I went into the craft room last night and made a pretty fun engagement card for my nephew and his new fiance.  I have new Prima stamps, one is a huge poppy and it comes with two smaller ones.  I’m not sure what it is, but I’m really into poppies right now, so I’m sure this is only one of many cards with poppies I’ll be making in the near future.  I used new watercolor paper from Arteza, and I had so much fun using it.  The people of Arteza are giving my viewers a discount and I love it when that happens, but almost dread it, because it seems like every time I have a discount to offer viewers, the codes expire before the video goes live.  I think we’ve got an answer to it, and that’s to let them know when the video is ready and then they can give me the codes, rather than giving me codes and not telling me when they expire…without a video being made yet.

While in the craft room, Rich was not home and Honey was nervous..She came into the craft room and got caught in the cord to my embossing gun and pulled a bunch of things off of my desk and scared herself really badly.  If she’s not anxious enough, now she’s afraid of the craft room…

Today, Rich and I went out to lunch with one of our college friends and then to see the new Avengers movie.  While we were at lunch, we were talking about the movie and that we’d heard a couple of the main characters die….And of course, I said the character I was afraid would die, and that if that happened, it would ruin the series for me…Naturally, that’s one of the characters that’s gone….DARN IT!  I told Rich that I have no reason to see any of the upcoming Avengers movies, as I only went to see them for this character.  I’m trying really hard not to ruin it for those of you that are still planning to see the movie…I know I wouldn’t want to know…

After the movie, we made a quick trip to the Dollar Tree and I bought some of their small poster board that I’ve heard other YouTubers use with alcohol inks…So I thought we’d give it a try.  I might make the cover for a small album with alcohol inks for the background…or not (if it turns out badly.)  I have a lot of ideas, just need to get into the craft room and stay there until I’ve made some videos.

I’ve been busy helping Rich clean the yard of sticks and corn cobs.  After a winter of feeding deer, we have a lot of corn cobs to get rid of.  A lot of people have asked us why we don’t feed deer corn already off the cob, since clean up would be a breeze.  Deer have a tendency to Hoover corn off the cob, and we never can seem to keep ahead of the game.  I think it’s like humans at Thanksgiving…we eat so much so fast, we don’t realize we are full until it’s too late.  Deer eating corn in a pile can eat it so fast, they have no idea they are full, and that becomes a problem, as some deer don’t get to eat anything.  When it’s on the cob, they have to eat slower, allowing more deer to get fed.  It’s not a scientific method, but it’s what we go by.  We’d rather have a lot of deer have something in their stomachs, than a few deer really full.

After doing yard work, I realize how out of shape I truly am.  The backs of my thighs have been hurting for three days and that’s nothing to brag about.  The weather has been changing so much that my arthritis has compounded the pain, so I have been exhausted and only went to garage sales yesterday, (and didn’t buy anything), cancelled going today, and slept until noon.  Yep, that’s me, sleeping until noon.  I feel embarrassed by it, but what can I say, that’s how I roll.  Oh, and the temperature this morning was 56 degrees and now at almost 5PM, it’s dropped to the low 40’s.  And tomorrow it might snow…welcome to lat April in N/W Pennsylvania.

Rich and I are going to Akron, Ohio, tomorrow for Adventures in Stamping, a stamp show that I love attending.  I try not to buy much at the show, but love watching the demonstrations and recording them for future videos.  I learn so many interesting tips, and hope I’ll be learning new ones tomorrow.  Rich, on the other hand, loves sitting near the food concession stand, contemplating what treat he’ll be trying next and listening to the ladies discussing the great bargains they’ve found.  He holds the bags of goodies I buy as well, leaving my hands free to video.  He’s quite the guy…

I love listening to the women shoppers too, and have offered a lot of money saving tips to them.  These women are spending lots of money (often on things they don’t need, but definitely want.)  I try to keep my mouth shut, but sometimes I can’t stop myself from telling them about alternatives they could be using and saving themselves a lot of money along the way.  I get a lot of odd looks, but just can’t help myself.  The last time we went to a stamp show, a woman stopped me to find out if I have a YouTube channel, and that’s the first time I’ve ever been recognized…It made my day….

Rich and I spent Easter with friends and had a quiet day.  I hope all of you had a nice day as well, and maybe you didn’t eat as much as I did.  I kind of lost my mind and ate a lot more than I normally do and felt so full late afternoon and evening, and that feeling never really went away (darn it.)

Today I have plans to get into the craft room and make a video or two.  I’ve been wanting to make a video comparing a bunch of silver embossing powders to see if there is a difference in quality, reflection, etc.  I also need to do a video showing the different types of embossing powder and what you can create with them.

