Thoughtful Thursday March 31, 2016

With Stampaganza ending today, I thought this would be an appropriate saying.

How does teaching someone to fish the same as buying stamps?  To me, buying the stamps are the tools you need to create works of art.  You need the right tools to make the process enjoyable and reproducible.  You could come to a workshop and make the project at hand.  You'd "eat" for that day, but you won't be able to reproduce the workshop without the stamps.  So go purchase your stamps!  Use the skills you learned at the workshop to replicate it.  You'll be happy as will the person you give your creation(s) to (even if that's you)! ... babbling now...

So take another look at the quote...  Do you see the error?!  The funny thing about this is that I got it from an Education and Learning Portal.  Still don't see the error?  There is no apostrophe between the "n" and "t" of "Don't".  I guess someone should have been given an editor!  : )

Happy last day of March!!

2016 Stampaganza Winding Down

Tomorrow is the last day to order and get your stamp sets free!  Don't miss out on this opportunity.  It's a great opportunity if you want to recreate any of the cards from April's card workshop - Selfie Card Workshop.  I used several different stamp sets to complete the project...

If I were to buy all 6 sets, it would cost me $107.70 + tax and shipping = $125.56!  If I were to buy these stamp sets this month, it would cost me $79.8 + tax & shipping = $94.74.  That's a savings of $30.82, or another D sized stamp set (including tax and shipping).  In other words, it's a savings of 25%.

Some important things about these particular stamp sets.  Not all of them will be available to purchase come August 1, 2016.  Wavy Blooms and Feathers are retiring.

D1646 Finding the Words 

D1651 Wavy Blooms

C1605 Happy to Be Friends

C1584 Feathers

E1030 Handwritten Print

B1484 Jennifer's Hand

Go.  Shop.  Now!  Be happy that you did!!  You only have until 10:59 pm Pacific Time.

Fabulous Fifteen In Progress

Here is the basic layout from Cherish's Fabulous Fifteen two-page layout.  I still want to distress the Pixie paper and add embellishments still.

This is Lindsey's birthday party from a few years ago.  It was an itty bitty party.  Bitty cakes (made from cookies).  The girls' hats are snow cone holders.  They made mini bouquets of flowers from pretzels and gummies.  I'll show you more details when I'm finished with the layout.

I could call it finished (after journaling and a title).  This came together pretty easily thanks to the How-to books.  In the front of the book, there is a quick reference guide that notes how many pictures you can use on the layout.  Flip to the page, cut papers and photos... done to where I am now!  It's all about the tools, scrappers!

Love Your Selfie Workshop

I've been hard at work on another mega card workshop.  I'm pleased with the resulting 25 cards made from the Picture My Life - Love Your Selfie scrapbooking program.  I hope you will be too!

I'm offering this as a workshop on Monday April 18th and Wednesday April 20th from 7 to 9pm. Cost will be $45 for the 25 cards and envelopes.  That's less than $2 a card... maybe I should charge more?!   Hopefully everyone will finish within that time frame.  If not, you'll go home with instructions.  : )  Please let me know by Thursday March 31st if you'll be coming.

If you can't come, are not local to San Diego, and/or would like the Cut Files and Assembly Instructions, just make a purchase on my website of $15 or more (subtotal), and I will email you the files.

Thoughtful Thursday 3/24/2016

Easter is just around the corner... I can't believe it!!

Found this and had to share - brings me back to my childhood.  : )

Growing up I'd start with the ears and work my way down.  What about you?  Funny thing is that I don't eat them as an adult.  I guess I have a more discerning pallet?!

Stampaganza Just Got Better

Just in case you've procrastinated in your Stamp Set purchase frenzy, this stamp set may push you over the top.  : )

This stamp set is available only through the end of March.  What better set to use for scrapbooking your Hawaii trip?  How about a stay-cation?  Or whale watching - don't you see dolphins too?  I'm going to Costa Rica in the fall... I need this set to document that paradise!

