It's such a small stamp set, but it's gotten a lot of use from me in its short, 2-year lifetime: Bella's Bloom. I have especially liked that the images are small enough to fit comfortably inside several of the punches, making it nice for accent images.
To celebrate this cute little stamp set, I created a functional little project that I've been wanting to try for years—a bookmark! Perfect timing, too, because I recently ordered several books from B&N! Oh yeah!
Isn't it cool?! This is sure to put a smile on my face every time I open my favorite novel! Put the ribbon between the pages and drape the stamped and beaded part over the cover of the book. Too Cool & Handy, too!
Bookmark How-Tos
I inked the stamp with markers: retiring Almost Ameythst, retiring Lovely Lilac, and Old Olive. After stamping two separate images (one for each side), I punched both out with the Designer Label Punch. I applied a bead of Crystal Effects around the inside edges of a coordinating piece of Vanilla HodgePodge Hardware, then laid one punch on top of that (this was the front image).
Next, I covered the back of the first punch with Crystal Effects, then laid the second image on top (for the back side). The photo to the right shows the back.
The top of the bookmark is approximately 18" of Old Olive 5/8" Satin Ribbon tied in a knot in one end and threaded through the hole (normally for brads) in the Hardware for the other end. I tied off the Hardware end of the ribbon with Old Olive twill ribbon.
To give the bottom a little weight, I strung some beads onto Linen Thread before tying it through the opposite hole. The spacer bead (from the Pretties Kit) holds the other beads on, so they don't slip over the knot. The clear, teardrop bead and pearl are both from the Pretties Kit, as well. The colored beads are from my own bead stash.
Here is another version by rheal at Splitcoast Stampers.
Look for another Too Cool Bella's Bloom project tomorrow!
Angie