Clearly iStamp

Day 2 of Clear Dollar Birthday Celebration

The Great Candy Caper Continues...

Hi everyone!  Thanks for helping Lori celebrate yesterday. 

Click HERE to see if you are one of the lucky 5 from yesterday's random draw.  Details are posted with the winner's list. 

Don't worry though, we've got 5 new questions/searches for you which also means that we will also have another 5 winners for today!

Before I give you the clues though, I've got a little project to share with you that uses that special Birthday Celebration Stamp Set.  You've got 4 more days to get it at its special price of  $11.99.

My mother sent my boys a super cute treat holder and in turn I thought it would be perfect for little birthday favors.  I did "borrow" the Halloween treat though.  I of course took it apart and measured and this would be very easy to adapt for any treat you had on hand.

You will need a piece of cardstock measuring 8 5/8" x 3".  Score at 1" and 5"

 

Fold and decorate.  I used a 2" square piece of white cardstock for my cupcake stamp and used a 2 1/4" square piece for the purple mat.  Cupcake part is a solid stamp and the cupcake liner was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copics.

You will want to staple the bottom flap.  If you want to staple your treat with the flap at the same time you can, but I opted to to just use double sided tape to keep it tacked down.

 

The staples will be covered with your sentiment.

 

White piece measures 3/4" x 2 3/4" and the purple mat measures 7/8" x 2 7/8".

 

Set treat down inside.

 

Flip top flap inside the shorter flap on bottom.

 

Side view.

So there you go.  Take advantage of this great stamp set!  

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So now lets get to the celebration :)

So here are today's clues:

1. How many pages of Flower Stamps are available?

2. In what year did Lori McCroskey start stamping? Hint*** click on the About Us tab to get started.

3. What type of Copic Markers can you find at Clear Dollar Stamps?

4. What are the Wheel Products that you can find at Clear Dollar Stamps?

5. Who manufactures the Stickles?

Click --> HERE <-- Click to get you to the Clear Dollar Stamps Store.

Once you have the answers, e-mail me (Katie) at cdsblogcandy@gmail.com

Thanks for celebrating with us and have a great day!

Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Candy Corn Holder Tutorial

Hi friends, its Friday and its Katie here.  I swear I just wrote this just the other day.  Have I mentioned that time is just flying by?  I know I have and you are probably sick of it!  Well, I must accept the fact that Halloween/Fall parties are just around the corner.  I was inspired by a similar box like this that I saw in the internet, but it had a face on it and I wanted to keep it pretty simple.

This is a really simple project and doesn't really take that many ingredients.  As usual I didn't picture all the things I used... but still an easy project.

The key for me was the acetate box.  I love to be able to see through my packaging and this had a little bit of both.

So... such a simple thing and I didn't realize it until now.  I just traced the template that I made for my candy holder and thought I would offer it to you just to save you one step if you wanted. Please leave a comment if you find that it doesn't work or whatever - thanks!

ETA: Click to--->  Download Candy Corn Template

Let's get started with the candy corn.  I did make a template for it and all I did was divide up my paper into 1/2" grid marks and then sketch the shape.  I based it on the longest width of my clear box to figure out the main dimensions.  Set the template aside once you get it cut.

To create the colors for the candy corn you will need the pictured cardstock in the specified measurements.

*ETA - The 2 pieces of paper should actually measure 4" x 4 1/2".... so sorry everyone!  I'm going to fix the picture soon.... the picture is correct now :)

Then layer the colored cardstock on the larger white pieces.  (In hind sight you could use copier paper to reduce thickness)

 

Do this on both sides and then use your template to copy the outline of the candy corn.

Now cut.  You will do this twice.

 

Now for the box.  I can't tell you how much I love the acetate from Clear Dollar Stamps.  It is literally the perfect thickness.  It cuts and scores well.

Start with a piece at 5" x 6"

Score on all 4 sides at 1 1/2"

Fold.  Use your fingers to crease and then use the bone folder to crease the fold firmly.

 

Cut where indicated.

Put your adhesive on the longer of the flaps on the inside.  Your short flaps will fold into and onto the longer side.

Let's head on back to the "candy" :)  I decided to distress mine... the orange and yellow were pretty darn bight.

I then marked where I wanted my punches to be.  This allows me to get a relatively straight punch.

 

I got the punch to work on one side, but I did have to use an excato knife to cut the hole out.  This is why I mentioned that copy paper would be a great substitute for the middle piece.