Another reminder that all Cricut Compatible sets from past idea books will be discontinued as of July 31, 2016.  : (  Check out what's available before they're gone!  There are over 100 stamp sets waiting for your love!

And everything from the Seasonal Expressions 1 will be retiring April 30, 2016.

There are just too many reasons not to make a stamp set purchase before March 31, 2016 (11pm Pacific time).  Buy two and get a third one free (of course restrictions apply)!

"I like you a Latte" Artiste Gift Bag

"I like you a latte".  What a fun saying to go along with a picture of a coffee mug.  That's exactly what this sample shows.
Cut from the Artiste Collection (Z3170) on page 79, using Crystal Blue cardstock.  It's as big as it gets (using a standard 12" x 12" mat) - 8.7" high (11.5" wide).  The finished size is 5.25" high, just over 3.5" wide, and just shy of 2" in depth.

The panel measures 3" x 3.5" for the Peacock cardstock; the White Daisy is 2.75" x 3.25".  The banners are from the Penelope Paper Pack (X7207B) - very vibrant colors - Thistle, Pear, Crystal (also Honey and Pixie).  The Thistle banner is 0.75" x 2", the polka dot one is 0.5" x 1.25", and the Pear banner is 0.5" x 1.75".  The Pear is butted up against the Thistle banner.

Treats of Friendship stamp set (C1616) loans the coffee cup and saying, both stamped with Black ink.  The cup was colored with Watercolor Paints (Z3132).  But because I used regular Black ink, I was careful to avoid the lines.  It would be safer to use StazOn (Z888) or Archival Black Ink (44751).

What colors did I use?

The cup is #4
The lid is #19
The band and bean are #29
The circle is #32
and the band on the lid is #30 (not much water)

The cup is mounted with 3D foam.  And the bag is finished with Thistle Extra Thick Twine (Z3040).

I think you could throw a coffee gift card inside along with some mints or chocolate.



Treats of Friendship set includes a cup of tea... here, let me show you the stamp set.  The tag can be cut from the Artbooking Collection.

You could add some tea bags to the bag if you used the cup.  If you wanted to use the donut, you could put a gift card to a donut shop inside.  Or any type of gift card, for that matter.  A couple of donut holes would fit in the bag...









By the way, this stamp set will be retiring at the end of July 2016.  If you'd like it, this month is a great month to purchase it.  Remember, the Buy Two, Get One Free is happening until the end of March 2016.

Thoughtful Thursday 3/17/2016

This one is an easy thought for the day!

Have a wonderfully green day!!

Tigger and Lucy

We have officially two new members of the household - Tigger and Lucy.

They both are very sweet dogs.  It seems like Lucy is younger because she is constantly trying to grab something to chew or tear up.  I guess her name is appropriate - always in trouble!

Tigger

Lucy

He is about 50 pounds while she is only about 40 pounds.  We are trying to fatten her up a bit.  They get along very well together.  : )

Cardaholics New Technique Challenge - Bokeh

This month's card exchange challenge was to use a new technique.  I've been eyeing the Bokeh technique for quite some time and thought this was the perfect time to pull the trigger.  Bonus was I found a card on Pinterest that I really liked and modified.  I have to say that Pinterest is amazing.  This card post is from August 4, 2014, and it's still circulating.  I can't remember if this is the site I learned the technique or not...

Anyway, here is the card I made.  : )

The technique in a nut shell.  Watercolor Paper (Z3146), Watercolor Paints (Z3132) and Paintbrush Set (Z3188), All-Purpose Mat (Z2045), water, Craft Heater (Z555), White Daisy Pigment Ink (Z2163), Sponge (Z697), stencil (traditionally circles, but I used balloons instead).

Cut your paper 0.5" larger (for both dimensions) than your finished size!  I found out the hard way my first try - I wasted some paper!!.  And I'm going to confess here that it took me some time to purchase the All-Purpose Mat, but am SOOO glad I did!  The mat saves your work surface for a project like this, and cleans quickly and easily.

