Getting crafty with a Stamping Class

Wow! Long time, no blogging! I'm not sure why, but posting just seems like a hassle and I never get around to it, although I think of doing it often. I think I will make up for that with a big long post now! :)

So, my most recent creations to blog about are from an online card making class that I took the last two weeks called Stretch your Stamps. Wow! It was full of great ideas, lots of videos demo-ing the different techniques, etc. It was focused on cards but I've been thinking of all the ways I want to use those ideas in my scrapbooking pages too. I really enjoyed the daily dose of craftiness and I've already got my eye on another class they offer that will help me use my Silhouette die cutting machine a lot more.

Day 1 was all about background stamps. The class had a big supplies list, giving me an opportunity to buy all  the stamps they were using before hand, but I have a lot of stamps that don't get too much use so I figured I could get by with what's on hand. I found a relatively new (to me anyway!) Unity Stamp Co. number background that works perfectly for birthday cards.

 

Credits: Stamps (numbers, arrows, sentiment) Unity Stamp Co.

Everything else - Close To My Heart
Card design based on a card by Dawn McVey (shown in the SYS class, not her blog)

I also made these fun birthday tags using some older background stamps from Close to My Heart. These came out super cute and are perfect for the many birthday parties my kids go to. Can't have enough little cards around for them to use!

Credit: All materials but the twine is from CTMH.

Twine is natural hemp from the hardware store.

Punches (circle, scallop, corner rounder) from EK Success, Tag punch by Creative Memories

Day 3 was using alphabet stamps and they had some really fun ideas. One idea was to use them boldly on envelopes. I used one of my favorite alphabets of all time - Rustic Alpha by CTMH. I'm not too thrilled with the other two stamps on it, but wouldn't you love to get a fun envelope like that in the mail?

I've got two very different uses for the Day 4 graphic stamps I found in my stash. The first one is a card using bug stamps, which I love, but haven't used much. One of my boys has bug pajamas that say "Don't bug me" on the front and he just adores them. So I made this card and will give it to him at some point. The bugs are big and graphic and I used the masking technique that was shown in SYS. 

Credits: Stamps (bugs) and inks by CTMH, stamps (flag and background) by Unity Stamp Co.

Alpha stamps by Wordsworth

My other graphic stamp item is another birthday tag. I used two circle stamps and three colors of ink to make a nice background. Layered it with a trendy ticket to say Happy Birthday! The other cool thing about this tag is that I used Helmar scrap dots (which is actually tube glue, not dots!) to both attach the many pieces of ribbon and raise up the tag. Cool product.

Credits: Stamps (circles and sentiment) by CTMH, 

Stamp (ticket) by Unity Stamp Co., cardstock and inks by CTMH

Skipping all the way to Day 10 and border stamps, I loved the demonstration of a simple border and sentiment card, so I got right to work on making my own little 3x3 card. Perfect for a lunchbox note, isn't it? I'll definitely be making some more fun little cards like this!

Credits: Border and heart stamps by Martha Stewart, Alpha stamps by Scraptrends

Pink Inks by CTMH, Brown ink by Martha Stewart

So that's all I've made so far. There were a lot of other ideas that I hope to get to using one day! I'm really looking forward to using label stamps in decorative ways and also there were some stunning cards using colored pencils, so I'll definitely be giving that a try. Stay tuned!