PTI Fruitful Gets a Workout...Even the Pear!

I wanted to make my mother-in-law a set of notecards for Mother's Day, so I pulled out Papertrey's Fruitful set and made a super-simple set using a classic clean-and-simple layout. I varied the images, sentiments (from Everyday Classics), and colors for a set of 10, but I'll only show four because I think you'll get the idea.

Some I rock-and-rolled.

Some I just stamped.

Most have normal fruit.

One does not.

Yep. I used a pear. My mother-in-law was not an English major and therefore is unlikely to have my weird aversion to pear images. In fact, I bet she walks past them in the grocery store without giggling in a helplessly juvenile fashion. I bet she eats them without a single naughty thought entering her head.

And since she doesn't read this blog, we can leave it that way.

OLW Reminder!!!!

Remember to check out OLW51 on Jennifer's blog later today.

A Quick and Easy Project with Chocolate...YUM!

A girlfriend of mine hates April. All sorts of bad things in her life have happened in April. A few days ago, we went for a walk, and in the half-hour before the walk she found out an old friend and mentor had passed away and that her own mother had spent the day undergoing medical tests...par for the course for her as far as April is concerned. So, I made her a gift to help make April a little easier to get through.

Inside the bag are wrapped Hershey's Nuggets (one for every day left in the month). Inside the card, I told her to take one chocolate a day until they are gone, and then April will be over. I don't imagine the chocolates will keep more bad things from happening, but at least she gets a little chocolate every day to help her through.

Details: The card is smallish, only 3 1/2" x 4 7/8", so you can see that the bag is also small. The stamp is one I got on sale at Michael's, and I stamped it in brown Memento and colored it with a pink Memento marker. The flower on the bon bon is accented with a tiny rhinestone. I wrapped the chocolates in stamped Avery address labels using Papertrey Ink's Limitless Labels set and pink and brown ink by Memento. The chocolates are loosely wrapped in tissue paper and placed in the bag. A simple hot pink bow is all I added to the bag, and I love how sweet it looks!

This was such a quick and easy project, one you could whip out at a moment's notice for a friend in need of a bit of cheer.

Fun Gifts for Lots of Kids

Okay, what do you give all the little kids who hang with your kids, who live on your street, who are important to you but for whom you cannot or should not buy expensive gifts?

Candy, of course.

And you can make that candy festive and special by packaging it in fun ways. Here are two cool ideas for small packages of holiday candy for the kids in your life.

Idea #1: Tiny Stockings

These adorably small stockings came from Hobby Lobby and were on sale for cheap, cheap, cheap. But they are soft and fuzzy, red and white, and beyond cute.

Side Note: The white plastic basket is one of several I use to organize my projects in the craft room. They are also cheap, cheap, cheap at Target. If you're AR/OC, too, go get some. They're quite handy.

Idea #2: Small Paper Sacks

If you're feeling a little crafty (but not too much), here's an idea. I bought these white paper bags with a coupon at Michael's in the cake/candy section, I think. They are small...just tall enough to hold a standard candy cane. I stamped this PSX Merry Christmas on them, punched two holes in the tops and threaded ribbon through them.

These two tips are amazingly easy and quick. Just grab a few bags of holiday candy on your trip at the grocery, and in a few easy steps, you can hand out little pressies (as my family calls them) to all the little ones in your world.

In the comments, feel free to share your super-easy, inexpensive packaging tips for store-bought, wrapped candy.

NOT a Christmas Card

Nope. Not a Christmas card. This is a Christmas PRESENT. And there's nothing particularly Christmas-y about it, is there?

These are going to my father-in-law, who lives out west. The Bold and Free set by Mark's Finest Papers gave the perfect image for him. The feather is stamped in Memento dark brown and the pen is a Zig writer in dark brown. I accented the envelopes with the little feather in the set. The whole sheebang will go into a clear card box from Papertrey.

This set of single-panel notecards was made the old-fashioned way...I drew the lines using a template as I show in this tutorial HERE. It's a super-easy way to make a fast and extremely economical gift. I'm about to get jiggy with making a bunch of these for Christmas. It's so easy to vary the stamp image to customize the set for any loved one!

Quick End-of-Year Teacher Gifts

Single-panel notecard sets are my favorite gifts for teachers. Not only are they practical, useful, always needed, and appreciated, they are inexpensive. For those who are new to Simplicity, you might not know that my children both have special needs and have whole teams of teachers and therapists and aides in school. Just through school, there are 12 people who are actively involved in their education, and that's not counting the gym, music, and art teachers, or Jack's therapists at Children's Hospital. Even inexpensive gifts add up when you have so many people to acknowledge.

