*gasp* It's clean!

By this, I mean the Dungeon.  6 months after I jumped in and rearranged it, there is enough space on both tables for me to use them both!  Not sure how long it'll last, but it's clean!

I have a friend and coworker who is also crafty - and we set up a craft "play date" for yesterday.  (Can you tell I work with kids?)  

It was a Pinterest inspired craft day.  We both did melty crayon pictures - mine in a simple rainbow drip, hers was inspired by the colors in sunflowers.  Apparently my hair dryer isn't powerful enough to make this happen or I'm too impatient - probably option #2 - but I wound up using my embossing gun to melt the crayons.  She also made a sunglass holder with a chunky picture frame, tiny eyebolts, and wire.  My second project is kinda secret - due to the fact that I'm not sure if my mother ever sees this blog and the project is meant as a present for her.

I had a lot of fun crafting yesterday and definitely need to get some pictures up: the long-promised picture of my new Copic storage, the clean tables and my crayon artwork.

I'm itching to get inky again, so hopefully more cards are going to be in the works, especially after my new Papertrey stuff arrives.

Have a good week,

New Cards and Things I've Learned

Wow, time's flying by again.  I never mean to have so much time between posts, but somehow it seems to just happen.

Since finding that Embossed Layered Resist technique video I've been scanning all the stores for stamps that are reversed images.  I found one with snowflakes by TPC that I'll break out and go crazy with for Christmas. I had a 40% off coupon for JoAnn's today and I found another set by TPC that's reversed flowers, flourishes and butterflies - and had to get it.  This is my card:

Things I learned in making it:
1) I forgot to stamp the writing in the background before embossing.  I think doing that brings a lot to the total image and there's a whole lotta white on that card.
2) I need clear embossing powder that has a good coverage and made for fine details. It also needs to be clear, not clear with specks of black in it (like my current clear embossing powder.  Friendly hint: the SU! Embossing trays get static-y and you'll wind up with speckled embossing powders)
3) I also need to try this with another embossing ink because the problem might just be in the Versamark.
4) Be careful with the application of Spiced Marmalade Distress ink.  I'm not covered in orange ink, but I wiped out my carefully sponged pink flowers with my wild swirls.  There are 4 colors of ink on that image, not that you can tell.

Oh, I need to profess my love for www.icopic.com  Their website's easy to navigate (after you add something to your cart and click "keep shopping" it takes you back where you were,) their prices and shipping are reasonable, and it's FAST.  I ordered on a Sunday and it was in my hands by Wednesday of the same week.  I picked up some Copics and a The Greeting Farm stamp set.

Here's a card I made with one of the images:

Things I've learned from this card:
1) I need to create a list of Copic hair color combos and skin color combos because it's hard to keep looking stuff up on my phone.
2) I need to buy almost all of the Oliver and Amelia sets that The Greeting Farm has because they're so dang cute.
3) Memento Tuxedo Black ink is the best ink I've used for Copics.  I love Palette Noir, but it has a tendency to bleed while I color.

Goal for tomorrow: laundry (it's trying to take over my room,) making cards with the colored Oliver and Amelia images, and stamping Nugget wraps for a St Paddy's Day treat for my coworkers.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend,

 

The aftermath of a 4 day weekend

Isn't always pretty.  It was better this time around.  I feel like I accomplished something.

I got an card order for a coworker finished.  She was thrilled to have them, which makes me happy.

Note to self (because you don't really need to know what's on my To-do list): Order more A2+ clear envelopes.

I also bought the latest issue of Paper Crafts this weekend and found a really neat card on the last page: clear base card with multi-color polka dots on it.  LOVED it and had to CASE it. Twice.

 

Paper: Clear, white, Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, Harvest Gold, New Leaf, Elegant Evening, Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush. Stamps: MFT: Essential Sayings Ink: Palette Noir.  Accessories: Nestabilities Classic Circles, dimensionals, Diamond Glaze.

The next card is the TLC Challenge on SCS for Monday - Acrylic Distress background.  I've learned a few things with this: 1) use a bigger die to cut out the piece, 2) the music embossing folder by Tim Holtz is too intricate to do this properly.  Other than these 2 things, I think I'd do this technique on a card again.

Paper: white (colored piece is PTI select white).  Ink: Distress Tea Dye, Memento Tuxedo Black. Stamps: Stamping Bella - Musicabella, MFT - Essential Sayings.  Accessories: ribbon, Copics, Tim Holtz embossing folder, Nestabilities, Adirondack acrylic paint.

That's all there is, really.

 Hope my scrapping thing on Saturday goes well and I get a bunch of pages done.

The end of a long weekend

And I'm sad.  I never seem to get everything I want to do done during these times off.

It could just be that I lack some motivation - maybe.

I was on a stamping roll this weekend.  I ordered from Papertrey last weekend and the box arrived not long after I got home from work on Thursday.  A box of new stamps and inks to play with all weekend?  YAY!!!

All the cards I made this weekend have something from my new stash in them - new ink or stamp pad.

I also made a new home for my Copics and I don't have a picture of it.  It's one of those double deep Art Bins with removable sections, a lighting cover, 4 carriage bolts, 12 nuts, 16 washers and 8 nylon separators.  *And a partridge in a pear tree!!!!*  All in all, it cost me about $40 to make an easily transportable (and non-spillable) home for my Copics.

