I was sent some products from BeeBee Craft (beebeecraft.com) and did a little Dollar Tree shopping and thought I’d share a short haul video with all of you.  I’ll be covering the notebook in my next video and trying out the BeeBee Craft jewelry making tools in upcoming videos.

Links to the products are listed below:

BeeBee Craft
beebeecraft.com

Clay beads –Arricraft 50 pieces-link https://tinyurl.com/y5obkg2r
Jewelry tool kit–NBeads 3 piece pliers-link https://tinyurl.com/yyqlnhsl
Eiffel Tower Scissors–they were supposed to be part of a two piece set, but I was only sent this pair of scissors…PandaHall Elite set, link https://tinyurl.com/y3s7djpa
Sunnyclue 105 pc set silver earrings, faceted gemstones -link
https://tinyurl.com/y36jsqrs
PandaHall Elite 25 yards nylon gold leaves ribbon 30 mm wide—link: https://tinyurl.com/y65p3ylc

Dollar Tree
Journal Notebook link: https://tinyurl.com/y5u6wzy5
Sticker Notes link: https://www.dollartree.com/search/go?w=sticky+notes These are all of the sticker/sticky/post-it-notes that I could find online at the Dollar Tree
Magnetic tins: link https://tinyurl.com/y46be93q
I couldn’t find the small pens on the Dollar Tree site

My girlfriend and I spent all day Friday going to garage sales.  There was a small town near us that was celebrating Memorial Day with a town filled with sales.  It was one of those really disappointing days, where we found very little that screamed our names.  OK, here’s what I bought…Avon Chapstick, a bag of Indian corn that I thought I’d lay in our bird feeders so the bear has something new to eat (beside our feeders), a bag of popcorn still on the cob (if you’ve never tried it, you should.)  Two baby stuffed animals perfect for our dogs.  Stuffed animals made for babies don’t have plastic eyes or beans in them, so if your dog destroys them, they won’t find anything inside (or outside) to make them sick.  An Amish table was set up at their fairgrounds, where they allow anyone to set up a table for a fee, so naturally I had to buy some cookies and small pies for Rich, and that’s all I can remember right now.  I always buy treats, drinks and lunch since my girlfriend drives, and that’s how our day went.  We had full tummies, and you can’t beat that.  I can’t remember what she bought, but I’m pretty sure it was less than what I bought.

We did go to a sale where a woman was selling basically everything from her craft room, and she had so many things…it filled an entire room…but she was selling everything for what you would pay for them in a store…Oh, I did buy three metal stencils there, and they are a little bent, so I hope they still work.  It always frustrates me when you go to a garage sale, and they are selling used things at retail prices..My mom used to price things that way and I’d ask her about it and she’d say “I’m not giving them away.”  I, on the other hand, just want to get rid of the things I’m selling, so basically do give things away.  What’s the point of going to all of the effort to take things to your garage, price them, and then at the end of the sale, put them back where you found them?  My system is anything that doesn’t sell goes to our local Family Center, where they have a small thrift store, and all the money raised, goes back into our local community.  Sadly, most people think the money raised at local Salvation Army stores stays in the community it serves, but all monies raised there, go to the national Salvation Army, and they aren’t affiliated with their local chapters.  I served on our local Salvation Army board many years ago, and was quickly disillusioned by their practices, and stepped down.

That was probably a lot more information than you were looking for.

Yesterday, we went to visit our close friends who have a home overlooking Lake Erie…it was a nice day, but as we were driving home, a thunderstorm moved through, so by the time we got home, Honey’s anxiety was out of control, so we went to the basement (Rich’s man room), and watched television with her until all storms and fireworks were over.

Today we were supposed to visit college friends, but the forecast is thunderstorms, and the idea of Honey having super anxiety two days in a row, is hard for us, so we’re probably going to the cemetery to put flowers on my parents’ grave, and spending the rest of the day at home.  I realize most people wouldn’t put their dog’s anxiety ahead of spending time with friends, but we don’t have children, and our dogs are an extension of our family, so we prioritize accordingly.

I hope you and your family have a happy Memorial Day weekend.

Directions plus discount information is below..

Arteza:
USA site: http://bit.ly/2PJ1Jt7
Europe site: http://bit.ly/2vCSZv6

10% discount codes: Code is CraftingForAlmostEveryone2 good until June 10th
Holographic Glitter Shakers (2 Colors Diamond & Fancy, 5g Each): http://bit.ly/2vCWBxf
Glitter Shaker Jars – Set of 54: http://bit.ly/2PKFbbo from the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds88iL31QSc
5.5×8.5″ Watercolor Pads, 30 Sheets – Pack of 3: http://bit.ly/2PJ1b6j used in the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGeMb

I was sent a monthly kit from Brutus Monroe with the Catching Dreams stamp set inside. (Link: https://tinyurl.com/yxmrg9m9 )
I used gray Recollections heavyweight card stock and cut a piece to 5 x 7″ and then die cut the center of it with a die that I can’t remember the name of it or where I got it (sorry.)