Soooo, I make notecard sets and package them in clear boxes from Papertrey. Completed, each set of ten cards costs less than $3 each.

Some sets are super-simple, like this one using border stamps from Hero Arts.

Other sets get a little fancy, with outlined edges (using a marker and ruler) and a bit of coloring.


Others use simple black-and-white stamped images with just a spot of color. Isn't that little Hero Arts doggie adorable?


Papertrey stamps work, too. In fact, these little notecards are amazingly adaptable to all sorts of images. And you can draw boxes if you want; read how on this post.


Only one of the education team is a dude, so no cute doggies or bumblebees or flowers for him. This backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms makes a perfect school-themed, gender-neutral notecard.


All the cards are made from PTI stampers select cardstock, which is nice and heavy and simply screams quality. I buy my envelopes at our local Marco's Paper store. I don't like mass production, but coming up with a variety of sets makes crankling out lots of sets much more interesting.

Hmmm. Maybe we should have a One-Layer Wednesday challenge to make single-panel notecards. Put on your thinking caps for that, but not next week because I've already got that one planned. Maybe before Christmas, when we're all scrambling to make quick yet nice gifts. There's a thought!

Have a wonderful weekend, and may you be blessed to find time to do something creative.

Super-Simple Gift Idea

I had two sheets of really pretty textured cardstock left over from another project and wondered what I could do with them. Then, this super-simple idea came to me:



Using nothing but a Martha Stewart border punch, I made notecards and packaged them with envelopes in a PTI clear box. I did have to trim each piece a bit to get the scallops all even, but it was worth it. Especially since the whole project took about ten minutes and would be PERFECT for those times when you need a very quick gift that looks lovely!



To make a super-simple card set like this work, you really do need high-quality, interesting cardstock, though. The texture on this one has lots of right angles, so using a dotty, lacy, curvy punch provides some subtle contrast that adds interest. Plus, the weight of this cardstock is lighter than PTI's white and so punches easier with the detailed lacy punch than PTI's does.



Does this give you an excuse to go buy a few sheets of interesting white cardstock? And a package of PTI clear boxes? I sure hope so!

Needless to say, I'm back from my trip safe and sound. Many, many thanks to all who said a prayer for me as I traveled through wind, snow, rain, and fog to retrieve some family heirloom furniture from Charlotte. Right now, I'm drinking coffee and psyching myself up for a very busy day of rental truck returns, Jack's developmental pediatric appointment, and de-molding the antique dresser. Wooo-hooo! I hope I can make time to stamp something or tomorrow's post will be mighty boring!

Edited to add: Holy cannoli, Batman! Simplicity passed 100,000 hits while I was gone! Thank you all! I'm speechless!

One Last Topper for the Season

Wish I'd thought of this one before now. Using Silent Night from PTI, I created a flourish backdrop for punched poinsettias (two punches per flower) with gold half-pearl centers. The Merry Christmas stamp is from PSX (one of the first stamps I ever bought...isn't it pretty?!?) Here's a closeup of the topper:


This SHOULD be the last thing I have to make for Christmas. The caramels are for my MIL, and the Cajun peanut mix is for my FIL. Whew.

Now, if I can just get all my Christmas cards signed and addressed, stamped and mailed. Oh, and everything wrapped.

It feels good to be at this point with 12 days to go. I don't think I've ever been this prepared for Christmas, which means I'm finally figuring it out. Given the fact that I'm 43, I have to say I'm a darn slow learner. *wink*

Supplies
stamps: PTI Silent Night, PSX sentiment
ink: bravo burgundy, close to cocoa
paper: SU bravo burgundy, PTI vintage cream
accessories: flower punches, half-pearls, staples, caramels, peanut mix
size: 2 x 6.75, finished (4 x 6.75 cut)

Warm and Yummy Gift Set

This set is destined for my friend Deena. It's full of yummy things packaged in a warm and cozy style using PTI's Holiday Treats set. The colors are SU's close to cocoa and bravo burgundy, and PTI's vintage cream.



The card (on right above) is a 4.25" square designed to mimic the toppers below. I made the box (on left above and close-up below) specifically to fit the Tazo tea bags, but if boxes aren't your thing, you could use a cello bag and topper.

