A Touch of Grace

I’ve taken some time off from stamping to be with family and catch up with cleaning.  Daniel’s Spring break was the week before last, we spent a wonderful nine days at the beach.  I was very inspired and have designed and embossed a new calendar for 2009.  I am waiting for some new stamps to get in and then I’ll start watercoloring the pages.

When we returned home from the beach, I started Spring cleaning.  While it’s not a lot of fun, it has to be done.  Stephen and I both suffer from allergies which makes Spring cleaning “a must” in my house.  Needless to say I’ve missed several days of posting.

I recently purchased some clear boxes from Joan’s Gardens and have been pleased as punch with them and wanted to share them with you.  I originally planned on placing cling mount rubber stamps in them and still have every intention of doing so, but today found a solution to a storage problem I was having.   I have several brass stencils and have been storing them in clear CD cases.  Today I became rather frustrated at how flimsy the CD cases are.  I picked one up that had several stencils in it and it fell apart scattering my stencils everywhere.  I find the CD cases are not sturdy enough if I want to place several stencils in them.  Looking for an alternative storage solution, I glanced over and saw the clear boxes I had recently received from Joan.   I placed several stencils in one and have found the perfect solution.  I can place up to 20 large stencils in just one box, it’s sturdy enough to handle the weight and closes tight rather easily.  I love the size, 7 1/2″L x 5 1/8″W x 1/2″D, these boxes are big enough for large stamp sets or several small ones.

As you can see, I have placed several stencils in each box.  The quality is fabulous, as you can see in the photo, the plastic is very thick and crystal clear.  I have categorized them with SU stencils in one box, Anna Griffin in another box, and alphabets in yet another box. Voila . . . the perfect storage solution.  I think I’m going to have to place another order with Joan, I think my Nestibilities will be perfect in these boxes.

Several people have asked me how I embossed the Carrie Lou stamps when I designed my calendar last year.  So, while working on my new calendar, I took photographs of one of the pages to create a tutorial.  I’ll be working on it and hope to get it posted by Tuesday.

I just can’t say enough about how much I love the monogrammed stampers from JustRite Stampers.  I’m looking forward to all the new sets they are coming out with for the holidays.  Well, there you go, what a perfect gift for a stamper friend (or yourself, go ahead . . . treat yourself . . . you deserve it!).  The possibilities are endless for all the different projects that you can make for family and friends during the holidays.   While at CHA I had an opporunity to get a peek at the new designs and let me tell you they’re not just for monogramming, there are several sets that are perfect for gift tags, not to mention cards and other items.  I know you are all going to be thrilled when you see the new toys!

Using the large round monogrammer I made this monogrammed gift set for a wonderful friend for her birthday.  I actually made the ensemble a couple of months ago.  It was an easy project and didn’t take too much time.  Stacey’s birthday is in July, a couple of weeks ago I got together with a group of friends at The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the happy occasion.  Stacey was thrilled to receive the monogrammed gift set of cards (10 cards and envelopes) together with the box to store them in.

• Stamps:  JustRite Stampers Large Monogrammer
• Paper:  Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Basic Grey
• Ink:  Rose Red, Basic Black, Certainly Celery
• Accessories:  Taffeta and Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearl Adhesives, Nestibilities, Sewing Machine, Aged Copper Brads, Gold Cord, Double Sided Tape, Dimensionals, SU Markers, Hodgepodge Hardware