I spent part of the day doing more embossing research, then went online and bought some things I’ll need for the video.  I swear this video will be at least an hour by the time I cover everything that is important.

Then I decided to clean out my summer clothes and got rid of a ton of ones that no longer fit.  I still have more to go through, but at least I’ve made a little dent in the project.  I love organizing but sometimes just don’t have the energy to do it.

But here’s the big accomplishment of the day.  There is an introduction video that most YouTube channels have on their home page that explains their channel, and I’ve never made one.  I’m not sure why I never made one, but recently I’ve had a few people ask me about my hands and I don’t know why, but thought if I went over everything in my first video, that I’d never have to talk about my arthritis again.  I’m pretty naïve that way, so decided I should make the video.  It’s not horrible, but Rich thought he might want to try editing the background around me and make some kind of interesting backdrop.  If he can make something fun out of the outside brick wall of our house, more power to him.  It was such a nice day, I thought it would be nice to sit on our covered patio and record the video. Naturally, the entire neighborhood thought it was the perfect time to mow their grass, so we had to wait until most of them had finished, otherwise, you’d have really only heard lawn mowers and not me talking.
I’ve seen some pretty impressive videos, but mine is just like everything else I do.  I explain the channel and talk about the mistakes I make and the fun I have in fixing them.  If that doesn’t make people want to jump on my channel, nothing will, haha..

I spent the day doing research on embossing powders and the mistakes that we make, the best end results, and types and makes of powders.  I’m afraid this video could be longer than the one I did on wet glues.. LONG.  I might end up making it into segments, because some parts require demonstrations and I would want to heat set the powders so newer crafters can really get the feel for how long it takes to heat set an image.  Of course some images, like sentiments, only take seconds to melt, while backgrounds can take upwards of a minute.  These are the things that make a big difference to someone who has no idea how long to heat or when enough is enough.

I’m not sure what to expect when I tackle embossing powders, but I do know this.  In order to do this properly, it’s going to take some time.  While watching other crafters make videos about embossing powders, they used terms that I know a newer crafter would not understand.  Things like resists and mixed media.  I really believe that if I am going to tackle this properly, it’s going to require a lot more research.  The techniques that can be done with embossing powders can be a segment unto themselves.  The bottom line is this.  I have more research to do and then I’ll start experimenting.  I have an idea how long the research will take, but the experiments might take a long time.  This is a process, that’s for sure.

I wanted to make one fun fold card every week, so this is my latest.  I found this on YouTube by Mary Trautner and liked the idea of it.
I started with 10 1/2″ long x 3 1/2″ high navy blue card stock.   I scored it on the 10 1/2″ length at 3 1/2″  and 7″.   If you have a diagonal score board, you can use it, and I have it on my Martha Stewart board, but chose to go without, so everyone can make this card.  Using a ruler, line it up from the top left corner to the bottom of the first fold.  Use something like fun foam under your cardstock so you don’t tear your paper (even a phone book would work).  You will make another diagonal score from the top of the 7″ score, and score to the bottom right corner of your card. Fold in the right side and fold out your diagonal score.  On the left side, fold in to the 3 1/2″ straight score and then fold back the diagonal fold.  Use your bone folder and really burnish the folds so the card is flat.  I had a starry night looking watercolor that I cut down to 3 1/4″ square.  I cut it on my paper trimmer on a diagonal from corner point to corner point.  I used tape runner to adhere the diagonal shapes to the front of my card.  Before laying the right piece of cardstock on the card, I laid matching ribbon that was 1/2″ wide and about 14″ long across the front of the card and laid the starry paper on top of it and glued it down with tape runner and a little it of wet glue..
I used a sentiment from Unity Stamps that says “A certain darkness is needed to see the stars” and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink and then heat set it with clear embossing powder.  Using one of my AliExpress dies, I cut the sentiment out to put on the front of the card.   I adhered the sentiment to the right side of the card with tape runner and wet glue to make sure the card would still open.  You can’t put glue on both triangles or you won’t be able to open it.
I put a piece of white cardstock that was 3″ x 3″ inside the card with tape runner for something to write on.
I used a We R Memory Keepers Envelope Board to make the envelope.

