Photo Tutorial: String Art Embellishments

It's my turn to share another photo tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today. This time around I'm showing how to make your own string art embellishments using baker's twine. Be sure to check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by today for this little peek of my photo tutorial. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Emily 

Photo Tutorial: Stamped Notepad

It's my turn to share another photo tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today. This time around I'm showing how to make your own stamped notepad. I love giving these little goodies as gifts! Be sure to check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

If you need a little non-caloric homemade goodie to stuff an Easter basket for someone special, one of these little hand-stamped notepads would be a great choice! Wouldn't something like this look super cute with DeNami's Solid Egg Border for Easter? And the "Just A Note" sentiment from the All-Occasion Sentiments set would make a great alternate sentiment for a little pad like this, too.

Oh, and before I forget--I mention in my tutorial that to make a little notepad like this you'll need some PVA bookbinding glue. I bought mine HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today for this little peek at my photo tutorial. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Emily 

Photo Tutorial: Shaped Cards

It's my turn to share another photo tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today. This time I'm giving tips on making shaped cards--you know, anything besides a square or rectangular card base! Because it's February and Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I'm showing how to make a heart-shaped card. Be sure to check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by today for this little peek of my photo tutorial. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Emily

Photo Tutorial: Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

It's my turn to share another photo tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today. This time around I'm showing an easy way to dress up your holiday table settings with handmade napkin rings! Be sure to check out the DeNami blog to learn how to make these little beauties:

And just think of the possibilities for creating similar napkin rings for other holidays!! DeNami offers a full line of incredibly versatile circle stamps as well as small images perfect for filling those circles.

Thanks for stopping by today for this little peek of my photo tutorial. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Emily

Photo Tutorial: Pencil Toppers

It's my turn to share another tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today! This time around I'm showing how to create fun little pencil toppers, perfect for back to school or as kid-friendly (non-candy!) favors for birthdays or holidays. Be sure to check out the DeNami blog to see how to create these:

Have a fabulous weekend, and thanks so much for dropping by!
Emily 

Photo Tutorial: Coloring DeNami Chickies with Copics

Today over on the DeNami Design blog I'm sharing a quick little tutorial on coloring DeNami chickies with Copics. This is the card I created after showing the chickie coloring step by step:

Feel free to go take a peek!

Have a super day!
Emily

Pleated Washi Frame Tutorial

It's my turn to share another tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today! A few weeks ago I shared some ideas for using pleated washi tape in my April Ways With Washi feature. One of my projects featured a ruffled frame constructed from pleated washi tape. So I thought that today I'd show, step by step, how you can do this yourself. Be sure to check out the DeNami Design blog to see how to turn this

into this

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous weekend,
Emily

Tool Talk

Good morning and Happy Monday to you, friends! I'm thrilled to be guest blogging over at the Confessions of a DeNami Addict blog today about one of my favorite and most-used papercrafting tools: the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

I show how to use it to nest a few fabulous DeNami Design stamps in a quick photo tutorial. So if you've ever been mystified by the Stamp-a-ma-jig, you may want to check it out. :D

A huge thanks goes to Tina for inviting me to share a Tool Talk with her readers! I had a blast getting it ready.

Thanks for sharing my little slice of bliss for today!
Emily

It's Tutorial Time!

It's my turn to share another tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today! This time around I'm showing how to create a little set of magnets all packaged up for gift giving. Be sure to check out the DeNami blog to see how to turn this

into this

Have a fabulous weekend, and thanks so much for dropping by!
Emily

A New Photo Tutorial

Happy Friday, everyone! I am so excited to have a new photo tutorial up over on the DeNami Design blog today. I am showing how to make gathered ribbon flowers. Here is a little sneak peek.

I hope you will swing by the DeNami blog to get the whole story. Feel free to ask me any questions about the tutorial right here on this post. :-)

Have a super day!
Emily

Fabric Flower Photo Tutorial

Happy Friday, everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that I have a brand-new photo tutorial debuting over on the DeNami Design blog today. In it I show how to make fabric flowers just like the one on this card:

I hope you'll swing by the DeNami blog to take a look. Have fun creating!

