Comfort Zone Crafting Dies + Giveaway

*Compensated affiliate links used where possible at zero cost to you. No posts are ever sponsored or paid.*

I've told you before that when we finally got a TV when I was nearly 18, some of my happiest TV moments were spent watching Simon & Simon, Murder She Wrote, Magnum PI and Moonlighting with my mom while cross stitching. I LOVED cross stitch and needlepoint, and still to this day I cannot watch TV without doing something - probably because I didn't watch TV until I was technically an adult, and it felt weird (and still does) to just sit there.

So now when I watch TV, I either stitch or do crossword puzzles. So when my friend Nina asked if I wanted to try out her new Stitchables dies I was all YES PLEASE! So I've happily spent many evenings doing mini stitching projects which you will see today. 

Jennifer McGuire told me she prefers #5 Perle Cotton to embroidery floss for stitching paper and she's right. That's what I used for this whole project and it's awesome. I bought mine from Herrschner's which has great service. It's not as fiddly as multi-strand embroidery thread.

I actually MUCH prefer stitching on paper to stitching on cloth - it's so much easier and neater. I just used my normal stamping cardstock from the place I get mine cut. 

So to start with, I purchased these adorable, inexpensive Pokemon patterns on Etsy. OH MY GOSH. If you are playing Pokemon Go, you will love these. If you're not, you will love these. SO CUTE. This seller has a few great Pokemon patterns.

I created the coasters with these blanks - these are the right size for the dies, but they come in various sizes, and this super strong sticky tape to hold them together, and then this foil copper tape to make a finished edge. You will need medium binder clips to use as clamps, as you'll see. I never buy black ones - I always buy cute ones like these smiley ones. 

So here are the finished coasters using this adorable round die - you will see how to make them in the video below! 

Here is the view of the sealed sides of the coasters.

Here's the video for these coasters, and there are more stitched projects below!

The very FIRST project I did with this release was a beloved sugar skull. I downloaded this Dia de los Muertos pattern for free from DMC - I love that both Nina and DMC give you the stitch counts so you instantly know if your pattern fits your die cut. I ignored the colors on the pattern and went with my beloved aqua/red combo. The sentiment is from this bundle, as are the die cut and colored skulls, and this awesome square stitching die was perfect for this pattern.

Now for the Pokemon coasters! I started with this round Stitchables die and white cardstock. I used this ingenious plate for removing the chads, which you'll see in an upcoming video as a shaker card! Waste not want not! Remember, because stitching dies are making many tiny, intricate holes, depending on your cardstock weight you may need to run them through a few times before using the removal plate. Nina has a great video on this plate.

I used this download to stitch all five Pokemon characters - again, disregarding thread numbers and using what I had - just visually choosing the colors. 

Two other free DMC patterns stole my heart - I only have one of them today, but the other will be coming soon. I loved the Taste of Japan free pattern so much - the three girls are so cute I forgot about the sushi, and just stitched one of them on this beautiful Stitchables rectangular pinked die.

Here are all the supplies I used today - come back for giveaway details and a coupon code!

Pokemon Starter Sprites Mini Cross... [ ETS ] https://waffleflower.com/collections/... [ WFF ] Stitchable Pinking Circle Die [ WFF ] Stitchable Pinking Rectangle Die [ WFF ] A2 Piercing Panel Die [ WFF ] Stitchable Pinking Square Die [ WFF ] Hola Mexico Combo [ WFF ] Thinking of You Stamp Set [ WFF ] Taste of Japan pattern - Free Cross... [ DMC ] Mexican Day of the Dead Cross Stitch... [ DMC ] Amazon.com : Medium Metal Paper Clips... [ AMZUS ] Amazon.com: MEYA Set of 20pcs Clear... [ AMZUS ] Therm O Web 0.25 SUPERTAPE Double... [ SSS ] Amazon.com: Zehhe Copper Foil Tape... [ AMZUS ] Perle Cotton | Herrschners, Inc.   [ HRR ] My Sweet Petunia [ MSP ] Pre-Cut & Scored Cardstock [ CTC ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring... [ SSS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Mermaid tidy towel case and glue... [ ETS ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | CST ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ] New Releases – WaffleFlower.com [ WFF ] Last Chance – 25% off with code... [ WFF ]

AND - the amazing Nina has created some free, downloadable patterns herself! You can get those here. This is just a tiny sample of what's available. 

There is an awesome blog hop happening with these dies today - and you can win one of THREE $25 gift certificates by leaving comments on the hop. Your next stop is Tessa, and you can see the full hop list starting here. Entries close on Sunday the 9th and you can see winner info here on the 12th. And while you're shopping, use code LASTCHANCE to get 25% off HERE. 

Have fun stitching! Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES 
15% off anything at Marker Universe or any of their other sites - Understandblue15. 
10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10 
5% off at LBC here with code LYDIA5
Phone stand for filming link below in the banner - 20% off sitewide with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

Enjoy Your Staycation + Giveaway

*Compensated affiliate links used where possible at zero cost to you. No posts are ever sponsored or paid.*

I think that my sister and I have some sort of pandemic gene. We are both gardeners and feel like there's never going to be enough time for us to try out all the arty things we want to do. If choosing between a party or a dinner out and trying a new recipe at home and  making something with our hands, we are going to choose the latter. I have never (outside of meetings - you know how I feel about meetings), if left to my own devices, felt boredom in my life.

Part of that is probably growing up in the 70s - a freer time for children, I think, where we were alone a lot more than kids are alone now - and part of it was not having a TV, which I essentially still do not. So me, my sister and brother have been in charge of our own entertainment our whole lives. 

