ATC's, Apples & Shrinky Dink

I'm participating in an ATC sawp on Splitcoast .Even though we rae in the middle of a July heatwave, we are thinking ahead to Fall and the Apple harvest. Here is my finished ATC.

The little apple "charm" on the right is made from Shrinky Dink. Remember that from the 70's! Well, it's back and so much fun to use. Check out the before & after size on the apples. The stamped images are SU Tart & Tangy stamp set. I colored with SU markers being careful not to touch the colored image as it does rub off easily. I hole punched (remember, the hole will shrink too) and then cut out the shapes. Just a minute in the oven and lots of cute little charms.

Unmounting rubber stamps.

If you are a stamper then you know this is a hot topic on the forums right now, especially since SU introduced unmounted stamps and DVD storage cases. I do not have a huge collection of wood mounted stamps but enough to know that they take up a lot of precious room. Soooo, after much research, I took the plunge. There are a few different techniques out there but this is what I have done and so far I am happy with the results. I hope this will inspire you to take the plunge! (I know, a video would be cool but I'm not technically quite there yet.!)
1) Set your wood mounted block wood side down in the microwave and micro on high for 10 seconds.
2) Quickly peel off the stamp and foam together. (A thin metal spatuala works well for this)
3) Peel off the clear image sticker & ahere to the (still sticky) foam.
4) Trim the clear sticker around the foam

5) Apply a thin coat of Aileens Tack It Over & Over to the image & let it dry for 30 minutes.

6) Stamp it once on the back of your hand and you are ready to store the stamp in one of the new SU DVD case and to use on your acrylic block. You will most likely want to use a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig as the SU rubber is not clear. I made case inserts using Publisher. The one on the left is from SU and the one on the right is one I created (with a little help from a stampin' friend:))

Takes up much less room on the shelf....TA-Da!

Miss me?

I know, winter is not over yet but psychologically, once March is here, doesn't it feel like spring must be near?
Just a quick update on what's bin' happening in the Pink Room. I made a few scrap busting cards to send to troops overseas. Found some info on the web where you can make cards and send to troops that they can use since there are not too many Hallmark stores close to a front-line. I left the cards blank inside so that the service person could use them for whatever they needed. This was a fun project and a great way to use up all the scraps I keep. here's a link if you're interested. http://www.operationwritehome.org/

Let's see, what else have I been up to? Oh, re-doing the Pink Room. Cleaning out the stuff that really is just taking up valuable real estate. Since I spend my stamping and scrapping standing up, I have (hubby did) adjusted my table. Found this easy idea on Splitcoast Stampers and look at the difference. It is awesome and so much more comfortable than bending over the table. Here is the before picture
And here is the after.

And yes, I now have more hidden storage height underneath also which was an added bonus.

Okay, in-put needed on marker storage. Lots of chit chat on the forums regarding storing your markers, whether they be SU or Copics. I'm undecided and have quite a lot of choices. What do you think?

Decisons! Decisions! What would you do?

Happy (almost) Spring!