I love these ideas! In fact, I have recently been saving my cancelled stamps for projects. I now have a great idea for an ornament my Father would really like. Thank you so much for sharing!

You're NOT the only one! I've always been ga-ga over any thing postal --stamps, cancellations, envelopes, etc. Last p.m. I had fun making faux postage.

Your ornaments are very elegant! The tiny frame is so cute!! With a boat or something like it, would be nice on a man's card. You might be able to make that kind of suede look with Liquid Applique...? (How much would a frame shop charge to cut an itsy-bitsy one like that? --from their scraps, no less!)

Karen, hate to sound like "shrink plastic for Dummies" but, would you put the stamp on after you shrunk the embossed thing so as not to compromise the stamp? I love the look. I'm always on the look out for something to use for the guys cards; plenty of fru-fru stuff out there for us!

Those are great and your photos are so nice and clear too.

Lia- I am sure Barb probably cut that tiny mat since she does a lot of framing for their gallery. It would be harder to cut such a small mat cause there is no room to hide your mistakes and it is so hard to work with such a small piece of scrap board. I just hated cutting mats in art school, but we had to mat most of our projects before turning them in. I never did get the hang of a bevel cutter so I just cut squared mats.
Cutting a mat:
Mark your frame opening on the back side in pencil. Then take a nice sharp needle and poke a hole in each corner from the back to the front. Flip the mat over & cut on the front side using the pinholes to show you where to start & end your cuts. The pinholes also "clear out" your corners so you do not have a tuft of uncut fibers from trying to line 2 right angle cuts up to each other. Have a fresh blade in the knife and use a metal straightedge. Put your item on a scrap of smooth matboard or a good cutting surface. Put the tip of the knife in the hole, line up the straightedge so it presses against the knife and touches the next hole, and cut firmly with the blade at a straight 90 degree angle. If you need to run a second cut to get thru the board, hold the straightedge firmly & be careful not to let the cut stray away from your first cut. If you need 3 cuts to get all the way thru then you probably need a fresh blade.
Gram- shrink first, then added some embossing powder, unless the powder is clear. If it is clear, you can glue down the stamp, then put the clear EP over the stamp which will seal it. Looks to me like she either used a template or decorative scissors to create the nice edges.
I know just what you all mean...it is very hard to find fresh ideas for men's cards!

What great ideas. Thanks for sharing!

I am sooooo glad to hear that I don't have an abnormal obsession with postage stamps!! I too cut them off the mail I get and save them. Not sure for what exactly, but I really like these ornaments! Thank you!

I'm crazy for stamps too! I saw some pins that were framed stamps and the artist used mica as the "glass" in the frame. The diffusion and sparkle really did enhace the stamp.