The Amy Doodle Of It All . . .

Father's Day Card

It's Fathers Day weekend! I have always wanted to have a stamp that's more geared towards the technology or computer geek dad, so . . .  I made one! LOL. I designed this stamp for the amazing Brutus|Monroe company and I made sure to add lots of geeky sentiments and graphics. 
It's called Reboot and you can get it HERE

My husband is software developer so I thought that this set would make the perfect Fathers Day card.

I stamped the computer and then masked it. I used Distress Inks to add color to the background, and then stamped a graph pattered on top. Then I colored it with Copics!

 I hope you all have a wonderful Fathers Day weekend and I hope this set inspires you to make your own tech card!

Witt & Sass Stamp Company

I AM SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE  . . .

I AM STARTING MY OWN STAMP COMPANY! 

Called

I will be producing my own stamp lines! They will include 4 x 8 Stamp Sets, 2 x 3 Stamps, and coordinating Stencils! They will all be sold through the company as well as Brutus Monroe! This is really a dream come true and I couldn't be more excited!!!

They will release the middle of July and will include some of my Digi Stamps only reworked a bit to add more goodies to them.

 

I am so happy to be heading out on this adventure, and even more happy that my crafty friends get to come along for the ride!

Be sure to watch for the launch

Mid July!

You can Like our Facebook page to keep track of updates and sneek peeks!

Witt & Sass Facebook Group

Dollar Store Mother Day Gift

Mothers Day is this Sunday and I thought I would share a last minute gift idea. I found these adorable little drawers at the Dollar Store and bought nail goodies to fill it. You could fill these cute little drawers with all sorts of things.

I recovered them with Doodlebug paper and made a quick little tag to complete the gift.

You don't have to do this step but I like clean edges, so I took my Copic marker and went around all the edges before covering it with paper.

Make a template using printer paper, then cut your paper and cover.

I did the inside of the drawers as well in coordinating paper.

There you have it, quick and personal and filled with goodies Mom loves! 

I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Dingbat cards to save buck!

Let's talk Dingbats! What's a Dingbat you ask? Just the coolest FREEBIE EVER!  You know how you can download lots of free fonts? Well just image every letter of that font isn't a letter, but a graphic. That's a Dingbat! You can print them whatever size you want and then color them to create really cute cards. It's a great way to save money, and they are really fun.

Below I will post a list of some Dingbat sights I like, but for now I will list the Dingbats used on the cards I made. This first card has really fun space graphics and it's called Galaxia.

You can find it HERE

I used Distress Inks to create the background and then printed the Dingbats I liked and colored them with Copics. I used foam tape to attach them to give a little dimension.

 

For the next card I used a no line coloring technique on these dingbats for a different look. I used a dingbat called Seaside things. You can find it HERE.

This is my favorite Dingbat! It's adorable little birds. I had to choose the little superhero bird because he's so stinkin cute! I foiled his mask and chest emblem as well as the star paper. You can find the Little Bird Dingbat HERE

 Here are some other fun ones you have to check out!

Kawaii Food

Kawaii Medical

Adventure Time

Disney Fun

Hello Kitty

Random Cartoons

Sweet Nature

 

Download the ones you like and then right click on the save folder. You will scroll down and click EXTRACT ALL.

 Then open the folder and the icon that looks like a piece of paper with writting on it is the Dingbat. Right click on it and select
INSTALL

You are ready to go! There are so many more to find out there. I hope you try one out and see how much fun they can be. 

 

 

 

 

 

My Studio

I thought I would do something a little bit different today and let you into my world. I am inviting you to see my studio. It's my happy place! For me the number one most important thing I can have in my studio is COLOR!!!

Now, a few disclaimers before I share . . .

*The studio you are about to see is technically as clean as it gets, and I really didn't want to tidy it up so much so it was magazine worthy. I think it's more important to show off the hot mess real-ness. LOL ( For my mothers sanity I will put it out there and say "No, my Momma didn't raise me to be super messy")

*IT DIDN'T START LIKE THIS! Of course it started with a humble little table and a box of supplies. It took 15 years of working for trade to acquire products (and a  bit of mild over spending) to get a studio filled with goodness. It all starts small and works up to something bigger.

*Lastly You will notice it's a bit chaotic. That is a reflection of my ADHD brain. Color, art, pictures, inspiration....It's all over the place and it's me in the form of a room! LOL

 

I hope sharing gives you ideas or inspiration or possible just gives you an excuse and distraction to avoid responsibility today.

