Mini Ornaments

Last week I spent an afternoon making these fun, fast (and how adorable are they?!) mini ornaments. I had a box full of the little charms in different shapes and sizes that I got from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. They pair perfectly with so many of the stamps from my RubberMoon collection!

They're easy to make and assemble. I began by stamping whatever image I wanted on white cardstock. I decorated the images and cut the cardstock to fit the charms. I glued the cardstock to the base of the charm and then glued on the top piece of the charm.

Next, I made a puddle of glue on my craft mat and dipped the top of the charm in it and then dipped it in glitter. Just like frosting a donut and putting sprinkles on top! (Mmmm.... donuts....)

Finally, I added Diamond Glaze to the inside to make it look shiny and glass. One thing to note is that I used StazOn ink for the stamping and coloring. I did this because the Diamond Glaze will make water based inks run.

When everything was dry, I added a little bow and a string for danglin'. Ta Da! Christmas magic. I'll use these to decorate my tiny 18" tree or to add to packages for a little extra present.

Here they are up close (but keep in mind that the largest is only about 1 1/4 x 1 3/4").

Supply List

RubberMoon Stamps

Tiny Elf
Eluvphant
Plain Tree
New Moon
Sprinkles Cube

Other Supplies

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Wooden Charms
StazOn Ink
Stickles Glitter Glue
Glitter
Judkins Diamond Glaze
Ribbon
Silver Cord

Penny For Your Thoughts

I'm in love with the latest stamp from the Rubbermoon Mail Club! Kae Pea named her Penny, The Party Planner, so I've titled this card Penny For Your Thoughts. The wonderful thing about Penny is that the banner is actually blank, so you can write in anything you want. She's a versatile gal, that Penny!

This was a pretty simple card to make. I used StazOn Jet Black ink to stamp everything on the white cardstock and colored it in with a blender pen and ink. I gave Penny a little extra sparkle by adding Stickles to her dress - after all, what's a Party Planner without some bling?!

I stamped an extra Penny on a piece of scrap paper and cut out the banner. Then I used my craft knife to make a slit in the bird's beak. I inserted the banner and put a bit of tape on the backside to secure it. Then I glued everything onto a piece of pink cardstock on which I had stamped a row of tiny flowers.

Now Penny is on her way to make someone's day!

Back to the Rubbermoon Mail Club... I can't say enough good things about it! I get a nifty new "surprise" stamp each month. For me, that element of surprise is great - I like being challenged by stuff that I might not necessarily pick out - and I've yet to be disappointed. Kae Pea also always adds fun extras from other companies. The best part of it is the online group and the support and inspiration I get from so many wonderful people.

Other RubberMoon Stamps Used: Sending Happy Thoughts, Sprinkles Cube, Lucy Bird

Where will your imagination take you?

Halloween Coasters

What do you do when you need a fast and easy handmade gift? You grab the 3" art squares from Inchie Arts and make a set of coasters!

These are ridiculously simple to make. Yes, they'll (hopefully) get used and abused and eventually tossed, but for an inexpensive gift that shows some craft-y effort, it's worth it. Not everything we artsy-craftsy people make is mean to be a timeless heirloom.

I began with the art square and stamped both the pumpkin and the sentiment using StazOn black ink. I used StazOn because it is a solvent based ink and won't run when wet cups and glasses are set on the coasters. I colored in the pumpkin using Sharpies - again, I chose those because they don't run when they get wet either.

To finish them off, I sponge-swiped StazOn Pumpkin (of course, what else?) colored ink around the edges. All told, the whole project took me about 15 minutes. Of course, the pumpkin bread I made to accompany them took a little bit longer, but some things can't be rushed. Plus, the house smelled great while I was crafting.

Where will your imagination take you? Happy crafting!

RubberMoon Products Used:
Art Squares from Inchie Arts
Happy Halloween
Blue Ribbon Pumpkin

The Magic of Autumn

Happy Autumn Everyone!

Nothing gets my creativity flowing like that first chilly snap in the air. And the colors? Zowie! Endless inspiration is right outside the window.

One of my favorite mediums to work with is Alcohol Ink. If you've never played with them, get some! It's so easy to create marbled backgrounds or just splotchy fun backgrounds. Plus, it's fun to watch them mingle and spread and do their own thing. Although they come in dozens of colors, they definitely lend themselves well to that feeling of Fall.