 

I used Scor-tape for the outside of my box to attach to the candy corn pieces.

Once the one side is attached I attache the other side while the box was upright.

Add your candy.

 

Some ribbon and a tag.  I used one of the new individual word stamps that was just released this month.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a very happy Friday.

This is Katie signing off for Clealry iStamp.

Things you can find at Clear Dollar Stamps:

• Scor-pal products
• Atg tape
• Acetate
  
• Cardstock
• Inks
• Individual Word Stamp - Let's Party
• Ribbon

Other items I used: CTMH cardstock, PTI distressing ink, candy corn

Altered candles and a gift box

Hi friends!  Its Katie here finishing up the week with you.  I hope you enjoyed all the new releases... its always such a fun time of the month.  Did you check out the other new products this month?  Such cute brads and of course new Spellbinders nestabilities.  If I could, I'd get every single set that I could.

Today, I've got a tutorial showing you how I altered some candles... votives to be exact.  I did this for the very first time with a stamp from a new release set called Holiday Nutcrackers.  You can see it in the photo with all my ingredients.

This technique has been around for a long time and I have no idea why it took me so long to do it.  If its new to you, I hope you don't put it off as long as I did because it is super easy and fun. 

I do have to say though that I started small which is always a good thing.  I have yet to have any experience doing this on a large candle or with a large image so be warned if you go big and definitely come back and share with us whatever you learned in the process.  Since I have this under my belt, I can only hope I'll try it on a bigger scale sooner than later.

But with that said, these are the PERFECT small gift to have on hand for any occasion, especially with this cute box to house them.  So let's get started.

The 3 main ingredients that you will want to have on hand is tissue paper, wax paper, and a heat gun.

But the first thing you want to do is stamp on your tissue paper.  This is a great reason to save all that tissue paper you get and a great way to use up small bits of it here and there.  It doesn't take much.

I stamped with a dye ink and used the October Stamp of the Month (Harvest Hellos) - FREE with a minimum $50 purchase.

I stamped multiple times to get the best image, but I had 4 candles so I just need 4 good imprints.  If you take a look at the photo below you'll notice that you do have to be careful when stamping on tissue paper since it will absorb the ink a bit.  That image on the bottom left is what happens when the stamp is left on the tissue paper.

Next, cut around your stamped image.  Make sure that the tissue paper will fit onto the surface of the candle.

Place on candle so its nice and even.

Then you'll want to cut an appropriate size of wax paper to cover your image.  In this case, because the candle is small you can use a piece that is long enough to wrap around the candle, thus allowing you to hold the piece tightly over the candle.

Below is a photo where you can see the difference between the heated section (with the heat gun) and the non heated section.  I need a third hand...  but you can see how the tissue just dissolves.

The next photo is to show you what the outside looked like after I heated the entire surface.  You are melting the wax right onto the candle and image, but it also melts the outside too.

Just peel the wax paper off and voila!

Here is all 4 candles done and finished in a jiffy.

Now, I also wanted to show you one that I actually colored in.  I used this method on the Holiday Nutcrackers candles.  This specific pumpkin is from another new release set called Patchpal Scarecrow. I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Copics to color in my image.

Here it is on the candle.

Now onto the gift box.  You'll need 2 pieces of cardstock measuring  9" x 5 1/2" and 7 1/8" x 3 5/8"

For the box score all sides at 1 1/2".  Cut where indicated on the picture below.

You will need to cut 4 decorative pieces for your box.  I used some designer paper from the 6x6 Marrakech from Basic Grey.

Now for the lid.

Score all sides at 1/2"

Cut decorative piece for the top of the lid that measures 6" x 2 3/8"

On inside of paper use a pencil and mark 1/2" on all 4 sides.  The scor mat is the perfect cutting mat for this type of thing because it has 1/8" marks so its so easy to measure what you need and then you can cut right on it.

Then center and attach to the top of the lid.

Next, take your ruler and exacto knife and cut evenly so that the center of lid is open.

Cut a piece of acetate to approximately 6" x 2 3/8" and tape to inside of lid.  I really like the acetate versus a clear transfer sheet.  The acetate is much sturdier.

Cut tabs and then fold in to create the lid.

I decided to stamp my own design on some tissue paper that I wanted to place inside the box.

I then just tied up the box with some matching ribbon and added a cute little tag.

