After my stamping buddy sent me her leftover kraft paper houses, I was inspired to dig out the stamping supplies and see what happened. Another friend from my teaching days had recently given me a stack of decorative papers. The ingredients from two friends plus my own collection combined to make the perfect recipe for these fun cards!
It is always a boost to start a new card project with ideas or the beginnings of the project. The houses and patterned paper were just right to kick off this crafting session.
I used thick cardstock, patterned paper, washi tape, sticky mesh, colored pencils, rubber stamps, ink, and a little glitter glue. I love the collage of all the materials. The creativity comes from playing with different pieces, rearranging them to find what works. I’m happy with the results. Nine houses, nine new cards.
One day last week I went back to work after a quick lunch and my computer had decided to do a long detailed update and I was locked out. Soooooo. What is a girl to do, standing there amongst all the rubber stamp supplies?
OH. She could most certainly dig out the most recent gifting of unused supplies (papers, stamps, extras) from a friend and see what card jumped out of the mix.
It was coffee. Coffee jumped out. This fun coffee cup rubber stamp set was just the thing. Add some fun papers, a bit of this and that, and 14 time for coffee with friends cards are now drying on my desk.
Not that they were all finished that first day. It took a few more chunks of time, but once the mess is out on the table and the idea has a plan, rubber stamped cards are just a few short work sessions away. I worked on them a little bit both days of the weekend, finally finishing them up in time to make dinner on Sunday.
How about you? What do you do when the computer locks you out or you have a few free hours? Any favorite hobbies? We could get coffee!
My weekend was not spent doing what I wanted (and had planned to do for oh so many hours). Winter Storm Cora derailed (de-planed?) my travel plans and flights to attend a wonderful weekend of friends, missions, connecting, sharing, and encouraging. Many of us were turned back and unable to attend.
But on the bright side, I flew to San Francisco for breakfast at the airport. Continued on to Denver for a late lunch/early dinner, and then (after flight cancellations), made it home the same day! Just a leisurely tour of three airports and planes. If you add in Pasco, WA, and look at a map, you will see I made a pretty neat triangle of adventure with my airplane rides. The picture above shows the Golden Gate Bridge as we flew over San Francisco heading to the airport.
Come Saturday, when I was home missing the comradery, I decided I needed to do something fun and change my attitude. What better way for me to cheer up than making brightly colored birthday cards? Several bonuses here: I used up washi tape, created with some brightly colored cardstock that for some reason I have a hard time using, discovered that embossing anything was off the table (the 20+ years-old embossing pads were toast), and came up with a dozen new birthday cards!
One dozen rubber stamped cards is a great way to kick off a year in which I hope to create many more cards to add to my stash.
What about you? When have your plans been changed by circumstances beyond your control? What did you do to change your attitude?
79 cards, friends. 79. Not my best total after a weekend of stamping, but nothing to sneeze at either. 😉
I took up residence with my stamping buddy and her kitties over the summer and we got it done! Between the kitty help (all 3 of them), the walks, the meals, the outings, the visits, the Olympics, the rain (yes, glorious rain), I still managed to create 79 cards. My card stash (housed in those cute picture storage boxes) was getting low. Whew.
Here are the styles I worked on. Many of them are different from the top card, but have the same theme. We love to use up our “crafting stuff,” and no scrap is too small, no tidbit too uninspiring to be included for consideration.
I LOVE creating French-themed cards. One of my goals was to use up some of my French decorative paper. Check. [Hint: Even in rubber stamping, setting goals is a good thing to do!]
Another goal was to use up some tropical decorative paper. Plus, such cute pineapples!
A surprise entry to the card collection took place when Alyson started using this interesting, location-specific stamp. Old thesaurus, patterned paper, solid cardstock. This stamp represents Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico! I’ve never been there, but it looks like I should put that on the list.
This was a cute card to put together. Layers are how it works best, and you’ll notice that old thesaurus pages are one of my favorites to include. Actually, any aged pages from old books work. Though one must be careful to notice which words show up on the card.
I love these stamps! The background paper worked very well. Alas, this card was a lesson in which ink pad NOT to use! The ink never dried, so I had to carefully place scraps of paper between each card to bring them home. And then it still wouldn’t dry! I finally had to peel off the fronts, remove the backings, and re-ink the edges. Sigh. I just need to toss that ink pad. Black ink. Everywhere.
After the gloom and doom of black smeary ink, this summer card was quick, easy, and light!
A little music is good for the soul. It took a bit of time to cut out the guitars to pop on top, but the card was worth it!
Fun stamp, fun text, fun colors! We all need something to celebrate, and this card works for so many special occasions.
