The making of a wedding invitation

A very special young lady is getting married this fall. She is someone my family has known since she was 13 and she has become a special part of my family. She calls me mama T, my husband daddy K  and we call her our adopted daughter, and my kids call her sis :-)

Her wedding will be in a small chapel (adorable) in the country, so we have decided on a country/rustic theme. We could have just ordered the standard computer generated invitations.... BUT no way!! Homemade is best!! :-)

I put my crafty thinking cap on (it must have been my night cap because I stayed up until all hours trying to come up with an idea for the invitations) and got busy, this is what I came up with...

I had this idea of a sweet little tree with their initials carved into it so I drew it out and transferred the drawing onto the rubber

Next, I carved and mounted the stamp

Then I gave the stamp a test run in the colors that we are using for the wedding

Because I liked the way the stamp looked in ink, I was ready to take the next step and try it embossed.

These are the supplies I used for the embossing and gluing the layers of card stock together

Started with embossing the tree trunk... yea, I was getting excited!! I really liked how it turned out!

I carefully embossed the flowers next, then went back and embossed the buds. I tried to stamp them at the same time but some would dry by the time I got to the powder, so I just did it in stages

Now it was time to layer the card stock that was all pre cut to size

(did it earlier)

And here it is... all put together! :-)

And after making over 30... time to put the night cap back on, but this time I may sleep :-)

There are many more homemade projects that will be going into this special day, I will be sure to keep you all posted :-)

Love seeing how my stamps get used... cute picture!

I was thrilled to get this little picture of some business cards that carry an image of a stamp I carved... how cute!

Buy Two GET ONE FREE!!! Blog Special 4 Days Only!!!

I am having a great May special for my blog readers!!! Buy any two stamps in my shop and get one FREE!!! This is the first time I have made such an offer so be sure and take advantage of it!! This does not include any custom orders or the monogrammed purse all in one gift.

The special starts today May the 14th and will end the 17th of May at midnight.
What you need to do is purchase any two stamps, and at check there will be an option to leave me a note. Write me a note that says May Blog Special and tell me which stamp you would like as your free stamp!!

Hand Stamped Favor Bags

What do you think of these?? Look at my shop for more designs...

Letterboxing In Washington DC and Beyond

Letter-boxing, that is how the stamp carving started. I just love this hobby for so many reasons. I love that we often see places we never would have seen had it not been for fellow letterboxers planting wonderful boxes in those special places. I also love that I always get a little memento to bring home with me to remind me where I have been. Here are a few pics of our most recent letterboxing adventures, we made some great finds with very memorable stamps hidden inside!!
**If you do not know what letterboxing is please visit www.atlasquest.com for more information** IF you are interested in participating in this wonderful hobby and need your own signature stamp please contact me through my Etsy shop and I can set up a custom order for your signature stamp!!

Purple Heart

planted by Papa Bear

Parrot Rifles: before and after planted by

flintoid

This box was found in the Smithsonian Zoo... too cool!!

DC Zoo: Black Crowned Night Heron

planted by Melissa and Ben

This is one of those places we would not have seen had it not been for letterboxing. It was at a beautiful park called Sandy Bottom. We spent a little time there walking around and taking pictures of a beautiful lake.

Fishy  planted by

The Coasties

Three Sails

planted by TheFabFourofWFNC

Iwo Jima D.C.

planted by Troop Boxer

This little box allowed me to have a wonderful little reminder if where I had been.

Thanks to all of the letterbox planters!!

Back from a Wonderful Vacation, and Back to the Carving Tools! Yea!!

My family and I had a WONDERFUL vacation!! We toured Washington DC and historical Virgina!! Wow, it was amazing! I think the highlight of the vacation was spending time with my family after being separated for 6 months. I am abundantly grateful to the Lord for the amazing blessing of my family. 
 While in DC we were able to see the original Constitution of the United States!! How cool is that!!  The entire trip was a wonderful history lesson for us all... and it even counted as credit for our kids with home schooling. Can't get more hands on than our Nations Capital :-) and so much more that we were able to see!!

I was busy before I left carving some new stamps that I just listed today!! This little group of stamps were inspired by a person dear to me who is preparing to get married. I am excited to use these for bridal shower invitations, and other cards. They are just a lot of fun ;-)