 

The summer seems to be flying by and I’m wondering why the winters never seem to do that…

I wanted to make my fun fold card for the week and decided to make a dutch fold card that is a one layer card.  I’d seen a video on it, and it looked like it wasn’t very difficult, so I thought I’d give it a try.  I had some great Distress Oxide inked papers from my friend Kay, and thought one of them would be perfect to decorate this card with.  The only problem was, I couldn’t follow the woman who gave the tutorial.  She did some scoring that just didn’t make sense, and even though I watched it several times, it never got any clearer.  It looked like all I needed to do was cut some paper off then bend the card in half, so that’s what I did.  It was one of those MacGyver moments and I was kind of proud of myself, because otherwise, this card was going into the garbage.

My system wasn’t pretty, but it worked and that’s all that mattered.  Sometimes you just have to wing it when it comes to card making.  I liked the end result and am glad I gave this card a try.

I went to A C Moore and bought a few things and didn’t want to do a haul, but thought I’d just talk about my finds.  I just watched a video with Lindsay making cards using acetate that was decorated with either dots or striped and made a cute clear card with it.  I found that exact paper pad at A C Moore, so definitely wanted to make some clear cards.  (Do you still call it a paper pad if it’s plastic?)  They had 6 x 6″ paper pads all with the same pattern of flowers, but in a bunch of bright and cheerful colors.  I put them against the acetate and thought I could make all kinds of cards using them together.  I was happy with my plan and walked about ten feet, only to find a big set of washi tape featuring the exact same floral pattern as the paper pad, in all the same colors. How much fun will that be, making cards that feature not only the paper, but washi tape that is exactly the same.   I’ve never seen any matching paper and washi patterns and was thrilled with the idea.  I bought a few other things including a five pack of black Sharpies.  I could have a thousand black Sharpies and never be able to find more than one, and that one would be old and low on ink.  I associate black Sharpies with reading glasses.  It doesn’t matter how many I own, they are never where I need them, or the reading strength is too low.  And to continue my comparison, why don’t I get rid of the old Sharpies and low strength reading glasses?  These are more of the mysteries of being me.

Then, when I got home, I found that I had gotten my “Embossing Powder Techniques from A to Z” book in the mail.  I’ve already read a lot of it, and was disappointed to find that they didn’t cover some of the mistakes or problems I’ve encountered on more than one occasion.  Maybe my expectations are too high, but I was hoping it would cover things like an uneven look to my embossed results and how to correct it.  Or, how do you know when your embossing powder is old, or what results would I get if my embossing powder is old?  I was really hoping I would learn a lot more about techniques for big screw ups, but maybe that’s not their ideas of “techniques,” darn it, those are the techniques I really need to know about.

 

Had such a great time at garage sales with my friend Lynn today.  There is a small town about ten miles from here that was having their community sales and we’ve never been there before.  We bought a bunch of things, not much on the crafty side, but still, had a terrific time.  If you ever have one of those days where you find the things you want at really low prices, it’s just so much fun.  Of course it was like a million degrees outside, but we were committed and persevered.  The card was practically full of all of our crazy purchases, and we were exhausted, but still so happy.

Only one down side to the day.  Before we left town, a man approached us and asked for money for gas.  We live in a relatively small town and this doesn’t happen often.  He seemed pretty frantic about it, so it was either really stressing him, or he knew how to play to his audience.  (I know I’m pretty cynical, but twenty-five years in banking will do that to you.)  I didn’t give him any money but I did give him directions (two blocks away) to our Family Services, which is an organization set up to help with all matters of money crisis.  He seemed happy with the idea and off he went.

