Tis the season…for a little self indulging challenge.
December 30, 2009 by Leica · 2 Comments
Are you up for it? I am putting the twist on challenge day today. Instead of showing a sketch, or a blog hop, I am going to challenge you to create a beautiful gift for yourself or someone else. a little indulgence is always what we need to unwind from stressful days. Enjoy!
Well wasn’t this a month for spectacular projects & ideas. I know I was seriously inspired!!!!! Today I thought I would show you what I created for everyone around me this year for the holidays. A perfect hostess gift…say for a New Year’s party, or a birthday, or in the photos I will show you a teacher’s gift.
Here’s what you can do:
Buy a cute little jar, I like these ones that have a nice closure, a quaint size. You can usually pick these up at a dollar store, or in this case the Superstore. I took Staz On Ink and the myStampBOX, Let It Snow… set and stamped all over the image. I also put the Kaisercraft bling in a few of the snowflake centers. Just for an added touch. Then I created tags by spraying the with glimmer mist, drawing a little doodling around the edges and then putting stamped out images on the tag, raising them with pop dots. I used myStampBOX, Santa’s Tags & HOHOHO. LOVE this set. seriously! I coloured in the images with copic markers.
So do you want the yummy body scrub recipe?
2 cups sea salt, kosher salt, or white sugar. Salt will be slightly more abrasive than sugar. (I actually prefer 1 cup coarse salt, 1 cup sugar)
1 cup sweet almond oil. Grapeseed and olive oil are also excellent choices for oils. 10-30 drops of cosmetic-grade and/or high quality essential oils of your choice. Lavender is suitable for most skin types. A covered, plastic container for mixing and storage.
Now you can keep reinventing this recipe to suit your needs. For the holidays, I crushed real peppermints in red & green and put them in the scrub. they will melt in hot water, but they smell glorious. I used spearmint essential oil instead of peppermint cause it is a little subtler, and not as strong. More recipe ideas are gingerbread flavour, cinnamon, etc.
Another recipe I LOVE, is to switch out the white sugar for the rich dark brown sugar, cut open chai tea bags and put in the mix (about 6-8 tea bags) then use vanilla essential oils. (this is a recipe my friend Kara made for me and it is sooo yummy in the tub.
This would be fun for a wedding shower, to do pedicures, making your own scrubs, and as you can see, with all the different myStampBOX stamps, you can decorate the jars appropriately. This really gives the handmade touch.
Have fun ladies, and lock yourself in the bathroom, with your new scrubs and ENJOY!
Happy New Year.
smiles & best wishes,
Here’s to creating realistic resolutions…have you thought about those yet?
Leica
Countdown to Christmas
December 22, 2009 by Cherie · 3 Comments
Wow! The 22nd of December. Christmas is almost here! I’m so excited as Christmas is my favourite time of year. I love the smells of the season and the general feeling of good will.
Using my HoHoHo myStampBOX stamps, I created a countdown to Christmas wall hanging that I’ll be able to use year after year. Each countdown number comes on its own cardstock square and hangs on the button with a piece of twine. Need a last minute gift idea for someone? Try whipping one of these up for that special someone!
Supplies: myStampBOX Stamps, Maya Road Chipboard Album Cover, Scenic Route Papers, Stampin’ Up Cardstock, Memento Ink, Copic Markers, American Crafts Button
Hope you and you family have a wonderful holiday season!
Happy Stamping!
Cherie
Gift card holder tutorial with Kim Holmes
December 21, 2009 by Bettina · 4 Comments
Here is another fun project I would like to share – a paper bag gift card – this is one of my favorite ways to give the gift of a cash card. Just follow my simple instruction and create your own!
