And then all you do is adhere it to a card front, or maybe in a frame! Mom still likes to keep all of our artwork doesn’t she? If you like this watercolor painting project be sure to give these tutorials at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff a look:
If you have any ideas about what you would like to see in a panting kit just leave a comment! I am planning more kits in the future and I’d love your input. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hi there! I have had many people ask me how I like my new Creatopia machine. Being that I won it (free) I am quite pleased with it, it is a fun new toy. The downside is that since I have been crafting a long time I have other tools in my arsenal that will do the same jobs as the Creatopia. Will I use my Creatopia every day or will I reach for my tried and true tools? I decided to create a card from start to finish with this new machine and video tape it so you can see how easy (or not) the machine is. Here are the cards I made:
The machine is versatile, I made these cards entirely with the machine, from cutting the cardstock and embossing to gluing it all together. Is it simpler that my normal methods? You be the judge.
Well, I don’t know if this machine fit’s my style of creating, it takes getting used to, I imagine I will always cut my paper with my 15-year-old Xacto paper trimmer and reach for my hot glue gun and double stick tape but I’m sure this machine would be just the ticket for a crafter just starting out or downsizing their tool chest. One thing I did not like was the wastefulness of the Stickz and Proctectz cartridges. They are expensive and you have to throw away a big huge chunk of plastic when you change the roll. I’d rather just replace the adhesive or laminating rolls. I did not get a laminating roll so I think when I run out of adhesive I am going to try to retrofit the old cartridge to hold clear contact paper for laminating. I’ll let you know how that goes:) Also I wish that the die-cutter was wider, the machine is 12″ wide so why is the die cutter only 6.5″ wide? I would still need another die cutter if I wanted to cut the large Spelbinders (not that I have any but still.) You can see a list of Creatopia tools and prices on the Xyron website and decide for yourself.
Bottom line, it is a good product but I’m not sure if it is for me. I’m grateful to have won it but I would not have bought it unless there were more embossing options at lower prices and less wasteful and cheaper consumables. Just because it is not the perfect fit for me does not mean it won’t be right for you. I just want to pass along my findings because I have gotten so many emails about my new toy. If you have any questions just leave a comment and I will try to answer them:) Til next time happy crafting!
I used the large embossing rollers to emboss an entire sheet of kraft cardstock then dry-brushed pastel yellow paint over it. I used the rotary cutters to cut scalloped strips and the smaller embossers to emboss the dots on the strips. I used the die cutter to die-cut paper, cardstock and burlap. I tried out everything except the adhesive because that would require me to look at the manual since I have not used so much as a sticker maker before LOL!
Tip: I saved the burlap bag that my basmati rice came in and cut a strip to make the ruffle under the main photo. I painted a piece if burlap to keep it from fraying before I die cut it in a heart shape. Place the burlap between a piece of wax paper to keep paint from transferring to the die and to keep fibers from unpainted pieces from going everywhere.
Since it is WOYWW I snapped a photo of my desk during my creatopia experiment:
I have since cleaned it up and found a permanent spot in my craft room for the machine (it is about the same size as my Cricut expression!) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy folks! About a month ago I won the tip of the day contest at My Craft Channel and the prize was a Creatopia prize bundle from Xyron! I took this video minutes after the mail man arrived with my packages. Here you can see just what I got as I open the box!
Can you belive all the goodies? I am heading down to my craft room right now to play with the Creatopia (or at least get it put together!) so hopefully I’ll have a project done with it to share tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
I like to listen to audio books. I listen when I fold laundry, drive, cook and craft. I really feel like I can savor a good book this way since I tend to skim over the slow bits of a book when I “read” or I fall asleep mid page. I’d much rather be multitasking:) I also have the bad habit of bailing of a book halfway though and returning it to the library or a friend with my bookmark still inside (I have left bookmarks all over town!) so it is nice to use up my scraps and make a few every now and then to replenish my stash. Oh, back to the audio book, I was listing to the book “The Help” when I made these:
I honestly could not tell you how any sewing theme stamps I own, I started collecting them about 6 years ago, I have been able to pick up quite a few sets lately because of the growing popularity of vintage sewing stuff. So my collection keeps on growing! The thing I love about vintage is that it will never go out of style. Collect away girls! BTW the stamps I used were from a Cling Mount (real rubber) set by TPC at Joanns, it was $6.99 but I used a coupon and got it for $3.50 BUT I think all of their stamps are 40% off this week!
I finished “The Help: this weekend so I’ll have to find another audiobook to listen to, any suggestions? I think I am the mood for a thriller now! Who knows what I will make listing to it Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Hey crafters! Today is international scrapbook day. I hope you find a few moments to make a page or take some photos (I’ll be snapping away at my son’s Little League game!) I want to share an inexpensive scrapbook idea with you today. I love patterned paper but I tend not to buy pre-made embellishments to go with it. I am also fond of the 180 sheet stacks the big craft stores sell. I saw this 12″x12″ pads of My Minds Eye paper on sale for $10 at ACmoore the other day and I loved every sheet in the stack. Since you get 3 sheets of each paper I don’t feel like I need to save it for the perfect page. I tore out a few sheets right away and made a scrapbook kit that would coordinate with the papers in the stack:
I started out by stamping a bunch of frames on cream cardstock. Frame rubber stamps are so versatile, you will always find many ways to use a a frame stamp:
Use it to house journaling on a scrapbook page
Use it to frame a sentiment on a card
Use it to frame a photo (you can stamp directly on the photo if you are brave!)
Stamp in clay to make a 3-D embellishment.