Then when we went to the small town’s garage sales, the local high school band was doing a fund raiser selling food and drinks.  There didn’t seem to be any adults in charge, and when I was paying one teenager for my food, a woman wanted to buy a bottle of their Gatorade but didn’t have enough money, so asked if they would take a quarter less for the Gatorade.  I was so disgusted that anyone would do that to kids, especially at a fund raiser, so I gave them the quarter that she apparently didn’t have.  She said “thanks” like I was a bug on her shoe, and walked away.  There were other drinks they were selling that were less expensive, and I just thought it was so wrong for her to do that to kids, especially when they are raising money for their band.  I waiting for all of their customers to leave and walked over to the teenagers and explained that it was wrong for the woman to take advantage of them in that way, and that they should have offered her something she could afford, and/or explain that this is a fundraiser and unfortunately, the price is the price.

I know I’m old, but it just makes me so upset that so much of our society no longer has any kind of lines they won’t cross.  If you can’t afford a drink, you don’t buy one, and if you don’t have any money for gas, you don’t go anywhere.  Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work?  If that same woman had gone into McDonalds and wanted to buy a drink for less money than they sold them for, they would have said the price is the price.  So why try to take advantage of teenagers, because you can.

I love this four blue bird stamp from Carolyn Shores Wright.  I took a piece of light blue card stock and stamped my image.  When I use this stamp, because it’s very long but not very tall, I stamp it upside down with the stamp lying face up on my desk, and putting the paper over it, rubbing one hand over the image while using the other hand to hold the paper in place.  You can put a scrap paper over everything to ensure you don’t get ink on you.. On a newer stamp, you’ll get some marks on the edges of your stamped image.  I recommend the short bladed Tim Holtz scissors for trimming stamps.  If you’ve already stamped and gotten these marks, take your scissors and find the ink marks on the stamp where the image ended, and only red rubber remains.  Trim off any red rubber that has ink on it that is not part of your pattern.  Don’t trim your pattern, but trim close enough to it that you don’t get those marks.  It should ensure you don’t get them going forward.
I stamped with Color Box Black Archival ink and cleaned my stamp w/ Hero Arts cleaner.Use a rag to clean the stamp, then spray the stamp with water and wipe it .
I used watercolor pencils from Caran ‘D’ Ache Supra Color (sorry, it’s spelled wrong on the screen) # 3888, Derwent Inktense Red Oxide, Prismacolor Dark Umber, Sienna Brown, Copenhagen, Terra Cotta, Ultramarine and Non-Photo Blue pencils.  I’m sorry that I forgot to mention Ultramarine so it’s not listed in the video.
I liquefy my watercolors with a paint brush and water.  I used the Hero Arts stamp set called “Hello” that includes a die.  Using a scrap of blue paper & the Ultramarine pencil , I lightly scribbled over the paper so it’s as large as the die.  Then I liquefied it and dried it, then put the die over it with a small piece of washi tape and then ran it through my Vagabond.  I made four more die cuts of hello with the light blue paper and glued them under the layer I had colored using Stampin Up’s fine tip glue pen.    I stamped a sentiment above the birds from the Hello stamp set, then glued the Hello very close to it.
The measurements on the screen are wrong.   The blue is 3″ x 6″ and the bottom layer is 3 1/4″ tall and 6″ wide so the card paper is 6 1/2″ tall and scored at 3 1/4″ and 6 1/4″ wide.
I used a cream  1/4″ wide ribbon and tucked it under my top layer of the card, putting a little bit of the fine tip glue on the ends of the ribbon and then cut about 3″ of ribbon and made a fake bow, by wrapping the ribbon piece around the ribbon that was laid in place and then tied a single knot. I trimmed the edges on an angle so it looks like a bow (and is much simpler than a real bow.)  I put a little drop of glue under the knot to hold the ribbon and bow in place.  I made an envelope by taking a ruler and measuring the card from corner to another on a diagonal and add one inch to the measurement and cut a piece of paper square to that dimension. So if your card is 8″ from corner to corner, add one inch and your paper then needs to be 9″ wide and tall.  Center your card in the square so the four corners of your paper are on the sides and top and bottom of your card.  Fold in the sides and crease, then do the same to the bottom and top.  If you want, you can cut the bottom triangle so it is squared off.  In my case, if I folded the envelope top so it was against the top of my card, I’d end up having my top fold longer than the envelope, so I didn’t fold the top close to the top of my card.  Trim all the corners where you have paper overlapping and you have triangles that need to go.  Use a good adhesive to keep this closed.  I use tear tape on the bottom edges of the side folds of the envelope and then put some on the top edges of the top fold.  If you are giving a set of cards, leave the backing on the tear tape on the top fold so the recipient can seal the envelope.
I used a big cage and old bird stamp on the back of the envelope and stamped with the same black ink.  I had trouble getting my cage to stamp well, so I used a black marker to fix it.  I stamped a small bird inside and used Stampin’ Up water markers to color the bird.,

