Stress-Free Stamping with Shana: 2016

Sunday, November 6, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew: Paisleys and Posies Edition

Welcome to another round of The Stamp Review Crew! This week we are using one of my favorite stamp sets in the Annual Catalog, Paisleys and Posies. This set can be used for any occasion! I used two completely different color combinations for my cards this week.

When I first started on my cards, I had just received my October Paper Pumpkin in the mail. I had some leftover sequins, so I decided to make a shaker card. I also used the color combination of the cards from MPP. If you are stumped on color combos, this is a great way to get you started! Look back at other cards you have made or received, or just flip through the catalog to find something that inspires you! I think these warm colors are perfect for a fall card.

For my second card, I decided to go the opposite direction with my color combination and choose some cool colors. I love how these colors blend together so easily to create a simple background! I created the backgrounds for both of my cards by simply sponging ink onto the cardstock and then stamping paisleys. I rarely buy DSP anymore because it's so easy to make your own with stamps in whatever color you want! Okay, that's a partial fib. I buy it. I just rarely USE it. Haha

Thanks for hopping with us today. I hope you my cards! Click on the links below to continue on in the hop!

Blog Roll:

Shana Gaff http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-stamp-review-crew-paisleys-and.html
Holly Krautkremer http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/rubber-redneck/2016/11/the-stamp-review-crew-.html
Mike Funke http://stampin-style.typepad.com/stampin-style/2016/11/stamp-review-crew-paisleys-posies.html
Jessica Williams http://www.thepapercaper.com.au/2016/11/07/src_pp/
Dawn Tidd http://tiddbitsfromdawn.typepad.com/tiddbits-from-dawn/2016/11/the-stamp-review-crew-paisleys-posies.html
Bronwyn Eastley http://addinktivedesigns.com/2016/11/07/the-stamp-review-crew-paisleys-and-posies/
Bruno Bertucci http://stampinbruno.blogspot.com/2016/11/paisleys-and-posies-stamp-review-crew.html
Nikki Spencer http://nikkispencer-mysandbox.blogspot.com/2016/11/stamp-review-crewpaisleys-posies-edition.html
Tanya Boser http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/11/stamp-review-crew-paisleys-and-posies.html
Valerie Moody http://www.stampingwithval.com/2016/11/07/stampin-up-paisley-posies-for-stamp-review-crew/

Sunday, October 16, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew:Acorny Thank You

Welcome to another round of The Stamp Review Crew! Acorny Thank You is one of my favorite fall stamp sets of all time. I must confess though, as excited as I was to get this stamp set (last year, I think!), I never inked it up until it was time for this hop! I'm sure you have never done that, have you? 😉

I wanted to use non-traditional fall colors for my cards, since that is what I typically see with this set. I started with some purples and neutrals for my first card. I didn't have any DSP in the colors I chose, so I just cut strips of cardstock for the back to anchor my stamped image.

For my next card, I wanted to use the glitter ribbon and sequins from the Holiday Catalog. I love those colors and they remind me of baby colors, so I decided to use this card for a baby card. Probably not what you would expect from an acorn stamp set!

For my last card, I stuck with some of the 2016-2017 In-Colors. I colored on my block and then spritzed it with water before stamping it on my card. Then I stamped one little sentiment from the stamp set in the corner and added a heart enamel shape. SUCH a simple card, but one of my favorites ever!

I hope you got some different ideas on how to use Acorny Thank You. Thanks for stopping by! Click on the links below to continue on in the hop. You will NOT be disappointed!

