cheiron's crafty life

4 days of giveaways (day 3)

For today's giveaway, I thought I would giveaway something inky. Here are two things I have tried out recently, and thought you might like to try them too:

To enter to win these 2 fun products, simply follow my blog via email or through Networked Blogs, both located on the sidebar, then leave a comment below. If you already follow my blog through one of these, just let me know in the comments. I will announce the winners next week! Don't forget to check back tomorrow for one last giveaway!

UPDATE: COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS GIVEAWAY

Just a quick card to share today using some Hero Arts/Basic Grey Indie Bloom stamps: 

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paint or mist color trends challenge

I absolutely LOVE mists. So when I saw the paint or mist color trends challenge over on the Embellish Blog, I knew I had to play along. I have been working on my art journal the past few weeks, and I have a station out in my garage set up for painting and misting. I also have a lot of the new Crafter's Workshop templates, and thought I would use one of my favorites, Punchinella. I used the 12 x 12, but the 6 x 6 would probably be a better choice for card makers. 

This week's challenge is to create a card using the color challenge and the mist paint technique:

I placed my template over the card I was going to use and used mists from the October Afternoon Art Box Set and Studio Calico in this order: 

• OA Tin Type
• Studio Calico Bluegrass
• OA Buttermilk
• Studio Calico Barnwood (fading this one out at the end) 

I heat embossed my sentiment in white, and then misted the paper with barnwood. I also dipped my piece of twine into some mist that I sprayed on my craft sheet so it would match perfectly. Super easy and fun card to make! 

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four days of giveaways (day 2)

Thanks for all of your sweet comments yesterday! Today I have another giveaway for you. This time it is a few of my favorite Hero Arts stamps:

   
 
 
To enter to win this group of 3 stamps, simply follow my blog via email or through Networked Blogs, both located on the sidebar, then leave a comment below. If you already follow my blog through one of these, just let me know in the comments. I will announce the winners next week!

 UPDATE: COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS GIVEAWAY

400th blog post and a fun giveaway!

Today is my 400th blog post! I want to say thank you to all of you who leave me comments on a regular basis, they really mean a lot to me. 

I started this blog as a way to play along with and link up my projects to challenges, and through it I have been able to participate in an instructor team, enter and win a few fun challenges, and submit a couple of cards for publication (and get to see them published)! Along the way, I have made some great friends too.

To celebrate my 400th post, there will be 4 days of giveaways, so make sure you check back tomorrow for the next one! 

Today's giveaway is a Floral Stamp and Die Cut set from Hero Arts-Sizzix: 

To enter, simply follow my blog via email or through Networked Blogs, both located on the sidebar, then leave a comment below. If you already follow my blog through one of these, just let me know in the comments. I will announce the winners next week. Hope to see you around for the next 400 posts! 

UPDATE: COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS GIVEAWAY

Here is a card that I made for my Grandma using another one of the stamp and die sets, Antique Flowers & Butterflies: 

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more crafty items for sale!

Just added some more items for sale in my ebay shop. The final batch of my A Muse stamps for sale and a few other things will be added later in the week!

fun techniques for halloween

Thought I would share my canvas that I made in the most recent online class (Inspiration Showcase) by Jennifer McGuire. I also was inspired to make some cards using these techniques which I will share during the week.

I had taken this class in person in Buffalo in the spring, and I left feeling so inspired.  I thought would take it again online (just to have access to all the addtional card ideas!), and practice my techniques by making another canvas with a Halloween theme. Here is the canvas I made: 

 
I loved each and every lesson in this class, and the canvas is great to have hanging up in my crafty space for when I want to remember a technique I learned. I especially the color combination that I used on the circle on the top right of my canvas, and decided to use it in a Halloween card. For the the circle (and the bottom of my card) I used the Ripe Persimmon and Seedless Preserves colors from the Fall Seasonal Distress Inks pack.

 
Make sure to check back during week. I will have more Halloween cards to share, and my 400th post is coming up on Wednesday! I have some great giveaways planned for the rest of the week.

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going batty in the city

 
Here's the first of many Halloween cards to come. I just love sending out Halloween cards, since I usually send them along with candy! This card is also for the monthly challenge over on the Hero Arts blog. For my window card, the theme was totally spooky! I stamped the city on the inside of the card and then masked it and stamped the bat background then inked over it with some Scattered Straw Distress Ink.

 
If you take a close look at the front, you can see I added some bling and stars to the front of the window.

