I love this four blue bird stamp from Carolyn Shores Wright.  I took a piece of light blue card stock and stamped my image.  When I use this stamp, because it’s very long but not very tall, I stamp it upside down with the stamp lying face up on my desk, and putting the paper over it, rubbing one hand over the image while using the other hand to hold the paper in place.  You can put a scrap paper over everything to ensure you don’t get ink on you.. On a newer stamp, you’ll get some marks on the edges of your stamped image.  I recommend the short bladed Tim Holtz scissors for trimming stamps.  If you’ve already stamped and gotten these marks, take your scissors and find the ink marks on the stamp where the image ended, and only red rubber remains.  Trim off any red rubber that has ink on it that is not part of your pattern.  Don’t trim your pattern, but trim close enough to it that you don’t get those marks.  It should ensure you don’t get them going forward.
I stamped with Color Box Black Archival ink and cleaned my stamp w/ Hero Arts cleaner.Use a rag to clean the stamp, then spray the stamp with water and wipe it .
I used watercolor pencils from Caran ‘D’ Ache Supra Color (sorry, it’s spelled wrong on the screen) # 3888, Derwent Inktense Red Oxide, Prismacolor Dark Umber, Sienna Brown, Copenhagen, Terra Cotta, Ultramarine and Non-Photo Blue pencils.  I’m sorry that I forgot to mention Ultramarine so it’s not listed in the video.
I liquefy my watercolors with a paint brush and water.  I used the Hero Arts stamp set called “Hello” that includes a die.  Using a scrap of blue paper & the Ultramarine pencil , I lightly scribbled over the paper so it’s as large as the die.  Then I liquefied it and dried it, then put the die over it with a small piece of washi tape and then ran it through my Vagabond.  I made four more die cuts of hello with the light blue paper and glued them under the layer I had colored using Stampin Up’s fine tip glue pen.    I stamped a sentiment above the birds from the Hello stamp set, then glued the Hello very close to it.
The measurements on the screen are wrong.   The blue is 3″ x 6″ and the bottom layer is 3 1/4″ tall and 6″ wide so the card paper is 6 1/2″ tall and scored at 3 1/4″ and 6 1/4″ wide.
I used a cream  1/4″ wide ribbon and tucked it under my top layer of the card, putting a little bit of the fine tip glue on the ends of the ribbon and then cut about 3″ of ribbon and made a fake bow, by wrapping the ribbon piece around the ribbon that was laid in place and then tied a single knot. I trimmed the edges on an angle so it looks like a bow (and is much simpler than a real bow.)  I put a little drop of glue under the knot to hold the ribbon and bow in place.  I made an envelope by taking a ruler and measuring the card from corner to another on a diagonal and add one inch to the measurement and cut a piece of paper square to that dimension. So if your card is 8″ from corner to corner, add one inch and your paper then needs to be 9″ wide and tall.  Center your card in the square so the four corners of your paper are on the sides and top and bottom of your card.  Fold in the sides and crease, then do the same to the bottom and top.  If you want, you can cut the bottom triangle so it is squared off.  In my case, if I folded the envelope top so it was against the top of my card, I’d end up having my top fold longer than the envelope, so I didn’t fold the top close to the top of my card.  Trim all the corners where you have paper overlapping and you have triangles that need to go.  Use a good adhesive to keep this closed.  I use tear tape on the bottom edges of the side folds of the envelope and then put some on the top edges of the top fold.  If you are giving a set of cards, leave the backing on the tear tape on the top fold so the recipient can seal the envelope.
I used a big cage and old bird stamp on the back of the envelope and stamped with the same black ink.  I had trouble getting my cage to stamp well, so I used a black marker to fix it.  I stamped a small bird inside and used Stampin’ Up water markers to color the bird.,

 

I started my day by going to two really bad garage sales.  How bad were they you ask?  One was selling old pickle jars and the other had a dirt floor on the garage.  The floor was muddy, so they covered the mud with hay.  I’m not a fan of hay, pickle jars or muddy floors, so neither garage sale made me happy.  Still, it’s always fun to get out, and my girlfriend and I have a set plan.  She drives, and I buy us snacks and drinks.  Since the garage sales weren’t any fun, I had to make up for it with good snacks.  We went to a bakery that also makes great mini quiches. They were yummy and I was happy.  So much for garage sales for the day.

