...tomorrow's release

Since I'm sneaking the girls out with the SOAP posts, our new sets will be available to view on the blog tomorrow morning from 8:00am my time, I should have the Cicely and Gracie sets available in the store by around 9:00am my time, which is:

3:00am in USA Missouri
2:00am Canada Alberta
10:00am Netherlands
4:00pm Malaysia
6:00pm Australia New South Wales
10:00am South Africa

Hope this helps!

...aaaaaand some more Cicely and Gracie!! lol!

Good morning! If you have been visiting the ole blog over the last few days you will have seen that I am 'leaking' two new sets tomorrow!!!

It's supposed to be a SOAP month, and it is... lol, the DT will begin showing more inspirational samples for the stamps we just released in July, so do pop over to see us for the next few days while we show you what else you can do with your new goodies!

Today I just wanted to show you a couple of little tag type things I made with the circular tag image from Cicely at Halloween. Each of the two new sets contains a circular tag image, I find these very handy for focal points for cards when I'm in a rush, but also bag toppers, cup-cake picks and of course gift tags also.

Here I stamped the same image 3 times and coloured them with the same copics, but I varied the colors within the tags and mounted them on different coloured mats and star circles (New Spellbinder goodness from the CHA summer release)

I'm always on the lookout for neat packaging and ages ago I spotted these coffee bags. They are made of Kraft paper and lined so that they are suitable for food use. I always thought they were particular to the US, but just the other week I happened to pick up a load of these little baggies here in UK. I was wanting them especially for Halloween and Christmas, and so I snapped them up. I am making some available on the store as well. They are a very handy size for little goodies and treats and I'm playing around with a few more ideas on how to decorate them. Stamping of course!

For my larger baggie, I made a decorative cream panel, I used the new Classic petal edgeabilities (also a CHA Spellbinder summer release!) The neat thing about these is that you can combine them in so many ways, changing the look of the edge to suit your taste.

These little baggies have tin ties, so once you fold them down and tuck the tin flaps behind to hold the folds in place, you can tuck little items up inside the folds. I tucked the little cream panel up inside the fold, no need for glue and so I could re-use the baggie.

The little poem that is tucked up in the flap of the smaller bag is this one:

You can snag it from here for free, print it out and use it when you give chocolate covered raisins or peanuts at Halloween! it's a bit of fun!

Hope you can pop over tomorrow to see the new sets fully revealed and also to waltz along with some fresh inspiration from the DT!!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

I was running a little comp from here! I'm sneaky, I didn't advertise it a lot, so pat yourself on the back if you spotted it! lol!!

the randomly chosen winner is:

Debbie Flowers who said... 15 These two little ladies are adorable. You are so talented! I can't wait to add them to my collections. So looking forward to more of these vintage beauties.

Debbie - pop me an email - put Halloween Winner in the Subject line and let me have your addy! I'll send the girls right over!!

Hope it tickles!!!

...a little more Cicely and Gracie...

Aside from the main images in the Cicely and Gracie sets there are lots of little supporting doodads that you can use - here I have used a separate pumpkin lantern stamp, the little bubble bursts and an invitation sentiment to whip up a few party invitations.

I used the large gingham from Gingham & Co. to make a smart patterned background.

I made tiny postage stamp frames from the newly released Spellbinders Postage square dies!!! See? lovely shape!

By the way, if you've just happen-chanced upon us, we will be releasing two little Halloween Vintage stamp sets on Monday! pop back tomorrow for some more samples and further details!

You can see below how I stamped the pumpkins and then coloured them with copics. I then stamped some bubble bursts around them before attaching little mini frames that I die cut with Spellbinders postage stamp square dies (to be widely available soon) and some classic square dies. Aren't they dinky? Quite quick to make, not much colouring and a wee bit of sponging!

Hope it tickles!!

...More Gracie and Cicely...

Good morning, if you are just tuning in I am showing samples made with stamps from two little Halloween stamp sets I am 'leaking' early  - August 1st, this Monday! These were destined for September, but I have no patience, I was so excited to show you - It's a little different for us to have people stamps!!