 

I started my day by going to two really bad garage sales.  How bad were they you ask?  One was selling old pickle jars and the other had a dirt floor on the garage.  The floor was muddy, so they covered the mud with hay.  I’m not a fan of hay, pickle jars or muddy floors, so neither garage sale made me happy.  Still, it’s always fun to get out, and my girlfriend and I have a set plan.  She drives, and I buy us snacks and drinks.  Since the garage sales weren’t any fun, I had to make up for it with good snacks.  We went to a bakery that also makes great mini quiches. They were yummy and I was happy.  So much for garage sales for the day.

I got home and cleaned house all day.  I hate to clean when it’s muggy, as I was sweating like I ran a marathon.  Ever since I was a little kid, if I get hot, my face turns bright red.  My gym teacher always asked me if I needed to sit down, it was that red.  Today was no exception.  It didn’t matter how high I cranked up the air conditioning, I was still a sweaty mess.  On the other hand, my house looks really clean.  Even my craft room is at the “almost there” stage.  It still needs a little work, but it’s getting to the point that I might consider showing it in a video again.  Then again, I will probably make another card that creates a big mess again, so the cycle continues.

Big news though.  I can’t remember if I shared this or not, but a couple of days ago, I asked my friend Susan if she would be willing to help me with a Facebook project.  I would really like to feature projects that our viewers would like to post on our facebok page.  Susan put the first picture up, and Rich did something to feature it on the page, and now we can have all of our viewers put their cards and creative ideas up on the facebook page.  I’ve really wanted to do this since the beginning of our channel, and we finally know what to do.  Thanks Susan, for your help in getting us there.

So if any of you would like to post your crafty photos, go to Crafting For Almost Everyone on Facebook and add your photo.  Rich will find it and do whatever he does to feature it, and we’re cooking with heat (or is it oil?)  Whatever, we’re still cooking, Yay!

One of my friends asked me if I would do a video on heat embossing as she struggles with it.  I struggle with it as well, especially in the summer months when the weather is humid.  I’m never sure what I do wrong, but today I took some steps toward finding what my issues are.  I ordered a book from Amazon that Lindsay had read and really seemed to get a lot out of called “Embossing Powder Techniques from A to Z”…It definitely sounds like it has the answers I’m looking for, and step one, is in the bag.  I’m not sure if my heat gun is working well so Carol Held recommended the one that Michaels sells that is a Recollections product, so I purchased one of those.  Lastly, I’m going to remake my anti-static pouch with baby powder as maybe corn starch isn’t the answer.  I could always buy one of the pouches they sell, but I’m not sure they contain anything different from what I’m already using.  I just want to cover all of my bases before I make the video.

I’ve watched some of the big crafters use the heat tool from Hero Arts that’s metal all the way to the tip.  I think that it looks like a third degree burn waiting to happen.  Of course, none of them have ever admitted to getting burned, but you know I’ll be using it on my first video and end up crying like a baby after I’ve accidentally dropped it into my lap.  I think I’m going with the “better safe than sorry” outlook on heat tools.

I really wish I had a local crafty friend that I could run some of my questions by when I’m in the middle of a crisis.  It would be terrific to find someone that can relate to the issues we face when making cards.

