Blog Hop with The Twinery & The Stamps of Life {and a little giveaway too}!

Hello Everyone! Today we have something super special to share with you!

Are you ready for some fun?

The {Stamps} of Life and The Twinery Design Teams are playing together for this blog hop!
This is the very beginning so you are in the right place!!!

Have you tried our baker's twine?
Our twine is made from 100% cotton, it's eco-friendly and made in the USA. Whether you're gift wrapping, crafting or tying up baked goods to give to a friend, our baker's twine adds a fresh, yet nostalgic look to any project at hand! Our baker's twine comes in 11 delicious colors and is uniquely twisted against a bright white hue, creating an eye-popping burst of color and a creative embellishment! Our twine has lots of color which lends to a fun, candy-striped look. 

For creative ideas & more...you're at the right place! 

We share lots of fabulous ideas right here on our blog!

About The {Stamps} of Life:

They feature high quality, made in the USA, clear stamps and digital stamps/brushes for stampers, card makers and scrapbookers. Feel free to browse their gallery with more than 2500 samples using our stamps, watch our free how-to videos and join our club!

As you make your way through the hop 

make sure you leave a comment on
each of the designer's blogs.
There will be 4 prize winners chosen
among the comments left.

Two winners will receive their choice 2 sets of stamps from  
The {Stamps} of Life valued at $12.95 per set

and

Two winners will receive a Colorful Bunch Sampler Packs 
($20 value each) from The Twinery!!!

 The prize winners will be announced on 
The {Stamps}of Life and The Twinery Blogs

 on Tuesday May 3rd.

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Let's start this hop off with a fun project that anyone can do!

And guess what? You don't even have to be an avid scrapbooker/card-maker or stamper...with just a few supplies, anyone can do it!

Making Handmade Personalized Notepads

 First you'll need to...

40 cuts of paper or cardstock {all the same size}

Stamps of Life stamp set of your choice {I used the Boxes4ABC set to create more personalized notepads, but any set would work - they are all fabulous!} 

Acrylic block for mounting the stamps

Inkpad(s)

2 Large Binder Clips 

Padding Compound or PVA Glue

Paintbrush

 Wax Paper {or something else to catch the "glue drips"}

Chipboard Sheets - optional {cut the same size as your paper}

To make the notepads...

Cut about 40 sheets of paper or card stock, make sure they are all the same size. I cheated a little for that step (shhh...don't tell anyone) - I just used precut, 4.5 x 6.5" white card stock sheets that I picked up in the paper aisle at Michael's.  

Then...

   STEP 1: Adhere the stamps to your acrylic block to create the design you want. I chose to use The Stamps of Life Boxes4ABC stamp set to create personalized notepads for a few children that have upcoming birthdays. 

STEP 2: Ink up the stamps on your block. You can get creative here...that's the nice thing about using The Stamps of Life sets...each stamp is an indiviual piece, so you can use many ink colors without making a mess of your overall design! 

STEPS 3 and 4: Press your design firmly onto each sheet of paper. I chose to create a notepad with a child's name on it. So, I inked 40 sheets with the name "Jude" at the top.

STEP 5: Once all of your sheets have been stamped, stack them neatly together. Make sure all of the sides {top and bottom, too} are all even. This is the point where you can also choose to back the notepad with a sheet of paper chipboard. It's just for added support of the notepad itself, but it's not necessary. If you do use the chipboard, just be sure it's the same size as your notepad sheets and place it on the bottom of the stack as the notepad "backing". Then clasp the binder clips on the sides of the notepad to keep it neatly and tightly held together.

STEP 6: Paint a light coat of compound glue along the top edge of the paper stack. Make sure you glue each sheet in order for the notepad to properly hold together. You will need to do this several times, allowing about 10-15 minutes of rest between each coat {I put four coats on each notepad}.

STEP 7: Allow the glue to dry. I recommend allowing the notepads to dry overnight or for about 24 hours, but once the glue is no longer tacky to the touch, your notepad is done!

Finally, I used our baker's twine to neatly package up each notepad I created - it gave the gift an added fun embellishment!

 I hope you enjoy making some notepads of your own!! 

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I'm off to go see what everyone else is making...

Click on the links below to see what everyone else has created with
The Twinery's twine & The Stamps of Life stamps
{and be sure to comment on the posts to be qualified to win the fabulous prizes, too}!!

The hop list:

The Twinery Blog - YOU ARE HERE

The {Stamps}of Life Blog

Jeanne Streiff

Julie Ranae

Deb Felts

Monique Hansen

Vicki Garrett

Monika Wright

Emily Niehaus

Emily Leiphart

Beverly Sizemore

Tifany DeGough

Joana Studer

Katrina Hunt

Laura Williams

Jen Carter

Kim Howard

Jenny Suchin
Sheri Twing