Clearly iStamp

More Money Matters

Hello friends, its Katie here today wishing you a lovely Tuesday morning.  If you recall, last week I introduced you to a really fun stamp called Bank of Kidzville and a fun checkbook tutorial.  This week, I wanted to continue with the money theme and introduce you to another stamp set called Money Maker from the Clearly 4 Kids line and another tutorial.  Get prepared... lots and lots of pictures today.

So lets get started.  The Money Maker Stamp Set will definitely become a well used stamp set.  From my photo you can see that I stamped on plain white paper as well as colored paper.  I used copy paper again for my money and this would be a great way to add to your paper money collection.

If you take a peek at the stamp set, you'll see that once you stamp your main image, you can make it any denomination you'd like to have. 

But let me tell you the way I use paper (play) money.  I have my oldest do chores or special things and he does get an allowance every week.  I originally started out giving him money and he would have to save a percentage and put it away and then he had the rest for things he wanted (with parent approval of course).  

This was all great gravy, except what was happening was that he would literally lose his money.  I didn't see the purpose in handing him real money when he kept losing it.  Obviously, he didn't value it quite the way I envisioned. 

My solution to this was to give him play money.  If he lost it, it was his problem.  When the time came and he wanted money to buy something, he traded in his play money for real money.  It is a win win situation for both of us.

Ok, so lets take a quick look to see how I stamped the money.  I did it the same way as I made the checks from last week, but for this week, this is definitely something you could stamp and have age appropriate kids cut out their own.

I cut copy paper to 3" x 1 3/8"

I also wanted to make a note here and mention that its ok to have your paper/cardstock stick to your stamp and block when you stamp.  I usually always get a comment as to if this is ok.  Of course it is, all you have to do is gently peel you paper away.  This is especially the case when stamping on smaller pieces of paper.

So now you've got all your fabulous money all stamped and ready to go.  Let's figure out a couple of ways your kids can store their money.  This first suggestion is just a case of altering.  My Dad is a cigar smoker and he gave me a whole bunch of these cigar boxes.  They are really cool and up to this point, I hadn't figured out what to do with them.  Today one of them is going to become a bank.  I went with a boy theme for this and gathered some long lost designer paper for this project.

Step 1: Measure the areas that you want to cover
Step 2: Cut
Step 3: Add Mod Podge to your surface (I just pour out some on a plate or extra piece of cardstock)
Step 4: Apply your paper
Step 5: Let dry
Step 6 Use some sanding paper to smooth out any edges
Step 7: Apply as many layers of Mod Podge as you would like (it provides a nice protective coat)

 

The little bead that you see on the top are the same beads that I used as feet on the bottom of my "bank".  For the bottom, you can use any old liquid glue, but for the top, I ended up using a hot glue gun because I wanted it to stick!

Now, its time for the girls.  I hate to admit it, but its just easier to make cute stuff for the girls.  I found a great tutorial --> CLICK HERE<-- for an expansion wallet, but since I needed mine to be scaled down for my size money, I created one in different dimensions.

Main wallet dimension is 4" x 7"

 

Score at: 2 1/2" + 1/8" + 2 1/2" + 1/8"  The way I did it on my Scor-pal was the traditional score at 2 1/2".  Then I moved that score line over to the 6 3/8" and matched the top and bottom to the groove and then scored my next score at the 6 1/2" mark.  Thus giving me a measurement of 1/8". See picture below :)

 

I did the exact same thing to create my next score line.  I moved my last score line to match up with the 2" mark and then just measured over 2 1/2 " from there and it is the 4 1/2" line.  You could choose any numbers to match as long as you are making your last score mark 2 1/2" away from the one you just made.  Make sense??

Fold and you've got your basic wallet.  The shorter side is going to be your front.  At this point, cut any designer paper you'd like to decorate your wallet with.

I knew that I wanted to create a scallop edge for my wallet front, but instead of punching both layers at the same time, I did them separately and had to compensate in order to create a somewhat matched scallop for my designer paper.  I lined up my already cut cardstock and then evened out the designer paper and then basically pulled the cardstock out while pushing the other paper in place.

 

Next, you'll want to cut 2 pieces of cardstock measuring 6" x 2 1/4".  These will be your accordions for the side of your wallet.

Score at 1" intervals along the 2 1/4" side.

