It's Nice to Spend a Saturday Crafting

I love it when I can spend a whole day doing nothing but stamping and playing at my craft table. 

For my mom for Mother's Day.  My mother has always liked Asian art.  The large Chinese love symbol is a foam stamp with a small Chinese print stamped around the border.  The same small print stamp is on the black hexagon.  The background paper is from USArt Quest.  It came in a huge sheet so I'll be able to make a lot more from just one page.  I don't have any idea what the border stamp says, but I added it to give the wording a more textured look.  It is embellished with various beads & coins.

This get well card is for a swap over at Creating the Crafty Life.  I love monochromatic cards.  The paper was embossed on my Cuttlebug and then kissed with Colorbox silver ink.  The words are also stamped in silver.  The racecar image is supposed to have that mottled look, which makes it difficult to color so it worked perfectly for this card simply stamped on gray paper.  A gear and brad were added for embellishment.  Inside says: Speedy Recovery!

Finally, I have a card made using the 4th Anniversary sketch from Unscripted Sketches.  The background paper was made with acrylic paints and glitter glue.  Some of the paints are shiny and some are matte.  Squirt paint randomly on 1/2 sheet of card stock and cover with second half.  Use either a brayer or small rolling pin to gently smoosh the paint around and peel apart.  The direction of the peel determines the paint streaks.  This card is embellished with gold paper ribbon, an old necklace charm and some Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest.

Go on, get out there and create!

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Tools of the hobby part two - What I did right

Last month I started a discussion about some of the tools I own for my obsession...um, hobby.  The first part of the conversation was about tools that I purchased and could probably do without.  What I did wrong, if you will.  Well, I'm happy to say that I did make a lot of excellent purchasing decisions, too.  I have some tools that are time savers, some that allow for special techniques and some that I use every single time I sit down at my craft table.  Do I think every rubber stamper/crafter needs them?  Yes and no.  Yes, you need to have tools that are of good quality and allow you to make the art that you want to create.  No, I don't think you need these exact items.  I just think that I do.

CUTTING MAT(S)
I was lucky enough to receive the largest size cutting mat that Michael's sells for Christmas one year.  (Okay, it wasn't really luck.  I cut out the 40% off coupon, grabbed my husband and made him buy it for me.)  It's really big and covers over half of my table.  It's from the sewing department in Michael's and it has ruler measurements and other kinds of cutting templates which don't mean anything to me.  I could cut on it since that's what it's for but it is so pretty that I can't bring myself to do it.  I use it mostly as a table protector and it has saved my table from a couple of major spills.

I have a Fiskars 12x12 cutting mat that I use for making my cards.  It's mapped out in quarter inch lines.  I use this mat every day with my handy Xacto knife to make most of my cards, cut out embellishments and sometimes just to check that a panel really is square.  The back side is shiny and is wonderful for messy projects that need to be painted or for decoupage.  I just pick up the whole mat and move it aside to let projects dry.

CUTTING TOOLS:
There are so many fancy types of scissor on the market that are supposed to be geared to certain kinds of crafts.  Do you know what the best scissors are?  The best pair of scissors are the ones you can grasp comfortably and firmly and use for long periods of time.  I have one pair of standard household 8" scissors that I bought 10 or 15 years ago.  They serve me well.  I can cut small images with them because with the wide handles I have good control.  I can cut cardboard and plastic, tissue paper and tape all with the same pair.  I just keep a bottle of Goo Gone near the sink and clean off the sticky residue from time to time.  I wouldn't replace them with any of the fancy pairs out there.

I have several Xacto knives.  I have been through cheapies that break or where the blades loosen as you cut.  Go for a quality knife and keep a supply of blades on hand.  Just like kitchen knives, sharp blades prevent injuries!  I keep a couple on my table because just like pencils, I tend to misplace them while I'm working.

PAPER TRIMMER
I have a basic Fiskars paper cutter.  It doesn't have a fancy laser or light attached.  It's just a rotary blade that makes my life easier when I am cutting a high volume of paper like when I make my Christmas cards.  I prefer to use my mat & knife but I don't want my arm to fall off, ya know?

DESKTOP SORTERS
It's hard to be creative when you spend all your time rummaging around in desk drawers for the right color marker or a glue stick.  Keep your favorites at hand and make your life easier.

HEAT TOOL
Whether you use it most for embossing, spot drying or stripping paint you need to have a quality tool that you can rely on.  I love my Marvy!  I've had it from the beginning.  It heats evenly and is comfortable to hold.  It also has a built-in safety stand.  Mine has a home in an aluminum can so that I can put it back on the desk even when it's hot.

DESKTOP LAMP
I have an awesome halogen lamp that has two light settings.  It is adjustable and has a wide base to keep it from moving.  You have to be able to see what you're doing when you are working up close.  Plus the halogen is very warm and keeps my fingers toasty in the cold basement where my craft room is!  Invest in a good lamp.  You'll thank me.  

