This was supposed to be for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway, but I’m not on the list (am I? I couldn’t find myself) because I was running late as usual.  I knew at 11pm last night I wasn’t going to make it in time.

Oh well, it doesn’t matter because I love this time of year, don’t you? Giving is the best part.  So, here is my giveaway anyway.  I have for you: a hand-stamped holiday napkin set of 5 with 5 holiday gift tags (sorry, stamps NOT included).

These were so fun to make. I sat down in front of my computer watching free netflix movies and carved away.  I am planing on making gift bags and wrapping cloth like THIS, which was my inspiration.

My ink pads are getting a little dry, which is why they are a bit faded looking, but I love the crisp creaminess of the fabric and the soft imprints of the stamp. These are hand washable. The ink stays on nicely.

The five tags are an extra goody. I wanted to play with some new stamping stuff I’ve had for a while.

So here is the deal:
*Leave a comment by Friday night at midnight
*You’ll get 5 holiday napkins and 5 holiday gift tags (stamps not included).
*I’ll announce the winners on Saturday

Good Luck!!

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WINNER is …… Andrea of Escleali

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I’ve been working on these rubber stamps all week.

For making Day of the Dead (or Dia de los Muertos) art and cards.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with them.  Just stamp, stamp, stampin’ away!

I’ll be getting this stuff, plus more Day of the Dead stuff in my shop all week.

Related posts:

Rubber Stamp Tutorial
Carved Rubber Stamps: Storage & Care
More Creative Kismet Stamps
Dia de los Muertos

Hey, has anyone noticed that I’ve gone from the bird theme to a super hero them?  Both are in the flying realm.  Hmmm, I wonder if this means anything. Maybe I need to fly somewhere….a tropical island maybe…or another country for a long vacation.  Yeah, I like where this is going.

Ahem, anyway, I went ahead and made those thank you cards into art for the kid’s room. I trimmed up my stamps a bit to make them print cleaner and I did a kind of paper collage thing with them this time.  It looks great in their brightly colored room. I made several extra and they are in my shop… just in case.

I’ve never shared their room with you have I?  It’s always a mess, that’s probably why.  Maybe someday I will.  Probably after we get that old baby matress that’s propped up against the wall out of there.  Baby mattress? It’s from I-guy’s baby years, which seam ages ago. Why it is still in there, I have no idea. No more babies, if that’s what you are thinking.

And super bad at sending thank you notes.  I am always incredibly grateful for gifts and truly want my little guys to understand the importance of the thank you note.  So, this year, we are going to try extra, extra hard to keep this up.  I may even have to make my own gratitude wrap, and one for the kids too. I’ll have to stamp up some cards, and maybe even need to buy several different kinds from etsy.  You know, just to keep us totally on track.

These little super-hero notecards were made for I-guy’s birthday party a couple of weeks ago.  Better late than never, right?!?    I love how they turned out.  I might have to make one of these without the “thanks!” as a little art piece for the kid’s room.

* A big thank you for the kind get well wishes.  I am happily recovering in my craft room, one teapot full at a time. Feeling so much better today, but trying to shake that irritable cough.  It always loves to hang around for a while.

Related posts:

Rubber Stamp Tutorial
Carved Rubber Stamps: Storage & Care
More Creative Kismet Stamps

During my sick-time, a bit back, I made my sister’s baby shower invites.  She is having her first baby, a little girl named Ruby. I am super excited to meet her.  She is due mid-December.

The invites didn’t turn out exactly as I had imagined and I blame that on the fevers and fuzzy head.   I couldn’t make it out to find the paper I wanted for this project, so I made do with what I had.

I do love the stamps I made.  Especially the little baby one.  Oh, and that little raccoon too.  Thank goodness for that handy little circle punch!  Can you imagine having to cut all those little circles?  YIKES!

The hubby needed a travel bag for his various toiletries for when he goes out of town.  I wanted it to be sorta manly, for the rugged and tough kind of guy that he is.  So I stood in front of my my fabric stash and not a single piece would work for this.  Apparently I don’t collect masculine looking fabric, except for a few solid pieces in gray, blue and black.   But, a solid seemed to plain and boring. THEN, I got the idea for making my own masculine fabric.  I pulled out my Lotta Prints and from there knew exactly where I would go with this.

