Make your own coloring book with products from Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says Stamp!

Happy STAMPtember!

I am super excited to be representing Honey Bee Stamps on the Simon Says Stamp blog this week. I have three projects to share with you, and a video that walks through all three of them.

DIY Coloring Book for crafters | Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says Stamp

I will be listing all of the supplies used in my projects at the end of this post. Today I will be highlighting some of the brand new products from Honey Bee Stamps!

Zen Floral and Zen Bouquet were inspired from the popular adult coloring book trend. Both sets have matching dies and the large bouquet is almost 6 inches around. I thought that these would be perfect to show off today’s project share.

zen-sets

You can make a diy coloring book so many different ways, so I didn’t want to bore you with a step by step tutorial. Instead, I will walk through this project on camera and talk about several possible ways you can make your own custom coloring book with supplies you may have on hand already.

This coloring book measures approx. 5×7. To make this particular cover size, you will need two pieces of 5×7 chipboard, two pieces of cover paper measured at 5 ½ x 7 ½ , and two pieces of patterned paper that will go on the inside. Cut these slightly smaller than the chipboard. Mine measured 4 ¾ x 6 ¾.  I adhered all of the pieces together with Scor tape but you can use your favorite adhesive. You can even skip covering the chipboard or paint it with acrylic paint.

DIY Coloring Book for crafters | Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says Stamp

I chose to decorate my cover with the Honey Bee Stamps Zen floral border stamp and die. I also used the Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember stitched scallop die and the Honey Bee Stamps Color my world stamp set and die. I did some simple ink blending with distress inks then went over the letters with my  Sakura black Glaze pen. I even added a little shimmer inside the letters with my spectrum noir glitter marker.

I made the inside pages slightly bigger than a standard A2 card base with a bit extra at the top for binding. The inside pages are 4 ½ x 6 ½ . I have pre stamped some card bases for my recipient to color. Pages/ bases are all on Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock, Neenah solar white, or Strathmore bristol paper.  This is a great way to get more use out of your stamp collection. Consider stamping several pages in one session to make multiple books or card bases ready to color.

DIY Coloring Book for crafters | Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says Stamp

Another fun product that I have included is the Simon Says Stamp exclusive Suzy’s doodles. These are printed on Tim Holtz watercolor paper. I adhered each to a page in the book with temporary adhesive. This way they stay put in the book for coloring but when you’re ready to take it out and make a card it comes off easily.

I stamped each of the Honey Bee pages twice for each design. The top piece being the watercolor cardstock and then using temporary adhesive I glued that to the other stamped panel on Neenah solar white. The Bristol paper is embossed and is a separate sheet.

DIY Coloring Book for crafters | Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says Stamp

As a finishing touch to the coloring book I made a cute removable pallet that can go in and out of the book. I used a pack of Peerless watercolor sheets and although you can just cut these in small squares or rectangles I thought it would be fun to use the hexagon die from Simon Says Stamp perfect shapes dies to arrange the paint in a fun “Honey Bee Stamps” sort of feel. I arranged the little paint hexagons in a gate fold pallet. The pallet base is created by using a 6×9 piece of Tim Holtz watercolor paper, 6×9 piece of printed paper and a piece of heavy acetate. The acetate protects the watercolors from running into each other should the pallet be put away damp, it can also be used as a mixing surface. Each end of the paper was scored at approx. 2 ¼ inches. I created a simple belly band to keep the pallet closed using a strip of the same patterned paper using the opposite side. I die cut a circle and stamped a floral from the Zen Bouquet stamp set to tie it all together.

cinch

I bound my coloring book using the We R Memory Keepers CINCH binding machine. There are other binding machines out there  but I have only used this one. You could also punch some holes with a and bind using mini album rings, or tie together with ribbon or twine. You could even use an old planner or traveler’s notebook… SO many possibilities to create a coloring book for friends or for yourself to color on the go.

I am giving this coloring book as a gift, so I placed my coloring book in a mesh bag along with a waterbrush and chamois that I picked up from my local craft store.

DIY Coloring Book for crafters | Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says Stamp

I also made a card that coordinates with the album. I used the huge Zen Bouquet stamp which I have cut down partially, I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to do the coloring and added little touches here and there with my glitter marker and glossy accents. I used the Simon Says Stamp A2 curved card edge die and layered striped patterned paper behind it. For the sentiment I cut apart a sentiment from Honey Bee Stamps Happy everything (You Make Me) and added the new SSS Inspire die cut in the middle instead of “make”. For the final little accent I added the bee stamp from Honey Bee Stamps Sweet as Honey stamp set and die.

DIY Coloring Book for crafters | Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says Stamp

Here is a bonus idea if you wanted to give coloring pens instead or in addition to the watercolors with your coloring book. These are the Kaiser craft gel pens. I am not a huge gel pen girl but these are pretty darn amazing. Especially the glitter ones. They have a really fine tip to get into small places and the ink flows really well.  I just removed the sticker and took the same patterned paper I used in my coloring book to make a belly band for the case. I die cut the word create which is a new Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember release, and glued that on the belly band. I finished it off with coloring one of the white hearts red, adding two thin strips of cardstock to the top and bottom and coating the die cut with my  Sakura clear Glaze gel pen.

