We’ve been having a crazy wind storm here for the last two days and so I’m still hanging around the house…We went to lunch today with friends, but otherwise, spent our time inside.

I did make a couple new videos today and Rich uploaded one.  I’ve been wanting to show off the Valentine’s cards I’ve received from viewers, as well as all of the new stamps just released from Rubber Stamp Tapestry, the peg stamp people.  They have some acrylic sentiment stamps that really made me happy, especially one that talks about how the card is handmade, and has more cute and snarky sentiments about not throwing it away….Loved that set best.

I had another video idea a while ago, about showing viewers how to create their own envelopes, and making their own envelope glue.  I’d seen Lindsay the Frugal Crafter make this glue years ago and kept the video to remind myself.  You’re probably wondering why you’d need glue for envelopes…if you make your own envelopes, there’s no adhesive on them, and if you use tear tape, maybe the recipient (and this would be when you send a gift set of cards) wouldn’t know what to do with the backing paper…you never know.  So I made the glue and two different sized envelopes and applied the glue.  I let it dry and I have to say, at first it tasted really nasty….But by the time the glue had dried, it was a lot better tasting than store bought envelopes you’d lick.  It was one of those moments before the final lick, that I was wondering if I would have to scrap the whole video if it tasted like crap…after all, the glue was an integral part and it would be kind of pointless without it.  People still might not understand a need for envelope glue, but I figured if they know how to make it, maybe they will give it a try.  It’s super simple, with only three ingredients….can’t get much easier than that.

I was given a monthly card kit for the month of November, 2018, from Spellbinder’s representative Samantha Torres…If you’d like to contact her, her email is storres@journeyblooms.com. I’m sure she would be able to assist you with any questions you might have.

The kit is called Deer Santa and it’s still available on the Spellbinders site…Here is a link to all of the individual products and the kit. https://tinyurl.com/y48btamd If you are a kit member, the kit would be $35, but because it’s after November, it now sells for $50. Here’s the link to sign up for their kits if you are interested.
https://www.spellbinderspaperarts.com/card-kit-of-the-month-membership/

My goal in this video is to show you how to turn Christmas kit products into every day cards.

I started with one of the postcards that came in the kit and cut it down to 5 1/4″ x 4″ wide and rounded the corners with my Kadomaru Pro corner rounder from Amazon. I used a green piece of paper from the paper pad I received and cut it to 5 3/8″ by 4 1/8″. I adhered both of these papers to one of their card bases that are 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″. I used Brutus Monroe embossing ink to ink a sentiment that came from a Stamps of Life stamp set called Phone4You…I put “What’s up” on the front three times and added gold embossing powder from an old set of powders I bought at a garage sale then heat set them..I added a few blue sequin type stars to the front and on the center of the phone..Then I added white gel pen around the phone and on the flowers and leaves.

I used tear tape that came in the kit to adhere it to the layers…If you are interested in where I buy my tear tape, I buy it from CraftChameleon.com.

For the second card, I used a large flower die and cut out a blue piece of paper that came in the paper pad. I laid the blue paper that I’d cut to 4″ x 5 1/4″ tall and used washi tape to adhere it from behind to a white piece of cardstock that was the same size. I added one of their card bases behind them and glued them together. I rounded all of the corners with my Kadomaru Pro.
I used alcohol markers from Touch Five to color through the flowers onto the white paper behind it. I lighted drew with a pencil so I could see where the petals were on the white paper before coloring. I added enamel dots that came in the kit and then used a 3″ square punch to punch a piece of orange cardstock, then laid it in the bottom left corner of the card. I die cut the word Hi and attached it to the phone ephemera that came in the kit, then glued the phone on the orange square…I decided the card needed something else, so used Diamond Glaze and covered all of my flowers with it so they had some dimension.

For my third card, I took a premade card base that was made from craft cardstock. I added a piece of their black textured paper over it…the black paper was 4″ x 5 1/4″ and the base was 4 1/4′ x 5 1/2″. I added the word hello that I die cut to the black paper, then glued one of the small envelopes to the front (that came in the kit.)

