Dream Gardens Projects

So, if you were here this weekend, you had a chance to click through the Stampin' Addicts Retiring Sets Blog Hop. Thanks for coming back today for a little more info. I'm also going to take the liberty of including some other previous projects made with this set... perhaps you'll find you can't live without it?

My first hop project was a brayered card using the upcoming In Colors.

After stamping and embossing the main and leaf images, I brayered with Pool Party and Island Indigo. I sponged the sunset with Calypso Coral, and the horizon with Lucky Limeade and Basic Black. The stampin' process is similar to this card.

Next I made a cute little tea bag holder. Here's the front view. There's a couple little pearls on the DSP that seem to get lost.

And the inside view -

This project came together very easily following the Stampin' Addicts 3-D tutorial.

My 3-D sample was a fun little project I had in my head. I started with the idea of a Japanese screen, and a luminary seemed like the obvious choice.

I found a neat lantern box tutorial, which gave it a pagoda kind of feel (I hope). Here I embossed the geisha image on the backside of some vellum cardstock, in order to make it look more like a shadow. I cut little slivers of black cardstock to assemble my Japanese screen. The flowers on the DSP look like they could come from the Orient too, no? The roof was created by crimping 3/4" pieces of Chocolate Chip cardstock. I did shrink the height down a tad so the base would stand 4" tall.

I mentioned I have used this set for lots of different techniques. Here's a run down, with links back to the original posts for more details.

Simply Adorned charms with Poppin' Pastels -

Faux Mother of Pearl card -

Split Negative card -

ATC with Bleaching and Polished Stone -

Good-bye fair lady, but don't worry. I am not getting rid of you! If you are looking for supply lists for the current blog hop projects, please click back to the main blog hop post. Thanks for stopping by!

Stampin' Addicts Retiring Sets Blog Hop

** If you are here for the Flag Day Giveaway winner drawing, please scroll down to the second post.**

Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts official good-bye party, the Retiring Sets Blog Hop! Have you scoured through the retiring list? I recommend you mark up your catalog with all the retiring sets, and by all means, grab those talking to you before they are gone! If you have been following the blog hop in order, you have just come from Yapha's blog featuring the Bugs & Kisses. Weren't her projects adorable?

Today I'm featuring the stamp set Dream Gardens. I think this is such an elegant and artistic stamp set, and I have used this set for so many techniques, including split negative, faux mother of pearl, and lots of techniques suitable for silhouette images. This set is also perfect for smaller, technique-heavy items, such as ATCs, inchies, or as you will see below, Simply Adorned Charm inserts.

For my first project, I thought I would brayer with some new In Colors. I used the reflection technique here.

Stamps: Dream Gardens, Pocket Silhouettes; Paper: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White; Ink: Island Indigo, Pool Parade, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Versamark, Versamarker; Accessories: Clear embossing powder, Brayer, Sponges, Signo white gel pen, Post-it notes, Pearl jewels, Elegant Lines embossing folder, Big Shot, Dimensionals.

Of course, the natural project for this set is any project having to do with tea. Here I made a little tea bag holder.

Left is the front view, and right is the inside view.

Stamps: Dream Gardens; Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Love Letter DSP; Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Versamark; Accessories: Black embossing powder, Basic Black taffeta ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, Pearl jewels.

Hopefully no one will mind if I reuse a project from the past... I used this set to create Simply Adorned swaps for Convention last year. The special technique here is Poppin' Pastels, and this was one of my favorite uses for this set.

The left and right sides are the front and back of the charm insert, respectively. The swan comes from the geisha's kimono, and it was embossed in gold.

Stamps: Garden Dreams; Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black; Ink: Versamark, Basic Black; Accessories: Stampin' Pastels (Regal Rose, So Saffron), Gold embossing powder, Acrylic fixative.

And finally, my 3-D project, a fun little luminary.

Hopefully this is reminiscent of a Asian pagoda, at least that's what I was going for.

Stamps: Dream Gardens; Paper: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Vellum cardstock, Beyond the Garden DSP; Ink: Versamark; Accessories: Black embossing powder, Corner Rounder punch, Crimper, Stylus, Chipboard, Sticky Strip.