Thanks so much for coming by and visiting with us!  Have a great Friday and a super weekend.

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Items that can be found at Clear Dollar Stamps:

• October Stamp of the Month Stamp Set
• Patchpal Scarecrow Stamp Set
• Acrylic Blocks
• Scor-Pal Products
• Inks
• ATG tape
• Acetate
• Ribbon
• Basic Grey Paper
• Cardstock

Other items used: CTMH cardstock and ink, oval punch, oval scallop punch, twine, candles, tissue paper, exacto knife, ruler, wax paper, heat gun

Product Focus... bring on the mulberry paper

Hi friends, its Katie here closing out another week with you.  Don't the days seem to fly by?  Well, today I want to focus on one of those products that are fun to use, but you might not use them all the time.  If you didn't know this already, many people use mulberry paper to create things like tear animals, but mostly tear bears.  I do not have this skill, but I do love the "organic" look of mulberry paper and I think it adds a different look to your cards, so my goal is to incorporate it into my card making.

For today's tutorial I tried a couple of things that I hadn't ever done before with mulberry paper.  I stamped, embossed, and colored right onto my mulberry paper. One of the unique things about mulberry paper is the way that it works with water, kind of a yin/yang thing going on with it.  Water allows it to tear so easily but on the other hand water doesn't disintegrate it either.  You'll see what I mean as you go along.

I decided that the mulberry paper was going to be my main canvas, but I wanted some color and interest to it so I decided to do my stamping directly on it.

As I mentioned earlier, water is remarkable when it comes to mulberry paper.  I decided that I wanted a somewhat diagonal version with 1/2 representing greenery and the other half representing the ocean.  All I did was take my waterbrush or also referred to as an aqua painter and "draw" my line. 

After the wet line is drawn, its super easy to separate and the tear will fall right where your water line is.

If there are some of the larger/thicker fibers in there just use a pair of scissors to cut it or as I did just pull it a bit and it will pull from the side with the least resistance.

Next it is time to color/stamp my pieces.  I decided to spritz my pieces because I wanted my color and my images to spread.  The mulberry paper can get very wet without tearing even though it can tear quite easily... get the dichotomy here?

This particular section is going to be my ocean so I used a sponge and my dye ink pad and sponged on some blue.

Next up is my "seaweed"...

This time around, I stamped with my image and then spritzed.  Keep spritzing until you get the look you want.  Then restamp if you want

You could set the mulberry paper aside to dry, but you can also use your heat gun to make the process faster.

Now its time to put the background together.  I placed my mulberry pieces onto a piece of white cardstock and attached them with just a little bit of adhesive in the centers because I am going to do some stitching with this one.

Pull threads to the back and just tape down.

I then took my brush and wet my mulberry edges and gently tore the edges.  You can see where I've already torn above my brush.

Here's a close up... if there is too much resistance just add more water.

Now for my main stamped image.  I decided to emboss and it worked fabulous on the mulberry. 

I also decided to use some Copics too... you must have a light touch due to the absorbency of the mulberry, but you can't be too finicky either. 

The fun part of coloring is the way the color spreads and blends.

I also used the waterbrush and my ink pad to add other color. 

The blues on the mane of my seahorse was colored with Copics, the rest of my seahorse was colored with ink and the waterbrush.  You can also use other markers to color as well.

Remember to put something under your mulberry paper because colors do soak through.

So here is my card base.  I decided to add some twine before adding my main image.

Here's a close up of the mulberry paper.

And the finished card.

Thanks for hanging here with us at Clearly iStamp and have a great Friday and a continued wonderful weekend.

Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

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Products you can find at Clear Dollar Stamps:

• Under the Sea Stamp Set
• Mulberry Paper
• Aquapainter/waterbrush
• Copics
• mini mister
• Inks
• Scor-Pal products (scor-mat)
• ATG tape
• Jute String

Other products use: CTMH cardstock and ink, starfish charm, SU! word window punch

Tuesday's Technique - embossed medallions

Hi friends!  Its Katie here to welcome you to another fabulous Tuesday. Its time to get your embossing powder and heat gun out again.  I just love this technique, but I seriously have a soft spot for embossing!  The process is so magical and the results are amazing.

It always looks like a ton of stuff, but this is really quite simple.  The star of the show of course is this fabulous little set called Art Deco Medallions.  This is such a super versatile set and is really a must have.

