Crop Notes and Crafts

Where Did the Blogs Go?

2011-08-10T12:44:00.000-04:00

I couldn't believe just how long it has been since I last made a post on this blog! I'd like to say that time flies when you are having fun but that hasn't quite been the case. The Glitzy Glamour Gals were preparing a Christmas in July crop but that had to be postponed. It's mostly my fault. Things have been hectic! I've had way too many doctor appointments followed by way too many tests! The cropping mojo has been on the back burner. Tammy and I have still had some cropping sessions and I have posted a few projects on my You Tube channel but that has been about it. I am hoping things turn around but that is all undetermined at the moment.
I finally got around to reading a few blogs today! I hadn't done that in many months but I found something odd. Some of the blogs I had subscribed too were no longer in my subscription list. Now I know this has been a problem on You Tube but I didn't know it was happening with Google. Has anyone else experienced this? I wish I could remember the names of some of those blogs but I just can't figure it out. My memory isn't what it use to be! If you happen to be one of those blogs, leave a comment and let me know so that I may subscribe again!

Calling All Stampers

2011-05-15T14:05:00.001-04:00

I have good news, well sort of, and I have bad news. Jacque of at Scrollswork Stamps has asked me to pass along this bit of information to you. They will be going out of business and everything is on sale. With her growing family comes more responsibility as a Mom. If you like vintage, steampunk and Asian stamps, you are sure to find something of interest at Scrollswork. I already had loads of their stamps but had to order loads more!!!! Run on over there and find something for your next project!

It is with a sad and heavy heart that Scrolls Work is announcing our going out of business sale.

We gave it a strong go with a lot of hard work, and our love of stamps. Unfortunately with the economy and the soon to be addition to the family we are having to close our doors.

The good new for you.... Our Going Out of Business Sale.

Once the sale starts it is first come first serve.
So once we are out of stock on a stamp it will no longer be available.
Make sure you buy them ASAP!!

Sale Dates:

It starts May 15th with a 40% discount.
June 1st it will go to a 50% discount
June 15th starts the 60% discount.
July 1st ends with a 70% discount.
July 15th we are closing the site.

Thank you all for being so wonderful! With out you we wouldn't have made it this far.

Scrolls Work Stamps

Scrolls Work Facebook Fan page

Scrolls Work Blog

What's up for Spring?

2011-02-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I have been busy with family illness, projects around the house and the loss of a family member. Hence the lack of posts for this blog. I hope to be back in the swing of things soon since the GGGals are gearing up for a Spring crop. There will be more details about the crop in the coming weeks and as usual, we are working on a mini using the same materials so check out how we add our own touch to these projects. For something new, we are going to be making another project where we use the same paper stack and I will let the cat out of the bag about this very soon. Okay, I will tell you this much, it is a DCWV stack and it is quite popular. Check out the flower swap that we have added this time around and join in on the fun! That is all I have time for at the moment but stay tuned for upcoming details.

Fallen Behind

2011-02-07T23:24:00.001-05:00

When I finished the 31 day challenge on You Tube, I thought I would be ready to host a February pay it forward challenge. However, with my family being ill over the last few weeks, I haven't had the opportunity to get that going yet. The January challenge took a great deal of time so I need to get caught up with things around the house too. Just hang in there and I will get it posted soon if nothing else happens. I have to head into the city for a few doctor appointments first and then I will issue the challenge. Lord willing and if the creek don't rise! LOL! Until then, here is a photo of our winter wonderland weather. The photo below was taken from one of the two second floor balconies. You can see it from the photo above over the main entry of thefront porch. For a better view, scroll through the Victorian house label on the side bar. I think there is a good photo of the front of the house in there.

Stylish Blogger

2011-02-04T15:11:00.001-05:00

Well, I have been catching up on my reading and email today. I found this award from Mary Rose's Cafe. It was on her Wednesday post. Just when you think that people aren't reading, you get a lovely surprise such as this award. Awwww thanks!!! One of the reason's for blogging is to share creative ideas with other people just like me. My blog has been neglected since I participated in Marion Smith's You Tube challenge for January but that is over now. It was a lot of work to post video every day but it was also fun to watch what everyone was doing and creating. All of my video are found here.This week, I have been catching up on the home front. Everyone in my home has been ill except for me and that has slowed me down a bit.

To get back on track, I will start with this award. I am supposed to share 8 things about myself and then pass the award on to eight other bloggers. Since I work with the Glitzy Glamour Gals, I won't be adding them to my list but you can always look at their personal blogs for inkspiration. You can find their personal work from this page.

1. My favorite music groups are Third Day and Casting Crowns. I often listen to them when I create.

2. I could spend nearly every day of a cold winter in my PJ's. They are so warm and comfy!

3. I hate temps below 40 degrees and mid winter is very blucky!

4. I miss gardening and hope to do more of it this year. My yard needs it and so does my pantry.

5.I like to preserve food so that I can have a taste of summer during the cold months of winter. It is also satisfying to know that the ways of my grandparents are still alive. Did you know that they use to produce over 90% of their own food? My dad would say, 'If we didn't raise it, we didn't eat it.'

6. I enjoy collaborating with other artists on group projects and enjoy teaching willing adults.

7.I read a lot. I don't read books often unless it is a mystery but I do read magazines such as Victorian Homes, Countryside, This Old House, and Growing for Market along with a few others.

8. If I am not creating something every week, I go through withdrawals! LOL!

Now for the difficult part of choosing only 8 other people to participate.....

My Romantic Home This blog has the prettiest photographs and I find inspiration for my home.

Basketmaster's Weavings Although Nancy isn't blogging much these days, I still enjoy what she brings to the table. Nancy found me through my basket making and I always enjoy reading what she has to say.

Scrapping Suzie QTT Now this gal and her sister know how to create and have fun doing it! She is a new friend who makes wonderful creative projects!

Just a Few Designs Elsa has a great sense of design and color so go check her out!

Randi's a New Creation She makes the prettiest paper projects and cards!

Jaqueline's Craft Nest She does the most beautiful work!

Paper Pleasing Ideas Julie's blog has inspired my creativity, given me strength, made me laugh and made me cry.

Carolyn's Creative Whims I served on the first Scrolls Work design team with Carolyn this year. I enjoy her writing and her art.

It took me several hours to decide who I would choose for this list. I chose these people because they have something special to offer. If you check them out, it won't take you long to see what I am talking about. This award was a surprise, it was fun and it made me think about why I read these other blogs. a big thanks goes out to Mary Rose!

Day 3 of Marion's 31 day challenge

2011-01-04T01:28:00.001-05:00

Today was like moving around deck chairs on the Titanic! This room is small and I move things around a lot in order to rearrange the room or I take it outside of the room and move it back in a little at a time. I thought this set up would last about a month while I wait for the jetmax cubes to go on sale but I found out the cubes are on sale right now. That means that I will tear the room up again in order to create a cutting island for my Cricut and Cuttle Bug.
Enjoy the chaos!

31 Day Challenge

2011-01-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, I have been busy over at the Glitzy Glamour Gals Blog and spending time with family so the blog has been neglected a bit. I just wanted to tell you about the 31 Day Challenge that Marion has issued over on her blog and You Tube channel. Join me at my channel for 31 videos in January and see how many things that I can accomplish this month.

Baby Boy Mini Book 2010

2010-11-19T14:41:00.000-05:00

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I have not been writing many blog posts here lately but I have been making Youtube videos without sharing them here and writing posts over at the Glitzy Glamour Gals blog. You gotta check out my Fall Mini Book. It turned out great! Whenever it is quiet here, you may want to head over to these other sites to see what has been going on. Enjoy!

Blog Signage

2010-11-06T16:07:00.000-04:00

Hello peeps! I hope you are knee deep in crafty goodness for the upcoming holidays and playing Christmas tunes while you create beautiful hand made items. I have gotten around to making signage fo my videos. It was a fun little project using items on hand and my Cricut Expression to cut out the letters with the Winter Woodland cartridge. I usually reach for the Story Book cartridge when it comes to letters but I resisted and opted for this font instead. I neglect my Cricut and have decided to make a point of using it more often. Enjoy the vid!
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Oversized Mini

2010-10-19T20:22:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! I finally have a YouTube video loaded for you. My daughter needed a scrapbook for her trip to Korea. She is participating in a program where teens from 20 countries come together for a two week long school. This school teaches the kids how to think on a global scale for their future jobs. My daughter just didn't have the time to finish the book with all of the classes that she is taking. Her two college classes have created a lot of extra work for her this semester so I finished the book that she started. Enjoy!
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No Pics Today

2010-10-15T14:50:00.000-04:00

I thought I should check in and let you know that I am still creating and should have some new things up very soon. I just need to get the video finished and loaded. It has been very busy around here and I have been pulled in many different directions! Here is a sample of all the extra goings on....

My daughter is leaving for a trip to Korea in a just a few days.

Daughter needs a scrapbook of introduction for the trip and guess who got the job of creating much of it since daughter is knee deep in classes and prep for the trip?

Still painting the carriage house outside!

Finishing up projects from the Glitzy Glamour Gals Virtual Crop.

Lost a friend to cancer on Sunday and the mojo is a bit low.

I will try and get back on track soon!

Harvest of Memories Virtual Crop

2010-10-07T12:16:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! I know it has been quiet here on my blog this week and I am about to tell you why. A friend of mine has gotten a group of ladies together and we will be cropping, sharing ideas, and motivating one another to create beautiful paper crafting projects. We are about to kick off this group with a virtual crop scheduled for this Friday beginning at 6 PM Eastern Standard Time and all day Saturday. Check us out on the ustream glitzyglamourgals station. You will see women from the US, Australia and Denmark creating projects centered around the Harvest of Memories theme. I hope you will be able to join us! I almost forgot to tell you to stay tuned for info about the Glitzy Glamour Gals because we would love to have you join in on the fun too!