 

Then you will fold them in an accordion style.

Apply adhesive to one edge... remember to consider which side is going to be your outside side and which side will be your inside.

Attach your accordion to what is essentially the back wall of your wallet.  I placed my accordion slightly in from the edge and evenly between the folds. Attach the other accordion piece.

After both pieces are done, add adhesive to the top layer.

 

Then just fold up the wallet and adhere.

And there you have it.  A great place to store all that fabulous moola.

 

(NOTE:  All paper used is retired or not readily available Close to my Heart product)

Well, that's it for today.  I hope you enjoyed yourself and I'd like to thank you as always for stopping by and spending your time here at Clearly iStamp.  If you have any questions, comments, or otherwise, please post away.

Thanks again and this is Katie, signing off for Clearly iSTamp.

Money Matters - Checkbook Tutorial and Stamp Spotlight

Good morning friends! Its Katie here and are we ready for another tutorial?  Today, I've got another great fun project that you can make for your kids or if they are old enough, they could help you with it.  Today's project is not just fun, but its also a learning tool for your kids.

You will only need one stamp today and you can see it HERE.  Its called Bank of Kidzville and is a stamp from Lori's Clearly 4 Kids line.  Here is a picture of most of the ingredients (lol).

**Some sort of scoring tool
**Some source of soft mat (like a mouse pad)
**ruler
**tracing tool (from my sewing stash)
**ink
**copy paper
**cardstock/designer paper
**Bank of Kidzville Stamp
**Acrylic Block

We are going to start off with creating the book of checks.  The way this will be constructed will allow for continued "refills" to fit into your checkbook.

Start by cutting your copy paper, just the stuff you use in your printer into 4 1/8" x 1 7/8" .  Start by cutting along the 8 1/2"  in 1 7/8" sections and you 'll get the most bang for you buck - 10 "checks" per sheet. You can layer your pieces and cut more at one time because the copy paper is so thin.

Once all the checks are cut - you will have 20 checks from 2 pieces of copy paper, its time to stamp.  You will have to remember to position your check stamp so that it is aligned with the right side of each piece of paper.

Next is the creation of the perforation.  This allows each check to be "ripped" out without a lot of mess or fuss.

This is where I used my pointy tracing wheel from my sewing tools.  It is also essential that you have a soft mat to use underneath.  I believe that a mouse pad would serve this purpose too.  It also works if you follow one of the grooves on your Scor-Pal.  Its just a little tricky because you have to secure the left edge of your paper.

I aligned my ruler (its face down) to the left edge of my stamped check and then used my tracing wheel to create the perforations.

You can also align several checks, just align the stamped edges and perforate them at the same time.

 

After all the checks are perforated, then just add adhesive to the backside of the checks.

 

Next, just line up your checks and stack them one after the other.

 

You will want to cut one piece of cardstock the same size as your checks and create the same perforation.  This piece of cardstock will be the back of the book of checks.

 

 

Now its time for the checkbook cover.  You will need to start with a piece of cardstock measuring:

6 7/8" x 4 3/4"

Score at: 2 1/8", 4 3/8" and 4 5/8"

 

Turn your cardstock and score the 2 1/8" section 5/8" in.

 

Cut the scored section away.

 

If you want to add designer paper, I used pieces measuring 2 1/8" x 4 5/8" (front) and 2" x 3 7/8" (inside)

 

Time to insert your checkbook.

Ok, ok, I wrote that check to myself using Hunter's name (lol).

Here's a view of the completed checkbook as well as a "girl" version.  These would be incredibly easy for the kids to decorate themselves.  Lori laminated her version that you can see on the store website and that would be a great way to keep the check book cover long lasting.  I say, just layer up the cardstock (lol)

 

Here's a view of the inside.  As you can see, its also fun to decorate the checks themselves.  Just another way to personalize and have fun.

Thanks for coming to visit and spending your time with us at Clearly iStamp.  I love these stamps that are so interactive with my kids.  Both the 3 1/2 year olds and the 9 1/2 year old enjoyed playing with their checkbooks.  Come back next week for some more "money matters". 

Have a great Friday and this is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Its For the Boys - Arrgh Matey!

Good morning friends!  Its Katie here today and I hope you've been enjoying all the "girl" themes this past week or so.  Being a girl, its always fun to do "girly" things (lol), BUT, we can't possibly forget about the boys in our lives now can we?