Let's get started.  All you need is a piece of cardstock and to be honest, the color doesn't really matter since its going to be entirely coated with embossing powder.

Take your Versamark ink pad and just brush it across your piece of cardstock.  Just make sure that the surface covered is large enough for your stamp.

Next just pour silver embossing powder on top of the inked area and tap off excess.

Then use your heat gun and melt away.

Then quickly pour more embossing powder on top... your first layer NEEDS TO BE STILL WARM.

Use your heat gun and melt again.  Repeat this one or two more times for a total of 3 or 4 layers.  Your embossed area should look like the picture below... smooth.

Make sure your stamp is ready to go on your block and you have space ready to go to stamp.  You have to move quickly.

As soon as the powder has melted, set your cardstock down and quickly and firmly stamp your image onto the embossing.  Gently lift off.

Next, take a 1 3/8" circle punch to cut out the image.

And there is your embossed medallion.

Just a little side note here... see that cheese clothy looking thing in the picture below?  Well, that little thing is a glitter and/or embossing cloth that is fabulous.  It works great.  It is a Scor-pal product and Lori carries them at the store... when you get it, unfold, cut to desired size and just wipe your glittery surface.  When it no longer picks ups just throw away and grab a new piece.  You can get yours HERE.

So now that I have these great medallions, I decided that they would make a great Christmas card.

I continued on with love of embossing and decided to create strings for my Christmas ornaments, but this time I decided to use the Versamark embossing pen.

I decided on some pretty paper from Cosmo Cricket... and another side note here... the paper is pretty, but one of the things that I do like about these mini decks is the extra space that they provide when tearing the sheets off... its the little things sometimes.

Ok, so now for the fun stuff.  I just took my embossing pen and a ruler and made a mark on my paper.

Add embossing powder...

Shake off...

Heat and melt...  Here's a tip for you.  I embossed on some thin paper and it did warp a bit afterwards.  All I did was use a brayer to roll my paper smooth after I glued it to my cardstock.

I positioned my medallions so I would know where to draw my next line.

Before I attached my ornaments I tied ribbons and then just attached them at the very top of my ornaments with a tiny glue dot.

Then I used more glue dots to attach my ornaments to my card front.  And then I added just a bit of glam with the Basic Grey Bling It right into the center of my ornaments. 

That's it for me today and I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! 

This is Katie signing off fro Clearly iStamp.

Items you can find at Clear Dollar Stamps:
Clear Stamps (Art Deco Medallions stamp set)
Versamark Ink Pad (reinker)
Versamark Pen
Embossing Powder (silver)
Scor-pal products
Cosmo Cricket (Mini Deck Jolly by Golly)
Acrylic Blocks
Atg tape
Ribbon (Ivory Woven/Iredescent 1/2")
Basic Grey Bling It

Other items used: CTMH cardstock, heat gun, glue dots, paper cutter, 1 3/8" circle punch, ruler, brayer

A Clear Box of Treats with a recipe

Hi friends...its Katie here and I want to wish you a happy Friday.  Today, I've got another favorite recipe of mine to share with you and a great way to present it.  For today's example, I used my gift as a house warming or hostess type of goody, but this recipe and presentation would be awesome as a holiday gift too.

Let me start with the recipe.

Russian Tea Cake Cookies aka Mexican Wedding Cookies

2 1/4" cups Flour
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 chopped walnuts

In a bowl mix all ingredients except 1/2 cup powdered sugar.  Use mixer then gather into a ball.  Regrigerate for 1 hour.  Roll into 1" balls, bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Roll in powdered sugar while cookies are still warm.  Roll again when cool.

Mix until it starts forming into a ball in the mixing bowl.

Remember to refrigerate.  Then roll into balls  (this is my last batch... since I forgot to take a picture)

You could make them even smaller than these since they turned out (for me) as a 2 or even 3 biter.  Now for my 9 year old son... they are a one large mouthful.

Here's what they look like after baking.

I went the full 15 minutes and I could have probably gotten a minute or two less, but they still turned out great.

Now time to roll in the powdered sugar.  I always roll twice if not 3 times and definitely get your first coat on while the cookies are still slightly warm...  AND... the left over 1/2 cup of powdered sugar is never enough for me.  I just keep the bag handy and add as much as I want.

Now, you need a great container.  I had originally planned on altering a plastic container that I had, but it just didn't work... trust me you don't want the details.  Well lucky for me I had these  on hand.  I used my last one so  I'll have to grab some more.  Lori carries a good variety of plastic boxes that come to you just like this - nice and flat.

