My friend Barb sent me a box of cd cases to use for my stamp sets, as well as some cards she had made with a set of three layered dies.  I’ve seen Jennifer McGuire use these dies and they are absolutely lovely, but unfortunately, over $70 for the set.

If you know me or watch my channel, you know that I try to always buy things on sale and never pay full price for things without losing my mind over it.  I’ve always been that way, very conscious of money, so would never buy a set of dies for $70.

I was looking around on AliExpress and found the main die to the set for $3.75 and bought it.  The same seller had two dies that layered, and we are talking about background size dies, so I bought those as well.  They were also around the same price.  In all, I think I found four different styles of background size dies that layer on each other and can’t wait to get them.

I love it when I find something like this as I know my viewers are as conscious of price (for the most part) as I am.  I’m particularly excited about these as I’ve never seen anything like these on AliExpress, and know my viewers will be as excited as I am.  These will make beautiful and simple cards and their size is significant (around 5″ tall by over 4″ wide)…The seller’s name is Top Top Ali Store and I lied.  The prices were either $3.39 or $3.59 each.  I can’t imagine buying any dies in the US that are that large for such a low price.  I am so excited that I found them and really hope that they work well and layer like I think they should.  If they don’t layer well, I guess I could use them individually, and I can live with a die that doesn’t layer for $3.59.

I found some other things at AliExpress that I didn’t know they sold. They have a 50 ml bottle that has ten different needle tips on it.  It’s the perfect size for glues and the tips are all different thicknesses, so surely one of them should work for me to get glue to squeeze through.  And best of all, it was 89 cents.  I can’t wait to try this out as I’ve never found any glue bottles that work well for me with a fine tip applicator, so this could be the answer to my issues with glue tips.  The vendor’s name is Home Improvement Mall and I’ll keep you updated if the bottle works well for me.

 

There are some projects that are just destined for the garbage can.  I’d tried making a card with three large roses on it…At first, I played with kid’s chalk, and that didn’t go well, as their chalk is more gritty and hard to work with.  I wiped it off and threw the card front aside over a month ago.  It was when I played with chalks in a couple of videos and wanted to try sidewalk chalk as a viable alternative (which it is not.)  So now you know it’s been sitting on my desk for a little while.

I found the card today and thought I’d paint it with watercolor pencils.  I probably should mention that I used kraft card stock and it just doesn’t look very nice when you try to color on it, at least not for something like this.  I used different shades of reds and it looked ok, but the roses needed some kind of highlights, so I added gold Sharpie to the them.  I was surprised, but the Sharpie really improved the look of the roses, but they still needed something.  So I added some Wink of Stella and that’s when the project started on it’s downward spiral.  Since it was already looking a little iffy, I added some Distress Oxides around the edges and used a water brush and added a little to the leaves and stems.  The oxidation made the paper look horrible and made the leaves look like they had some kind of disease.  But I’m no quitter, so I decided to cut the roses out and apply them to the front of a note card.  That was the end of the line as the roses wouldn’t work with anything behind them, they just looked bad.  So I used Distress Oxides on a note card to make the base almost match the roses.  No, it was just getting uglier and uglier.  Luckily, that was the moment Rich asked me if I was ready to order pizza for supper, and I threw everything into the trash.  After all, pizza was calling and there was no redeeming that mess.

Today was one of those days where I didn’t really accomplish much of anything.  We went out to lunch with a friend and other than that, I basically bought groceries and hung out with Rich and the dogs.  I did watch some YouTube videos from the Frugal Crafter from Christmas.  I don’t even know why I watched them, other than they were videos of hers that I’d never seen before, and I always love watching her.  For some reason, Lindsay’s videos make me feel good.  I don’t know what makes hers different from other people’s videos, but I really enjoy them.  I’m not crazy about the live videos, and trust me when I tell you this, I sincerely doubt that I will ever do a live video.  They just seem so long and I’ve watched several YouTubers do them, and none really appeal to me, not even Lindsays.  Some are just horrible, where they can’t get the camera to work, or their helper isn’t prepared or the helper doesn’t know what they are doing.  I just don’t enjoy them.  I wonder if I’m the only one that feels that way.

