Wanna Win Some Templates from GreenSneakers?

Hi Friends! Today I want to show you a fun papercraft project and give you the chance to win some of the templates I used OR you can pick different ones!

My Friends at GreenSneakers are letting you pick your prize! All you have to do is visit www.greensneakers.com and find 2 templates you would like to win, then come back here and tell me what you would like to win by leaving a comment. How cool is that? Maybe you would like to win a Kreate-a-Lope envelope maker, A2 slider card, or the baker’s box templates I used in today’s tutorial. It is up to you! I will draw a winner at random next Wednesday the 26th. If you feel like shopping you can get 20% off your order with the coupon code Lind20 and don’t worry if you shop and then win, they will let you pick a different prize, that way everyone can take advantage of the sale and the contest! Happy shopping and picking! Now watch the video to see what you can make with some of their awesome templates!

I’m sure you can think of a lot of ways to use these templates! I hope you didn’t freak out too badly when you saw what I did to my stamp but hey, sometimes you have to take drastic measures for your art! I want to thank GreenSneakers for partnering with me to bring you this fun giveaway. I hope it gets your creative juices flowing and maybe inspires you to make a batch of Christmas cards or note card sets for Christmas gifts or craft fair items. The coupon code Lind20 is good though 11/30/14 so don’t delay, they only run this sale once a year! Thanks so much for playing and til next time happy crafting!

Contest and Coupon Details: Contest is open to US residents only. Winner will be selected at random 11/26/14. No purchase necessary. Coupon code Lind20 good through 11/30/14 and 20% off sale is available worldwide. You must log in at www.greensneakers.com to see the discount in your shopping cart, don’t worry, it’s easy. Good luck to all who play!

 

 

My neck hurts…

…and it’s probably because I wore this heavy necklace the last two days:

Usually when I make a chunky necklace I mix in some acrylic beads to cut down on the weight but I had these gorgeous foil glass beads that I wanted to use and I like the repetition of them all together so I threw caution to the wind. The flower focal drop I made from resin, it was an ugly speckled white because my white paint I colored the resin with did not mix well so I painted it green. I enjoy olive green because it seems to flatter so many skin tones.

I call it elegant steampunk…and heavy…really freaking heavy…

It’s still pretty though, but I think I will only wear it for short amounts of time and not all day again.  That’s all for today! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

WOYWW: One Hot Mess!

So this week I took my What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday photo BEFORE I tidied up….

Honestly, it does not look much better now LOL! I have been experimenting with glass and clay this week and I am teaching a quilling class tomorrow so I have my bins of quilling strips in the upper right corner. I will be filming a candle making tutorial and I have the supplies for that in a tray next to the quilling stuff. I pulled my clay drawer out of its chest because the drawers of molds, tools and other clay paraphernalia were so full that they would not open so a major clay reorganization project is in store for me this week, it has never been properly organized, I just seem to add to the stash…we all know how that goes! I have a box of eyelets out because I was making some Pandora style beads with glass and clay and I couldn’t wait to get proper bead cores but as far as I can see eyelets are just about the same thing. After I took this photo I went back to my torch to make another bead and the torch would not ignite  I just replaced the gas tank and I was using it hours earlier so I have no idea what is wrong  I can hear the gas hiss out but no spark…I wonder if I can light it with my long reach lighter…I’m kinda scared to though. I hoping it will work itself out and the next time I try it will light…a girl can dream 🙂

Want more desks? Or do you want to share your crafty space with the wold? Hop on over to Julia’s blog The Stamping Ground and you can play along and see lot’s of other crafty messes ..er, desks too! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

DIY Stencils, 40% Off & Fun with Wax {It’s the Bee’s Knees!}

Well, I did something that I usually don’t do this time of year…visit my studio at night! Usually I am way too comfy reading or watching TV in front of the fire to venture down to the chilly craft-cave but I just wanted to play with the new stencils I made this week!

Actually I made a set of 10 SVG stencils you can cut with your die-cutter and use with paint or ink. I sprayed the background of my card with homemade shimmer spray then layered stamping college and wax on top. I used scented wax melts (sugar cookie-yum!) and just poured it on my card! I used it to adhere the “bee mine” sentiment and I sprinkled some beads in the melty wax for extra texture…no wonder I was so hungry when I was done…cookies, sprinkles oh my!

This new set of stencils, as well as all of the goodies at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff are 40% off through the 3rd so go snag them, they are a ball to play with. You can also check out the painting kits, digital stamps, templates and all sorts of crafty goodness!