REINKERS
If you use ink pads at all in your crafts I recommend buying a reinker for each one.  Moist stamp pads work best.  These little bottles are worth their weight in gold.

FILING CABINETS
I like the look of the paper sorting towers.  How cute to be able to see my colored paper out in the open, right?  How cute is it when your paper fades?  I have all of my paper in hanging files sorted by color or pattern.  Yeah, I have to take a few minutes at the beginning of a project to pull what I want, but I know it's all going to be the same shade.  My 12x12 is in a plastic cart designed for scrapbookers because I can't find a file cabinet that can accomodate it.  Yet.

COMPUTER WITH SCANNER
I love making the inside sayings for my cards on my computer.  I have a Print Shop program that allows me to print the perfect size to go in my cards.  I have rubber stamps with sayings on them like everyone else does, but I don't like being limited.  My own sense of humor is so corny that I can't always find stamps that say what I want.  It also allows me to personalize the saying.  And I keep a scanned copy of everything in my computer portfolio.  I can recreate designs I've made years ago (or avoid them).

PERSONAL ITEMS FOR COMFORT
Let's face it.  We can spend hours in our crafting space.  Be sure you have the little touches that will make you comfortable while you work.

I have a TV/VCR/DVD.  I can watch regular TV, movies or pop in a project tutorial.   I have a boom box - yes, I know they aren't called that anymore but I'm a dinosaur - so I can listen to music or a book on tape.

I love my mug warmer.  I get so involved in what I'm doing that without it I would be drinking cold coffee every day and who wants that?  I also have the worlds best drink caddy.  It's called and Octopus and is in the automotive section of your local store.  There are arms inside of it which keep even narrow glasses from tipping but it also has a cut out for a mug handle.  And it holds BIG glasses! 


AND FINALLY...DIE CUT/EMBOSSING MACHINE
I will admit that this used to be on my list of things I thought I would never buy.  Last year I went on a weekend retreat and the woman at the next table had a Cuttlebug.  (She had a LOT of fun looking scrapbook stuff.)  Remember the advice from last time about trying equipment first?  Well, I watched her for a day and then asked her to cut out some leaves for me out of my paper.  I had fun with them.  I had a lot of fun.  I asked her questions about the machine and the different things she used it for and she was very helpful.  After I got home I was still thinking about it. Then I found one at Meijer on clearance!  I knew I was meant to have it.  And I've been having fun ever since.  I can't imagine what took me so long!


So, there it is.  My two cents on the tools of the trade, so to speak.  Now I'm going to go pick up that Xacto and get to work on some swap cards.  If you like my blog you can leave a comment or click the little link at the bottom to follow me.  Happy crafting!

Tools of the Hobby part one - What I did wrong

When you're new to any hobby it can be overwhelming as you start to investigate what tools are available.  And because you're new, you have no idea what will become invaluable to you and what will just sit on the shelf collecting dust.  A word to the wise...borrow tools before you purchase.  If your friend has a fancy paper cutter that you think you might want to own, ask to borrow it for a week first.  It may be better than yours and it may not, but you won't know just from looking at it on the shelf in a box.  If your friends don't have it, ask at your local stamp store.  Most of them offer crops on weekends and you can bring your own supplies and try it out there.

Sage advice from an old-timer who has spent more than her fair share on unused stuff.  Good stuff.  Stuff that other crafters love and use all the time.  Just not me.

When do you decide it's time to purge?  Well, I've been stamping since the mid-90's so I think it's time to admit there are items in my cupboards I'm never going to use. I'm not saying don't buy the items below.  Maybe the stuff I will never use will be your go-to tools!  I'm just saying that you may want to be smarter than I am about what you think you "must have" in your collection if you're just getting started in crafting.  You're probably asking yourself why I don't just have a yard sale.  I ask myself that all the time.  I am such a collector of supplies that it is very difficult to let go.  Collector, not hoarder.  Definitely not hoarder.  Right? 

CRIMPER
This tool allows you to add ridges to any sheet of paper.  They come in straight lines or patterns.  Mine is straight.  I have used it on one or two cards.  I find it difficult to attach a panel that has been crimped.  Or should I say that I have trouble keeping it attached?  It's an interesting look but if I bought one sheet of textured scrapbook paper for each of those two cards I would have saved myself some money and I would have one less item taking up space on my pegboard.

PATTERNED SCISSORS
I know scrapbookers love them.  But as a card artist, the need for them just hasn't really come up all that often for me.  I have found that I like the edge punches much better than the scissors.  There is one exception.  Deckle.  I love the deckle edge because it is random and I don't have to worry about lining up the pattern.  I would add corner scissors to this category as well.  Punches are a lot easier to make even.  At least I do use the corner scissors once in a while since I have them.  But if I didn't, I wouldn't miss them.

