“I wanted to include a little gift in this card for a little boy’s birthday.”

So first, I inked my stamp, Martin in this instance, and placed it firmly on the shrink plastic. Careful that you do not wobble too much as the image will smudge. Cut out your image and punch a hole at the top. This is for us to place the chains through later. Keep in mind that the entire image will shrink to about 1/10 it’s original size. I also personalised the image by including the name of the recipient on it.

Second, place your image in a container, preferably made of paper to prevent the image from flying off your table when you hold your heat gun over the image. Don’t worry should your image curl initially. Ensure that heat is applied to both sides of the image and soon, this is what you’ll get:

See the great difference in size? I love how the image of Martin remains so clear on the plastic, even though it has shrunk considerably. Attach your key ring chain to the plastic image. We now move on to create the card.

I cut out a circle from the cardstock so that the key ring will dangle through it. Using Mavis and Marshall, I stamped them all over the card to create a background. To get a subtle effect, use inks that are close to the base color of your card. Thereafter, I added a die-cut circle round the hole in the card for emphasis.

Next up, we will include a greeting.

I wanted the greeting to continue on to the inside of the card. So inking only part of the entire greeting, I placed my stamping block on the card before shaping the stamp to follow the curve of the circle. That’s the beauty of cling stamps – malleability! Turn the stamp around and stamp on the card.

The remainder of the greeting was inked and stamped inside the card. I also included a hand-written greeting, which is a preference of mine. Martin once again helped me liven up the inside of the card.

Finally, attach your key ring to the card. I used a little tape so that it can be easily removed by the recipient.

I hope you have fun playing with your stamps and thanks once again in following me in my creative journey with the robots!

Thanks for inviting me over this week, I had a great time with the robot stamp set, I hope I was able to inspire you to use your stamps in different ways!

Sophie

With our baby on the way, the Beloved and I have been thinking of different ways to educate our child and one of the plans we have is for me to create educational resources. So, given that we will be doing loads of travelling, one of the things we would like our child to learn is how to greet in different languages. So here’s a mini accordion album to serve that purpose.

Once you release the attached ribbon, the pages will unfold automatically.

I like the size of the Maverick stamp and to symbolise unity across different cultures, Maverick was stamped in different colors, cut and attached to the album with all the Mavericks holding hands. Each Maverick teaches us how to greet in a different language.

As for the reverse side of the album, there are two empty panels which can be used to housed more Mavericks, or if this album is given away as a gift, that’s where a personal message will be written.

After reading this post, I hope you’ll find some time to create your own mini album too!

Sophie

We challenge you to create your own version of an accordion mini album. Send a link to your project in your comment. I just notice that we have not had a give-away yet this month. So how about there will be one lucky winner of a stamp set among all mini album contestants Send your links by March 21st!

Looking forward to seeing your amazing work! Bettina

We have gotten hit hard with snow on the East Coast over the last few weeks so whenever we get a nice day, we get outside if only for a few minutes. I took these photos of my son, Henry, a few weeks ago and when I sat down to scrap the, I just knew I wanted to add some springy elements to it {even though I took this photo in February…shhhh!}.

What better stamp to reach for than the Colorful Companions set? I used my glue pad and added some PK Glitz Pine Forest glitter.

Here is a close-up of the Colorful Companion stamp and the PK Glitz Glitter.

I also used the Just Add Notes set for my date in the upper left hand corner. It is the perfect staple in my stamp collection! I am always reaching for that set, especially when I am journaling or need a date.

Also used on here were Helmar Adhesives.

Have a great day!
Ellen

My Beloved and I have been living here for eight months now, having relocated from the sunny island of Singapore. I’m happily learning the lifestyle here, creating and waiting for the arrival of our little one. =) I’ve always loved crafting and when I stumbled upon scrapbooking some six years ago, it was a matter of getting my fingers dirty, literally. For me, creating helps me relax, with the added bonus of re-living great times and preserving those moments for the future.

I enjoy intricate cut-out details and working with colors on my creations and I can’t seem to stop journaling on my layouts or including my handwriting on cards! One of the best things about relocating is the need for me to really consider what is essential for the craft and paring down what I have. I love the fact that all my supplies can be found in three drawers and I know exactly what I possess. When not crafting, I enjoy cooking, especially desserts. I guess the creative process never ends!