I got home and cleaned house all day.  I hate to clean when it’s muggy, as I was sweating like I ran a marathon.  Ever since I was a little kid, if I get hot, my face turns bright red.  My gym teacher always asked me if I needed to sit down, it was that red.  Today was no exception.  It didn’t matter how high I cranked up the air conditioning, I was still a sweaty mess.  On the other hand, my house looks really clean.  Even my craft room is at the “almost there” stage.  It still needs a little work, but it’s getting to the point that I might consider showing it in a video again.  Then again, I will probably make another card that creates a big mess again, so the cycle continues.

Big news though.  I can’t remember if I shared this or not, but a couple of days ago, I asked my friend Susan if she would be willing to help me with a Facebook project.  I would really like to feature projects that our viewers would like to post on our facebok page.  Susan put the first picture up, and Rich did something to feature it on the page, and now we can have all of our viewers put their cards and creative ideas up on the facebook page.  I’ve really wanted to do this since the beginning of our channel, and we finally know what to do.  Thanks Susan, for your help in getting us there.

So if any of you would like to post your crafty photos, go to Crafting For Almost Everyone on Facebook and add your photo.  Rich will find it and do whatever he does to feature it, and we’re cooking with heat (or is it oil?)  Whatever, we’re still cooking, Yay!

One of my friends asked me if I would do a video on heat embossing as she struggles with it.  I struggle with it as well, especially in the summer months when the weather is humid.  I’m never sure what I do wrong, but today I took some steps toward finding what my issues are.  I ordered a book from Amazon that Lindsay had read and really seemed to get a lot out of called “Embossing Powder Techniques from A to Z”…It definitely sounds like it has the answers I’m looking for, and step one, is in the bag.  I’m not sure if my heat gun is working well so Carol Held recommended the one that Michaels sells that is a Recollections product, so I purchased one of those.  Lastly, I’m going to remake my anti-static pouch with baby powder as maybe corn starch isn’t the answer.  I could always buy one of the pouches they sell, but I’m not sure they contain anything different from what I’m already using.  I just want to cover all of my bases before I make the video.

I’ve watched some of the big crafters use the heat tool from Hero Arts that’s metal all the way to the tip.  I think that it looks like a third degree burn waiting to happen.  Of course, none of them have ever admitted to getting burned, but you know I’ll be using it on my first video and end up crying like a baby after I’ve accidentally dropped it into my lap.  I think I’m going with the “better safe than sorry” outlook on heat tools.

I really wish I had a local crafty friend that I could run some of my questions by when I’m in the middle of a crisis.  It would be terrific to find someone that can relate to the issues we face when making cards.

I had a great time making the fun fold card with the shirt and tie and I think I’ll be focusing on making at least one fun fold card a week going forward.  I have an idea that I’d like to try out where I make a decorated magnetic memo holder for on the refrigerator.  I’m sure someone has already made one, but I’m thinking of coming up with a unique and different idea (if I can.)  I’m crossing my fingers on this one.