1. Start with any paper bag – my favorites are the small white bags. They measure 4 x 8 when you start. Fold in half and crease. Then stitch three sides of the bag –keeping the top open and creating a pocket with the bottom flap:
2. Pull the bobbin threads through to one side of the bag and tape in the middle:
3. Decorate the inside of the bag. Place one piece of paper from the top and tuck into the pocket. Using a circle punch to make your patterned paper mimic the paper bag. A pocket is created in the top of the bag . If desired, you can a pull-out card here. Your gift card will fit in pocket.
4. Finish decorating card – both front and back. For my Santa, I layered patterned paper and used cotton balls for his beard and hat tassle!
meet Kim Holmes – guest designer for December
December 14, 2009 by Bettina · 13 Comments
We are so happy and excited to have Kim Holmes over at myStamp BOX this month. But before you get to meet her, we would like to announce the winner of the blog hop of of Dec. 7.
It is comment # 6 by Bev “such pretty colouring.. and fab detailing… awesome idea.” Congratulations and a big thanks to you and all participants who made the complete round and enjoyed our party projects. Bev, you will receive a “Let it Snow…” stamp set, just e-mail me at bettina@mystampbox.com and let me have your address information. Enjoy stamping with it and make sure to share your creations with us!
And now over to Kim, who is our guest designer for December.
Kim will share a variety of projects done with the HoHoHo stamp set. Thank you so much for being with us Kim! It’s great to have a look at your beautiful style and unique projects.
“Hi, I am Kim Holmes. Scrapbooking is both my obsession and my therapy and I can’t imagine my life without this creative outlet. I am fairly new to stamping, but adding stamps to my art is becoming an addiction for me! I love to steal away up to my scrap space and create for hours on end! When the mojo starts flowing, it is so hard to get me away from all my wonderful supplies. I have been married to my best friend for almost 23 years and we have 7 kids, 4 of which are still at home. I am never at a loss for photo opportunities or subjects and life is always exciting! My family is very supportive of my art and hobbies, and I love the satisfaction I get when I see them pick up one of their photo albums. It melts my heart! I have been scrapping for about 9 years but became intrigued with the online aspect of scrapping about 3 years ago. I love the instant connection that you find between folks that share this hobby – I always tease that I love my computer because all my friends live there! One of my favorite things to do is attend that annual trade show, CHA. To be surrounded by people that love this hobby as much as I do and all that wonderful product is truly heaven on earth to me!”
“I am so excited to be December’s Guest Designer and to get a chance to work with the fabulous stamps at myStamp BOX, especially Christmas ones!I t was so much fun to work with the fabulous stamps in the HoHoHo stamps set:
For my layout, I stamped the reindeer on my favorite kraft cardstock with black ink. They looked so cute with their glittered bell collars and noses! Santa and his sleigh were stamped and layered our of patterned paper and white cardstock. I love the way that added dimension and character to my layout!”
“For my card, I created another Santa by layering products and added him to my card of hanging ornaments. I love to stitch on my creations as well as add dimension-dots for extra pop!”
“My stocking stuffer is all about the candy or should I say, Reindeer Poo! Malted Milk Balls are the perfect choice for this fun gag type gift! Stamp the reindeer on craft cardstock with black ink and add some Stickles for fun accents!”
“Next Monday I will show you how to create a gift card holder from a paper bag – a great last minute project!”
Christmas Treat Bags
December 4, 2009 by Elisa · 4 Comments
Every year my kids sign me up for treat bags for their Christmas classroom parties. I was so excited when they told me I had treat bags again this year because I knew the HO HO HO Stamp set would be the perfect little touch to the bag toppers.
I always keep my holiday papers from last year along with my holiday scraps to use for the bag toppers.
I then stamped the images I wanted from the HO HO HO stamp set and used my water color pencils to color them in. I usually make a couple for samples and then hand the kids the color pencils and let them go to work. It’s a great Saturday project with the kids and when your making 50+ treat bags it makes it go by faster.
Once the images are colored in cut them out and adhere them to the bag toppers add a little fun saying like HO HO HO or Jingle Bells etc and staple them to the top of the filled candy bag.