Christmas Silhouette 2010

2010-09-30T18:08:00.001-04:00

So I know I titled this Christmas, but let me just say that this would make a great Valentine or Birthday card too. I kept this card simple yet still elegant so that it could be mass produced for Christmas. The stamps are from Scrolls Work Stamps. I used 2557 Lady Flourish Silhouette #1, 7104 Sheet Music and 25 18 Letter Seals. I used gold detail embossing powder since the music sheet is so fine and the Musical Shape Paper Clip was purchased at Staples.

Pumpkin Set 2010

2010-09-29T11:57:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Hope you are having a great day. Before I tell you about this card, I would like to thank the gals that showed up at my ustream class last night and put in a plug for the next class which will be held October 5th at 8PM Eastern Standard Time on laughingstamper channel. Okay, now that the shameless plug is over, I can give you some details about this project.

I used the same stamps as I did for the ATC (Artist Trading Card) in the previous post along with the pumpkin set and Happy Fall Phrase. I just brayered the background a little different and at a different angle. If you are looking for any of these stamps, you may find them here at Scrolls Work. The fence was the waste material from a fence that I cut out on my cricut using the Paper Dolls cartridge. I love to use the scraps! If you have any question, go ahead and leave me a comment and I will get back to you!

Ustream

2010-09-25T17:57:00.001-04:00

Join me Tuesday evening at 8PM Eastern Standard time as I teach how I created this Artist Trading Card via a ustream class. You can find me here. I will show you how I created this background using a brayer. All of the stamps used in this project are from Scrolls Work so you can check that out if you like any of these. The victorian haunted house and the bats are a reminder of my own house before the restoration began! Yikes! I hope to see you Tuesday night!

September Birthday 2010

2010-09-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

Here is an old technique that I had forgotten about until I saw You Tuber Hungry Heffy do a vid about it. I am behind and needed some quick cards which were still very pretty and thought this would fit the bill quite nicely. I embossed the images with white pearl embossing powder and sponged the card stock. The flower and leaves were from my I Am Roses haul. I used my home made glimmer mist to color the flower so that it color coordinated with the card stock. I hope this sparks some creativity for you!

Old House News

2010-09-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

Lately I have been getting questions about where I have been and how the house restoration is going. Today I kill two birds with one stone as I answer those questions. My arthritic hand has been wrapped around a paintbrush which has been priming over 4000 cedar shakes. Ugh! We are in the middle of trying to get the carriage house weathered in before winter hits the mountains. Back in the 1940's, our carriage house was built and over the years it has been just that as well as two apartments. The first floor will house two of our vehicles and the second floor will remain an apartment space without a renter. I'll have a new creative space with a kitchen, bed and bath. When my scrappy friend from South Carolina saw it, she said....."great, I won't have far to go to bed when I visit!" LOL! She's just too funny!

The garage doors were framed out and installed along with new windows. Cedar lap siding now covers the alley side first floor as well as the side with the electrical panels. Everyone is working on this project including my husband and daughter. I even got in on the act of siding the building as you will see in the next photo.

This is the side with the electricity and the pic was snapped last Sunday a week ago. We have begun to paint so maybe I'll show you a completed side, in the near future. Okay so it probably won't be totally complete this season because the soffit needs repaired and I doubt we will have time to do that along with getting the floor heat installed on the first floor of the main house this season. Whew! Anyway, I have been pulled in many directions lately and some days I don't know which end is up. Enjoy this beautiful fall weather and don't forget to get some scrappy time in too!

Old Crow

2010-09-20T11:12:00.002-04:00

Can you believe that I only used two stamps to create this card? Talk about economical cropping! This was more design team work for Scrolls Work this month. I used scarecrow 7503, old bird 1037. Then I put my brayer, sponge and die cut machine to work. I think it turned out great! I nearly forgot to mention that Michelle Zindorf was the inspiration for this piece. Let me know what are you creating as the air begins to chill and days shorten? It's your turn.

Mulberry Flowers

2010-09-17T21:18:00.001-04:00

Vintage Magazine Holder

2010-09-09T23:36:00.002-04:00

I finally finished this magazine holder that has been sitting on my desk for three weeks. I took a simple cardboard holder and turned it into this. I was going for an antique book sort of thing using Scrolls Work Stamps. Here is a video with a bit of information about the project and the specific stamps that I used and techniques involved in making this project. Enjoy!
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Stamping on Beads

2010-09-08T00:41:00.003-04:00

I finally took a few minutes and stamped on some beads. You may find these stamps at Scrolls Works. I used a silver and gold paint pen to add a bit of pizazz to the edge of the flat beads. Here are a few pics and a short video. Let me know what you think.

A Few Items in Excess

2010-08-29T15:01:00.000-04:00

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Hello all! I have been sorting through my stash and wish to let go of some extra materials. Contact me via the "come on and talk to me!" phrase in the left sidebar of my blog.

Mariposa Mini Sneak Peek

2010-08-16T06:00:00.002-04:00

I have been working on a DCWV Mariposa mini off and on all summer long. This is just a little preview of what's to come. I hope to show you the entire mini within a few weeks. The butterfly is a stamped image that I colored with copic markers.

The black photo mat has been embossed with gold embossing Powder using Scrolls Work Stamps 2544, Leafy Swirls. The Butterfly is also from them. Look for 3082, Monarch Wings.

I still have a couple of pages, the back cover and a bunch of tags to finish before I show you a video. I just couldn't hold it any longer. I just had to show someone. This paper is so wonderful to work with and it makes the most beautiful projects!I am thinking about making a couple of kits available to make this particular book. If you are interested, let me know. Enjoy!

Irish Blessing

2010-08-14T06:00:00.002-04:00

Today I have a vintage style card that is simple and quick! All stamps were from Scrolls Work Stamps. They have so many vintage stamps that they are my go to source. This is also why I wanted to be on their design team! If you would like to be on the design team, go on over to their web site and apply. They are taking applications.

This is how I made the card.

Take a piece of Kraft card stock and stamp the Leafy Flourish several times with SU! Garden Green ink and sponge the edge of the card stock and set aside.

Take white card stock and stamp 2527 Gothic arch with Stazon Saddle Brown ink.

Ink 1604, Irish Blessing with SU! Garden Green ink and stamp after lining it up with the Gothic Arch.

Cut out this piece and sponge Tea Dye Distress ink all over it.

Again take white card stock and stamp2542, Gothic Medallion in the same way the arch was stamped.

Quickly add a similar color marker to highlight a few areas on the medallion and the arch.

Cut a strip of designer paper and place it behind the Irish Blessing after sponging the edges.

Add the Blessing to this strip and the Medallion.

Pop the medallion up with pop dots to add dimension.

Mount all of this on the Kraft card stock.

Cut a piece of SU! Garden Green card stock to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

Score this in the middle and fold in half.

Us a border punch down the edge and sponge this edge with SU! Garden Green ink.

Add the Kraft card stock and Voila! You are finished!

August Birthday 2010

2010-08-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

Hello all! I don't know about you but out weather has been hot and muggy the past few days. So much so that when I walked outside yesterday. My glasses fogged up! That is a new one for me on a summer day since I started wearing glasses. I had no idea that would happen. Anyway, I have my August birthday cards finished. I used stamps from Scrolls Work. The letter M came from the Scrabble-a-bet set #1457. The birthday sentiment came from Person Holidays #1601 and the frame is called Mirror Mirror #2560. The embossing folder is one of the Tim Holtz alterations texture fades pack called Damask and Regal Flourish. If you have any questions about this project, please contact me. Enjoy!

Leaving CHA

2010-08-06T06:00:00.004-04:00

Today I am sharing a few of my thoughts about the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Super Show and the city of Rosemont where the show took place. First off, you should know that Rosemont and the location of the CHA Super Show was held within spitting distance of the Chicago O'Hare Airport. The air was full of noisy aircraft taking off and landing. Oh the joys of a commercial airport!

Once we hit Chi town on Thursday, Micki and her scrubby (hubby of a scrapbooker) whisked me away to a Chicago landmark called Portillo's and we had a Chicago style hot dog! Here it is with all of the fixin's. Yes you do see a dill pickle spear, tomato, relish, onion and spicy peppers. It was good and so were the onion rings. This was a fun place eat and very inexpensive. if you are in the Chicago area, you might want to check it out. You can click the link and see their menu from their web site.

The answer is yes! I did enjoy the Chicago dog. In fact, we ate there twice. There are locations all around the Chicago area. Each one is decorated a little differently but they all have that 50's diner feel. I like to eat the local foods when I travel. In my opinion, this is the best way to get the full experience of a new place. By the way, we went to Culver's for dessert. They have frozen custard and I had a cherry cheesecake concrete. All I am saying about that is YUM!!!!

This is Micki and her scrubs enjoying their dinner too!

Once we finished dinner, we were off to the airport to pick up Tina and Tammy. They are also members at YPP. Then we had a giggle fest before going to bed. You can see the video from my last post for some insight on that!

It was off to the show the next morning for fun and excitement! Some of us took some classes and we all walked the craft show floor. I wish I had taken more photos but I was too busy shopping and scouting for YPP. We made some contacts and hope a few of the vendors will teach a class or two for us at YPP via ustream. There is still a lot to do before we will be ready for that so stay tuned. Ning has been excruciatingly slow with the changes at the site and there have been a few things to get straightened out after the switch. A few things did not go as smoothly as ning had planned. I guess that is par for the course considering everything. Anyway, we will get more classes going by our members and then bring in the professionals if scheduling works out.

