Happy New Year & Blog Candy

Actually, it's still New Year's Eve, but I wanted to get a post in tonight. Later we are going cosmic bowling w/ another family - it's a New Year's Eve party from 10pm - midnight with food and cider! It should be fun, but I know it's going to be crowded and noisy too.

I was just online reading fellow crafter's resolutions for 2009. I have a few resolutions in the back of my head, so maybe by posting I will be more accountable and actually follow through. So here we go:

1. Clean, organize and keep my craft area reasonably clean all year. (already been working on it)
2. Scrap and stamp for my personal satisfaction regularly.
3. Get together w/ my girlfriends once a month to craft and hang out. (starting this Saturday - woo hoo!)
4. Be more purposeful when purchasing new supplies. I have a stash that is crazy! Mostly paper & ribbon ... I seem to have an issue with pretty printed paper and colorful ribbons.
5. Use up my stash!!!

Would you like to share your resolutions? I'll ante up and offer BLOG CANDY for anyone who shares their resolutions by either commenting here, or linking to your blog where you posted resolutions. I'll get a photo of the BLOG CANDY up asap - hopefully by tomorrow.

happy stampin'

Ink storage

I bought a huge custom ink storage piece thinking it might fit in my bedroom corner -- wrong! It's too large and I just can't make it work out -- plus my husband was a little shocked to see it sitting there -- so I have to sacrifice it for $125.00.

It holds 17 stamp pads vertically - and has between 5 and 8 rows. That means you can store between 85-136 stamp pads! There is additional space for reinkers and markers, plus 3 storage drawers along the bottom. You can wall mount or sit on the floor or shelving as I have done.

If you are interested or even curious ... email me for more info.

happy stampin'

Collage Calendar (Video Sunday)

Chica-ify your 2009 calendar! I mean, really ... why not?



happy stampin'

One Word

Last year was the first time I chose a word to designate a theme for the year. I got this idea from Ali Edwards - who shares the motivation behind choosing one word on her blog. It's actually very empowering - I tend to get lost in the daily details, and having a word to focus on has helped me keep a handle on priorities. Last year the word I chose was "Balance." I needed to refocus myself and keep obligations in perspective. I believe it did help, although I must confess to forgetting about my word from time to time during the year.

This year my I hadn't even thought about choosing a word until I was talking with my friend. She already had her word chosen, and me ... not even a thought ... but as we talked I kept thinking one habit that really bothers me is procrastination! I have all this "stuff" I want to do, but realistically I probably can't do it all ... and yet, some of what I could accomplish just gets pushed away until later. When I tried to think of the opposite of procrastinate, I couldn't think of a single word! That's when Dictionary.com came to the rescue! Tonight I found my word: DO! I am going to DO what I plan, and hopefully learn not to overplan for things I just can't physically accomplish (my '08 word Balance will probably come in handy here too. I may have to dust it off from time to time).


Of course, my bff has a great word for this year - if she would like to share it. She also chose a great word last year too - maybe she'll hit us up with both in the comments ... hint, hint. Do you have a word for the year? If so, I would love to hear your word and why you chose it.

happy stampin'

Holiday Frame

Happy Holidays! Christmas day is officially over, but I am lingering in the holiday spirit by staying inside, warm & dry, and avoiding any hint of after Christmas sales!

Today I wanted to show you a frame that I made before Christmas, but just didn't have time to photograph until now. And, I must say, today was a terrible day for photography - it's gray and rainy. But I decided better now than later, so onward we'll press ...

My favorite (besides the photo of my kids) are the FaLaLa letters by Making Memories ... delicious and glittery! I just love them! After looking at the photo, I am going back to add a ribbon on the stamped tag. It looks so naked! (I guess you can tell I am embellishment challenged, it's hard for me to pile it on!)

The frame was unfinished when I bought it. I took Cranberry ink refill (SU!) and thinned it with water and painted it on the wood. Then, after drying, I waxed the finish for a nice subtle sheen. I plan to use this frame each Christmas. I may change out the photos, or I may make a matching frame next year. I'm just not sure yet. There are plenty of options, because the paper is 12x12, so if I decide not to use it again, it can also go in a scrapbook!

You may remember the tag from this post: Santa Tag

happy stampin'

Merry Christmas my friends!

I wish you all a very merry, blessed, overflowing Christmas! May God abundantly bless you and your family in 2009.



happy stampin'

Opportunity!

