Doily Valentine Heart Card

From Adriel:

Here's one of the cards we will be making at our Valentine card class next month.

I had a lot of fun with this card. We had these small doilies that we had bought awhile ago and I finally created something with them! It's just a really fun and lovely way to dress up a card or project.

The heart is a die cut from the "Hearts & Brackets" die. I used Blushing Bride CS for the pink and Rose Red CS for the heart die cut. The heart was stamped with an image from the Elements of Style stamp set in Versamark ink and sprinkled with a clear embossing powder / dazzling diamonds glitter mixture and set with the heat tool. It's a great way to make your own specialty paper. =) The little sentiment is from the Tiny Tags set. And of course you have the doily in the background.

Soft and sweet with glitter and frills. =)

BTW, I was designing something recently and I used ANOTHER doily! I'm stuck!

How about you? What are you "stuck" on right now?

Looking forward to this class on Tuesday! We'll be all sparkly! =)

Holiday Boutique Review

We enjoyed seeing a few of you on Saturday at the Holiday Boutique that we participated in! I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of our table.

We're still getting the hand of this kind of thing. I honestly think we have too much of a variety of items to sell. I think our table is overwhelming to people. I'd like to experiment with limiting the types of items we sell to just a handful. Hmmm... what do you think?

Anyway, if anything, it helped us get all of our items organized. I don't think either of us (and especially myself) realized how many cards we had! Oh my! Everything is nicely organized and copyright stamped and many things are even packaged, so there's no excuse for me not to get these things in our Etsy shop soon. I'm hoping to focus this week on getting pictures taken and edited to do just that. =)

Hope you all had a nice weekend! Did you do anything special or fun?

October Color Challenge #9 + Gift Tag

From Adriel:

It's the beginning of a new month

and that means a new THS color challenge!

Here's the colors for our challenge this month.

Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, River Rock, and More Mustard

I had fun with these colors and made some gift tags

with last year's "Gobble Gobble" stamp from Stampin' Up!'s a la carte.

It's just too cute not to use again! =)

I sent the River Rock CS through the Big Shot

with the Lattice embossing folder.

When you tear it, it almost looks like burlap, which is a great touch.

Now it's your turn! As always, our color challenge

is open to all of our artsy, crafty friends.

You have the whole month to create something fabulous using our color challenge.

Just post it on your blog or a gallery

and link to it using the submission button at the bottom of this post.

You can also send us a picture of your creation and we will submit it for you.

Email us at: twohappystampers@gmail.com

We'll feature 5 of the entries on our blog!

Guidelines:

Color challenge ends October 31st @ midnight Arizona time

Please keep submissions family friendly

Get inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Happy October to you!

If I Had More Time and More Creativity...

I would give these challenges are whirl.


Unfortunately, I'm not feeling all that creative
and there are other pending matters
that demand my attention.

I can dream, right? ;-)

Hence, my Challenge Dream List...


Embellish Embossing Color Challenge - The colors for this challenge would definitely be too challenging for me right now... I'm totally not feeling loud and bright at the moment. However, if I was in the right mood, I can see this challenge being a ton of fun, so this one goes on my challenge dream list.



Shabby Tea Room "Comforts of Home" Challenge - So I'm not sure if I would be able to show what my comforts of home are in a card or other papercraft project (and honestly, my brain doesn't even want to think about how I would go about doing that), but I love the inspiration photo for this challenge and the shabby, victorian style. I would love to make something with those elements incorporated into it.

Mojo Monday Sketch 136 - Even as uncreative as I'm feeling, this sketch has the potential to propel me toward making something! I love that there are two options... a square or a circle. I would probably go for the circle, just because I haven't made a circle card in almost forever and in addition, I would love to try making one with our scallop circle die for the Big Shot. So many things to try...


Technostamper Sketch Challenge #119 - I love how different this sketch is. It's mighty tempting... I am in the process of designing some thank you cards... hmmm... ;-)

Do you have any creative dream lists?

Something Fun to Try

From Adriel:

Here's a different kind of bookmark that is simple to make, but looks awesome! I used the tutorial on Mary's blog which you can find HERE.