A two day ticket for the craft show cost me $20. This was the price of admission to get through the door over the course of two days. When you consider the cost of admission and the fact that few items were purchased for great prices, then there really weren't any good deals to be had. We weren't able to see all of the new products that are coming out like the vendors get to see at the Trade Show. However, we did get to see a few new things. We also had access to some products that we wouldn't be able to see in person. Products that are only available on line and not in our craft stores or Local Scrapbook Stores. In the future, I think that I would only buy a ticket for one day and power shop to make it cost effective.

I took two classes while at CHA. The first was a Copic marker class for newbies. I have been using water based markers for years but this was the first time that I had worked with alcohol based markers. I did learn a couple of new things that I didn't already know so that was good. If I had it to do over, I don't think I would have taken the class. Most of the info was already out there on Youtube or I already had general experience by using water based markers for such a long time. The class was 3 hours long cost $30 with an option to purchase a Copic technique book. That is how the class offering was published but when we arrived, we had to pay an additional $10 for the workbook. It was not an option even though I brought along my own memento ink stamped images on Neenah paper. There were also too many people in the class for the way this class was taught. A Copic certification class would have been a better option for me personally. The cost is much higher and the class length is much longer but would have been a better fit for me.

The other class that I attended was a Sizzix scoreboard Workshop. This class cost $25 and was well worth it considering the kit that came with the class. It contained at least $15 worth of products that we used in class. I'll talk more about this class later in an upcoming video.

After two days at CHA, we took Maria (from Denmark) and Tina (from Canada) to our local U.S.A haunts for cropping supplies. We hit two Joann stores, Archivers, Michael's, Marshall's, Tuesday Morning and Dick Blick's Art Supply. This was on Sunday so Hobby Lobby was closed and we were only able to drive past the store. Sorry girls! Maybe next time you will get to Hobby Lobby.

We left Chi town about 5 A.M. on Monday. We were headed to my house which is about 8 hours away by car. Then this happened on the interstate in Indiana. Oh what fun! Well this little blow out delayed us about 3 hours so we had a long day of travel.

Fixed up and on the road again we made it home. Then the unpacking began! I have found homes for most of my goodies. I had to purchase a decorative storage rack for some of the things because I am soooooooo out of storage space for my craft supplies.

These goodies are still on the dining room table because they don't have a new home yet. Guess I know what I will be doing later on today!

OFA Short Course and Trade Show

2010-07-24T13:09:00.001-04:00

I have spent the last several weeks in Columbus, Ohio for the OFA Short course and trade show. Once I returned home, my Dad was hospitalized for several days. Right now I feel like I am a day late and a dollar short getting all of the new stuff posted here on the old blog. Stay tuned because I have lots to show you and time is quickly ticking away as I gear up for CHA. If you don't already know, CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association show. I'll be showing you the new products that are being released this summer.
Now let's get back to the Short Course. So now you might be wondering what this is, why I would go there and what this has to do with crafting. Well the answer is.........
   What- the largest green industry event and trade show in the country.
   Why- because I have volunteered to set up decorations for the last 11 years. The volunteers are a
     wonderful group of people.
   Crafting- absolutely nothing. It is just something that I have enjoyed doing in my field of study. Since it is a part of my summer, I have decided to share some bits and pieces with you!
This first photo shows a banner in downtown Columbus which welcomes the OFA Short course. This event brings in about 10,000 people to the downtown area during the slow dog days of summer. We had people attend from every state in the US and also from 30 some countries.

This shot shows some of the plant material that we move in for the event. Since it is a green industry event, we use a lot of fresh materials. A big thanks goes out to Proven Winners, Ball Seed and Baker's Acres for providing a lot of the plant material in this display. If you want to see the latest plant introductions, this is the place to be!

We used a lot of Dramm watering equipment in the decorations this year. I glued vases to this water sprinkler and set a vase with color coordinating tulips to finish off this display. I know there is a bit too much light with these pics but this area is solid glass walls and it is tough to get a good photo.

I'll be back soon with more pics of this event in the near future. Enjoy!

Sequin Bell Ornament

2010-07-19T06:00:00.001-04:00

When I was growing up, my Mom would order sequin ornaments kits through the mail and we would sit and make this type of ornament for our tree. When I left home, my Mom shared the ornaments we had made all those years earlier and I had plenty of pretty ornaments for my first tree. I was in the craft store and found these foam forms and pins so I went over and picked up some sequins to make these ornaments again. I already had the other materials needed to complete these, in my stash at home. I went home and put this together for my daughter. Her room is blue, white and silver. She uses these colors on her small table top tree, so I thought I would continue the tradition. If this interests you, let me know and I will post more information about how to make these. They take about 8 hours or so to complete one ornament but they will last for decades on a tree. Mine are over thirty years old and they still look great! They are stored in the attic and they have not tarnished or discolored. Enjoy!

Addicted to Stick Pins

2010-07-14T06:00:00.002-04:00

I decided to try my hand at making stick pins and I must say that it is addicting. Stay tuned to see what I have been up to. I am sure that I will soon snap a few more pictures of some of the other pins that I have been creating. I keep coming up with different color combinations and one pin leads to the next!

Christmas Ornaments in July!

2010-07-12T06:00:00.023-04:00

It's never too early to begin working on items for Christmas. I used Nestabilities Labels 3 from Spellbinders to create this silver ornament. Then I added a few beads to make a simple but elegant bauble for the tree. The red and gold ornament was made by using a Sizzix die that I recently picked up from my haul at Sizzix.com. This is the first ornament that I have tried using this die and I have many ideas for future projects. Enjoy!

Butterfly Floral Birthday

2010-07-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have been putting my scrap basket to use lately. You know the one that has a finished piece of artwork or a half finished one that didn't work out for a project as you had intended, yet it is too nice to discard into the trash can. This piece had too much glitter for my liking when I created it so I doubled up two of the images to show off the leaves from two levels. removing some of the glittered leaves looked better so I dropped it into my basket for later use. I added the butterfly and a happy birthday sentiment to finish of this simple card. All of the stamps, papers, watercolor crayons and punch were Stampin' Up! products. Enjoy!

July Birthday 2010

2010-07-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

This month I created a simple birthday card and used some Flower Soft to add dimension to my Larkspur. I watercolored the image first using stamp ink and then applied the Flower Soft. It is a simple and easy product to use. I really liked the way it turned out! Add a bit of ribbon and some bling to finish off this summer card. Enjoy!

Asian Inspired Quiet Garden

2010-07-05T17:42:00.001-04:00

This is a card that I made for the Scrolls Work stamp company. If you are interested in the quick details, check out this video. Enjoy!

Rose Petal Flowers

2010-07-01T20:20:00.001-04:00

This is just a pic of a couple of flowers that I made from some inexpensive flower petals from a dollar store. I glimmer misted them, added stickles and bling. I then finished it off with a leaf that I kept from a stick of silk flowers that I stripped for cropping purposes. the top of the photo shows cream colored petals and the bottom shows white petals. Enjoy!

New Design Team

2010-06-29T20:51:00.000-04:00

Well it is that time again when Scrolls Work Stamp company is looking for a new design team. Go on over to their blog and sign up if you are interested. I have enjoyed working with their stamps and would urge you to check them out if you enjoy stamping! You can find all of the details in this blog post so go on over and see for yourself!

Friendship Seeds

2010-06-28T14:31:00.000-04:00

Today I have this friendship card to share with you. I really like the color combo for this one! If you like these stamps, then go over to Scrolls Work and pick them up for yourself. I used 2543 Leafy Flourish, 4504 Futterfly Bait and 1650 Dream Seeds. All of the papers and inks are by Stampin' Up! except for the shiny paper. If you are interested in this paper, then check out this post to see what I used. The punch is called sunburst by Fiskar and that little flower that matches so perfectly was made by Cari Masciangioli over at Your Paper Pantry. It was part of a hand made flower swap that we had with the Tag Bags Group. Enjoy!

Beach Birthday

2010-06-26T22:34:00.000-04:00

I have had this card front made since last year but I hadn't used it. I just placed the birthday sentiment at the top and layered the image with black card stock and added a bit of bling. That was about it. If you want to know more about the brayer work, then take a look at this post. The stamps are by Innovative stamp creations and SU! The palm fronds on the bank are actually a stamped image of the top of the palm tree. Just a little food for thought when stamping. Look for interesting ways to use those stamps and get a lot of mileage out of them.

Part 3

2010-06-24T17:26:00.000-04:00

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The saga goes on if you care to hear my babble about how to create charms and clips for you paper crafting. Enjoy!

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-22T11:42:00.003-04:00

I ran out of time on Sunday to post this so I will do it now. This is the card I made for my dad this year. I don't own many masculine stamps so I chose this music inpired one by SU! I used the watercolor technique and sponging to color the main image. Next I inked up my word background stamp by Scrolls Work and stamped the background to heat emboss it with clear embossing powder. Next I set to work with my home made glimmer sprays.

I usually don't show the inside sentiment of my cards but this one is a bit different since I used an old dictionary page. Enjoy!

How to create Charms, Head Pins and Paper Clips for Mini Scrap Books part 2

2010-06-19T21:25:00.000-04:00

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Don't faint but I finally have part 2 fo the how to series on creating head pins, charms and paperclips for mini books/tags completed. Stay tuned for part 3.

Sizzix Haul for my Cuttle Bug June 2010

2010-06-18T11:40:00.001-04:00

Today I have a video of a haul I made for Sizzix dies that were on clearance. Check it out. The prices are wonderful!!! I purchased 1 Bigz xlong, 3 Bigz, 6 Originals and 3 sets of sizzlets for $60 some odd dollars. That amount included the $9 for shipping too.