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I received this robot set of stamps to have fun with. Thanks Bettina for this lovely opportunity! In order for me to remember the robots better, I took the liberty to “baptise” them with a name each, after inking them=) So say hi to:

Here are the four projects that were completed with their aid!

To start us off, we have a celebratory card that Martin graces the front of.

I love the smile on his face and the way he tips his hat is as if he were saying, “I take my hat off to you! Well done!” So, this card was inspired by that grin. While in the process of creating, I was wondering if a ribbon should be included. Given that this is more of a masculine card, the Beloved suggested having some form of a “masculine binding”. So the idea of a wire ribbon was birthed, which fitted neatly with the robots, and the whole mechanic idea.

After this card was completed, I was challenged to have a tag that was more feminine, while still using the robots. So, while mulling over Maverick and the huge heart on his chest, I thought that a tag professing one’s love will be ideal.

To feminise the robot, pinks were used as the main color of this creation, and flowers were included. Of course, wires were once again included, though they were shaped as a heart this time round. The heart on Maverick’s chest was given special prominence by layering it, coating it with embossing powder and adding a layer of glossy accent on the top.

I hope these two creations have inspired out to think out of the box and do have fun with the robots when you create your next card!

Sophie

I used my “funky circles” stamp set, my favorite embossing powder, and some patterned paper for this project.

I’ll give you a small step-by step on how I made this fun and spring-like greeting-card.

1. gather your favorite mSB stamps, embossing-stamp pad, embossing-powder, white cardstock and a background paper.

2. Stamp with your circles on to the cardstock and add embossing-powder.  Put exess powder back in to the jar

3. heat the stamped images with a heatgun until the embossing powder melts and gets glossy.

4. Cut out all the embossed circles from your cardstock

5. Add all the circles and maybe a chrocheted flower or a doily to a new piece of white cardstock using doublesided tape and 3D-foam to make the circle”flowers” pop.

6. Hand sew stalks to your flowers.

7.  attach the piece of cardstock with the flowers on, on top of your background paper.

I stamped “just for you” and attached to the card with a tiny little mat.

Drawed a black pencil-line around the edge of the white cardstock.

VOILA!

Have fun creating.

~gudrun~

With this step by step I would like to show you how to use the solid stamp to create a very linear and quick greeting card.

Materials needed:

Stamp Sets used:
BOO
FLOATING LEAVES
GELEGENTLICHES

I have stamped the solid dot in two different ink colours onto white cardstock and punched them with a circle punch, still showing some white frame, as I prefer this look.

Punch slightly larger circles in a cardstock colour that matched your stamped image and layer

Using a variety of cardstock scraps in colours matching my chosen colour scheme, I started layering the background for my card.

Now adhere the stamped images to the background and add some sentiments and a little leaf image to complete your card.

Posted by: Kim Sonksen

Aren’t you tired of winter? Well, I am and i want to put a lot of colors in my layouts. So here’s what i came up with: a color combination which makes me feel like it’s spring…

It’s a bright pink, with a grass green, a sky blue and a brownish grey. I hope you like it.

Here’s my page:

I used the “funky flowers” stamp set. I stamped the small flowers on the spiky circle in a bright pink to mimic the color of the background and i added little pearls in the center to add dimension.

Then i stamped the dragonflies with their trails in the sky blue color. It looks like they are flying!

Don’t forget to show us what you’ve done with this color combination by leaving a comment!

Virginie

To illustrate, I made a birthday page of my daughter.  I used a phrase from the “Mention It!” set and stamped it directly onto the photo of her.  Note: Make sure you use Staz-On ink when stamping on photos.

To create the title on this page, I used a mix of Thickers, Chipboard pieces and my favourite mini alphabet stamp set.  As a side note, this mini alpha is fantastic as the letters are all cut out in the shape of a rectangle instead of following the shape of the individual letters.  This makes lining them up straight a breeze and also makes them much more stable on the acrylic block.

Another set that would be perfect for adding phrases to layouts is the “Whatever!” set. Think of all the possibilities with teen pages.

Next time you’re creating a layout, take another look through your stamp sets and you might be surprised just how many you have that add just another little something extra to your page.

