New Swap, Being a Guest Designer at AlphaStamps.com

Alright, next up is Alpha Stamps' Mermaid 4x4 coaster swap hosted by Teri Calia! I am especially excited about this one as I am a guest designer for this swap and have a few of my pieces up on the site.

I absolutely love mermaids (remember Splash with Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks??), the ocean (but I am terrified of it all the same, especially large aquatic life! eeep!), sand, shells, etc. so this is right up my alley. I also have a thing for coaster art (random, eh?), for either drawing/painting portraits on them and/or stacking into cool towers and buildings while sipping a beer at the bar. But anyway, moving on....

Heres what I did:

AS Summer Vacation Themed ATC Swap Fianal

Yey! Got my Summer Vacation themed ATCs today in the mail and I must say, I got some great ones!

First one is from Caroline Ouzts Hay, the hostess of the swap:


I love the coral and how she layered it over the beauties, the one with the umbrella being my favorite. I also love the gold loop border and the sand along the bottom.

The second is by Teri Steele:


I really love the image she used as well as the cute charms she dangled from the sides (especially the anchor as I have a soft spot for sailor things. Love you, Dad!)

And the third is by Frieda Oxenham, one of Alpha Stamps' UK design team members:


So cool but so hard to photograph! She used fabrics and sewed along the border of the card. The top layer is sparkly clear plastic fabric and it really gives a neat effect.

So there it is, 2nd swap down and so far, so good. Thanks to Caroline, Teri and Frieda, your ATCs are awesome! Everyone else also did a great job and if anyone would like to see them, visit the Alpha Stamps gallery HERE.

Summer Themed ATC Swap

So, with 4 days til they are due in-hand, I have finished my ATCs for Caroline's swap, hosted by Alpha Stamps. I am not completely happy with them but they will do... I was a click away from dropping out of this swap as I was just not motivated or inspired... but last minute I pulled through and I am very glad I did :D

Anyway, here they are in all of their badly photographed (yeah yeah.. I need a new camera!!) glory:


I am very excited to see what everyone has done. The Alpha Stamps Yahoo! Group is full of wonderfully talented crafters who always do an amazing job. The few I have seen so far have been awesome and I cant wait to see more! :D

Alpha Stamps Twilight Bracelet Kit

In celebration of the new movie Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Teri Calia of AlphaStamps.com has designed and put together a kit for making (and customizing!!) your very own Twilight inspired charm bracelet.

Whats so awesome about her design is the thought she put into the bracelet, custom designing a beautiful Edward Cullen representation with the 'diamond' heart and lion bead ('...And so the lion fell in love with the lamb' - Edward to Bella), blood red drop beads to represent, well... blood drops, a Queen chess piece to represent Bella Swan (and is also for the cover art of Breaking Dawn, the last book of the series. See what she did there?), a very cute red enameled apple to represent the cover of Twilight and a silver wolf for Jacob Black, the oh-so-cute werewolf.


So here is mine (again, my pic is kinda lame). I left the center heart blank as this will be a gift for my mother-in-law and I want to customize it per what she'd like.

Over all, the bracelet is pretty easy (and fun!!) to make and is suitable for crafters of any level. You will get detailed instructions in your kit, complete with step-by-step photos and great tips to make sure your bracelet comes out perfect. As for time, I think it took me about 45 minutes the first time around (I made one for my BFF who is OBSESSED with Twilight, her center heart says TEAM EDWARD) and 30 minutes the second (above) time around.

To see more photos, read about everything that comes in the kit and to purchase, go HERE.

P.S. Its on sale!! Get yours now!! :D