DIY Mint Chocolate Lip Balm!

A couple of years ago I ordered fancy lip balm base from a cosmetic supply company so I could make my own chap-stick  It was a small, very expensive jar of soy based balm. I got the jar of lip balm base and noticed it looked like Crisco vegetable shortening, when I read the ingredients my suspicion was confirmed.  Practically the same exact thing. Fool me once. So the other day I set out to making my own lip balm with ingredients from my cupboard and here is what I made:

It works great too and tastes good enough to eat! And it is all natural, so, unless you are allergic to chocolate or soy you are good to go. You just need 3 ingredients: Vegetable shorting, Chocolate chips (or carob) and mint. You also need a glass measuring cup to heat and mix the stuff in and small food safe jars to pour the lip balm into. You can get the jars in quantities of 24 at Papermart. Disclaimer: The tins I used in this video are for demonstration purposes only.

One would think that if I could whip up a batch of lip balm with success than I would be a good cook too. unfortunately that is not the case. I felt kinda bad that my husband came home to a house that smelled of mint and chocolate but there were no yummy goodies to eat.

Ha ha ha ha, actually it was my husband who came up with that “hey girl” line, he posted it on my Facebook wall and I just about died laughing, I had to make a meme of it! That’s actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the photo (AKA Sherlock) by the way, why should Ryan Gosling have all the fun LOL!

That does it for me today. I have a studio full of projects that need to be wrapped up and a knitting class to prepare for. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Embossed Acetate How-to Video & a Stamp Giveaway!

Howdy there!  I’m so happy today because I get to give away the beautiful Camellia Background stamp from About Art Accents I used on this card (a brand new one though) and all you need to do is leave a comment on this post to have a chance at winning. I’ll draw a name next Tuesday so be sure to sign up before then. Have you ever tried to heat emboss transparencies or vellum and ended up with a warped mess? Well, no more! I’ll show you how to do it right today even with the thinnest materials!

I used ink-jet transparencies on my project because one side has a coating that will allow ink or watercolors to dry on it, just like it does with printer ink. If you are using regular overhead transparencies or un-coated acetate you can still do this but instead of painting the backside with watercolors use acrylic paint and let it dry naturally. Watch the video to learn this technique and complete the card!

My favorite part about this card is how it shines, shimmers and changes depending on how it catches the light, photos do not do it justice.

I hope you enjoyed this technique and give it a try! Thanks for stopping by and till next time happy crafting!

DIY Frame Embossing Templates {video!}

Happy Friday friends! Boy, have I got a fun project for you to try this weekend! Making Your own embossing frames! These are cardboard frames you can cut and use with your embossing folders so you only emboss a section of your card and leave the rest flat for stamping like I did on this card:

Check out this video to see how it is done!

Here are some more examples:

I’m going to keep it short and sweet today, I made up a couple more batches of earrings yesterday and I need to package them up then load up the van with my craft fair stuff. I am feeling the panic I always do before a show ”Did I make enough stuff? Will anyone buy it?!?”  But in the end I know I will be fine, even if I sell nothing I’m only out the $15 for the table and I will have lots of new inventory for next time. Wish me luck! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Video Tutorial: How to Marbleize Paper & Eggs!

Here is a fun project you will want to try today. It is quick, easy and inexpensive and what’s more, your kids will love it too! I’ll warn you it’s a bit messy (that’s what it’s so darn fun) but the results are stunning. Check out this Easter card I sent my sister, I made the background paper. I stamped the rabbit (About Art Accents) with black pigment ink and heat embossed so it would stand out on the marbleized paper.

Looks fancy and store-bought right? Nope, I marbleized it with shaving cream! Watch this quick video to see how, I’ll even show you how to use this technique with eggs!

See, told ya it was easy;)

Tips for marbleizing eggs:

1. I recommend you use blown out eggs, you can use hardboiled eggs 
   (swap out the liquid watercolor for food coloring) but I worry the shaving cream might give the eggs a soapy taste.
2. White eggs (or wooden eggs painted white) will show the technique better (but since I raise free-range hens that lay brown eggs-and cannot bring myself to buy factory farmed white ones-I used those.)
3. After you blow out and clean the eggs you need to dry them. Microwave them 30 seconds ( for a dozen) , then dip them in vinegar and nuke them again for 30 seconds. The vinegar locks the color!