Today, I want to share a great party or just 'for fun' ideas for you that are geared for boys, but you know how we girls are.  We always want in where the action is.  As we all know, pirate anything is "in" and big so I've paired a stamp called Lost at Sea, which is a relatively new release with a set from Lori's Clearly 4 Kids line called Treasure Hunt.  They work fabulously together and I am super pleased with the results.

I also incorporated one more background stamp and paired it with a tutorial that I posted earlier this year.  The stamp is called Wood Grain and works wonderfully with the "Chest Tutorial".  Click HERE to see the tutorial.

 

Ok, lets get started.  We'll start with the finishing touches of our Treasure Chest.  Don't forget, the full tutorial can be found using the link above.

We'll start with creating our own "wood" look.  This is super easy with the Wood Grain Stamp.  This is a longer stamp and can be used with a block or the stamping wheel.  That is what I used today.  If you are interested in more detail regarding the clear wheels, Lori did an awesome tutorial that you can read about.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

Remember to keep your pieces aligned correctly when you are stamping your "grain"

Now its time to create the details on our chest.  I used a VersMarker and Gold Embossing Powder and heat gun.  You could use either side of the pen, there is a brush tip and a fine point tip.  Make your circle dots, add your powder and heat.

 

                                    

Finish putting chest together per the tutorial.  This particular piece I'm showing you ends up being part of the front, bottom, back, and top.

    

Now its time for the map.  This is the fun and SUPER easy part.  Use whatever piece of cardstock that you want.  My piece measured approximately 4 x 6.  Spritz your cardstock with water and crumple.  The harder you crumple the more "aged" it will look.  I then just take it over to the iron and smooth it out.  See that iron does have a purpose :)

   

Now, just stamp using the Lost at Sea image.  Roll up and tie with a ribbon or twine.

 

We're moving on to our next pieces.  Its a Tresuare Hunt so we need clues right?  This is a fun way to decorate, house, and then hide the clues.

I took your standard smaller mailing envelopes... even cheaper than your standard card envelopes which is why I picked them... All I did was decorate the front with some designer paper (some old stuff I had) and then did some stamping using the images from the set Treasure Hunt. All the images on the envelope can be found in that set.

 

For the treasure chest, I stamped on a separate piece of cardstock, cut out, and then embellished with some different colored stickles.  Love it!

 

Now on to the Clue insert that will go into the envelope.  This is kind of a 2 step process.

First, you'll need to create your stamped image.  You will need to use ink that "matches" some colored cellophane, but I've got a substitute for you (with a *but*).

This is not my idea, its Lori's and she shows this great technique using her stamp set at the store website.  CLICK HERE to see her version of what is being seen here. Just keep scrolling down for another great idea.

The concept is based on "decoder" magic.  Take your piece of cardstock and gently write your "secret message" in pencil.  I felt that if you used a pencil with a duller lead point that it shows up better.

 

Next, use the stamp in the set and stamp over your message. 

 

I then adhered this piece onto a background to create my "clue" card.

 

Now its time to create the "magic" part :)

The size and shape is completly up to you for this part.  I based my view finder on a 3 1/2" square, but ended up cutting it down a bit as I went along.

I placed 2 pieces of cardstock together and they were both able to be cut at the same time using my square nestability.  See the tape?  I use it all the time to keep my nesties in place.  If you buy really cheap tape, its perfect for this since the cheap stuff isn't really all that sticky.

 

Now here is my trick/substitution for you.  Finding colored cellophane and/or maybe even shrink wrap is defintiely easier, but for a one time project this worked.  I cut up a plastic ziplock bag and cut it down to size of my opening.

I taped my plastic down and grabbed a coordinating Copic Marker.  You have to be quick, even, and consisitent when coloring.  Keep your motions left to right or vice versa and color evenly.  You only get one shot.

 

Carefully adhere your colored plastic to one of your cut pieces of cardstock.  Add adhesive of your choice and in my case I used a popsicle stick for a handle. Then add your top piece of cut cardstock.

SPECIAL NOTE HERE:  So after the fact... it is just as easy to put your view finder together and then use your Copic Marker to color your plastic from the backside.  You'll be able to get close enough to the edges by using the same swiping motion.