Just fold and go.

The box measures 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" and I decided to cut strips to attach to all 4 sides.  I really wanted most of the box to show so the cookies would be very visible.

I grabbed a spare coaster and cut it just smaller than 3 1/2" square and then wrapped it with wax paper.  This I placed on the bottom of my clear box.

Now just fill with cookies and finish decorating. 

I managed to fit in 26 cookies.

I used a newer set called Nice Neighborhood... love these house images.  I used these Copics (BG72,R59,E37,C-3,BG93) just colored 2 layers and that was it.

Well that's it for me and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and have a great weekend.

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Items you can find at Clear Dollar Stamps:

• Nice Neighborhood stamp set
• Memento Black Tuxedo Ink
• Cosmo Cricket
• Labels one Nestability
• Copics
• Ribbon (brown/turquoise sheer)
• Clear Boxes
• ATG tape

Other items used ( circle and scallop punches, Papertrey ink cardstock and ink)

A Card in a Box Tutorial

Hi friends!  Its Katie here to welcome you to another Tuesday.  I hope your day is treating you well :) 

Today's tutorial is a box that is a card or whatever else you might want to use it for.  I've made many of these over the years and they are super cute.  Another project where the sky's the limit.

The two stamp sets that I am using for this project are Words of Gratitude and Art Deco Medallions.  This project also has some fun random stamping as well as some fun designer paper.  I pretty much went from my designer paper to pick my ink colors.
So let's get started.

You will need 2 main pieces of cardstock.  The actual box measures 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" and the lid measures 4 3/8" x 4 3/8".

I decided to random stamp before creating the score marks.  If you want a bit more detail about the process of random stamping, CLICK HERE.

I started with my largest image first and picked the medium shade.

Next I picked the middle size stamp and picked the lightest shade of ink for this image.

And finally picked the smallest stamp and picked my darkest ink for that one.

Now its time to score.  Easy... just score 2 1/2" all the way around.

Flip your cardstock over to create creases for your corners.  I flipped the cardstock because these creases are going in the opposite direction of the main box. 

Just make sure that when you are scoring your corners that the corners are aligned.  Do all 4 corners.

Next, I cut the corners off and this just creates a nice fold for inside the box.  You don't have to make a pencil line, just cut from score mark to score mark.

Now just fold up on those corners.

And there is your box.

Now its time to make your pockets on the inside.  The pocket base needs to measure at least 2 1/8" wide by 12" before your use the edge punch.

Of course I had to make my measurements a little small so I thought I'd show you exactly where it is on my Fiskars cutter. 

So cut your scalloped cardstock in 2 5/16" sections.
Then cut your designer paper (Marakech - Basic Grey) to 1  3/8" x 2  3/16"

I used the 1/8" scor tape and placed it on 3 sides of the designer paper.  Make sure it is flush with the very edge, but the pieces don't have to cover all of it.

Remember to place the non tape side up (this is the opening of your pocket)

Grab whatever sentiment you want to use and stamp on a piece of cardstock measuring 2" x 2".  The mat for this stamped piece is going to measure 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" ( in this case I used the blue). 

Once its all put together, I used pop dots and then attached to the center of the box.

Here is the box with the pockets and the center attached.

The tags that I created were made with a 1 1/4" circle punch and the scallop border is a 1 1/2" punch.
Just glue together and then use a hole punch to create the holes.

I left these blank, but you could hand write whatever sentiment, stamp an image, whatever you want.

Now its time to create the lid.  Remember... 4 3/8" x 4 3/8".

Score at 7/8" on all 4 sides.  I love my scor-pal but there are times that a stylus and the Fiskars works perfectly!

Cut on dashed lines.

Adhesive...

I used more scor tape and added it to 3 sides of my lid.  I did this to keep my ribbon in place.

I cut 24" of ribbon, found the center and matched that up to what is going to be the back of my lid.

Then tie in a bow on the front.

Here is the outside of the box.

And when its open.

There you go!  I hope you enjoyed it and I certainly hope that you have a wonderful Tuesday and as always, thanks for joining me!

Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Products you can find at Clear Dollar Stamps:

• Art Deco Medallions
• Words of Gratitude
• Scor-Pal products
• Acrylic Blocks
• Inks
• Basic Grey (Marrakech)
• Ribbon  (for this project - Blue/Light Blue reversible satin)

Other products used: CTMH cardstock and ink, EK Success punches, SU! punch, paper cutter, embossing stylus

Let's take notes... for yourself or as a gift

Hi friends!  Its Katie here today and I'm still on a teacher kick, but today's project is also a great just for you or a friend.  Many of you might be familiar with this project and I myself had made a couple of these last year, but Lori has some super cool new Wallies dry erase paper that is just too neat not to share and use.

So, this also falls into my recycling concept since I had previously used this acrylic picture frame before as well as the altering genre too.  See... I'm feeling pretty good here :)

The one product that this whole project is based around is the Wallies Dry Erase Sheets. You have the option of purchasing it in 2 different sizes.

• Two 9x12 sheets
• Four 7 x 5 3/4" sheets

This stuff is so cool and yes truly it is just like the dry erase boards you can buy at the store.  Plus the package even comes with a pen :)

This particular image you are seeing is the 9x12 sheets.  They will come rolled up in this package and then its up to you as to how you want to use it.  Its self adhesive and removable if you want it to be.

With today's project, I made it so that it will stay there and I didn't have any intentions of removing it and you'll see why. 

From my own personal experience with this product, when I first got my package, I  took one sheet out and immediately slapped it right onto my cupboard door.  My cupboards are the ones that are from Lowe's or Home Depot and they are the kind you would put into a bathroom or kitchen. 

I left the sheet there for a couple of months and then just recently peeled it off and did something else to it.  My only word of warning is that you do need to be careful and gently when peeling it off so you don't stretch it.

Another note here.  The dry erase sheets are stampable, but you need to use Staz-on or something similar to it.  And, don't plan on using your dry erase marker over your stamped image because it will deteriorate/smudge it so be aware.

So, there is a little bit of history for you and now I'll show you what I did with part of my other sheet.

I had altered an acrylic photo holder that I purchased at Walmart last year with a post it pad.  I used up the post it pad and decided to do this instead of replacing the post its.  Here is the holder and the glue that was left over.  This is the way the photo holder would sit with a photo inside it.

In order to use it the way I want, make sure to place your photo holder this way.

The design aspect of this holder is going to be placed where the photo would go.
Cardstock measures 4x6 and the rest of the measurements really depend on your stamps.  Just remember, you don't want too big of an image since most of your space will be the dry erase.

My teacher friend is a huge fan of frogs so I combined the set called Pond Pals with another great set called Thoughtful Notes.  The set Pond Pals is kind of self explanatory, but the set called Thoughtful Notes has all sorts of assorted pun sayings that will mix and match with lots and lots of other Clear Dollar Stamps.

Just a little coloring here.  I used 2 green copics, laid down the lighter color and then added some accents with the darker of the two and then went over once again with the lighter one.

Added a bit of cool gray to the eyeballs instead of leaving them pure white.

And then just a little highlight around the images with the light blue.

Adhere the designer paper to the top of the 4x6

Next adhere the stamped images.

Next measure the left over space under the stamped image and this will be the measurement for your dry erase.

Here is the dry erase sheet

Cut just like regular cardstock.

Insert the cardstock into the photo holder.

NOTE HERE... if you have a new photo holder, feel free to attach the dry erase and go, but since I'm using a recycled one, I placed mine on a piece of cardstock to make sure I had a smooth surface.

Below is a picture of the dry erase placed right on to the acrylic.  Just peel away if it doesn't lay just right.

Now, mine goes right onto a piece of cardstock.  I match up the left corner and go from there. 

Once placed, then trim up the other two sides.

Apply adhesive to the back and place on the top side of the photo holder.

As I mentioned earlier, the dry erase sheets do come with a dry erase pen.  I decided to add some matching designer paper to my pen.

And then I added some self adhesive velcro to the pen and holder.

I decided to cut my loop part just a tad and then attach.

And just a little bit of ribbon and there it is.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your Friday and your impending weekend!

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Items you can find at Clear Dollar Stamps:

Pond Pals Stamp Set
Thoughtful Notes Stamp Set
Wallies Dry Erase
Scor-mat
Memento Tuxedo Black ink
ATG tape
Ribbon
Copic Markers

Other items:

CTMH paper, Acrylic Photo Holder

A Masked Kiss Part 2 of 2 - Happily ever after!

