creating garbage

Yes, garbage.
My littlest man is having a garbage truck birthday party next weekend.
And today, I've been making a wreath for the door.  It's total cost will be about $2.  $1 for a foam wreath, and $1 for a pack of hot glue sticks at Dollar Tree.
And. . .garbage.  I've been tearing up junk mail and Target plastic bags, plus a little bit of bubble wrap for texture, of course! (ha!)
I found a great tutorial, and then I just ran with it.
This is how it's coming along so far!  It's still a work in progress. . .I might find some other good garbage to throw in there!

My garbage wreath . . . 

Please visit Living With Lindsay to see her much more beautiful wreath, created from book pages.  It's a lovely version that you actually WOULD hang in your home.  :) 

I'll be back with more garbage truck goodies in the next few weeks!

xoxo

back to school!

My biggest went back to school last week, and I am super-pleased to say that he is off to a terrific start.

Little one thinks that he should be heading off to school, and he carries his backpack out every morning, complete with a packed-lunchbox snack (which he promptly eats as soon as big brother has been deposited at the school door.)

And in honor of the fresh start of the schoolyear, a card created for the Discount Cardstock blog.  Clean and simple and ready for school.  I'm pretty sure Mr. B's new teacher will be receiving this card somewhere along the way!  I used precious stamps from Paper Smooches.  I am obsessed with that tiny notebook paper.  It is SO cute.  And I used my smallest hole-punch to punch holes in the papers! LOVE!

card goodies: cardstock - Brilliant White (DiscountCardstock.com) stamps - Paper Smooches, ink - Close To My Heart, twine - The Twinery

Getting the Most From Your Stamps

This is the latest article I've written for A Cherry On Top. .  .you can find all of the great products I 

used, over in the ACOT store! :)

Stamps are an investment.  We buy them because they seem like a long-lasting, worthwhile, crafty purchase. We justify the expense, promising ourselves that we will get tons of use from them and they'll be super practical. And guess what? That is completely true.  But if you're like me, you whip up a few projects with a stamp set... and then you get bored.  Into the bottom of the drawer it goes, collecting dust with the rest of those must-have stamp sets.
Today I challenge you to bust out one of those stamp sets (and hey, if you realllly want to... go buy a new one, I won't tell) and try some of these simple techniques and ideas to get some use 
out of those great stamps! 

I'm going to share 5 projects, which focus on some of my favorite techniques and ideas, that you can recreate using just about any stamp set, paper pack and color scheme you'd like.  So that you can see exactly what I'm working with, here is the stamp set I'm featuring today.  It's the Buttercup clear stamp set by Lily Bee.  (These are great high-quality stamps, which are really easy to use!)

1.  Layer Your Stamps

Stamp a background over an outline image.  To create the tag on this card, I stamped the polka-dot background, and then the tag outline and sentiment right over it.  Polka-dots are my FAVORITE; they just make me HAPPY!  Think about what stamped images you can add a pattern to. (a polka-dotted tree, teacup, or cloud? ADORABLE.) 

2. Trim and overlap stamped images:

To create this candy tube, I stamped and trimmed the background square, and then stamped the flowers on patterned paper and cardstock.  I trimmed them, and layered them on, using foam tape to add some dimension. (Remember how I love polka-dots? Well, I love foam tape almost as much!)

3. KISS! (Keep it simple, silly!)

Grab the one or two stamps you like the best and let them work their magic. Don't get bogged down in the details.  On this card I used two stamps, added a bit of colored pencil, tied a piece of twine, and called it DONE. It took less than 5 minutes.  YOU CAN DO THIS TOO!!!

4.  Repeat, repeat, repeat:

Take a stamp. . .just about any stamp. . .and make a background.  To really add some depth, try "second-generation stamping", where you stamp twice before reinking. Stamp, stamp, ink.  Stamp, stamp, ink. Got it? ;)  Make sure you stamp over the edges to make it look more like an actual piece of patterned paper.  And on this card, I didn't even do the entire background of the card.  A nice stripe at the bottom was enough.  (Add "simple" to my list of favorite things, right after polka-dots and foam tape!)

5. Think Outside of the Box:

On this card, I wanted to use the square backgrond stamps in a new way.  So I stamped them on cardstock a few times, and then after I trimmed the squares, I trimmed them each in half.  It made a fun easy design that fills my card. (And lookie there. . .polka-dots, foam tape, simplicity! ahhhh!)

 Remember, nothing I've shown you today is groundbreaking or complicated. But sometimes we all need a refresher, and an inspiration to look at our stamps in a new way.  I hope you'll take one (or two, or five) of these ideas, and you'll dive in and CREATE with what you love! 

Products Used:

 

ketchup

not the kind that comes with mustard. . .the kind of "ketchup" that i dish out here regularly. . .me trying to CATCH UP.  a few projects using last month's release at The {Stamps} of Life.  And I wanted to be sure to pop in, and mention that my giant box of October Afternoon goodness will be on it's way to a cozy new home.  It sold from my posting on a message board, and it was purchased by someone whose friend is a scrapbooker and lover of OA goodness . . .  AND she lost all of her supplies in a fire.  So this friend is trying to help replenish her stock. I mean, how SWEET is THAT?! I love it.

In a few days I'll be back with this month's special releases from The {Stamps} of Life. . .so hang in there, and I'll be back soon!  Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are having a relaxing, fun, and happy weekend!

xoxo

Oh look. . .I'm back :)

I left for vacation, and I bet you thought I'd never come back right? You've just been sitting there waiting for me, huh? HA! We had a fabulous, busy, exhausting, and terrific trip to New York.  It was filled with ups and downs, and after two flat tires on a cab ride to the airport, for a few minutes, I thought maybe we'd never make it home. . . .
but we did, and a week later, I am still trying to catch up on laundry.

ANYHOOOO . . .
it's a new month, and there are NEW Stamps of Life goodies to share. Plus I want to sell you something. . .but we'll wait till the end of the post for THAT.

This adorable little raccoon is part of the new stamp set, and I love him. . .but I totally love these acorns too! They are really quite fun to paper-piece, in a weird sort of way! :)

My little raccoon comes out of this card, to be used as a bookmark. . .fun huh?

Okay, on to other business. . .the enabling, selling-stuff business.

You may know that I totally LOVE October Afternoon.  I have loved October Afternoon since wayyyy back when, before they even made paper. (Do you even remember them then?) 

But I have a GIGANTIC stash of some of the papers, and they need to move on.

I have a big priority box filled with Campfire, Schoolhouse, Modern Homemaker, and Seaside papers.  46 papers all together(two sheets of most designs,)  plus 5 diecut edge papers, 4 sheets of 6x12 alpha stickers, 2 sheets of 12x12 alpha stickers, Tin Pins, Wild Cards, and a flashcard album.  The box is $50, which includes the free priority shipping.  Please email me at TomatoL at aol dot com, if you are interested! I'll accept PayPal only, and I'm only shipping within the US.  (Sorry!)

update: IT SOLD!!! THANKS FOR CHECKING IT OUT!!! :)

a few more up close images of the goods!!!