This upcoming weekend is a stamp show in Akron, Ohio, and I’m hoping Rich and I feel like going.  He’s been having issues with his lower back and hip, so walking around on cement floors doesn’t help him with his pain level.  I wish they made shoes that leave you feeling like you’re walking on marshmallows instead of cement.  Wouldn’t that be so cool?  I know they make inserts that are supposed to make you feel that way, but trust me when I tell you that’s a lie.  I feel like I’m walking on shoes with inserts….there’s no marshmallows involved.

I’d like to make more videos, but I’m lacking ambition, and hope that feeling goes away soon..You’ll be the first to know when it does.

I bought the clip board and showed it in my last haul. It has a waffly plastic front that I didn’t like, so decided to cover it with cardboard and then an extra-large gift bag from the Dollar Tree.

Clip Board link: https://tinyurl.com/y6p6voar
XLarge Shopping bag link: https://tinyurl.com/yy48uubt

I wanted to make sure you couldn’t feel the waffly outside of the clipboard, so took the back cardboard from 12 x 12″ designer paper and laid it over the front of the clipboard folder, then opened the folder and using a pencil traced the opening for the clip. I also used a pencil to draw the outside of the clipboard and cut the cardboard so it would fit the front of the folder.  The cardboard was not as tall as the folder, so I relied on the gift bag to cover the folder all the way to the top.  I did the same for the back, and used my corner rounder to round the bottom right corner that’s already rounded on the plastic.. The corner rounder is a Kadomaru Pro and here’s a link to it on Amazon. https://tinyurl.com/y2zez32o
I used red line tape to adhere the cardboard to the outside of the folder. link: https://tinyurl.com/y3jyydby  That didn’t work as well as I had hoped, so added wet glue and eventually, some hot glue on the outer edges.

I wanted to make a pocket for inside the folder and used a cutting mat to mark the spots for an angled pocket.

The Cutting Mats are from Ecopecoart.com and are environmentally friendly, recyclable. They are PVC and BPA free. Non-toxic. Odorless. 5-layered, self-healing design for less waste and safe for children.

Here is the link to them on Amazon:
https://many.link/ecopeco.art.usa

To receive your 15% discount on any size cutting mat, please leave me a comment below asking for your discount, and I’ll be sure to give it to you.

As always, I don’t receive any money for the sales of the cutting mats for for promoting them…I was given the mats and really think they are great quality and terrific for the environment.

I used the 45 degree marks on the cutting mats to make marks on cardboard that would ultimately make the pocket for the inside..After making a mark on either side of the cardboard, one near the bottom and following the 45 degree line, made a mark on the right side of the cardboard, and then put it in my paper trimmer lining the marks up so that it would have a diagonal top edge and cut the cardboard. Next, I put the cardboard in my score board and scored at 3/8″ on two sides and the bottom but not on the diagonal side. I used a bone folder to fold the scored areas under. I put a piece of red line tape on three folded edges to adhere it to the inside of the folder. I put red line tape on the front of the pocket and laid the excess gift bag on the front of the pocket and adhered it, then cut off the excess gift bag.

I used Tombow Mono Aqua wet glue to adhere the gift bag to the cardboard.

I used a scalloped edge paper punch to cut the edge of the paper that wrapped around the binding of the folder, and the punch I used was from Stampin’ Up.  I used hot glue to adhere this to the folder and added hot glue to the paper underneath, so it would stay adhered to the plastic folder.

I had purchased a clipboard folder from the Dollar Tree and decided I could make it look frisky if I covered it with a deconstructed gift bag also from the Dollar Tree.  I had a real adventure, as I glued the decorations on backward with hot glue, and then had to rip it apart….fyi, it’s not as hard as it sounds if you use your heat gun to re-melt the glue.  In the end it looks fine, but so many things went wrong, and I almost caught the paper on fire when trying to re-melt the glue.

I was sent cutting mats from a company called Ecopecoart.com and they also gave me a discount code for viewers.  I used the cutting mats in the video and used a few different cutting tools, and didn’t find any cuts in the mats when I was finished.  I really like the colors the mats come in, as well as their sizes.  The mats are environmentally friendly and recyclable, both things that are important these days.  I know I sound like an advertisement, but when I like a product, I like it…and you know I’m not being paid to say that…and won’t make any money if any of you take advantage of the discount and buy one.