BLOW PENS
I like the way airbrushed art looks.  Blow pens are a poor-man's version of that.  I have a terrible time trying to get an even spray.  Plus they make me very light-headed.  And since mine came from the toy department they aren't the greatest quality even though they weren't cheap.  Half of them dried out between uses. 

TOOL BOXES WITH LOTS OF COMPARTMENTS
They look great in the hardware stores but unless you have all of your tools and supplies with you while you're shopping for one, odds are that the little sections will end up being the wrong size for what you really need.  Boxes made just for crafters may be a little more expensive than your husband's tool boxes, but they were designed with craft supplies in mind.  I have a tower of unused tool boxes in the corner of the basement.  I'm still searching for the perfect carry-all.  17 years and still searching!

DRAWER ORGANIZER TRAY INSERTS
Seriously...measure the inside dimensions of your desk drawers first!

CRAYOLA MARKERS
Don't get me wrong.  I love Crayola.  Their crayons are awesome!  Their color pencils are okay but the leads are a little hard.  The markers leave prominent streaks when you color on card stock.  It gives my projects a very "unfinished" look to have such choppy coloring.  Luckily, the markers aren't expensive so it was not a big deal.  I only use Crayola markers and colored pencils if I absolutely don't have anything else in the right color. 

GOLD LEAFING MARKERS
They have beautiful colors.  Silver, copper & gold leafing markers make wonderful wide lines and are great for adding a colorful edge to card stock.  Except that they don't set.  You can pick up a piece of paper you drew on a year ago and the ink will still smear.  If you stack your cards together on the table, the card you set on top of the leafing will have smears on the back.  There are ways around the problem.  You can spray it with a fixative.  I just rarely remember to do so.  And you have to store them on their sides, not upright.  And if you don't use them often they dry up.  Ugh.  Too much.  I find it better to make a panel of metallic paper one size larger than the size of the image.  The lines are cleaner and there is no smear issue.

FIBERS IN ALL OF THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW
I don't use ribbon nearly as often now as I did years ago.  I spent a lot of money on yarns, threads & cords, too.  Nothing wrong with having a stash of fibers, but it just turned out not to be my style to use a lot of them.  That's not something I could have foreseen.  I just wish I hadn't picked up twelve colors of that knobby ribbon just because I had never seen it before.

There are other things.  Certain types of buttons, certain stencils, certain rulers...you get the idea.  Save your money on the fancy tools that you may use only once or twice.

If anyone has ideas on how I can use the items listed above I'd love to hear them.  You might just give me a reason to keep them!

Retirement Party Memory Box

A friend and co-worker is retiring next week.  She is over-the-moon excited to start the next leg of her journey as she joins her husband, who is already enjoying his own retirement.  A few of the girls wanted to do something special for her party.  We've all seen this idea all over Pinterest, but here is my offering for a memory box.

A sturdy cardboard box and napkin collage supplies

I chose a box with a flap so I collaged the entire thing even though it will be tucked inside.

I cut a hole large enough to easily insert 4x6 cards at the start of the project, then added my collage pieces.

Card choices are: Bon Voyage, Memories, & Best Wishes.  I just need to decide if I'm going to decorate them with more stamps.  I got out a dragonfly stamp, but I haven't decided yet.

I made a little panel to cover the hole.  It is embellished with a chipboard dragonfly and Dew Drops.

New piece added 2/24 - sign made to encourage party-goers to drop a note in the box.

One last piece to pull everything together.  A card to complete the set.

So there it is.  I hope she enjoys reading all of the notes her friends & co-workers leave at her party.  Drop me a line and let me know what you think or just say hello! There is a link at the bottom of the page if you'd like to follow my blog.  Until next time...Happy Stamping!

New Project Takes Me Out Of My Comfort Zone

I recently joined a new online crafting group called Creating the Crafty Life.  When I started my journey to try new things and grow I knew that finding a new group of friends with widely varying tastes and styles would help me stretch in a supportive environment.  I joined a couple of online classes.  On Tuesdays, I attend the Helmar tutorial and Terri Sproul's mixed media technique classes.  I've also been enjoying the Saturday Crafts Fair with so many different classes!  But I've mainly been an observer.  This week, I signed up for my first mixed media swap.  I chose a project that is nothing like anything I've ever done before.  The challenge was to create one canvas in a Shabby Chic theme.  Exciting ... and terrifying!  I mean, what if I couldn't pull it off?!  I've never done a canvas before and I had to Google "shabby chic" to even figure out some basic guidelines. 

I lightly brushed beige acrylic paint over the white canvas and a floral background was very lightly sponged over the beige.  I was hoping for an aged, distressed look.  One of the bullet points for shabby chic, says Google.