Simplicity Tip: The easiest way to learn how to make boxes is to get a template off the Internet. There are lots of free ones you can use to figure out the basics. Once you've made a few boxes using templates, you'll see how easy it is to customize them for whatever size you need. Seriously. Easy! And buy a Scor-Pal if you don't already have one. Those things are DA BOMB. You KNOW you deserve one!

The rest of the goodies are packaged in cello bags (the Russian Tea is in small zip bags that hold a single serving each). My friend loves tea and chocolate and shortbread, so this is the perfect set for her.

Clean and simple packaging, plus tasty treats. I love Christmas!

Supplies
stamps: Holiday Treats
cardstock: PTI vintage cream, SU bravo burgundy
ink: SU close to cocoa, bravo burgundy; PTI vintage cream
accessories: cello bags (Hobby Lobby), ribbon, circle punches, scalloped circle punch, dimensionals, staples

Indecision May or May Not Be My Problem

Which do you like best: the lined-up snowflakes on the card or the random snowflakes on the bag?

I can't make up my mind. See, the lined-up snowflakes satisfy my AR/OCD. It is also the first time I successfully used not just one but two giant rhinestones without feeling trashy.

But this bag.... Random RED flakes and sentiment stamped directly on the bag. My first time doing that. I was a virgin bag stamper. Scared the heck out of me. After all, what if I ruined it! Then I thought, if I ruin it, I can just COVER IT UP! Yes, I am a genius. And very brave.


But still indecisive.

Christmas Gift-Giving Gift Set

Today's set is designed to make gift-giving easier. Combined with a roll of white wrapping paper, the tags and gift cards and ribbon (not shown) will easily coordinate, and the little Christmas List book fits easily in a purse for handy reference while shopping!

How cool is this!?!?



The genesis of this set began with the tiny little envelopes that have been lurking in my stash for about five years. They are from Hero Arts and only hold a 1" square card.



In the same drawer as the envelopes were some pre-made tags. I used Faux Ribbon, a silver metallic marker (in two nib widths), and various snowflake stamps to make the design, and accented each snowflake with a bit of silver Stickles. A bit of sheer white ribbon tops each tag.



The next element was a bit more involved. Using my Bind-It-All, I made a small book with simple white matte-board covers stamped the same way as the tags. This little book is a great way for my friend who will receive this to keep track of her Christmas shopping.



A final element of the set (that I didn't photograph) was a package of two rolls of blue and silver ribbon for adding to the gift-wrapped packages.

The next step will be to make a coordinating card to accompany the set.



Hope you like it!

Affordable Notecard Gift Set

Here's the single-panel notecard I'm using for the sets I'm giving at Christmas to my kids' teachers and therapists. This year, I have 17 sets to make, as two new aides have been added to the roster in the last month. These things happen when one son has autism (it REALLY takes a village, people!) and another son has attention issues and a team-teaching classroom. I thank the Lord above for every one of those 17 professionals.

The card uses the three-poinsettia stamp from PTI's Peaceful Poinsettia. I stamped it and then added the gold edging. (See my edging tutorial for instructions.) For a final touch, I added little dots of gold stickles to the center of each poinsettia.

I package ten notecards and envelopes in a clear box from PTI.

Cost analysis: For those of you watching your pennies this Christmas, notecard sets can be a very affordable yet high-quality gift. I use PTI's stampers select white cardstock, which is thick and rich-feeling, but I hear that Gina K has some fab paper as well. For a ten-card set, you only need two-and-a-half sheets of 8.5x11 cardstock because each sheet yields four cards. DO NOT COMPROMISE on the quality of the cardstock. Thin, floppy notecards will look and feel cheap.

The clear boxes PTI sells are $6 for ten boxes. (I saw basically the same thing at Marco's the other day for about $9.) PTI's boxes, at 60 cents a piece, are very affordable and make the cards look so professional. But you could use pretty ribbon to tie the sets together instead.

I buy nicer envelopes from Marco's ($10 for 50) because I like the way they feel; that means $2 per set for envies. The lady at the checkout kindly tried to steer me to the less expensive ones, which are $6 per 50. For even less money, you can buy 100 standard invitation envelopes for $8 at Office Depot. Since envelopes are going to end up in the trash eventually anyway, I think skimping on them won't ruin the gift. Unless the recipient is a stationery snob (or paper crafter), he or she won't notice the envies if the cards are stunning!

The total cost for my notecard sets is roughly $3 each but could be even less with cheaper envelopes. My budget was $50, so I'm just a dollar or two over, which is a minor miracle. If not for the two new aides, I'd be below budget, which is simply unheard of in my world.

