Summer Give Away for August's Blog Special!! Summer is not over yet...

Every month I have some sort of blog special and this month is a BIG ONE!!

Summer is still in full swing here in south GA and the beach is still calling my name. Although when I walk into some of the stores lately I think there must be some confusion about what season it is. Winter clothes are hanging on cloths racks, and Christmas decorations are on some shelves!!
NOOOO!!!! It's still summer!! My favorite season of the year and it is not over yet :-)

So, this month I want to remember that it is in fact still summer (as if the heat is not screaming that reality :-) !! I am giving away not one, not two, but three hand carved rubber stamps.... and guess what??? They are summer/beach stamps!! :-) And.... they will come to the winner in an adorable hand made bag with the stamp images on it!!

you can find these stamps listed in my etsy shop to your right

Entering the drawing is EASY!!

All you have to do is be a follower of my blog and post a comment to this blog post and you will be entered into the drawing!! ( if you are new to blogger, to follow my blog you will need to hit the follow button at the very top of the page... you must be a follower to be entered into the drawing ) I will write your name on slip and place all of the names is a basket.

..... if you want to increase your odds of winning there are a few ways you can have your name entered again!!

If you mention this give a way on your blog and post a link to this post, I will put your name in the basket a second time!! ( just let me know that you linked me :-) by leaving another comment)

and one last way.... for every stamp you purchase in my etsy shop in August (see the link to your right) your name will go in again!! So... if you buy 3 stamps your name goes in 3 more times. Just let me know you made a purchase so I can get your name in!!

***You must  be a follower of my blog and leave a comment to be entered***

My wonderful daughter, who is always asking me if she can help with my etsy shop, will be drawing the name from the basket.

she sure is enjoying her summer.... it is not over yet :-)

The winner will be announced on my blog within the first week of September.

(I will also personally contact the winner)

Thanks for following me!! :-)

Sometimes simple is best... and this is how to make it

Sometimes we need a simple card to just say hi, to just let someone we know we are thinking of them. Nothing fancy, keep it simple and small. Sometimes simple is best.

Simple and super easy... here are the steps, and I will reveal one

 of my stamping secrets!!

First start with a cream colored card stock that measures 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 ... I buy a Pre- cut packet of them at Hobby Lobby... so easy!

Fold it in half

Now gather a few supplies for stamping on the image...

You will need crayola washable markers (part 1 of my stamping secret) the adorable bird stamp with shout out, can be purchased here  http://www.etsy.com/listing/76412431/hand-carved-rubber-stamp-bird-with-shout

and a Q-tip

After lots of playing with stamps I have discovered a few tricks to inking and image transfer that I am going to share with you all :-)

Washable children's markers work GREAT for inking a stamp you want multi colored.They are cheap, they wipe right off of the stamp, come in all the basic colors and transfer beautifully onto paper. A little note of caution though.... I use the markers for cards and things that do not include photos... I am sure they are not photo safe. Also, if you are working on something that you do not want to last for a very long time these may not be your ink of choice. I am not sure how long the true color will last, not sure how much fading they will do over time.

Next, use the colors you choose to color right on the stamp. I colored the bird blue, the shout out black, the branch brown and the leaf green.

These markers are very wet, you should have plenty of time to color the stamp with out the ink drying.

If you were to stamp the image now you would end up with streaked uneven color, after trying a few different ways to make the color look just like a stamp pad was used I came up with a trick... step 2 of my secret :-)

Take a Q-tip and pat over the stamp, being sure to slightly turn the tip with each color so you do not transfer colors.

Line the stamp to the edge of the paper and transfer the image... just beautiful!! :-)

How cool is that!! I am so proud of my technique :-) A versatile and cheap way to stamp :-)

Next, I stamped the "hi" in the shout out. I have a set of very tiny letters that work great, but you can always hand write the "hi" and that would be great as well.

Because I am just using one color for the letters I used a black ink pad.

Next I broke out the cricut.

I used the song bird cartridge. I cut out the bird house with the flower cut out of the middle.

Now, if you do not have a cricut you can always cut out a house shape, I think that would look good also.