I've never altered chipboard die-cuts before.  The letters started out with shiny designs.  I used an emery board to sand them a little, then painted them with barn red acrylic paint.  When that was completely dry, I used my brayer to evenly coat my crinkle background stamp to make them seem aged.  The Fleur de Lis die-cut started out plain cardboard.  I used USArtQuest's 101 Light and a checkerboard stencil to give it a little texture.  I painted that in yew green matte acrylic paint and then lightly sanded over the tops of the checkerboard with my trusty emery board to allow some of the white to show through.  The vine chipboard was simply painted yew green.  I left it solid rather than altering it further.

The flowers were part of a scrapbooking kit I received as a gift years ago.  I sponged on dark red ink to give them a little interest and to help bring the red lace into the design in a different way.  The Robin's Nest Dew Drops were added for the flower centers.

I've never trimmed anything in lace before and this canvas has two different types.  The wide lace is a single piece glued all the way around the canvas using Helmar's 450 Quick Drying Adhesive.  The thicker but narrow ribbon is 4 pieces glued on top of that to hide the edge.

So there it is!  My very first mixed media piece!!  I'm very proud of it and very proud of myself for tackling something new.  I hope you like it!

Supplies Used:

Pretreated Canvas from JoAnn Fabrics

Acrylic Paints

USArtQuest 101 Light Artist's Cement

The Robin's Nest Dew Drops (different color than pictured below)

Stencils

Chipboard Shapes

Paper Flowers

Lace

Drop me a note sometime!  There's even a link at the bottom of the page if you'd like to follow my blog.  Until next time...Happy Stamping!

Which stamp do you own and consider most versatile?

Do you have a stamp that you like to use over and over, regardless of the reason behind your project?  One that works equally well for birthdays, holidays, get well, thinking of you, etc?  For me, it's Griz from Stamps By Judith.  She makes more than one pose of him, but the original standing version is my favorite.  In fact, when I went to my LSS crafter's yard sale I almost bought him again.  I mean, he was only $2 and he was in pristine condition.  That's what got me thinking about him.  I don't understand how you can have that stamp in your collection and still have him be that clean and perfect?!   And then decide you don't want him??  That's crazy!

He is fun because he can wear hats.  Does that sound silly?  I feel silly saying it but that's the truth.  I love him because all you have to do to change his personality is change his hat and whatever he is holding in his big clumsy bear paws.  He works for both men and women...how great is that?  If I'm ever stuck for a "guy card" I just bring him back out.  In the end, I didn't buy him again.  That was a week ago and I'm still having twinges of regret.  No, there is nothing wrong with my Griz, but he was just so beautiful and new! 

Here, see for yourself how wonderfully versatile he is.  I've made over 20 cards with him.  These are a few of my favorites.  Then take a moment to tell me about your favorite stamp in the comments.  I'd love to hear about it!

Hubby's Valentine - shhh don't tell him it's posted

There are two holidays where I have trouble designing cards.  I'm always disappointed in my Valentine's Day and Easter cards.  Valentine's Day is romantic and my cards are usually cute and funny.  And Easter is a nightmare for me because I don't usually think in pastels.  I'll worry about Easter later.  Tonight I tackled hubby's Valentine. 

I've been trying to add more layers and textures to my cards so I knew I wanted to use my Cuttlebug in some way and I decided I would use die-cuts.  I have two different dies for similarly shaped flowers so I got them out to have a variety of sizes to choose from.  The design came to me when I saw the black & cream music note paper.

I cut out all of my flowers and placed them randomly on a sheet of card stock to determine the size card I wanted to make.  I settled on 5x7 so that most of my background stencil would show and I could use the largest flower without it being cramped.  For my stencils, I chose a swirly background that I sponged on in Vivid Garnet ink.  I added three random patches of checkerboard sponged in Vivid Cobblestone and a leaf pattern sponged on in Vivid black.  I glued down my flowers, added three different sizes of red gemstones using Helmar's Gemstone glue and stamped two sayings, "love" and "xoxo", which were also in Vivid Black ink. To pull the whole design together I sponged Vivid Garnet all along the outside edges of the paper and the tips of the flowers and then mounted the panel on black confetti paper. 

I like it.  It's got a lot of different layers while keeping to a minimal color scheme.  I'd love to know what you think!  Drop me a line sometime.

Materials used:

Textured heavy cream colored card stock

Black confetti card stock

Music note paper from DCWV's Heirloom Christmas Stack

Die-namics Layered Rose die cut

Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die cut

3 stencils from my collection

Helmar's Gemstone Glue

6 mini, 3 medium & 1 large heart gemstones

"love" by Vap! scrap

"xoxo" found in the Target dollar bin

Vivid inks: Garnet, Cobblestone, Black