2010-06-15T19:00:00.000-04:00

Over at the Cricuteer group at Your Paper Pantry, we had a challenge where we were paired up with a partner We sent our partner a cricut cut. It was a surprise until it arrived and our partner was supposed to create a tag or card from the cut. Well, my partner sent me several cuts so that I would have a choice. I chose this bleeding heart cut and created a nature inspired tag. I wish to thank my partner Brenda for sending this to me along with all of the other cuts. it was a real challenge but very fun! The stamped images were all from Scrolls Work Stamps. I would also like to thank Lynn and Cari for the leaf trim and leaf charm that you see on this tag. They were part of RAKs from these ladies.

Tea Party Time

2010-06-12T16:14:00.000-04:00

When I saw this stamp in the Scrolls Work catalog, it called my name! I usually host one or two teas each year and this stamp was perfect to use on an invitation. I heat embossed the image onto white card stock and colored it with my twinkling H2Os along with some of my home made twinkling H2Os. A little sponge work, a little vintage trim, some Story Book Cricut letters and a bit of bling finished the front.

On the inside, I used the Fresh Baked and Finial stamp from Scrolls Work along with a stamp from the Grand Soiree stamp set by Stampin' Up!
Scrolls Work Stamps -1470 Tea Room, 3095 Fresh Baked, 2505 Finial
SU! Sage Shadow card stock
Basic Black Paperbilities card stock
SU! Basic Gray ink
Black Stazon ink
Those pastries are making me hungry! Excuse me while I have a snack. Enjoy!

Birthday Scrap

2010-06-10T00:49:00.001-04:00

You may recognize some of the pieces from this card as my March birthday card from earlier in the year. I posted it here. I have a basket of bits and pieces from previous projects in my scrap room and decided to delve into it and make a project. The flower was made by Tammy. She's a friend from Your Paper Pantry and this was part of the flower swap for the May Tag Bag group.I added a couple of silk leaves to make it a nice focal point on this card. Enjoy!

June Rose Birthday

2010-06-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

This is one of the birthday cards that I have sent out for my June birthday group at SCS Wish RAK. The designer paper and stamps are by SU! and the ribbon is Martha Stewart. This starburst punch is from Fiskar. I know the shine does not show on the rose but it was colored with twinkling H2Os. Enjoy!

Embossed Trash Can

2010-06-05T17:41:00.000-04:00

I decorated this wooden trash can with stamped images, embossing powder and paint! Watch the video for an explanation of the process to complete this project.

RAK from Joy

2010-06-02T10:15:00.000-04:00

Today I have a RAK to share with you. It has been a long time coming! So many things happening and not enough time for them all. Go by and check out Joy at You tube craftstash channel.

Sewing Box

2010-05-30T14:34:00.000-04:00

This is the photo of the finished product. The video explains the process of how this box was created. Stamps are by Scrolls Work
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This is what it looked like before the shoe polish was applied. It looked too new!

Die and Embossing folder Haul from Big Lots!

2010-05-27T22:24:00.000-04:00

Shabby Chic Secret Garden

2010-05-22T17:44:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! Hope you are having a good weekend! Today I have my design team work from Scrolls Work Stamps to show you. I had in mind a European estate garden when I created this card. I guess the horticulturist in me likes to create garden scenes with stamps every now and then. Remember to use very smooth card stock if you do brayer work like I did with the sky.

Here are the stamps that I used:

2005 Bust, 2019 Large Column, 2545 Gothic Fence, 4513 Shrub, 1471 Secret Garden and 4548 Grass. Keep in mind that I used a SU! Basic Grey marker to extend the Gothic fence for my design. The pearls and lace are all vintage except for the half pearls in the corner which are Studio His and Hers and the half pearls in the arches of the flourish are Martha Stewart. The stick pin is one I made with some vintage pearls.

Inks and Markers are by SU!

Basic Grey, Going Grey, Yo Yo Yellow, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Garden Green, Handsome Hunter, Ballet Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Bashful Blue and Whisper White. Other items used were Photo Corners by Spare Parts/ The Paper Studio, Clear Embossing Powder, Crystal Effects, Sizzix SU! Sizzlet called Lots of TAgs Label 1. The edges of the card stock were dampened and rubbed for a distressed and aged feel. Enjoy!

Red Bud Tea

2010-05-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

There have been so many events happening lately with my daughter that I thought I would share a photo with you. She takes a strings class at school and throughout the year, local groups will invite them to come and play for different occasions. Several weeks ago, her group played for an event called The Red Bud Tea. The local garden club hosts the event and gives out red bud seedlings at the event. It is held at one of the local historical museums/gardens. Of course she made the small town newspaper yet again. This is not the newspaper photo but one I snapped while watching the group play. My daughter is sitting in front of the window. Now go outside and celebrate spring!

Bird Cage Tag

2010-05-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

I took a #8 shipping tag and added gold, blue and green home made glimmer mist as a base. With the use of a cricut, the bird, leaves and bird cage were cut out. This bird cage is thin chipboard which has been heat embossed with black embossing powder. I wanted the cage to have a cast iron feel. The flower was punched with the SU! round scallop punch. I used an old college literature book and added pink home made glimmer mist. I cut the scallop toward the center every two scallops and then I twisted each of these with a pair of tweezers. The bottom layer is a scallop that has been cut but not twisted and then I added two layers of the twisted scallops to make this flower. I added beads for the center and mini pink bead strands to create the flourishes for a bit of movement. I finished it off with fiber from my stash.

The bird cage was an svg file that I downloaded from Dan's site. He offers a free file every week.

Have a great day and be blessed!

2010-05-20T00:48:00.000-04:00

Toddler Tyler

2010-05-15T19:16:00.001-04:00

Let me introduce you to Tyler # 4505 from Scrolls Work Stamps. Isn't he the sweetest little boy? I think so! I created this card so that it could be used for several occasions. It is perfect as a baby card, a toddler birthday or for a special day such as the first day of preschool.
This is how I made it....
Stamp the image onto the smooth side of watercolor paper with timber brown stazon ink.
Take a fine tipped aqua painter and SU! Dye ink and color using, bashful blue, brocade blue, brilliant blue,yo yo yellow, summer sun, creamy caramel, close to cocoa, chocolate chip. Color lightest to dark. The flesh tone was an apricot appeal watercolor crayon.
Use the nestabilities curved rectangles to cut the watercolor paper and the retired SU! designer paper.
The plaid paper is from The Paper Studio, the yellow is barely banana card stock from SU! as well as the bar shful blue card base.
Make a closure with a couple of punches, add a bit of bling, a phrase, some stickles and a bit of sponging to complete this card.
Enjoy!

Internet Scrapper Friends Meet

2010-05-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Today's post is out of the ordinary for me. I met one of my scrapping cyber friends and spent the day with her in Georgia. Actually, our scrubbies were there taking these photos. As you can see, we hit an Archiver's store while we were together that day!
Here's a quick story on how this happened. This is Micki, one of my cyber buddies at Your Paper Pantry. She has been rounding up a group of gals from the site who will be meeting at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) this summer. I was interested in going to CHA but didn't want to attend with people I haven't met. You see we use the chat room at YPP a lot as a way to communicate and usually wind up laughing so much that our family members ask us what is going on when we are in there goofing off.
Last week, my scrubby said he would be taking a short business trip and I quickly told him that I wanted to go because I might be a able to meet up with Micki. As it turned out, we left a day early on the trip so that Micki, myself and our spouses could meet. Since Micki and I had been chatting, we found that we had a lot in common and thought our scrubbies would have a lot to talk about too. That is exactly what happened!

We spent the day shopping and site seeing. This was just a moment of acting silly while the scrubbies were taking a few photos.

About a month ago I was in the chat room asking about the Cricut expression cutting machine because I wanted to purchase one. Micki and Lisa quickly answered my questions. While I was chatting with them, Micki went out and downloaded an svg file that I was interested in. She also liked the image and offered to send some to me. I told her that would be great and offered to send something to her in return. She quickly replied that a dump truck full of money would be sufficient payment and I told her..."no problem". Since then, a dump truck full of money has come into our chat conversations and is now a running joke.
Here is a photo of ~~Vanna White~~ I mean Micki, holding the dump truck that I gave her the day we met in person. I went out looking for a Match Box dump truck that I was going to mail to her as a joke. I found this truck instead and printed up some fake bills to put in it along with some scrapping goodies. Many of us at YPP have been making flowers for a swap so I placed one of my flowers on the front of the truck. It's sort of like the truckers who put a Christmas wreath on their rigs during the Christmas season. The really funny thing is that Micki purchased a Cricut cartridge recently which had a dump truck die cut and thought of me. She sent me a fabulous card that I will show you in an upcoming video so be on the look out for that. I have some RAKs to film and I'll talk about her card too!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-13T06:00:00.001-04:00

This is the card I gave to my Mom for Mother's Day. I am posting it late because I just gave it to her yesterday. I took a short trip which was planned at the last minute and I forgot to get this out and give it to her before I left. The rose stamp and leaves are a retired set from SU! and the flourishes are by Autumn Leaves. The large rose in the floral motif was one that I made several months ago after I watched Roxycar11 make them on You tube. The shapes were cut with nestabilities dies by Spellbinders and the phrase was heat embossed with gold embossing powder. Of course my card base is SU! card stock as usual. You know I used my home made glimmer mist on the background too. I think I use it on every project these days. If you have any questions or comments, just leave them here and I'll get back to you.
Have a wonderful day!

Tutorial on How to Tea Dye

2010-05-12T12:16:00.001-04:00

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I have been creating so many new things over the last few weeks and getting our tag bag swap going over at Your Paper Pantry that I have forgotten to write blog posts! This week you will see some extra activity around Crop Notes and Crafts because I have so much to show you.
After I posted my vintage lady tag about 4 weeks ago, I had several people ask to explain Tea Dying. Here's the video! Enjoy!