The next step is tearing off a light orange/yellow piece of paper and gluing it to the back of the bird house  so it shows through the flower. Add a little dab of glitter glue to the center of the flower, I used a copper color.  Then, use some thin ribbon and tie a bow leaving long enough ends to fit the card. Adhere the ribbon to the card, and adhere the bird house to the card just slightly over the ribbon. Finally, I colored in the birds belly with a colored pencil and dotted the birds eye with a fine black marker.

And there you have it! How easy is that? You may want to adhere you ribbon a little straighter  than I did though, lol :-)

The wedding stamp debut... so much more than I thought!

Hi Friends!!
I mentioned in my last post I was working on a stamp design to seal the envelopes of my adopted daughter's wedding invitations... And here it is :-)


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It adds a nice touch to a sealed wedding invitation...

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I started playing around with this stamp and WOW :-)
I found it can be used in so many ways...
how about making personalized napkin rings?

Or pretty little embellishments to the table top wine glasses....

This stamp would also be great as a save the date announcement!
Who knew... one wedding stamp, so many uses :-)
I have this stamp listed in my shop, you can find it here
http://www.etsy.com/listing/78646326/hand-carved-rubber-stamp-wedding-rings?ref=pr_shop


Let me know what you all think... I am encouraged with every comment :-)

Love these crochet earrings!!

I have favorite this shop on etsy,  http://www.etsy.com/shop/FebystanDesigns  I just love to look at her work! You all know I am hooked on crochet earrings... I really want to try to add some beads to a pair I crochet!

I am working on some new stamp designs, I am designing a stamp to seal the envelopes of the wedding invitations I made (see here...http://gettinghookedoncrafts.blogspot.com/search/label/wedding) I am excited to show you all what I come up with. It may take a few days though.... so check back :-)

Nail Art... I am hooked here too!!

A few months back I discovered these nail art plates that allow you to transfer images onto your nails... kind of like rubber stamps!! My daughter and I have had so much fun with these!! This is the latest design I painted on my nails, I am totally hooked on Konad nail art!!
I normally keep my toes painted but skip the hands because I can never keep the polish on for more than a day, but because I had a date with a very handsome military man I decided to go a head and paint my fingers too... let me know what you think.

Here is a link to Konad, check out the nail gallery and see all you can do with these cool stamps!http://www.konadnailart.com/

I also found this really neat blog, this young lady has some great ideas on how to use Konad

http://konaddict.blogspot.com/search/label/layered%20designs

By the way... my date went great :-)  My husband even noticed my nails and said they were cute :-)

Finally Posted Some New Hand Carved Rubber Stamps!!

Been trying for over a week now to get these new stamp designs listed but with summer duties calling, you know, those pool side days and running here and there with the kids I just have not had the chance.
But  today it is raining here in South GA and I am on a rainy day schedule!! :-)) The day trip to the beach has been cancelled and I am sitting on my bed posting my stamps and listening to the relaxing sound of rain hitting the sky light, it really is a nice sound. Occasionally I hear the singing of tree frogs calling out to one another, in fact, my son found the cutest frog this morning sitting in a puddle on the trash bin, I mean he is CUTE!! Posted a pic of the baby frog as well :-) 
So, here they are, let me know what you think... I really love comments :-)

Grrrr, I do not know why some pictures load sideways!! :-(



For all of my fellow "hookers" :-)

steamy coffe in a to go mug

wheat stalk/plant

retro coffee grinder with coffee beans

Is this not the tiniest most adorable little frog ever!!! :-)

A horse and a hook

My daughter and some friends wanted to ride their horses at the local saddle club the other night so I thought yea.... crochet!! I am sure a horse and a hook just do not add up at first, but it really does make sense :-) You see, while my daughter rides horses I have nothing to do!! The nothing to do moments do not happen all that often so when  they do I try to sneak in something just for me. Sometimes crochet is like taking a nice hot bath; my muscles tend to release from stress with every stitch and my mind can just go to that "nowhere place"... you know, the place where all of the " I must do this, and I have to get this done" just fade away into the back ground and there is a temporary moment of peace. Yea, just thinking about it causes me to take a nice deep breath.

I was able to make a quick pair of earrings while my daughter rode, I am totally hooked on crochet earrings, I just love them! I have not yet tied up the loose ends in one of them but the other is ready to wear!