Paper Tassel DIY (another use for deli or tissue paper!)

Hi friends! Remember that awesome deal I got last year on deli paper? 5000 sheets of 12″x12″ deli paper for $15 and free shipping. Well, I have about 4,700 sheets left so I thought I should take a stab of another way to use some of it and viola! Paper tassels! Watch the video to see how easy it is. Oh, and if you do not have the abundance of deli paper I have tissue paper will work just fine 🙂

Video!

The good news is that I have used up a few more sheets of deli paper…the bad news is that it only takes 1/2 a sheet to make a tassel. Anyone need 9,400 paper tassels? Just kidding. I am not opening a paper tassel business. Anyone else can feel free to run with that idea though! 😀 I am telling you, 5,000 sheets of deli paper is A LOT! I have even resorted to wrapping sandwiches with the stuff. crazy huh? So, how do you think I should use up some more of that deli paper? Leave your ideas in the comments below because I need some LOL! Oh, if you are looking for the DIY spray ink tutorial I mentioned in the video it’s here. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

We’re all stories in the end…

Hi Friends! My favorite line from any episode of Doctor Who is “We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one.”

I had that quote swirling around in my head after reading (OK listening to the audio book, what can I say, I love to be read to:) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It is a hauntingly beautiful and very sad story that has been made into a movie. If you read it you will need tissues, I hear the movie is the same, I plan to see it.  It got me thinking to the things we leave behind, our art, scrapbooks and journals and how nice it is when we include out own handwriting. I am really self conscious about my handwriting, it has never been pretty but I must admit watching this video back I was really annoyed at how much I was complaining about it. Sorry about that.  Oh and I was convinced that I needed the word “are” on the page after I wrote “were” like a werewolf not we-are so I wrote “are” and realized what I was missing was a darn apostrophe LOL! Hence the strategically placed washi tape! One of theses days I’ll be able to talk and write at the same time while shooting a video (don’t hold your breath though.) Enough rambling, here is the video!

The wonderful supplies I used were donated by Oriental Trading Company. I used:

• Paris Clear Stamps $8
• Border Clear Stamps $12 (I said $8 in the video, sorry)
• Canson XL Mixed Media Journal in 9″x12″ size
• Set of 5 washi tape $5
• Mini Spray Bottles (sorry, out of stock)
• Picket Fence Stencils $8.50 set

I hope you use your handwriting in your journals, card and scrapbooks because it creates a link from us to the viewer that becomes more special as time passes. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Snazzy Stamped Wine Gift Bag! {Reusable!}

Hello Friends! Today I have a fun project that can be adapted for everyone. I made a wine gift bag but you can find high quality muslin bags and pouches in many sizes perfect for any occasion and you will at the best price at Papermart:

I chose a round bottom bag for my project. I also attached a stamped shipping tag with bakers twine for an extra special look. Watch the video to see how it’s made. *Side note, I had a couple people say that this video was not playing on their mobile devices, I have not done anything different but I think you may need to update something, it is playing fine on my computer though, it seems to be only on phones and tablets. Let me know if you can not view this. 🙂

I would love to get a gift wrapped up like this! and I would totally keep the tags for a bookmark (My birthday’s next month…just sayin’) 🙂 I think you could do a similar project for a birthday party too, you can have guests stencil or stamp their names on a bag, add pretties, and the bag can hold party favors…pair that with a homemade pinata and you have a custom party on the cheap! I mentioned a tutorial for making your own spray ink and dauber, it is here. I hope you liked today’s project and that it inspired you to try stamping on cloth. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Ink, Emboss, Sprinkle, Heat, Smear, Spray and Create!

Howdy friends! from the blog post title you can probably guess that we are going to get inky today! But first I want to announce the winner of stamps and a gift certificate to Art Neko (formally About art Accents) congrats to Kimberly E.!!! Check your email for details;) Don’t worry if you did not win, the Garden Friends set it is still on sale and I have another idea for using it in today’s video:

Feel free to adapt this technique to suit your project. You can even just do the inked emboss and call it a day, that is pretty on it’s own. Here is a recap of what we did:

First we did an inked emboss by inking an embossing folder with pigment ink and a brayer and embossing white cardstock. Then we added a little bit of copper, gold, rust and verdigris embossing powder to the embossed panel and heated it with a heat gun. We scribbled metallic green, gold and brown gel sticks to the panel and topped it off with a spritz of homemade shimmer spray ink.