As for being tired, I’m still really tired, and my doctor’s office is calling in a prescription for blood work, as my arthritis can sometimes make me feel like this…

Happy Tax Day!  I have to say, when our taxes are done and in the mail, I feel like I have the weight of the world off of my shoulders.  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably read the post where we took our taxes to our local library, where the government works in conjunction with our local college to do our taxes for free.  Our taxes aren’t really complicated, but the student who worked on them, had a couple of questions for his supervisor.  The supervisor, who I thought should have been familiar with the forms I gave him, seemed at a loss for what should be done.  In the end, we needed to pay the state of PA $39 for the year.  The supervisor told us to “just send the state $50 sometime this year.”  I think we all know that sounded wrong, so then I started fretting….and couldn’t stop until I took them to a friend who works at a tax service.  (I didn’t know she worked at a tax service until after the library issue, otherwise, I would have taken them to her first.)  She looked over everything they had done, and the taxes were correct, but the $39 rule, was not.  She gave us the forms and envelopes to send the money to the state.  And then she told me we didn’t need to pay them anything for the work they had done.  That was so sweet of her, and I didn’t feel comfortable doing that, so decided to call them today and find out what day this week I could bring them lunch and made sure they chose a restaurant they liked.  So Thursday I’ll be taking them lunch.  It’s a small price to pay for taking such a load off of my mind.

And I’ve been back in the craft room, working on the pick up tool comparison video and a travellers journal video.  The travellers journal video won’t go live for a couple of days, but I’m glad I got the pick up tool video on…I haven’t had the energy to do much and feel like I’m really letting all of you down.  I’m sorry about that, and called my doctor’s office today to have my blood work done, just to make sure there’s nothing awry.  I think I’ve already talked about this, but if I didn’t, now you know the scoop….

DIY–Using a skewer, a match, a Q-tip with the cotton removed, the end of a paint brush (basically anything that has a stick shape.) Two options below:

Skewer w/ hot wax— Cut the skewer in half with a craft knife and dip the end of one half in hot wax from a lit candle. Let it dry and then lightly touch your sequins, beads, etc. to pick them up.  I found this technique leaves wax behind on rounded surfaces when you have to push to get it to pick it up. Pearls were especially tricky with this tool. It might work better if I had let the wax dry longer.

Skewer with Glue Dots (homemade) –Use Aleene’s Tack it Over and Over on old Glue Dot backing paper and let it dry. Link to Aleene’s Tack it Over and Over http://tinyurl.com/y3hphyxz You’ll take a couple of the dots and wrap them around the end of the skewer and then lightly dab it on sequins, beads to pick them up. I found that this was a little tricky to remove the sequin/bead from when trying to adhere them to paper. Maybe once it has been used a few times it will let go easier…

Wax Pencil Pick Up Tool link: http://tinyurl.com/y63zdng2 30 cents. You need to sharpen this when you get it, so I carved mine to get a wide tip. Maybe I should have used my regular pencil sharpener, but I found it didn’t hold things as well as the other tools and it doesn’t like picking up rounded things like a pearl or a mini bead easily.

Dotting Wax Pen Rhinestone Holder link: http://tinyurl.com/yy6at8de It was 59 cents when I bought it, but shipping has raised the price to 68 cents. You need to press the end into the pink wax that come with it (after removing the plastic from one side of the wax) and then pick up beads etc with it. I really liked this tool, but wonder if the pink wax dries out… For the price, though, it’s great, and it comes with a holder for sequins/beads.

Dual End Rhinestone Picker link: http://tinyurl.com/y5g5au4b $1.79 The first one I got in the mail had an issue where the top of the rubber part came folded over, and broke off…I did get a replacement. It has a pokey tool on one end that works well to push pearls off their backing.  I found this to be one of my favorites.

Rhinestone Pick up Tool $2.77 the price has gone up since I bought mine and it’s now $3.41 link: http://tinyurl.com/yy2ztxhe
It comes in a nice plastic case and one end you can press in wax to pick up small things or use it as a pokey tool. It didn’t work as well as the other tools, as the rubber part seemed to be too hard and too big, and didn’t pick up things easily.

Pick up Tool from Ecstasy Crafts–https://www.ecstasycrafts.com/PUT001 $4.20 + shipping for two of them. I really liked these tools and these were probably my favorite for ease of use and the way they felt in my hand. The only thing I wonder about is that the rubber is kind of sticky, and if you leave it out, I wonder if dog hairs, glitter, etc. will attach to the rubber..I probably will store these in a plastic bag.

Silhouette QuickStik link: http://tinyurl.com/yynyvcdw It was $6.49 when I bought it, but is now $7.49 full price at Joanns. It might be a little bit different since it’s also now not made by WRMK. I liked this tool because the rubber is covered, plus it has the plastic end that converts from a flat plastic piece to a pokey tool.

My favorites:
Dotting Wax Pen 59 cents
Dual End Rhinestone Picker $1.79
Pick up Tool from Ecstasy Crafts $4.20 for 2 plus shipping
Quick Stik from Silhouette $7.49

All in all, it comes down to a matter of preference, and I hope I gave you enough options to find one that will work well for you.