In the middle of the night, I woke up with an amazing idea for a card/ornament.  I really didn’t think it would be too hard, but have not seen anything like it, so thought, why not give it a try.  I spent hours working on it today, and finally decided I should throw in the towel and try it again tomorrow.  It starts with a large house die I bought.  I’ve been wanting to make a card/ornament, with lights inside it, but never really liked the ideas I’ve seen on YouTube.  I decided I could design and create a box that would have the house die cut out of the front, then reattached over vellum.  The box will be deep enough to encompass two lights, one on each floor of the house.

Things went bad for me, right from the beginning.  I couldn’t get my score tool to stay in the grooves because I was using really thick card stock….so of course, I now have weird lines in the paper.  On to the next problem,  I kept scoring on the wrong line…I don’t know why I couldn’t remember where 1 5/8″ was on my score board.  I scored 2 1/8″ for one score, so that made that card stock garbage.  Then came the third mistake.  I die cut the house out of the card stock, but cut it out of the wrong side of the box, so I have the back of the die cut facing out, not the front.  It makes a big difference with this die, as it’s big and highly ornate.  So I started over with black card stock.  I cut the paper and scored it, then looked at my score lines and thought they looked odd…..Yep, scored those suckers on the wrong score line.  This time I used 1 3/8″. so I decided, this project is done for the day.  I’ll start over, this time with some pre-planning already done…I’ll definitely know the things I should not be doing.  Some projects are much better when you take the time to think things through before proceeding with them.  This is definitely one of those.

A viewer, Jennie, asked me to make a dangle charm…I couldn’t make it from scratch, using an I pin, so I started thinking about alternative ways to do it. The easiest way, is using old jewelry and taking it apart, then reattaching it in the form of a dangle. I went through my mother’s vintage jewelry and found a pearl dangly bracelet circa 1980. I took the clasp off of it, and added pieces from the bracelet using two loops with each addition. I found by using two loops, it allowed everything to dangle easily and made attaching new pieces much easier. I meant to say that in the video, but got distracted along the way. When you open the loops, you should not pull the two end away from each other, but instead, bend one side down, then closing the loop will maintain it’s shape and will close much more efficiently. I used the dangle that I made to attach to a Bath and Body Works antibacterial hand sanitizer, and the other, a key chain that wasn’t overly attractive. I added a lot of different components to the key chain from earrings and loose charms, and a glass butterfly that I had to make my own loop to attach it. I took an I pin (I think that’s what they are called), and put it through the butterfly then bent the two ends up and twisted them together several times, then cut off the loose ends. I attached two rings and added another piece from earrings, and attached it to the key ring. I hope this is what Jennie was looking for me to make, but if it isn’t, I’d be happy to try something else. This was a lot of fun, and I highly recommend you going through your old jewelry and finding a couple pairs of pliers and making your own dangles.

I really have been trying to put up a video showing how to make your own gift tags for on packages.  The problem came with execution.  I tried different techniques that I had mentioned in another post, but most of them didn’t work.  Some did work, but not well, and others were complete failures.  I finished the video, but have to say, I don’t think anyone will be impressed with the idea.  The end result looks like a little kid made it, but when I ran it by Rich, he said they look like the tags people put on packages…I was really surprised, because he normally will tell me that “it’s not my best work.”  That’s my cue to toss the video.  I really was shocked he didn’t say it.  Maybe he’s trying to be nice and not hurt my feelings…no, I think he would have told me if he thought it looked as bad as I think it is.

I’m still saying it’s pretty awful.  I wish I could have done a better job, but it just wasn’t meant to be.  I worked on the video for two evenings and both had crappy results.  I guess I’m just going to run with it and wait for the negative comments.  I’ll be really surprised if people give it a thumbs up..I’ll be even more surprised if they even watch it..Oh well, you can’t win them all.

I saw these bookmarks on another YouTube channel called Scrapdaworld, and thought it was really fun.

To make the bookmarks, you’ll need elastic cord that I found at Walmart. I found the “clasp free elastics” from the Dollar Tree. You need a book to use as a guide. Pull the elastic around the front cover of a book and pull it tight. Cut it and then take one of the elastics and lay it under the edge of the elastic cord (leaving enough room to pull the cord around the elastic and glue it to itself with hot glue. Make sure the hot glue covers the width of the elastic cord, so the cord doesn’t let go. Pull the cord around the book and attach the other end of the cord. Decorate as you choose.

I made a holder for my bookmark, by cutting a piece of cardboard the size of my book. Then I took an old book page and attached it to the cardboard with tear tape. I used Distress Ink Old Paper and distressed the edges of the page and attached my bookmark to it by wrapping it around and using washi tape to hold it in place.

I want to thank Lindsey for giving me the die set from Lawn Fawn, as she told me if I didn’t have the stamp set, I could share it with others. You have until December 5th at Midnight Eastern time to leave a comment as to why you want the die set. Rich will choose the winner.