Emily

Stamps: Thoughtful Greetings stamp set, Medium Solid Filigree stamp, Polka Dot Background stamp from DeNami Design

Paper:  Sky Blue cardstock, Chocolate Brown cardstock from DeNami Design

Ink:  Vintage Sepia Versafine, Colorbox Frost White

Accessories: white EP, heat tool, fabric, 2” circle paper punch, Strong double-sided adhesive, Wax paper, scissors, button, embroidery floss, sewing machine

A New Photo Tutorial

Several months ago, I was contacted by Splitcoaststampers' Beate Johns who asked if I'd be interested in writing a tutorial for Splitcoaststampers. I was sooooooooooooooo honored and immediately said yes! She requested that I put together a photo tutorial on making dryer sheet flowers, and I'm so pleased to say that my tutorial went live over at Splitcoast yesterday. So far the response has been wonderful!

Today I wanted to share the card I made as part of my new tutorial. The flower on this card is the one I show being assembled in the tutorial.

You can find all of the details on how I made this flower in my Splitcoast tutorial, and all the card specifics are listed below.  I had so much fun using my DeNami Design stamps to make the perfect card for showcasing this dryer sheet flower!

Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing my little slice of bliss for today!

Emily

Stamps: DeNami Design: Medium Solid Filigree, Polka Dot Background, Thoughtful Greetings stamp set 

Paper: DeNami Amethyst CS, DeNami Celery CS, PTI white CS  

Ink: Versafine Imperial Purple, Versamagic Aloe Vera, Colorbox Frost White pigment 

Accessories: Ditto Glimmer Spray by Hampton Art (purple), Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart Cherish PATP set, used dryer sheets, silver Stickles, decorative brad (Making Memories), Kaisercraft rhinestones, silk leaf 

   

You're Special (and a photo tutorial)

A very happy Friday to all of you! Thanks so much for dropping by.

As some of you may know, I tend to take a budget-minded approach to my papercrafting. Rather than invest in pricey alcohol-based markers for coloring stamped images, I've had a lot of fun exploring cheaper options for coloring, including watercolor painting with dye inks (you can find my photo tutorial here) and coloring with colored pencils. When I first started using colored pencils, I was disappointed by how you could see pencil lines in the colored areas, often with white areas showing through. It wasn't long, though, before I discovered "Gamsol magic," a method of blending colored pencil coloring with odorless mineral spirits (OMS) and paper blending stumps. ("Gamsol" is an OMS brand name, just like "Band-Aid" is an adhesive bandage brand name.) OMS is a painting solvent that evaporates completely and leaves behind no residues. It dissolves the wax in colored pencil lines so that the pigment may be lifted and spread. OMS blending of colored pencil coloring allows nearly effortless shading and results in a beautiful, smooth finish.

For the sake of comparison, the chickie on the left (below) was colored with colored pencils only, but the chickie on the right was colored similarly then blended using OMS and a paper stump. See how much smoother and more even the coloring is? The colors even seem more vivid!

The new cling-style Computer Chickie stamp from DeNami

Anyway, the reason I'm sharing all of this information about colored pencils and the OMS blending technique is because I have a new photo tutorial on this technique debuting over on the DeNami Design blog today. In it I show how I did the coloring to make this card:

Isn't that DeNami Armchair Chickie the cutest? I thought this would make a cute card for Father's Day! I stamped the "You're special" sentiment from the Thoughtful Greetings stamp set on the outside and the new cling-style Happy Father's Day stamp on the inside. The patterned paper is from the new Handmade collection by Lily Bee Designs.

Now before I go, I wanted to share a few more tips on materials for this technique that I wasn't able to include in my tutorial on the DeNami blog.