 

I saw Rajni’s Craftivity make this card and wanted to try it for myself. I used a stamp set from TAC Trendy Greetings for my sentiments..
Start with and 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper. Folding on the 11″ length, you will want to put the pattern you like underneath (so if your paper is white on one side, start with the white side facing you.) Fold the paper in half on the 11″ length; Then unfold it and fold your side into the center and fold it down making sure it’s well burnished. Do the same to the other side. Now take a ruler and from the top of your page (with the opening on this side) go down 2″ and make a line across. Take the top of the paper and fold it down to the 2″ mark, so basically you are folding it on the 1″ mark down to the 2″. Now that you have your fold, take your ruler and on the 2″ line you made, go in from each side 3/4″ and make a little mark. You will cut the paper to that 3/4″ mark on both sides then erase all your marks. Take the top right side and fold it toward the center so your inner point touches the center line. Do the same to the left side and this creates your collar. I struggled with the center of this paper and put a piece of tear tape near the top inside the collar so it doesn’t wrinkle. Now take the bottom of your paper and fold it so that it lines up with the top under the collar and line it up so the edges match the top edges. Fold it and use your bone folder on that fold. Now open the card and from the center fold on the middle go down 3/4″ from the center and make a mark with a pencil. Fold the bottom of the paper back from the mark you made so that the paper is folded all the way back to the bottom right corner. Do the same on the left side. Use the bone folder on the folds and erase your mark and fold it back under the collar and your sleeves are made. I took a 4 x 4″ square white paper inside and attached it below the collar and just above the center fold so you have somewhere to write. I put my sentiment on a piece of cardstock and glued it to the white 4 x 4 paper.
Then I decided to cover the pattern on the back that I don’t like. If you choose your paper wisely, you won’t have to do this step, but my paper on the reverse was weird. I laid a piece of paper that matched my front on to the part of the card that had the weird paper on it and traced it, then cut it out and glued it down. It really makes a finished look for the card.
To make the tie, I took a piece of cardstock that I liked with my shirt pattern and made a strip that is 1″ wide x 3 3/4″ long and at the top at 1/2″ make a mark. Then go down to 3/4″ and draw a line across the whole 1″. Then at the very bottom from each side, at 1/4″ put a mark and draw a line from the bottom right 1/4″ mark to the right edge of the line at 3/4″ line. Then do the same on the left side. From the center mark at the top, draw a line to the right edge of the 3/4″ line and also to the left side of the line, creatring a triangle. Now cut the triangle and down the sides making sure you are as straight as possible with your cutting. (Your tie is upside down) If you do your marking on the back of the paper, you won’t have to erase your lines. Next, take a 1″tall x 1 1/2″ wide matching cardstock and cut angled lines toward the center, making the base 3/4″ wide and the top about 1″ wide. This is the top of the tie. Center it on your long piece of tie and glue the two together. Don’t put any glue on the top half of the knot of the tie then lay the tie down so it fits under the collar and lands just above the line on the inside of the collar. To make the pocket, take the paper you like best (on one card I used the same paper as the tie and on the other, I used the same paper as the shirt. Cut a piece that is 1 1/4″ tall by 1″ wide and trim the bottom edge so it has angles on it like a pocket would have, I eyeballed this. Glue it down by using tear tape and just taping under the edges so in case you would like to put a little note inside, you can.
To glue down the collar, make sure you don’t glue anywhere near the bottom half of the collar, and use tear tape or another strong glue to keep it down, always making sure you can open the card.

You’ll need to make your own envelope that is roughly 5 1/2″ x 6″.

You can find ways to make your own envelope without any tools on this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cnJE…

I have been wanting to make a lot of videos featuring fun folds and today I made a Father’s Day card that was a shirt and tie shaped card.  I found it to be so interesting when I saw the originator of the card make her video.  At one point I think she gave mis-information, or I just wrote it down wrong, so had to make the first card over.  I have to say, it’s a really easy card to make but naturally I made it harder than it needed to be.  I used a double sided paper that had a weird Christmas pattern on the back.  Since the sleeves of the shirt show the reverse of the paper, I needed to fix it as it looked really odd.  At first I thought I’d just let it go, but then I started thinking about other people who might make the same mistake with their project and wouldn’t necessarily know how to fix it.  I did warn people not to make the same mistake as I did, but the added benefit was a really finished looking card as compared to the other one that ended up having white sleeves on the back.  I have to say, both cards had their own style, and they were a lot of fun to make.