I cut another piece of the gray cardstock to 10″ x 7″ to create a 5 x 7″ card (scoring the 10″ length at 5″). I put this into the MISTI and laid three of the feathers from Catching Dreams in the MISTI with the first page I die cut over it, to ensure that you’d see all of the feathers inside the die cut area…I took the die cut sheet back out and used Versafine Onyx Black ink to ink the feathers then used clear Ranger embossing powder and heat set the feathers. I have a hard time stamping large areas, so used a tool I bought at Dickblick.com called a Baren to help with leverage, when pushing on the MISTI lid.

I put the die cut paper back into the MISTI and laid the sentiment from the same stamp set and inked it with the same ink and embossing powder, then heat set it. I decided I needed more feathers, so stamped a couple of feathers on this page as well..same ink and embossing powder and heat setting…

I opened the card and folded it open and stamped inside with a stamp set from Taylored Expressions called Dream Big. Unfortunately I couldn’t find this stamp set online, as I believe it’s retired…I stamped Class of 19 and inked it with a Black Sharpie.

I used Touch Five alcohol markers and colored all of the feathers in browns, beige’s and grays. I glued a feather inside the card and added some of the leftover holographic inside as well.

I took a piece of acetate cut to 4 3/4 x 6 3/4″ and glued it to the back of the die cut front of the card withe Tombow Mono Aqua glue. Then I put two layers of foam tape on the back as close to the opening as possible, used my embossing buddy to put powder around the inside edges of the foam tape so the glitter would’t stick to it…then laid the holographic glitter inside and laid the card base on it. Don’t put a ton of glitter inside, as less is better. I pressed the edges to ensure they were tight and the glitter wouldn’t come out.

The holographic glitter link is at the top of this description and the 10% discount is good until June 10th.

I’ve spent the last two days crafting with my friend Barb Tobias.  She is an exceptional flower maker, creating them primarily from a product called Foam Iran.  It’s a really light weight foam, much thinner than fun foam.  You cut it in your die cutting machine and then using an iron and different coloring mediums, you create realistic looking flowers.  I can’t wait for you to see the videos of us creating, as well as a sample of Barb’s flowers.  They are truly amazing.  Barb is a rare person, someone who won’t let any health concerns stop her from creating.  Several years ago, she was diagnosed with cancer, and eventually had her arm amputated at the shoulder.  She is a better crafter than so many of us, and I’m proud to call her my friend.  Her husband, Jim, is a great guy, inventing all kinds of different tools to help Barb continue to craft.  They are such an impressive couple, and we were privileged to have them visit.

I wanted to share the great cards and gifts I’ve gotten from friends.

The magazine Is called Creative Stamping and is issue #68 that comes with a ton of great dog and cat stamps.

Ms Sparkle papers and stamps can be found at Joann stores.

I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends that send me such beautiful things…Thank you so much….You have no idea how much I love all of you and your infinite kindness…

I’ve been back in the craft room…I wanted to cover another note pad from the Dollar Tree and make it something that has a closure on it.  I’ve never tried to do that with the small pads, but this one will have a couple of pockets, and I wanted to make sure that nothing falls out of it.

I also made a haul video with some diy jewelry items that I’m going to make and hopefully they’ll turn out good enough to wear.  That’s the idea any way.  I’m going to review some products from a company called BeeBee Craft.  I showed the items they sent me in the haul, and so far, I’ll be honest, I’m not really sold on their jewelry tools.  They don’t seem to be of a very high quality, but maybe I’m not using them correctly, and I guess we’ll all find out together when I make the earrings on video.

I was also sent another few things from Arteza, and I have to say, I really like their products.  I love everything they’ve sent me, and have never been disappointed with anything.  They are so open to my ideas, and I love that they give discounts to my viewers.  Maybe they give you discounts because I don’t participate in their affiliate program.  If you’re not familiar with affiliate programs, it’s when a company pays the crafter a percentage for all of the sales generated from their videos.

If you’ve ever wondered why I don’t take any money from YouTube or any craft companies, it’s because I am on disability from the bank I worked at for twenty-five years.  They pay me a portion of my salary and if I earn any money, I have to report it to them, and they subtract that money from the money they pay me.  I would hate to risk losing that income in case I have a health crisis and can no longer do YouTube videos.  So now you know everything you ever wanted to know about me, and probably more than you really want to know.

