Spring Decorating

It doesn't take much excuse at my house to find a reason to decorate for the season. I love when Spring arrives... it heralds the end of Winter, rebirth of the Earth and SUNSHINE!!!

This year, I was digging through my decorations and couldn't find my window clings... you know the ones made of see-through plastic and stick to the windows. The kids love putting these around all the windows in the house... which is probably why I couldn't find them. Being the crafty stamper, I thought I'd try my hand at MAKING my own. Why not? If the experiment didn't work, I'd run out and buy some but it was worth a shot. And I was not disappointed with my efforts.

Easter / Spring Window Clings:

I'll run through the steps here and will add the pictures later. I had this all mapped out on my laptop and then it crashed. My brother (a techie) advised me of it's untimely demise... but I was lucky enough to still have a warranty. I've sent it off for service, but in the meantime I'm desolate without all my files. Sorry for that...

1. Using Stazon ink, I stamped directly onto a transparency sheet (I used the Write-on variety from Office Depot / Max). Stazon is fast drying and perfect for this application.

For the bunny, I used White Stazon first. The next layer was Saddle Brown, then
Timber Brown and the last bit of detail was stamped with Jet Black Stazon.

2. Carefully trim around the image.

3. Apply (on the back of the stamped image) a thin layer of Aleen's Tack It Over & Over. For areas that were not stamped (for example: between the oval outline and the small bunny), you will see the repositionable glue. This didn't bother me because it gives that "frosted glass" look.

4. Allow the glue to dry.

5. Carefully stick to your window.

I will store these on wax paper, but they are so easy to make that I can see me doing this every year.

To use inks other than Stazon, I did a little experimenting. I have a limited number of colors of Stazon (and wasn't going to buy a stack of them). But, I wanted colored flowers...

So... here's the process I used for my flower:

1. Stamp the base flower / image with White Stazon on a transparency sheet. My reasoning for using White Stazon is that this is fast drying, but will give a non-slick surface for other inks to adhere to. I hope that makes sense... If not, email me.

2. Stamp the second, third, etc. color with a pigment or chalk ink. In this case, I used Mango Madness and Pumpkin Spice Versamagic chalk inks. These didn't really dry in-between stamping. I added a bit of brown pigment ink for the center.

3. Because the ink will still be wet, I sprinkled clear detail embossing powder over the image and SLOWLY heated. Take your time. It will emboss... you just have to go slow or you'll melt your transparency sheet.

4. Trim and add the Aleen's Tack It Over & Over.

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to know if you try this!

lise

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Supplies:

Stamps:

-3-Step Honey Bunny, Playful Ovals - both by Kitchen Sink Stamps

Ink:

-White, Saddle Brown, Timber Brown, Jet Black Stazon inks

-Mango Madness, Pumpkin Spice Versamagic Chalk inks

-Brown pigment ink

Other:

-Transparency sheets from Office Depot / Max (Write-On variety)

-Clear detail embossing powder by Ranger

-Aleen's Tack It Over & Over (bought from Michael's)