I also made a graduation card that took forever because I kept having problems with my embossing powder.  I really believe that when the weather is hot and humid, embossing becomes iffy.  I’m not sure why I believe it, maybe I just have trouble with different colors of embossing powders.  They could be old, I’m not sure, maybe they have a best used by date and I passed that date, darn.

I was asked to do a video on embossing powders and man am I worried about it, as I have a lot of fails with them as well..  Maybe I should consider buying an embossing buddy or maybe I could just find a buddy to emboss for me, haha.

I wanted to make a video where I explained all of the different types of inks and what they are used for and the special effects you can get from them.  Unfortunately, I could not include all of the information below in the “more information” section below the video as YouTube said my description was too long.  I am really sorry that I had to make you come to my blog to find this information, as I vowed that I would not make anyone do that, but don’t have a choice in this case.

1. Dye Inks–These are the most common. They will fade in sunlight, are water based, fast drying and sink into the paper.  It is see through and hard to tell the color in the ink pad.  You’ll find all kinds of shapes and sizes of dye ink pads, so you might want to buy a smaller ink pad for certain colors and a larger ink pad for others.  Often times you will want to purchase a re-inker for inks that you use frequently, but you also might want to buy a new ink pad instead, as your ink pad might get worn.  If you stamp a large background stamp, you might want to have a larger pad to stamp with.  I recommend that you get a black ink pad in the larger size as you use black more often than others.  I’ll add information at the end for videos I’ve done on the best inks for different mediums (watercolors, water markers, alcohol inks, etc.) and a video for the best paper for alcohol marker blending.
2.  Distress Inks–These are dye based inks that are water reactive.  It’s normally not used for normal stamping, but it is used for a lot of techniques.  Most people will distress the edges of their papers with these inks, and use to watercolor or make great backgrounds, once you wet the ink and drop your paper into it.  You can stamp an image and then take a wet paintbrush and touch the ink that’s on the image and blend the ink around.
3.  Spray Inks–  Water based and can be plain or glittery and are hard to control when sprayed.  If you have glittery spray ink, shake it like you are ringing a bell or the glitter gets into the sprayer and ruins the spray factor.  Spray inks work well with stencils and creating backgrounds.  You can create your own spray inks and if you do and you have any issues with your hands, you can buy a sprayer at the Dollar Tree that works really great that I show in the video.
4. Pigment Inks– They sit on the top of the paper and don’t dry easily.  You heat set them or emboss them to dry them.  These inks are fade resistant and you can’t see through them.  The color in the container is the color of the ink.  It’s a thicker ink than dye based ink.  If it is not heat-set, it will easily smear.  I really like Unicorn White pigment ink as well as Versafine Onyx Black as one is a vibrant white and the other is a vibrant black.
5.  Versamark Ink- a watermark stamp pad used for heat embossing or tone on tone looks.  It’s a very sticky ink and is clear.  When you put embossing powder on it, because it is so sticky, the powder easily sticks to it.  You can also use Versamark ink with chalks and pastels.
I discuss the difference between embossing powders and embossing folders.  The folders are run through your die cutting machine and it creates a raised pattern to your paper.  Embossing powder is used with pigment inks or Versamark ink with the powder on top, then heat set with a heat tool.  It will turn a shiny color when it is melted. You should always heat up your tool before using it on your paper and move the tool around or your can burn your paper.
6.  Hybrid Ink- A Combination of dye and pigment ink.  It dries faster than pigment ink but doesn’t bleed like dye inks can.  It’s not a very popular ink and I’m not sure why.
7.  Chalk Inks–A thick ink primarily used for home décor projects.  It works really well on darker colored papers as it keeps its color.  I  mentioned that you can use small pads on a big image with several colors on it.  If you are doing a flower, you could put one color on the leaf and another on the outside of the flower and a third on the inside.   Chalk inks will sometimes leave a white residue.
8.Hero Arts Ombre Ink–it is archival which means it is a permanent ink.  I don’t know if all ombre inks are archival, but Hero Arts is.  It is waterproof and fade resistant.  Originally ombre inks were one color that went from light to dark, but now ombre inks have graduated to a variety of colors that work well together.
9.  Archival Inks–a permanent ink.  They are harder to clean than other inks but are perfect to be used on long term projects. Waterproof and won’t fade.  The Color Box inks are the ones I like because the ink pad is very smooshy and easy to stamp with.
10.  Staz-on –A solvent ink that works well on slick surfaces like glass, acetate,  and wood etc.  Great for home décor, like coasters.  It delivers sharp detail and is quick drying.  It needs reinked often and has a plastic cover that you must put back on immediately after use.  In order to clean Staz-On off of your stamp, you need to use Hero Arts or similar cleanse immediately after use..  It stains your stamps and is almost impossible to remove.  It smells strongly  like almonds.
11.  Distress Oxide Inks–Combination of dye and pigment ink and water reactive to create an oxide look.  It looks chalky once it is misted with water and it oxidizes. Add more water more dye will seep to the surface and then you get the oxidization.  The white oxidization does not wipe off like it can with chalk inks.  In order to get the ink to come out of the pad, really press into the pad to get good amounts of ink.
You can layer colors infinitely as long as you use wet ink on a dry surface.  If the layer is wet, you will blend your colors.  The key is wet on wet, (wet ink on a wet paper) you’ll blend the inks and if you use wet on dry (wet ink on a dry paper), the inks will layer.

