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.

This was one of those days where I accomplished things that had been really wearing on me.  I’m not sure if you have this problem, but there are times when I postpone things and then they just take on a life of their own.  I had some crafty supplies I wanted to drop off to our local library and had bagged them up months ago.  I mean months.  At the same time, I’d collected a bunch of things I wanted to donate to our local troop packing site.  They send boxes of foods, magazines, just about anything a person serving overseas might want from the US.  Ok, that’s not all.  I am responsible for handling the graves for my family as the only ones left are my sister and I, and she lives in North Carolina.   Rich has been having some back and hip problems and I really didn’t want to add to his health issues and weeding is a killer for back issues.

So I put all of the bags together and said today is the day.  (Really I wanted to put it off another day, or month, but was committed to handling everything.)  We dropped off the things to the library then went to the cemetery.  In the time it took us to get there, maybe twenty minutes, the temperature seemed to go from 70 to 9 million degrees.  (I could be exaggerating, but I really don’t think I am.)  It was so hot and of course our family graves are all in full sunlight.  It was a painful experience and I felt so bad for Rich, as he didn’t even bother trying to bend over, but sat in the grass.  It really didn’t take very long to do four graves, but it seemed like forever.  We rewarded ourselves with a huge Mountain Dew and a bag of chips.  I know you’re probably wondering what I did while Rich handled weeding and planting.  My job is to cut down or rip out any of the perennials that try to take over the entire plot.  I had a pocket knife and didn’t even maim myself.

Oh, and I handle all of the weeds that Rich rips out.  Ok, not all of them, but a large portion.  So although it sounds like it wasn’t much to take care of, I really dreaded planting at the graves and still wish I had other family members (my sister) to hand it off to.  Darn that long distance.  To finish off the evening, we dropped off the troop supplies and my jobs are done.  Wow, it seems like it took longer to type this than the actual jobs took.  That’s what I get for procrastinating.

I didn’t do much of anything today because I had to go to the dermatologist and have a biopsy done on a spot on the crown of my head.  I’m pretty brave when it comes to doctor’s sticking me with needles and scalpels, but honestly, I worry about the results.  I won’t get those for over a week, so it gives me plenty of time to consider the worst possible outcome.  Yep, that’s me, the fretter.  I can fret with the best of them and today is a big day on the fret meter.  Yikes.

I always love how people say they are stress eaters.  We left the doctor’s office, went right to a fast food place and got a mini pizza and a huge Mountain Dew, then onto the grocery store where we bought a bunch of cinnamon bites (fresh from the bakery), a couple of donuts for on the way home, and then consumed a donut like we’d never eaten.  I know you are probably thinking, geez, did you unhinge your jaw and just inhale the food.  Almost.  Rich and I shared the personal pizza (so that’s only 1/4th of what I could have consumed), then shared the donut…So really, I hardly ate anything.  I was so full from all the sugar and carbs, that I didn’t eat until popcorn and another piece of pizza while watching a movie.  Ok, so maybe I am the world’s biggest stress eater.  I never really thought about it before.  And, here’s the worst part.  I’ve made Rich a stress eater too.

I know it sounds crazy, but I really thought I wrote this blog and must have forgotten to publish it, or else I thought I wrote it and didn’t.  Hmmmm…which could it be.  I think I must be losing my mind.  I really would like to think I wrote it, but I don’t see any drafts, so I think I wrote it in head and not in real life.  Darn it.

I have been wanting to make a video explaining all of the different types of inks and why you use them.  A lot of people think that the little spots or squares are perfect, but just try inking one background stamp and you’ll probably reconsider.  When I started stamping, I thought I needed every color in every brand which is kind of dumb.  Dye inks are dye inks are dye inks.  The only difference is the colors.  If you like one brand’s colors, then buy those inks, if you like another brands’, buy those.

I really like the big ink pads for a lot of the things that I stamp, but when I use the MISTI on smaller images, probably wouldn’t make such a mess if I used the smaller pads.  These are the things you need to consider.

Do I need oxide inks?  No.  Those inks were designed for people who really want to try specialized techniques…If all you are doing is stamping different colors, then you definitely don’t need them.

How about pigments?  I really think you need a good white pigment ink as I have made a lot of different cards (mainly Jennifer McGuire influenced) where I use the Unicorn White by Hero Arts and love it.  The only other pigment ink (and I don’t think it’s a true pigment) that I can’t live without, is Versafine Onyx Black.  It’s a very dark vibrant black ink and perfect for embossing on.  You don’t have to heat set this “pigment” ink, but all others have to require some sort of drying, to avoid problems with smearing.   That’s why I don’t really think it’s a true pigment ink.  If you want a sentiment that looks like a professional printed it, get Versafine Onyx Black.  You might hate the container it comes in, as I did, because the lid slaps you and gets ink all over you and everything else.  I highly recommend buying a Distress Ink blank and putting the Onyx Black re-inker in it instead of using the container it comes in.  You’ll be thanking me for this tip.

