Pumpkin Flavored Inspiration.

Hello, Mary here, with a bit of inspiration for this month's challenge.  If you haven't seen the inspiration board, hop on over and CHECK IT OUT!

It seems the whole word goes pumpkin crazy this time of year---and I'm no exception!  I've been jonesin' for pumpkin flavored treats of all kinds.  Well, today, I bring you a little something sweet and pumpkin that won't add to your waistline...

The challenge this month has inspired a new tradition for me.  With the creation of this pumpkin, I now want to grow a nice handmade pumpkin patch of my own to spruce up my fall home decor.

I began by cutting out circles in three sizes from a lovely, smooth cotton fabric.  I then stamped stars onto the circles with the Field Of Stars and the Stars images.

I then stitched them to a length of cream colored corduroy with some messy machine stitching with black thread.  I simply sewed the side of the fabric together to make a tube, and gathered each end with a running stitch and stuffed it with filling to create my basic pumpkin shape.

I added a few lengths of May Arts twine to give it a more pumpkin-like shape, and embellished with buttons, beads and sequins along with adding a few leaves and an old spool for a stem.

All in all, I'm in love with my new pumpkin!  And I think with words like---fall oranges, cream, pumpkin orange, black, heritage, home, polka dots, Harvest, farm and pumpkin patch, you can say I was completely inspired by this month's challenge.

Now, go grab your favorite VLVS! rubber, and get your craft on!!

xx Mary

This Is Not A Photo Opportunity.

Hello, Mary here.

Today, I have a project to share featuring one of my all time favorite ways to use rubber stamps!  It's well known that I LOVE fabric.  The only thing I love more that fabric, is creating my own printed fabric.

To create the covers for this book, I grabbed some of my favorite unbleached cotton fabric along with my StazOn ink pad and stamped myself a one of a kind pattern with the Flying Saucer Diagram and Field Of Stars rubber stamp images.

To embellish the cover, I stamped a small section of white cotton with the Banksy This Is/Photo Op image, and stitched it on (I thought it was a funny nod to the cliche of a UFO enthusiast's desire to catch one on film!  HA!!). I then layered together several panels of cotton, felt and chipboard and sewed them together to create a soft, quilted book cover.

I love the vintage look of this book!  And the versatility of stamping your own fabric is endless.  How sweet would it be using nursery rhyme images for a baby book?  We're talking Humpty Dumpty, The Cow Jumped Over The Moon, and The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon stuff here.

Oh, yeah...

Well, that's it for me today---thanks so much for joining me.  Now, go grab some rubber and get crafty!!!

xx Mary

Wild Thing.

Hello, Mary here, and today I have a little something wild to share with you.

My 19th anniversary is this month and I've been trying to find some inspiration for the card I wanted to make for my husband.  A few days ago, he mentioned---out of the blue---how much he loved animal crackers.  BINGO!!

I have a stamp set for that...

I began by grabbing my Animal Crackers stamp set and stamped a few of the critters onto my card base with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  A little bit of shadowing added with some Copic markers and I was ready to add texture with stitching.

There seemed to be too much white space, so I grabbed my Heart Outline stamp and did some generation stamping to create a sort of bokeh effect.  A little splattered glue sprinkled with glitter adds some serious bling!!

I finished it off with a typed 'WILD THING, i think I LOVE YOU' sentiment and a few punched out hearts and clear sequins to really pump up the sparkle.  It's the perfect mix of us!  He likes the crackers...I like glitter...HA!!

 And because I was sooo diggin' these stamps, I decided to stamp out a few more.  I left these plain, so I could personalize them when the time comes---like 'CONGRATS on your new wild thing' for a new baby??  Yup!

And that's it for me!  Now, go grab your favorite VLVS rubber and get crafty!!

xx Mary

Shrink.

Hello!  Mary here with a fun and wearable stamping project for you.

First, I grabbed my all time favorite stamp Butterfly Gossamer/Large, my StazOn ink pad and a sheet of clear shrink plastic.

After I stamped my image onto the rough side of the plastic, I then cut it out to and preheated my oven to 350 degrees.  

And if you plan to use this embellie as a charm, don't forget to punch your holes!!

I baked it for about 2 minutes, rough side up.  When done, it had shrunk to roughly one fourth of its original size.  I then  painted the back with a couple coats of acrylic paint.

After adding some chain and a closure, I was ready to rock my new necklace!

In fact, I loved my new accessory so much, I decided to make a few more in a variety of colors.  Maybe I'll share with a friend or two??  Or not.

I hope I've given you a little inspiration today.  Now, go grab your favorite stamp and get crafty!!

xx Mary

A Little Note.

Hello, Mary here with a little back-to-school stampin' project.

I'm always in need of a notecard to send a note of thanks, or just a little card to let someone know I'm thinking of them.  So, I stamped up this set of kraft notecards with 'X' and the 'O' from the Checklist Cube stamp.  I use this set of stamps all the time in my planner, and I love how cute the notecards came out!

Then I got to thinking that the box and check images from the Checklist Cube would make some really cute notecards to give to each of my daughter's teachers!

I began by cutting 5 sheets of kraft cardstock into half and folding them into card bases (5 for the 'X' and 'O' and 5 for the box and check).  Then stamped a different pattern onto each notecard with a white pigment ink to create a set of 5 matching notecards.

And because I'm all about the packaging, I ripped a length of unbleached cotton fabric and stamped the Measuring Tape Section image repeatedly to create a custom ribbon perfect for wrapping up my set.  Now, it's ready for giving!

For the 'X' and 'O' set, I used the Scribble Heart to create my ribbon.

I love the soft look of the white ink on kraft.  And the set all tied up with the rustic ribbon?  SO shabby perfect!