Rich is editing a video tonight and it will go live sometime tomorrow.  We’re going to lunch and a movie with friends, so it won’t be until later in the day.  If you’re wondering what movie we’ll be seeing, it’s a manly action movie called John Wick.  I wasn’t thrilled about going (a lot of karate involved), but there’s a craft store going out of business in the same town as the theater, and Rich is taking me there first….So we both are doing something for the other person tomorrow…He loves craft stores…haha…

I think I might be cursed.  Today, I went to the dermatologist to have a couple of spots removed….one was on my calf, and was pretty big…Not huge, but bigger than a dime.  The doctor’s office was on the third floor of an old building (technically the fourth floor, since you have to walk to the ground floor to get out)…Once I was finished, we got to the elevator and pushed the button and waited, and waited, and waited….then decided it was either broken or someone had it stopped as it wasn’t moving.  So I hiked it down four large flights of stairs…you know the ones where there are maybe six stairs, then a turn, and then another ten stairs to make one flight.  My leg was numbed before the hike, but by the time we got to the car, I could feel it starting to burn….In the five minutes it took to get home, it continued to burn and when I walked into the house,  and three more stairs, my calf was seriously aching.  I think I’m just lucky that these things happen to me..or cursed, you be the judge.

On a bright note, I got a note from Arteza that they’re sending me their set of 60 alcohol markers to try.  I can’t wait to use them, and already have a project in mind for them.  I’m also getting a new water based pen set (markers) from them and their watercolors.  They want to send me a set of 60 tubes, and since I’ve never used watercolors in tubes, I’m at a loss as to how to play with them.  Luckily, Lindsay the frugal crafter and I have emailed back and forth about it, and she’s given me some good tips.  I did contact Arteza and ask if there was any way they could send me the set of 24 watercolors instead of the set of 60, as I’ll never use that many colors, and haven’t heard back from them yet.  I just don’t want to waste their products when they are nice enough to send them to me.

Next week, Barb Tobias is coming to show me how to make foamiran flowers, and we’ll be making a few videos with instructions.  I’m hoping I can make something that looks a little like the flowers she creates, as hers are amazing.  Cross your fingers for me, it could be a long ride…

The nice people at Arteza gave me this set of 54 super fine glitters to try, and a discount code for my viewers, including those in Europe.
Below, you’ll find the instructions on how to make the card as well as the discounts you’ll need.

Arteza:
USA site: http://bit.ly/2PJ1Jt7
Europe site: http://bit.ly/2vCSZv6

10% discount codes:
Glitter Shaker Jars – Set of 54: used in this video http://bit.ly/2PKFbbo
5.5×8.5″ Watercolor Pads, 30 Sheets – Pack of 3: http://bit.ly/2PJ1b6j used in the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGeMbLJS254
and Holographic Glitter Shakers (2 Colors Diamond & Fancy, 5g Each): http://bit.ly/2vCWBxf (from an upcoming video)

I started with the Stampendous Dreamweaver Metal Stencil called Bare Trees. I bought mine at Sparkle n’ Sprinkle and here’s the link to it.  https://sparklensprinkle.net/products/bare-trees-stampendous-stencil-dwlj849  If you sign up for their emails, you’ll get good discount codes, and one for your first purchase, (just thought you’d like to know.)

Rub the entire back of the stencil with Coconut oil soap to make sure you can pull it back off once you are done. Also from Sparkle n’ Sprinkle
Hawaiian Coconut Oil Soap link: https://sparklensprinkle.net/products/hawaiian-coconut-oil-soap

I showed the box of glitter and showed how I used name tags from the Dollar Tree (link: https://tinyurl.com/yyl8f7sp) along with my 5/8″ circle punch to make dots (using only the white parts of the name tags) for on the top of the glitter. (Leave the backing paper on the name tags when punching them…it’s harder to remove the backing paper after you’ve punched them out, but if you remove the backing paper before punching it out, you’ll get the label stuck in your punch.)
I added Tombow Mono Aqua glue to the circle (on top of each jar) and used the glitter in that jar to coat the circle.  That way I can tell at a glance what each bottle holds, then put them in a rainbow order so I’d be able to find all of one color family easily.

I used carpet tape (link: https://tinyurl.com/yynk733g) that’s a little over 2″ wide to cover my card that is 4 1/4″ wide by 5 1/2″ tall (and added one small strip of tear tape to cover the last 1/4″ that the carpet tape didn’t cover. Your card base will be super sticky, so make sure you put your stencil over it as soon as possible, making sure it’s lined up evenly (as you won’t get a second chance to attach it, since the paper is so sticky.)