Hi Friends!  Its Katie here to welcome you to another fabulous Tuesday.  As my title states, today's post is number 2 of 2.  I covered the masked kiss part last Friday (just scroll down if you missed it) and today's post is really a way to house and decorate all your hard work from last week.

So this is usually the way it works for me.  When I make cards as a gift, I generally like to make them all the same and when I'm done I try to think of a nice way to decorate the box/carrier/bag etc so it will be a complete look. 

For this set of cards I decided to go about it a little differently.  I decided what type of box to house them in and then made a card front (not the entire card) to place right smack on the top of my box. 

I then took that card front and that design became the design and layout of all the cards inside the box.  I'm sure you all might be saying "well duh", but for me it was a light bulb moment.  I have to be honest and say that I don't get that many and when I do I enjoy them (hehe).

So as you might of guessed, the card front is the design from last week and today I'd like to show you how I created the box for them.  This box is big enough for the envelopes to be held in the box, but if you wanted to house more cards in the box there is no reason that the envelopes can't be bundled with a nice ribbon and given along with your cards.

So let's start.  You will need a piece of cardstock measuring 11" x 7 3/4"  for your main box.

Score along (parallel) the 7 3/4" side at:  4 1/2", 5 1/2", and 10"

Turn your cardstock, along (parallel) the 11" side score at 1" on both the left and right side.

Next cut where all the red dotted lines are located.

It will now look like the (below).  The sides that were cut off will be the top of the box.

Flip your box over and place adhesive on all the tabs marked with "A".

Flip over again and place all your tabs on the inside; set aside.

Cut 2 pieces of cardstock measuring 6 1/2" x 5".  These are going to be your top and bottom pieces.

Use a corner rounder to clip all corners.

Attach the card front to one of the 2 cut pieces of cardstock.  This is going to be your "decorative" element to your box lid.

Cut 2 sections of ribbon approximate 12" long.  This will give you more than ample length to tie a generous bow when its secured.

Adhere the ribbon to the bottom and lid of your box approximately 1/2 way across.

Place scor-tape or equivalent double sided tape to the edges of your box lid and bottom.

In order to make things easier, before I took the tape covers off I placed the box down onto my decorative pieces and adjusted it so it was nice and even.  When I got it exactly like I wanted then I took a pencil and lightly marked the placement ( just one corner or 90 degree angle).  This made it a lot easier to place my box down without a lot of unevenness and frustration occurring once the tape was ready to go.

The box lid was a bit easier to attach because there was a lot more room for fingers and easier to judge distance too.

Another great little tool I use is my Cricut spatula, but all you need is anything like this tool that has a smooth flat surface.  I use this to make sure that all my pieces of cardstock are adhered.  This works even better for the inside bottom of the box.

Now for the card dimensions.  As I said earlier, when I give gifts of cards I do like to mass produce.  In this case it was only 5 cards, but its still so much easier to cut all the pieces out and then assemble your cards.

The only thing that isn't shown is the blue mat around the punched ovals.  I did cut those by hand, but if you had coordinating punches then that would obviously be a bit faster but not my much!

So here is the card box finished and closed.

Well that's it folks.  I hope you enjoyed today's tutorial and I sure hope you have a fabulous week!  Thanks as always for stopping by Clearly iStamp and spending some time with us.

If you missed the new store front celebration, don't worry.  There is still plenty of time to hop on around and get lots of inspiration.  There are also lots of specials going on at the store so make sure you don't miss out.  CLICK HERE to visit Clear Dollar Stamps store front.

Plus CLICK HERE to read about all the details on how you could still win a super GRAND PRIZE... I'm going to be a tease and tell you its just HUGE!  Go see for yourself and get the directions to what you need to do to be eligible.  You've got until the end of the month!!!

Scroll on down to get the ingredients list and once again, thank YOU!

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

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Things that can be found at Clear Dollar Stamps:

• Rubber Boot Stamp
• Charliene April Showers Stamp Set (used for sentiment)
• Memento Tuxedo Black ink
• Acrylic Blocks
• Scor-pal
• Scor-tape
• ATG tape
• Olive Grosgrain Ribbon (3/4" wide)
• Copic Markers

Other items used in project: CTMH cardstock, designer paper and ink, SU! photo corner punch, Small Oval Punch

An altered state is a good thing

Good morning friends.  I know I keep saying this, but I just want to say it one more time.  We had such a great time with the new store front and the blog hop and everyone here at Clear Dollar Stamps would like to say a big thank you and hope that you had as much fun!