I had a great time making the fun fold card with the shirt and tie and I think I’ll be focusing on making at least one fun fold card a week going forward.  I have an idea that I’d like to try out where I make a decorated magnetic memo holder for on the refrigerator.  I’m sure someone has already made one, but I’m thinking of coming up with a unique and different idea (if I can.)  I’m crossing my fingers on this one.

 

I saw Rajni’s Craftivity make this card and wanted to try it for myself. I used a stamp set from TAC Trendy Greetings for my sentiments..
Start with and 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper. Folding on the 11″ length, you will want to put the pattern you like underneath (so if your paper is white on one side, start with the white side facing you.) Fold the paper in half on the 11″ length; Then unfold it and fold your side into the center and fold it down making sure it’s well burnished. Do the same to the other side. Now take a ruler and from the top of your page (with the opening on this side) go down 2″ and make a line across. Take the top of the paper and fold it down to the 2″ mark, so basically you are folding it on the 1″ mark down to the 2″. Now that you have your fold, take your ruler and on the 2″ line you made, go in from each side 3/4″ and make a little mark. You will cut the paper to that 3/4″ mark on both sides then erase all your marks. Take the top right side and fold it toward the center so your inner point touches the center line. Do the same to the left side and this creates your collar. I struggled with the center of this paper and put a piece of tear tape near the top inside the collar so it doesn’t wrinkle. Now take the bottom of your paper and fold it so that it lines up with the top under the collar and line it up so the edges match the top edges. Fold it and use your bone folder on that fold. Now open the card and from the center fold on the middle go down 3/4″ from the center and make a mark with a pencil. Fold the bottom of the paper back from the mark you made so that the paper is folded all the way back to the bottom right corner. Do the same on the left side. Use the bone folder on the folds and erase your mark and fold it back under the collar and your sleeves are made. I took a 4 x 4″ square white paper inside and attached it below the collar and just above the center fold so you have somewhere to write. I put my sentiment on a piece of cardstock and glued it to the white 4 x 4 paper.
Then I decided to cover the pattern on the back that I don’t like. If you choose your paper wisely, you won’t have to do this step, but my paper on the reverse was weird. I laid a piece of paper that matched my front on to the part of the card that had the weird paper on it and traced it, then cut it out and glued it down. It really makes a finished look for the card.
To make the tie, I took a piece of cardstock that I liked with my shirt pattern and made a strip that is 1″ wide x 3 3/4″ long and at the top at 1/2″ make a mark. Then go down to 3/4″ and draw a line across the whole 1″. Then at the very bottom from each side, at 1/4″ put a mark and draw a line from the bottom right 1/4″ mark to the right edge of the line at 3/4″ line. Then do the same on the left side. From the center mark at the top, draw a line to the right edge of the 3/4″ line and also to the left side of the line, creatring a triangle. Now cut the triangle and down the sides making sure you are as straight as possible with your cutting. (Your tie is upside down) If you do your marking on the back of the paper, you won’t have to erase your lines. Next, take a 1″tall x 1 1/2″ wide matching cardstock and cut angled lines toward the center, making the base 3/4″ wide and the top about 1″ wide. This is the top of the tie. Center it on your long piece of tie and glue the two together. Don’t put any glue on the top half of the knot of the tie then lay the tie down so it fits under the collar and lands just above the line on the inside of the collar. To make the pocket, take the paper you like best (on one card I used the same paper as the tie and on the other, I used the same paper as the shirt. Cut a piece that is 1 1/4″ tall by 1″ wide and trim the bottom edge so it has angles on it like a pocket would have, I eyeballed this. Glue it down by using tear tape and just taping under the edges so in case you would like to put a little note inside, you can.
To glue down the collar, make sure you don’t glue anywhere near the bottom half of the collar, and use tear tape or another strong glue to keep it down, always making sure you can open the card.

You’ll need to make your own envelope that is roughly 5 1/2″ x 6″.

You can find ways to make your own envelope without any tools on this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cnJE…