I chose to make my bare trees look like spring right before the trees get their leaves. I put a darker green glitter on the bottom 1/4 of the card, and put a spare piece of paper above it so I wouldn’t get glitter where I didn’t want it. I changed to a lighter green for about 3/4″ so it looked like green grass in the distance (with sunlight shining on it.)  I kept my backing paper from the carpet tape to rub the glitter into the stencil. When I changed colors, I flipped over the backing paper, and eventually just used my finger to ensure the glitter was well adhered to the carpet tape. I used a bright blue for most of the top section and then a lighter blue to finish the top. I removed the stencil and rubbed turquoise glitter around the edges and then took a dark silver glitter to cover the trees so the entire card is covered with glitter.

Any excess glitter was put back into the jars except the dark silver, as it might have gotten other colors mixed with it when I rubbed the silver into the card…I might have dislodged other colors and you don’t want a bottle of silver glitter with blue and green mixed in.

I die cut the word hello four times and glued them together then sprayed Aleene’s tacky spray (link: https://tinyurl.com/y4a3f8kd) over the front, then added bright neon yellow glitter to it and tapped it in place to ensure it wouldn’t come off..

I left the inside of the card empty but stamped the back with my “made by Sandy Parker” stamp.

I hope you enjoyed this video..Just so you know, I don’t get any monies from Arteza, only products to try out on my channel, and discount codes for all of you..  I have one more video coming up using some of their chunky glitter that works well in shaker cards..I gave you the discount code for this glitter above with the other codes for this glitter and the watercolor pads I used in this video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGeMbLJS254

I have four videos ready to go live, and I think one should be up tomorrow.  I went to garage sales today and didn’t find much of anything that was fun.  I bought a Pampered Chef egg slicer since my old one is falling apart, and hopefully, Pampered Chef makes a more durable slicer.  I use it whenever I cut eggs for egg salad, potato or macaroni salad…so much easier than cutting them.  I put the eggs in so they are facing front to back on the long side, then slice it, hold it and turn it sideways and slice again for perfectly cut egg pieces.  It’s a lot easier than using a knife, as they sometimes are slippery and I like my knives to be really sharp….There’s my kitchen tip of the day for you, haha…

I’m really happy because our little bird family are back to have their babies (chicks, birdlings?)  OK, I knew birdling wasn’t right, but wasn’t sure about chick, so looked it up, and most baby birds are called chicks…I really wasn’t sure about that.  Any way, I wanted to video them last year and waited a day too long, and they’d left the nest, but this year, I’m committed to getting a video of them “talking” to each other after they have their chicks.  I love listening to them (I’m sure I’ve said this before,) because it sounds like they are bickering at each other and it’s so much fun to listen to them.  And once the chicks come, it’s a virtual screamfest.  The babies chirp until food comes, and they sound like an angry bird mob.  I can’t wait for you to hear them.  I’ve never seen the babies in all the years they’ve been nesting here, but boy have I heard them.  I’d love to have one of those wildlife cameras and have it focused on the opening to their house so I can watch the chicks learn to fly…that would be awesome.   You know you’re getting old when you love watching animals as much as I do.

There’s only one thing in the animal/bird community that bothers me, and that’s starlings.  I think they are the most glutenous, loud, obnoxious birds, and I’m always happy when they continue on their way…We normally have them in May, and if I have any bird food out, I have to bring it in, or they will eat all of it and not allow any other birds near the feeder.  I wouldn’t mind if they shared the food with other birds, but it’s nasty how aggressive and loud they are….I figured out by eliminating the food source, they leave much faster than if I continue to give them a food source.  They need to go.

 

You can’t believe how much I accomplished today.  Some days I don’t even bother opening the door to my craft room but today, I was inspired.  I ended up  making three videos, and I’m excited about all of the cards I created.

I started with Flower Soft and a stencil I got from Stencil Revolution of a piece of lavender.  I’ve never found anything I wanted to use the Flower Soft on, and this was the perfect card for it.  I loved the light and dark lavender shades I had and I think the card came out pretty great.  I used a hummingbird stamp on it and added Stickles to its breast and wings….I have to say, I like Flower Soft and hope I find other ways to use it.

My second card was a shaker card using a stamp set from Brutus Monroe of feathers.  I added some Arteza Holographic glitter inside the card and I think it turned out pretty great….My last card was all glitter.  Arteza sent me their big set of glitter and I decided to make a spring inspired card for my friend Adrian who lives in Romania.  This is the third card I’ve made for him and hope that he receives it, as the first two I sent him, he didn’t get.  I’m not sure what went wrong, but I really hope this time (third time) is the charm.

The card I made him is birch trees without leaves…I normally would only use that stencil in fall or winter, but I thought it could also be used for early spring, so that’s what I did..I really had fun with it and hope he likes it….I’m still crossing my fingers that he actually gets it.

All in all, it was a great day in the craft room.