24 Olive Street

card making favorites

So over the past several months I've been creating lots of projects for Sweet Stamp Shop. The new stamp sets that come out each month just get better and better and I've had so much fun playing with them in addition to the awesome new dies that are in the shop! Seriously, the less fussy cutting I have to do the better! So when the dies were launched I was sure to get some!!! And don't get me started on how fun the Sticky Sweet stickers are to play with!

There's a December stamp release happening in about a week. But first I just wanted to share some of my recent favorite projects:

Merry Mousemas // Candy Stripe Alpha, Christmas Is Coming

Seriously, that mouse?? Cutest thing ever. Like, I want to stamp him on every project!

This Wizards set, one of my all-time favorites!

Who doesn't love a cute Sailor boy??

And Zombies are my other absolute favorite. I've used these stamps so many times in my planner along with card making. Can't get enough of them!!

I have some Christmas projects that I've been working on that I'll be sharing soon so stay tuned!

Sweet Stamp Shop + Avery products

This past week Sweet Stamp Shop collaborated with Avery products and the result was pure fun! I've used Avery products for years and as a Sweet contributor I got to play with some of their products, some I had never used before!

So here's a look at a few projects I created:

How about some cleaning stickers for your planner? I love using Avery labels along with Sweet stamps to create my own custom labels. For these stickers I used the Clean It Up stamp set from the May release and colored with Tombow markers.

Treat bags anyone?? I paired Smart Cookie with the round kraft labels to create these fun treat bags.

I used Tombow markers to color in the cookie jar. Even the blender pen worked nicely on the kraft labels.

Every year I make homemade salsa with tomatoes I grow in my garden. These scallop circle labels paired with the Outline Lower Alpha and Groceries stamps were perfect for labeling my jars of salsa.

And sometimes you just need to celebrate making it to Friday! How cute are these Avery flags paired with Small Victories.

There's also a sweet giveaway over on the Sweet blog that ends TODAY so head here to check it out!

To see more projects you can head over the Sweet blog and Instagram!

 

 

get it done!

I don't know about anyone else but I have a pretty long list of things I want to get done around my house. Not the regular cleaning stuff but bigger stuff like painting/small remodel projects/etc. We've been in our current home almost 5 yrs so we're getting to the point where we realize the bigger things that need to get done. So I turned to the notes pages in the back of my planner, grabbed a few stamp sets, & set to "work". You could also create the same thing in a notebook if you don't use a planner.

I used the Outline Lower Alpha for my title along with the pencil stamp from the Art Collection set from February's release. Then I used the square box from Planner Script that was a retired set but is now back! (It is currently out of stock but should be back soon!!) I also used the Script Lower for my smaller titles (I basically made a list of what needs to be done for every room in my home).

So here's what my list looked like after stamping:

You'll see I also added some cute mushrooms at the bottom (from Mush Day & Gnome). Then I used my colored pencils & do some coloring and shading. I also added some washi along the bottom of my page because to do lists are so much more fun when they're cute, right?! Someone remind me of that when I'm knee deep in the middle of painting my entire house ;)

And here's what my list looks like all filled in (and holy cow I have a lot that I want to get done!!):

I used 2 different colored pens for my list - green for short term and pink for long term. I know that some of the things I want to get done might not happen this year and that's ok. But I think it's still good to have a 'master list' and whatever doesn't get done this year will get transferred to a new list next year.

I also continued my lists on the next couple pages so that I could have a list for every room.

And that's it! Having a master to do list for my home makes it a bit more manageable and I can't wait to start checking things off my list!

 

 

season of gift giving

As we head into the holiday season I am finding myself trying to keep things as organized as possible to keep the craziness to a minimum. And one of the ways I do that is to keep all of my gift giving/packaging items together - and prepared ahead of time - so that they're easy to grab when I need them.

The key to this is preparing them before you will need them!

I like to keep everything together in some kind of tray (found this letter basket at Target) along with all of the 'accessories' and goodies I'll need. So let me walk you through what I have pulled together!

What I usually start out doing is stamping a bunch of images on cardstock that I can then punch out for cards & tags. I usually break it up into stages...one day I'll stamp a bunch of images, another day I'll do the coloring, another day punching them out, etc. If you have kids you can even get them involved. I've 'hired' my kids to be 'punchers' many times, they love to help :)

For the punched images I like to make simple 3x3 gift cards (great for when you want more than just a tag on a gift). Sometimes I just punch a hole for a simple tag. I usually like to have lots of extras of these for whatever I might need (no matter how well I plan there always seems to be a last minute gift or 2!)

I also make up a bunch of simple gift tags. Now I have a tag punch which is very handy but if you don't have that you could even use shipping tags. The bonus part about using those is that they already have a string attached. Easy peasy!

