How to make a personalized dog bandana

Hi! Today I'm showing off my sweet little Lilly and her brand new doggie bandana. This is really a quick and easy project for anyone who has a die cut machine and an iron!

I made this for SRM and it is featured on the blog today, a full list of supplies and instructions can be found here

I have two tips to always always insure a successful heat transfer vinyl project, and that is to cut your image in reverse {mirror} and to make sure to use a pressing cloth or a flour sack towel over your ironing. this prevents scorching, and saves your iron from being exposed to anything.

Lilly loves the camera.... and it loves her, but getting a puppy to sit still is a big job y'all! I must have 20 "action" shots LOL she is such a sweetie, and I swear she pranced around for an hour showing off her new neck gear!

To order SRM heat transfer vinyl check it out here

Lilly and I had fun working together on this project, and I hope you will have fun making them for all the pet lovers you know!!!

Adding shimmer to stamped images

Good morning my sweets! Have you ever wanted just a little extra shimmer on your images?

I recently got this set from Mama Elephant  and it so cute! I love stamps that have matching dies, makes it so easy!!! I colored in the stamped images with copics and cut them with the matching dies.

I added an embossed panel and began building the card, after I had all my elements in place I grabbed a tiny paintbrush, and a bottle of seaglass glimmer mist. I "painted" on the glimmer mist rather than spray it. Open the bottle and dip your brush into the bottle and lightly sweep on the color as desired.

For a bit of magical shimmer on the unicorn I used tattered angels glimmer glam glitter paint   in chandelier. this is super easy, super shimmery, and super magical!!!

I just want to stamp unicorns all day!LOL I just love these sweet little stamps!

see you soon! XOXO Shantaie

Trying my hand at a galaxy background card.

If you have been on pinterest lately no doubt you have been seeing galaxy everything... cakes, slime, hair, donuts, and converse....and of course galaxy card backgrounds.

My first go already has me hooked!

 I do have some "muddy" spots and decided to just roll with it, and be more aware of my color placement next time. All in all I love this card, and I will be making more.....galaxy everything!

For this version I used watercolor paper, watercolors, and brushes, stamps, versafine black ink, and glitter paper for a sparkle! I used 3 different whites, white glimmer mist, white paint, and a white gel pen. super fun and a wee bit messy, but a good happy messy!!!!!

Painted Planner Pages This Week

I had a sticker sheet leftover from a scrap kit, and thought it would be a pretty way to design my planner for the week. I have a lot going on, so I wanted it to be sunny and happy!

I used gesso to prime the page for paint, and added a bit of seaglass paint, and a few drippy bits, and a spritz of lemon glimmer mist.

I added the stickers, and filled in a sampling of my schedule, and to do list. As the days arrive, I typically fill in my planner the night before. As always, I only fill in the things I may need reminding of, not my each and every action. I don't need to list mop the floor, or wash the bed linens.

I say have some fun with your planner, after all when the year is done, its like a time capsule of your daily life!

There are no real rules, but do keep in mind, that you have to be able to write on the next page next week, so use gesso before painting, or using dark markers that may bleed through. 

{yes I learned the hard way}

That is a happy accident, as it's the reason I started using paint .....to cover black sharpie. 

I plan to have a great week! what's you plan?

I XOXO Flamingos

Good morning to you! How's the weather in your home today? Here in central Florida it's a soggy but mild day, and a perfect day for spending time in the studio!

I may not have this much stamping time again for a while, so why not enjoy as much stamping as I can?
In the spirit of my goal to minimize clutter, and overstuffed spaces, as I'm stamping and creating I'm removing items from my workspace that I no longer use, want, or need. This is a much calmer...organic method of clearing things out, and feels natural and much less like a task or chore. I hope that is helpful to many of you who like me are on a journey to get the most out of life!

I have some items in my studio that are multitaskers and are truly my favorites, in my top 5 are SRM clear stickers sheets. Sentiments, phrases, stitching, so many sayings like the "xoxo" on my card....all on one sheet can replace dozens of stamps, and they can be placed almost anyplace on your project, check them out here.

I used my silhouette to cut this dotty background piece and popped it up with foam dots, I used mostly leftover cuts that were in my little bin, to build a platform for the pink flamingo and flowers. I just love flamingos, they always make me smile.

I had a lovely time playing fetch with Lilly while stamping...or in between anyways! she is a playful puppy!

have a great day XOXO Shantaie

How I used 3 stamps sets to make a background

Hello my sweets! I'm stamping! I'm using paper, ink, and stamps!! That seems a rather redundant statement I know, but the simple art of stamping images onto paper has been lacking in my studio as of late. I have some free time, that I haven't had in months, and in addition to cleaning up clutter, I scheduled in some studio time with the intention of reconnecting with my stamps.

To make this gold embossed oh so sweet background, I smashed up 3 different stamps from 3 sets! Why? I loved the donut, but all donuts would have been a bit boring I think, so I pulled out a set called small packages from Verve stamps, and little hearts from SRM coffee time. 

I stamped small sections at a time with versamark ink on multimedia paper, I embossed in gold and when I had a background full of confections, I colored them in with gellato's and a fine wet paintbrush.

The donuts were topped with glossy accents, and a few microbeads then a splash of sequins....beacuse sequins!!!!!!!!! I stamped the border, and greeting and cut them with the coordinating die, and popped them with foam tape.

Here is a shot using a flash setting, you can see the gold embossing, and just how pretty it really is!!!

hello neighbor

How do you tell your neighbor that you are having a new fence installed, and that the construction and mess and noise will likely disrupt their day? Send a handmade card of course!!!

I have three neighbors that will be affected directly, and plan to send each a card with all the details, and a way to contact me if they have any questions. I don't really know them well, but think it's a kindness that should not be passed by! 

I used a brayer to add color to the background, and a couple of stamps embossed in gold really pop. The neighbor stamp is from SRM love one another and the hello is from a sizzix set I picked up at a craft shop. The thank you is a sticker from SRM Thank you stickers by the dozen, popped up with foam

I added a few colored rhinestones, and a spritz in a matching color glimmer mist for a bit of splatter.
perhaps a little gift card to starbucks is in order too....on the plus side they will no longer have to look at a disheveled broken fence! win win eh?! :)