Blog Roll:

Yapha Mason http://yaphamason.com/blog/2016/10/16/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you-edition/
Dawn Tidd http://tiddbitsfromdawn.typepad.com/tiddbits-from-dawn/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thanks-edition.html
Tanya Boser http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
Sue Plote http://thispinkrooster.blogspot.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
Shana Gaff http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-stamp-review-crewacorny-thank-you.html
Linda Callahan http://stampinseasons.blogspot.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
Bruno Bertucci http://stampinbruno.blogspot.com/2016/10/dropping-in-to-say-hi-acorny-thanks-you.html
Martha Inchley http://www.inchofcreativity.com/2016/10/stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
Heidi Baks http://runningwscissorsstamper.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html
Holly Krautkremer http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/rubber-redneck/2016/10/the-stamp-review-crew-acorny-thank-you.html

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Beginning Bible Art Journaling

I am so excited to start a new journey in my faith, Bible Art Journaling. Two of my best friends, Erin and Steph, gave me a journaling Bible before I moved at the end of July. I had been looking at many wonderful pages on Pinterest for months before this, so this was such a treat! I am just getting starting, and I already feel like this is helping me to draw closer to God, as well as to share with Him the talent He has given me!

Here is the beautiful cover they gave me for my Bible. I love feathers and these colors are to die for! My best friends know me oh so well. 😊

They also gave me tabs for each of the books of the Bible. I finally got around to putting these on today, and boy does it make a difference! I love how easy they make finding the books. I've never had tabs before. Can you believe that? 😁

This past week, I decided I am getting serious with this. We are in a new place with no friends, so I should be spending more time with God! I made several trips to the store for supplies to get started, but could not find a few things I really wanted before I began, specifically clear gesso. I have read that this is the key to preventing bleed-through, so I decided it was a must-have and ordered some online. I wanted to get started right away though, so I decided to begin with a card that I would tape into my Bible with washi tape.

I chose Jeremiah 29:11 because I feel like it has been our family Bible verse this past year. I struggled for awhile with the idea of moving, after living in the same house for 36 years, and being so close to our family and close friends. This verse helped me to realize that this was God's plan for my life, and He would not have presented this opportunity to cause me harm! I figured this was a great place to start my new journey. 😊

I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock and scraped yellow, green and blue acrylic paints all over both sides with a plastic card. It dried almost immediately and made the sides very smooth and shiny. I then added some letter and word stickers, as well as some doodling and zentangling on the cross and it was complete! I was really pleased with how it turned out!

I used a little bit of washi tape on both sides of the card to act as a hinge to attach it to my Bible. It folds in nicely when I want to close it.

Thanks for stopping by. If you are doing Bible Art Journaling, leave me your blog address in the comments. I would love to see your work too!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew: Host Set Bonus Hop

I'm back again, just a week after last week's hop, with a BONUS hop! Yay! This hop is a little different, because we could choose from any of our current host sets.

I chose to use the set with the cute little animals, Love You Lots. I'm kind of in love with those little critters! I decided to use the 2016-2017 In-Colors as the basis of my card. I started by stamping the background with the "love you lots" sentiment. I had a few places that didn't line up as I would have liked, so I added a few pieces of washi tape over the top. After I added my focal panel, I couldn't even tell there was a boo boo. See, you can fix your mistakes instead of trashing your work! 😁

Thanks for stopping by! Click on the links below to continue on in the hop. I can't wait to see what sets everyone used!

Blog Roll:

Betty Traciak http://kittystamp.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-hostess-set-edition.html
Kelly Kent https://mypapercraftjourney.com/2016/09/26/stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop/
Rochelle Blok http://rochelleblok.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html
Tanya Boser http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-host-set-edition.html
Shana Gaff http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html
Mickey Roberts http://www.paperconversation.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html
Dawn Tidd http://tiddbitsfromdawn.typepad.com/tiddbits-from-dawn/2016/09/the-stamp-review-crew-special-edition-host-sets.html
Nikki Spencer http://nikkispencer-mysandbox.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crewhost-setbonus-hop.html
Heidi Baks http://runningwscissorsstamper.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-stamp-review-crew-host-set-bonus-hop.html
Holly Stene http://hollyshobbs.blogspot.com/2016/09/stamp-review-crew-bonus-hop-hostess.html

Sunday, September 18, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew: Timeless Textures Edition

It's time for another round of The Stamp Review Crew, and this week I got to make my first two cards in my new home in Tennessee! My stamp room isn't quite put together, but I was at least able to get to some things to be able to participate this week. Yay!