Even worse are the ones where the YouTuber is talking to the people who are on their computer and you feel like you are eavesdropping on their conversation.  It goes like this “Yes, Judy, I feel the same way.”  “No, Tom, I wasn’t aware of that change.”  What the heck are they talking about?  Maybe I’d like to know if I feel the same way as Judy, and would benefit from knowing about the change that Tom mentioned.  I can’t remember what those are called, I Chat maybe.  I don’t know, but they drive me crazy.  Can’t they stream the conversation on YouTube so we have a clue?

So apparently I’m on a big rant and need to get a grip.  “What was that Susie?”  “Yes Sandy is crazy.”

And so it goes.

Our great niece just graduated from high school and is going to nursing school and I wanted to make her graduation card to be focused on nursing.  I found this house mouse stamp at Joanns’, but Walmart.com seemed to have the lowest price for the stamp currently.  Here’s the link to it.  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Stampendous-House-Mouse-Cling-Stamp-2-75-X3-75-Nurse-Mouse/145555090?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1453&adid=22222222227061276284&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=165473023646&wl4=pla-271605667906&wl5=9006368&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=112550049&wl11=online&wl12=145555090&wl13=&veh=sem

I used Touch 5 markers and some Spectrum Noir markers to color the image on a 5 1/4″ x 4″ piece of white card stock.  The marker numbers are written on the screen.

After coloring the image, I used one of the sets of AliExpress dies to cut it ou.  I also cut the same size die in a brighter pink color, then cut it in half so I could line the back of the mouse piece with it.  I colored in the background of the house mouse stamp with a lighter coral color and listed that number on the screen as well.
The die set I used was from a vendor by the name of sanheshun Shenghua Crafts Store on Aliexpress and the die set was $1.99 and called wavy square frames cutting dies.
After attaching the two layers together, I tied a 1/8″ matching taffeta ribbon to the front of the mice and using the smaller matching die for my sentiment from the Taylored Expressions Dream Big stamp set.
I put foam tape behind one half of the sentiment and doubled the foam tape behind the half that wasn’t laying on the mouse stamp, so the sentiment would lie flat.  The background cardstock was 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ and the 8 1/2″ was scored at 4 1/4″ making it an A2 size card that’s 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ when folded.

To decorate my envelope, I used stars from the stamp set Dream Big and used Stampin’ Up marker in Melon Mambo to color the stars.  I used a pink glitter washi tape to decorate the bottom of the envelope.

I know this will probably sound silly, but for as long as I can remember, Rich and I have  said that once it’s the Fourth of July, you blink, and summer’s over.  I realize there’s almost two months left of summer, but for us, that only means that we have six months of winter to look forward to.  I’m like the groundhog that sees his shadow.  It seems like I see my shadow all the time and start dreading winter as soon as winter is over.  This must be the first real sign of getting old.  So basically I’m the groundhog that predicts old age instead of winter, darn it.

I spent some of today watching older YouTube videos and I found one that I think is recent, of a technique that involves marbles.  I’m not kidding, as soon as I saw it, I said I need to give this a try.  It’s messy, otherwise I wouldn’t be interested in it.  It’s also loud, not a great plus, but so much fun.  I can see the dogs hiding when I’m making cards with this technique.  I just couldn’t get over how simple the idea is and yet how much fun.  I’m trying to think of ways to make it less expensive to do.  Right now, it involves using re-inkers and not everyone owns those.  You also need a case for an old stamp set or a similar plastic case.  I think people can find something that would work for that.  I just need to work on the inking part of the problem.  I’m pretty sure I could stamp with smaller ink pads, but am not sure if I’d need to add water to make it work.  Regardless, the video is on it’s way.  Tomorrow could be the day for this one..

