Eat Cake

Hi all!

Ahhh more snow days!  The Washington DC Metro area just can't handle the slightest bit of snowfall.  So we have had a couple days off.  Pezza has enjoyed some extra lazing around the house with her extended Winter break.

While she was off at a playdate I enjoyed some studio time.  I made myself a King Cake Latte, turned on some Downton Abbey and set to work!

I am always getting caught unprepared when Pezza gets invited to birthdya parties so I got several gift cards to keep on hand and wanted to make some gift card holders.  You may remember the ones I made for Christmas.  It is one of my all time favorite Cricut cuts - you can find it on the Fabulous Finds cartridge.  I chose to leave the gift card attached to its little sleeve and made the holder larger than usual which gave me more space to work with so I cut it at 6".

The sketch AND the color scheme are both challenges on SCS (Splitcoast Stampers) this week.  Eyelets were also on SCS (see my layout yesterday) and since they were still on my desk and turned out so nicely I decided to use them again!

My stamped image is from an old set exclusive to the store I used to have - Chocolate Treats 1 by Polkadot Pie.  I am pretty sure I still have a set or two left if you would like to get one!  Just let me know.  I colored it with Lyra Polycolor colored pencils.  Sentiment is Studio G as always!

I also couldn't wait to try out my newest toy - I have bought very little in the last few years but I really wanted one of the cool Spellbinders borders I came across so of course I contacted my buddy Terri at Stampsalive and she hooked me up!  She has really good prices!

This is what it looks like when you pull out the gift card insert - cool right?

I am including this project in the following challenges:

• Bitten By the Bug 2 - Favorite Cricut Cut
• Stampin' Royalty - Birthdays
• ABC Challenge - Anything Goes

Scrapping Christmas past

Hi all!

And so begins the snow days....I scrolled through the posts on FB of moms rejoicing to children sleeping in - Pezza was up at 5:10 today!  She told me yesterday she wants to make craft videos again like she did when she was small - I doubt anyone reading this will remember the days of Pezza Way videos and her guest spot on Tim Holtz's blog at the age of 3...The problem is that she is 8 now so they probably won't be as funny/popular.  Not to mention I have no following left to watch them!  Though I recently signed in to my YouTube account for the first  time in years and was surprised to see people still watch all my videos!  Maybe I will make some too.  I have a hard time thinking of ideas - seems everything has been done to death but then I watched a scrapper's video for the first time who is insanely popular.  It was literally a video of her glueing her stuff to her page and people were falling all over themselves with adoration and appreciation so maybe I am selling myself short?

ANYWAY, I scrapped yesterday!  I have been determined to get back in my studio.  I am currently working on kicking the last of the meds I was prescribed for post partum depression - that shit is NO JOKE!  The withdrawals are scary.  The last one took a total of 1 1/2 years to get through.  This one has more severe withdrawals and should take about a year.  So I am trying to be aware and take care of myself and one of the ways I do that is through being creative in my studio.  AND HEY, catching up on my scrapbooking really would be a great thing!

I have been selected to host one of the scrapbooking challenges over on Splitcoast Stampers so I have been getting myself plugged back in over there, especially with the scrappers.  It is a much smaller community than the card makers so if you are a scrapper PLEASE come join us!  We need more folks!

As I sit here looking at the photo I am realizing the date should actually be 2008 UGH!  Luckily an easy fix....  Pretty sure anyway.  BUT the good news is this is the last 2008 layout I have, then I have 3 for 2009 and I will be on to 2010.  Not terribly bad....  I have quite a number of layouts done for more recent years too so I am not too badly behind.  On Splitcoast there is a goals for 2015 thread where people are talking about how many pages they want to get done this year and most of them number into the hundreds.  I have all my pics sorted so I counted them up and I have 64 mostly 2 page spreads I would like to get done.  (We will not discuss my wedding pics still not in an album....)

The challenge I used for this layout on SCS (Splitcoast Stampers) was the stashbusters challenge.  We had 3 things we had to use - a frame, a die cut and eyelets.  EYELETS!??!?!  ACK!  How old school is that?  I nearly skipped it but then I said NOPE I am doing it.  And I even remembered how to use my crop a dile!  And guess what?  I like the eyelets - can you see them above the holly?  cute right?  The holly came from an SVG cut file from My Scrap Chick and I did the numbers in MTC too.  I use a Black Cat Cutter for my SVGs - love it.