Our stamp set this week is Timeless Textures. This is a great set for doing backgrounds! I decided to only use it with sentiments instead of other images, so you could really see the images in this set. I did a fall card and a Christmas card.

I think this one ended up looking a bit like Christmas ornaments in the background.

I hope you enjoyed my cards. Click on the links below to continue on in the hop!

Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew: Jars of Love Edition

Today is my first blog post since moving to our new house in Tennessee! We have been so busy remodeling our house, that I'm glad I was smart and made a trio of Jar of Love cards before we left Indiana. I have not had a second of time to play since we got here on July 31st!

I wanted to use some of the Painter's Pallette DSP because i am notorious for hoarding paper. I find this paper easier to cut in to, because it is smaller 6x6 sheets, so I don't feel as bad cutting it. 😁 I'm also notorious for hoarding embellishments, so I decided to try and use a bunch of enamel dots on my cards.

Eek! I love how they turned out! I thought it would be a pain to stamp all of the little parts and to die cut them, but it was a lot of fun! I stamped a bunch of each flower and die cut them, then played around with them until I liked the way they looked in the jars.

I hope you enjoyed my set of cards. Click on the links below to continue on in the hop!

Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew Bonus Hop: Thoughtful Branches

It's time for a Stamp Review Crew Bonus Hop! This is a new set that will be available on August 2nd for you to purchase. It also has a set of coordinating thinlits, which make it super easy to cut out! I have a feeling you are going to love this versatile set after hopping with us!

When I first saw the big tree in this set, I thought it would look great with a big sunburst behind it. I also just got the fringe scissors, and they made perfect grass.

For my next card, I wanted to do something with one of the smaller images, a leaf. I brayered a few different colors onto my cardstock with our fabulous new foam brayer and then stamped my sentiment, along with the leaf image all around it. That was kind of boring so I die cut the sentiment out with a circle die, added some beautiful bronze twine behind it and popped the sentiment up with some dimensionals. Much better!

Probably my favorite image in this set is the three little trees. There is a dotted stamped that makes great leaves! I had to try this one out next. I did some more brayering on this card, along with some clear Wink of Stella to make the leaves pop .

I always ask my hubby, Brett, which card is his favorite, and he chose this last one. He was so cute. He said "This must be a Christmas in July card." So he does listen when I'm blabbing away about my cardmaking! He's a keeper for sure. 😊

Well, that's all for this hop. Next time I will be hopping with you from my new home in Tennessee. I can't wait! Thanks for stopping by. Click on the links below to continue on with the hop!

Blog Roll:

Yapha Mason http://yaphamason.com/blog/2016/07/24/stamp-review-crew-thoughtful-branches-edition/
Bronwyn Eastley http://addinktivedesigns.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-stamp-review-crew-thoughtful.html
Heidi Baks http://runningwscissorsstamper.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-stamp-review-crew-thoughtful.html
Shana Gaff http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-stamp-review-crew-bonus-hop.html
Holly Krautkremer http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/rubber-redneck/2016/07/the-stamp-review-crew-hop-thoughtful-branches.html
Sue Plote http://thispinkrooster.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-thoughtful-branches.html
Tanya Boser http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-bonus-hop-thoughtful.html
Bruno Bertucci http://stampinbruno.blogspot.com/2016/07/thoughtful-branches-stamp-review-crew.html
Holly Stene http://hollyshobbs.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-thoughtful-branches.html
Kelly Kent https://mypapercraftjourney.com/2016/07/25/stamp-review-crew-thoughtful-branches/
Debra Burgin http://heartfeltinkspiration.com/2016/07/24/stamp-review-crew-thoughtful-branches
Linda Callahan http://stampinseasons.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-thoughtful-branches.html
Mike Funke http://stampin-style.typepad.com/stampin-style/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-thoughtful-branches.html

Sunday, July 3, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew: Flourishing Phrases Edition

Welcome to another edition of The Stamp Review Crew! We are officially moved out of our house and in with the in-laws for a month before we make the big move to Tennessee, so I have had extra time on my hands to create this week!