Today's first card shows off one of the sentiment stamps from Cicely at Halloween,

It's a vintage verse and it reads:

"By pumpkins fat and witches lean
By coal black cats with eyes of green
By all the magic ever seen
I wish you luck this Halloween"

I chose to make it the feature on this card and I set it off with one of the little decorative motif stamps, the moon, also from Cicely at Halloween.

I used the bat and the moon to make the background pattern, stamped on the ginger card. I set the verse on a cream panel, which I then mounted on a black mat. I set all that onto a green panel I made with one of the new Edgeability dies from Spellbinders, the excellent Classic Petal. I simply trimmed out a long rectangle and used the edgeability die on each end. I cut two more 'ends and offset them under my main green panel to get that nice offset point look. Here's a few pics so you can see what I mean. Finished off with a couple of flourishes from the Scallops and Dots set and added the moon, which punches out nicely with a 3/4 inch circle punch, or die.

My second card this morning is a simpler take on the main Cicely stamp - I stamped her in versamark, clear embossed and then did minimal colouring using a water pen and some SU inks, finally added a little extra shading with just a plain graphite pencil, I wanted it to be sort of faded looking. I added the Jolly Japes sentiment from Gracie at Halloween.

Jolly Japes will be a curious phrase for some. Jolly, most folks will understand, but 'Japes' is an old fashioned English word for tricks, or practical jokes, which I think fits perfectly with Halloween. Anyone who has ever read Enid Blyton, may well have come across this word. I thought it was a charming addition to my Halloween sentiment arsenal. Here I cut a slit with a scalpel above and below the sentiment, and pushed two slivers of card through from the back. I took a moment to edge them with my pinking shears first. I like the clean cut graphic edge.

Next up is a little How-To, a sort of picture tutorial for folks wanting to make the toothed aperture from this card.

First I selected two dies, a classic circle and a pinked circle - both Spellbinder dies from sets of that name. I picked a plain circle which fit inside the pinked circle. I die cut a plain circle - you can see it here in the first pic, I have set it inside the pinking circle die so that you can see that it is smaller than the pinked circle die - it's the green circle.

I use the green circle as a template and draw around a portion of it onto a pre-cut rectangle which is exactly the right size for the front of my card. I do this 5 times making sure the arcs for a star shape. You can just see the pencil lines on the orange card.

Next, I trim out the star shape with a scalpel. Then I cut two pinked circles with my pinked die.

Then I sponge the front of the piece of card.

Next, I cut up the pinked circles roughly into sections, just larger than the arcs in the star shape.

 

Then I start adhering them to the back of the  sponged card rectangle so that only the teeth show up in the aperture. Glue was best for this so that I could smooch it around for the best position. One thing tho - if you are stamping a sentiment directly to the front of your card, it's best to do it now, before you adhere the 'teeth'...

See? simple! If it's difficult, I don't do it!! lol

Hope it tickles, and call back later, I have more!!

...Gracie at Halloween

Good morning! I am showing samples from two new small Halloween sets! Today's card is from a set called Gracie at Halloween. People stamps are something a little bit new for WMS and we hope you are liking our little vintage chicks!

Normally we wouldn't bet releasing new stamps again until September, but I couldn't resist sneaking these two sets out early! This is the main image from the second set and it features a younger girl than Cicely, on her broom with her beloved kitty. I'm showing samples until Sunday, then on Monday the DT ladies will begin our SOAP event and these two Halloween sets will be available at the store!

I coloured with copics again, and nope, I didn't have a black pen and so we couldn't have a black cat! I think a big ginger cat is ok tho, these little chickies are only playing at being witches...

I made the background pattern with the gothic text stamp from Text - It and also the newly released Flourishes set, which I clear embossed. Plenty of sponging. The sentiment is from the Gracie set, but I inked up the words individually and satmped them one at a time, I wanted them to fit on the lovely Labels 22 panel ( a new Spellbinders CHA release, as is the main panel). A little ribbon and we're all set!

Later on today I will have another post for you - lots of folks wondered about the aperture with teeth from yesterday and I have a few pics of that to show, as well as some more samples, these two sets may be small, but they are jam packed!

Stay tuned....ooh and a comp...we must have a comp!! Ok, leave a comment here telling me what you think of our new friends Cicely and Gracie. A random winner will be chosen on Sunday night!! The winner will win a copy of each set!

Hope it tickles!