You are going to tape around all the edges of your paper.  I used Washi tape rather than going to the garage and hunting for painters' tape.  This is why you want your paper 0.5" larger than your finished project (where the tape is will remain white - and it won't blend right if you try to paint after removing the tape - remember, I figured this part out the hard way).

Once you're taped, use your brush and spread water over the project piece.  Be generous. Next are the water colors.  I chose blue (#13) and yellow (#36).  With water, I picked up some yellow and placed it on the water soaked paper.  Some of the paint bled, and some didn't.  I put that on the paper in diagonal streaks.  After cleaning my brush, I picked up the blue and put it down next to the yellow.  If my paper was getting dry, I added more water to the area.  It didn't matter if paint was already down, I added more water so it would blend together.  Where the two colors came together are the green parts in the picture above.  Don't worry if the paper is wavy, it can be corrected (if need be).

Blue #13 (second row) and Yellow #36 (last on the right)

You may need/want to go back and add more yellow or blue to the project.  Or more water.  Once you are happy with the look, you need to let it dry.  You can do this by walking away for at least a half an hour, or you can grab your craft heater and help the process along (this is what I did).

After it is dry, it's time to apply the White Pigment ink over the watercolor background.  What I read was having different sizes was ideal.  My balloons were cut at 1.5" and 1".  How did I do that?!  I used my Cricut Explore to cut them out at different sizes.  : )  The larger stencil, the lighter the pigment was applied.  I made the two sized balloons overlap sometimes too.  Then I finished the effect with a pencil eraser (those are the small circles).  I used my craft heater to set the pigment ink (instead of letting it air dry). And that's Bokeh!

For this card, I cut the finished Bokeh watercolor paper down to 5.5", and then cut 0.5", 0.75", 0.5" for the three strips.  I cut them in that order so that when I'd adhere them to the card front, the pigmented balloons would come back together.  I made several cards for the exchange, being careful to cut in that order and then keeping the strips together.  Remember that if you are mass producing cards and you want to maintain the continuity of the strips.

After I adhered the strips to the front of the card, I stamped Happy Birthday (Finding the Words D1646).

When I cut the balloons for the stencils, I cut some out for the front of the card too.  Using Design Space, I removed the highlight from the balloon image by right clicking the balloon and choosing "Hide Contours".  Click the area you want removed and then click away from the image.  No more highlight.  Those balloons were cut to the specification (1.75") of the coordinating stamp set - ARTISTE COLLECTION (Z3170).  One balloon I cut out from White Daisy cardstock and stamped on it with Crystal Blue (Z2117), while the second balloon I cut out from Pear Paper Fundamental (Adventure packet - Z3125).

The Pear balloon was adhered directly to the card front.  I then placed the Crystal Blue balloon where I wanted it and stamped the balloon string.  I then put 3-D Foam Tape on the balloon and repositioned it to look seamless.

The final step was to add the (retired) blue and green epoxy bubbles.  Current items to use would be the Enamel & Glitter Duos - Blue Dots (Z3122) and Clear Sparkles (Z1752)

Thoughtful Thursday 3/10/16

I find this an interesting quote. There are all sorts of applications for it.  

This morning I thought of it in an alternative way. Since Dec 13th I've had nothing (in terms of dogs only)... We will be adopting the two dogs we've been fostering, thus giving me everything (again, dogs only). I'll tell you what, they are trying my patience (having everything)!! I know they are young, and with time, they will calm down... I would really like that time to happen NOW, though! : )

They get two walks a day because they get spastic in the afternoon. And they are nibblers. I'm constantly telling Lucy "no", then "NO", and then "Drop it" for whatever she got her mouth on. I know it will change soon, and "I'll miss these times" - actually, no, I don't think I will.

What about you? How are you defined?

Look to the Idea Book for Inspiration

I really enjoy using our Embossing Folder Deffusers (there is a square one and a circular one).  I've used the circular one with this card.  If you've looked through the Annual Inspirations idea book, it might look familiar to you.  It's on page 117, although these colors are different.