Just a Vintage Note

2010-05-08T23:38:00.000-04:00

I whipped out my Bind it All to make up these quick note pads. I began with a piece of vanilla card stock and stamped it with Stazon ink to make this paper. All of the stamps were from Scrolls Work Stamps. The flower was made using the SU! round scallop punch and some pages from a used college English Literature book. A little home made glimmer mist here and a little there with some cutting and twisting of petals becomes this grungy flower. A small flower punch from Paper Shapers and a pearl complete the flower center. Add a bit of sponging and that is about it.

I made this pad as a small address book and added some tabs to some of the pages using the SU! round tab punch. I then added some crackle accent on the pen to give a bit of sparkle to both of the books. This book was also coated in Mod Podge before decorating the front for added durability.

The inside is just a stack of index cards that were punched and bound.
Stamps Used
Trunk 3028
Historic Postage 3036
Pen 3005
Journal Kit 3071
Background Words 7105
It was a quick and easy project to make!

BOTTLE SWAP WITH DL AT THE BEACH

2010-05-04T02:41:00.001-04:00

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I participated in a bottle swap over at The Scrap Beach. Thanks DL for all of the goodies!!!!

Tiny Travel Sewing Kit

2010-05-01T20:25:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone, I nearly forgot to upload this terrific post for you today! It is my weekly design work for Scrolls Work Stamps. I put together this tiny sewing kit using the Journal kit Stamp -2071. The front of this little sewing kit measures 1 5/8 x 2 1/4 inches (4x5.5cm).

I stamped the image using SU! Close to Cocoa ink and then I heat embossed the image using clear powder. I did this several times until I had a thick coat in place and then I used the Cracked Glass technique. I sponged over the image with brown ink to show the distressed lines. I added copper colored grommets which had turned dark over time. I cut the front from the back and added a spine using SU! Close to Cocoa card stock.

This is the first page and I used the front image of the journal stamp and cut out the journal space. I tucked a ribbon in the space from behind. I used clear embossing powder on the inside pages too. I cut the top off of this pocket page once it was assembled and used a Fiskars tag punch to hold the thread. This tiny button stamp that I used was the perfect size to use as the tab. This stamp came from a Christmas Tag Kit which was released several years ago by Plaid/Delta. I made two of them using embossing powder and glued them together. The thread card fits nicely in the pocket and only the top of the button shows when it is in place.

The next page is another pocket. I used a SU! punch as the flap on the top of this pocket. Heat embossed it with gold embossing powder and added this stamped thimble -3001. You can see how small this sewing kit is in comparison to the size of my hand.

When the pocket is opened, you can see the slim line magnet that I used by Basic Gray. Several buttons and a needle threader fit nicely into this space. I have another sewing kit in the works and I think it will be even better than this one. I used a different color combo and I like it even better than this one. I'll try and show it to you in a week or two along with a sewing box. They are still works in progress on my cropping table so stop by again soon to check them out!

April Mini Book Material Swap

2010-04-28T14:24:00.001-04:00

Swap goodies I sent to Rita at The Scrap Beach for the April mini book material swap!
Enjoy!

Poppy Birthday

2010-04-24T21:19:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! This is my card for May birthdays at Splitcoast Stampers Wish RAK. The stamps I used were for my design team work at Scrolls Work. Look here for the Poppy stamp it is #4543 and here for the sentiment. The sentiment is #1601 and called Personal Holidays. I used a card sketch from the Tuesday challenge over at Christian Paper Crafts to complete this project.This is a large 5 x 7 inch card so there is plenty of room the right a note on the inside. I began by stamping the poppy image with Timber brown Stazon ink and masked the image. Then I brayerd the yellow and orange background sky. The sentiment was brayered the same way. I colored the image with water based Stampin' Up! markers and added a little Crystal effects to the center of the poppy and to the sentiment. Gold glitter was then added to the frame of the image. You know I have to get a bit of bling in there somewhere! I made green background paper with my Paisley Cuttle Bug folder and edged it with the Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Punch. The Fleur De Lis background paper was created with home made pink, green and gold glimmer mist.
If you have any questions or comments. I would be glad to hear them!
Have a great day!

How to create Charms, Head Pins and Paper Clips for Mini Scrap Books

2010-04-23T15:58:00.000-04:00

A lot of our international gals over at Your Paper Pantry have difficulty getting charms for their Mini Books and Tags. If they can purchase charms, they can be very expensive. Hence the reason for this Video Series. I'll use several videos to show you how I make charms and paper clips for my paper crafts. This can give you a spring board in which to think out of the box and make your own decorations.
I apologize in advance for this video. I had to cut a lot of little pieces out so that I could upload the video and my editing is not the best. I still need a lot of practice. Please let me know if you have questions about this video series.

Paper Piercing 411

2010-04-22T01:02:00.000-04:00

As alway, feel free to leave questions or comments.

Beading Tool 411

2010-04-17T05:19:00.001-04:00

Bottle Swap with DL

2010-04-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today my post is about a bottle swap that I participated in over at Life on the Scrap Beach my swap partner is in Canada so it will take a few weeks for her to receive this bottle. I can tell you one thing. You get some strange looks at the post office when you mail the bottle off. We were to fill a 16 ounce bottle with scrap goodies that your partner might like. My partner likes green and blue a lot so I decided on a green and peach kind of theme after watching some of the video hauls she has made recently. I think this will match some of her paper that she bought. I just hope that she like it!
Why don't you come on over and join us in some of the swapping fun!

Victorian Lady Tag Video

2010-04-11T21:52:00.000-04:00

As promised, here is a video about the post from yesterday.

Victorian Lady Tag

2010-04-10T17:26:00.000-04:00

I have been making tags the last couple of days so that I could have a stash ready to go when I mail out packages for crop swaps. I have gotten involved in several swaps over the last few weeks and have not had anything in my stash on which to write a short note when I mail a swap. I think this fills the bill quite nicely! I picked up the Victorian lady image as a free piece of vintage clip art from a blog. I can't remember which blog but I do know that the blog owner participated in the gothic arch challenge. If you recognize this image and know where I picked it up, please contact me so that I may let everyone else know. I resized the image to fit my tag and printed the images onto copy paper. The stamps I used were 7105 background words, 3005 Pen and 3036 Historic Postage from Scrolls Work Stamps. I went through several processes to get this as an end result and it would take some time to write about it here. I have decided to make a video tutorial instead and explain the process so stay tuned for the tutorial.
Have a great day!

Storing Spellbinder Dies in a Small Space

2010-04-07T18:59:00.000-04:00

Enjoy the video today and let me know what you think. How do you store your dies?

Fern Pot Journal Cover

2010-04-05T06:00:00.002-04:00

I created this journal cover a few weeks ago while I was experimenting with the new Scrolls Work Stamps I purchased. I made this to enter the March card sketch challenge over at Rubber Stamp Chat. I created the background using black Stazon, silver Encore and Posh Rainbow white pearl ink. I placed a drop of each color of ink on my Tim Holtz alcohol ink blending tool and started pouncing away. Then I added a few drops of denatured alcohol to my blending tool and pounced some more. Voila, instant background! Okay, maybe not instant because you do have to wait for the inks to dry and that takes a while. It was cold and rainy when I did this and it took forever for it to dry. Give yourself at least 24 hours for the ink to dry well.
I cut the black card stock rectangles. Then I stamped them with white Stazon ink using the Ginko leaves stamp. It sounds pretty easy so far doesn't it? Just wait, it gets even easier. Stamp the fern pot and journal with black Stazon ink and make sure you stamp onto glossy white card stock. Now assemble the parts and add a bit of ribbon and a brad. Just cut the arms off of the brad and glue it down with Crystal Effects or Glossy Accents. Do the same thing with the corner brads and you are almost done! I don't show it in this photo but I would place this on chip board which has been covered in black card stock or a black and white print. Run this through the Bind It All and assemble the journal by adding paper and a back. This is just a quick, clean and easy project. Give it a try!
Scrolls Work Stamps used- 1408 Book Words, 4547 Ginko and 4512 Fern Pot.
Have a blessed day!

Lynne's Goodies

2010-04-03T00:02:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! This post is for my friend Lynne who lives overseas. She has trouble getting some of the cropping goodies that we find so easily here in the states so I am sending her some goodies. I'm posting a few pictures so that she can see what will soon be on its way to her. In the center are alphabet letters but they are a bit hard to see because they are pale grey. So many things were on sale or on clearance so I was able to find several good deals!

I stamped some white journal spots and left room so that she can stamp and sponge them. The round spots are brown ink on vanilla card stock. I used stazon ink so that she can glimmer mist all she likes. I hope these are large enough. Take a look at the flowers on the grunge pack. They are from the wedding section. They can be sponged or alcohol inked to color them.

I think this chipboard might work well with her style and it is the perfect size for mini books. I still have more things to die cut and I will let those be a surprise!

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

2010-04-01T06:00:00.074-04:00

Today is the big announcement! I will be a design team member for Scrolls Work stamps beginning today! Isn't that cool! Scrolls Work is a new company in Idaho which opened its doors on January 2, 2010. You may already be familiar with these stamps if you know Inka Stamps. Inka has retired and passed on the stamp company to her daughter-in-law, Jacque Heaton. If you are a Tim Holtz follower and like vintage, steampunk or Alice in Wonderland, you are going to want to check out this company. There is also a blog and Jacque is giving away stamps left and right. Check out the blog and participate in a card sketch challenge and win free stamps. Yes, you heard me. I said free stamps! You might want to participate in the question game that is going on over there too. Why? Because you can win free stamps! Yes, I said it again, more free stamps! Another great thing about these stamps is....they are unmounted rubber. I love it! Rubber for durability and unmounted makes them very affordable. Just pick up a bottle of Tack it Over and Over or some cling foam mount and you are good to go. One other thing that is so nice about this company is they ship internationally. All of my friends out there who like vintage and have a time finding stamps.... your problems are now solved. Now, mosey on over to www.scrollswork.com and start checking things out. I'll see you around! I have to go ink up my fingers and get another project ready to show you!

