Friday, August 2, 2013

Stamp the to Max August Blog Hop

Can you believe that we are already talking Holiday Catalog?!  In case you didn't know, it went live for ordering yesterday and it is full of wonderful new products.  The blog hop is all focused on the new Holiday Catalog this month....so enjoy it. 

 

While my little family is still stuck living in the basement at my mother's house and I am 24 weeks pregnant with our second little boy, I have had to figure out creative ways to get my crafting in and plan for the future as well.  I decided that since baby is due in November, and it is a stressful time of year anyway, I was going to use the new Simply Created card kit called Merry Little Christmas.  I will be needing to send cards out to announce the new baby, Christmas, and our new address about that time of year.  I am cutting back and using one card to do the job of 3! Smart right? Totally.


Plus, I need the ease of having everything cut out and ready to go.  All you have to do is stamp and assemble.  SUPER EASY!  It even comes with an envelope liner to make it look like you went all out for the occasion.  That's our little secret.

 
So, I hope you enjoy the final product.  You can place your order on my website 24 hours a day and get your Christmas card stash started early.  There are some other great kits available as well if this isn't your style.  Go check it out and jump along to the next blog for more samples from the new catalog. 

Maxine Conrad           www.stamptothemax.com
Martha Haddock        
www.stampinmartha.blogspot.com (you are here)
Lisa Fennewald          www.lisaloostamps.com
Elizabeth Harris         www.elizabethloves2stamp.com


Happy Stamping!
 
Martha




Friday, July 5, 2013

Stamp to the Max July Blog Hop

Hey there! Welcome to the blog hop for July.  I have been MIA for a while and for that I am sorry.  My husband was let go from his job and received an offer for a better job within a couple weeks of his last day at the old job.  But that meant that we had to relocate our family 100 miles south of Logan to the Salt Lake Valley.  We are currently squatting in my mother's basement while our home sells and we look for another home.  And if all of that wasn't stressful enough...I am 19 weeks pregnant as we speak.  Whew!

I am feeling a little better now and I am on pins and needles waiting to find out what the next baby is tomorrow morning at an ultrasound.  I hope to be around a little more often now, even though we are in temporary quarters.

On to the good stuff! We are doing a fabulous Red, White, and Blue hop this month in honor of the July 4th holiday. I hear fireworks outside as I am writing this.  I have two cards to show you and then a great idea for future cards.  Stampin' Up! has retired a lot of their stars and July related items it seems.  But don't worry! 

The first card is an old card that I made a few years ago when I first joined the Stampin' Up! family.  The set was in a mini catalog and I have held on to it just because I like it.  It is fireworks and stars and perfect for the holiday.  So, the colors on the card are still current, but everything else you see is retired.  It was just an old one that I found while packing up my stuff and moving and I held on to it.

 
The second card is one that I just made and even though the star punches are no longer current, star shapes are easy to snip (especially if you are following a stamp outline, but more on that later).  I inked up my lined embossing folder with Real Red ink and then ran a piece of Whisper White through it and the ink transfers to the cardstock as it embosses.  The stars are cut from the Polka Dot Parade DSP in Marina Mist.  Pretty quick and easy and makes the perfect American flag.

 
So here is the great thing.  We now have this great new catalog and there is an awesome stamp set in it that will work perfectly for this idea.  I just haven't snagged it for myself yet.  It is called Simply Stars and is really versatile in making holiday cards along with just celebrating events in general.  If you hoard punches like me, your old punches match perfectly to it.  If you don't have the old star punches, it is okay because stars are really easy to snip out using scissors since it is all straight lines and you just follow the inked image.  This set is on my wish list and at only $10.95 for a clear mount set it is worth is!

I hope you enjoyed the samples I had and move along to the next lovely project we have for you.  Enjoy your holiday and THANK YOU to all those who make this land the Land of the Free. 

1.  Elizabeth Harris         www.elizabethloves2stamp.com
2.  Martha Haddock        www.stampinmartha.blogspot.com (you are here)
3.  Stephanie Bradley     www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stampwithsteph/blog
4.  Lisa Fennewald          www.lisaloostamps.com
5.  Norma Fox                www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/normafox/blog

Happy Stamping!
 
Martha




Friday, May 3, 2013

Stamp to the Max May Blog Hop

Welcome to May!  I love this time of year.  Spring is one of my favorite times of the year because it starts to warm up and the snow is gone and everything starts to bloom.  I won't mention that it snowed here in Logan on May 1st...woops, did I just say that? Not my favorite.



The card I have to show you today makes me think of spring with the birds and the flowers coming out.  It uses the stamp set Betsy's Blossoms.  I mixed some bold colors with Rich Razzleberry and Gumball Green with the neutral Whisper White to make a bright bold statement.  I love the way it turned out.