• Look for odorless mineral spirits in the oil painting supply section of your favorite craft and hobby store. You can look for Gamsol or any odorless paint thinner containing 100% odorless mineral spirits. I was able to get Mona Lisa brand for an awesome price at my local A.C. Moore store.                  
• Rather than juggle a huge container of OMS in my crafting space, I pour a more manageable ounce or two into a small lidded glass moisturizer container to keep handy on my work table. OMS is flammable, so be sure to keep it covered tightly.
• You can find paper blending stumps in most arts/crafts stores; look in the fine arts supplies with the graphite pencils, charcoal, and pastels. They look something like this:
  
• The paper stumps are pretty cheap, and the double-ended stumps give me even more bang for my buck. So I dedicate one stump tip per color to avoid unintended color mixing. What happens if the tip wears down? You can sharpen it again quite simply with a sanding block or emery board.

I hope that I've been able to take some of the mystery out of the so-called "Gamsol magic" technique in today's post and that you'll take a peek at my tutorial on the DeNami blog.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great weekend!

Emily

Watercoloring Tutorial

Today over on the DeNami Design blog I'm sharing a photo tutorial on watercolor painting, my very favorite way to color stamped images. No watercolor paints? No problem! I do all of my watercolor painting with dye inks, either from re-inkers, dye ink pads, or even water-based markers. It's so easy! I've got tips and tricks to help you get started, and I show all the steps for making this card (which I am entering in the Anything Goes Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp).

I hope you'll take a minute to check it out, and please let me know what you think!

Also, two quick DeNami reminders before I go:

• Our Product Spotlight stamp from this week, the Bunny Border, is still on sale at 10% off the regular price (but only through next Tuesday, so don't delay placing your order if you were thinking about adding it to your collection!).
• Be on the lookout for our new DeNami challenge--it will start on Monday!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Emily

Guest Blogging on Do More With Less

Happy Tuesday! Today I am super excited to be guest blogging on Yvonne Yam's Do More With Less blog. YAY!! :DA HUGE THANKS goes to Yvonne for inviting me!! Yvonne always has the best papercrafting tips, the coolest projects (she ROCKS upcycling!), the most awesome embellishments, and the most fascinating guests. It's such an honor and a gigantic thrill to be featured there today! As part of my guest stint, Yvonne asked if I'd like to share a tutorial with her readers. I've been asked by many of my own readers about how I make the multi-loop twine bows (like this one) that I've been using on my projects for the past several months, so I decided to write a step-by-step photo tutorial on how I make them. You can find all the details in my tutorial over on Do More With Less today--so, if you've been wondering how to make a bow like this, I'd absolutely love it if you dropped by to take a look!

And, wait!! That's not all!! As Do More With Less guest blogger, I'm also sponsoring a challenge to go along with my tutorial. The challenge is to create your own project with a multi-loop bow made from baker's twine, string, embroidery floss, etc., and link it up over on Do More With Less. Here's the new multi-loop-bow project I created for my tutorial and challenge:


It's just a clean and simple little one-layer note card I made to thank a fabulous teenage pianist who shared his musical gifts at our church recently. That harlequin pattern comes from a brand-new DeNami Design cling stamp set, Modern Borders. I also used the Mini Music Notes stamp, All-Occasion Sentiments stamp set, baker's twine from the Spring Twine 3-pack, Deep Lagoon Versafine ink, and Onyx Black Versafine ink--all from the DeNami Design store.

And no challenge would be complete without a little prize, right? One challenge participant will be randomly selected to receive this lil ol' prize package from lil ol' me!


I hope you'll take some time to play along with my Do More With Less Guest Blogger challenge!! Be sure to link up your creation over on Do More With Less. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what's making me happy today!!
Emily

DeNami Sneak Peek: BUTTERFLIES!

Welcome to Day 1 of the DeNami Design Spring Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Members Laurie, Lisa, and I are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the Butterfly category! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on a great giveaway over on the DeNami blog :D.
First, have you heard the news? Starting with this spring release, DeNami stamps will be switching over to cling-mounted rubber stamps! They will use the same high-quality DeNami rubber but will only be available in the cling-cushion form designed to be used with clear acrylic handles. Not only will the stamps be less expensive, they'll be so much easier to store! And I just LOVE being able to see through my handle as I stamp. So easy to "eye-ball" alignment for quickly stamped designs! (More on that in a minute.) And just look at the new ultra-cute packaging for the cling stamps. Fabulous!