[Note: I'm assuming no shipping from PTI 'cause I can't imagine not ordering $55 of perfection from them to get the free shipping!]

So Simple It Should Be a Crime!

I adore these border stamps from Hero Arts but often struggle with using them. When I was working on Christmas notecard sets for teachers, I pulled out these two and experimented.

It oughta be illegal to stamp something so simply and yet have it turn out so very, very perfectly.

I'm saving this set for end-of-year gifts since it just feels too spring-y for Christmas. But if you have any border stamps similar to this that are holiday-themed, I think you should go right ahead and give these simple gift sets to everyone you know. Yes, it might feel criminally easy, but you know what? Sweat doesn't make a gift more special. Sweat is icky.

But SIMPLICITY ROCKS!

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
paper: PTI white (single-panel cards)
ink: SU bold brights
accessories: nada

Christmas Ornament Gift Set

Here is a very simple gift set of ornaments and a card made primarily with punches. I love the ease with which this whole project went together. (Please note: the colors here are bashful blue and white...the blue just looks darker in the photos.)



The simple layering of the circles and snowflakes is kicked up a notch by the Swarovski crystals in the center of each flake. These are beautiful, flat-back crystals...so much clearer and nicer than the self-adhesive cheap ones from Hobby Lobby. (Though I did use the cheap ones on the bag toppers since they'll likely end up in the trash!)

I made five each of two sizes of these ornaments using the following punches:



The snowflake punches are by Martha Stewart. Assembly is easy. One trick for getting the floss loops attached neatly is to put a short strip from a tape runner on the back of the blue circle, stick the ends of the floss down to make the loop, then glue the blue piece to the white scalloped circle. I only glued the center of the flakes to the blue circles, leaving the ends of the flakes loose for a bit of dimension.

Here's a close-up of the large ornament. I hope you can see how clear and pretty the crystal is!



The toppers were super easy, using PTI's Snowflake Serenade and Signature Christmas. I added a strip of grosgrain to the card, and popped up the scalloped focal point.

What a great gift idea for a lovely--and inexpensive--gift! You could scale it down or up, depending on the size of your punches, change up the colors, use specialty papers (glittery or shimmer papers, for instance). Easy, flexible, and quick. You gotta love it!

Supplies
stamps: Snowflake Serenade, Signature Christmas
ink: bashful blue, Palette Noir
paper: bashful blue, PTI white
accessories: Swarovski crystals, assorted punches, ribbon, dimensionals

First Two Holiday Reader Kits

As I said in this post, I'm making kits for Christmas gifts this year. Here is one for my uncle Herb. For once, I genuinely enjoyed doing a dude project, using semi-Christmas-y images of pine cones and boughs from Fantastic Foliage, an old StampinUp set that I will never let go. First, let's see the card, which has an insert (undecorated so I can write a personal message) to hold a Barnes & Noble gift card.





The slits for the card were made with an SU punch, and I glued the vintage cream piece inside the card after punching and rounding the corners. The only reason why I rounded the corners was that the corners of the gift card will be rounded.

Obviously, for the main border, I randomly stamped the images in avocado and close to cocoa, off-stamping to create a bit of depth, and going over the finished pieces with the SU bitty background (is that the name?) stamp with creamy caramel. Then I inked the edges in creamy caramel using a sponge. I continued this technique for two toppers and two bookmarks.



I added the sentiment in chocolate chip after I made these because I felt that they really needed a focal point with all that randomness. Hence, the different placement on the two bookmarks since a dark pinecone blocked the choice spot on one of them. The snack mix is a commercial Tex Mex mix I bought at Kroger. Herb likes hot and spicy food, and it's fun to munch while reading.

My aunt Sylvia loves all things Celtic, so I made her kit with a Celtic theme. Her card includes edging with a gold pen, gold-embossed sentiment, and the same insert as Herb's card for a gift card.

Her kit is a bit more diverse, because I included a drink (Russian Tea mix in individual servings) and Avery-address-label-wrapped Hershey's Nuggets. (Herb's favorite drink is beer, which won't fit in any of the bags I have, so he will have to supply it himself, LOL!)



Notice her bookmarks. I stamped Sylvia's name in a stylized way that evokes the odd letter arrangements in the Book of Kells. The toppers are very simple, with a single stamped image cut out and glued flat onto the toppers.

It bothers me that the Avery labels are white and the toppers are vintage cream, so here's a...

Simplicity Tip: If you're planning a kit using wrapped nuggets, remember to use white as your neutral.

Here's my Russian Tea recipe, from the Kitchen of my friend Claire Leivestad.