I got a call from my rheumatologist’s office, saying my level of inflammation was high, and that I needed to do a burst of prednisone.  For those of you who’ve never heard that term, it means I take 40mg of prednisone the first day, then 30 the next and 20 the next and so on, as it should basically throw my arthritis into a short term remission.  Of course it has side effects….I’ll have a bright red face and feel hot and cold at the same time, have trouble sleeping, and the list goes on…But it’s definitely worth it.  At some point, I usually have big bursts of energy, which is great, and I get a lot of things done when that happens.  It’s especially important, as this Tuesday, I have seven interviews lined up, and I have to be able to stay on task all day.  In preparation, I’ve been doing virtually nothing.  I started yesterday after the phone call from the doctor, then today I read and watched a few videos.   I’m hoping by resting now, I’ll save that energy for when I need it on Tuesday, especially since I only gave myself enough of a break to eat a power bar, drink some water, go to the restroom, then start all over.  I thoroughly enjoy interviewing the students, because I know how important it is for their early success, but am afraid I won’t have the stamina to make it through the day.   If that happens, my plan is to reschedule the later afternoon appointments for another day.  And if you know me, you know there’s almost no chance of me doing that.  I guess we’ll wait to see how it goes.

Rich has two videos to upload and I’m hoping he’ll do one tomorrow and then one later in the week.  He’ll be out with me on Tuesday and his brother is having heart surgery on Wednesday, so the next video might be later this week…

I spent all day Thursday at our college alma mater, interviewing seniors so they are prepared for “real world” interviews.  I love meeting and talking to them, but to be honest, it’s exhausting….So today I’ve spent the day relaxing and even took a long nap.  I watched a few cooking shows (my secret obsession)…..love watching people chop things with a knife…don’t know why, but it’s fun for me.  I don’t like the competition shows, but really enjoy just about any kind of cook.  I’m not a huge fan of the “Pioneer Woman” and I know a lot of people love her…I think she’s too sugary sweet for me, and is probably not that nice in person.  I realize that sounds pretty judgmental of me, but there’s something about her that strikes me as not being authentic.

I love the older cooking shows, The Galloping Gourmet, Emeril, even Martha Stewart, but wish there were more of those types of shows available.  I guess I should try looking around on the internet, and I could probably find a ton of them.

Friday night is date night for us, so I’m off to watch movies and eat pizza with my boyfriend and our dogs….A perfect date night if you ask me.

I continued to work on the art journal, this time using a lot of mixed media..

I used my own Gesso recipe:
1/4 cup Plaster of Paris
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white acyrlic (craft) paint
1/4 cup white glue

The book I’ve been working on is a kid’s cardboard book and here are the links to the previous videos I’ve made:
Cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCHo2IT-dfQ
Pages 2 and 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g4m-yiECXc

After covering both pages with my homemade gesso (and putting a piece of cardboard between the pages I’m working on and the next page to ensure the gesso doesn’t seep onto them) then letting the pages dry..I took a light blue page of mulberry paper ( Link to a variety pack at Amazon https://tinyurl.com/y5gnnza2) and stamped a retired Stampin Up large butterfly stamp called Swallowtail..still available on ebay..here’s a link to the cheapest one I found. https://tinyurl.com/y3b84pmo    I used Gina K Amalgam ink in black that works with watercolors or alcohol inks to ink the stamp and then stamped it onto the light blue mulberry paper. Since it’s such a big stamp, I laid the paper onto the stamp to transfer the ink. I used Elmer’s School Glue gel to attach the mulberry paper to the journal.
I took a darker blue mulberry paper and used a water brush to wipe over it to be able to easily rip it apart. I did the same with the light blue paper, then using the same gel glue, glued the pieces on the right page (we’ll call it page 6)….
After the left side (page 5) dried, I used Tanmit brush markers (link: https://tinyurl.com/yd6xhdqg) and colored the butterfly as well as some small bees I’d stamped around the butterfly. Once I finished coloring page 5, I went to page 6 and glued down some flowers from a napkin..When the flowers dried, you could see the dark blue beneath, so I glue an identical flower over it. I didn’t have enough to cover all of the flowers, so went to a peacock napkin, cut out one large peacock and flowers from the same napkin, this time leaving the white backing on the napkin…I cut out the peacock and glued first the white backing to the book, then added the peacock over it. I did the same with small orange flowers from the same napkin.I found wet glue was too wet for the napkin so used glue sticks to glue down the peacock and flowers.
I went back to page 5 and glued down a blue napkin that had birds in the distance on it everywhere except where the butterfly was.. I stamped some bees around the butterfly then used a variety of Stickles colors link: https://tinyurl.com/y4y2tnjj  that match the butterfly and bees and completely covered the both images.
Over to page 6, I found the word Happiness on a piece of cardstock that I trimmed out and colored around the edges with a Touch Five marker to make the word stand out…I used a glue stick to adhere it to the page. Then I used a white gel pen to go around all of the flowers, leaves and peacock. I used Ranger black enamel to color over the word “Happiness” link: https://tinyurl.com/y4taq4m2 to make the word stand out.. I also added it to the birds on page 5 (the butterfly page.)
I cut a page out of the art journal so it would lay flat, but instead it’s falling apart, so I hot glued it together and now it won’t stay together properly….so don’t cut any pages out of your cardboard kid’s books…