Since we are celebrating Mother's Day and Father's Day on this blog hop I decided that this card worked for that even though the sentiment is not something traditional.  I talk to my sweet mom pretty much every day, 3 times yesterday!  I am always thinking of her, so this sentiment made sense for me and is part of the stamp set called Sweet Essentials.



Another awesome product that makes me think spring is the new Bloomin' Bouquet Project Kit. One of these is definitely going to my mom for mother's day.  She can enjoy these flower all year long rather than just a week.  Plus, at only $12.95 they are way cheaper than real flowers too.  Grab the kit in my online store now!

Hope you enjoyed the projects I showed.  Hop along to the next stop and enjoy more parental merriment. 

Maxine Conrad   www.stamptothemax.com
Christina Ash-Mansker   www.crazystampmom.blogspot.com
Martha Haddock    www.stampinmartha.blogspot.com (You are here)
Lisa Fennewald   www.lisaloostamps.com
Elizabeth Harris   www.elizabethloves2stamp.com
 
Happy Stamping!
Martha

Friday, April 5, 2013

Stamp to the Max April Blog Hop

Hey fellow crafters!  Are you enjoying the birthday ideas you are getting so far?  I sure hope so!  Today I am going with a spring birthday card for you.  I have loved this set from the second I saw it in the catalog last year.  It is called Best of Everything...and it really is. 

 
I paired the stamp set up with the Polka Dot DSP and some bright colors for a fun spring card.  My son and I went to the working historical farm here in town this week for Baby Animal Days and we held some cute baby chicks.  Nothing says spring like cute little birds. 

 
Hope you like the card.  Its pretty versatile and you can change the sentiment out to be just about anything without it looking crazy.  I like cards like that because you never know when you need a random sentiment on short notice. 

 
Don't forget that starting at 12:00 AM MST on April 6th you get FREE standard shipping on ANY order until 11:59 PM MST on April 8th.  So get your orders in to my website this weekend and score on some of the awesome new products without the shipping costs.  No minimum order required and its on everything!  Awesome!

Now get on over to the next blog and get some more inspiration for the upcoming birthdays in your life. 

  1. Maxine Conrad      www.stamptothemax.com
  2. Martha Haddock     www.stampinmartha.blogspot.com ( You are here) 
  3. Christina Ash-Mansker    www.crazystampmom.blogspot.com 
  4. Lisa Fennewald      www.lisaloostamps.com 
  5. Norma Fox          www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/normafox/blog 
  6. Elizabeth Harris      www.elizabethloves2stamp.com

Happy Stamping!
Martha
 

Monday, April 1, 2013

Fun With Fun Flowers Die

 
I had been wanting to make one of these cool twine letters for my house for a while.  Of course, you know the idea came from Pinterest.  I waited for some of the items to go on sale at the local craft store and then started my project.

 
 

I started with a wooden H that is about 18" tall.  It is only about 1/2" thick though.  I thought I wanted it thicker, but I couldn't find the height I wanted in a thicker version.  Overall, I am very pleased with it and realize now that the thicker version would not have turned out so versatile for me.  I used about 1 1/2 rolls of twine and lots of hot glue.  So make sure you have lots of glue sticks on hand when you start.

 
I started on the back of the letter and glued down the end and then started to wrap it around.  After a few wraps I realized that I need to be hot gluing most of the string down in order for it to stay in the place I wanted and nice and tight.  It doesn't take a ton of glue to get it to stay, so don't feel like you have to glob it on.  A nice thin strip right up against the strip already glued down is perfect. The twine is pretty forgiving, so even when I had to wrap the ends and corners it turned out pretty well.


Once the twine was done, I knew it needed some flowers.  You can find all sorts of felt at the local craft store.  It ranges from $0.25 - $1.00 a sheet depending on the thickness and if you wanted a pattern and glitter.  I chose the cheap stuff.  I folded the cream felt in half and put it over my Fun Flowers Die and ran it through the Big Shot doubled up.  Then I layered all the pieces for the look I wanted on the cream flower.  I used hot glue to attach the layers and the flower to the H as well.

The green flower is 2 long strips of felt cut about 2" x 5".  Fold it in half and then snip down the folded side leaving a half inch on the other side.  Then just roll it up using hot glue to secure it as you go. 

For the gray flower I cut square 12 squares of the felt just larger than the second largest flower on the die and cut 3 at a time with the Big Shot.  Then I cut a 2" circle out of the felt for the backing.  Fold each flower in quarters and hot glue it to the circle starting with the outside first and working your way in.

I am pretty pleased with it and people love it too.  Most people on Pinterest were using them as wreaths on their front doors, but I have mine sitting on a shelf in my family room.  Please do not be fooled by the easiness (is that a word?) of this project.  It was SUPER easy, but it is time consuming to wrap all that twine.  It took me about 4 hours, but I am pretty particular on how the finished product looks...so the OCD takes longer for most things.  :)

Happy Crafting!

Martha