Until next time,

Tracey

We are looking for a few new Designers to join our team. If you are enthusiastic about our stamps, love to stamp and know a thing or two about blogging, you are the right match for us. We are interested in designers with a variety of styles who can creatively showcase myStampBOX designs in their cards, altered art and scrapbook layouts. No previous design team experience is necessary.

Here are the details for our call:

Term is 6 months from April 1st to September 30th.

Send your application to bettina@mystampbox.com

myStampBOX website:  www.mystampbox.com

We would love to hear from you!

Bettina

Here’s what I came up with, using the “Borderline” set. Love it!

For the light pink card (yes, it is, indeed, light pink), I used a swirl stencil and a “blow-pen”… my kids got some a while ago and I think they are just too much fun. Then I added some dots with these cool Sakura gel pens I just got, stamped and cut out the heart, added some ribbon, attached the heart over the ribbon and that’s it.

For the next card I used some silver cardstock I still had. I stamped around the edge, then stamped the heart on red cardstock, cut it out and attached it to the card. Then I added some green swirls to the card.

Last but not least, I had some glossy cardstock sitting around that I had used for some “experimenting” with alcohol inks. I cut up a piece, added it to the card front, again stamped around the edge, added some lace… voila, done again.

So, I hope this inspires you to make your own simple cards.

Liz

Supplies:

Card Base, kraft cardstock, white cardstock, white circle (2 5/8 inch diameter), Tree for all Seasons stamp set, brown ink, variety of 1/2 inch strips of coloured cardstock

Step 1:  Cover white circle with glue and arrange strips of coloured cardstock on top, allowing them to overhang.

Step 2.  Once circle is completely covered, trim off excess cardstock.  Mat the cut out circle in white cardstock and glue onto Kraft cardstock that has been trimmed to fit on front of card base.

Step 3.  Stamp tree trunk onto tree.  Add a sentiment.  I used a “thank you” from the Mention It set (my most favourite sentiment set to date).

Step 4.  Using your sewing machine, “stitch” a border of holes around the kraft cardstock.  Adhere to card base.

Happy Stamping,

Tracey

Are you guys glued to the TV watching all the Olympic competitions? Aren’t they fantastic? There have been such fantastic victories. What a rush. With all the excitement of the Olympics right now, we are constantly seeing some great colour combinations in the logos, uniforms, and anything “Olympics”. I challenge you to use some of these colours to do a little stamping and layering today. If you do a project that reminds us of the Olympics, please leave a comment with the link to it so we all can see it. AWESOME!

Happy inking!

Leica

This was my son’s last day of preschool and I thought this sentiment was perfect for it. I love the fonts of all the sentiments in this set and I can see SO many different moments in life scrapped with both the images and sentiments. This set is quite versatile and fun to work with!

One of the things that has caught my eye lately are these cute little things called ‘Wine Charms’. Now, I am not a drinker myself, but I do know cute when I see it. And wine charms certainly are that! They can make really great gifts for a hostess or fun additions to any party. I have been wanting to make some of my own for awhile now, but really couldn’t wrap my brain around it until myStampBox set Itty Bitty’s showed up in my mailbox. This set was PERFECT for this project. Now my jewelry skills are sub-par (I found so many other crafts I loved more!) but with a little patience and some supplies, it was doable. Ultimately what that means is if I can do it, so can you! I used some memory wire that curved on its own. This way you just clip them around and they hold themselves on. No fasteners to mess with.

I started by stamping my Itty Bitty images onto white cardstock. I trimmed them out to 1″ squares and glued them to some chipboard squares of the same size. Ink up the edges with some black ink to hide that dull chipboard color ; )  I glittered the images up in random spots and then pulled out the decopauge and pasted over them. Don’t forget to do the front AND sides. It is best to use a hybrid ink if you plan on decopauging since the glue makes the ink run a bit. I punched holes with a Cropadile and twisted up some wire around for the charm. String it on with some colored beads, and Voila! Your charm is complete!

Here they all are together. Doesn’t this just look like the kind of party you would like to go to??? The thing about the decopauge is it will help keep the chipboard from getting wet and peeling just incase your glasses start to sweat. There is even outdoor decopauge that you can purchase, which will definitely stand up to more abuse. And with each glass getting their own charm, you will never have to ask “Is this my glass?” again!

Hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did creating it! Happy Crafting!
loves
k

Thank you so much for sharing all these very inspiring projects with us Kristie! It was great to have you as a designer this month!