First. . . This was my old studio

I LOVED the green walls, and sadly we are in a new house that we are not allowed to paint the walls. I took all of my colorful things with me and added some new storage which is FANTASTIC because it helps me be a bit more organized.

Here is my new space . . .

 

 

A friend picked up this card holder for me and now I use it to store cards I have created.

 

My most favorite thing in my studio are on my shelving. They hold memories of my family, photos, art that either I have made or my family members have made, and the things on these shelves inspire me everyday.

 I have a space to photograph my projects

 

A spot for my Cutting Dies

 

My favorite way to store stamps is the Jennifer McGuire way (you can find it HERE). It's really great way to store your stamps because you can get so many sets into one clear box. In one box I have 150 stamp sets!!! GREAT RIGHT?

I store my ribbon in rainbow order, and the crowns below were from a elemental photo shoot I did. If you want to see it it's HERE.

 

My Inks and Embellishment storage. I love those little dollar store containers. Actually that's not accurate, I think it's more of an obsession. I did a mini post about them HERE.

Here are some of the fun ideas I use for storage. My mom painted the vase and the whole thing is covered in things that have to do with my life. I store my paintbrushes in it and I love looking at it everyday. 

 And last but not least, because I am truly a sharing and caring kind of gal I made room for my husband in my gigantic craft studio. See that tiny spot in the corner, that's for my guy.

Am I a giving person or what?

Hopefully you have enjoyed the share, and I hope it reminds you to carve out a little space for yourself. You do so much in this life, and it's really important that you have a space that you can call your own to be creative, express yourself and feed your soul.

BECAUSE YOU ARE WORTH IT!

 

Bokeh Background Tutorial

I just love making Distress Ink backgrounds! They are definitely my favorite and I could just make them all day. This week I thought I would showcase my bokeh background. They make for really interesting card backdrops and plus they are so fun to make!

 

 

To create this background you'll need:

White Cardstock

*****SERIOUSLY THE BEST PRICE I HAVE EVER FOUND*****

Distress Ink:

Shaded Lilac

Spun Sugar

Squeezed Lemonade

White Pigment Ink

Ink Blending Tool

 

 

 

 

Space Background Technique

A few card makers have asked me about how I make my space backgrounds, so I thought I would make a quick video on how to create one. It's pretty easy to do and all you need are some white cardstock, Distress Inks, Ink Blenders, and a white gel pen.

 

*On a side note: sometimes I have used a splatter paint technique for stars like in the sample above, but more often than not I will try to splatter and get blobs of white that ruined the look I was going for. So in the video I am showing the technique I use now which is a white gel pen to create the stars.

 

Supplies:

White Cardstock

*****SERIOUSLY THE BEST PRICE I HAVE EVER FOUND*****

Distress Ink:

Picked Raspberry

Salty Ocean

Twisted Citron

Black Soot

Ink Blending Tool

White Gel Pen

 

Remember to get out there and try something new. You can do it!

 

 

Spunk Rock Crafting . . . reminding you
to take time out for you because you're worth it,
there are no mistakes only embellishment opportunities,
and to keep it Spunky & Fun ; )

10 Minute Cards: Coffee Theme

Today I am kicking off a weekly video post called 10 minute cards. It will be simple, fast, adorable cards with an instructional video set to music. Something to just relax and watch, or follow along and make a cute card. Every week will be a different sketch and a different theme stamp. Sometimes it will be as simple as stamp and color, and other times we will focus on a quick technique. While I am starting the series today, I am going to add a few more to my you tube channel so you have a few to choose from!

This weeks Sketch is:

 

Supplies you'll need:

 Patterned paper in light teal, and dark teal. I like:

Gingham/Linen Double Sided 6x6 Paper Pad by Doodlebug

Brutus Monroe Cozy Coffee Stamp

Brutus Monroe Maple Surface Ink

Copic Markers

Brutus Monroe Raven Detail Ink

3D Pop Dots

3 brown buttons

Scissors and paper trimmer

White Cardstock

Adhesive

 

 

   

 

Paper Sizes:

Light Teal : 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"

Dark Teal: 5 1/4" x 4"

Circle: 3"

Light Teal Strip: 4 1/4" x 1/2"

White Strip: 3" x 3/4"

 

Copic Colors:

Coffee Cozy: BG49, BG13
Heart: RV29, R46
Buttons: E18
Cup: C3, C2

 

Thanks so much for joining me. Check back next week for a new 10 min card!