I realized last Friday that I had not yet ordered this set, so I frantically added it to a customer order, hoping that it would arrive in time. Five days to spare! Yes!

I did some sponging on the first card I made, using all new In Colors. I then stamped the big flourish in black all over. Boy that looks pretty! I didn't want to cover up too much of that beautiful background, so I kept my sentiment pretty small with the layered scalloped circles. Let me tell you, those things are the cutest! I hated to lose the big circles, but I think I am going to get much more use out of these new little guys.

My next card is an anniversary card for my dear hubby. I actually finished it the day after our anniversary, but better late than never, right? I started this one with the background too. I wonder if maybe that's my style?! I cut some strips of Serene Scenery DSP on an angle and glued them down to Island Indigo cardstock. I then embossed that whole panel and sponged it with Crumb Cake ink. I stamped my sentiment and then punched it out with the new badge punch. This is a great masculine punch! I added another badge punch, as well as some burlap ribbon, behind it to anchor it. Hubby loved it!

I knew I had to make a card with that big flower and leaves, so I started this one of with a torn strip of Pear Pizazz stamped with Emerald Envy leaves. I then stamped the flower two times each in Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango and fussy cut them out. It looked okay, but I wanted an extra oomph so I incorporated some of the beautiful Flourish thinlits. In my opinion, they are a must have if you are purchasing this set. Plus you get 10% off if you purchase them together a bundle, so you can't beat that!

For my final card, I wanted to keep it clean and simple. That's easy to do with that big flowering flourish! Just a little masking and sponging, along with a few die cuts and it's complete!

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. Between the insides and outsides of my cards, I managed to use 12 of the 18 stamps in this set! That's quite the accomplishment for me... Especially the first time using a set! I hope I have given you a little bit of inspiration with this set. As you can see, it's very versatile!

Thanks for stopping by. Click on the links below to continue on in the hop. Next up is the very talented Betty. I can't wait to see what she has come up with this week!

Blog Roll:

Mickey Roberts http://www.paperconversation.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases.html
Holly Stene http://hollyshobbs.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases.html
Shana Gaff http://stressfreestamping.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-stamp-review-crew-flourishing.html
Betty Traciak http://kittystamp.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases.html
Mike Funke http://stampin-style.typepad.com/stampin-style/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases.html
Valerie Moody http://stampingwithval.com/2016/07/04/stamp-review-crew-blog-hop-flourishing-phrases/
Tanya Boser http://tinkerin-in-ink.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases.html
Holly Krautkremer http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/rubber-redneck/2016/07/the-stamp-review-crew-hop-flourishing-phrases.html
Rochelle Blok http://rochelleblok.blogspot.com/2016/07/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases.html
Jessica Williams http://thepapercaper.com.au/2016/07/04/src_fp
Bruno Bertucci http://stampinbruno.blogspot.com/2016/06/stamp-review-crew-blog-hop-flourishing.html
Debra Burgin http://heartfeltinkspiration.com/2016/07/03/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases
Sue Plote http://thispinkrooster.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-stamp-review-crew-flourishing.html
Kelly Kent https://mypapercraftjourney.com/2016/07/04/stamp-review-crew-flourishing-phrases/

Sunday, June 19, 2016

The Stamp Review Crew: Flower Shop Edition

It's Stamp Review Crew time again! This is my last card made from my Indiana studio, so it is kind of bittersweet for me! I knew I wanted to make my very last card here for my best stamping friend and downline, Aimee. She is such a special person in my life and I wanted to make a special card for her. I was a little bummed at first to have to work with this old stamp set when I have new goodies, but in the end I actually love my card! I haven't played with this set in forever, so I just started stamping, punching and moving the flowers around on my card until I was happy with it. If you look closely, I managed to get a bunch of new goodies in there too... Layering Love Stamp set, new In Color ribbon and ink, Swirly Scribbles thinlits and Serene Scenery DSP.