I usually cut all of my stuff out of solid paper and then I see people use patterned paper for their cuts and I think Oh I love that!  Well this time I remembered too!  Actually I couldn't find the solid paper that went with these CTMH patterned ones and THEN I remembered how much I like cuts using patterned paper.

Additional challenges for this layout:

• Clear it Out - Anything Goes
• Crafting When We Can - Anything but a Card

I also have a couple Scrap Wrap albums for sale.  I have been using these for years and they are amazing.  However Pezza does not like the patterns on these two :P

This one has lots of glitter on the fairies which did not show up well in the photo - super cute right!??!  They have 25 pages in them and you can easily order refills too.  The other one I did not take a picture of yet is sports themed - all sorts of small sports balls across it - I can take a photo if anyone is interested.

They pages are held in by super strong velcro and these things are indestructable.  Pez has dragged them around for years!

These are mine so you can see the spine of them - see how totally expandable they are?  Yea the one on the right is a bit full....

They retail for $45 but I am selling them for $30 plus shipping.  Let me know if you want one!

Tutorial Time! Misty tags.

Hi all!

Well, we still have no baby.  My poor son and his girlfriend.  They have been sent home 3 times from the hospital in the last week.  Poor thing, Jess thinks she is feeling bad now and having contractions and discomfort but I think she doesn't realize just how bad it's going to get!  Those babies just take their time sometimes!

Meanwhile, in crazy Christmas-ing....

Anyone else still wrapping gifts???  I have a way to go but at least they are mostly purchased at this point.  AND I have the ones I need to ship all boxed up and ready to go so that's good.  I thought I would give you another tutorial for tags today in case you need a few more!

Aren't they pretty?!  These are easy to do using my MOST favorite Shimmering product on the market - Primary Elements Artist Pigment Powders.  Why are these my favorite?  Several reasons - The colors are brilliant and beautiful.  The shimmer is fantastic.  And most importantly, the immense versatility.  These powders are the base for ALL shimmering types of mediums and if you are like me when you want something you want one of EVERY color!  But the cost and storage can make that difficult so with Primary Elements powders I have gorgeous shimmering mists, paints, gels, anything I want.  It just depends on what I add the powders to.  This tutorial will show you just 2 of the MANY ways you can use these!

First, lets make a shimmering mist.  To do this you will need a mister of water, Gum Arabic - powder or liquid works, Primary Elements powder and a little scoop of some sort.  Gum arabic can be purchased in the art supply section of a craft store or online at Dick Blick and other places.

Add equal amounts of Gum Arabic and Primary Elements to the mister of water.  You can see above about how much to add.

Now mist your tags.  There are 2 ways you can do this.  On the left I sprayed the mist on to my craft sheet and laid the tag down in the puddle, lifted it, turned it, laid it down again and repeated this until I was happy with the color.  For this red tag I used Poppy Red, a great color at Christmas because the shimmer is gold - I love red and gold at Christmas!  For the tag on the right I just misted generously directly on to the tag.  This gives a more even coverage of both the red color and the gold shimmer.

Want to step it up a notch?  Grab a stencil.  I placed the stencil over the tag on the right and misted - do this lightly and at a bit of a distance so it is crisp.  Then I lifted the stencil and immediately laid it face down onto the tag on the left for a reverse, looser version.  This color is a newer one called Vintage Mint - just gorgeous!

Now grab a second stencil, something with a bit smaller design and we are going to do a tone on tone effect using the same color Primary Elements and Gel Medium.

Put some Gel Medium on a craft mat and then scoop out some Primary Elements and mix them together really well.  Place your stencil over your tag and smooth the colored Gel Medium like you would icing on a cake.  The less you mess with it the less likely it is to smear underneath.

Finish them off with ribbons, die cuts, a sentiment or however you like!

The Gel Medium gives it a neat, subtle dimension that really adds to the effect.

These are such a pretty addition to your holiday packages.

I truly love my collection of Primary Elements and consider them some of my most worthy expenditures in my studio and I bet you will love them too!  Check out the full range of gorgeous colors at ColourArte!