Finally, a day of rest.  I’m exhausted from three days of picnics and I’m taking full advantage of the down time.  I made my first video for my choices for the best tools for the beginning card maker.  It wasn’t a lot of work and I think my choices should make a lot of sense.  At least I hope they will.  The thing that’s nice about this video, is that it works well with other videos that are already made.  I have a video on how to use a paper trimmer and will link that to the end of this video as I feature a paper trimmer in this video.  I’m also going to link a video that I made on papers and inks so that people will understand those as well.  I really think that it’s overwhelming for a new card maker to know what they need vs. what people tell them they need.  I tried to stay on track with products that I felt they really needed.  I also tried to stay away from really expensive products, as I really doubt that a new card maker can afford everything I mentioned, let alone a MISTI.  I did bring up the MISTI, but didn’t go into a lot of detail.  I talked about the version Tim Holtz has coming out as the price point is going to be much lower than the MISTI, (if it ever gets approval to go to market.)  I really wish one of the less expensive stamping tools was still on the market, because it’s really hard for me to say to someone that this $60 is the best fit for you, even though right now it currently is.  I really wish she would lower her price to something that more crafters can afford, but I don’t see that happening.

In the meantime, I have one video on products in the bag and my next is going to focus on embossing and the ins and outs of it.  I’m a little bit worried about that one, because I bought one of the Marvy 2500 heat tools, used it on a one word die cut, and then it wouldn’t turn back on.  My second Marvy is on it’s way to me via Amazon as we speak.  Let’s hope I get at least two words out of this one.

My friend Terrie asked me if I would try out the layer floral stamps from AliExpress so this is my first attempt.
What I found was that even after cleaning the new stamps, the ink pooled up on the stamps if I used a squishy foam ink pad. I had much better results with Stampin’ Up ink pads that were felt and not good results from the Color Box inks from MFT that were foam and squishy.  I had much better results using the Cheese Puff from Ranger that was a felt pad as my first layer (which should be the lightest shade you will use.)  The second stamped layer is Stampin’ Up Really Rust, and the third layer that is primarily lines, is Stampin’ Up Basic Brown.
The next layer I stamped backwards and stamped the stem in basic brown first and then stamped leaves in Distress inks that were Bundled Sage and Forest Moss and although I gave a third green ink, I used the basic brown instead.  I wasn’t sure what to do with the background so used Stampin’ Up Pumpkin Pie Dye ink and used the 1″ chip brush from Harbor Freight Liquidators that I trimmed 3/4″ off the top to make the brush have a straight edge.  I used the brush all over the bottom of the card and anywhere below and beside the roses.  Then I used Peeled Paint from Distress Inks on the upper portion of the card and then spritzed water on it.  I used Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and colored over the Pumpkin Pie on the bottom then dried it with my heat tool.  I used Forest Moss Distress ink and pressed it onto the back of an ink pad and added water to it and then flicked it over the top portion of the card with a paint brush in the area that was already green.  I used the Happy Birthday Die from AliExpress and cut it out of the green on the top of the card and put a piece of washi tape behind it so the letters I put back would have something to attach to.  I pressed Happy Birthday into the  Forest Moss Distress ink to color it darker than the card.  I pressed the happy birthday into the card and made sure it was well adhered to the washi tape and added a little bit of wet glue to the letters as well to ensured it would stay where I placed it.  Then I used the dreaded foam tape to the back and used my Creative Memories corner rounder and rounded the corners on the card front and on the moss green card base and laid the front onto the card base.  The card is 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″.  I decided it needed a little something else, so I used G Glitter Glue and made little raised dots all over the front of the card.  I also used my Spectrum Noir glitter marker and accented the edges of the roses and the leaves with it.
I decorated the envelope with peg stamps, large brambly rose and small brambly rose, evergreen branch, delicate fern, pointy serrated leaf, wavy delicate sprig and flowers, three ripply.  I used Stampin’ Up pumpkin pie ink for the roses as well as Distress inks, Spiced Marmalade, and the same Distress ink greens I used earlier.  I made a rectangle with the large brambly roses so the name and address would fit inside, then stamped the rest of the stamps in the same shape and then stamped the back with the smaller brambly rose stamp.  I used the orange chip brush and colored in the large brambly roses to make them stand out more on the front of the envelope.