And the winner is.....one more time!

2010-04-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

And the winner is......BETTY! I 've never worked so hard to give away free stuff! I added some things to the kit so claim your prize by contacting me with your mailing address. Scroll down on the left side bar and click the come on talk to me link. Congratulations betty! I hope to hear from you soon!

Conversation in the Park

2010-03-31T13:00:00.002-04:00

I recently purchased some stamps from a new stamp company who sells unmounted rubber. You can find them here if you need a garden gate 2029,2013 bird bath, 4548 grass,4509 juniper shrub or 4000 women on a bench as I have used on this card. They sell lots and lots of vintage images. When I saw these stamps I immediately thought about an old Victorian public park with a massive cast iron gate. You know the kind that used to be built in large cities at the end of a trolley line? The type where you would spend your Saturday afternoons. The women are decked out in vintage clothing from pre WW II. The hat reminds me of Olivia's hat on the TV show 'The Waltons'. Did I just date myself!
I used a brayer to create the sky and did a lot of sponging to create the path. The gate was stamped with watermark and black ink. The bulk of the work was created on one sheet of card stock and the bird bath was masked to make it look like it is in the foreground. The gals on the bench were stamped, cut out and popped off the page with dimensional dots. Forgive me fornot introducing you to these ladies. They are Kelly and Trina. Don't you just want to know what they are chatting about? I sure do!
Have a great day and let me know if I can answer any questions about this card. Don't forget to leave a comment!

I won! Where is my blog winner?

2010-03-30T01:05:00.001-04:00

Hey gals, guess what? I just found out that I won the Scrolls Work blog sketch challenge! Yay! Now to choose some stamps that are wonderful vintage images. There are just too many choices.... I think I'm a kid in a candy store. You can find all of their goodies here. They are having a sale until March 31 and don't forget to look at the 50% off overstock sale too!
Now let's talk about my blog winner from last week. Robyn has not contacted me with an address so I will have to draw another name if I don't hear from her by Wednesday. Stop back by on Thursday and see if there is a new winner! It could be you! I'll have an announcement to make on Thursday so come on by and don't miss it!

And the Winner is....., A question for you and a little paper haul

2010-03-25T18:58:00.000-04:00

Catch the announcement for who won the blog candy and answer a question for me please. There's also a few moments of the paper haul I just made too! Enjoy!
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Friendship by the Pond

2010-03-24T14:24:00.001-04:00

Don't faint or anything because I have two posts in one day! I told you I had been busy creating a lot of things. This card was created from a sketch challenge at Scrolls Work Stamps. I have recently purchased a few stamps from them and this is how I made do with the stamps I have. You can read about the challenge here. I recently made a card with these two gals on the bench and they are in a park. I'll show you that creation soon enough. Today they are at the waters edge deep in conversation somewhere beyond those Cattails. This is a perfect friendship card for a lazy summer afternoon.
Technique- Brayered background using SU! ink on Whisper White CS.
Enjoy!

How to Mount Rubber Stamps without Cling Foam

2010-03-24T06:00:00.001-04:00

Here is another video. This is how I mount rubber stamps without using foam or wood blocks. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment!
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Vintage Flourish Birthday

2010-03-23T18:17:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! Don't forget to enter the drawing to win a mini scrap kit. You have until Wednesday to enter. Just go to my previous post for the details!
I am ahead on the Birthday cards for next month so I'll show it to you now instead of later. I have been wanting to get back to doing vintage and heirloom work for quite some time and I was finally able to carve a bit of time to do just that. The background paper began its life as a piece of 10x7 inch ivory card stock that came in a package of 50 blank cards with matching envies from the craft store. The label tells me that it was manufactured from recycled paper but does not tell me who actually manufactured the product. : ( I sprayed this paper with my homemade gold glimmer mist and dried it with my heat gun. Next I placed a paper doily randomly on the paper and spritzed it with my green glimmer mist. Dried it with my heat gun again and sponged SU! Perfect Plum ink around the edges and randomly across the paper. I used my Autumn Leaves scroll stamp and gold embossing powder to decorate the edges. I took a 2 inch wide strip of SU! Elegant Eggplant CS and stamped the edges with gold Encore ink with the same scroll stamp. I then cut a vanilla strip of CS about 1 3/4 inches wide and punched it with my Martha Stewart Scallop punch on both edges. Take a SU! Creamy Caramel ink pad and sponge the edges to distress it and bend the scallops up to give the paper dimension. I spritzed this with my gold glimmer mist and let things dry. The ribbon is old and from my stash of offray ribbons.
The Happy Birthday was stamped onto vanilla CS using a set from Stampin' Up! and I think this set is now retired. Punch out and adhered to another SU! punched tag made from Handsome Hunter CS which was stamped with the same gold ink and stamp mentioned earlier in this post. The tag was adhered with pop dots and a linen thread was added.
The flower was made from silk flowers purchases at Joann Fabrics. I inked them up and applied lots of glitter glue! I stacked them using a brad in the center and glued it down. The leaf die is a cutting and embossing die from SU!
The next thing to do is cut out the oval using a nestabilities die. The bleeding heart image came from a Flourishes set called Spring Ephemerals collection 1, set #28. It was stamped onto smooth vanilla card stock with SU! Chocolate Chip Ink while the die was left in place as a stencil. SU! Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip was sponged around the edge. Remove the stencil and paint the outside border with a gold paint pen. Add gold glitter glue and set aside to dry.
Cut out scallop circle using Nestabilities and pierce with a piercing tool. Use Elegant Eggplant CS from SU! Next cut out the Green label using Handsome Hunter CS and the Labels 4 Nestabilities die. Mount the scallop with dimensional tape onto the Labels 4 image.

Mount everything onto SU! Handsome Hunter CS. Add a sentiment on the inside and sign the back.

Blog Candy Time

2010-03-18T23:54:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone, it's time to offer a bit of blog candy to celebrate my venture into the world of video! Watch the video to see what you will get if you win. I forgot to add a charm to the mix so I will make a glass beaded charm to match the papers. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe and leave a comment to enter your name for the candy!
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Tina's Note Book

2010-03-17T16:44:00.001-04:00

I have been creating a lot of items lately! So much so that I have a back log of things to show you. In fact this piece was created last month for the Secret Leprechaun exchange at SCS. I made this as an altered item for Tackertwosome (Tina). Her favorite color is purple so I put this together as my first attempt at using my Bind It All. If you haven't seen this product in action, check out this video. Nope, I don't work for the company but I do like this tool a great deal. It is a sturdy tool that should last for a very long time.
As you can see, I did not add a lot of dimension to the front of this piece. I thought it was the perfect size for tucking down in a purse and too many things sticking out of the front would be a problem in a purse. Okay, I know I got a little happy with the bling. I don't know what came over me! I just kept adding more! Crystal Effects was used on the initial and to adhere the bling to the cover. The metal corners I picked up while in Ireland a few years ago and the embossed metal behind the initial came from our home renovation. Nothing like recycling trash now is there? I found this long strip of aluminum on the ground one day last fall. The contractor made some new flashing and this was the part that he cut away. I thought is was pliable enough that it might work in my die cut machine. You got it, that's a cuttle bug embossing folder that I used.
Pearls- Martha Stewart
Stamps were Anna Griffin, Just Rite and The Paper Studio
Paper and Ink- SU!
Ribbon-Offray and Michaels dollar bin
Mini Gel Pen- Michaels
Homemade Glimmer Mist

Enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment!

March Birthday Cards

2010-03-16T04:48:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! This is the card I made for my Wish RAK birthday girls this month. If it looks familiar, you are correct. I used the same combo in December with a green, gold and red theme. I liked those so much that I decided to do it again with a spring color combo. The green watercolor on the background is the one I made with Pearl Ex and used at the end of this video. I hope you enjoy it.

Supply List

CS- SU! Handsome Hunter, SU!Yo Yo Yellow. The card base was a package of vanilla cards with envelopes from the craft store. They were given to me several years ago.

STAMPS- SU! Bella Toille Background, Retired SU! Flower of the month and Happy Birthday Frame, Autumn Leaves Scroll.

INK/WATERCOLOR-Pearl Ex Green, Yo Yo Yellow, Only Orange.

Gold Embossing Powder

Gold Paint Pen

Paper Flower from Brides Magazine Table Confetti was colored and then glittered with gold glitter.

Yellow Ribbon came on an unmarked spool from Hancock Fabrics many years ago. It is 3/8 inches wide.

Don't forget to leave a comment!

Secret Leprechaun Goodies

2010-03-13T05:05:00.000-05:00

I would like to begin this post by thanking the new subscribers here and at You Tube. I am glad you are here on this crafty journey.
Today I have another video for you. These are the goodies and altered items that SCS Cmouse (Pansy) sent to me for our exchange at the Wish RAK forum on SCS.

How to Make Twinkling H2O Paint

2010-03-10T17:22:00.000-05:00

Here is a new video for you. I show you how to mix your own shimmery watercolor paint.

Crop-a-dile and Big Bite Enabler Alert

2010-03-08T19:20:00.001-05:00

Just a quick post to let you know about the fabo deal at Walmart. The Crop-a-dile is on clearance for $5 and it comes in a plastic case with several hundred eyelets. The Big Bite has been marked down to $10 so if you don't have these tools yet, run to your local Walmart and buy them before they are gone! Some stores are out of them. I bought mine today after reading about the sale on a message board called Your Paper Pantry. I never saw the need to replace my old eyelet setter with such an expensive tool until I saw these prices! Now I can set eyelets in the middle of the night without waking anyone up! I nearly forgot the best part. I can punch through all sorts of things like tin, leather, chipboard and plastic that my hole punches could never tackle.

