Turn your “Buts” into “What ifs” and your “If onlys” into “Why nots?”

Howdy friends! Today I am talking about excuses. You know, when you want to do something but you talk yourself out of it. For instance “I want to scrapbook but I don’t have the space” of “If only I had the time and energy to create…I guess I’ll watch TV instead.” But wait! Try this: “Hey! What if I clear off the coffee table and make a couple of layouts while I watch my favorite TV show!” and “Why not put all the supplies I need in a tote or basket and I can bring it to the living room with me and put it in the closet when I am done!” Now, look at that, you have turned an excuse into a solution.

I was so afraid to use the resin that I bought. I kept coming up with reasons why I shouldn’t. This green frame was one of my first experiments and it turned out great, I’m so glad I tried it!

The other day I was enjoying a cup of joe on the front porch when I was absolutely disgusted by the crud on my railing and ballasts. I thought “if only I had a power washer, I would have this clean in a  jiffy” but I changed it to “Why not get a pail of warm soapy water and wipe down the rails and mop the floor. The girls can help and we will be done in 20 minutes!” Well, it took a bit longer than that but not much and once you get started (which is the hardest part of any project) it goes pretty quickly.

More of my first resin experiments. I actually had a lot of dangles on this necklace but I changed my mind and took them off and left only these. See, you can change your mind and undo stuff, just because you make something with a supply it doesn’t mean you can’t undo it if you change your mind.

I can understand making excuses to get out of something you don’t like but why do we make excuses to get out of doing things we love? Maybe we feel guilty spending time on ourselves, or maybe we are afraid of making a mistake, doing something wrong or wasting precious supplies. Newsflash: You will make mistakes, if you don’t you are not learning. You don’t even need to be good at something to enjoy the process, for instance I am an awful singer yet I love to sing. You are worth spending time on! Maybe you are afraid of making a mess in a shared space. Why not pull together the supplies for a small project that can easily be tucked away in a box while it is in progress like a jewelry project, cross stitch or watercolor card.

Experimentation is good for the soul! Dive in! I love my first glitter pendants too!

My point is stop making excuses! The next time you catch yourself saying “but” , “if only” or “I wish” stop and say “what if…”, “I will…” and “Why not…”  no one else is going to make you be creative (well, except me, I’ll give you a kick in the pants!) except yourself. Don’t discourage yourself before you start. Pick something you want to do and DO IT! So, if you are feeling inspired I want you to leave a comment and tell me what you are going to make next, don’t be shy, the act of telling someone and writing it down will help you achieve it! Please let e know when you finish your creation too as I would love to see it. You are worth it! Now, go make something! Til next time happy crafting!

Let’s make a card with pressed flowers!

Hello friends! Last week I showed you how to press flowers in the microwave. Today I’ll show you how to use them in a card:

I used this dress form stamp from Lost Coast Designs. This is a great image because you can use it on a steam-punk card or a very ladylike card as I did here! The trick to using pressed flowers on your cards is making sure you have adhered them well so they don’t peel back and get damaged. Watch the video to see how:

OK, the video was a bit silly but you get the idea! And, wonder of wonders I found the A2 kreate-a-lope I lost yesterday, it got closed in a stamp binder. When I cleaned a stamp and put it back I found it! Go me! I win the day! I used it to make the envelope for my card then I used another 3″x3″ envie inside the card to hold a secret note! Best of all someone can put the note in the mini envie and the card can be reused, I love up-cycling!

You may notice that I dressed the card up a  bit from what the video showed, I used the rulers background (also from Lost Coast Designs) to add in some background (Yes, I know, I should have done that before gluing in the flowers but, hey, nobodies perfect) and a sewed on a  scrap of ribbon and glued on some die cut buttons.

That’s it for me today! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

50% off today at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff!

Just a quick post to let you know everything is 50% off today only at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff!

Here are some products you might enjoy:

If you are feeling crafty be sure to check out the back to school craft I posted last night! Happy crafting!

A Back to School Project!

Howdy friends! Today was the first day of school, all 3 of my kids had a good day, they all had nice teachers and friends in class and only a little homework. I, on the other hand, had homework. Beginning of school year paperwork to fill out, my goodness, I mean they have been enrolled in this school 5 years now, why do I need to do this each year (times 3 kids) hello, computers!?!  But I got it done and if that is my biggest complaint today life is pretty good! So, last night when I made out the kids lunch slips and lunch money checks I noticed that I was running low on envelopes so I thought I would make some cute lunch money envelopes to send in:

I used pages from old books that were in bad shape and headed to the dumpster before I rescued them.  I used my new Kreate-a-lopes to make the envies, stamped on them and done! Here is a video to show you how, it would have been shorter if not for my gabbing:)

I did want to mention how awesome the Kreate-a-lopes were and how nice the inventor of the templates is. If you want to help him grow his business of envelope and other innovative crafting templates you can visit his Kickstarter page here. Here are a few envelopes I made in seconds with the Kreate-a-lopes I have:

Of course during my envelope binge today I misplaced my A2 templates…you know what that means, time to clean the craft room.  Unless I get distracted by something shiny which will probably be the case since I made like 20 glitter rainbow resin pendants today…oh wait, I bet it is stuck to something with resin! Fun fact, you can clean unfortunate resin spills with nail polish remover (don’t ask me why I know this…) Luckily these template are very durable LOL! Wow, another rambling tangent today, go figure.