Enough chit-chat, right? Let's look at some cards I made with some of the new DeNami butterfly stamps!

What is it about hot pink and bright orange that just look so good together? I love this hot color combination, and I thought it was perfect to show off three stamps from the new release: the largest butterfly of five in the new Fancy Flutters stamp set (CL-GD001), the gorgeous border stamp in the four-stamp Spring Garden stamp set (CL-GD002), and lovely Happy Birthday Script sentiment stamp (CL-F216).

Additional DeNami products on this card:
Magenta cardstock
Desert Orange cardstock
Habanero Versafine ink
Onyx Black Versafine ink

Now, how about a peek at one of the eight new chickies joining the DeNami family on March 1? Behold, I give you the Chickie and Butterflies stamp (CL-D142)!!

Additional DeNami products on this card:
Teeny Heart Background stamp
Everyday Greetings stamp set
Celery cardstock
Desert Orange cardstock
Onyx Black Versafine ink
Aloe Vera Versamagic ink

You won't believe how quickly this 4" x 4" card came together, all thanks to the new cling-mount stamp design. I simply looked right through my clear acrylic handle to line up the {curved} bottom edge of the chickie stamp with the curve of the cardstock circle already mounted on my card.

After stamping the butterfly chickie at the 12-o'clock, 3-o'clock, 6-o'clock, and 9-o'clock positions {eyeballing it the whole way!}, I went back and filled in between the chickies. The clear handle makes it easy to center the stamp between the already-stamped chickies.

By lining up the bottom edge of the stamp with the curve of the circle for each chickie, they are all {approximately} the same distance away from the circle, all the way around. Perfectly positioned chickies (well, good enough, anyway) in less than five minutes!

And finally I'd like to share a shaped card I made from the new Large Butterfly stamp (CL-P96). I am SO excited about this one!! So many fabulous possibilities for it.

Additional DeNami products on this card:
Polka Dot Background stamp
Celery cardstock
Sky Blue cardstock
Lavender cardstock
Onyx Black Versafine ink
Deep Lagoon Versafine ink
Aloe Vera Versamagic ink

Do you spy some trendy chevrons on my butterfly? That's also a new DeNami stamp! It's a chevron border that's included in the new Modern Borders stamp set (CL-BD005). DT members Michele, Dana, and Paulina will be giving sneak peeks of all the new border stamps tomorrow--be sure to drop by the DeNami blog to catch those!

But I'm getting ahead of myself! Don't forget to check out all of today's BUTTERFLY sneak peeks made by Laurie and Lisa, as well as Paulina's sneak peek video on the DeNami blog.

Let's see . . . one last thing before I go. I did mention that there is a giveaway on the DeNami blog today, right? Here's what's up for grabs:
Aren't these new butterfly stamps beautiful? Be sure to check out the DeNami blog for details on entering. (Pssst . . . but be sure to leave me a comment here before you go--I understand that will give you a chance at a second butterfly prize package! And leaving comments on Laurie's and Lisa's posts will increase your chances!) The deadline to enter is February 29th at 6:00 am PST. The winners will be announced on the DeNami blog later that day.

I think that should do it for now. Thanks so much for bearing with me during this long-winded post! I had a blast sharing some of DeNami's newest stamps with you!!
Emily

My First Photo Tutorial

Just wanted to invite you over to the DeNami Design blog today to check out my first-ever photo tutorial! I'm showing two different ink distressing techniques. Both are quite easy! Here's a little sneak peek at the CAS cards I made with my tutorial steps:

I'd love to hear your honest opinion about it, if you care to look. I am such a newbie at this!

I'm entering these cards in the Paper Sundaes Clean and Simple Challenge.

Also, two DeNami reminders:

• Our Product Spotlight stamp from this week, the Tweety Bird Border, is still on sale at 10% off the regular price (but only through next Tuesday, so don't delay placing your order if you were thinking about adding it to your collection!).

• This month's DeNami challenge, a sketch challenge, went live on Monday and is open through February 27. Be sure to play along with at least one DeNami stamp for a chance to win a $20 DeNami gift certificate!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Emily