It was so much fun to putter in my craft room tonight, oh and I have another tip for you! I was rummaging in a drawer that I haven’t opened in ages and I came across a hexagon creative memories cutting template (do you have those? I use the ovals and circles all the time!) and I cut the hexagon out of white using the green and blue blades, then I simply matted the smaller on the larger one and it looks like a nestie! You can do this with any temple or die cutter and save yourself some dough! It is a trick I use with my electronic die cutter a lot, cut the shape once normally and again with a slight shadow and it looks fab when you layer them…does that make any sense?

Well, it is late and I am rambling so if you are in need of anything of the crafty variety please check out the 40% off sale at Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff and til next time happy crafting!

PS before using scented wax on a card make sure that the recipient is not allergic to perfume…I think scented letters are wonderfully romantic though…

You Party Animal, You!

Happy Saturday folks! do you have a lot of birthdays to attend? Well, why not make a few fun card like these using fun “party animal” stamps from Lost Coast Designs:

 

I can’t resist animals dressing up or acting like people, it’s just too dang cute! These shakers (I did a video on making shaker windows, you can see it here) are filled simply with standard 1/4″ punched scraps of cardstock. I love how the paper circles bounce around in the shaker. Wouldn’t it be cool to use this technique on a scrapbook page with a photo of a kid an a “ball crawl” house? I think I have a photo like that from out first trip to Storyland…I’ll have to find it!

 

So, at the Stampin up party I went to I bought the jewelry tag punch that I used for the banner on the cards (FYI you can use any shape for a banner!)  I sell handmade jewelry at craft fairs so it would be very handy and I love little spaces to stamp words and letters on cards. The tag does not have a hole in it though and if you want to punch one it likes to get stuck in your tiny punch. So I solved the problem by punching the inner hole first, you can use this tip to make tags from other small shapes too, use what you’ve got!

Here are the two cards close up, this first one is for a party we are attending tomorrow using the Circus Dog stamps:

 

Ane here is a generic one using Party Hat Cats I can have on hand when I need it:

 

I really recommend you have a look at the fun and funky stamps from Lost Coast Designs, they are unique quirky finds you can’t get elsewhere, I use them so much!

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Christmas Card…Seriously.

(collective groan) Yes, this is a Christmas card. I know it is early but I need to get in the holiday mood for an article I am writing so I made a warm up card:

 

I played with some background stamps and I wanted a distressed look so I made a large distressing background stamp with plastic canvas and craft foam. Watch the short video to see how:

This is the background I made in the video:

 

To make the 3-D element on the card I punched 5 scallop circles and folded it in half, then opened them up and folded them in half again and pinched two of the folds together like so:

 

This card is quick enough to mass produce, plus i think the medallion would be cute on a tag or scrapbook page. All of the stamping I did on glassy photo paper with water based markers.

 

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Happy Memorial Day!

Howdy folks! I know it is late, we had a busy day today with all the kids marching (or scooting rather) in the parade. The kids and I made some fancy shirts to wear today, don’t we look stylish…and yes, I am rocking a fanny pack LOL! C’mon, they are so practical, can’t we forsake fashion and bring back the fanny pack?!?

 

Incase you want to make some of these star-spangled shirts I made a video…not one of my best but hey, that can’t all be perfect (heck, who am I kidding, I’ve NEVER shot a perfect video…OK it’s probably par for the corse) so if you have 17 minutes to kill have a look 🙂

Basic T-shirt instructions: You will need white t-shirts (you can use ones with stains on them, it is a great way to revamp your wardrobe or get a 3 pack of white tees from a department store, the ones I got for the kids were youth large from Hanes, $5.47 for 3) and spray fabric paint. I used this set from Oriental Trading or just mix acrylic paint with water (the consistency of whole milk) and put it in a dollar store spray bottle and you are good to go. You will need masking tape and contact paper for the stencils.

1. Place a large piece of cardboard inside your T-shirt to make it flat and to keep paint from leaking through to the back.
2. Cut stars from contact paper and stick them to your shirt. Stick strips of masking tape where you want stripes.
3. Spray blue paint or dye on the stars and red dye on the stripes.
4. Remove the tape and stars and let dry.
5. Repeat on the back side if you like (we did and it looked great!)
6. Rinse the nozzles of the spray bottles  in cool water, spritz some clear water through the pump to prevent it from clogging.

Well. that was easy, I guess I did not need to make a video LOL! 😀 Here is a look at the shirts and shoes we made. I found plain white and black canvas shoes at Wal-Mart and they are as fun to paint on as…well, a blank canvas!

 

And I painted my nails for the holiday, how fun! I am so amused by the little things.

 

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!