Thanks for stopping by. If you have any questions simply leave a comment and I will get back to you. Til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: Short, Sweet & Silent!

Howdy friends! It is Wednesday (OK Tuesday night in the USA!) and time for What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday! It is also the first day of school so I will have hours of uninterrupted creative time in my studio! woohoo! Of course I shouldn’t say that out loud or I might jinx myself hahaha! So yesterday I glued bails on some of the sea glass embedded pendents that I made. I rolled up some old book pages in some too, it is fun to see what words are prominent in the pendants, the pages came from old Edger Allen Poe books! I did some wire wrapping on some when I thought a regular bail was too boring.

Yep, a big mess! I hope to get more resin poured today, I wanted to try embedding fibers, buttons, glitter and letter beads in some pendants. I hope it turns out to be a sunny, dry day so I can cure some resin outside. I found that putting it in bright hot sun with a clear Rubbermaid tote over it for a dome works really well. I think it traps the heat and helps it cure. Plus I can keep most of the stink outside! That’s it for me today, thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Pretty Paper Pom-Poms!

Howdy folks! Today I am going to show you how to make a paper pom-pom gift topper and tag using supplies from Papermart!

We will use Twisted Paper Cord, Large Shipping Tags, and Bakers Twine. You will also need scissors, stamps of your choice, ink pads and hot glue. Watch the video to see how it is done!

If you want to make this project more masculine simply use other colors such as orange, brown and navy blue. This little extra adds so much to the presentation of your gift! thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Pressed Flower Fairy Cards!

Happy Monday folks! It is a quiet day here as my kids are enjoying one of their last days of summer vacation. there is a lot of lounging going on! I took advantage of this downtime by printing my summer photos and playing a bit in my craft room. I made this card with the flowers I pressed in the microwave last week:

I’m afraid if I put the flowers away I will forget about them so I plan on using them up! They were so quick to press that I can make another batch when I get more flowers.  I made the envelope with my Kreate-a-lope and i used the leftover paper and a panel of white to make an insert because the purple cardstock i used is kinda dark to write on. Also I clipped it inside because that way the card can be reused!

I made an envelope seal to match my project, it was really easy! Take a 3″ long piece of clear packing tape and gently pick up a pressed flower with it, then press a punched circle of paper behind that, trim around the circle leaving a 1/8″ border of tape (so it will be sticky on the edges) and stick it on your envelope to seal it shut! You can make a bunch of these in advance and store them on waxed paper if you like! Another idea is to lay your flowers on your scanner and scan them and print them on sticker paper or labels and you will have custom envelope seals without having to use up your flowers!

Here are the steps I used to make the card. I might do a video on this, if anyone is interested let me know. First I inked up my fairy stamp, except for the skirt, and stamped. The fairy stamp is the Christmas Fairy from Crafters Companion. Then I recommend you color the fairy (I actually stuck the flowers on first but it will be easier if you color first!), i used Promarkers and Copics. Then ink the background if you like. Add drops of clear glue all over the back of your flower, little drops, and press it on your card. Add clear glue where you want glitter and then sprinkle on transparent glitter. I stamped stars around the wand because I stuck my inky finger on there and have to hide the boo-boo but I like it!

You can use glitter glue if you prefer, I am stickle-impaired so I used dry glitter.

Well, that’s it! I think I will try and motivate my crew now and hit the grocery store. Fun Fun! At least I was good and cleaned before I played in my craft room (the rest of the house that is, the craft area is a hot mess!) so I’ll be able to come home to a clean house! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Funky chess piece tags and pocket cards!

Howdy Friends!  yesterday was a nice relaxing Saturday. My Husband had a large woodworking project going on in his side (or meager corner) of the basement, my daughters worked on Pearler beads and scrapbooking while watching Once Upon A Time the basement TV and I made bookmarks! All of the stamps used on these tags are from Lost Coast Designs.

I think having that show on in the background influenced my work, the creepy trees and full moon in the background…it is a little Big-Bad Wolf/Red Riding Hoodish…

I spent a lot of time on these, they are so addicting! The tags are actually quick to make but man, they are like potato chips, you can’t stop at just one! Just be warned, after this video you might find yourself going on a tag making binge!

I decided that I should make a card to house my tags but these tags are big so I grabbed my new Business Envelope Kreate-a-Lope and made an envelope, then I took a piece of 8″x9″ paper, folded in half to make a card. I used a scrap of the paper leftover from the envie to make the pocket for the tag!

I love these chess piece stamps from Lost Coast Designs, just when you think you have seen it all in stamping you find a company that has truly unique offerings.

A couple of people on YouTube asked me what laminator I used to laminate the tags and it was a cheapie I bought for $18 at ABC Distributing and I got that one because the packs of 100 refill sheets are under $5 a set. You have to pay shipping so I bought 3 packs of the refill sheets when I got the laminator. It works great too, I’ve been using it about a year now.

That’s it for me today! If you have any questions on this project of the supplies I used just leave a comment! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Quick Tip: Stamp Mounting!

Hello friends! Do you have any rubber stamps that need mounting? Well grab that pile of rubber and some cling cushion and watch today’s quick tip! It will keep your scissors from getting sticky!

I have to give props to Nancie Waterman for teaching me that trick. Check out her blog because she has lots of great ideas for stampers (she is the editor of Vamp Stamp News!) and she often offers free e-articles which are like mini magazines of stamping goodness that you can read on your computer or e-reader. She is fab, check her out and til next time happy crafting!