I’ve had an idea for a video that I haven’t made, but today’s the day.  I want to show people how to inexpensively make their own Christmas package labels.  I know that in general, they aren’t really expensive, but using labels from the Dollar Tree, stamps we already own, and glitter, we can make really cute handmade labels.  I think I’m going to try to make them a couple of different ways.  I have some embossing powder that once heated, melts and becomes a glue type surface.  I know a lot of people don’t own this powder, so am going to stamp into Mod Podge and then stamp that onto the labels, making sure I really clean my stamps well, and then covering it in glitter.  I’m not a huge fan of glitter, but I think this project really calls for it.  Actually, I think I’ll make them a third way, using a glitter based embossing powder with Versamark ink.  A lot of people already own glitter based embossing powder, and if they don’t, I can show them how to make their own glittery embossing powder.  It’s going to be fun showing people how to make their products work in different ways, and allow them to save money so they don’t have to buy additional products to achieve the same effect.

I love showing people how to save money, especially at this time of year, when time and money are both at a premium.  It’s definitely satisfying when people leave a comment thanking me for helping them find ways to save.  I also love projects that are kid friendly, and using Mod Podge instead of embossing powder will make this into something that they whole family can make.

I have been wanting to make an ornament to share with viewers, and today I worked on a poinsettia covered styrofoam ball.  I really liked the way it turned out and the video is short, so fast and easy to watch…I used a couple of Stampin’ Up punches on it , but  have been really frustrated by the quality of their punches.  EK Success and Stampin’ Up punches are manufactured by the same company, and both have quality control issues.  I used to really love them, but lately, I have at least four punches that either no longer work, or the closure has popped out of it.  One closure flew across the room and is lost (for now.)  I’m disappointed, because these companies sell their products for a premium, only to find they are defective or stop working..  I wanted to contact EK Success, as their circle punches don’t punch and can’t be closed.  I’m not rough on my punches, and obviously am not aggressive when I use them, so felt the company should know they don’t work.  I can’t find any contact information for EK Success, and that’s really annoying.  I think companies should stand behind their merchandise, so if any of you know a way to contact EK Success, I’d like to do so.  The circle punches are seemingly warped and won’t close or punch.  I punched a circle, and when it should have sprung back open, the punch jammed about halfway open.  I couldn’t get the paper out without tearing it, and the punch is no longer viable.  I would chalk it up to something I must have done to break the punch, until it happened to another circle punch made by them.   Oddly enough, the exact same problem.  I’ve always enjoyed the ease of use with paper punches, but now that the quality has diminished, I doubt I’ll be buying more in the future.  Especially considering how much easier it is to use dies when trying to center punched images vs. dies.  I don’t like to use the blog to do a rant, but sometimes it’s important to get information out there so others know what’s going on with certain companies, and their product quality, or lack thereof.

To make the bag topper, measure the width of your bag, (I got mine at Walmart in the paper product department). The decorated paper I bought was from Hobby Lobby called Christmas Confetti, and I folded a piece in half. After folding it, I cut it the width of my paper bag. I used a 2 1/2″ oval punch from Hobby Lobby and pushed it into the top (folded portion) of the decorated paper and punched out the oval. I used a Creative Memories corner rounder punch and rounded the top corners. Next, I took an edge die and cut the bottom of the paper. By using a shim, I was able to cut through both layers at once. The dies came from a company called Banggood and here’s a link to the border dies. https://tinyurl.com/yaxpurbw The Merry Christmas die came from there as well, but I couldn’t find it on their site to send you there.

After cutting the bottom edge of the topper, I used Versamark ink on the “Merry Christmas” and then put Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder on it and heat set it. I used wet glue to attach it to the bag topper.

My good friend Rebecca, at Rubber Stamp Tapestry, the peg stamp company, sent me some of their Christmas themed stamps and I wanted to share them and use them on this project.
You can find these stamps at http://www.pegstamps.com
Old Fashioned Gingerbread
Poinsettia Flourish
Poinsettia Wreath
Christmas Garland
She also sent me a Christmas mouse stamp, candy cane, Christmas ornament, and Merry Christmas stamps.

I used the Poinsettia Flourish on the gift bag. I stamped the poinsettia in Versamark ink all over the bag, and then used Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Up embossing powder and heat set it. Then I used the leaves from the stamp set, with Versamark ink and then used Ranger Evergreen embossing powder on it and heat set it. I showed a great tip at this point, as when you stamp the leaves, you don’t need to worry about the embossing ruining the poinsettias. All you do, is stamp the leaves, put the embossing powder on them, then take a paint brush and wipe the green embossing powder off of the poinsettias, then heat set them. It’s like when you do masking when you are stamping, only with embossing powder.