2 cups sugar
1 tsp cloves
2+ tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cups instant tea (no sugar or lemon)
2 cups Tang
1 1/4 cups powdered lemonade

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Mix about 4 tsp in a cup of hot water. Enjoy!

Note: I make mine with decaf tea so people can enjoy it anytime.


Supplies for Pine Set
stamps: SU Fantastic Foliage, background; PTI sentiments
ink: artichoke, creamy caramel, close to cocoa, chocolate chip
paper: artichoke, chocolate chip, PTI vintage cream
accessories: sponge, staples, cello bags, pre-made tassles

Supplies for Celtic Set
stamps: unknown
ink: VersaColor burgundy and evergreen; Colorbox gold pigment ink
paper: bravo burgundy, vintage cream
accessories: gold embossing powder, staples, gold pen, pre-made tassles, cello bags, small zip bags (for the tea)

Christmas Gift Giving Inspiration

This magazine is a genius. Well, more properly, Nichole LaRue is a genius. 101 Hip, Handmade Gifts was a special issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine a while back, and it's brilliant.

Basically, LaRue takes the idea of a kit/bucket of related items, all prettily presented in coordinating individual packaging. I've used this idea several times for birthday gifts, but this year, it's the basis of my Christmas gift giving to extended family and friends whom I want to acknowledge with something extra special yet inexpensive. All my craft supplies ought to be good for something.

It doesn't look like back issues of the magazine are available at CK's website (you might find some on the bay), but you can see the downloads here for ideas. I've never used a downloaded image before and am not starting now, but inspiration is inspiration, people. I'll take it from wherever I can!

Over the next few months, I'll be posting my Christmas gift kits. As you already know if you've been reading Simplicity for a while, I generally loathe mass production so there will be lots of different ideas and variations on a theme, and I hope you find something you can put to good use for this holiday season or include in your plan for next year!

A few kits I'm considering include:

Christmas decorations/tags/checklists (definitely doing some of these)

Reader kit (bookmarks, book plates, tea, gift card holder, post-it flags)

Coffee/cocoa party kit (individual servings and accessories, shortbread)

S'mores in winter kit (all ingredients with instructions for making them in the microwave...great kid idea)

Holiday Treat Box (holiday candy and other eatables, individually packaged--esp. for G's grandmother in assisted living)

Writer kit (blank books made with BIA, pencils, sharpener, etc.)

I'm making the kits that have to be mailed small enough to fit into a small Priority Mail Box. Since all of our family and most of our friends are far away, our postage budget at the holidays can get outrageous. Keeping the kits small should allow me to keep postal spending reasonable.

Part of Simplicity is keeping things organized. On the one hand, making all these personalized kits may seem crazy. But with good organization and planning, this undertaking will be manageable.

We'll see if I'm so optimistic by the first week of December.

If you have any ideas for kits, feel free to share them in the comments on this post. What a wonderful resource the comments will be if everyone throws in their $0.02!

More Notecards and a Box-Drawing Tip

Here are the last of the notecards I made on Saturday. I got a bit more experimental with colors, as you can see, and my stamp positioner got lots of use. The first one uses a swirl stamp from Hero Arts, amber clay Colorbox Chalk ink, and a wheat Zig Writer.

This simple thank you card uses an Anna Griffin stamp in split pea VersaColor and a teal Zig Writer.

This burgundy line notecard isn't quite as nice as the teal version because I used khaki ink for the sentiment and it's just too light IRL.


This is one of my favorites. It looks so modern/elegant with the Hero Arts swirl in opposite corners. It uses the burgundy Writer and burgundy VersaColor ink.


The last notecard uses Palette Noir ink and a black .03 Micron pen. The corner stamp is from PSX, and I used a clear ruler to draw the lines. Be careful doing this; as you can see, I overshot the line on the left side at the bottom. Once the card has been written on, this little mistake will likely not be that noticeable, though.

Box-Drawing Trouble-Shooting:
A few people mentioned that they get dots in the corners where ink pools when they draw their lines. I think this may result from either a) holding the pen in one place too long, or b) using a pen/paper that isn't optimum for the technique.

Sharpies and Bic Mark-Its tend to pool ink, so I try to work really quickly if I use them. The new retractable Sharpies claim they don't bleed or feather. Might be worth buying one just to see.

The black box I drew in the tutorial used the Micron scrapbooking pens. Those come in several colors and as long as the nibs are fresh, they work great for this technique. For my colored lines in today's notecards, though, I used Zig Writers. These aren't quite as satisfactory but working quickly will help. If you look closely at the wheat-colored card above, the corners are heavier. Darker colors seem to give better results.