I did all of the stamping on this card with StazOn Jet Black ink. I then colored in the tree and the stars with Sharpies (alcohol ink tends to repel and/or absorb water-based inks). To give the stars a little shimmer I dabbed on some Stickles.

That's all there was to it! Simple, yet tons of fun.

But, WAIT!!!

Kae Pea is currently on a road trip to Seattle and has authorized a sale! Through September 28th, get $15 off any order over $75.00 at RubberMoon. This sale is for stamps only (excludes art supplies, mounts, etc). The code to enter at checkout is: ROADTRIP2015

Where will your creativity take you?

RubberMoon Art Stamps used

Small Chubby Crow

Wishing Tree

There's Magic In The Air

August Moon Mail Fun

I was, as usual, delighted to get my little package from the RubberMoon Mail Club this month. There are always extra fun little goodies included. This time, in addition to the fun little leafy stamp from RubberMoon, it included an extra stamp and faux postage paper from 100 Proof Press and new 2 x 4" pieces from inchie arts.

I was immediately inspired. Since I'm constantly digging for my mail box key - it always seems to find the most remote corner of my purse - I decided to make a special key chain for it. This was so easily done!

I began by punching a hole in the top of my inchie arts square. Then I used the beautiful leaf stamp that Kae Pea designed. By the way, this was one she designed back when RubberMoon was barely a dream, thinking that one day it would make a really cool stamp. That day has come, and it is a cool stamp!

I used StazOn ink to do all my stamping because it is a solvent ink and won't run if it gets wet. I used sharpies to color in everything for the same reason. Five minutes later, I had a nifty new key chain and my digging for the mail key days are over!

Then, because it was hot and humid and I was feeling surly about that, I used the stamp to make a snowflake. Yeah. I'm very much done with summer weather. Can you tell?

Where will your imagination take you? Happy crafting!

RubberMoon Art Stamps used
Exclusive Moon Mail stamp
New Moon

Other products used
inchie arts squares
StazOn ink
Sharpies

Wait! That's not all!!! 

Through Sunday, August 16th, RubberMoon is having a 15% off sale on Halloween and Christmas stamps! Check it out!!!

Hamsa Earrings

Remember when we were kids and we used to play with Shrinky Dinks? They were those little plastic images that we'd put in the oven for a few minutes and watch them as they got smaller and smaller. I recently reconnected with my inner kid and played with stamping images on polyshrink (the same material that Shrinky Dinks were made of).

I decided to try and see what would happen to RubberMoon's Hamsa stamp. I was so delighted with the result that I just had to make a pair of earrings. 

Polyshrink shrinks to about 40% of its original size. You can see below the difference between the original size and the heated size. 

To make the earrings, I simply stamped the polyshrink with StazOn ink. Then I colored it in with colored pencils. Keep in mind when you do this that as the image shrinks, the colors intensify and darken.

Before shrinking the image, I punched a hole at the top to attach the earring findings. It's important to do this before heating, as it's impossible to do after.

All I had to do once the images were shrunk was to attach the earring findings. It took very little time, and now I have unique, lightweight earrings to wear! It's also a ridiculously inexpensive way to make fun jewelry.

Oh, and the gold Hamsa that I first experimented with? 

I turned that into a pin. 

Flower Power

This week I decided to play with my new Mason Jar Flowers stamp from RubberMoon. It's so sweet and so much fun to color in!

For the card above, I began with a scrap of watercolor paper. Whenever I have left over ink, or paint, or anything like that from a project, I like to smear it onto cardstock to use later as a background. That's what I did here. It's a combination of Colourarte Twinkling H2O's left on a brush and a blob of Liquid Pearls that came out when I was trying to get the gunk unstuck.

Since my background was already in place, I simply stamped the image using StazOn Jet Black ink. I colored it in with Derwent Inktense Watercolor Pencils, using a combination of wet and dry.

For the card above, I again used StazOn Jet Black ink, but this time I stamped the image on glossy white cardstock. 

I painted it in with Twinkling H2O's. You can't tell from the scan, but the whole thing shimmers so prettily! It needed a little something extra, I thought, so I dipped my wet brush into my paint again and did a little splatter effect.

The little flowers were punched from orange cardstock using an old Marvy Uchida punch that I have. The "hello" sentiment is part of RubberMoon's Hello Sunshine stamp.

