stamping on cookies with concord & 9th

Today I have one more project to share using some of the Concord & 9th January release! I love this release, well I really love all their stuff, but the January release is super fun! And I have loved, loved, LOVED getting to guest design for them! They are one of my favorite stamps companies and some of the coolest, nicest people too! (Angie, Greg & Amy - love you guys!)

So I have seen stamped cookies around Pinterest and I've been dying to try it...

And don't you love when those Pinterest projects actually work?! My icing skills could use some fine tuning but the stamping part is pretty easy! I made a super quick video for you on how to stamp on cookies...



Here what's you need:

• sugar cookies with completely dry royal icing
• liquid food coloring (I used black for a bold graphic look)
• stamping foam like ranger cut-n-dry foam
• clean clear stamps (I used Concord & 9th's beautiful Love Notes and Best Banners stamp sets) 
• acrylic block
• food coloring marker (optional)

And a few tips from my experience:

• when I say the icing should be dry, I mean like 24 hours dry
• here are the awesome recipes I used for the sugar cookies & icing. (Thank you Bridget from bake at 350!)
• wash your clear stamps with dish soap first to prevent any germ-ies from getting on your cookies and wash again with soap after to remove the food coloring.
• you can use cling stamps but clear are the easiest to wash and the easiest to position.
• small stamps are the easiest to get a clean, clear image but if you are like me and REALLY want to use a large, gorgeous Concord & 9th sentiment, a black food coloring marker helps fill in any missed spots because even flat cookies are a little uneven, LOL!

Thank you for stopping by!

xo,

Carly

P.S. Wouldn't stamped cookies be a great way to shower someone with love?

making a magic slider...

Today I'm over in The Classroom at Ellen Hutson LLC today making a magical unicorn magic slider. Come check it out!

Happy Thursday!
Carly

crushing on concord & 9th best banners

I'm super excited to be guest designing again for Concord & 9th today! I was lucky enough to meet Angie, Greg & Amy in real-life at CHA last weekend and I love them even more now! Some people really get how crafting is a way to create happiness and the Concord team really gets it. They rock!

Today I've created a card with the new Best Banners stamp & die sets.

This card was totally inspired by an amazing card that JJ Bolton created last year. I've been wanting to copy recreate LOL, but never had the right dies to play with. The Concord & 9th Best Banner dies are just perfect for delicate little shakers. I {heart} them!

To start, I die cut the "best" banner 4 times. Then I used a glue pen to adhere 3 of the die cuts together.

I used the fourth "best" banner die as a guide to cut a piece of acetate to match. Then I set both pieces aside for later.

Next, I stamped a 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 white panel with the words to complete the sentiment.

I used the glue pen again to adhere the triple-layered "best" to the stamped panel. Then I set it aside to dry completely (very important when using glitter in the shaker).

For the glitter I wanted a very subtle ombre effect so I colored my clear glitter with alcohol ink. In a plastic bag, I added a few spoonfuls of glitter. First I added one drop of ink, squished the bag around to blend and then removed 1/3 of the glitter. To the remaining glitter I added 2 more drops of ink, blended again and removed another 1/3. To the final 1/3 of glitter, I added 3 more drops of ink.

Once the glitter and the layered "best" (on the stamped panel) were dry, I used a spoon to add the glitter into the "best", lightest to darkest.

Over the glitter, I adhered the acetate piece and then finished it with the last "best" banner die cut.

I can't wait to make bunches more of these sweet little shakers, especially because I have lots of colored glitter left!

Thank you for inviting me to play Concord & 9th!

xo,
Carly

showering love - sequin hearts & stripes

Today I have another super easy idea for lovey cards with sequin hearts that look much more complicated than they are!

Stamp panels with stripes like the My Favorite Things Watercolor Stripes background or the 3 stripe band from my new fav, Concord & 9th Love Always.

Die cut hearts from the stamped panels.

Then create the little sequined pieces to fill the negative space of the heart die cuts. This is much easier than it looks! Cut a piece of strong double sided adhesive bigger than the heart. Remove part of the adhesive liner and apply sequin trim (sequins pre-stitched together). Continue to remove the adhesive liner paper and apply the sequin trim until the piece is covered.

The iridescent sequin trim is available at Ellen Hutson LLC and the black is from my stash, left over from my wedding. Head over to my Instagram account for a chance to win some black trim happy mail.

Finish the panels with black ink splatter and sentiments before adhering to card. So easy right?!

I'm off to CHA but I'll be posting the fun on my Instagram account so make sure to pop over and check it out.

xo,
Carly

supplies:

Concord & 9th Clear Stamps, Love Notes

Concord & 9th Clear Stamps, Love Always

My Favorite Things Cling Stamps, Watercolor Stripes Background

Hero Arts Frame Cuts Dies, Infinity Nesting Hearts

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Spun Sugar

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Spun Sugar

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Kit #4

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Black Soot

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Black Soot

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Kit #3

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Strathmore Bristol Pad 9x12

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 10pc-8.5" x 11"

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 20pc-5.5" x 5.5"

My Sweet Petunia MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool

Be Creative Sheets, 5 pk (8x11)

Maya Road Ribbon, Sparkle Sequins Trim, Iridescent Ice, 3 yards precut

showering love - easy inked conversation hearts

Conversation hearts are such an iconic part of Valentine's Day and I love them! Well actually I think they taste a little yucky but I love them! Today I created a super easy card using ink blending to create some candy hearts...

To create this card, start by die cutting hearts from masking paper. I did not have the size of heart die that I wanted to use so I cut my masks with a heart balloon die and then just used 2 little more pieces of masking paper to mask the bottom of the balloon.

Place first mask on smooth watercolor panel and add ink with an ink blending tool.

Remove mask and let ink dry for just a few minutes before placing second mask on panel and creating second heart.

When all of the hearts are inked, add conversation heart messages with a simple alphabet set like the Essentials by Ellen Basic Alpha in hot pink ink like Archival Magenta Hue.

Finally add a little hot pink splatter, clear sequins and send some sweetness to a friend!

xo,
Carly

p.s. Don't forget to mail that card! Mailing is the part I always forget about but not this time, I'm showering my loves with love!

p.p.s. Read more about my showering love mission here.

supplies:

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Basic Alpha by Julie Ebersole

Paper Smooches Wise Dies, Big Balloons

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Blueprints 13

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Spun Sugar

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Spun Sugar

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Kit #4

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Squeezed Lemonade

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Squeezed Lemonade

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Kit #10

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Shaded Lilac

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Shaded Lilac

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Picked Raspberry

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Picked Raspberry

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Kit #1

Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Magenta Hue

Strathmore Bristol Pad 9x12

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 10pc-8.5" x 11"

Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 20pc-5.5" x 5.5"

Ranger Ink Blending Tool, 1 Inch Round