The Very Hungry Caterpillar Name Frame

I was asked to make a name frame for a little boy with an "Eric Carle"-themed bedroom. Hmmm. This is what I came up with:

SU's retired "Tart & Tangy" set was perfect for this. I punched holes through them to mimic the book. Then, the retired "Good Morning Sunshine" designer paper had this pear paper. I also used the coordinating pear stamp from the "Cheep Talk" set.

But the real challenge was how to make the caterpillar. Once I figured out how to achieve a similar look to the book, it was easy. I simply rubbed some craft spots across glossy paper (which came out looking like brushstrokes), then punched 1" circles out of each colored "stripe" on the paper. For the body I did a stripe of Old Olive & Summer Sun & a stripe of Garden Green & Night of Navy then alternated the circles. For the head, I made a stripe of Ruby Red with just a little Garden Green. The feet & antennae are horizontal punches in Close to Cocoa & Lavender Lace. For the eyes, I just punched holes in the red circle, then put a circle of Garden Green cardstock behind it. Then I drew around the eyes with Summer Sun marker (it just pushed the craft ink out of the way on the glossy surface). The frame, by the way is 12" x 5" & the Alpha Set for the name is Schoolbook Serif (I used a Stamp-a-ma-jig to get it nice & straight & Black Staz-On for a quick-drying crisp image).

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Name Frame

Name Frame Class: You can too!

These name frames are from a class I gave a couple of weekends ago to show that you can do it too! Usually I take color & theme suggestions & will make a customized frame to order. For the class, we did it all together with the ladies actually making the frames & I acted as a consultant.

This first one is different from the others I've made because she wanted a frog theme & the only frog stamp I had was a foam one (I was just about to get rid of it too--glad I didn't!) I was nervous the foam stamp wouldn't work well with a dye-based ink, but it was fine (usually foam stamps are used with paints). This was Maggie's first time stamping and I think she did a great job! Her grandson will love this :) Her colors were inspired by a frog print she'd bought for her grandson's room.

My friend Danielle, a veteran stamper, made this frame to match her daughter's room. I LOVE the colors she chose. Doesn't the Kiwi Kiss look great with Perfect Plum?

Name Frame Class: You can too!

Ta-da! Like My New Blog Design?

How 'bout this new blog design, eh? I'd like to thank Jen at The Art of Living Designs for giving my fledgling blog a makeover this week! I met Jen at a craft fair this past December & made her a name frame. As fate would have it, when I announced my blog, she was in need of another name frame & a bartering relationship was formed :) I think I got the better end of that deal! She was (& is) super attentive & great at explaining html--my basic html class ten years ago (before children & lost brain cells) only goes so far!

So, here's the frame I made for her. The call was for a sports theme but I didn't have any sports stamps. Luckily, I'm also an embellishment addict so I compensated with some sports brads & ribbon. The baseball brads are actually flat white brads by Queen & Co. with DCWV black circle rub-on stitches on them (I cut the circles in half & reversed the halves). Stampin' Up!'s "Starstruck" stamp set & coordinating Large & Small Star Punches also worked well for a sports theme. The background papers are from the Simply Scrappin' Kit "Creative License" which retired Fall '07. Man, I'm going to miss the Wild Wasabi Green when it retires soon!! Sigh.

Ta-da! Like My New Blog Design?

The Inaugural Post: Name Frame

So, I got the idea for starting a blog in the shower this morning (the only place I seem to be able to think these days!) And voila! I've decided to join the blogging ranks of fellow crafters :) My wish is to provide an easy way to share project ideas, upcoming Stamp 4 Life events & in general help show that it IS possible to find the time to do what you love & you DON'T have to be an "artiste" to create something that is worthy of appreciation.


I'm an ENFJ on the Myer's Briggs test (barely an Extrovert though--think I've been trained for that over the years). The "J" stands for Judging & what I love about making a card or making a scrapbook page is that I get my "got it done, cross it off the list" fix that's so hard to do when you have little kids undoing everything you just did around the house.

So here's my first project--a name frame that I completed to order while the kids were out with Dad watching fireworks in the neighborhood & my toddler was in bed. Got it done!




I used my fav alphabet set: Jumbo Outline Alpha with Black Staz-On ink. Then I watercolored inside the letters with WaterColor Wonder Crayons & embossed with Iridescent Ice for a girly glittery feel. Maddie (my 4 yr. old) wanted to keep it (even though I made her a similar one months ago). That's high praise, my friend.


Oh, & most of the things I end up loving are me trying to correct a mistake or something I just don't like. For ex., I thought the little princess was too far over & something was missing. So, I tied a knot around a ribbon slide & used a glue dot to adhere it to the white grosgrain ribbon "seam".

The Inaugural Post: Name Frame