The Copic Marker color is very easily scratched off so just  be aware of that if using this technique.

Before:

 

After, using the decoder.  I had a super hard time with the picture, but I promise its quite easy to read in real life. 

So you would just place your Clue Card right into that cute little envelope.

And the whole ensemble.

And the chest open ready to be filled with whatever types of treasures and treats you have.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it might have given you some inspiration.  Thanks as always for coming to visit us here at Clearly iStamp.

-Katie

Its For the Girls Part 2

Hi friends!  Its Katie here and I promised you a conclusion to my last tutorial and here it is.  But first, I want to direct you back to the previous post from Lori.  If you missed it, make sure to check out her new release of stamps for her Clearly 4 Kids stamp line.  Just keep scrolling down to see all the deets and her great tutorial. 

The kids aren't out of school quite yet here on the West Coast, but in many areas they are.  Make sure to check out the variety of stamps in this line and you could have lots of fun activities for you to do with the kids or for them to do themselves.

Okie dokie, back to the scheduled programming :)  Today, I'm going to share with you how I created a cute little picture frame and a simple box purse to house everything in.  If the items are being made for a party, then how simple would it be to snap a few pictures and each of the kids would have a picture and frame to commemorate the fun time.

The box purse tutorial can be found HERE and I'll be showing you how to add the flap to it.  The cool thing about this purse/bag is that its super simple.  No cutting necessary if you start with an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock, just a little snipping.

But let's get to the frame first.  This is super simple to put together and super easy to decorate.  Its also a project that you can decorate to your hearts content.

You will need:  2 coasters, a craft knife, some sort of template, designer paper, and your choice of embellishments.

Take one coaster and cut a piece of designer paper to the same size as the coaster.  The ones used here are 4x4 with rounded corners.  I took a corner rounder and took off the corners of my paper so it would match.  Then I just glued the paper to my coaster.  For today's project, I used my Zip Dry which Lori has now started carrying at the store.  Its really great stuff.

Then I took the coaster and placed the size that I wanted from the square nestability set on top.  This is where you can decide what size opening you want to create and what size picture you want to use.

The sandwich is the same (plate C on the bottom, then plate B, coaster, and then plate A on top)  Its a tight squeeze but works.

Don't worry - the nestability DOES NOT cut all the way through, but it creates enough of an impression that it is super easy to cut the window out with your craft knife.

At this point you could choose to leave the frame background plain or you can cover it with pretty paper.  I decided to go ahead and cover it, so again... cut a piece 4x4 and round the corners and glue.

 

Now its time to attach the frame to the back piece.  Keep your glue line towards the edge of your cut frame.  REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR TOP OPEN.  Then just place the frame on top of the other coaster.

 

Now, depending on what the kids want to do with their frames, you could either add a tab to hold the frame upright or just skip this step all together.  Super easy though.  I cut a piece of cardstock 1" x 31/2" and scored it at 1"  and attached the folded side to the back of the frame.

 

And here is the frame with an old picture of Hunter :)  Hehe... this picture is a couple of years old.  Nice look huh?

 

Now, on to the top section of the purse.  Remember the tutorial link for the bag is up above and it is a very nice size.  Lots of room for lots of goodies.

Cut a piece of cardstock 4 1/2" x 6".  Along the 6" side score at 2" and 4"

I decided to use my corner rounder again just for the front flaps.  I then cut my designer paper about an 1/8" shorter so 5 7/8" x 1 7/8" - TWO PIECES, but only use the corner rounder on 2 corners for the overhang flap.

 

Then just attach the 1/2" flap to the back of the bag.

Your final step is (in this case) to attach a velcro dot for the flap and add a handle if you'd like.  I cut a piece of cardstock 1" x 12" and attached it to the sides with a brad.  The velcro circles I use are the thinnest and can only be found at Walmart or at least that is the only place I've seen them.  They are self-adhesive and perfect!

Well, this concludes the themed girl favors.  Have fun at your next party or just have fun making these things one on one with your favorite little princesses. 

Stay tuned for the boy version at the end of this week.  Thanks for coming to visit and have a great day.

This is Katie signing off for Clearly iStamp.

Ingredients list from the Store:

Scor-pal Products

Zip DryCoasters

Nestabilities

Clearly 4 Kids Stamps

Neenah Solar White Cardstock