It's not just a "Trophy Cup" It's so much more!

Hi Friends…Today is all about these little gems…the new Trophy Cups! You can use them in so many different ways…like this cute little photo holder.

Cover a 3/4" styrofoam ball with a little moss and then hot glue it in to the Trophy Cup. Paint a big number from the Alpha Parts Numeric with Distress Paint. Before the paint dries wipe off the excess paint. Adhere the number to the handle. Add an Index or Vial Labels to the front of the Trophy then adhere a Mirrored star over the label. The smaller labels are the  perfect size for the front of the Trophy.

 The little boy photo is from Photobooth, an electric collection of photos for cards, journals and mixed media projects. The Photobooth set comes with 90 different photos. Add the photo of your choice by attaching it to a Memo Pin and sticking the pin in the styrofoam. Another new product I just love is Small Talk. Small Talk is a sticker book with lots of phrases to add to your art. They come in black with white letters and white with black 

letters. Add a little Small Talk to the photo and don't forget to ink the edges with Distress Ink on an Ink Blending Tool. Next add a little Linen Ribbon bow and a paper flower. This paper flower was made from the new Alterations die Tiny Tattered Florals. 

Trophy Cups come in a three pack and retail for around $3.00 and that's practically free...right! The Trophy Cups can be altered in many ways. Using steel wool gives the trophies a matte finish, alcohol inks and distress paint add color and also work well together. 

This piece was done by Paula Cheney, she added the Trophy Cup to an assemblage and then tossed in a few vintage flowers for the finishing touch. So very sweet!

Cheiron Brandon made this fun patriotic Configurations Box and used the Trophy Cup as an award. 

And this is so brilliant Vicki Bouton attached her Trophy Cup with an Elastic Bands to the front of the Flip Frame. So…so…very brilliant!   

What will you make with your Trophy Cup??

Thank you for stopping in, I always appreciate your time.

Richele

Find the products I used here……

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Simon Says Stamps Brave Card

Happy Wednesday!

I'm so excited to be over on the Simon Says Stamp Blog today! 

I hope you will head over to see all the beautiful details on my project!

Thanks for stopping in!

Richele

ShadowPress Station and a Valentine card too!

Hello friends and Happy Valentines Day! 

I'm happy to say that I received all my samples back this week that I made for CHA.

This card features the new ShadowPress Station. What is a ShadowPress Station you ask??? The Station enables you to ink the ShadowPress debossing folders with ink only on the raised area where it will deboss and it keeps the rest of the folder clean. Works like a charm!

This is the ShadowPress Station! It's basically a template. Some of the features…on the right you will see a little raised tab that's for easy handling, ridges on the underside to lock in your ShadowPress folder, great surface for easy cleaning, works with the existing ShadowPress folders, it's very economical it retails for about $5.00 and will be available in April. 

Open the ShadowPress folder and find the raised area of the word. The raised area will be up. Slide the ShadowPress Station over the debossing folder and the little ridges will help hold the folder in place. Hold the folder and Station with one hand and ink the embossing folder by rolling the brayer over the area several times with the other hand. The Ranger brayer works great it is a hard rubber brayer, is small and easy to handle and has feet to sit on so your work surface stays clean. Once you've used the ShadowPress Station it can be cleaned with stamp cleaner. 

Insert paper into the folder. Run folder into the Vagabond with the open end of the first.  

After you run is through you will have a debased and inked shadow. How cool is that!

You can use a multitude of surfaces. Like the Textured Surfaces (corrugate, cork, burlap) Deco Sheet (oh so shimmery), cardstock, vellum etc. 

It can be used with all sorts of inks or paints. 

Deboss the ShadowPress words on the paint chip one word at a time. Die cut several hearts from old dictionary print using the Heartfelt Bigz die . This is a great die, it has 11 hearts that are different shapes and sizes and I love that it's a steel rule die so you can cut thick and thin materials. 

Add stitching to the background paper and through the hearts. Adhere elements to the base card and you have a card for someone special! 

Have a great weekend! 

Thanks so much for stopping in! 

Richele

Here's all the goodies I used...

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Custom Gift Tags!

Hello friends! I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. I have so much to do and wrapping presents is on my list of things to do. 

To help you get in the mood I have a tutorial over on the Simon Says Stamp Blog. My tutorial will help you stream line making custom tags for those awesome presents under the tree. 

I hope you will check out the Simon Says Stamp Blog to see how easy it is to create beautiful gift tags using a custom stamp pad made with Cut-n-Dry felt. 

Enjoy the holiday season!

Thanks for stopping in! 

Richele

Oh Christmas Tree!

 Hello friends! Our project features some of the new holiday dies and Framelits from the Tim Holtz Alterations collections. I also want to share a few tips on die cutting and some storage solutions I've learned along the way. 

Die cutting intricate dies can sometimes be a challenge and this project is full of them. 

Place the dies face up on the magnetic platform, this gives you more cutting power. Position a layer of wax paper in-between the Thinlits die and the paper. The wax paper helps the die to release from the Thinlits die and in many cases you don't even need to push it out of the die, it simple falls out. On these snowflakes they still needed a little push in the center. Another tip is to run the die through the machine a few times and this usually does the trick. Using these few tips will help make your project go smoothly. 

Die cut several white snowflakes using the Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set. I love this set it comes with 5 dies all different sizes and shapes.  

It's important to clean out the die after each use. I use the Alterations Die Pick to aid in pushing out the bits that are left behind. This tool is also great for picking pieces out of steel rule dies the tip is made from steel and is strong enough that it doesn't bend. 

As for storage these Alterations Storage Envelopes are perfect to keep Framelits, Texture Fades and Thinlits in. They are made of a sturdy plastic and load from the top so you don't loose anything out of them. 

The packaging that comes with your dies fits right in the envelope to keep it labeled for you. 

Now that the dies are in their Storage Envelopes they fit perfectly in these beautiful Tim Holtz Die Storage Boxes.  

The boxes are a fabric covered wood box. They will look great in your studio and keep your dies very organized. You can add them to your wish list for Christmas! 

Cut a large piece of watercolor paper to fit inside a frame. Carefully layout the snowflakes on to the background. Cover your work area to protect the surface from overspray. 

Spray Distress Spray Stain in Tumbled Glass and Brushed Pewter over the background. Work from about 2 feet up and spray one color at a time. Let the stain fall on to the watercolor paper to create droplets. Let the stain dry before adding the next layer. 

Once the stain is dry remove the snowflakes.

Even the snowflakes are pretty with the stain on them. Set them aside for now we will be using them later. 

For our tree take a piece of 12" x 12" red Kraft-core cardstock and mark the center. To create our tree cut from the center mark to the corner. This will give you a triangle. 

The base of the tree is 2 1/2" x 3" cut from the scrap of the tree. 

Tape the tree and the base together on the back side. 

Die cut Holiday Words Script Thinlits, Paper Snowflakes Thinlits, Stacked Stars Bigz die and Retro Ornaments Bigz die using white cardstock. 

Position elements on the tree and adhere pieces with Glossy Accents. 

Here's an overview of the tree but I think the packages need a little jazzing up.

The Merriment Paper Stash would be perfect for the presents. Die cut the presents using the Retro Packages Bigz die. 

Use foam tape to adhere all the elements to the background.

I added a little snowbank at the bottom for the tree and packages to sit on. 

I love how dies are so versatile to use on all kinds of projects. From cards to decor pieces dies are a great way to create projects! 

Have a great week!

Richele

Find all the goodies at Simon Says Stamp! 

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