Potato printing isn’t just for kids anymore.  Oh no, it’s way more fun as an adult and it worked out fabulously.

I made a very simple design onto the potato using my linoleum cutters. Then I used Tulip Soft Fabric Paint, mixing my own navy blue color, used a sponge to appy the paint to the potato and did a few practice tries on paper. I am really surprised with the results and the hubby loves his new travel pouch.

A little tooth fairy fellow came to our house last week and left a buck-fifty for a teeny little tooth. Super-E couldn’t have been more thrilled with the idea of a little fairy guy roaming the house with his lost tooth. In fact, the next day, Super-E found (!!!) the tooth we hid in a box in my room and came up to me demanding to know why his tooth was in my box. A little dumb-founded, I quickly replied, in my most convincing voice that, “oh my gosh, the fairy must have lost it when he was exploring our home!” Yes, of course! Happy with this, he sat to ponder the wonderful adventure this fairy must have had in our home. About a half hour later, he decided that we definitely need a fairy door to make it easier for the fairies to come and go as they please. We simply deposited the tooth back in the pillow and the fairy came that night to retrieve his lost tooth. Phew! THAT was a close one!!! Next time we must be more careful!

I carved a rubber stamp for the little fairy guy and smiley tooth and stamped them directly onto the fabric with my versa magic inks. I want to make a “lost tooth” journal using the stamps so Super-E can document the when and how he lost each tooth. I wish I could remember how I lost mine. All I remember is how it felt to push around the loose tooth with my tongue and the empty whole it left when it was finally gone.

I guess I’ve been in a stamping mood lately. I made these sometime last week as “thanks yous” for my swap paticipants.

I really like being able to use several different stamps for layering.

The front of the bookmark has a house, bird, paisley and swirls and the back has the upside down queen with pigtails (that I drew in).

I think Super-E and I will be collaborating on bookmarks for his class mates at the end of the school year. He can draw up the images he likes, I’ll carve them out and then let him stamp away.

This weekend though, we I get to work on an Egyptian costume for a play that he’ll be in for school. Fun!

A few people have asked how I care for and store my hand-carved rubber stamps, so I thought I’d share what I do.

Cleaning:

1. After using your stamp, stamp any excess ink off onto a scrap piece of paper.

2. Rinse stamp off under running water (room temp), with or without mild soap. Be careful not to rub while rinsing. Small pieces of detailed carving can be lost this way.

3. Gently blot water off with soft cloth. Many inks will leave your stamp stained, especially dark inks. This is okay and won’t affect future stamping. Test stamp on a blank piece of scrap paper to make sure it is completely clean of ink.

Storage:

1. I store my stamps in a plastic covered, storage bin. This keeps them safe and in one place.

2. Carefully stack larger pieces making sure they remain flat. Any bending or overhang will eventually lead to cracks and breakage. I lost one of my favorite stamps by carelessly tossing it in the bin without giving it a flat surface to rest on. Smaller stamps don’t bend very easily and are less worrisome.

3. Keep stamps away from extreme heat and cold. I keep my stamps in a covered shelving unit, in controlled temps, protected from sun and dust.

Pretty basic stuff, but it makes a difference. These stamps won’t last forever and can eventually harden, crumble or crack. I spend a lot of time carving my stamps and want them to last as long as they can. Many of my stamps are over 2 years old and still work great. Some inks can affect their longevity, but as long as you stick to craft/scrap book quality inks, you should be okay. My favorite inks are VersaCraft and VersaMagic Dew Drops.

Hope this is helpful

Packages of beautiful notecards have slowly been making there way to me. I have received 7 sets so far, and lots more are on the way. It is so exciting and fun to receive packages in the mail everyday. Opening them up is my favorite part. So far, I am very blown away by the talent and creativeness of you swappers!

This is my contribution to the swap. Lots of carving and lots of stamping. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing project.

Adendum:

Don’t forget to check out my Rubber Stamp Tutorial for tips on making rubber stamps.

Blick E-Z Cut,  Speedball Speedy Stamp and Speed-Cut Blocks are all excellent choices for making stamps.  They are high quality, soft and easy to cut with linoleum cutters.  Very safe too.