Here is my tutorial on homemade spray ink.

Here is my tutorial on the firm foam blenders for gelatos.

Thanks again to Art Neko for sponsoring this contest, remember to use my coupon code Lindsay10% to save 10% on your non sale rubber! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Fun & Easy Watercolor Butterfly Doily Craft!

Hello friends! The project I am sharing with you tonight will make a great party decoration and craft to make with your kids! And it is affordable using supplies from Papermart. Watch the video to see how it is done:

To make the butterfly I first sprayed the doilies with my homemade spray inks (you can see my homemade ink spray tutorial here🙂 then shaped the doilies into wings. I also used the spray inks to color white raffia ribbon and wrapped it around a marker so it  would be curly when dry. Then I glued glitter on wooden clothespins and let them dry.  The antenna was made from star garland. I clipped the wings, raffia ribbon and star garland antenna together and added googlie eyes and rhinestones and it was done! These can be made in bulk assembly-line style for a party decoration too. Have fun with this project and til next time happy crafting!

Mixed Media Fun: Wax, Watercolor, Stencils, Stamping and Sprays!

Howdy friends. Time again to get out the art journal and have a play! I love working in a spectrum of colors, like the color wheel, putting colors next to their neighbors for really vivid results! The other neat thing is that you can get by with only 3 colors of spray ink and just let them overlap! This quote from Marc Chagall was perfect for this page: All colors are friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites:

That quote means the the colors are pleasant with the surrounding colors on the spectrum but really pop when placed next to their complimentary color, that is the one opposite on the color wheel. Watch the video to learn some techniques with sprays, stencils, markers, stamps, wax and watercolor!

Here is the spread from the beginning of the video, I actually was doing a video of this and ran out of time and I felt that for the amount of techniques I was sharing it should be under 20 minutes…and I am too lazy to edit clips together LOL! Still, more than 20 minutes is a lot to ask you to sit through…in fact 20 is probably bad enough LOL!

Here are close-ups of the pages:

Before I forget I want to mention that I will be posting a giveaway for the most adorable stamps tomorrow, I do hope you check back for a chance to win. If you are afraid that you will forget you can subscribe to my blog (look for the subscription area in the upper left hand column, it’s free) and you will get an email when I post something new. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Honestly, I started to clean but…..

Seriously, I went into my craft room to clean and organize it today but fun projects kept happening! It started when I was trying to wash glitter off my silicone molds and well, if you have ever tried to get glitter off silicone you know. Nothing sticks to silicone except glitter and embossing powder it seems, so to clean it off I covered the mold with hot glue and smashed it down on the most convient scrap of paper (an old book page) but when I lifted it up it was so cool! I had to make something with it…right?

So then I had to pull out some markers, spray ink, paper and envelope templates because you can’t make a card without an envelope right?

What is a girl to do? I know, turn on my video camera (hey it’s still on my table from my last video) and film the madness!

And that is what you call trash to treasure my friends. You’re welcome:) All right, tomorrow I’ll clean, yep, I will clean while the Patriots are on, no distractions…hey, is that glitter over there? I’d better go check, til next time happy crafting!

Homemade Resist Spray {DIY Goosebumps!}

Happy Monday Folks! Last month while I was at the Heirloom show I saw Pat from Technique Junkies make some fun samples using the product Goosebumps. I planned on buying a bottle (Pat did not sell it or I would have got it from her) but then I got too distracted by all of the other goodies at the show and forgot I wanted some. So I decided to see if I could make my own, here is a project made with my homemade version:

Not bad and totally fun! My homemade version does not have texture like the store bought Goosebumps spray but the look is pretty darn close. Watch this quick video for techniques:

Lindsay’s Resist Spray Recipe

1 Tablespoon white glue (non-washable)

1 Teaspoon metallic liquid watercolor or a bit of fine mica powder (optional)

3 ounces water

Place all ingredients into to a spray bottle (with a cap) and shake well before use each time. Make sure to replace the cap when not in use so that the glue won’t dry in the nozzle. Measurements do not need to me exact, if your sprayer will not spray well flush it with water and add more water to the mix. If the spray is too fine add more glue. Use what you have on hand for glue such as Elmers, Mod Podge, tacky glue or whatever.

It is a fun way to make unique backgrounds for a card! 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!