I spent part of yesterday giving a seminar on interviewing, then Rich and I met friends for lunch and a movie.  I went to see “Green Book,” and if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.  You might think it’s about race relations in the 1950-60’s, but it’s really a story about how two men from completely different backgrounds and ethnicities, bond and become close friends.  I loved it and hope it wins the Oscar for best picture of the year.

We stopped at a craft store that is supposed to be sold to Michaels, and were supposed to be having great sales, but we were disappointed in their bargains…I did find a fun project that I’m going to re-create so everyone can make one.  It’s a journal where you stitch something on the cover.  The one I bought was in a dollar bin, but I did find some online, although much more expensive than the one I bought.  I figured I could recreate it with a note book I bought at Target in their dollar spot…and then poke holes where I need to make my stitches.. I’m really looking forward to playing with the idea..

Today I worked on videos…I remade the Valentine’s wreath/frame into a St Patricks Day wreath/frame.  I need to make sure I had that done quickly, as the lady whose door it will hang on, is not feeling well, and I’d be sad if she didn’t get a chance to see it.  After all, she is 96.

I also gave Rich notes on two more videos and he’s been working hard on the art journal video all day…

I don’t know if I’ve talked about this yet or not…..but I found one of the kits I was sent before Christmas, and had to figure out a way to turn it into something usable now…So I decided to show you how to use Christmas kits but make the embellishments look like they can be used for everyday cards, and made three cards that are all completely different from each other.  I really think you’ll like how they turned out.

Then today, my girlfriend and I went to the Dollar Tree to find things for the Valentine wreath (frame) that goes on her mother’s door at the nursing home she’s in.  I want to get it done so she has it up longer for St. Patrick’s Day and so we bought not only things for St. Patrick’s, but also Easter items.  I wasn’t really overly thrilled with their selection, and wish I could go to one of the big stores to shop for things, but it is what it is.  Our store has one row of holiday items for each holiday, and that’s it. Maybe if I had searched the store, I would have found more things on end caps, but we didn’t want to spend all day there.

This week and next week I volunteer to interview graduating seniors at the college Rich and I attended, so I will probably not be writing very much here.  I know I’ve been pretty lax lately, but sometimes I can’t think of anything interesting to talk about.  I’ve been reading books by a new author (to me) named Alex Kava..If you like suspense books, ones with FBI and a rescue dog operation, you might like his books.  I’ve read two or three of them and they keep me on edge, because he always leads you to believe that his rescue dogs are hurt, and then miraculously, they’re not.  The book I read today was full of peril for his dogs, and I cried at least twice…Maybe I shouldn’t read them now that I think of it….Maybe I’m more of a Nancy Drew kind of girl…although I never read her books as a kid, and was addicted to the Box Car Children and the Little House on the Prairie books…I might be sharing too much or showing my age…either way, those are old books, and the books were long before Michael Landon was Pa.  (Another reference to Little House on the Prairie for those of you who didn’t see the television show.)