DIY Coloring Book for crafters | Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps and Simon Says StampListed below are the links to the products (or comparable products) I have used for these projects.

I hope you found today’s project share inspiring and can think of ways to make your own personalized coloring book. Thank you to Simon Says Stamp for inviting Honey Bee Stamps and myself to share in the STAMPtember celebration!

Thank you for stopping by!
Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps

Happy STAMPtember

Hi Crafty Friends!

Just a quick little sneak post to let you know that I have a fun video and post over on the Simon Says Stamp blog today! I am highlighting some amazing products from both Honey Bee Stamps as well as Simon Says Stamps exclusive products! I will be posting more on my blog tomorrow, but for now check out the post and video by clicking HERE!

Crafty hugs!

Taniesa Vlasak | TheCraftyPickle.com

Create your own Handmade Postcards!

Hi there friends!

I know lots of you out there love to make handmade cards. One thing I don’t see too often is handmade postcards. They are super easy to send, and very inexpensive. I had the idea during TheDailyMarker.com’s 30 day coloring challenge to take my daily coloring and put it on a postcard and just send it to make someone smile. Not all my projects made it on a postcard but I did do a few and I really loved the result. Postcards can be something simple as a Hello friend! or a notification to your friends and family that you have moved.

There are some great products for making your own postcards. First product that I LOVE is the Strathmore watercolor postcards. These are preprinted 140 lb cards on watercolor paper making it so easy to color and send your postcard. I got mine at my local craft store with a coupon making them very inexpensive.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Here is a fun stamp from Amy Tangerine. This comes from her Better Together collection.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

A side note about the stamp above. This stamp is Acrylic and not Photopolymer. I recommend using a stamp positioner tool or a misti to make sure you get a good impression.

There are also other great stamps out there that you can use to build your own postcard backing.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

 

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.comCreate your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.comCreate your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

First up is a simple hello friend postcard made with Mama Elephant brushstroke florals stamps and Sunday Sentiments stamps. I stamped these florals in various shades of distress ink and softened edges with a waterbrush. I also splattered some black ink afterwards. Sentiment was stamped in Simon Says Stamp intense black ink and then I ran the card though a dotted die. This card is a standard A2 card size and not the traditional 4×6 postcard. Postcards can be a range of sizes and does not have to stick to the 4×6 but double-check if you make it larger, that you do not need extra postage.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Next we have another Hello postcard, this time with Honey Bee Stamps “Say What” stamp set as well as their “brush stroke alphabet” stamps. I did some spotlight coloring on this one with copic markers. Using grays for the outside and colors for the center circle. After I was done coloring I adhered my postcard back with multi medium matte. If you want the postcard to look seamless make sure to take some ink around the edges.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Here we have a thank you postcard that I made for my daughter’s Aunt. Small Talk Stamp set by Mama Elephant with alphabet stamps from Illustrated Faith and Studio Calico. Mostly distress ink blending on this one and zig clean color real brush markers to color in “Aunt”. I also went over the letters with a Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen once dry.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

This is a soft thank you postcard using the Not too shabby and kindness stamp sets from Honey Bee Stamps as well as the Kindness die.  I die cut the white panel from Bristol cardstock and sandwiched a piece of Simon Says Stamp Audrey Blue cardstock between that panel and the postcard side. I used my Clarity Stencil Brush to apply Peacock Feathers Distress ink around the postcard. After stamping with Simon Says Stamp intense black ink, I colored the images with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Finally we have a postcard I made for my friends and family announcing our move which is happening this September. This was made with two fabulous stamp sets, “I heart books” and “Moving Sentiments” by Three Room Studio. They were colored using Zig Clean Color real brush markers on Canson bristol cardstock. I printed off custom postcard backs that I created in Photoshop.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Another great idea is to take your premade postcards and stamp outlined sentiments like this “Thank you”. This is a great idea for kids to personalize a thank you note to family and friends when needed.

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Create your own postcards | TheCraftyPickle.com

Because I made a postcard in Photoshop for my projects I thought you might enjoy using it too. Click the link below to download your copy. Print out on your favorite cardstock and cut to 4×6. You can color directly on the back or if you do it separately then adhere together with your favorite adhesive.

Download your FREE postcard printable here!

Free postcard printable | TheCraftyPickle.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I sure hope you got some postcard creating inspiration today. I would love to see what you create! Please leave me a link to your project via your blog, Instagram, Flickr, or other so I can check it out!

Listed below are the links to the products I have used for these projects as well as postcard projects I have done in the past, and planning on doing. Affiliate links may be used, which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I really appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog.

https://static.inlinkz.com/ppr.js

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I will be back this Thursday with the Honey Bee Stamps HONEY HOP celebrating the new release! For now, I am back to packing!

Have a wonderful week!
Taniesa Vlasak | TheCraftyPickle.com

You Color My World

Hi Sweet Friends!!!