After heat setting the green leaves, I used the flourish stamp and stamped it all over the bag and then used the Ranger Princess gold embossing powder and heat set them.

After the bag is finished, fill it with the gifts you’ve chosen (making sure that they aren’t really heavy, as the topper won’t hold up with something that’s heavy). Then place the topper over the bag, once you’ve folded the top over so it’s more secure. The topper should cover the bag up to the oval cut out, but not visible through it. Staple or use a clothespin to keep it closed.

I had lunch with a girlfriend today and when I got home, I started thinking about not being able to make the charm dangle yesterday.  It really has been bothering me that I gave up so quickly on something I thought I should be able to do.  When I got home, I immediately went into the craft room and started tinkering around with jewelry.  What I discovered is this.  I can make a charm dangle, as long as I use existing jewelry to begin with.  I took apart a bracelet and used the clasp, then started attaching things to it.  I’m not sure if it’s what my viewer was looking for, but I’m proud to say that I finished the project and it doesn’t look half bad.

I was so inspired, I thought I’d get serious and make something else, so I made a bunch more bookmarks and started on a Christmas ornament video for tomorrow.  I painted a styrofoam ball and had to wait for the paint to dry before proceeding.  It took forever to dry, and in the meantime, I lost the will to continue.  It gives me a good starting point for tomorrow.  I’m also going to work on a bunch of cards.  I need to get serious about Christmas cards, as people expect me to make them, and I’m not really focused on it yet.  I think I’ll get focused mid-January…Is that too late?

I really wanted to try to make a jewelry dangle to attach to a key chain, as I had a request for one from a viewer.  I have watched people make jewelry so many times and I thought, “With a couple pairs of pliers, I could easily bend wire.”  Not so much.  I bent it once, and then everything fell apart.  The dangle spun, the wire fought me, and long story short, I won’t be making any jewelry on a video any time soon.  I know you probably find that shocking, OK, you probably thought, “anybody looking at your hands would know you can’t twist wire,” and you’d be right.  There are so many times when I convince myself that I can do things, especially something as simple as bending a wire, only to discover I can’t.  And the funny part is, it always surprises me when I can’t.

So today I’m back to card making, because that’s one area I’m pretty sure I can handle.  I’m still a little bit disappointed in the whole wire bending incident, but I’ll get over it.  I’ll just chock it up to “at least I tried.”

I want to make a couple of cards that will be fun folds as well as a couple of pretty ornate cards.  So I’m putting away the jewelry, and getting out the paper products.  Did you know, paper is easier to bend than wire?  Just thought I’d give you a heads up about it.

I was asked by a viewer named Amanda if I could duplicate Heidi Swapp’s Color Shine and I thought I’d give it a try. I wanted to make a faux Wink of Stella as well. I use two techniques for Wink of Stella.

To make the faux Heidi Swapp Color Shine, I used a small spray bottle that was a travel size hair spray that I cleaned. I forgot to mention this in the video, but you need to cut the tube inside the spray bottle so that it’s not touching the bottom of the bottle and it should be cut on a diagonal so more product can get into the tube and it doesn’t clog from the mica powder in the LA Colors eye shadow.

Fill 1/4 of the bottle with water
1/4 of the bottle with alcohol, any % is fine
1/4 of the bottle with craft paint that matches your MICA
Start with 1/4 tsp. of LA Colors eye shadow that matches the color of paint you used.
You need a small marble that you can buy in the floral section of a craft store. It should be smaller than a normal size marble.
Put all ingredients in your spray bottle and make sure you shake it a lot . Test it and if there’s not enough sparkle, add more eye shadow. I’d add 1/4 tsp at a time to ensure you don’t add too much.

Faux Wink of Stella–I did not use a water brush, as I think this works better by using a simple paint brush…Sometimes it clogs a water brush, so I don’t like using it in one with my faux Wink of Stella.

1. Take LA Colors Eye Shadow in the pot and remove the bottom, put the contents into a sealed container.

Using another small sealed containerl, spray about 15-20 sprays of water into the container.
Add 1/8 tsp. of LA Colors Eye Shadow and stir well. For a binding ingredient, use 1/8 tsp of Gum Arabic (buy it in the art department of any craft store) and sprinkle it over the top as it’s hard to stir in otherwise. Combine all ingredients and stir well. Use a paint brush to test it…If it’s too sparkly, add more water, and if it’s not sparkly enough, add more LA Colors eye shadow. You can change your Wink of Stella color, just change the color of the eye shadow you use. I found the LA Colors at the Dollar Tree.

2nd option
Use Liquitex Iridescent Medium that you can buy in the art department of Michaels or AC Moore. Use one or two small blobs in a small sealed container and add 15-20 sprays of water from a water bottle. Stir well, and test. If it’s too sparkly, add more water. If it’s not sparkly enough, add another drop of the Iridescent Medium.