Big Lots Enabler Alert

2010-03-07T16:34:00.002-05:00

Hello! I thought I would tell you about some of the bargains I have found lately at some of the stores I haunt. I am always on the lookout for paper crafting supplies that are on the clearance racks and I have found loads of bargains at Big Lots, Tuesday Morning and Michael's. The video below is about things I found at Big Lots and if you like this one, go to my You Tube channel (laughingstamper) and watch part one. It has the best bargain if you like chip board. I have never really been a fan of chip board until now. I have been seeing these pretty little chunky mini albums on You Tube that are so wonderful! I want to get into making some of these and now I have enough chip board to last for a very long time and it only cost $5.00.

If there is anything that any of your from "shoppers without borders" are looking for, please let me know! I'll try and ship those goodies to you.
If you enjoyed this video, please leave a comment! I have many new projects and tips to show you so stay tuned!

Showcase Saturday- Sandra's Fabo Space-One more time!

2010-03-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know some of you actually saw this post already but here's the deal. I updated software and the beautiful photos of Sandra's space were not published properly in the post. I wanted to play this post again so that everyone has a chance to see it and because I have not had any suggestions about anyone else to showcase. I want you to tell me where you spend your precious time reading other blogs and why.
This will be the very first post for a new feature here at Crop Notes and crafts. I call it Showcase Saturday and you are going to love it! On Saturday when I post, I'll tell you about a wonderful blog or creative space that I have found and want to share with you. It will also give you a chance to see crafts that some talented people are creating. I'm giddy with excitement about this first showcase.

Do you see this wonderful room that Sandra has? I'll tell you a secret. This is her creative space and it isn't in her house. This is her shed! Yes you read that correctly....I said her shed. It no longer houses tools and what not. Just look at these before and after photos. I was so impressed when I saw this that I had to tell you about it.

There are tons of photos for you to see of this transformation and I'll tell you where you can drool later in the post. First let me tell you a bit about Sandra and let you read a question and answer session that took place. Sandra lives in Australia and saw this shed for the jewel that it was. With a lot of hard work and elbow grease this DIY woman has transformed her storage space into a dream space! She says that some people don't think she actually scraps here but she really does and her work is just as fabulous as her room design sense. In fact, it is so good that she was chosen as one of the 2006 Scrapbooking Memories Masters. She made the top 15 list in Australia and was competing for a piece of the $35,000.00 worth of prizes.
I like the fact that Sandra took inexpensive pieces of furniture with character and gave them a face lift. Often times I see broken down pieces of furniture and snatch them up. People wonder why in the world I would ever want those things but like Sandra, I see the diamond in the rough.
Here is what Sandra had to say about the cost savings by buying this way and not using the typical crop and craft storage units....
"The room cost me far less than the 'cookie cutter' ( I like that term) store bought storage units would have cost, in fact ALL the furniture excluding the dining suite cost me HALF of what just one of those big square IKEA cube units was going to cost, so that was out as I would have needed several of them.... and the dining suite although looks very expensive, it wasn't, it was an EBAY bargain and I see lots of comments from people saying that they wouldn't be game to scrap on that table, but in fact if I had of bought those cheap plastic folding tables and the cheapest plastic chairs I could find they would have cost me an awful lot more than what the dining suite actually cost, so as you can see it really was a budget room as far as the furniture goes."
Question: Sandra, your space is amazing! What motivated you to take this type of a project on?
Answer: Desperation to have a 'girly' place to retreat to away from the boys, I only have males living at home now and I wanted a nice relaxing place to retreat to while the house is being done up, it's very old and is in very bad condition, so it is nice to run away to the shed, at least something is finished .
Question: Did you have any prior experience?
Answer: No, just years of doing up old houses....I promised myself after the last one, 'no more' but I just wasn't comfortable in a new house.
Question: Does your design sense come naturally or do you have formal design experience?
Answer: No, none at all.
Question: Many of us have a folder full of beautiful rooms that we have cut from the pages of magazines to inspire us when we design our living spaces. Did you have a folder that inspired you to design your creative space?
Answer: A folder on my computer of beautiful scraprooms I have seen on the internet, but the shed just took on a life of it's own and I just followed it along and didn't end up using any of the ideas I saw.
Question: How long did it take to collect all of the pieces for your creative space?
Answer: About 5 years, a bit here and a bit there and had them stored at so many different places I ended up forgetting what I had and ended up with too much stuff, either that or the shed wasn't as big as I thought it was...LOL
Question: How long did it take to refurbish all of the pieces?
Answer: Weeks and I couldn't start until the shed was finished because I had no where to put the finished items, so I had to paint something, wait for it to dry and then put it in the shed and then move on to the next piece.
Question: Did you put pen to paper to design the space or work from your head with trial and error?
Answer: It was total trial and error, as I said I had far too much stuff so I had to choose what I wanted most and if it fitted it stayed and if it didn't fir then it had to go, my daughters claimed a lot of things that they turned their noses up when I first got them before they were done up.
Question: You obviously put a great deal of time and effort into this project. Is there anything that you would change if given the chance?
Answer: Well I have already changed the table and chairs from a round one to a large rectangle that seats 8 comfortably to scrap at and I really wanted to put a little lounge in there that I made out of a cot but it just wouldn't fit, but really I am thinking I will have to make it fit so something else has to go, just haven't worked out what yet, I will eventually get it right.
Question: What advice do you have for someone who wants to design their craft space on a budget?
Answer: You just have to be VERY patient and haunt the op shops, garage sales, auctions etc and remember the stuff doesn't have to match but if you give it all a coat of the same colour paint you will be amazed at how good it all looks.
Sandra thank you so much for allowing me to showcase your space here on my blog. I am very inspired by all of your work! Now for the moment that you have all been waiting for......drum roll please! Go visit Sandra on her blog and please tell her I sent you. There are loads of photos of the shed here, here and here.
P.S. Don't forget to look at her cropping projects when you get there. They are wonderful! Scroll to the bottom of her page and look at her slide show.
If you enjoyed this post as much as I had writing it, please leave a comment and tell me. Do you know of another wonderful creative space that I should showcase? Maybe you know another crafter who makes very interesting things. If so, send me an email and tell me about it. It might even be yourself!

General House Cleaning and info

2010-03-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

I just popped in to let you know that I will have to change the comments form on my blog again. I get spam every day so I will be changing the comments back so that a you will have to enter a word to leave a comment. I know this takes longer and I really like to hear what you have to say but I can't keep up with all of the spam! It is making me a little crazy wasting time sifting through everything. I hope to still hear from you!

The other thing that I wanted to mention was that I think it is time to offer up some blog candy again. It has been a while since I have done that and it is time to celebrate my new way of offering tutorials via the use of You Tube! Adding video content has been challenging, time consuming and a learning experience! I don't learn new tricks as well these days. Be on the look out for a future blog candy post and don't forget to let me hear from you if you like the new content! Now go make something beautiful and give it to someone as a RAK today, just because they won't expect it.

How to Make Your Own Shimmer Spray Like Glimmer Mist

2010-03-01T12:13:00.001-05:00

Learn how to make your own Shimmer Spray. Just watch this and then read the info about gum arabic.
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Gum Arabic comes from the non toxic sap of the African Acacia tree. It is used as a binder in food products such as food coloring, soda, jelly beans and even the lowly old fashion postage stamp that requires moisture to stick. It is also used as a binder with water colors. You may find it in liquid or powder form. I used the liquid but if I had the powder and it was ground fine enough, I could put it in my Pearl Ex powders and get similar results as the Ranger Perfect Pearls. I have read that a 4:1 ratio works well for water colors so I may need to experiment a bit and add more to my shimmer mixture. Don't worry if you have the liquid form of Gum Arabic and it begins to dry and get crusty. It will soften and become liquid again when mixed with water. If you learned something new today, or if this video was helpful, please let me know. Have a great day!

How to Make Glue Dots and Save!

2010-02-24T04:00:00.000-05:00

This video is a quick 411 on how to make glue dots. It's so simple! Take a look!

MIA Update

2010-02-23T02:18:00.002-05:00

I thought this would be a good time to catch my breath and give you a little insight into the recent activity in our household. DD has been playing 3 or 4 basketball games each week for the past 3 or 4 weeks to finish up the season and that has taken a bite out of time. Many times the schools we travel to for games are one or two hours away so a simple game requires 5 to 8 hours of time! Now we are into tournament and regional games. Friday we may need to travel 3 hours one way for the game. Yikes!

I also took a week to visit my sister in Ohio. She had rotator cuff surgery right before my uncle passed away so I finally made it there for a visit. Her 6 weeks of time off from work will end this week. I was really cutting it close wasn't I? We spent several days watching it snow, snow and snow some more while we were house bound for a few days! It was nice but I was glad to get back home to a milder climate with less snow! One of the wonderful things about visiting with her is that Marco's Paper is also close at hand! The bad news is that with all of the bad weather I didn't actually get there this trip. I got really close but didn't make it inside the door. There were too many other new places to go and if I really need something, I can ask my sister to pick it up and bring it down when she visits. We usually see her every 2 or 3 months. I am stocked up right now anyway.

Now let's talk about the places that I did get to. I finally went to Jungle Jim's. This is a grocery store that has everything! I mean everything! The produce comes in from all over the world and it is a foodie's delight! They have even been featured on the food channel! All I'm saying is that we are going to be eating some excellent Thai curry and wonderful cheeses thanks to this grocery. I also stopped in at The Container Store and Ikea while I was away. I picked up a few things for the craft studio and started planning for my new space. The studio will move into some space we have on the second floor of the carriage house once it undergoes a major renovation. We are in the early stages but I think I could be in the space by this time next year if all goes well. It never hurts to plan ahead.