 

Looking forward to having a relaxing weekend and making a few more Halloween cards!

 

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organize & store: cling & clear stamps

I remember when I was not really into buying clear or cling stamps. I loved the look and feel of wood mounted stamps and that is all I was going to buy. There are so many great cling and clear stamps now that I seem to have quite a collection. At first I was putting them into small binders by company, but the collection became too big. Then I started putting them into some plastic sleeves, and putting those sleeves in 6 x 6 paper holders, and they stopped making those plastic sleeves. I think I have finally found a solution, at least one that works for me. I thought I would share it with you. 

This is what the stamps look like on my shelf: 

I like to keep my sets (especially my Hero Arts sets) out where I can see them with the original carboard packaging (but not the plastic bag) that has the name of the set on it. I found that these sets fit perfectly in half sheet page protectors that I picked up from Staples. It also gives me comfort knowing that if a stamp loses its "stick" (since I don't always clean them that well) and falls of the sheet, it's not going anywhere but inside the little sheet protector. For my cling and clear sets that come with an image detail on the outside, I just cut it out and glue it onto a piece of cardstock. 

Once I got all my stamp sets in their protective sheets, I found that they fit perfectly in the ITSO plastic storage bins that are available in the home storage section at Target stores (but not online). I then made little dividers for them out of chipboard, and put them into categories. For me, these are easy to find, they fit perfectly on my shelves and I can "shop" through them whenever I need to look for something. It reminds me of going to the fabric store with my mom as a girl and looking through the patterns.  

Here's a closer look: 

Hope you enjoyed this tip on storing clear and cling stamps. Are there any other supplies that you are having a hard time storing? Just let me know, maybe I can help!

Note: The link to the page protectors says out of stock on line, but check the pick up in store option. All 5 stores closest to me have them in stock! 

what's in my cart this week

Thought you might like to see the latest items that have ended up in my cart over the past week.

Can't wait to have some time to play with all this fun stuff-sure hope it gets here soon. Lots of Christmas 6 x 6 pads, some fun decorative stickers, tinsel, and the Limited Edition Fall 2011 Distress Ink Pads. 

If you must pick (gasp!) one 6 x 6 pad definitely check out the Christmas Dots and Stripes pad from Echo Park. I am thinking I will use it all year long, it will be great for "boy" cards!

 Check back tomorrow for a card and some organization tips on clear and cling stamps.

 

Washi Tape (Lotta Jansdotter)	Limited Edition Fall 2011 Distress Inks	Cosmo Cricket Christmas Tiny Type	Webster's Pages Tinsel Designer Trim
Colorbox Made In USA Ink Pad	Mushrooms Cling Set (Prima)	Poinsettia & Berries Clear Stamps (Hero Arts/Basic Grey)	Halloween Doodle Twine (Doodlebug)
Crate Paper Peppermint Stand Outs	Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas 6 x 6 pad	Crate Paper Peppermint Border Stickers	Echo Park Dots and Stripes 6 x 6 pad
Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas 6 x 6 Pad	Cosmo Cricket Dear Mr. Claus Paper Pad 6 x6	Farmhouse 6 x6 pad (Crate Paper)	Crate Paper 6 x 6 pad Peppermint

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fabulous fall fox

It is definitely starting to feel more like fall. I was resisting it at first, but after a few pumpkin spice lattes and shopping for new boots I am ready. I decided to play along with this month's Color Challenge over on the Hero Arts Blog, using the color inspiration for this month's contest:

I was also inspired by the leaf shape and decided to try out my new Fiskars Oakey Dokey punch. This sleeping fox just makes me want to cuddle up under a big blanket and take a nap!

To make the base of the card, I stamped the Tree Tunks in brown sugar paint, dried it with my heat tool and went over the background with a soft yellow ink pad (leaving some white). I added the base, colored in the fox, then used my new Fiskars Oakey Dokey punch to make the leaves. I colored them with Peeled Paint, Bundled Sage, Mustard Seed and Aged Mahogany Distress stains. Then I sprayed them with water and crumpled them up before adhering them with some Glossy Accents. 

Here is a close up of his little bed of leaves: 

Make sure you check back during the next week. I have some fun posts coming up including:

• Storage and Organization of my clear and cling stamps
• Crafty stuff I have been buying (and what's on my wish list) 
• More fun fall cards
• A FABULOUS giveaway for my 400th post!

 

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