Anywho, onto the cards.

Thursday

Friday - no stamping.  I shopped and then created the Copic home.  (pictures later)

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

And I'm back to work for a busy week tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll get time to stamp.

Long Day and got the urge to stamp

I had an early day today.  By early, I was parking in the parking lot at 6:10am.  I thoroughly dislike early shifts, but the plus is I get out of work early too.

So today, after I got out of work and my chiropractor appointment, I was researching - yeah, RESEARCHING - on Pinterest and came across a video tutorial for an Embossed Layered Resist technique by Hero Arts.  I liked how the card looked, the technique looked easy, so off I toddled into the Dungeon to play.

TA-DA!

Not bad for a first attempt.  I can nit-pick this card to death, but I love the softness of the color combo and my choice of ink colors to pop the image.

It's a Papertrey Ink day: all stamps and cardstock are from there.  The background is Background Basics - Text Style 1 and it's stamped in Palette Charcoal on Vintage Cream.  The reverse leaf image and sentiment "friend" are from Text Boxed.  The leaf image is stamped in Versamark and clear embossed while the word is stamped in PTI Ocean Tides.  The reversed image is colored in with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks and the edges of the image panel are "dirtied" up with them as well.

The image panel is layered on Ocean Tides cardstock, tied with Ocean Tides Swiss Dot Satin Ribbon and then layered on a Fine Linen card base.

Supplies: Stamps: PTI - Background Basics Text Style and Text Boxed.  Paper: Ocean Tides, Vintage Cream and Fine Linen.  Ink: Palette Charcoal, Ocean Tides, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks.  Accessories: clear embossing powder, ribbon, dimensionals.

That's all for right now.  Here's hoping tomorrow flies by - I have a long weekend coming up!

Simply Sweet

My bakers twine from The Twinery came!  I love the colors and dove right in using it.  My lollipop obsession continues, only to be "traditional" lollipop faces this time.  And since they're done, I should make them into cards - especially since Valentine's Day is coming up.

So here's my first card and I've since made 2 others - one in light yellow and another in light pink.

The card base is Georgia-Pacific white cardstock.  Hawaiian Shores makes a mat for Kraft cardstock.  The Kraft was run through my Cuttlebug with the Flourish Impressability plate.  Instead of breaking into my stash of lollipop sticks again, I have some popsicle sticks close to my crafting table, so it was just easier to grab those.  I'm glad I did, they're more stable to tape down.

Supplies: Stamps: MFT - Here's the Scoop.  Paper: GP white, PTI - Hawaiian Shores, Kraft, SU- tag.  Ink: Palette Noir.  Accessories: popsicle stick, bakers twine, dimensionals, Impressability, red tape sheet.

Here's to a good week!

Snowflake Wreath Tutorial

This tutorial has been in my mind for a while.  One of the first things I "pinned" when I joined Pinterest was a snowflake wreath that was originally posted here on Better Homes and Gardens.  It's beautiful and I wanted to recreate it - I had a ton of snowflake ornaments on hand and they'd make a neat gift.

Have you been to a craft store and looked at the price of foam wreaths?  I couldn't find the size I wanted, the thickness I desired and priced under $5 for a single wreath.  I looked for wooden "wreaths" as well - those apparently only exist in my head.

I'm sure I looked slightly deranged while wandering my local Hobby Lobby trying to find what I wanted.  I then thought of cake rounds - the cardboard bases that bakeries place cakes on.  They're sturdy, thin, and I could get a set of 6 for less than 3 dollars.

Tutorial Time!

 What you'll need: an 8" cake round, ruler, writing instrument (I used a pen), cutting mat, cutting tool, 12 flat snowflake ornaments (I purchased mine at Target), strong adhesive (I used Goop)

 Take your cake round, ruler, and pen and measure 1" in from both sides.  Go all around and make as many marks as you need.

 Use your pen to freehand a circle based on your marks.  This will be your cutting line.

 Cut along your line with your cutting tool.  The cake round is corrugated cardboard, so I generally go around twice: once to make a cutting channel, the second time to go all the way through.  This way I don't wind up with a skipping blade and a bleeding crafter.

 This is your finished ring.  You can use it as it is or you can cover it with clear tape (which will give it some weather protection.)

 Lay out your ornaments on the wreath so you know how they'll fit and you like how they look.  **I then take them off so they're in the same layout, only backwards (if you look in the top left of the next picture, you'll see what I mean.)

 Glue down your bottom layer of ornaments. I will put down a generous drop of glue and then press the ornaments down into them.  Goop doesn't set right away, so you have time to play with the layout. (Unlike hot glue - which was the adhesive in the original tutorial when I read it.)

 With the upper layer of ornaments, I put the glue on the ornament itself and then carefully place it so it overlaps 2 ornaments in the bottom layer.

All glued down!  

After the wreath is all glued, I put the cutting mat on top of it and then placed a heavy mini crate on it (it has my Nestabilities and Cuttlebug dies in it.)  This makes sure that none of the ornaments have the ability to loosen themselves from the others as the glue dries.  Let this sit for at least 4 hours so the glue can start to dry.  After 24 hours, the glue should be dry and you can put a ribbon on it as a hanger.

And that's all there is to it!  I hope this inspires you to create!