Kids Toy DIY Tutorial by Ellen Haxelmans

Creating Kids toys using NND Stamps!

Today we are sharing an adorable project created by Ellen! She created a set of adorable little games by taking a kids game and upgrading it so a special toy using NND images! She used the seagulls from our Gull Friends Stamp Set, the flip flops from our Flip Flop Life Stamp Set, and the shrimp from our Shrimp Cocktails Stamp Set. She also added in backgrounds using our Waves Stencil, Tumbling Hearts Stencil and Cascading Stars Stencil! How adorable! Read on for instructions on how she created this fun play set!

Tutorial on creating this project!
Below we have instruction from Ellen on how to create a fun set of play items like this!

Creating your backgrounds:

• Photo 1 (left): Cut out a circle that fit the toy and stamp a summer looking image on top of it. I used the Gull Friends Stamp Set, Cocktails Stamp Set and the Flip Flop Life Stamp Set.
• Photo 2 (center): Stamp the illustrations again on masking tape. Afterwards you cut them out and place them on the circles.
• Photo 3 (right): Give the circles some color. I used Distress ink and stencils (Waves Stencil, Tumbling Hearts Stencil and Cascading Stars Stencil) on them.

Assembling the toys:

• Photo 1 (left): Use your Crocodile Punch to put wholes in the paper. When the toy is completed, the wholes are the “goals” for the balls. I also colored the illustrations with Copic Markers as you can see on the picture.
• Photo 2 (center): Open the toy you bought. I bought some cheap plastic one that are easy to open. I also cleaned them a little bit.
• Photo 3 (right): Take out the paper piece and replace them with your little piece of art. I used a strong tape runner to stick it to the bottom of the toy.

What a fun and unique way to repurpose a toy and give it a specialized look!

If you love this project by Ellen you can visit her over at her blog Crafty Ellen to see more of her beautiful creations!

Life is Better in Flip Flops Card by Maria Russell

Flip-Flops in Every Color!

Today we are sharing this cheerful summer card by Maria! She used our adorable new 2x3 mini Flip-Flop Life Stamp Set and created six colorful pairs of flip-flops for her card, using a different bright and summery color for each pair! She cut out all those adorable shoes with the coordinating Flip-Flop Life Die Set. Then she added them onto a white card base, nesting each pair inside a circle. (The circle panel was created using a die cut from another brand). She finished off her card by embossing the sentiment from the Flip-Flop Life Stamp Set in white on a black banner! Such a perfect summer card!



To see more beautiful projects by Maria, visit her over at her blog, Maria Russell Designs and don't forget to subscribe to her YouTube channel too!

Newton's Nook Designs 5 YEAR Celebration Blog Hop!

Newton’s Nook Designs is so excited to be celebrating our FIVE Year Anniversary
- WOW - That's five whole years of getting our paws inky!

I remember how excited I was when our first four sets came in the mail over five years ago! Now we have over 350 products in our shop! It's been an Incredible journey so far- filled with happiness, stress, lots of excitement and very little sleep! Here are a few behind the scenes photos from this last year of Jeff and I and our little helpers, Newton and Hobbes!

We want to take a minute to say THANK YOU to all our fans, designers and customers who helped make it happen! We are so happy to be here and we can't wait to see what the next year brings!

To celebrate, we have a blog hop and we've invited some very special guests to our hop along with us today! Make sure to scroll down to the end of the post to see the whole list and leave them some sweet comments for a chance to win prizes (details at the end of this post)

Every stop on the hop is sharing cards made with our new products and I made a card to share today too!

For my card today I used our new 2x3 sized Flip-Flop Life Stamp Set! Those adorable little flip-flops are so fun to color in bright colors! I created two pair for my card and cut them out using the coordinating Flip-Flop Life Die Set.  

For my card base I cut out layers of sand using our Land Borders Die Set with kraft cardstock. For the water, I used our Waves Stencil with some embossing paste that I tinted blue for a tone-on-tone effect! I layered it all onto the card and added the sentiment from the Flip-Flop Life Stamp Set, embossed in white on a banner cut out using our Frames & Flags Die Set.

I hope you enjoyed this project. Make sure to visit all the blogs listed below for more fresh inspiration today! Don't forget to check out our new release too. All the items are now available at
newtonsnookdesigns.com! Plus, we're having a sale this week where you can get one or two of our adorable new 2x3 stamp sets for FREE with purchase:

Celebrate with us and enter to win!

To celebrate 5 years Newton's Nook Designs is giving away a $25 store credit to spend in their online shop to 5 lucky winners!

Here's how to win:
Comment on the NND Design Team and Special Guest blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blog hop posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Sunday, July 22 at 9pm EST to comment. Winners will be announced on NND blog post on Monday, July 23 and will need to contact us to claim their prize so make sure you check back to see if you've won!