At the beginning of this whole thing, and even more so now, I've been a little puzzled by people's reaction to being "stuck at home," only because it's my favorite place to be. It's literally a retreat center LOL. 

So this month's Hero Arts Kit is so incredibly sweet and perfect for both my home-dwelling heart and people who are learning to love, appreciate and improve their homes under the current situation. I have loved watching my friends learn to garden and try new recipes, explore the trails near home and more. I think all of that will change us all for the good in the end and reset the "frantic" timer just a bit, and I'm not gonna lie - that makes me happy. 

The main kit could not be more perfect - every image in it is something someone loves about their home - pets, furniture, food, books - it's wonderful. 

I have a video for you on this first card, so I won't belabor the details, but it's a fun hack for masking with die cuts to make your image pop. I used Inkadinkado masking paper, Pool Party and Lemon Drop Inks, the Tile Pattern Stencil and the main kit. 

Here's what the main kit looks like - and SQUEE - it comes with postcards! 

I LOVE the greetings - and the Greetings From die word die included in the kit is stunning. 

This one will sell out fast, I think. 

Here is the video on my card - I think you'll love the die cutting idea. Come back for more!

Next up - the stay-at-home add-ons! The August word die - I LOVE this series - is my birthday die! I cut that out of vellum and used my invisible vellum tape to adhere it to my card. The strip on the right I stamped with this fabulous travel tag background that's all about in-house destinations, like the sofa! Ha! I stamped it in Caramel on kraft cardstock, and then stamped it again in black on white cardstock and colored and cut out the images and placed them on the kraft strip. The shapes are so simple it's a great stamp for fussy cutting. The little location icon is repeated throughout this release. So perfect. 

Now my FAVORITE ephemera in the world is old maps! I have several large atlases from my map-loving dad that I use on cards frequently. I had to learn to read maps early in life, because we hit the road every summer, and unlike your iPhone, your paper map doesn't tell you where to go while you're driving, so we all had to be the navigator at some point. I'm really grateful for this knowledge because I have an astonishing number of friends who don't know the compass points - it baffles me! If you grew up on a prairie like I did, you'd darn better well know north from south. 

So I made a card for my friend Libby at Hero Arts, who has been sending me the most fun crime scene puzzles! She used to live here in Austin, and I miss her a lot, so this is perfect. I used the same background as in the card above, stamped in Caramel on kraft. Then I used these FANTASTIC US nesting dies - I used the second largest one - to cut out a portion of the Austin map from my atlas. I used the sentiment and dies from this stamp & cut set with glitter paper to complete this simple card. 

Now to complete the release that is straight out of my childhood, they included a tie dye set! OMG. It's a layering set that doesn't need to be lined up, and I stamped it in Hello Yellow, Poppin' Pink and Orange Glow Electro Pop Ink. These were designed to go with the fun new nesting T-shirt dies, pictured below. 

Now as usual, you can get all the add-ons at a discount - here they all are. Check out Lounging Pups!! It's all so great this month.

Here are all the supplies I used today, and as usual, they are giving away a $50 shopping spree to a lucky commenter! Enter by August 9, and the winner will be announced on the Hero Blog HERE the following week! I have linked to tons more inspiration from their talented team below. Leave them some love!

Hero Arts August 2020 My Monthly Hero... [ HA ] Hero Arts August 2020 Get The All... [ HA ] SA114 Tile Pattern Stencil 6x6 - Hero... [ HA ] Hero Arts August Word Fancy Die [ HA ] Destination Home Bold Prints [ HA ] Tie Dye [ HA ] US Map Infinity Dies [ HA ] Hero Arts Greetings From Stamp & Cut [ HA ] Camp Mi Casa [ HA ] Hero Arts Camp Mi Casa Frame Cuts [ HA ] Bubble Bath [ HA ] Hero Arts Bubble Bath Frame Cuts [ HA ] Lounging Pups [ HA ] Hero Arts Lounging Pups Frame Cuts [ HA ] Hero Arts Bird House Fancy Die [ HA ] Hero Arts State-cation Bold Prints [ HA ] Hero Arts Pool Party Bold Prints [ HA ] Hero Arts T-Shirt Infinity Dies [ HA ] Hero Arts Onesie Infinity Dies [ HA ] AF423 Lemon Drop Reactive Ink - Hero... [ HA ] AF426 Pool Party Reactive Ink - Hero... [ HA ] AF332 Caramel Bold Ink - Hero Arts [ HA ] Electro Pop Ink Pads- Set of 8 - Gina... [ GNK ] PS772 Classic Vellum Layering Paper... [ HA ] Inkadinkado Masking Paper [ SSS ] Amazon.com : Post-it 658 Labeling &... [ AMZUS ] Plus VELLUM ADHESIVE Double Sided... [ SSS ] Life Changing Blender Brushes: 4-Pack... [ PFS ] Pre-Cut & Scored Cardstock [ CTC ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring... [ SSS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | CST ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ] Hero Arts Blog [ HA ]

Hero Arts
Seeka
Nichol Spohr
Mindy Eggen
Michelle Short
Mariana Grigsby
Maria Willis
Lydia Fiedler
Laurie Willison
Julee Tilman
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Janette Kausen
Ilina Crouse
Emily Midgett
Debi Adams
Daniel West
Channin Pelletier
Amy Kolling

Loveyameanitbye. 

CURRENT COUPON CODES
15% off anything at Marker Universe or any of their other sites - Understandblue15.
10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10
5% off at LBC here with code LYDIA5
Phone stand for filming link below in the banner - 20% off sitewide with code UNDERSTANDBLUE