Thanks so much for stopping by and for spending some time with me ; ) 

 

Spunk Rock Crafting . . . reminding you
to take time out for you because you're worth it,
there are no mistakes only embellishment opportunities,
and to keep it Spunky & Fun ; )

Silhouette Fun!

I'm having a great time playing with my new Silhouette! I wanted to try out these awesome cards from the Silhouette store. Love how intricate they are. I also used my blending samples to pick out a blend for the background.

I love how these colors turned out! Very Wintery! After I glued I put it behind the snowflake cut out, and added Stickles.

Don't worry if it pulls away a little bit from the wet Stickles. You can glue it down in the places that have lifted up once it's dry

I added a tag with my cute little Yeti and my wintery card is complete!

 

How to make card making affordable

In the 16 years I have been paper crafting I can not begin to count the number of times I have had other women tell me "I would really love to do that too, but it's just so expensive!". While stamping, and card making can be an incredibly expensive hobby...It doesn't have to be. In an effort to help out my fellow sisters with crafting on their mind, and little pocket books, I am going to tell you how to do it!

First off lets be realistic.... You cannot look at extravagant cards on Pinterest, Facebook, Blogs, or even magazines and say I want to make that first! You can eventually get there by setting a budget and working towards gathering supplies from month to month. That doesn't mean you can't have adorable cards! But this article is for the crafter who really wants to make sweet simple cards to fulfill their create needs without falling too deep down the crafting hole, or the experienced crafter that want to save a buck or two so you can get that pricey stamp you've had your eye on!

Before we talk cardmaking lets talk about those supplies. I am going to suggest a weekly budget of $5.00. Yep that's right, just 5 BUCKS! You can spend $5.00 a week for a month and can acquire a decent stash. Or what the heck, go crazy and blow the whole $20.00 in one day!!!

Some ideas for your card making stash:

Micheals - Cardstock packs (set of 50 sheets)  You can get these for watch sales for this because it almost always is on sale once a month for 3 for $10 Which roughly works out to $3.33 a set. Just buy 1 to start if you like.

Studio G - Dollar Stamps and Inks can be found at Micheals, Joannes, and sometimes even Target Dollar Bins. The big name to look for is Studio G. You can also find them on Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, and other crafting sites.

Dollar Tree - Glue Sticks, Washi Tape, Sequins, Buttons, Stickers, and more! Watch your local Dollar Tree or go online because they are starting to carry more and more craft supplies. This will be hit or miss, so when you see it...GET IT! Also don't forget they have paper organizers as well as clear plastic shoeboxes for holding supplies.

Last But not least STICKLES! Let me tell you why your crafting stash needs Stickles. Because for little money it takes the bland and boring to the WOW and SPARKLEY! I have found it in most craft and art stores but I think Scrapbook.com has it for the best price. If you stick to getting Stardust, Crystal, or any other clear color you can put it over anything.

Let's start out with Digital stamps. These can be acquired one or two a month as most are $2-$4 dollars a piece. I you do not want your money to go there, may I suggest Free Coloring Book pages! They are usually adorable and so much fun to color. You can Google Free Coloring book sites as well as look on Pinterest(just make sure to follow the link to make sure its a free image and not a stamp you SHOULD BE paying the artist for).  They are easy to resize in Microsoft Word, and best of all FREE!

For my card sample I will be using an adorable coloring book page from FREE-N-FUN HALLOWEEN image from Oriental Trading Company. It's a sweet little owl dressed as a witch, and the site it's from is filled with fun Halloween recipes and ideas.

 

Here's what I used to make my card (plus a sheet of black and green cardstock for the card base so add .12¢ to the total please) So the card cost a total of $4.16, and YOU HAVE LOTS OF SUPPLIES TO MAKE MORE!!!

I printed out my image on several pieces of cardstock. I used the blue copy as my background, then cut and pasted all the other pieces on top to create my image. Then I glued it to the front of my card and used my dollar stamp for a saying, and last added Dollar Tree glitter tape and Stickles!

Now that you know how to make a card for less there's no more excuses! Get out there an create your own crafting stash. You deserve to have time out to create and do a little something for yourself. Remember . . . 

We don't give to others from our own full cup, because that would leave us with none. It's only when we take the time to fill our cups and they runneth over, that we use what spills over for the service of others.

Take time out today, because You're worth it!