Once again, I've managed to create two completely different designs using one stamp. I tend to let the colors take me wherever they want to go.

Where do the colors take you?

Mi Corazón Magnet

True Confession: I'm kind of a magnet junkie. I've collected them from around the world - they're tiny and they travel well! But I also love to make them. A few years back a dear friend of mine sent me some credit card "blanks" and said, "Here, Creative Girl... see what you can do with these."

So, naturally, I did. They are inexpensive and tons of fun to alter and embellish - I've long since purchased quite a few of them from the eBay gods. And, when I began playing around using alcohol inks on them? Well, let's just say that I can be a little fixated when I'm having fun working with a medium that I love.

When I saw Kae Pea's new designs over at RubberMoon, my first thought, and a giddy thought it was, was, "Magnets! Those would be perfect for magnets!"

I began by coating my blank with red and yellow alcohol inks. You could always do this with glossy cardstock, but I like that the plastic holds up so well.

After adding a few drops of blending solution, I simply picked up the blank and tilted it until the colors ran where I wanted them. I then blotted up extra ink with a paper towel. The alcohol inks dry faster than I can type this sentence, so it's a really fast process.

I stamped the heart onto the background using StazOn. This you can't substitute - it's necessary to use a solvent based ink on the plastic or it just won't stick at all. (And don't try to heat-emboss the blanks. They melt. Don't ask me how I know... just trust me on this one.)

I also stamped a heart onto a piece of scrap paper, which I then cut out and used as a mask when I stamped the flames. I colored in the flames with sharpies and then added some bling with Stickles.

I stamped the sentiment on cardstock and freehand cut it out to make a little banner which I then glued on. I used last month's RubberMoon Mail Club stamp to add a little extra interest to the background. I added my embellishments, glued magnets to the back, and I was done!

How about you? What sets your artistic heart on fire? Happy crafting!

RubberMoon Stamps Used

Mi Corazón
Doodle Heart
Flames

Other Products Used

Ranger Alcohol Inks & Blending Solution
StazOn Inks
Sharpies
Stickles

WINTRY MIX

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas or if you don't celebrate, enjoy this lovely tree scene and festive winter snowman down below.

I have used it before and still continue to love my Ultimate Red Rubber Palette (small for these projects) so it is fitting I end my year with it the center point of my project.  These two cards are done completely in dye ink (reinkers) and permanent ink (StazOn) and India Ink/Dip Pen.  Nothing fancy at all. I began by drizzling Oregano dye ink (Ranger) in a center line on the palette. I then put my pointer finger in water and pressed it into the ink to spread and lighten it for a background coat.  I pressed a 3 x 5" piece of glossy cardstock onto the palette and pulled it slowly up.  

I repeated the same steps again with Chartreuse green ink to have some color variations but did not use water so this would be a very vibrant color.  Before pressing the paper into the green ink, I decided to add some Raisin ink to my pointer finger and pressed some small dots along the green. 

It doesn't look like much yet except a textural line of mooshed ink, but as the details are added, it will morph into a composition for a card.  Bear with me.  I found a tree stamp I just love any time of year

and added it just right of center near the top of the foliage.  I took a teensy piece of cosmetic sponge and carefully colored it with the chartreuse ink (a slow pouncing motion) and then decided that the star needed to be gold.  I added a bit of StazOn Metallic gold to the star with the top end of a paintbrush.  I was satisfied with the tree, but now had to find a spot for the "joy" stamp that seems to go well with the mood I am setting.    

There, I found it. 

My design was starting to take shape, but I wanted to add more contrasting black so I took out my Higgins India Ink and dip pen and drew and fanciful line in the foliage.  

I framed the scene unevenly with a thick black Sharpie before mounting it on green and burgundy and cardstock. 

Five black beads finished it off.

I was on a roll with backgrounds so I used one made the same way but using several drops of water to create thinner, lighter areas. I found "top hat" snowman and added it into right of center so that his head and the stars would be in the white space. I went nuts with the dip pen again and added some activity beneath him and then had to personalize it by penning a word.  

He needed some oomph....so I added some clear Stickles to the stars and buttons. 

I mounted it on iridescent Bazill with a little strip of black glossy beneath it to add some pizzazz.  NOTE:  My camera angle on this beauty shot makes the card appear off, but in real life it is plumb so use your imagination.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ONE AND ALL................. For more RubberMoon, head here.  For more me, head here and friend or like me on facebook.