February Stamping Project: Lovely Swan Centrepiece or Decoration

LOL you may have expected a Valentine’s Day card or project this month, but instead I present a project that is just as full of romance and love as any card. When I saw that display stampers were wanted for for OnStage, I literally jumped at the opportunity to apply. And I had to jump because I only had a few things that qualified for the three cards, one scrapbook page and two 3-D objects.

This idea materialized somehow except that I was lying in bed thinking about it and had to get out of bed to quickly sketch it before I forgot. When the Lovely Swan stamp set appeared in last year’s Occasions catalog, I knew I had to order it not just because it featured a bird - but because it looked so versatile for any card that needed a touch of flowers or nature. I will get around to updating this post with some instructions and a supply list - I didn't really keep track of how I made it!

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The One Piece of IKEA Furniture Stampers Can't Live Without

A funny thing happens when you become a Stamping’ Up demonstrator - you acquire a lot of stamps! One of the reasons I joined was due to the discount but I was surprised how easily I fell in love with some designs. My stamp collection was pretty small before, but it exploded last year. How to store them all?

I have a small office/craft room that I kitted out with Billy bookshelves years ago to display my toy horse collections and be a reading nook. Unfortunately I never get the chance to read anymore - it’s a hobby that requires time and peace, which is hard to do with my pet birds. I donated some of my books, moved some things around and bought an extra book shelf for my biggest Billy bookcase (yes, you can do that!). This freed up my two Benno CD/DVD towers. It wasn’t quite enough room because I still had books I wanted to keep. Eight or nine stamp case sized cubbyholes can be configured and depending on whether you collect wood or cling stamps, 6-11 sets can be stashed per cubby.

Since we don’t live near the IKEA, I plotted and planned my shopping list. The Gnedby CD/DVD towers are now a fraction of the price of the old ones and I had just enough space left in the office for one, where I stashed the books. Whew! Now that I had space for all my stamp cases, I had to organize them. But, that is another post! You will see that I marked all the discontinued sets with a red sticker. I always try to feature current products just in case you see them and want to order them right away. Speaking of, Sale-A-Bration is one until the end of March, so make sure you make a qualifying order in case you want some of the free stamps.

Here's a little peek at my craft room - if it wasn't a disaster at the moment, I would take a wider photo. Each month gets better and better though. In theory I should be able to make a video by December ;-)

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