Special Guests:

Jess Gerstner
Stephanie Muzzulin
Kimberly Rendino
Jenn Shurkus

Newton's Nook Design Team:

Newton's Nook Designs
Amanda Bodine
Holly Endress
Ellen Haxelmans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Juliana Michaels
Zsofia Molnar
Naki Rager
Maria Russell
Tatiana Trafimovich

July Reveals - Day 4 - FIVE new mini stamp sets!

Today is day 4 and our Final reveal day for our new July product reveals! Today we are sharing a fun NEW SIZE for our stamp sets. Check out our new mini 2x3 sized stamps! These cute little stamps are so adorable you'll want to collect them all! Scroll down to see them! We are also giving away a $20 store credit each reveal day to one lucky winner so make sure you read all the way to the bottom of this post to see how to win!

New Mini Sized Stamps

Our new mini 2x3 stamps are so cute you'll want to collect them all! We are starting this new collection with FIVE fun new summer themed sets and four coordinating die sets!  The designs are: Flip-Flop Life, Cat Treats, Vitamin Sea, Pina Koala, and Floaty Goat! 

Here's some info on the New mini stamp sets:

• 2 x 3 photopolymer stamp sets (each sold separately) 
• 4 of the sets have coordinating purr-fect die sets (sold separately)
• Available for purchase in our online shop starting Friday, July 20th

These adorable mini stamps pack a big punch! Check out what our Design Team created with these!

Check out all the awesome projects below from our Design Team below! Then, make sure to click through to all their blogs for details on their cards - you will find a few extra cards on some of the DT blogs and you might even find a fun video or two along the way! Make sure to comment on all the blogs for a chance to win! Details on the giveaway are at the bottom of today's post.

Zsofia created a whole rainbow of flip flops using the new Flip-Flop Life Stamp Set! She cut them using the coordinating die set and arranged them in a circle around the sentiment! So cheerful and perfect for summer fun! 

Samantha used our new Floaty Goat Stamp Set for this fun summer card. She colored the goat and cut him out with the coordinating die set. Then she added him to her card with a fun watercolor background! So cute!

Larissa created this fun card using the new mini Cat Treats Stamp Set. She used the cat ice cream cone and colored it for her main image. She also used the ice cream and cherries to stamp a fun background pattern along the bottom and the Sunscape Stencil to create the light pink sun rays across the top!

Amanda created an adorable little scene using the new Pina Koala Stamp Set. She colored the Koala bear and added him inside the frame from the Framework Die Set. She also used our Land Borders Die Set to create layers of grass! How adorable! 

Naki created this adorable mini décor piece using our Vitamin Sea Stamp Set. She stamped the sentiment onto a mini canvas, embossed it in gold and colored it with soft pastels! She then added some rope and metal embellishments to finish off her decoration! So unique and pretty! 

Ellen created an amazing sea scene featuring the flip flops from our new Flip-Flop Life Stamp Set! She colored the flip-flops in fun bright colors, cut them out with the coordinating Flip-Flop Life Die Set and added them to a beach scene. She used our Land Borders Die Set to create the sand and our Sea Borders Die Set to create the waves. She added in the sun rays using the Sunscape Stencil. She also used the Scallop edged frame from the Framework Die Set. 

Tatiana created this yummy summer card featuring our new Pina Koala Stamp Set. She colored the sweet Koala bear and added him to her card along with two tropical drinks that were stamped using our Cocktail Mixer Stamp Set. Such a perfect pairing of stamps! 

This adorable card was created by Maria using our new Cat Treats Stamp Set. She stamped the kitty ice cream cone and donut in a cute pattern and colored them in shades of brown with pops of teal and pink! She added the sentiment, embossed in white on black in the center. She also used our Frames & Flags Die Set for the scallop edged panel. 

This gorgeous card was created by Juliana. She used our new Vitamin Sea Stamp set as the center focal point, embossing it in white and inking over it with blue tones. Then she used our Seashells Stencil with foil to create that amazing background. She also cut out the little scallop edged frame using our Framework Die Set. 

Holly used cute our new Pina Koala Stamp Set to create this sweet and simple card! She colored the Koala and cut him out with the coordinating Pina Koala Die Set. Then she added the image onto her watercolor panel for a fun and simple card. She used our Frames & Flags Die Set to cut out the stitched rectangle panel. 

Would you like to win a $20 store credit to Newton’s Nook Designs?

ONE lucky comment will be chosen from each reveal day to win!

Here's how to win: Comment on the NND blog and Design Team blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective reveal posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday July 19th at 9pm EST to comment -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, July 20th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:
Newton's Nook Designs
Amanda Bodine
Holly Endress
Ellen Haxelmans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Juliana Michaels
Zsofia Molnar
Naki Rager
Maria Russell
Tatiana Trafimovich