I re-evaluated a card that I felt was a goner that I’d made a couple of days ago.  It’s definitely not video worthy, but I think it’s a sweet card.  It’s roses on craft card stock and if you’ll remember, it was the combination of craft colored card stock and alcohol markers that I just didn’t love.  I’ve put cards like this one up in the past, and others have really enjoyed them, but this one still seems like imperfection to me.  I really wish I could get past my need to make sure every card is something spectacular, because I know a lot of the ones I’ve put on video are not, but when I don’t see the potential, I just can’t put it online.  That’s kind of a sad statement, as some of the cards I’ve put on the channel have frankly been kind of embarrassing, and yet I put them online.  What’s the difference between those and this one?  It’s a mystery to me.  Sometimes I’ll make a video and let it sit for months and when I finally retrieve it, wonder why I didn’t like the card to begin with.  These are the mysteries of being me…

Since I just got over the decision about the rose card (still not video worthy), I needed to video tape a sure thing.  Sometimes I will get into a slump and have no imagination, so I decided  that I should make a card with one of my favorite stamps.  Carolyn Shores Wright makes really beautiful bird stamps and this is four blue birds.  I’m not sure why I haven’t made a video with it because this bird stamp is so cute. Since I know this stamp is adorable when colored, it’s a beauty on any background and makes any card pretty.  I’ve often wondered if others think it’s as cute as I do, and maybe once the video goes live, I’ll find out for sure.  I love almost everything Carolyn Shores Wright draws, especially her bird stamps.  I have several of them and they are all made by Stamps Happen and of course, are all wood stamps.  I could take them off of their wood backing, but honestly, I love to look at the way she colored them, as they are so intricate and I like mine to resemble hers.  Copy cat, copy cat, yes, that’s me.  I really don’t mind, because I don’t think I could come up with a color scheme that’s better than hers.  I did die cut out the word hello and added a sentiment and a ribbon, and called it a day.  I’m happy with the results and always love it when a plan comes together.  Frankly it’s too hot to spend much time in my craft room, as our house doesn’t have central air, and my room is not really close to any of the air conditioners.  Our house was built in the 1970’s, and has a weird heat system.  There are heat coils in the ceiling, so there is no duct work and no way to have central air.  It’s a bummer, but we’ve got air conditioners in the rooms that keep the rest of the house cool, every room except my craft room, darn it.  Since the weather is supposed to be really hot this week, I’m going to have to find more card ideas like the one I made yesterday.  Simple and fast, but still video worthy.  No pressure there.

