Beautifull stamps! Update

Hectic week, lots of hours at work, I also caught a cold, but when I received the Crafty Secrets stamps http://www.clearartstamps.com/, I got better!

The designs are "Home Sweet Home" and "Fairyland" and the first attempt (pictured) is from the "Home Sweet Home"set.

Now, in the first picture I used used chalks from Pebbles and the result is really soft and fine, eventhough not so detailed

In the second one, I used the dual markers from Tombow but I overdid it a little and "scratched" the surface, maybe next time I will try watercolor paper. I didn't take any pictures (the battery of my camera died), but I actually made two coasters from them: I glued them on chipboard, I inked them around, then "inked" the whole surface with watermark and clear embossed it twice. It came out almost like a tile! I don't know though if it is water resistant...

The designs are really unique, I can't wait to order some more!
I definetely want the "Feeling Yucky", they're so cute!

Photo Frame 2

I really liked the photo frame so I made a new one, with Hero Arts Four Dolls clear stamps (border, fan and doll, they were all in the set), and it came out really cute! I also used Ranger's distress ink to make the background, it doesn't really show in the picture but the colour is not solid, it actually came out in shades of blue and green. I also used Fiskars squeeze punches for the scalloped circles and distress ink to make the edges darker.
One tip if you want to make one: when you put the magnet on the back, put it on the outside and adhere it, cause if you put it between the photo and the cardstock, it will fall down, the magnet must be as closer to the fridge as possible.

Albums: Postbound or D-ring?

I have both kinds and I must admit that postbound albums are my favorites, even though when I started scrapbooking my first choice was D-ring.
The reasons are:

• postbound albums "grow" with time, as you put more pages in them, and the process of increasing their depth is very easy.
• they are not bulky (from day one) like D-rings.
• D-ring albums seem a lot like office binders (prettier of course), while the postbounds absolutelly not.
• the pages are really firm and steady in a postbound and the presentation is much better.

These are my reasons for choosing postbound albums.

Finally, a small description about increasing the depth of a postbound album:

1. Unscrew and remove the screws.
2. Remove the back cover.
3. Take the metalic expansions (in American Crafts albums they are hidden in the inside of the spine) and screw them on top of the existing ones.
4. Replace the back cover and screw the screws.

That's all!

I'm in love with...Pebbles Chalks

I just received the pictured set of Pebbles chalks, and I love it! The set has also all the accesories that you'll need and the effect is really subtle and delicate as you can see.
I also bought a few extra templates, and the fun part is that you can also use them with any kind of ink or fluid chalk etc, and the result is different depending on the kind of ink/chalk you use.
The possibilities are endless!

Monthly Layouts: February

For the layout of February (this year I dressed for the carnival as a pirate), I used:

• basic grey patterned paper
  green AC cardstock
  the stamped month is Inkadinkado
  fiskars squeeze punches

What I really like is the little flower pot that I made from scratch: I cut the shape, used some ink to achieve the degradation of colour (so as to give the impression of volume), then distressed the edges! It came out really cute!

I also had an ink accident with the picture in the lower right corner, so I glued on top the "bbq" sign to hide it :-)

Oh, February was fun fun fun!