I haven't tried SU markers or the various types of gel pens for this. I wonder how a Sakura stardust pen would look with Brilliance pearlescent inks, for instance. Hmm. Gotta try that!

As for paper, I wouldn't use light cardstock (like SU whisper white) for this project. Heavy, rich-feeling cardsock like PTI's gives the single panel more substance and feels more like quality stationery. I've heard great things about Gina K's heavy cardstock, too, and plan on ordering some soon. Heavy, good quality watercolor paper would also look nice, I think. I wonder if cheap cardstock (i.e., the bulk stuff from Michael's) would feather the ink, too. I never could get stamped images to look good on that paper.

Simplicity Tip: You get what you pay for. Cheap supplies...especially paper and ink...tend to look, well, cheap. Use top quality, and your projects will look much better.

More One-Panel Notecards and a Tutorial--Edited

Here are three more notecards from my Saturday blitz. As you can see, I started grabbing random images from my stamp drawers to see what would happen. Mostly, they worked.

Here's a hummingbird stamp my aunt gave me. It's from Rubber Stampede. I can't remember ever using it before, yet it worked perfectly here. I colored it with Bic Mark-Its, except for the grey, which is a Marvey marker.


These cherries come from Hero Arts. I had the red and green Mark-Its sitting out from coloring the hummingbird, so I used them for this.


This feather is one of the first stamps I ever bought at Hobby Lobby in 2002 (also Rubber Stampede). I used a stamp positioner to get it just right on the edge of the notecard.

Oddly, I made the boxes on all the above cards the hard way, using the clear L-shaped ruler shown below. This works, but the corners sometimes don't align perfectly, and the AR/OCD part of me is quite bothered when this happens. When doing anything this CAS, every little mistake is so painfully obvious. Soooooo, I put on my thinking cap for an easier way. I found it.

About a year ago, I cut a template from PTI's heavy kraft cardstock. It makes a half-inch border around a standard 5.5x4.25 card front. (To cut this, I used a quilting ruler and craft knife, very carefully, LOL!) I used the template once to emboss, didn't like the results, hung it on my tack board thinking I'd use it as a mask for stippling backgrounds, and forgot about it. After seeing someone using a Nestie for a template to draw a box, I thought my cheapo cardstock template might come in handy after all. So here's a tutorial for drawing perfect boxes.

Drawing a Box Tutorial

Note: Steps 1-5 are only needed if you're adding a sentiment. If you are not using a sentiment, you can just stamp your image wherever you want and skip all the way to step 6.

1. Start by putting temporary adhesive on the back of your template. Then place the template on your notecard. If you use a more rigid template (like a nestie or really heavy stencil), you might not need the adhesive, but even heavy PTI cardstock will shift in the middle with the pressure of a pen, giving you a crooked line.

2. Draw a pencil line extending beyond where you want to stamp. No need to go all the way around. You just need a guide for where you're stamping the sentiment. Remove the template and set it aside for later.


3. Check to make sure your lines are long enough, and then stamp your image.




4. To add a sentiment, use either clear stamps or a stamp positioner to get exact placement on the line. Any crookedness will be instantly noticeable. My positioner is an old PSX one that has served me very well.



5. Once the ink is TOTALLY DRY, erase your pencil line. I prefer white erasers as they don't leave marks. These clickable ones are inexpensive and easy to use.

6. Replace the template over the stamped images and press it firmly so the temporary adhesive grabs well. Draw your lines. To get the cleanest lines, pull the pen toward you from one corner to the next in a smooth action using even pressure. I lift the pen off the paper at each corner and rotate the whole panel to keep the pen moving toward me. Pushing the pen can make it spit ink. Watch carefully as you approach the stamped images so you don't get too close and make the image look crowded.


7. Remove the template. A white eraser works great for removing any residue of the adhesive left on your paper.

You're DONE!

Obviously, putting a little time into cutting a few standard templates would be well worth the effort, especially if you don't have nesties or appropriate stencils. You can even use large punches, the Fiskars or Creative Memories shape cutters, coluzzles, whatever. This could work with so many products it's making me dizzy just thinking about it!

I wish I could remember who used an oval nestie and curved a clear sentiment to do this...it was gorgeous. If you know, please share the link with the rest of us.

Edited to add: It was Shelley's Stamping Ground where I saw the oval card with the curved sentiment. It's gorgeous and so inspirational!