 

 

I decided since Rich was going to play basketball, as he does every Sunday night, that I would devote my evening to making some cards.  I have so many people I need to send a card, several high school graduations, new baby, friends and sadly, a friend whose husband killed a seven year old boy that ran out from between two cars.  What do you say when something like that happens?  You know it destroys the driver and the family of the little boy, and let’s be honest, the family of the driver as well.  Everyone relives the what ifs and it can consume you.  When I was a kid, in a really bad winter storm, my father hit an older lady at an intersection, who just stepped out in front of him.  He couldn’t see her due to the storm and luckily, she wasn’t seriously injured.   I remember my dad didn’t sleep for months after the accident.  He just kept reliving it, and I’m sure my friend and her husband are doing the same.  I guess I just want them to know that we are thinking about them and seriously, does a card make a difference?  I don’t know, but I want them to know we care and I’m sure they don’t want to talk about it on the telephone or in person.  So that’s the card I made.  I wanted it to be something thoughtful and had just bought a stamp from Unity Stamps that talks about how dark the sky has to get before you see the stars.  I’d made a background a while ago that looked like stars at night and when I saw that sentiment, I had to have it.  I thought I would find a use for it and at this stage in my life, I seem to have more and more friends with cancer, and figured it might be a fitting idea for newly diagnosed friends.  That’s another time when you just don’t know what to say, and hope that whatever you say, it’s not the wrong thing.

So I made a really quick and easy fold card that ends up being only about 3 1/2″ square.    Naturally, I thought the card would take me a long time to make and was shocked when it was under an hour.  You’re probably thinking that’s a long time to make a card, but remember when you videotape a card it takes a lot longer, because I’m explaining everything as I go.  Of course in this case, I didn’t talk about the reason for the card, but really loved it when I was done.  I hope when you watch the video that you will forget the reason for the card and come up with some fun and interesting ideas for it.  Should I share these things on the blog?  Maybe I should just stick to the basics, but you know me, and when I think of things that I want to share, I do.  My friend’s accident was in all of the local papers, including his name, and somehow that seems wrong.  There were several witnesses that said he couldn’t have done anything differently, so why does  the world need to know his name?  I think it just adds to his guilt and the feeling that every time he leaves his home, people are thinking “that’s the guy.”   Sadly, some cards don’t make you smile when you receive them, but maybe it will give them a little bit of warmth, knowing that their friends do care.

I saw MayMay make one of these twist and pop or pop and twist cards and was asked by a viewer to make one.

I cut 1/4″ off the 11″ length of 80 lb white cardstock to make the paper 8 1/2″ x 10 3/4″.  I scored on the 8 1/2″ side at 2 1/4, 4 1/4 , 6 1/4, and on the 10 3/4″ side, I scored it at 3 7/8″,  5 3/8″, and  6 7/8″.  After you’ve scored, you will want to cut the four corner squares out.  On the 10 3/4″ length, you need to be careful when you cut this side as it will show.  On the 8 1/2″ side, you will cut on an angle on your box so the paper is angled in from the outside.
You need to watch the video to see me cut the paper so you know exactly what I mean by angled cuts.
Now for the tricky part.  You have a score line in the center of your cross section and you have a score line in the center of your long side.  You’ll need to line both of these center lines up while at the same time making sure that you are folding this through the very center score marks in the middle of the cross (which is the shape of the piece we are working on).    Now once you’ve folded the paper, use your bone folder to ensure you have a really good fold.  Then do the same to the right side folding the center line on the middle of the “arm”  down to the center of the bottom of the card making sure your fold goes through the center score lines on the card.    Next you’ll squeeze your two arms and fold them in  and then use your bone folder and really burnish it down on all sides.  You have to make sure you paper comes to a point.