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I am entering these tags in the following challenges:

• Fussy & Fancy - Snowflakes & Ribbon
• Crafty Creations - Something to Die For
• Clear It Out - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes Festive
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Holiday Blitz Anything Goes
• Card Mania - Christmas
• Crafty Cardmakers - Christmas

Flaky Cards!

Hi all!

It's Christmas crunch time!  I have reached the point where things I wanted to do for Christmas start falling off my list as I realize I do NOT have enough time to do it all if I also want to sleep between now and Christmas day!  We did manage to get the tree up but only 1 big tree and Pezza's little mini tree "forest".  Less to take down and put away later right?  With hubby being in fire school 2 nights a week plus Saturdays AND duty crew AND working the fire dept.'s Christmas tree lot plus a Trevor and Jess's baby on the way, Hollyn's gymnastics and girl scouts, my PTO and other school related duties and my constant state of exhaustion for no reason whatsoever some things had to give.  However, I HAVE enjoyed making some Christmas cards though and have another set for y'all today.

Did y'all see the tutorial on stamping with Twinks & Silks HERE?  It's a great way to create stunning pieces quickly and easily.

I used the same stamps & techniques for these 2 sets of cards as I did for the tags in the tutorial.

Here are some close ups.

The subtle shimmer is gorgeous

Pairing Twinks & Silks with your red rubber stamps is a perfect match!  I will have another tutorial up for you tomorrow for more gift tags.  This one will feature my most favorite of the shimmery ColourArte products - Primary Elements Artist pigments.

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I am entering the following challenges:

• Chocolate Coffee & Cards - Christmas
• Craft for the Craic - Favorite Christmas Colors
• Crafts 4 Eternity - Christmas
• Crafty Catz - Last minute Christmas
• Addicted to Stamps - Snowflakes
• Pile It On - Anything Goes Christmas

Tutorial Time! Shimmering Snowflake Tags

Hi all!

Pezza is in gymnastics twice a week, there is a small waiting area lined with chairs for parents & siblings.  I am sitting there and there is another mom whose daughter is in Pezza's class who sits down with her older son.  She proceeds to have him take off his shoes and socks and begins checking him while telling him she is checking him for hand foot & mouth disease because his cousins have it and she is sure he does too. WTF!!!???!!  So as soon as class is over and we are in the car I tell Pez she needs to take a shower immediately.  She wants to know how the disease could be spread and I explain it is transmitted through body fluid so if the girl laughed and got spit on the mat and Pez put her hand in it and touched her eye it could be transmitted.  She was quiet for a few minutes and then I hear eveil laughter and she says Well!  One good thing that would come of getting the disease.  I could just walk up and cough on my enemies and BOOM they're out of school!  UMMMMM....seriously?  We went straight to bio-terrorism?  At the age of 8?  Scary girl this one.....

Anyway, I am back with another tutorial for you today!  They were inspired by the following challenges:

• Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Christmas
• Craft for the Craic - Favorite Christmas Colors
• Crafts 4 Eternity - Christmas
• Fussy & Fancy - Snowflakes & Ribbon

Aren't these tags pretty?  Well they're quick & easy too!

You just need a few items - your tags, 2 stamps (need to be red rubber - clear won't work), Twinkling H2Os, Silks Acrylic Glaze, paint brush and die cuts.  It is helpful to pick out the Twink color first and add a bit of clean water to begin softening the paint.

We are going to begin by stamping with the larger stamp using the Twinks.  Notice how thick the paint is in the picture above.  You want it nice and thick BUT don't load that much paint on the brush when you paint it onto the stamp.  You want to brush the Twinks onto the stamp thinly - try to avoid pooling the paint.  You almost won't be able to see the paint.  Work quickly but you don't need to feel panicky!  After you brush on the Twinks hold the stamp at a distance and mist lightly, then stamp onto your paper.

This technique can be tricky - some stamps work better than others.  I suggest testing it out on a scrap paper first.  Also you can "ghost stamp - if you mist the stamp again you can stamp it again and get a slightly different effect.

Next we are going to use the second stamp with the Silks.  Stamping with Silks is a bit different.

 Spread a small amount of Silks onto a non-stick surface in a thin layer.  Dab your stamp into the paint a few times and stamp onto your paper.

