Post - It Note holder

This is the cute project we did in Hero Arts Club at Stamp Antonio Arts this past week.  The idea came from a book I had by Marie Browning on bookmaking (a book I love, by the way!).  Here is what you need to make the booklet:

2        4 1/2" pieces of lightweight cardstock or
                       paper for covers
1        3" paper or cardstock for inside front cover
2        3 1/8" pieces of lightweight chipboard
                        (You can use the chipboard from cereal boxes!)
1        3 1/2" x 1 3/4" ultrasuede or suede paper for spine
1        3" square post it note package

            And you need a gluestick and some white glue.   Here's what to do: 
                       1. Decorate your 4 1/2" pieces of paper for your covers, remembering that only the center 3"
                                         will show. 
                       2. Decorate your paper for the inside cover as well.
                       3. Center your chipboard squares onto the backs of your decorated covers, glue down with
                                          gluestick.  Miter the corners and fold in the sides. Glue down securely. 
                       4. Attach the suede strip to the edges of each covered piece with a white glue, not a
                                          gluestick.  I used Tombow Mono Multi but any white glue with a fine line
                                          applicator will work. 
                                          Use only a tiny bead of glue.  Hold or press the glued area for a few minutes
                                          until  it sets.  After the spine edges are completely dry, cut off the excess spine
                                          ends so it is flush with the covers.
                       5. Cover the inside front cover with your decorated paper.  Lay (or glue, if you prefer) the
                                           post it notes to the back inside cover.
                       6.  Add whatever decorations you want.  I used a piece of ribbon and an extra stamped
                                           piece on the sample shown.  The stamp used for the sample is Hero Arts
                                           Delicate Blossoms CL449.  I colored it with Copic markers.

Hero Arts at Stamp Antonio

Here is the Hero Arts stamp wall at Stamp Antonio.  No samples up yet!  They're still all in my car--hope to get some up this week.  The new location looks fabulous!  Thank you, all who came to see us this past Saturday at our Amuseapalooza.  Geeta was great, as usual!  Thank you, Geeta, for this picture!  I hope many of you will come to our Hero Arts club meeting this Thursday and Friday.  We are playing with incorporating office supplies in our stamping!  Stamp Antonio's new phone number:   210-764-7900.  New address:  5139 North Loop 1604 West, #108. 

Glitter and shine

This card was done with one Hero Arts stamp. I placed a piece of patterned paper from Creative Imaginations onto a coral colored card, then overlayed an acetate card. I stamped the Hero Arts Floral scallop with black Stazon on the acetate over the printed paper, then colored the backside with gel pens and Ranger Fruit Punch stickles. I also stamped the edges of the acetate with random images from the stamp, masking as necessary to get just the flowers, not any of the border edges, and again colored with gel pens and stickles. I imagine the little bird (cut out from the paper) would like to get into this juicy, sparkly looking bramble!

Acetate Window cards

I have really enjoyed playing with acetate/transparencies lately. Here are two cards I worked up to show what can be done with acetate. The designs are not mine, however, They come from a book called Clear and Classy Cards from Design Originals featuring work by Sally Traidman and others. The card on the left uses confetti inside the window to create a see-through birthday candle. I used a Sharpie to color the designs on the acetate window--a copic was not strong enough to do this. The card on the right features a window "pocket" as the lower part of the card. I added tiny punched flowers as the confetti as well as some larger punched flowers. The larger flowers you can see through the window pocket are not in the pocket at all. They are attached to the back inside of the card. You are looking at them through the see-through window. Thank you, Design Originals, for these fun ideas! All stamps by Hero Arts.

Sunday scrappin'

No, not scrapbooking--scrappin! I determined that at least once a week I need to play with my "leftover" stash, which is now quite considerable in quantity! The first picture above shows some inchies I made with a stamped, embossed Kokopelli image I found. I made a background for the Kokopelli with some printed vellum and painted the edges with gold Lumiere paint. The second is a card I made entirely from leftovers I found from past projects, jazzing it up a bit with some gold hole-less beads and some pressed real flowers. The stamped flowers were the first piece I picked up from my stash--a repeatedly stamped Hero Arts flower showing how chalk ink gets lighter as you stamp it without re-inking. The bottom striped pieced is Magenta scrabook paper, stamped with a Hero Arts greeting. I rough cut the zig-zag edging. The side scrap is stamped with Hero Arts grid in Ranger Adirondack cranberry ink, zig-zagged the edges, and added tiny little flowers I cut from another scrapbook paper piece. I then added the gold beads with diamond glaze to the centers.

Plaid Background

I loved making this plaid background! I used Hero Arts Box Plaid S5369 and inked it first all over with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Mustard. I then colored about every third stripe with the edge of a Rusty Hinge pad. Then I turned the stamp a quarter way around and inked every third stripe with Barn Door. I then misted the colors and stamped on a white card. After it dried I cut the squares out and edged them with the Barn Door pad, streaking a little extra red on some parts of the squares. I then set the squares into a tile background using some dimensional adhesive of varying heights. Big dog, saying, and potholders also from Hero Arts. Chef's hat from Cat's Pajamas. Oh, I used the following Copics to color the dog: E15, E33, E57, and E55. I started with the darkest color around the edges of the dog, put the lightest color, which is a little pinkish, around the front part of his face, and then blended away. He is stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento, which adds to the brown color.

Take it Easy!

It's June! Summertime is here, and the livin' is easy! I hope you will be enjoying some time stamping and scrapbooking your summer adventures--camping, swimming, vacationing--live in the moment, like the card at left says! This card will be featured in Card Factory this Saturday at Stamp Antonio Arts. I used an Amuse notecard, pre-printed transparency from Teresa Collins, stamps from Hero Arts.

Speaking of Stamp Antonio, you need to know it will be moving to a shopping center near the intesection of Lockhill Selma and Loop1604. The move is scheduled for the end of this month, and we are hoping it will be easy for you to join us there! I am way excited about the move--two classrooms and an innovative store layout. We will be beefing up our class schedules, allowing space and time for fabric arts, papermaking, and children's classes, as well as our usual lineup of events. We will of course continue Artist Night Out, with some new features, like a full size refrigerator stocked with drinks and snacks for sale. (No Sonic or Starbucks yet nearby.) And of course our Hero Club will be in full swing. Our first event will be the Amuseapalooza with Geeta Suggs. Great things on the horizon!