The kids just love them and the teachers always think they are cute. Plus it gets rid of that Holiday stash you have.
Thanks for looking
Elisa K
My Stamp Box Designer
Jingle Bells…Jingle Bells…
November 6, 2009 by Ellen · 6 Comments
Jingle all the way…..
As we approach the Holidays, I can’t resist a super cute Holiday stamp set like the HoHoHo set I am showing today.
When I saw these cute little reindeers, I knew I had to stamp them like they were all lined up ready for Santa’s Sleigh. I found this great die-cut candy box that was perfect for some Hershey’s Kisses {I live an hour from there so I have to give them a shout out when I can!} and it was long enough for me to be able to line up the reindeer.
Here are a few different shots. Since it was long, I took a few different angles:
I added sequins for their red noses. I know there is only one Rudolph but they were just too darn cute!
Thanks, I hope you enjoyed this!
ellen
Time to get your masks out….
October 16, 2009 by Lara · 2 Comments
And I don’t mean Halloween masks…. the holidays are here, but for me I am in full Christmas mode.
I’m down at the Creative Festival teaching this weekend… did a card class today, and have a Mini Album class tomorrow.. both classes feature some of the fantastic myStampBox stamps!
For class we used the HoHoHo set, and a mask.. so that the reindeer appears to be peeking out from behind Santa.
I of course coloured it in using my Copics.. the red #’s are R29, R 35, R 37 & R 39. To make the mask, stamp Santa on a spare piece of cardstock, cut him out and set aside.
Next stamp him where you would like on the card (in my case I used the top note die from Stampin’ Up! ). Once he is stamped, place the mask exactly over top of him. Get out the reindeer, ink him up and position him to the right of Santa where you want him and stamp. Part of him will be on the cardstock, and part will be on the mask. This gives the effect of layering… and I love it!
Now, colour in all your pieces, add stickles and stick everything down. I used my Copics to colour the small Prima flower the exact coordinating shade of red that I needed, since I only had pink around. This works exceptionally well for coordinating your embellishments with your coloured image.
That’s all for today, stop by the Canadian Scrapbooker Booth #224, we’re doing a cute make n’ take on Saturday with the HOHOHO set…..and some CHOCOLATE!
September 3, 2009 by Trace · 5 Comments
Trace Geworsky
Happy Thursday everyone!!!!
With school starting for us Canadians next week, this is usually the time of year where I start thinking about Christmas….starting a shopping list, thinking of what to do for Christmas cards, and quickly trying to finish scrapbooking my Christmas pictures from the previous Christmas.
I recently got the my Stamp BOX stamp set ‘Hohoho’ and decided to put it to use.
I wanted to use one stamp set, and only minimal supplies to create 2 layouts and 1 card.Layout #1 “Twas the night before Christmas”
I used the santa stamp, Gelatin glitter embossing powder, versamark ink and my heat tool to create a subtle santa background on the cardstock. I chose white with glitter so that it would blend in with the white cardstock, yet still be noticeable.
I added one red santa because this layout is about getting ready for santa.
I also used the title stamp as the start to my journaling.
Layout #2 “Ho ho ho”
I loved the hohoho stamp so I chose to use that as my title.
Ive had this picture of ds waiting to be scrapbooked so was thrilled to see a reindeer stamp in this stamp set, as it is the perfect theme to go with his homemade reindeer antlers.
I added some Scenic Route stickers to my journaling, and added a star cluster to the top left hand side of the layout.
Card #1 also titled “hohoho”
I used some Bazzill cardstock that already had an embossed design on it, and used a white gel pen to highlight some of the doodley designs
I stamped Santa onto light blue patterned paper, so I could add some depth using a pop dot, and finished the card by using some gold spray paint over the front of the card.
Dont forget to come to the blog Saturday, September 5 at 12 noon EST to begin the design team blog hop.
The topic is Alphabets, so be ready for plenty of inspiration..Hope to see you all here!!!
