are you coming or what?

Just in case I haven't screamed it loud enough, I'M TEACHING AT SPARK!!!!

Finally, I get to teach stamp carving. I've wanted to teach it the last couple of years and it just hasn't worked out for one reason or another.

So this year, as a creative partner, I said, "By damn, I'm teaching stamp carving." And Margie said, "So let it be done."

I'm a wee bit passionate about stamp carving. It's so relaxing and rewarding.  It's easy enough to do with your kids. You can take it along on trips because the supplies are small. It isn't expensive.

So, if you are still sitting on the fence about coming to Spark, this is me, yelling for everyone to hear, Come! Please come! We are going to rock the cazbah. We are going to laugh and create and commune. 

You need this. Really. You do.

And I want to teach you to create your own custom stamps. 

That is all.

sharing is for caring

Sharing is a problem in our home right now. Evidently Birdie owns every single item contained within  the walls of our house, plus all yard toys and garden tools.  No one else is to touch or even look longingly at anything that she is using/might be using in the next day or two.  If an item becomes boring, then someone else might be allowed to touch it until that time when it becomes appealing in some way. Then it is hers again. As long as we all abide by these rules no one gets hurt. 

Someone gets hurt every. single. day. That person is almost always Frankie. Poor kid. He needs to grow faster.

It occurred to me that I've been hoarding some of my hand carved stamps. I have a fairly large collection of stamps that I have made over the last few years and for the most part, they just sit in the drawer collecting dust.  Each stamp is one-of-a-kind so I can't very well share the actual stamp with all my readers. 

But I could make digital stamps of my hand carved stamps and share them that way.  So that is what I have been working on lately.

In honor of my little Birdie who hasn't learned to share, I give you "Birds & Bulbs". This is a set of seven photoshop brushes, or stamps as some people call them.  

There will be more sets to follow. Stay tuned.

The set costs $5. The license is for personal use. I will send the file within 24 hours of your purchase.

Birds and Bulbs Brush Set

crafting christmas

One of the things I'm doing this year is using my handcarved stamps to make custom wrapping paper.  I bought a roll of craft paper because I love the way ink looks stamped on it's smooth brown surface.

I carved a snowflake stamp made up of my initials. I thought I was being so clever and then the thought occurred to me that if it is going on a gift, it should probably be their initials. Oh well, they probably won't catch the whole initial thing anyway.

Your stamps need not be perfect. Remember my motto: There is charm in everything imperfect.

Keep in mind that, although I drew and carved my stamps, you can always use ones you buy. But if you are feeling adventurous and you'd like to try your hand at carving, you can watch the tutorial video in the side bar.

Happy crafting!