And then there's my Christmas mini book. I make one of these every year. I'm very much a paper and pen kind of gal :) I like to keep it on the smaller side (this year I made it 4 1/2" x 6") so that I can slip it into my planner or purse when I go shopping. This year I knew I wanted to have George on the cover...yes, I gave that cute pup a nickname ;). And I was inspired by this holiday mini book. I simply take some cardstock and graph paper (I love using graph paper for my mini books) and stitch down the spine (be sure to use long stitches if sewing). You could also attach with 2 holes and some twine, staples, etc.

Inside I stamped on some of the pages to get my holiday organization started. I'll customize more as I go.

As we get closer to December I'll probably add more to my stash (probably some shipping tags for sure), but here's what I typically have in my gift giving tray: gift tags (several types), small gift cards, pens, twine, stapler, scissors, hole punch, washi tape, sticky notes (several sizes including one of my sticky note books), assorted clips, & my mini book.

I like to keep it out on my desk or even on the kitchen counter so that it's easy to grab & find what I need. And having everything in a tray makes it easy to grab & take wherever I need it. It's also great for my kids because when they need a tag for a gift they know right where to go...no hunting around for tags, tape, etc.

I hope this helps you get and stay organized this holiday season!! For more inspiration, be sure to follow Sweet Stamp Shop on Facebook and Instagram!

Stamp sets used (click image for more info):

sticky note books

Hey guys, I have a bit of a confession - I'm a bit of a stationary nerd! I have always loved cute papers, notebooks, pens, etc. And I won't even admit how many notebooks I have sitting on my desk! When planners made their big comeback I was totally nerding out! And planner stamps?? Even better! So when Nicole came out with the Nod to Mod stamp set for sticky notes I was in heaven!! I'm an old fashioned kind of gal, I love to make lists, use paper planners and calendars, and, of course, those lovely sticky notes!!

So I wanted to share a quick and easy project I like to do with my sticky notes - little sticky note books! By the way, these make great little gifts for teachers!! Who can't use a book of sticky notes, right?!

And honestly, seeing a bunch of them stacked up on my desk just makes me smile!

You'll start with a piece of patterned paper or cardstock that measures 6 3/4" x 3 1/4". Score on the long side at 3 1/4" and 3 1/2". That will make the 'book' part. Then you can decorate the front however you want! I did several with the Nod to Mod set but I also played around with the Fall Into Christmas set (these stamp sets get a lot of love as you can tell!).

The great part of this project is that you can use whatever stamp set you want! Once you have your little book made you can adhere your sticky notes inside.

Note - I actually split a sticky note pad in half to make 2 books. I do this for 2 reasons: 1) you can make twice as many of books this way, and 2) I like to put some of these in my planner and the thinner size fits better :)

I also like to stamp on some of the inside pages because who doesn't like to use sticky notes with cute stamped images on them?!

I stated earlier that these make great teacher gifts. I like to keep a bunch of these made up in a basket on my desk so that I can grab one whenever I need one! I hope this inspires you to create some sticky note projects!!

So have some fun with those sticky notes!! And be sure to follow Sweet Stamp Shop on Instagram and Facebook for more inspiration!!

trick or treat!

The fall season is upon us. And with that lots of seasonal treats! Michelle here and I have a fun & easy way to package up those treats.

I found some treat sacks at my local craft store and stamped those adorable candy corn stamps with Versamark. I love using Versamark because it gives a great watermark image on your projects - great for backgrounds.

After that I took some small doilies, jute, and that cute dragon stamp to decorate my bag. I also punched out a few tags & attached them at the top for decoration and to keep my bags closed.

And that's it!! Cute treat bags all ready to give out to your little trick or treaters!

The great thing about this project is that there are so many options with all of the Sweet Stamp Shop stamps. You could easily make treat bags for Christmas, birthday, parties, whatever!

Stamp sets used: Dragon, Fall Into Christmas

Be sure to follow Sweet Stamp Shop on Facebook and Instagram for more inspiration!

road trip!

Today I have a fun little travel "game" that I made for our upcoming trip to Disneyland! We're driving instead of flying this year - about 1200 miles - and I've found over the years that road trips with kids are much more fun when you make travel games.

So I created a fun "trip tracker" to hang in our van to track our drive! I found a similar idea online and then set out to create a more personalized one...using Sweet stamps of course!

First I cut out some tags with my Sizzix & then stamped part of the map stamp from the Across The Miles stamp set (I only needed the western side). Then I used the Blocked Alpha set to stamp some city names that we'll be stopping at (or at least driving through). This set is great for stamping out full words - I was even able to stamp out Sacramento all on one block!

Helpful tip - When stamping larger images it's easier to turn your stamp upside down and tap your ink pad on the image. It's much easier to get full coverage on your stamp that way!