I LOVE stamping! It works much better with a buddy (or two or three) so you can share supplies, ideas, thoughts, and suggestions. Of course, the mess multiplies by number of creators. LOL
Can we count the kitties? Yes. I’ll leave you with one of our co-creators. This one loved the trash bag.
My pansies and Johnny-jump-ups are fading fast in this heat, so I took a few hours to hammer flowers. I also snuck in a red rose that was nearing the end, to surprising results!
I haven’t figured out how to keep them firmly in place once I start hammering. I think my table is not as sturdy as it should be, so the whole thing bounces. Whoops. But I am not hammering on my oak table! Bouncing it is.
They turned out so well! These are the only colors that are still flowering, despite my deadheading.
I did one page in my mixed media journal, combining a bunch of inks and “stuff.” And I experimented with card-sized cardstock, which turned out well, but it takes MANY flowers to fit on one of those (I did 5 card fronts). Hammering flowers is a workout! My honey was outside and thought someone in the neighborhood had their bass up too loud. LOL.
Just look at the surprising color I got from the red rose! I didn’t finish the page in my journal yet, but I was fascinated by the results.
The leaves did not leave any color at all. Too tough and thick.
I have some zinnias getting ready to bloom. I might experiment, but they are pretty thick flowers. Flower hammering. Experimenting is fun. Creating is FUN!
We LOVE getting together to play with our toys. Some call it making messes, but we call it fun. And you can’t create and make rubber stamped cards without the creative process, and that means messes are made. Also mistakes, but we use mistakes as opportunities to be even more creative with our oops.
It’s not just rubber stamping.
It’s crafting
chatting
applying (or ignoring) theories of art composition
using our imaginations
sipping tea (or coffee or a special dessert drink)
solving world problems
singing the oldies, sometimes badly and off-tune (me, always with the wrong lyrics)
sharing life
telling stories
listening to music
keeping cats off the table
playing games
getting older
sharing resources
enjoying fine literature (or just literature on a CD)
making goals
going for walks
building from each other’s ideas
paving the way to send snail mail messages to friends and family
making gifts to share
eating too much
recycling (saving rubber stamps from the landfills and reusing paper and craft items down to the tiniest scraps)
storing memories (and collectively attempting to recall long ago events)
Last week I had the privilege of enjoying a writing residency/retreat at Holly House through Hypatia-in-the-Woods. I really worked my days, writing, planning, editing, sorting, exploring, eating, and drinking tea. This list was interspersed with moments of complete quiet when I just stared out into the green forest or wandered to the deck or windows to locate who was chasing and chattering. The entire week was lovely and I feel my writing benefited from being at Holly House. (So did my soul and stress level, but more on this in a later post.)
I decided to bring my toys. Rubber stamps, ink pads, papers, tools. I set a goal of creativity one different card each night and make 6 -8 of each design. This plan turned out beautifully. The different type of creativity allowed my brain to wander and my fingers to work away from the keyboard. Lovely! And we all know how much I enjoy making rubber stamped cards. 🙂
Here they are, 7 designs, 50 cards total.
If you ever get the opportunity to go on a writing residency or retreat, go! It’s with every second.
Making rubber stamped cards is one of my favorite pastimes.
So much so that many of my escapes are planned around rubber stamping adventures. Two of my college roomies are fans of rubber stamping and scrapping, so weekends spent enjoying both creative pursuits are both relaxing and invigorating for me. We occasionally try to lure other college buddies to the bright side of stamping in order to multiply our fun.
Shopping usually involves a trip to craft stores or thrift shops to peruse donations and products to add to my stamping ‘stuff.’ The habit of shopping for rubber stamping craft supplies runs strong in my tribe.
One entire side of the over-the-table RV cupboard is dedicated to storing completed rubber stamped cards. I love sending them, but I adore making them more.
One half of the boot (what we call the beneath the bed area, outside entrance storage area in the RV) is home to a solid amount of rubber stamps, papers, ink pads, tools, and a large variety of craft supplies relating to making cards.
My Pinterest Rubber Stamping board is filled with photos of new cards to try, techniques to learn, and pictures of cards I’ve made. You can see my board here.
So, if you find yourself winterized and stuck inside the house this weekend, maybe it’s time to dig into a new craft. Let these card pictures inspire your creations.
As for me, I’ve penciled in my first stamping get-together of the new year. This girl is ready for a mental and creative break.
Sadly, we are pre-mourning the February closure of one of our favorite stamping stores, Impress Rubber Stamps. The University Village store (Seattle) is closing. Fortunately, the Tukwila Impress store is remaining open. Forever we hope!
building from each other’s ideas
recycling (saving rubber stamps from the landfills and reusing paper and craft items down to the tiniest scraps)
Love, Laughter, and Life 