I hope you try this today! It is a great outdoor project to do with the kids to and you can just hose everything off when you are done! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Ink Pads 101: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask!

Happy Friday  Today we are going to talk about ink…well I’m gonna talk about ink (for about 15 minutes LOL) and you can listen if you like. I had a couple people request a video demonstrating the various brands of ink-pads and what they are good for and at least once a week someone emails me or leaves a comment asking about ink so today I am going to give you the scoop on ink-pads! You don’t need to take notes during the video because I prepared an Ink Pad Cheat Sheet that you can download at the end of this post:) Just step away from the pencil ma’am. Here’s the video:

I realized that I did not talk about chalk or distress inks (doh!) and you might be feverishly trying to make notes while the video was going (no small task with how fast I talk) so I decided to save you the trouble and create a cross reference cheat sheet that you can print containing all the inks I talked about and the two I forgot. there is also a bit of room in the chart for you to jot down your notes and findings.  I have also included tips and recipes for homemade ink and ink refreshers. You can download that below:

lindsays_ink_pad_cheat_sheet

So, did I do good? Do you feel like you know a thing or two about all of the ink pad choices out there? As always if you have any questions just leave a comment (or if you just want to say howdy-do!) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Ink & Silliness? You’ve Come to the Right Place!

Howdy folks! We are supposed to get a whopper of a storm today, they have even called off school in preparation  Over the weekend the kids and I took to re arranging the basement. We moved the old large (and flippin’ heavy-hubby had to do that part) TV downstairs. rearranged the kids craft area. Put away crap that had been dumped on the pool table, remembered we had a pool table and created more open space for roller skating…yes folks, it’s a madhouse,  a madhouse I tell you. There is still a bit more work to be done but the kids will have the “basement of fun” to play in today until the snow flies and they can play in that. Also this weekend I taught my girls how to play “cat’s cradle” I made a tangle free version out of para-cord and they are getting the hang of it, I’m waiting for the trend to catch on again! So hey, how about some crafting?

Rainbow-y eh? I am really enjoying the spray inks and daubers I made the other day. I love how quickly I can dye ribbon, cloth and silk flowers with them, no soaking and waiting, instant gratification baby! I really love dying ribbon because I can get large spools of Twill Tape and Ric-Rac from Papermart and color it whatever color I like. It save space (you only need one spool) and it saves money and you can get whatever color you need for a project!

An then just for kicks and giggles I thought I’d film myself making a card (you really shouldn’t encourage me…) and share some tips along he way.

Here is a better look at the card we made:

And here is the inside, I like to decorate the inside of cards now and then, a lot of times I forget that I like to do that but with a dark card you need to so you have a place to write (unless you want to write with an opaque marker…which it totally fine.)

I hope you have a great day and if you are being hit with the snow in the northeast I hope you have a cozy at home day and if you have to go out be careful  Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

DIY Spray inks {& Shimmers} and Ink Daubers!

Happy Friday! Do you want something fun to do this weekend? How about whipping up a batch of spray ink and glimmer mists as well as sponge blenders for every inkpad you have…cheaply! Have a look-see at the ones I just made:

I love that I can get the same look, effect and quality of the name brand tools and supplies for cheap. I tried out the 4 oz bottles and sprayers from Papermart and I am happy to report that they are high quality, they give a fine mist but do not clog up with the shimmer (please pay attention to my tips for non clog shimmer spray use) and they are perfectly clear so I can see what color I have in there.  Check out the video to see these spray mists in action and how I made them and check out the ink blenders too, they are made from the caps that come on the bottles!

Neat huh? I hope you make some of these inks and play along with me. I will be using them a lot in upcoming videos so you will learn some fun techniques with them! There is nothing worse than getting a new supply and having it just sit on the shelf, am I right? Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

More Rainbow-y Goodness!

Howdy folks! It is really starting to feel like Spring! I can see the grass on the lawn now and I have to mop the floors every night…well, er… I SHOULD mop the floors every night due to the mud. Yay, before we know it it will be Spring!