Add a few die cuts or embellishments to finish off the piece.  I love the way the 2 different paints shimmer in different ways - this adds interest to the overall piece.

Grab a set of each and start playing!  The best part?  You can stock up on Twinks RIGHT NOW for 25% off in this weekends flash sale!  This means the Twinks are only $3.23 each!!!  Grab a bunch on ColourArte while you can - the flash sale ends tomorrow!

Twinkling Cards

Hi all!

Today I have a set of cards for you.  Did you see my tutorial on Twinkling H2O washes yesterday?  Check it out - Twinks.

I was inspired by the following challenges:

• Splitcoast Stampers - Sketch
• House Of Cards - Photo Inspiration
• Milk Coffee - Christmas with Nontraditional Colors

I love this technique.  It looks awesome and is so quick, easy and foolproof.

The die cuts were done on my Cricut.

This color Twink is called Beachhouse Blue and you can get it in the Nantucket Mist 6 piece mini collection on Amazon!

Look at that shimmer!  Have you used Twinks lately?  Leave me a link to your last Twinks project so I can check it out!

Twinkling Tag Tutorial

Hi all!

We are currently hiding from the flu over here.  Kevin has been down for 3 days now and sick as a dog!  He has been banned from the rest of the house and is stuck upstairs in our bedroom and his office.  Jessica is due to have her baby Christmas Eve so she could have it any day now and I really don't want her to have flu too!  NOT good for the baby.  So when he goes in the bedroom I Lysol the hell out of the office and when he is in the office I Lysol the bedroom.  He started Tamiflu yesterday so hopefully the rest of us will escape unscathed....

Despite the constant Lysoling I HAVE had some time to play my studio and I have a little tutorial for you using Twinkling H2Os!  It WAS going to be a video tutorial but I lost the cord that connects to my laptop so that was out!

These tags are also for the following challenges:

• ABC Challenge - Y is for Yuletide
• All Crafts Challenge - Anything Goes - no cards
• Craftin' Desert Divas - Christmas
• Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Anything But A Card
• A Crafty Mess - Traditional Christmas Colors
• Pile It On - Anything Goes Christmas

Now let me show you how easy it is to add some sparkle to your projects!

You'll need to gather a few things - this technique is done using gorgeous shimmering Twinkling H2Os - ever heard of them?  Gorgeous pots of hard cake watercolor paint with LOADS of shimmer and beautiful color.  Start by adding some water to the Twinks you will be using - I use a syringe or dropper and just make a bit of a puddle and then let it sit while you gather other things.

This will work best on watercolor paper - mine is cold press so it has some texture which I like.  Cut it to the final size you want to use on your tag or card.  You will also need a focal piece - die cuts work nicely, 1-2 background stamps and a soft neutral color like the Sahara Sand VersaMagic Dew Drop from Tsukineko I used here.  You will also need a paintbrush and fresh clear water.

We are going to begin our background with the Twinks.  The puddle of water should have softened the paint into a nice goopey puddle sort of the consistency of honey or slightly thinner.  If it is super thick add a bit more water.  Before you add paint to your paper use your brush and wet the paper with clear water.  Then add Twinks, a little at a time, in a loose stroke-y fashion where you wet the paper beforehand.  Some areas will be darker with more paint and others will be lighter and more watery.  Play with the amount of paint and water until you are happy with the look.  Use both paint and water sparingly, if you get too much blot with a paper towel.  At this point you can also mist the paper with water and the Twinks will fade even more around the edges for a watery loose look.  The shimmer will be more noticeable where the paint is thicker.  Let dry or use a heat gun.

Now take the ink pad (this is why I really LOVE dew drops) ink up your background stamp (the music in my example) in spots, not completely and stamp it on to your DRY paper.  If you have a second stamp (the pine tree flourish) ink it up and stamp it too.

 And that's all there is to it!  Simply add your focal piece/embellishment/die cut and you're done!  Below is another one I made using ornaments and one in blue using snowflakes.

The camera doesn't quite catch the immense sparkle but you can catch it a little bit.

I love my Twinks!  Do you have some you need to pull back out and put to use?  If not then I highly recommend them!  You can get them on Amazon!  If you try this technique out do come let me know - I would love to visit your blog and see it.  Tune in tomorrow - I will be posting some cards using this same technique!