And that's it for me today.  Now, grab your favorite stamp and get to stampin'!!

She Was...

Hello!  Mary here with a little inspiration for this month's challenge.  If you haven't seen the inspiration board, hop on over and check it out!

I gotta say, I'm totally lovin' this month's challenge.  Not only did it inspire me to create a little somethin', but a very BIG something!

It all started with a few paper and fabric postcards...

I began by layering up some vintage ephemera from my stash onto a postcard-sized sheet of cardstock.  A bit of generation stamping with the She Was sentiment added texture.  Then, I stamped the Fed-up Vintage Lady onto a scrap of muslin fabric for a focal point, and stitched it down.

For the back, I stitched lines to mimic a postcard onto another scrap of fabric and my card was done!

 

Because I liked the process of creating that card so much, I was inspired to create a whole album of postcards in the same style!  I plan for it to be a heritage album of all the fabulous women in our family from great-grandparents to my sweet baby girl.

Here's a peek at the cover...

The focal image is the Squiggle Heart stamp.  I can.  Not.  WAIT to finish up this album!!  It's going to be a true labor of love and it'll be fabulous to pass on down as my girl grows up and has her very own children.

SO, in all I was inspired by the stripes, music notes, vintage, women, scribbles, black, white, tan, pink, off white and tea stainy awesomeness of this month's challenge!!  How about you??

Thanks for stopping by today!!

xx Mary

WOW & VLVS -- Mary Brockway

Welcome to our blog! This week we will be swapping with the talented team @ WOW! Embossing Powder. Stamps and Embossing Powder = a match made in heaven!

Find WOW! : 

Shop | Blog | Facebook

Find Viva Las VegaStamps! :
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Today we have Mary Brockway up with this beautiful piece!

Mary has used our Steampunk Gear, Sharp Edge Gear, Square Edge Gear and Gear Medium. All of her gears have been embossed with Primary Ebony and Metallic Platinum Sparkle by WOW! This photo clock is so striking and all the gear chip and stamps give it a great industrial look. You can learn more about the process on Mary's blog.

Don't forget to leave comments on all the blogs this week. You can win a prize! Stop by the WOW! blog to see what their team has worked up for our swap. See you tomorrow!

Time Flies.

Hello, Mary here and today, we're stamping into clay :-)

Stamping in clay is one of may all-time favorite things to do!  This time, I set out to create tiny book covers for a miniature book I wanted to create.

To make the book a little lighter, I created a form out of chipboard.  This is perfect if you wanted to create a jewelry piece, because who wants a 10 pound necklace??  I also like to mix a small amount glue into my clay to strengthen it a bit.

Just cover the form with clay and give it a good stamp!  I used the Clockface image for this piece.

When the covers were completely dry, I gave them a quick sanding to even out any rough edges.

Give them a base coat of paint and finish it off with a layer of glue.  This will keep the color safely on when you go to distress the piece in the next step.

Now, add a top coat of paint and let it dry for a bit.  You want it dry to the touch, but not cured!  I let mine set for about a minute or two.

Then, rub off any excess paint for a distressed look.  My little girl wanted this book and begged for a pink one, so pink is is!

Here's a close peek.

I finished it off with a twine closure, a key chain finding...

...and inside pages.  I've used the Clockface image again with some Perfect Pearls and also the Time Flies sentiment.

Now, baby girl has a brand new key chain and a little reminder to stay little as long as possible.  Thanks so much for joining me today!!

xx Mary

You Are My Home.

Hello!!  Mary here today with an altered hanger and a layout!

I've been in an organizing and beautifying mood lately, and I happened to notice that I have absolutely ZERO recent pictures of my family displayed in my home.  Tons of the kiddos, tons of my husband and I, but nothing of us all together.  So, I set out to create a layout and I wanted to display it in a  fun way.

I found a set of wooden hangers at my local thrift shop during my last trip, and instead of hoarding them in my closet, I thought they'd make a great display for my layout---with a little help.

I began by painting my hanger with a coat of white paint...

...and giving it a quick sanding when it was dry to give it a bit more texture.

I then stamped the Waybill/Invoice Background and the Grunge 5 repeatedly with StazOn.

Then, I added a little age with some Distress Ink.

As a final embellishment, I tied some of my favorite May Arts ribbon, lace and twine to the top of my hanger.

And here it is with the layout I've created!

If you look closely, you'll see more of the Waybill/Invoice Background and the Field Of Stars images...

Here's another look at the hanger.

And here's a closer look at the house.

The base of my was created in the same way as the hanger.

And now, to hang it on my wall.  How cool would an entire wall of layouts on hangers look?!!??  I may have my work cut out for me!

Thanks so much for joining me today.

xx Mary

Fly.

Hello!  Mary here with a simple way to mix up your basic stamped background.

I started by stamping the Sheet Music Background onto the smooth side of a sheet of watercolor paper with StazOn ink.  You could use any background or image stamp as long as it's a more solid image that covers a good bit of area.

Then, I punched out several circles from the image with a punch.  Dies would work well for this or you could mix it up with different shapes and sizes!

Finally, I layered the circles onto my background.  Here, I stitched them down and added a splatter of glitter for more texture and a bit of sparkle.

And here's a peek at my finished card all embellished and ready to go!

I LOVE the layered effect this background provides!  The white circles break up all that Distress Ink in the background and really show off the music sheet pattern of the stamp.

And, of course, I've used the 'fly' portion of the Get Cape Wear Cape Fly image, stamped onto vellum, and tucked under the bird embellishment to add my sentiment.

If you'd like to see another project I've used this technique on, check out THIS project.  With this one, I've done the reverse by adding pops of color to the diecuts and left the background white!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

xx Mary