Today, we went to our third picnic in three days and I have to say, I’m not used to this social whirlwind, haha.  I’m so tired and really glad that tomorrow is the 4th of July, as we go back to our normal life of inactivity.  We just aren’t used to so much fun.  Isn’t that pathetic?  I think if I was an animal, I’d probably be a sloth.  Slow pace, a lot of sleeping and eating, yes, that’s me.

After I got home from the picnic, I started working on a new video series I’m going to be making on my favorite tools.  One of my viewers thought it was time for me to make one and I thought it made perfect sense.  I started making a list of the things a new card maker would need, and tailored it to the products that work best for me.  I really like this idea, as it makes sure that I’m always staying current on the products that I really enjoy using.  I had made product videos and almost every one of those is now outdated by a product I like more than the ones I chose a year ago.  No wonder Jennifer McGuire does her favorite things videos every year.  Things change so quickly, and product innovations make it so that I really need to stay current on my recommendations.  I thought I’d make the first video on necessities for the new card maker, then the next one fits into my embossing powder idea, then on to die cutting etc.  I’m really happy with this series as I think newer crafters will really benefit from these videos.  It also gives me a break from coming up with new and different card ideas.  I do have a few of them already made so that I can alternate card and tool videos.  Rich will really love the videos on products, as I don’t require a ton of editing on those.  All in all, this works out for both of us.

I spent a lot of the day working on a wedding card for a close friend who just got married.  I really wanted to make it special, but the more I worked on it, the worse it got.  I’m not sure if I liked it in the end, or was just so relieved that it was finished that I thought it looked better than it did.  It was just one of those days.  Stamping the sentiment in the inside of the card took three card bases, if that tells you anything.  By that point I was ready to throw in the towel and just hand my good friend a gift card and say “good luck.”  It was that bad of an experience.  Of course I videotaped it, and naturally that was a disaster as well.  The camera shut off at one point, then the battery ran out, then the memory card was full….You just can’t make these things up.  It was the most frustrating, time consuming experience.  And the funny thing is, the card is really very simple.  You’ll probably wonder how I could turn a simple card into a four hour ordeal, but I did.  It was almost funny.  Almost.

Rich and I had picnics yesterday and today, as well as one tomorrow.  I’m not used to so much social activity so close together.  This is going to sound pathetic, but I’m not cut out for a social whirlwind (as if three days worth of picnics is a whirlwind.)  Honestly, I’m exhausted and it’s only the second day.  By tomorrow night, I’ll probably be in a stupor, begging for a few days of rest.

I spent the evening finishing the video on tape runners, and boy is it going to be a long video.  I think I covered all of the things people would want to know when it comes to tape runners, but we’ll wait and see.

I had the first negative comment about my hands (in a video), and although I’ve been bracing myself for this for a year and a half, it still hurt.  I found the girl who wrote the comment, and she’s young, in her teens, but it still leaves a mark.  She said something along the lines of she liked the idea of the video, but “her hands are creepy.”  I tried to be really constructive with the response as I wanted her to know that she hurt me and that my hands could be attached to her mother, her grandmother, or even herself.  I don’t know if I said the right things or not, but I tried to make it a learning experience for her and took that approach in my response.  After all, we were all kids once, and said and did stupid, thoughtless things, but in this world of instant communication, it’s so easy for kids to put negativity out into the world with the touch of a keypad and never think about how it lands.

If you want to read the comments, they are attached to the video I’ve linked below.  I’d really appreciate your thoughts as to whether I handled it the right way or not.  Since I’ve never had kids, I don’t really know how to say things so they sink in.  I just hope she did take something away from what I said, even if it’s something small.  Here’s the link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C2f4xDKWzE&t=78s