I am excited to share with you my first official design team project for Honey Bee Stamps. I have had the pleasure of doing some guest work for HBS in the past, but I am so excited to be apart of what is an extremely talented team!

Today I will be working with the Color My World stamp set. It’s an adorable 4×4 stamp set that just reminds me of the current coloring book craze.

Colormyworld by HoneyBeeStamps.com

What spoke to me when I saw this stamp set is a card I knew I wanted to make for my daughter. Every birthday and christmas, for as long as I can remember, I have given her a coloring book. Far before the amazing coloring books that are available currently.  I would search and search for the perfect one ( in the past I would buy her a lot of coloring books from Dover) With her birthday coming up I knew this would be the perfect card to go with the new coloring book that I got for her.

I decided to go with a non traditional card size. I picked up these cute envelopes from my LSS that are 3 1/2 x 6 1/2. My card panel measures 3×6 and my card is 3 1/4 x 6 1/4 unfolded. The card base is Bazzill Marshmallow cardstock and the panel is Strathmore Bristol 300 series. This size envelope is perfect for making cards from a 6×6 paper pad!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

First I stamped all of the images using Tsukineko VersaFine Onyx Black ink. I love this ink because it gives a crisp bold black line and it is waterproof. I did a little masking but not too much. I first stamped the sentiment and then the florals and leaves. I tried to stamp using a visual triangle to balance the card.  After I had everything stamped, I measured out a 1/4 inch border around the entire card.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I sketched the border lightly in pencil so that I could erase easily. Sometimes I am just not careful enough. While I was doing all the inking, I got some smudges and inky fingerprints on my card (sad face).

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

Now when something like this happened before I would more than likely start all over, but I found an amazing eraser that cannot live without now!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

The Tombow MONO Sand Eraser is a magic wand!! You just lightly rub the mistake/smudge with the eraser, and if you rub off some of your inked up image you just go over it with a waterproof pen/marker. I used my trusty Sakura Pigma Micron pen (I used the .05 here but you can match up your stamp line width to the different size micron pens available).

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I thought I would break out my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers for this project. They haven’t been getting enough love lately and I love using them on the bristol cardstock. I used a light, medium, and dark shade of all the rainbow colors (Some color groups had 4 shades because I couldn’t decide) but any color combo would look lovely. The technique I used for this card is called “spotlight coloring”. The 1/4 border that I made around the edge will be colored with shades of gray and the inside will be the vibrant color. This really pops the color in the center of the card and emphasizes the sentiment of “Coloring my world”.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

With the border, I colored and shaded the images with all gray markers. I shaded these just like I would with the different shades of colored markers. Even if you don’t have a wide range of the brush markers I would recommend picking up at least one Gray Clean Color Real Brush marker as it is perfect for adding a shadow to stamped images and text. Now on to the fun part!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I colored in all of the florals and leaves with the markers and chose a very light shade of blue for the inner rectangle background. I left the border background white. It was at this point that I felt that my sentiment didn’t pop out enough. I decided to take a darker shade of blue and color around the sentiment area making that more of a focal point.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I also added some glitter using my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter Brush Pen in clear. It is hard to see in the photo but it really made the word COLOR super sparkly! I added some faux stitched outline on my card base and popped up my panel with some fun foam so it is slightly raised. I used the full panel of fun foam as it will be going through the mail and I didn’t want it to get smooshed.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I think it’s the little details that really make a handmade card something really special. I took the smallest floral stamp in the set, and stamped the lower right and the upper left corners with a cluster of just the flower, then I outlined them with a grey marker to give a shadowed effect.  I was on a roll and couldn’t stop there so why not dress up the back of the card and the envelope too!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

The same idea as the inside of the card. I took  the medium size floral and stamped the corners of the envelope and outlined in gray. I decided to leave these just black and white because I wanted the card to be the center stage of color. I will position the postage just to the left of the floral cluster and I think it will add a great touch when it is all addressed and ready to go.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

The handmade stamp was a custom stamp (Coming to The Crafty Pickle Etsy shop SOON) and I added the small daisy and leaf stamp from the set to tie it into the card design. This one I did color. I felt it added the perfect final touch.

Here is a look at my final card.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

 

I hope you enjoyed my first Honey Bee Stamps DT Project, and even more I hope my daughter loves this card! I can’t wait to give it to her (Lexi if you read this blog post just act surprised LOL)

Listed below (and within my blog post) are the links to the products I have used for this project. Affiliate links may be used, this means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I really appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog.

Color My World Stamp Set: Honey Bee Stamps
Slim Envelopes at ImpressCardsandCrafts.com
Bazzill Basics Paper Card Shoppe Heavy Weight Cardstock, 25 Sheets, 8.5 by 11-Inch, Marshmallow
Strathmore Smooth Bristol 300 Series
Tsukineko Full-Size VersaFine Instant Dry Pigment Ink, Onyx Black
Tombow MONO Sand Eraser
Sakura 8-Piece Pigma Micron Pen Set, Black
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker Set
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker, Cool Gray
Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter Brush Pen Clear Overlay, 3 Piece

I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful weekend!

Happy Crafting!

Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps