterations die Postage Stamp. All layers were adhered using the Xyron Mega Runner.

Love the vintage look of this card- yet super colorful!

Check out these and all the other fantastic stamps on the Technique Junkies site and be sure to follow the Design Team blog and my blog for more creative inspiration!

Creative Vision Showcase: Wine

Good Morning! Today on my blog I am showcasing the stamp set from Creative Vision Stamps Grapes in Wine. This is such a great set- especially for wine lovers!

This project focuses on the sentiment "Grow It Pick It Squish It Drink It" - and growing up in an Italian family this is near and dear to my heart! 

For the background I used Tim Holtz layering stencil Harlequin with a monoprint technique using Ranger Distress Inks onto watercolor paper and also the Tim Holtz stencil Splatters for the added wine drip rings. 

I stamped the grapes image from the set first onto the watercolor paper and covered with rubber cement as a mask and then did the mono printing over this.  Very cool way to mask images that I learned from Jennifer McGuire. This technique is especially good for complicated images.  The wine glass was stamped on a separate piece of watercolor paper that was also monoprinted with the stencil and then cut out and adhered onto the card base by running through the Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker.  The sentiment was stamped onto Neenah Solar White card stock, outlined with Copics and adhered using homemade foam tape using my Xyron 5" Creative Station.  You can view a quick tutorial on how to make your own foam tape using your Xyron here. I use a ton of foam tape so making my own has been incredibly cost effective!  

 

Coffee Anyone??

Good morning Junkies! Pam here today! There isn't a better way to wake up on a beautiful spring Saturday morning than to the aroma of some fresh brewed coffee!  So today I am showcasing the Technique Junkies new April release stamp SD 498 Drinking Coffee.

If anyone has seen my previous projects they certainly know how much I love the java!!  I also love working with the palette of colors  and textures that coffee stirs up - creams, browns, burlap, drip rings and all sorts of artistic effects.

For this card I started with a piece of glossy card stock for the  main focal image background and of course used a technique from one of Pat's fantastic CDs - Sensational Stencils. Alcohol Stencils.  This is such a fabulous technique because it combines the amazing colors of alcohol inks with your favorite stencil! For this I used the Crafter's Workshop Mini Paint Lids -to give the appearance of coffee drip rings in the background.   The stamp itself comes as all one large sentiment but I decided to cut it apart after stamping to better fit my project. To add some additional texture I layered the main piece onto a piece of Kraft core card stock (die cut with Sizzix postage stamp die), woven paper from DCWV, and finally onto a piece of corrugate card base.  I used a stencil and distress ink to add some larger drip rings to this piece as well.  Best of all I add a couple of real espresso beans- boy does this card smell good!  

Hope you enjoyed having my morning coffee with me! Be sure to stop on over to the TJ website for this and more incredible stamps and technique CDs!

Thanks for joining me today!  

Embrace Imperfection!

Pam DeChellis

journeyawakensthesoul.blogspot.com

Super Exciting News from Xyron!!

Good morning! I have some super exciting news for you today!  Attention all Xyron lovers!! Xyron is introducing a brand new Xyron Creative Station-  this combines the functionality of the 5" and 9" creative station into ONE super sleek and stylish machine!  Best of all it takes both the refills from the 5" and 9" machines as well!

                                       

As a member of the Xyron DT I will be one of the first to get to play with this amazing machine and I will SHOWCASE it right here on my blog so stay tuned!!!!

Creative Vision Stamps Showcase

Hello all! Back today with another Creative Vision Stamps showcase.  Today I will be featuring the stamp set: Fight Cancer.

This disease  is near and dear to my heart since I have lost many loved ones to cancer and have many good friends fighting their courageous battle. Last week we also found out that our beloved Golden Retriever Quincy has lymphoma.  It has been a tough couple of weeks but he is fighting and we are fighting for him, taking things day by day and letting him enjoy life to the fullest while he undergoes initial treatment.

So this card is in honor of all those out their fighting and for my baby boy!

This stamp set has a bunch of great images and sentiments- 3 of which I used on this card.  Going with the traditional pink for breast cancer, I used the ribbon stamp to alter pink and white polka dot patterned paper by stamping with Versamark, embossing with clear embossing powder and then distressing with Ranger Distress inks (Picked Raspberry and Worn Lipstick). I then layered the altered paper over the original paper so you could see the contrast.  The sentiments were stamped in black with Versafine Onyx and one was clear embossed to stand out.  A pink ribbon was folded and placed under the starburst sentiment as well. 

 I plan on making more of these in various colors representing the different types of cancer.   This is a fantastic stamp set and gives a shout out to a great cause!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Crafting from the Heart

Anything Goes

Stamp and Create

Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create Challenge Community

Good Morning everyone! I am so excited to announce that I have joined the team at 613 Avenue Create as a Resident Designer! Chana and Kathi are incredible and you will just love their blog community!  You can check out this weekly challenge community and enter the challenge  here.  This week's challenge is Anything Goes with an optional twist. 

Here's my project to inspire you for this challenge:

The stamp set used here is Tim Holtz's new Fresh Brewed blueprint.  I am addicted to anything and everything coffee so I just love this set and the Bigz die as well (see my projects here).  The background was created with Ranger Distress ink and Tim Holtz's layering stencils using the mono print technique which you can check out in my tutorial here.  I also used the layering stencils to add drip rings to the background for that true coffee stain feel.  The focal images were watercolored with Ranger Distress Inks and adhered to the background along with the burlap with my Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker and Xyron Mega Runner! The encouragement sentiment is from Tim's Idea-ology line.  I also framed the background with Kraft Core Card Stock cut from Tim's Postage Stamp die and sanded to reveal the kraft core. 

So come on by the 613 Avenue Community Blog and enter this week's challenge!

                 I am also entering this card in the Totally Tilda Challenge #118 Tea/Coffee

You Keep Me Anchored "A" is for Anchor SSS Monday Challenge

Happy Saturday everyone! The weather is looking a bit brighter today and spring may finally be here.   Stopping in this morning to share my entry for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge "A" is for....

Just got this My Favorite Things  DC Go Overboard stamp set in from my latest Blitsy haul and was so excited to try it out.  The background is a technique using Copic Markers, the anchor stamps, Versamark ink and clear embossing powder.  A plain piece of white cardstock is colored with various colors and shades of Copic markers then the anchors were stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with Simon Says Stamp clear embossing powder.  Using these images as a resist, Black soot Distress ink was placed over the whole background to let the anchors pop!  I also used the sentiment from the same stamp set.

The background piece was then adhered to a A2 card base with the Xyron Mega Runner.

Come join the fun in this weeks Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge!  What does "A" stand for for you?

Technique Junkies : Sentiment Stamps & Misted Stencils Technique

Good morning Junkies!  Today I want to share a project I created with Technique Junkies sentiment

Always Find a Song!

               I just love how this sentiment stands out on virtually any background you create.

The technique used for the background of this card is from the Sensational Stencils CD and is called Misted Stencils.  For this card I used the Crafter's Workshop stencil Aspen Trees and Ranger Tim Holtz Distress spray stains in various shades of blue.

I stamped the sentiment with Ranger Archival Black ink and cut out each piece and adhered to card using the Xyron Mini X.
There are so many color variations that can be used here- so pick your favorite stencil and give it a try.  Be sure to visit the Technique Junkies new website for all their  incredible stamps and technique CDs.

Tim Holtz New Blueprints

Just received several sets of Tim's new blueprint stamps-so excited to create with these!  Since the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge  is Pastels, I thought I would work with the BABY Blueprints.  The piggy bank caught my eye right away.

Here's what I came up with- decided to work with blue and pink so it can be used for either a boy or a girl -baby shower etc.

I used the Stencil Monoprint technique with a Crafter's Workshop Stencil for a bright pink and blue pastel-like background.  I fussy cut the piggy and the coins and used dimensional tape on the piggy and used my Xyron 150 for the coins.  Just love this adhesive for these small items! Added a cute ribbon and the letters B-A-B-Y for a little extra!

You can join in the fun for the Monday Challenge here.

My second card is on the grungier side. For this card I used the same stencil with a different technique- colored with distress inks, embossed (through the stencil) with clear embossing powder, and distressed with vintage photo, using the stenciled background as a resist.  The blueprint teddy bear and ABC blocks were stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers. For this card I used the Tim Holtz Chit Chat stickers for the sentiment "It's a Boy" and adhered the words (using the Xyron 150) onto the blue/pink polka dot burlap panel. I added a ribbon- seam binding colored with distress stain and adhered it behind the teddy using the Xyron 150.

Bunny Hop! Happy Easter!

Spent some time in the studio today on a last minute Easter project.  My sister Regina came over  and joined me in the studio and we made a set of small Easter baskets for our Easter dinner guests.

The baskets were made from a 6x6 piece of Tim Holtz Seasonal Stash paper. The Easter grass was cut from the Sizzix Alterations fringe die- adhered inside the basket with the Xyron Mega Runner. The small bunny and bow are also from Tim's Alterations line- movers and shapers.  

We also made a larger basket for the Easter eggs from a 12x12 piece of the Seasonal Stash paper.

Note the egg in the middle with speckles- I couldn't help but bring at least one egg to the studio and color it with Dylusions and then added specks with the Tim Holtz Marker Spritzer.  We just have to remember not to eat this one!!!