Use it to frame a focal element on a card
Frames never go out of style and are so versatile. To make the journaling tags I used the ATC Frames from About Art Accents/Art Neko (mention my blog or uses coupon code Lindsay10% to save 10% on everything in the shop!) and stamped them on 2.5″x3.5″ cream cardstock. Here’s a tip to cut your cardstock with little waste for ATCs: Holding the paper long ways cut a 2.5″x11″ strip, then another 2.5″x11″ strip and you are left with a 3.5″x11″ strip. Then trim the strips so they are 2.5″x3.5″. Easy! You will get 10 ATC size cards.
For the tags I trimmed 2 sheets of 12″x12″ paper into 3″x6″ strips and cut the corners off the tops for a tag look and I cut 3″x3″ squares for contrast. Layer the papers and stamped cards for cute journaling tags or even bookmarks! I also took 4 sheets of pattern paper and ran it through my die-cutter with some flower, heart and frame dies so I would have some easy embellishments I could make on the go. I added a handful of buttons from my “vintage brown” jar and put them in a plastic container that I can slip on my crap bag with the stack of papers for unlimited options when I am scrapping on the go.
I know of a crop happening in town today, now if I find I have an hour or two IO can just grab my bag and go! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
Edit 5/4/12: Hey, Annette over at About Art Accents/Art Neko gave me permission to offer my blog readers 10% off regular AND sale price items in her shop (and her prices are reasonable to begin with!) just use the coupon code: Lindsay10% in the PayPal customer comments box. Now, go on, check out their stamps, you won’t be sorry! Thanks Annette for letting me pass on the savings to may awesome blog readers!
I was puttering in my studio last weekend playing with some stencils and spray mist making a mess when I took my wet stencil and pressed it on a scrap of cardstock. I liked it so much I used it as a base of this card. All the stamps are by Art Neko/About Art Accents:
I like how the ATC frame has spots for rhinestones but unfortunately I did not have any oval ones so I made do with round ones.
TIP: Rhinestone are expensive, whenever you buy them get the clear ones and color them with a permanent marker like I did with an emerald-green one. that way you will not end up with a bag full of colors you will never use!
Have you ever thought about learing to watercolor? Spring and summer is the perfect time to be outdoors and watercolors are so easy to bring with you so you can paint on the go. This Coastal Landscape lesson is the easiest one I have created AND it teaches you techniques you can use to paint any landscape you like.
All of my Learn To Paint with Lindsay beginner lessons use the same 3 brushes: a 1/2″ (#12) flat, a 1″ flat and a #6 round. I limit the beginner projects to these 3 brushes so you don’t have a to spend a fortune to get started. In the future when I add the Intermediate lessons to the shop I may add a couple of brushes BUT we will still be using the same 8 colors I recommend in the basic supply list. My goal is to teach you how to paint and use your tools, I’m not selling paint or brushes:) What a drag it would be to have to buy a new tube of paint or brush every time you went to start a project! My goal is also to have you painting independently so you can paint whatever you like and you are not dependent on buying a lesson each time you want to paint (although I’ll try to keep challenging you with new techniques to build your skills!)
So, if you are looking for a relaxing painting project please have a look at all of the beginner watercolor projects available at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff:
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting (and painting!)
Happy Wednesday folks! Last week I posted a recipe for Hybrid Art Clay and I had lots of sweet comments on the tutorial. I also had a request for a video showing how to make the clay roses. I decided to film a tutorial on how to make them as well as these simple Calla lilies:
That would also be pretty for Mother’s Day! I’ll also show you how to make the fluffy stamens from wire and styrofoam!
Here is a look at the roses you will also learn to make in todays free video:
The video is shot in frame (gasp!) so you can actually see what the heck I am doing (I really hope you appreciate this because I had to re-shoot it LOL!)
Because it is What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday I’ll show you a picture of my clay drying rack I made from old wire storage cubes. Do you remember those? They used to always go on sale for $10 a set at Ames about 10 years ago and I probably bought 5 sets ha ha! I like how you can re-configure them in minutes and then take them apart and store them in a flat stack. I explain how to make it at the end of the video but in case you don’t make it that far I’ll recap. Assemble a 5 sided cube with the metal sections and corner connectors. Use small binder clips or zip ties to place as many shelves as you need inside. I used binder clips (you can get packs of 12 clips at the dollar sore) so that I can quickly take it apart. The clay is light so the clips are fine. If you want to use this for storing paper you can, just use zip ties instead to make it strong enough. I lined the shelves with window screening (you could also use sheets of plastic canvas) so the clay does not fall through but also so that air can circulate from all sides preventing warping and hastening drying time.
I did a little research and found that you can still get these but the price is higher. Target has them for the lowest price, around $25 online but I’d call before heading out to your local store to make sure they carry them and that the price is good. They were $44 at other stores online like walmart. Or wait for a yard sale, for some reason people like to get rid of these, little do they know how handy they can be!
That’s all for today and til next time happy crafting!
Howdy craft lovers! I honestly have no idea what I am going to do with this card It is square and thick and a bit heavy so it might not make it through the US postal system too well. I just couldn’t stop embellishing it LOL!
It was one of these “putter” cards, I just kept puttering on it, adding a twig, a bead, some clay embellies…it sat on my desk for 2 days and I swear I stuck something else to the poor card every time I walked by. I still think it is kinda pretty though.
The stamps are from Stampin Up! and I’ve had that set for over a year and havent used it ?!? I know, pretty strange for me because I usually use my stamps as soon as I get them. I’m sure I will use the more now, the first ink is the hardest, am I right?
Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