Don't forget to come back on Monday for more pictures and details on how to make these projects. If you aren't yet a member of Stampin' Addicts, you can sign up here. Make sure you check out the next stop to see what Lisa put together using Matchbox Messages. Her projects are always amazing.










The complete hop list:
1. Tanya (tanya27) -- From the Crypt
2. Sarah W. (WillsyGirl) -- Cardinal Christmas
3. Betty (kittystamp) -- Blowing Kisses
4. Rhonda (rhondag) -- Birthday Bliss
5. Holly K. (catrules) -- Always
6. Sara (lilyinkpad) -- Lots of Bots
7. Adriana (escape2stamp) -- Animal Stories
8. Yapha -- Bugs & Kisses
9. Heidi (hlw966) -- Dream Gardens
10. Lisa Y. (genesis) -- Matchbox Messages
11. Twila (tjdstampsalot) -- Pick a Petal
12. Kim (s1itcher46) -- Friends 24-7
13. Jennifer (jentimko) -- All Holidays

Thanks for stopping by!

Simply Adorned Gift Bundle

I've had a lot of fun creating inserts for the Simply Adorned charms. The charms, chains, and baubles made the perfect Christmas gift, and it doesn't take much time to put them together. It is always fun to use up your scraps too!

Don't forget about the Simply Adorned gift bundle, part of the ABCs of the Perfect Handmade Holiday promotion, which is only running until December 16. That's right, this Thursday, so don't delay! For $39.88, you will receive 1 x 1-1/4" Simply Adorned charm, 24" chain, and the Charming stamp set, at 20% off! Use the Charming set to create inserts or give the entire bundle as a gift so the recipient can create inserts of their own.

The chain and charm come ready in gift boxes. Tie up with ribbon, add a card or tag, and you're good to go! Below are some samples we created at the recent Simply Adorned charm class.

Just swap out your insert, depending on season or mood.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simply Adorned Charms

I'm so excited today! I went to my local gaming shop and found 8-1/2 x 11" plastic pocket protectors that hold 2 x 2" flip coins. These are perfect to hold my Simply Adorned charm inserts. Now I can easily flip through the options and swap out my charm inserts.

I am holding a Simply Adorned Charm class on Thursday, November 4th. I will have my new display book, full of Convention and mail-in swaps, available for viewing, photographing, and copying. These charms, necklaces, and inserts would make great Christmas presents, either as jewelry or as tree ornaments. Make sure you sign up by this Wednesday, October 20th. All the details can be found on my Meetup page.

And just in time, there is a new Handmade Holiday promotion starting on October 19, which includes a Simply Adorned gift bundle. The Charming stamp set (shown below), 1 x 1-1/4" charm, and 24" chain for $39.88, a 20% savings!

Here is the current state of my Simply Adorned necklace. I have a few ideas brewing for the Holiday season.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simply Adorned Charm Insert Mail-In Swap

For the charm insert swap I joined, the mail-in one, it was required that we make the charm two-sided. I have to admit that I tried for a while to make a Halloween insert, but it wasn't working for me (not to mention I didn't have stamps from the new catalog on hand). So I'll save that challenge for later...

For now, I went back to my original swap creation, refreshing it with current colors. This one is really my favorite, and no one from my original swap are in this one, so it's ok, right?

Front -

Back -

The swan comes from the geisha's kimono, and it was embossed in gold.

And both the front and back use the Poppin' Pastels techniques, and then sealed with acrylic fixative.

Stamps: Garden Dreams; Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black; Ink: Versamark, Basic Black; Accessories: Stampin' Pastels (Regal Rose, So Saffron), Gold embossing powder, Acrylic fixative.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simply Adorned Charm Insert Swap #3

I thought the Tropical Party stamp set (plus Island Oasis DSP as inspiration) was so relaxing, with fun, tropical colors, that it would make a great insert.

This insert uses some precise cutting and layering. I cut the coconut and straw separate from the umbrella, and the flower was then layered on top. I just love the colors on this one - certain to draw the eye! I can almost imagine sitting on the ocean edge, sipping a drink, while looking out towards the waves.