Today i wanted to show you a fun way to use glitter: i punched a few stars out of  double sided sellotape. Then i adhered one side of the star to cardstock and sprinkled glitter to the other sticky side. There you have it! The only little thing left to do is punch the star another time (trough cardstock). It’s really pretty and versatile, you can punch every shape you want, and it’s so easy!!

I used the “you name it” and “your story” stamp sets on this layout. The glitter (carnival) is from PK Glitz.

Have a nice day!

Here’s the finished card. I love using multiple textures on projects, and this one is just fun to touch!

1. Emboss a piece of cardstock with an embossing folder that resembles animal hide.

2. Cover the raised pattern on the cardstock with clear embossing ink and powder then heat set. This gives the cardstock the shiny look of faux leather. Set aside.

3. Die cut a circle from craft foam. This foam is often used for children’s projects and can be found at most craft and department stores. Heat the back side of the foam with a heat tool then flip to heat the front side as well. Heating both sides helps create the best impression when stamping.

4. Stamp your image using ink color of your choice into the heated foam. Press firmly to get a strong image. I used a camera from the new Snapshot set of stamps. Remove stamp carefully.

5. Using inks of your choice, distress the edges of the circle to give a worn leather look.

6. Punch holes and insert antiqued metal eyelets using a Crop-a-Dile or other setting tool. Insert twine as shown. Attach circle piece to embossed panel using pop dots and secure strings to the back with tape.

The final card has a sentiment stamped from the new Straightforward set of stamps, embossed with copper powder. The faux leather panel was attached to a black card base and finished off with some simple twill ribbon.  The shiny embossing and eyelets contrast nicely with the rugged leather and twine elements. I think my dad will really enjoy this card!

Happy stamping,

Jolene 

Supplies: Snapshot stamps, Straightforward stamps, Core’dinations cardstock, American Crafts cardstock, Tim Holtz Distress Inks, PSX embossing powders, Making Memories eyelets, twine, The Paper Studio twill

I have created a fun sketch to hopefully spark some creativity and get the mojo flowing!!!

Here it is…

I was So excited to get to play with some of the NEW RELEASE stamps… and i chose to use the PROGRAMMED ROBOTS set! WAY too cute!!

Here’s what I came up with…

I stamped the robot onto white cardstock and fussy cut him out. Then I colored him in using colored pencils… ( I am not a copics girl yet… but they would do a FAB job here!) I then added him to a painted piece of chipboard using foam tape! He’s just TOO cute!!

I hope this sketch inspired you! i can’t wait to see what you do with it!!

Tina

Today I’ll share some little projects where I’ve used my beloved punctuation set.

This set brings me so much fun. I use the punctuation for backgrounds, titles, embossing, to cut out the stamped images etc.

On this LO I stamped and embossed the “snowflakes” with white, glitter embossing-powder on the background.

The embossing work as resist when I spray-painted the background with glimmer mist.

Some of the stars are stamped on another white cardstock, cut out and added to this LO with 3D-foam to add dimension.

Added the cool brackets, stamped with black, to make the title stand out.

On this simple card I added the bronze-embossed &-sign and a heart. The bronze-embossing makes the flourish-pattern on the punctation stand out even more. So cute and easy.

Hope you feel inspired to grab your punctation set and create.

Happy stamping!

gudrun

Jaquelin G! “Whay fabulous inspiration!!! So hard to choose a favourite when there are so many adorable things to choose from!! I have to go with Tina’s box – so lovely – but everyone did a SWEET job!!!! thanks!!!”

Congratulations Jaquelin! Make sure to e-mail us your address to receive your stamps soon. Have fun with them!

Now we would like to introduce you to our February Guest Designer. We are so excited to have Kristie Larsen with us this month. Kristie has just had her third little boy Malachi Alex last week. Congratulations to Kristie! We wish you great joy with your new little one!