There is a great opportunity posted on the Spellbinder's blog HERE. Spellbinder's is searching for a new Design Team, and the winner's sound like they will be pampered big time! Hop on over and check out the rules.

happy stampin'

Christmas Tags

I was going to title this post Holiday Tags - but with the controversy over whether it's more appropriate to say Merry Christmas or use the politically correct "Happy Holidays", I decided to go for the politically incorrect approach instead!

These are the tags I worked on over the weekend - and posted a few pictures of them in the last post. Today you'll get a better view, and a few details. I began stamping using Ranger's Distress Vintage Photo ink and the CHF Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock, which is a huge 6x6 inches! It's a beautiful stamp and the large size is very cool. After stamping the image, I spritzed the tags with water which causes the ink to bleed. The tags will curl when wet (see below), but flatten as they dry - or you can hit them with a heat gun after you are satisified with the amount of ink bleed.

After the tags were dry, I stamped the snowflake image from Stampin' Up! Winter Post (gorgeous!) on some of the tags using Memento Rhubarb Stalk.

Continue stamping with additional images until satisfied. This photo was in the last post as well ... sorry for the repeat, but it wouldn't make sense to leave it out (at least in my little brain).

Finish off the tags with ribbon and embellishments. The first tag below has felt ribbon and vanilla hodgepodge hardware from SU! The vanilla didn't work with the manilla tag, so I colored it with Copic markers.

The second set of tags below also have ribbon from SU!, and I popped up Santa's Sleigh and colored it with a clear Spica glitter pen from Copic for a wonderful little sparkle!

And finally - here is my little stamper kittie who helped me make all the tags. And by "helped" I really mean pounced on my hands and played with the tag strings the entire time.

happy stampin'

Stampin' with Scor-pal

Hello everyone, I'm finally back! Did you miss me? Wait ... don't answer that one, lol. Today I want to share a discovery with you. I found that the magnificent Scor-pal has yet another use. Over the weekend I was making a few holiday gift tags and realized the Scor-mat was perfect for cling mount stamping! The stamps held tightly to the surface and it made stamping and switching out images a little faster too. Here are the photos I took to help visually explain what I am talking about, not to mention that I love showing off my pudgy middle-aged hands!

First, I chose a stamp from a fantastic Christmas CHF set called Primitive Christmas. Just pop it down on the reverse side of the Scor-mat and it clings wonderfully! You may notice that the tag has already been stamped with a background image - more about that in my next post.



Ink the image - here I am using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I love the new Memento inks, they give great coverage and vivid color, the smaller Dew Drop pads travel well, plus the ink works great with Copic markers.



Next, stamp the image. I am using manilla shipping tags from Office Depot. I just flipped the tag over and pressed over the stamp with my fingers (this is how I always stamp large images like Scrapblocks or background stamps to get a good impression).

This is the result ... so far:

Since that seemed to work well, I decided to grab an additional image and a fresh tag and try stamping two images simultaneously, like so:

The images were inked with Memento Tuxedo black and Rhubarb Stalk. I rolled the black over the sleigh edge for a little shadow and Voila! Just look what came out below.

I'll have more details and photos of the finished tags in the next post. I really love the tags I made ... what a shame my Christmas wrapping papers don't coordinate at all, lol! Oh well, I guess that means I'll have to wrap some gifts in parcel paper so I can use the tags.

happy stampin'

Quick Christmas Card (Video Sunday)

If you are in a panic because you
a) haven't made Christmas cards yet ... or
b) didn't make enough and need more cards ... or
c) have a snarky relative/friend/neighbor who is bragging about all her handmade projects ... or
d) lost your calendar and forgot that it is almost Christmas!!!

Then today's Video Sunday is perfect for you! Kristina Werner demonstrates a quick, cute Christmas card sure to meet any requirement listed above.



happy stampin'

How to Tie a Bow (Video Sunday)

Kristina shows how to tie a "pretty" bow. You may think this is silly to have a video for tying a bow, but I get more questions about how to tie bows than any other subject. And considering the time of year, we will all probably be tying our share of bows for packages over the next several weeks. Kristina gives several good hints about tying, but I think the key to a good bow is to keep the ribbon as flat as possible so it doesn't twist and turn without you realizing it.



happy stampin'

I am so sorry, I may not have time to post until next week. You see, this is the last week of classes at the college, and the beginning of exams - so my work schedule is just crazy! I'm working late at night (11 pm) in addition to my regular day hours. Thank goodness it's only temporary! Until then I think Sharon Johnson's blog is the perfect place to hang out - she is celebrating all week long and calling it Party Central! Check it out - there is so much to see. Until next week -

happy stampin'