My Other Creations: Cardboard Tea Cup Pen Holder

This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme is, "Coffee or Tea?"  Given that choice, I'd choose hot chocolate every time, but that's the chocoholic in me talking.  Be that as it may, I do adore teacups for any tasty beverage and thought I'd make one into a pen holder.

What I really needed for this project was one of those Sizzix dies that already makes a dimensional teacup, but since I didn't have one handy, I had to figure out how to turn a flat teacup into some sort of receptacle.  I started with the teacup image, which I got from a Mama Elephant stamp set called, "Warm Wishes."  It was way too small for my needs, so I stamped the image then enlarged it using a copy machine.

Next I covered the cup with scraps of patterned paper and fabric and smudged on some Distress Ink.

I colored in a second teacup, then cut them both out and mounted them on chipboard to add some sturdiness.  I also added a girl from Tim Holtz's Found Relatives card set and a sentiment from Dina Wakley's Scribbly Women stamp set.  I attached her to the front teacup.  I also cut and assembled two matchboxes using the Tim Holtz matchbox die.
 

All that was left was to glue it all together like a sandwich.  I glued the matchboxes together, then glued a teacup to the front and another one to the back.  I added a tea bag using a stamp from Prima and my teacup pen holder was done!

Here are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Mama Elephant Warm Wishes Stamp Set	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Dina Wakley Scribbly Women Stamp Set	Idea-ology - Found Relatives	My Minds Eye Up and Away Washi Tape	Kaisercraft Blue Bay 6x6 Paper
October Afternoon Summertime 12x12 Paper	Prima Coffee Break Cling Stamp Set	American Crafts Shimelle 6x6 Paper	Tim Holtz Sizzix Matchbox Die	Prima A4 Garden Fable Paper	Sizzix Big Shot Machine	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad
Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Worn Lipstick Distress Ink Pad	Black Sharpie Fine Point Pen

What are your thoughts on coffee and/or tea?  I can't wait to see how you express them in your projects.  There are so many fun coffee and tea-themed supplies on the market right now.  Upload your project to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 gift voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store.

My Other Creations: Beach Boxes

What personifies summer for you?  That's the theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  There were so many things I could think of for this magical time of year, but it all boiled down to road trips to the beach!  Living in a land-locked desert state, however, I don't get there nearly as often as I'd like to.  I made these little beach boxes so I could take the beach with me wherever I go.

I started by using the Tim Holtz matchbox die to cut out a box, and I assembled a few items to go inside.  I didn't have any sand handy, so I used brown sugar and put it in a bag to test how it would fit in the box once it was done.

The cloud paper is the lid of the matchbox, which the base normally slides into.  But instead of gluing the lid together, I left it open and glued it to the back of my base box so it would work as a closing flap instead of a slide-on matchbox lid.  I also tested my "sand" for a good fit and added the "H2O means water" sentiment, which I typed in Word and cut out.

I flipped the box over and decorated the front with a beach house that I stamped, watercolored, and adhered to the lid.  I also added a small piece of adhesive to the box's flap/lid so it would stay shut.

When you open the box and flip it horizontally, you can set your beach up and it's ready to go!  I poured my "sand" out of the back, then nestled everything in and propped it all against the flap, which you can fold up as a nice backdrop.  The surfboard and beach ball came from Project Life cards and a paper pack.  I made the sunglasses using My Favorite Things' Geek is Chic die set and the book is made from Tim Holtz's Halloween ticket stamp.

Here are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Tim Holtz Sizzix Matchbox Die	Sizzix Big Shot Machine	Echo Park I Love Sunshine 12x12 Paper	Project Life Hi Sunshine Kit	Prima A4 Garden Fable Paper	Tim Holtz Halloween Ticket Stamp	Paper Artsy JOFY Mini 23 Rubber Cling Stamp
Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	My Favorite Things Geek is Chic die	Loew Cornell WATERCOLOR CAKES 24 Paints	Hero Arts Basic Alphabet Stamps	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad

I can't wait to see what Summer means to you!  Upload your masterpieces to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and you'll be entered to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

My Other Creations: Fly Collage

The challenge this week over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog is to use mist and stamps.  I wasn't sure where I was going when  I started my project, but here's where I ended up:

I started my collage with a piece of Strathmore's Mixed Media paper.  I've got to give props to this paper, which holds up very well to lots of water and spritzing!

Using Simon Says Stamp's Scribble flowers stamp set (a favorite of mine), and Ranger Jet Black Archival ink, I made some circles on my paper.

Bring on the misting!  I sprayed only two colors on this: one spritz of Dylusions Fresh Lime and two spritzes of Dylusions Bubblegum Pink spray ink.  I grabbed a spray bottle and sprayed water in horizontal swipes across my splotches of spritzed ink.  The water made the colors spread and blend and create totally new shades.  The yellow from the green made some cool shades of orange and peach when it hit the pink.

I wanted flowers on my piece, so I punched several Hydrangeas out of white cardstock using Martha Stewart's large Hydrangea punch.  I wanted them to have a pattern, so I inked up the entire Alleyway Gabfest alphabet (without removing it from its acetate backing) and stamped it a few times over my laid-out flowers.  

I sprayed my flowers with Dylusions Fresh Lime, Bubblegum Pink and Lemon Zest and added several spritzes of water so the colors would blend.

When my flowers dried, I outlined them with a fine-point Sharpie pen, glued them to my background and curled the petals up just a bit.

I thought it needed a hint of another color, so I drew some small Sharpie circles and inked them with Peacock Feathers, cut them out, and added them to my background.  I also smudged just a bit of Peacock Feathers onto my background.  But what else did it need?  I turned to my husband, whose opinion I always ask when I'm crafting and get stuck.  He usually says macho things like, "Do some rivets," or "Mod Podge it onto a shovel," but this time he told me to add a plane.  I rolled my eyes and was ready to discard that suggestion (bless him), but then I thought a little paper airplane would be perfect!  Thanks to my brother and my dad, I knew how to fold one.  I made a mini version and stamped the word, "Fly," on it.  I attached it to my background using black Prima Wire Thread in a coiled spring-shape so it's sproinging off the page.

I have to say that this collage was a lot of fun and I'm proud of myself for leaving a lot of the background white.  I know!  Amazing, huh!  I usually feel the need to have every inch colored, but I forced myself to leave some white this time.  I used a thick black Sharpie to color a border around my page and I was done!

Here are the supplies I used which you can get at Simon Says Stamp:

Simon Says Clear Stamps SCRIBBLE FLOWERS	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Fresh Lime	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Bubblegum Pink	The Alleyway Gabfest Stamp Set	Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punch
Black Sharpie Fine Point Pen	Dylusions Lemon Zest Ink Spray	Prima Black Wire Thread	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Hero Arts Basic Alphabet Stamps	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet

So what magical tricks can you work with stamps and mist this week?  Your pieces always inspire me and make me think!  Upload your creation to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win $50 to the Simon Says Stamp store.