I made this card for a card exchange in January where the challenge was embossing.  The background is Sangria (X7199B), the stamp set is Blossoming Expressions (D1665), the Embossing folder is Confetti (Z3118), the Circle Embossing Diffuser (Z3096), gold foil tape (Z3129), and Black Shimmer Trim (1809) round out the card supplies.  That's not including the 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151), Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060), nor the Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors (Z1836) I used for the flowers.  Shoot, I also used Black ink (Z2015) for the saying;  light flowers - Cotton Candy (Z2193) with Pixie (Z2644); leaves - Topiary (Z2155) with Fern (Z2650); and large flower - Ruby (Z2170) and Cranberry (Z2116).

Now that that's out of the way... I cut the White Daisy cardstock to 5.25" x 4"to allow for the Sangria (5.5" x 4") background to show.  To emboss, the Diffuser is used instead of an embossing plate.  I positioned the hole of the diffuser where I didn't want the cardstock to be embossed.  I hope that makes sense...  The Diffuser is a plate that has a circular (or square) hole in it.  The area where the hole is will NOT be embossed.

On a separate scrap piece of White Daisy cardstock, I stamped the flowers and leaves.  Those were subsequently cut out, and arranged around the saying.  The Shimmer Tape and Foil Tape were added for sparkle and shine.

I thought I'd show you the card this one was modeled after.  : )

With this card, the embossed area was raised off the background.  The Embossing Folder used here is Scallop (Z3021) with the Square Diffuser (Z3097).  Grey Enamel Gems (Z3089) accent the flowers.

I also thought you'd like seeing the Confetti Embossing Folder without the Diffuser.  It's a fun folder!  The stamp set here is So Many Smiles (C1619).

Artiste's Cricut Collection - Rectangular Box revisited

Some time ago, I made this rectangular box, and I told you it would look good in Sangria!  I couldn't help but make them with both sides of the paper.  : )

Don't they look very different?  Same paper and same colors!

Let's look a little deeper, shall we?!

The boxes themselves are 11.5" in WIDTH (which in turn makes the height 10.85" by default) and can be found on page 44 in Artiste Collection (Z3170) Booklet.

The speech bubbles are cut at 1.75" (as per the holder) and can be found on page 65.  They are stamped with Cocoa ink (Z2114).  The stamp is one from the Collection, by the way.  And there are other very suitable choices.

The flowers and leaves are from the Art Philosophy Collection (Z3171).  The smaller flower is on page 39 and is cut at 1.5" while the larger flower is on page 29 and is cut at 2".  The leaves are cut at 1", found on page 59, and cut out of Fern cardstock (X5777).  I chose not to stamp them, but there is a leaf stamp in the Pretty Petals set that you can use.

On to assembling the boxes...  All of the leaves and the speech bubble are adhered directly to the box.  The smaller flower is mounted with Thin 3-D Foam tape (Z2060) and the larger flower is mounted with 3-D Foam tape (Z1151).  Having the different heights adds dimension to the project.  I like to adhere the decorations before I fold everything so I have a flat surface to work with, so I did that before moving to the next step.

I like to use our Base and Bling Adhesive Strips (Z1904) for constructing the 3-dimensional projects (in my experience this is the best thing to use).  The double-sided strip adhesive is super strong, and they can be cut to length easily.  There are four places that need this adhesive (you'll understand when you cut it out).

And that's where the two boxes' similarities end.  So let's look at the one on the left first.


 Instead of stamping the flower with Pretty Petals stamp set, I cut the flowers out using our Paper Fundamentals.  It's hard to see that the Eggplant flower has some texture to it (small squares).  I could have used the other side which would have shown the white squares.  Similarly, the smaller flower is cut using Pomegranate paper.  This time I used the back side and the double chevron shows.  The papers are very rich from this Enchantment (Z3126) Paper Packet.  You get 2 sheets of each of 10 colors - in this case, Eggplant, Sapphire, Peacock, New England Ivy, Fern Saffron, Goldrush, Poppy, Pomegranate, and Ruby.