Kristie has been very busy with the Itty Bittys set and made a great amount of phantastic projects for us to showcase. She definitely knows how to tickle this set. Next monday we will be showing more of her work. Now over to Kristie:

Hi! My name is Kristie Larsen. I am a SAHM of three boys! I have been papercrafting for about 3 years now. A friend of mine had a stamping party just a few weeks after my second son was born and I sat with my girlfriends in a cramped living room in NYC loving every minute of it! While I started out using wood block stamps, I am now completely in love with acrylic stamps and have been loving My Stamp Box stamps for some time now.  I would consider myself a card maker, but I have been known to scrap a page or two. I love thinking about a loved one as I make them a card and get excited to send them my love through the mail. Some of my favorite things to use are a sewing machine, bright colors, twine and buttons. I would describe my style as modern and fun, but of course I do like to try out new techniques and ideas that I see around in books, magazines and on the web. Because of this I feel like my style is still evolving. I tend to stamp at night when the kids are finally in bed. I have found my projects turn out better if I stamp every night. My creative juices keep flowing and cards and projects come together faster, however with baby #3 on its way I know that will change dramatically! Besides stamping, I love to fill my time with books, guitar playing and movie nights with all my boys. I hope you like my creations and feel inspired by this new stamp set. I sure was! Thanks to Bettina at myStamp BOX for such a fantastic opportunity and fantastic products. Happy Stamping!

The first moment I laid eyes on this “Itty Bitty’s” stamp set I thought “Background Stamping”! I LOVE LOVE LOVE background stamping. It’s such a great way to get a lot more use out of your stamps and to create a different look. Today I want to show you two ways to use myStampBox set “Itty Bittys” with background stamping to create some cards, so lets get started!

The first card I used three separate stamps from the set. The first of which is the squiggly frame which created my card base:

I tilted the stamp to create a diamond pattern, alternating two of my favorite colors. Orange and Blue. They are complementary for a reason! Once I created my background it was only a matter of a few added details to finish off my card. This is a simple way to create a wow factor for your card and it doesn’t take a lot of time. You just have to look at your stamps a bit differently! I added some white sponging to the edges to tie into the white ribbon and white paper sentiment. I added white CS to a 1″ chipboard tile to create some dimension. And of course I had to add one of my favorite embellishments… buttons!

This second card shows some of the different patterns you find in this new stamp set.  I used some bare chipboard tiles (2×2) and stamped them with red ink. I rotated the stamp as I  went to keep the pattern more random. And I LOVE these three patterns! Again I added the Just For You sentiment and the bigger scalloped frame and of course I added my other fav. embellishment… twine!

Both of these cards are quick to put together but have a lot of added interest because of the repeated stamping. Just pick up some of your stamps (remember to add Itty Bitty’s to your stash!), look at them in a different way and see how much fun background stamping can be!

TRIO of CARDS

First card up is for a birthday. I cut out pattern paper at 1″ each and alternated them with the stamped birthday present image. I added some Stickles for sparkle and sewed the edges to give it a quilted look. Simple, to the point, and no need for a sentiment.

Second card up can be for spring, Easter, or just because. Depending on the paper you pair it with, this image can be used for just about anything! As you see, the same layout, just different colors. This makes a completely different look and still you don’t need a sentiment.

Third card up is for Valentines or an anniversary, or even just sharing some love! Same layout, same idea, different colors and paper. Glitter was added again for sparkle and shine. These cards are simple and fun to make!

Here they all are together. This set has so many images in it, just think of how many cards you could make for different occasions! Work out one layout and start making cards and just see where this great set can take you!

I have really enjoyed creating with this wonderful myStampBox set and hope you have enjoyed it as well. Thanks again to Bettina and myStampBox for this great opportunity! Hope you feel inspired and Happy Crafting!
k

You don’t need a “Valentine’s” themed stamp set to create them either, several of the MSB stamp sets contain hearts and appropriate sentiments. I chose the new “Itty Bitty’s” and “Whatever” sets to create four cards that you can re-create in a flash.

Stamp your images on the front, or inside the card – cut out a little window, add some dimensional adhesive and you have a fun 3D embellishment that takes your card to the next level! Let your imagination go wild. That’s the fun of stamping

Happy Valentines’ Day!

Marci Knecht

myStampBOX Design Team

First I will demonstrate using the arrow stamp from the Road Trip collection.

This is what it looks like when you normally stamp it:

Now, if I just bend it a little…it will look like this:

Can you see the difference?

Now let’s try it with the Every Day Lines set:

Here is another example where you can fit it 3 times around in a circle. The more you play with them, the more you will see how many different ways you can use them:

And finally…the image for my card:

And the Card itself…it really is an easy way to spruce up your projects!

Here are the sets I used today:

Road Trip

And Everyday Lines