I took another piece of the white cardstock and cut it to 3″ x 11″.  I scored it on the 11″ length at 2 3/4″ , 5 1/2″ and 8 1/4″.  Fold from the right side up, then the next one down, then the next one up like an accordion.  It should look like a “w” when you are done folding them.  You’ll need to line these with paper and I chose butterflies on a green background.  You’ll need to cut four papers to 2 3/4″ high x 2 1/4″ wide.  I decorated mine with butterflies (that my friend Kay sent me), then used tape runner to attach these to the pieces I’d just cut.  I also used a stamp set from Stampin’ Up called Flight of the Butterfly for my sentiment.  After the butterflies were glued down, I made stitches with a black marker to make the butterflies look like they are flying.

You need to line the inside of the white big cross mechanism we made.  Fold it closed and take the paper that you want to line your mechanism with and put the paper about 1/4″ from the bottom and lay the mechanism on the paper and trace the paper with a pencil.  Cut out the paper so it goes inside the white cross mechanism.  You’ll need to make two pieces of the paper that  will fit on the mechanism and  if your paper has a pattern on it that matters which direction it faces, the second piece needs to face the opposite direction as the first piece.  Somehow my mechanism was 1/4″ shorter on one end so I had to measure both of the papers I lined mine with.  It didn’t make a big difference that it was 1/4″ off, but for some reason it was.  I thought I followed MayMay’s  directions to the letter.
Use tape runner to adhere the paper you just cut to the inside of the mechanism.  Then put tear tape (really strong adhesive) onto the top of the right arm of the mechanism, which means above the center score line.  On the left arm, you’ll put tear tape below the center score line.  Take the backing off your tear tape and put the 11″ x 3″ piece in the center with the center score line of the 3″ tall paper on the center score line of the mechanism and then lay the right side onto the tear tape and lay it down and adhere it.  Do the same to the left side and then fold them in and unfold it a few times so your card closes easily.
Now to decorate your card, you will need a 11″ tall by 4 1/4″ wide matching piece of card stock scored at 5 1/2″.  Then decorate the front.  Add tear tape all over the outside of the element that folds with the 11″ piece inside and make sure there’s enough tear tape to hold it in place.  Take your decorate outside and open it and lay the mechanism inside with the point to the center fold of the card and make sure it is facing the right direction (look at the inside when it’s open and make sure your sentiment is right side up).  Push it into the tear tape and lay the top of the card on the mechanism and make sure it’s well adhered.  If you close your card and you can still see part of the mechanism, you should be able to trim enough of it off to hide it.

I put the extra butterflies on my envelope and glued them down.

I really wanted to get a card or two done today.  I thought I’d do something simple, like gold embossed roses and color them with alcohol markers.  I’m a little brain-dead sometimes, because I keep forgetting that I can’t use alcohol markers on craft card stock.  They just don’t work.  The colors fade and it just looks bad.  So I spent over an hour working on a card that went nowhere.  That’s not all.  Before I tried that, I tried using kid’s chalk on craft card stock and Versamark ink with the same rose stamps.  Talk about a big fail.  I was rubbing so hard, I  made the paper ball up.  Ok, card number two in the trash.

I had made a card using watercolor pencils and a Carolyn Shores Wright stamp that’s my favorite stamp ever.  It’s four blue birds and they are really sweet and I love coloring it.

I’ve made this card for a few friends in the past, but never made a video using the stamp.  I decided ok, forget the roses, make a card with my bird stamp.  So I watercolored it and had a terrific time finally making a card that I wasn’t embarrassed to make a video of.

And lastly, I’m finally putting the pop and twist card online.  It’s been done for over a week, and I wondered if Rich was ever going to edit it, and today was the day.  See, I only procrastinate some of the time, not all of the time.

Plus I went to some garage sales and found very few items of interest.  The chocolate chip cookies I bought at a church bazaar were my big purchase.  You’ve got to love a good bake sale, well, at least I do.