The box is finished with Sequins from the Gold Sequins packet (Z2012).  The flowers got double sized sequins.

The flowers were cut from Colonial White cardstock.  I chose the "darker" of the whites because of the Sangria paper.  The tones within the paper call for the Colonial White.

The Pretty Petals stamp set (C1599 - and only available through July 31, 2016) was used for the flowers.  The larger flower was stamped using Poppy (Z2652) ink while the smaller flower was stamped in Eggplant (Z2647) ink.

This box was finished with the Red Enamel Gems (Z3090) at various places.





And there you have it!  Put a little treat inside, give it away, and brighten someone's day.  : )

Stampaganza 2016 is Here!

What better time to stock up on stamp sets than this month?!  Buy any two My Acrylix® stamp sets (M-, A-, B-, C-, D-, or E-size) at full retail price and get a third stamp set of equal or lesser value FREE! That is a savings of up to $29.95! This offer is only available during March, so start submitting your stamp orders now, and let the Stampaganza begin!

Are there any My Acrylix® stamps that will not be eligible for this promotion? Yes. Workshops on the Go® stamp sets, stamp sets included in Cricut® Collections,  Operation Smile™ stamp sets, Hostess Rewards stamp sets, and Stamp of the Month stamp sets (both discounted and full-priced) will not be eligible for this promotion (either as the qualifying full-priced stamp set or as the free stamp set).

Which stamp sets will be eligible for Stampaganza 2016? All M-, A-, B-, C-, D-, and E-size My Acrylix® stamp sets currently available for purchase (excluding stamp sets outlined above) are eligible for this campaign. The free stamp set will be determined by which other stamp sets are on the order. The lowest priced stamp set(s) will always be calculated as the free item(s).

For instance: You would like the following six sets of stamps: 

1 A-size 

1 B-size 

1 D-size 

3 E-size 

You will receive the A-size and B-size stamp sets for free. Note that even though you ordered three E-size stamp sets, you will still receive the A-size and B-size sets for free because these are the two lowest-priced stamp sets on the entire order.

Will shipping/handling be charged on this promotion? Yes. Normal Shipping/handling rates will be charged for this campaign. Shipping/handling rates are based on the full retail price of all items, including free items. 

Will tax be charged on this promotion? Tax is assessed on the actual amount the customer pays for the item. No tax is charged for free items in the US.

Are there specific stamp sets I should purchase?  CTMH's policy for stamp sets has changed. Stamp sets will only be available when they are pictured in an active idea book. Under this policy, stamp sets featured in the Annual Inspirations idea book will remain available for the year-long duration of that idea book, while stamp sets featured in Seasonal Expressions books will retire when the Seasonal Expressions book retires, like the other items featured in these books.

This policy will include stamp sets with Cricut®-compatible images. When we first introduced our Cricut® collections and their compatible stamp sets, it made sense to keep these stamp sets available in order to create a more robust collection of stamp sets with compatible images. With a larger number of Cricut®-compatible stamp sets in each idea book, it makes sense to allow the older sets to retire and to focus on the newer stamp sets.

The new policy for our My Acrylix stamp sets is now in effect, meaning that stamp sets featured in Seasonal Expressions 1 will be retired at the end of that idea book on April 30, 2016. Stamp sets featured in Annual Inspirations 2015–2016 and any other stamp sets that are currently available but are not pictured in any active idea books will be retired on July 31, 2016, with a few exceptions. The exceptions are the States & Provinces stamp sets, the Australia & New Zealand stamp sets, and a handful of other stamp sets that will be carrying forward to a future idea book.

So GO SHOPPING NOW!  Please join the Stampaganza 2016 gathering in the lower right.

Thoughtful Thursday 3/3/2016

This certainly isn't true for every man, let alone every woman.  Either way, I think this is pretty funny!  How about you?!