i love to create - day 29 - Hero Arts Stamp + die combo sets

Happy Leap Day! Today is the last day of our I love to Create series of blog posts. 29 days of some of our favorite scrapbook and stamping products. Stuff we use, adore, and recommend!

We're ending with one of my personal favorites...

Today's pick: Hero Arts + Dies and embossing folder combo sets.

here is a look at a couple of each...

Watch this video to see how they work!

i love to create - day 28 - Dimensional Flower punches

Every day is a great day to create! Each day in February we are sharing with you one of our favorite products. We actually craft ourselves, so these items are our 'picks' , things we use and recommend. Check back each day in February to see the daily pick.

Today's pick: dimensional flower punches from EK Success
these look and work like border punches, and you can use them in that way, but they are designed so that after punching you can roll them up and create handmade paper flowers!


4 styles to choose from








Here is a photo tutorial on how to create pretty flowers like these:

Select 2 different cardstock colors for your flower.

(try a double sided cardstock weight pattern paper for added interest)

Punch 3 strips total- 2 of one color and 1 of the other. Just punch along the 12" length of your paper, the design will leave a clean edge so you can punch again. no scissors or paper trimmer needed!

apply strong adhesive to the narrow border at bottom of punched design.

attach two different colors to each other- offset the petals

apply strong glue to the narrow strip at the bottom of the layered punch out borders.

starting at one end, roll up the layers.

keep going all the way to the end- the glue is holding the design together.

now you have one border strip left. apply strong glue to the narrow edge and begin wrapping it around the flower base you've already created.

as you are adding the last layer, try to offset the petals. if you need to you can pleat the paper here and there as seen in above photo to make that happen.

now you have your flower- time to make it bloom!

starting on the outside layer, gently fold down each petal, working your way around and around the flower.

keep going until you have a full pretty flower

If you like, you can embellish the flower a bit- I've added some ink to the edges of the petals. or try spritzing with misting spray for added sparkle.

add rhinestones, or beads to the centers of your flowers if you like.

I love to create - day 27 - Texture Boutique

Every day is a great day to create! Each day in February we are sharing with you one of our favorite products. We actually craft ourselves, so these items are our 'picks' , things we use and recommend. Check back each day in February to see the daily pick.

Today's pick:

The Texture Boutique by Sizzix. This cutie is designed to look like an adorable handbag, but it packs a real punch! Use with embossing folders to impress a design into cardstock (or vellum, or other papers, works on chipboard and foil too)

see how it works in this video:

We have dozens and dozens of embossing folders for you to choose from. Here are just a few...

Here are a few cards- made with embossing folders.

I love to create- day 26 - Echo Park Paper

Each day of the year is a great day to get crafty! In February we are celebrating some of our favorite scrapbooking and stamping products because they make creating more fun, easier, and inspire us to do more. We want to share the love with you, so each day in February (it’s a leap year so there are 29 days!) we are picking one of our favorite products to share with you! Check back each day to see the daily pick, and learn more about it. We craft ourselves, and actually use and recommend these items, because we Love to Create! Today’s pick: Echo Park Paper

We love Echo Park papers because they are so well designed and they keep thing s fresh and exciting! We love that every collection has a mix of large and small prints. We love that Echo Park is always careful to make their double sided paper great on BOTH sides. We love that they always have 3 double sided solid papers that coordinate perfectly (because matching to cardstock can sometimes be more difficult)

For every collection you will be able to find collection kits, 6x6 papers, and all of the papers sold individually too.

A Boy's Life release came to us In January, and we are so happy to have a great boy line!

Echo parks collection: A Boys Life layout tutorial with paper airplane embellishments!

by Designer Jen Gallacher

New collections in February are the 2 new This & That collections, Charming, and Graceful.

We've been having a lot of fun creating with these two This & That collections, check out our facebook photo album echo park

here is a sneak peek at some new collections coming this spring!

i love to create - day 25 - Sew Easy

Every day of the year is a great day to get crafty! In February we are celebrating some of our favorite scrapbooking and stamping products because they make creating more fun, easier, and inspire us to do more. We want to share the love with you, so each day in February (it's a leap year so there are 29 days!) we are picking one of our favorite products to share with you!

Check back each day to see the new product, and learn more about it.

We craft ourselves, and actually use and recommend these items, because we Love to Create!

Todays pick: Sew Easy from We R Memory Keepers

Stitching tool, foam piercing mat, stitch design heads, needle, and floss.

You can purchase different stitch design heads to fit into your stitching tool.

to create the stitching pattern- place the paper you want to stitch on to the piercing mat, and roll the stitching tool (with the stitch head attached) across the paper. this leaves you with a pattern that you can pierce and stitch.

The back side of each stitch piercer head shows a few different ways you can stitch with that particular style. Love that!

this quick video clip shows you an animation of how this system works

see how to Sew Easy

i love to create - day 24 - Tombow Brush Markers

Every day of the year is a great day to get crafty! In February we are celebrating some of our favorite scrapbooking and stamping products because they make creating more fun, easier, and inspire us to do more. We want to share the love with you, so each day in February (it's a leap year so there are 29 days!) we are picking one of our favorite products to share with you!

Check back each day to see the new product, and learn more about it.

We craft ourselves, and actually use and recommend these items, because we Love to Create!

Todays pick: Tombow Brush Markers

here is a video that will teach you how to use Tombow brush markers to create butterflies.

this video shows you some cool lettering techniques with Tombow brush markers.

learn how to do simple blending with Tombow Brush Makers

this video show you how to ink stamps with Tombow Brush Markers

i love to create- day 23 - thickers

Each day of the year is a great day to get crafty! In February we are celebrating some of our favorite scrapbooking and stamping products because they make creating more fun, easier, and inspire us to do more. We want to share the love with you, so each day in February (it’s a leap year so there are 29 days!) we are picking one of our favotire products to share with you! Check back each day to see the daily pick, and learn more about it. We craft ourselves, and actually use and recommend these items, because we Love to Create! Today’s pick: Thickers! by American Crafts Thickers add style and dimension to your project, these alpha and number stickers are made of  archival quality materials. we offer a huge selection of color and fonts in a variety of different  materials including chipboard, glitter, foam, fabric, and more.

Our scrapbook design team loves to use thicker on their layouts. Look at these great pages made with thickers alpha stickers...





by Cara Goedeking

By Jennifer Evans







by Jennifer McMurtrey





By Mendi Yoshikawa

By Julie Aviles