I used the Charming stamp set from Stampin' Up! and embossed in black and white. It's really an elegant bookmark and would make a great gift for anyone! Make a card to match, slide the bookmark over the corner and you've got an instant and lovely gift. Seriously, this bookmark takes less than 20 minutes to make... great for when you need a last minute something for a thank you or other occasion and you need a little something more than a card.

Here's another tutorial for a similar, but simpler bookmark made using the Petal Card die. I don't own that die, but this one looks like fun, too!

Have fun and enjoy yourself! We would love to see what you end up with... leave us a link to what you make! =)

Oh, and don't forget about our color challenge... there's still a few more days left. It ends Feb. 26th! Get all the details HERE!

Special Recipes Deserve a Special Home

From Adriel:

That's right... a home like this!

I finished the recipe binder my mom previewed a few days ago. It's all done and in our shop ready for some special recipes.

The inside is complete with dividers and tabs for a variety of foods. Most of the tabs have been hand-stamped with images from "From the Kitchen of" stamp set. Two of the images my mom threw together on her computer using word and they worked out great. The images have all been water colored using the blender pen and ink technique.

The holes in the dividers are all reinforced with matching designer paper. And if you're familiar with stamping, you probably recognize the paper from last year's Stampin' Up! catalog. It's called "Rockabilly" designer paper and the cherries looked perfect for a recipe album. =)

Anyway, it was fun to make and I'm sure we'll be making more of them! =)

Memory Flip Album

From Adriel:

Here's another new item in our shop and what a great way to show off some pictures and memories!

Chipboard panels have been covered with beautiful designer paper from Stampin' Up! There are 6 beautiful pages completed and ready for pictures. The back of each page has a special journaling spot.

The whole album is put together with file rings at the top with cute ribbon tied around the rings. The album stands upright on its own. Cute!

Today we're teaching our Christmas Treasures class in the afternoon and evening. I'm looking forward to spending some time with our stamping/crafting friends. We get to make some cute stuff and it will be enjoyable. =)

*Hope you're having a great day! Stop by again soon! =)*

Don't Leave Your Bread Bare!

From Adriel:

Check out these cute mini bread loaf sleeves that we recently added in our Etsy shop! So cute, right? =)

We made a bunch of these for last weekend's craft show that didn't go so well... oh well! Our Etsy shop always has room for more! =)

We used high quality cardstock from Stampin' Up!. We had some holiday printed paper that we had bought last year in a stack and the prints worked great for these sleeves. The tags we included on each of these sleeves features stamped images from the Hostess set "Snow Buddies" that's available right now in the Holiday Mini Catalog. I watercolored the snowflakes by hand and they're also stamped on the back with a "to / from" stamp.

This set of 6 mini loaf sleeves is available right now in our Etsy shop HERE! Don't leave your bread bare this coming season of giving! Your bread is begging to be cute! =)

New in our shop!

From Adriel:

We've had the panels done for this organizer for a couple of weeks now and finally got it all assembled! We used the beautiful Razzleberry Lemonade DSP from Stampin' Up! and it has a bright, rich, autumn look to it. My mom found that super fun button and it adds some fun to it! =) You can find this new coupon organizer in our Etsy shop HERE. Thanks for looking! =)

If you're looking for something to do...

... head over to Costance Collins' blog Constantly Stamping! She has a great tutorial on making a water lily with the Sizzix Daisy die. Did I mention it a video tutorial?!

You can check it out HERE!

Here's a picture of what she made... BEAUTIFUL! =D

Date Books AKA Birthday Calendars

From Adriel:

How many times has this happened to you? You forgot your grandpa's birthday, or you have to hustle to the store the day of a good friend's birthday or your own anniversary snuck up on you (and you're empty-handed!). Do any of these scenarios (or even all!) sound familiar?

You're not alone! I have done all of the above... and more!! It's terrible... I feel terrible when I do it. I've tried keeping the special dates written down on my wall calendar, but when I get my new calendar for the new year, I forget to transfer the dates. Aghhh!