Now that I am back home, I am trying to catch up on things. I was only able to access email and my blog once while I was away so clearing out all of that mail has taken a bite out of time! My husband says I get way to many messages. I think he is right so I am trying to cut some of that out too! That's about it for today. I'll be back soon with some crafty goodness to share with you!

Winter Snow Man Gift Card Holder

2010-02-16T16:57:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I apologize for not posting this week. I have been travelling and have not been able to upload due to networks and my computer not talking to each other properly. This has not been resolved so we'll see what happens with trying to post.
This little gift card holder was made using the Fiskar stamp set named 'Twas the Night", SU! So swirly wheel and the SU! Christmas punch snowflake stamp.

The Paper is Georgia Pacific, and SU! Ballet Blue. The ink is SU! Brilliant Blue and Ballet Blue. The SU! large oval punch was used to make the opening. Add a few corners and some paper piercing and Voila! A cute little card holder emerges.

The metal Snowflakes are brads from Paper Studio Spare Parts and make a cute edition to the winter theme. The belly band used the SU! Designer Label Punch. That's about it for now! Let me know if you have any questions!

Birthday Wishes

2010-02-09T22:52:00.001-05:00

Yes, I have been at it again creating birthday cards for some February Birthdays. I hope you don't get tired of seeing birthday cards made with a small selection of stamp sets because there are still a lot of possabilities for combinations using these. I used my new Just Rite stamps along with the Stampin' Up balloons. These were heat embossed with black and blue embossing powder onto WC paper. I watercolored the balloons using SU! reinkers. Next came the ultra fine glitter from Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in Nirvana, Azure and Hot Kiss. Round the corners and sponge a bit of blue on the WC paper. You now have a simple and easy focal point for a card. Back that with some SU! designer print paper and it is ready to place on a card base. The embossing folder is one I recently picked up and it is called Large Flowers, Leaves and Twirls, Ornate embossing folder set by Sizzix. I used SU! Pink Passion paper and created this A2 size card. Feel free to stop by and ask a question or give me ideas about what you would like to read about on this blog.

Celtic Knots

2010-02-04T05:00:00.002-05:00

This is the card that will accompany my Secret Leprechaun box when I mail it. It is a simple card using Celtic Knot Stamps. This stamp set was given to me and there isn't any information about the manufacturer of these stamps. They came in a nifty wooden box with a booklet about Celtic Symbols. I wonder if they may have been sold in a book store. If you happen to know, please give me the details as I would like to have this info.
I stamped onto SU! Green Galore card stock base with SU! Glorious Green Ink. The eyelets were also given to me and I have no idea who the manufacturer is of these beauties either. Sorry about all of the unkowns but I am trying to use up things that have been sitting around my studio for a while. I also used GP white and SU! Gable Green CS. The lettering was made using an alphabet set by Just Rite. The glittery shamrocks are stickers that I think I picked up at a craft store a few weeks ago.
Have you made your cards for St. Patrick's day yet? No! Well get moving and show me what you come up with.

Secret Leprechaun box

2010-02-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

Are you wondering what the heck a Secret Leprechaun box is used for? Some of the gals at Splitcoast Stampers Wish RAK forum are participating in a secret Leprechaun exchange. Remember the secret Angel exchange that I participated in at Christmas? Well it's the same sort of thing only the theme is based around St. Patrick's Day.

I took this heavy duty shoe box that has a finger hole in the front of the box and decorated it with photos from Ireland. I have a ton of photos from a trip I took a few years ago so I printed a bunch of them off onto standard printer paper. I applied them to the box with Mod Podge and then coated the box with several layers of Mod Podge to seal the photos.

I am happy with the results and wouldn't mind making a box like this for myself. That means that I would have to purchase another pair of Italian shoemaker shoes to get another nifty box like this. Hmmm....... I am beginning to like this idea! LOL! There are photos taken from all over Ireland on this box and memories of each and every place. What a nifty gift to house all of the scrapping goodies that I am sending.

I'll have a few more altered items that will go into this box and will show them to you in the coming days. BTW, I use boxes of this size (photo storage boxes) to house my clear stamps. I stick them onto heavy clear plastic sheets cut to the proper size that will fit the box and I also stamp the images onto card stock and place the card behind each clear sheet. This way I can tell which sheet a particular stamp was taken from and put it back in the proper place.

Storage Solutions

2010-01-31T16:03:00.001-05:00

I recently took a trip to visit friends and family and I took my jewelry making supplies with me. These supplies are stored in a plastic tote box and a cardboard box. The tote holds things like my wire, jewelry bags and tools while the cardboard box housed 9 containers of bead boxes like this one on the left. Needless to say, this took up a great deal of space. While shopping on this recent trip, I found a Container Store which had these smaller boxes (right). I thought they would solve some of my bulk issues with my bead storage and they did!

The new boxes are so much smaller and much more portable. This was a great solution for me since I tend to work on jewelry while I am travelling or watching my DD ball games. I can work on projects in the car and during half time while the new containers take up half the space of the old ones. One of the other things I do when storing my beads is keep the manufacturer and price of the beads in with each type of bead. This makes it easy to place a new order and price finished product without looking for an invoice.
I won't let the larger boxes go to waste since I need better and more organized storage of hardware around my home. I am constantly wasting time looking for washers, nails, screws and cup hooks. These little babies should fill the bill quite nicely for all of those odds and ends. I will also be able to see through the boxes for a quick search instead of looking high and low for one little piece of hardware. Now the big question about this is..... Will my family put things away where they found them so that the hardware stays organized? Ah well, even the best laid plans hit a snag or two!
If you have a handy way to store your beads or hardware, share them here. I have an inquiring mind and want to know what solutions you use.

Spellbinders Christmas ornaments

2010-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Earlier this month I showed you the Christmas tree in our entry hall and told you that I made some paper ornaments to go on that tree. I also made some ornaments to give as gifts to visitors who were here over the Christmas season. This ornament was made using the Nestabilities Labels 4 die cut set. I cut seven labels out with my Cuttlebug using SU! Handsome Hunter card stock. Then I used silver Encore ink to stamp the scroll pattern from the SU! Baroque Motifs stamp set. I finished it off using a silver paint pen to border each shape. Next, I scored each die cut down the center and then folded them in half. I glued each one of them back to back. Before I glued the last one, I added the silver cord with the glass bead at the top and a pearl headed straight pin on the bottom that had a few glass beads added to it for interest.

This ornament was made the same way but I folded the die cuts down the center the opposite way as the first ornament and used gold ink on SU! Bravo Burgundy card stock. The hanger was a piece of brass wire.

I thought I was finished using the mystery paper from my October/November 2009 blog posts for a long while. I couldn't resist reaching for this inexpensive and wonderful paper when my daughter needed a few ornaments for her tree which is done in a blue, silver and white color theme. I cut out the pieces and then ran them through my Cuttlebug using the Devine Swirls embossing folder. They were so easy to make!

This last ornament was made using SU! Bravo Burgundy card stock with gold ink and the Chintz Background stamp from Me and Carrie Lou. Why don't you give it a try? I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Heidi's Holiday Tag-Aholic Swap 2009

2010-01-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

This post is late in coming because there have been several family emergencies this past month. I am sorry for being out of the blog loop the past few weeks. It hasn't rained but actually poured with one problem after another. I have many new cropping toys to play with from Christmas but I have not gotten a chance to play with them yet. I think things should get back to normal soon and I will be able to spend some creative time in my craft space.
Today I thought I would showcase a few more Christmas tags from our swap over at Splitcoast Stampers (SCS). The gingerbread tag was created by SCS Lazorkay. Aren't those gingerbread buttons adorable? Next we have the reindeer tag that SCS stampnkat made. These are so cute! The reindeer is a die cut sizzlit from the Sissix company. Stampnkat tells me the set is called Winter Set #3. Didn't she do a great job on this tag? The ornament tag was created by SCS doxiegal. She used the SU! round tab punch at the top of the ornament and attached her circles to this tab. She said the circle was cut with a punch as well as the snowflake that she picked up at a craft store. I am always so delighted with the interesting designs that these gals come up with for the swap. If you see something that you like, you may want to stop by SCS and search for these ladies galleries.

Christmas Decor 2009

2010-01-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Some of you have been asking me how I decorated the house for Christmas this year. While I don't wish to publish that much personal information on the internet, I will show you a few pics of the entry hall. This is the view upon entering the front door. The tree is nearly six feet tall and it is skinny because I wanted a tabletop tree for this room. This is the live tree that we cut at the tree farm in early December and I placed it on a library table. Most of the decorations were items I already had or that I purchased after Christmas 2008 at rock bottom prices. I assembled the tree, the door garland and the stair garland with swag over a period of about two days. I ran short on burgundy and gold ornaments so I made some paper ones for the tree. You can see them if you look closely. I used my Nestabilities labels 4 die cuts and went to town with gold ink. They turned out beautifully and if you don't mind, I'll show you more about those in a future post. The tree skirt is a tablecloth that I just wrapped at the base of the tree.

The stair swag and garland contains glass burgundy ornaments, Glass angel ornaments, gold berries, burgundy Peonies, gold hydrangea, burgundy velvet ribbon and gold ribbon. Thanks for stopping by. Stay warm and have fun crafting!

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T01:00:00.001-05:00

This photo was taken of our house a few days before Christmas after a storm passed through. I thought the snow cover was so pretty that I would share it with you. Wishing you a healthy, happy and blessed New Year! May God keep you and bless you through the coming year.