After decorating my tags with some of the other stamps in the Across The Miles set I stamped one of the cute campers from the Campout set. As we drive along on our trip we can move the camper along the tags until we arrive at our destination!! To hang the tags I used some jute twine and clothespins that I decorated with some patterned paper.

As I was creating these tags my oldest daughter saw what I was doing & said "how cute!" And then she realized just how far our trip is going to be! Fun and a geography lesson :)

And here they are all hung up in our van:

I hope this inspires you to do a fun project for your next road trip! Until next time, be sure and follow Sweet Stamp Shop on Facebook and Instagram for more fun inspiration!!

create a stamped border

Today I have a quick and easy way to add a stamped border on your card making projects. Sometimes when I stamp an image it looks like there should just be something 'more'. That's where this stamped border comes in! It also gives you an excuse to use more of those cute phrases in your Sweet stamp sets ;)

I started off with a 3x3 piece of white cardstock and the obvious cast of characters...stamp sets, ink, stamping block. But I'm also going to use some washi to help me create my stamped border. I decided to use a pretty light ink for the border because I didn't want it to overpower my main image (hello cute ice cream!!)

Now you can wing it stamping your border or you can use your washi to help you make a straight line. You'll notice I winged it and, while it's not exactly straight, you won't notice much once the card is done. But instead of stamping right to the edge I'm going to use my washi to mask off where I want my next row to go (just a tad wider than the stamp you're using). I stamped right over that & then pulled up the washi & did that on all 4 corners so I would have an nice stamped border. Note: I used washi that wasn't very sticky. You don't want the washi ripping your paper!

I did that all around the edge of my cardstock. After that I simply stamped my main image & colored. See? Easy peasy!!

And this is the finished card:

Supplies used:

Stamps: Little Cooler, Treats, Speech Bubbles

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Color Theory glass slipper

Be sure to head over to the Sweet Facebook page to get the latest updates on new releases & inspiration!

adding dimension to your cards

Today I wanted to share some simple ways to add dimension to your cards. Ya know, when I first started making cards years back the techniques were pretty simple. But card making has come a long way over the years. And while there's lots of different and unique techniques out there, I tend to lean more toward the simple style. So adding dimension can make a huge difference.

My main go-to for adding dimension is foam dots. It's amazing how different you can make a card look by simply raising the image off the card a bit. You'll notice I used foam dots not only on the clouds and unicorn but also on the background.

A few more ideas for adding dimension - glitter, sequins, ribbon, & glossy accents are a few. You'll notice that I've used a few of those on this card and it makes a big difference. Just to show you, check out these 2 cards...

They are both the same style yet the one on the right has the images raised with foam dots along with glitter added to the clouds & unicorn. The left image, while still cute, looks a little bit flat doesn't it?

So I encourage you to try these basic techniques to add a bit more dimension to your cards! As always, be sure to follow Sweet Stamp Shop on Instagram & Facebook for more inspiration!

Stamp sets used: Unicorn, Dragon

stamping beyond the cards

Hey there! I have a fun little project for you! Each month when the new Sweet stamps come out my first thought is "what can I do with these beyond card making??" Don't get me wrong, I love making and giving handmade cards. But I'm a scrapbooker at heart so I'm always thinking of ways to use my stamps for projects other than cards. And really, there's so many ways you can use your stamps!

So today I wanted to share a quick project with you that is actually something I've done in one way or another for years - making handmade luggage tags for family trips. My family is big into Disney and every time we take a trip there I like to make personalized items for a bit of added fun! So I pulled out the Royal Wish stamp set because it is absolutely perfect for this project!

To make the tags I used ID badge holders (found at any office supply store) along with some patterned paper that I stamped on (rather than stamping on white cardstock & coloring the image).

You'll notice that I stuck with the same stamp set but changed the look simply by using different colored papers & ink pads.

I used the Alpha Tabs stamp set for my kids' names but you could certainly use any alpha set (Outline Lower Alpha would look super cute!)

These tags are fun to use on your luggage/bags all decorated with cute stamps and you can put your personal info on the back. Add some ribbon and you're done! And you aren't limited to just luggage tags, you can use them on kids' backpacks, lunch bags, etc! This is also a fun project to involve the kids. My little one saw what I was doing and 'helped' me pick out ribbon for my tags :)

Quick tip - to keep your ribbon ends from fraying simply take a lighter (or match) and carefully melt the very edge of the ribbon!

There are so many fun stamp sets that you could use for this project. How about the new Super Boy & Girl Power stamp sets??! Those would make adorable tags for sure!!

I hope this inspires you to think outside the card so to speak!! As always, be sure to follow Sweet Stamp Shop on Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest for more inspiration!!

Stamp sets used: Royal Wish, Alpha Tabs, Dragon, Washington Life

Ink pads: Color Theory (well red, glass slipper, lime light), Memento (tuxedo black)