There's hope for people like me! Yay! =)



These organizers fit nicely into a medium-size handbag or purse, so you can take it along with you! There are lists for each month and also gift lists for keeping track of ideas. There are two small pockets for gift receipts and gift cards. And the nice thing... you don't have to transfer those special dates when you get a new calendar. They're all in this wonderful organizer, written down, never to be forgotten again (we hope! LOL!). More pictures and details about these organizers can be found by visiting HERE and HERE!

The question is why didn't I start using one of these A LONG time ago?!?! I am still getting in the habit of using mine. I don't consider myself to be very old (yet), but I guess even average-aged dogs have a hard time learning new tricks. Writing this post is even reminding me to get mine out and bring it up to date and make sure I've got my dates down. I'm hoping that next year I won't forget my grandpa's birthday... ;-)

Changes Coming!

From Adriel:

Hi there! I'm just letting you all know that the Two Happy Stampers blog will be getting a new look in a few days. That's right... a "blog-lift". So, when you visit us and it looks different, you will know why and not think you came to the wrong place! I think you're going to like the new look! Stay tuned...

BTW, sign up for the City of Chandler Parks & Recreation classes begins November 15 for Chandler residents! Click here to check out the Break Time magazine and see what classes we're offering. We are in the Teen & Adult section and also the Senior Adult section. Just look for our names as instructors for the classes. We will be teaching at Tumbleweed Rec. Center and my mom will be teaching a few classes at the Senior center in downtown Chandler. Below is a picture of a bunch of nugget boxes. These have a slider insert that slides out and holds nugget candies. The candies are individually covered with decorative paper. It's such a cute gift for anyone! This is one of several projects that we will be making for our Christmas Treasures class.

More Pics from the Craft Show...

From Adriel:

Below are some wooden frames that I altered.

These are fairly easy to make, they just take a little time. First, I painted the wood a color that would most compliment the paper I chose to use. I allowed the paint to dry. I then used mod podge to adhere the paper to the front, smoothing out bubbles and trimming around the edges with a hobby blade. After that dried, I then sanded all the edges. I then embellished the frames. These make great gifts. I listed these at $6 at the craft show. Didn't sell either one... for the time being, I'm stuck with them, but they're still available. Let me know if you would like one!

Altered Corkboards

From Adriel:

Here's another little project I've been working on.

These corkboards are a great addition to a refrigerator or office. I just used some paper and embellishments to dress up plain corkboards! This project is part of our Christmas Treasures class at Tumbleweed in Demember and we will also be selling some at the upcoming craft shows as well. Thanks for looking!

Handbag Challenge

From Adriel:

This is a first... at least I think it is... for me anyway! This is my second post in the same day! I have a good reason for this.

Theresa Forseth is hosting a weekly challenge on her blog for the next 12 weeks. What's the inspiration? Purses/Handbags! How fun is that? So, this is my submission for this week's challenge.

This is a cute "handbag" giftbag with a matching "wallet", which is actually a giftcard holder. When I went onto SCS today, I saw Wednesday's tutorial was for the diaperfold. This was perfect for what I had in mind for this challenge! I changed it a little bit (folded both triangles down instead of just one and also used the "back" for the front). I also added handles, since this is a handbag. I didn't use DS paper, but used River Rock CS for the purse base, then used strips of colored CS to decorate the front to mimic the inspirational piece. I tried to incorporate some stitching into this project, so I just drew marker lines with a brown Stampin' Write marker. It did the job. I'm a sucker for flowers and had to include them in my project! The "wallet" opens to hold a giftcard. I didn't have any giftcard holders on hand, so I just measured a credit card and made a holder based on those measurements.

The scalloped brown panel inside is actually a pocket. The giftcard slides in at the top and fits perfectly!

The colors I used for this challenge were river rock, baja breeze, tangerine tango, chocolate chip, pink passion, night of navy (or something very similar), and whisper white. I would've liked to have gotten some gold in there, but didn't have any gold. So this will have to do! Hope you enjoyed looking!

BTW, please excuse the photos! I had to use a different computer and didn't have access to my photo software or watermark image. I thought about if I needed to put Stampin' Up! on there, since I didn't use any stamps or DS paper, but thought I would just to be safe.