I have to be honest and say that altering is just something I don't do very often.  I love the idea of it, but I can never seem to find the right thing to fit into the right container - know what I mean?  That is until now.  I'm sharing a project with you that I did for a friend of mine as a little thank you.  I wanted to make cookies and as I was trying to figure out what type of cookies to make I glanced at an empty coffee jar that I had.  I had set it aside a while back, but like I said I had no idea what to use it for. 

I decided to make Snickerdoodles because I figured they would ship well.  The recipe I used is a Betty Crocker recipe, and I have to say this was the second recipe I made... the first one I did not like so I won't even go into that.

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter - (softened but still chilled)
1/4 cup of shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbls sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt.  Whisk together and set aside. Mix shortening, butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar until blended (1 -2 minutes).  Add eggs and mix thoroughly. 

Shape dough into 1" balls.  Roll in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes.  These will puff up at first and then flatten.

*hints

• I always line my cookie pans with parchment paper.  If you can't find any you can always ask your local bakery to see if they will sell you some.  They will be in large sheets but you can easily cut them in half to fit your pans.
• These can be baked in balls or flattened.  I used the bottom of a nice glass to flatten my cookies
• Omit salt if you end up using salted butter

So now for my altered coffee can.  This particular coffee can is from a local store here in the NW called Trader Joes.   We LOVE this store.

I have two pictures of supplies because I seem to change things as I go and I'm sure I'm missing something (sorry)
  

The first thing` that you need to do is simply measure your cardstock.  Unfortunately, my 12x12 wasn't long enough to fit all the way around, but I just filled in later.  So all I really needed to do was measure the height of my can.

I decided to use my  Scor-tape because I didn't want it to ever come off! 

I am also addicted to my Mini Misters.  This specific cardstock is SU! and pretty substantial so I lightly sprayed the outside with water before I wrapped it around my can.  All this does is just naturally curl my paper just a bit and makes it a little more pliable.

I did a quick dry run of my main piece  to see what my gap would be and then cut a matching piece approximately 1/2" wider than my gap on both sides.

More Scor-tape.

Then just attach to the can.

Then just wrap on around.

At this point, decorating is the limit.  I decided to create a top and bottom border with some coordinating  cardstock.  I used an EK Success punch to create the scallops.  This was the only border punch I could get to go through this cardstock.

Then I decided to accent my can with a really cute sentiment (fluttering by with a thankful heart)  from a stamp set called Charlie Daisy.  My focal images were going to be butterflies from the set called Beautiful Butterflies and this sentiment would work perfectly.

If I had thought ahead I would have stamped first, but I didn't (lol).  BUT... this worked out just as nicely.  This is why I love my clear stamps.  I was able to stamp on my coffee can after the fact. 

Just start at one end and then rock ever so slightly to the other side as you are stamping.

As I stated earlier, I wanted to use the Beautiful Butterflies set to decorate my can.  I stamped most of the images in the set in several colors on a large piece of white cardstock - no rhyme or reason because I planned on cutting them out. 

 

Once they were cut, I wanted to attach them to my can, but I also wanted a decent amount of surface to be attached so I created this surface on each of the butterflies that I used.

I used my scor-pal to create the creases. 

 

Just add a piece of scor-tape (1/8")

 

Just attach to project.  I really like this because it allowed for the butterflies to be flattened if necessary and then lifted up later.  Remember, I did indeed package this puppy up and mail it across the country.

One more thing, I wanted to cover the lid and the bottom with some paper too.  It just happened to work that the largest circle in the large size of circle nesties fit my lid!  I used my zip dry for this purpose.

Also, sorry to switch things on you, but it wasn't until after the fact that I realize my lid was green and did not go well with my chosen paper so I opted to swap out a clear lid from another can.

 

Then I decided to wrap my cookies in some saran wrap and then I took some shrink wrap and wrapped the entire stack of cookies again.  I took my heat gun and gently shrank my wrap.

 

 

And finally, I made a quickie card to go along.  Used an extra butterfly I had and a stamp set called Words of Gratitude as well as the Labels Four Nestability.

 

Well that's it for today.  I hope you find a good altered state to be in (lol).

One more reminder that the BLOG HOP grand prize is still open and a winner will be drawn on August 31st.  Details can be found HERE.

Thanks for joining me  today.

Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.