Stamps: Tropical Party; Paper: Whisper White; Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Soft Suede, Peach Parfait marker, Poppy Parade marker; Accessories: Sponge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Adorned Charm Insert Swap #2

I just love the new Artistic Etchings stamp set (I'm sure I've said that before!), so I stared at the set, playing with my little 1 x 1-1/4" cutout, trying to figure out how to make a charm insert with it. I put it aside a couple times, thinking it wasn't going to work, but I think I finally got it after some playing.

I stamped the medallion background in So Saffron and the Eiffel Tower in Early Espresso (my new brown color of choice? Time will tell!). The 'amour' was stamped with Cherry Cobbler on another piece of cardstock and glued on top for a collage look. Another fun thing about these inserts - they use up a bunch of scraps!

Stamps: Artistic Etchings; Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink: So Saffron, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler.

Thanks for stopping by!

July 4th Fun (And What I've Been Working On)

Now starts crunch time for Convention - countdown 14 days! I joined four organized swaps, so I better get my rear in gear, huh?

We had a great Fourth of July weekend! On Friday, Little Missy and I drove to my parents' for some stamping with Mom, Dad's birthday party, and fireworks at Jumpin' Jacks. I'll share his birthday card with you tomorrow.

Then off to the Catskills for some camping, bonfires, s'mores with friends... My husband and I can't go anywhere without some type of exercise equipment. He had already planned out a 40-mile road ride loop around Hunter Mountain, which turned out to be just beautiful! And the dip in the Schoharie Creek afterwards was perfect!

Yes, and on the downtime while he was biking (we have to take turns), there was also some stamping. I worked on my Simply Adorned Charm insert swaps.

I am in three charm insert swap groups at Convention plus one mail-in swap, so I'll be sharing these and other swaps over the next couple weeks while there isn't much new stuff happening. There will be a lot of stamping happening, but the same stamp, color, glue, repeat - not new stuff... you know what I mean. Not gonna count how many swaps I have to make, 'cause that would be too scary to say out loud!

This is the 1 x 1-1/4" charm, and these things are so much fun to make! It is a challenge to figure out what little part of the stamp would look good in this little area, and what kind of technique to use to pretty and bling it up. I watercolored with watercolor crayons and embossed the whole piece with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. This one was inspired by Mary Rindal in the Stampin' Addicts Summer Mini blog hop.

Stamps: Elements of Style; Paper: Whisper White; Ink: Basic Black, Versamark; Accessories: Aquapainter, Brights Watercolor Crayons (Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie), Iridescent Ice embossing powder.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simply Adorned Charm Insert Swap - They're Back!

I got my Simply Adorned 1 x 1.25" charm insert swaps back. Yeah! They are so beautiful and varied. Thanks you, Ladies! Beautiful work!

Creators, starting from top left: Kandice Williams, Tara Angus, Lisa Wellman, Paula Wright, Heather Carnes, Melissa Huie, Angie Pegram, Kim Bolzenthal, Missi Roeber, Holly Podkowa, Trina Caraway, Heidi Baks.

I am offering a Simply Adorned charm insert class. Purchase the 1 x 1.25" rectangular charm and one of the chains, and you will receive the class for FREE! We will be creating three inserts at class. If you can't make the class, I will create the inserts for you. This would be a perfect Mother's Day present or birthday gift. Make sure to register and pay by THIS FRIDAY, April 16th! All the details are on my Meetup group page.

Thanks for stopping by!

Simply Adorned Charm Insert Swap

Have you seen these Simply Adorned Charms in the Occasions mini? These charms are designed to allow you to swap out the insert, great for any girl who has the prerogative to change her mood! I ordered the 1 x 1-1/4" square charm and chain. The chain had a really nice toggle clasp, and the charm has a lobster claw clasp and a beveled front, which allows the use of some bulkier embellishments on the insert. These would be really great for inserting some photos or using for Christmas tree decorations!

I am currently participating in a charm insert swap. These are really fun to make, almost like making inches! This is my contribution.

A closer look...

We are decorating both the front and back, so this is the backside view.

I used the Poppin' Pastel technique to color the background, and then I sealed it with acrylic fixative.

Stamps: Garden Dreams; Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black; Ink: Versamark, Basic Black; Accessories: Stampin' Pastels, Gold embossing powder, Acrylic fixative.

Thanks for stopping by!