I was in the mood to play with color. I had a box of clear crystal acrylic hearts from Papermart and I decided to color them with alcohol ink. It worked great! Here is a quick video to show you how:

Now, that method is est if you want to color a bunch of things at once but you can also color one of those crystals with a permanent marker after you adhere it to a card. That is quick and easy too. You can use this technique on any non-porous supply (metal, plastic, glass etc.) so buy bulk supplies in white and clear and alter them! It’s fun! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Video Tutorial by Request: Making Rubber Stamps with Bake & Bend Clay!

Howdy folks! Woah Nellie is it cold today! Looks like it will warm up a bit tomorrow just in time to get 1 or 2 feet of snow, ahhh, Maine weather, I think I will stay inside and craft! Here is a box I painted a while back and then stamped with a homemade honeycomb stamp I made with Sculpey bake and bend clay. I used it last week to create flexible molds with and I have to say my mind is spinning with all of the creative possibilities of this stuff.

Here’s how I painted the box with acrylic paint:

1. Paint the box light green. Let dry
2. Mix cream with glazing medium and paint over the green then press plastic wrap in the wet glaze and smoosh the wrap around to create cool texture. Let dry.
3. Tear some paper and tape it to the box to mask off an area that will be honeycomb.
4. Use a sponge to dab yellow ocher, cream and brown in the masked off areas. Let dry.
5. Use a sponge brush or make-up wedge to apply brown paint to the rubber stamp (watch the video to learn how to make the stamp) and stamp in the yellow areas.
6. Remove the paper mask and use a small round brush to outline the yellow honeycomb sections.
7. Use a liner brush and watery brown paint to paint the lettering on the box. Let dry.
8. Mix some brown with glaze medium and sponge around the edges and corners to antique it.
9. Cut bees (Anna Griffin I think) from pattern paper and decoupage on with water-based varnish or decoupage medium and give the whole box a coat of varnish while you are at it.
10. Don’t forget to paint the inside of the box for a professional look!

Tip: Lay a piece of waxed paper between the top and bottom of the box when closed for the first week after it is painted so they won’t stick together, this gives the paint a chance to fully cure.

Now, on to the stamp making video!

If you have any questions just leave a comment and I will get right back to you! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: Tutorial-Cheap Flexible Molds!

Happy Wednesday folks! well, this week we have gone from 2 degrees to 50! You know what they say about the weather in Maine, if you don’t like it wait 5 minutes LOL! This week my desk is littered with clay, glass, stencils and moulds…why am I telling you this? because it is What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday (or WOYWW for short) before I show you my desk here are some molds I made from Sculpy Bake and Bend Clay, it s way cheaper than using the Ranger 2 part molding stuff, I made a video to show you how at the end of this post:

And here is my desk, I am a skitzo crafter today, making stencils and molds…I think I like making supplies more than creating with them LOL!

And just in case you think I don’t support the crafting economy check out my yummy new glass I just ordered from Devardi glass. I sorted it in a bill organizer I picked up a few years ago at goodwill for $2. It is perfect for the glass rods. I hope to try out this glass later today, since my toaster oven is out for clay anyway I think I will use it as a rod warmer (don’t worry, I won’t burn my hands off!) since the Devardi glass (which is dirt cheap BTW) might be a little shocky so I want to bring it up to temp before I put it in the flame, my studio is really cold so thermal shock might happen…I’ll let you know how it all turns out

And now my super cheap flexible mold tutorial. I used Bake and Bend clay which I bought on sale for $5 a pack of six 1 oz bricks but regular prices is $7 so still way cheaper than the two-part epoxy mold maker. What I really love is that it does not cure till you heat it so there is no waste. With the 2 part stuff you have to use it or lose it! You can even press the clay to textured surfaces and make rubber stamps!

I thought of another tip when working with clay: Remove your nail polish first because the clay will make it all freaky and gross:) Oh and the scrap clay rigid mold tutorial (which is like making them for free-love that!) is here.  Well, that’s it! I am going to brew a pot of coffee and head over to the Stamping Ground and check out other WOYWW crafty desks, won’t you join me? Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!