The rest of the inks vary as to why you need them, Versamark for heat embossing, Distress inks for being reactive with water, etc.  You don’t have to have many inks, but I really like stamping in colors that aren’t always black as I’m not fond of flowers that have a lot of black in their details as opposed to stamping the flower in another color that matches it better.

I love playing with ink and hope I’ve given you enough ideas so you can determine what types of inks you will want to add to your arsenal.

I love finding new and different layered dies and this haul is no exception.  I tried to include all of the sizes of dies in the video, but not the prices as there are so many dies and the prices vary.  You’ll want to check the sizes of items and convert them from cm or mm to inches so you know their sizes.  Here’s a free conversion table to use from Google.  https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=convert+cm+to+inches&spf=1494713327290

Here is the link I would use to get to AliExpress.  If you get any free offers for money back from purchases, I would be careful about using those, as I believe that they might be a scam.  Instead, just use http://www.aliexpress.com to get to their site.
I also wanted to share some great things my friend Kay sent me.

I wanted to do a collaboration with Gracie Harrold, whose channel is new.  Gracie makes Disney based cards with a new twist.  I have been friends with her mother, Barbara, whose been a great supporter of my channel and when Barbara told me about Gracie’s channel, I offered the idea of a collaboration so that others can see the unique spin Gracie puts on Disney movie-based cards.

I found an image of baby Groot from the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, and had copies made at Staples on white cardstock.  I used a wood embossing folder from Darice with Baked Brown Sugar paper from Stampin’ Up that was 5 1/4″ x 4″ wide and ran it through my Vagabond.  I took my chip brushes from Harbor Freight Liquidators and used Distress inks, Ground Espresso, Fossilized Amber, Hickory Smoke and Gathered Twigs with my brushes  to make the background look more like a tree.

I cut out all of the baby Groots and then found a Touch 5 marker in the color of putty and colored all around the edges of the Groots.
I cut off the legs on two of the Groots and used the marker on the edges, then cut the arms off of one Groot and did the same.  I cut the head off another Groot and the eyes and mouth off of another and colored the edges of them as well.  I wanted to create a 3’d image of Groot so glued the full Groot to foam tape and put it toward the right side of my tree background.  Then I put foam tape behind the legs and added them to the image and added foam tape to a second pair of legs and added them to the Groot.  Then added foam tape to the back of the arms and laid the arms in place.  I added a second head with foam tape toward the top of the head and none toward the bottom so the top of his head stands up more than the bottom and put tear tape on the bottom so it laid flat.  Then I added the eyes and mouth again making the eyes have more foam tape under them than the mouth.
I had cut a flower out of his hands and so I made a branch by using markers on white cardstock and using foam tape behind the branch and laid the end of the branch in his hands.  I used stamps and dies from Sizzix called Words and Tags and the number is 657919 for the set.  I used small flowers and stamped them with Stampin’ Up Daffodil Delight and  Distress Ink Fossilized Amber and swiped the Fossilized Amber across the stamp and then stamped over the Daffodil Delight, and used the die to cut out five  flowers and four sets of leaves that I colored with markers.  I put foam backing on the flowers in two rows so they were higher than the branch and used tear tape to attach the leaves to the back of the flowers.  I attached three flowers with leaves on the branch and one flower without a leaf in his hand and the last flower and leaf, I laid in the bottom right corner of the card.

I printed using many different fonts, “I am Groot” and “I am Groot” (Thinking of You) on my copier on white 110 lb Georgia Pacific cardstock and chose the one I liked best for my card.  I cut the two sayings out so that they were thin strips and laid them aside.  I colored one yellow and used a brown marker to accent the edge of the saying and then cut it into a banner shape and added it to the front of the card using tear tape.  You have to use a strong adhesive when attaching things to embossed backgrounds.
I used the other sentiment for the inside of the card and cut it into a banner as well.  I used an 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2′ card base in baked brown sugar and scored the 8 1/2″ length at 4 1/4″ and made a side folding card.  I put tear tape on the back of my tree with Groot background and attached it to the front of the card.  I put my sentiment inside and stamped the back with my stamp.
I used the flower stamp and stamped and colored it on the back flap of my envelope.

I really enjoyed this experience and hope that you will go to Gracie’s channel and check out her video as well.  Here is a link to Gracie’s channel.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbdLeUbM6wRhbsHUA9IibLA

Tonight I took a beginner’s sewing class at Joann’s Fabrics.  They taught us how to fill the bobber (bobbin, geez, I’ve already forgotten what it’s called.)  They showed us how to put thread on, and weave it all through the machine and finally thread the needle.  Then came the big leagues.  We stitched on paper and then we almost made a pillow.  By almost, I mean, we took two pieces of fabric and put them together, pinned them, then stitched the three sides and part of the fourth.  Apparently we were supposed to bring the partially completed pillow home and finish it.  My friend had purchased my sewing machine at a garage sale and I’m not sure what was wrong with it, but it had one speed.  SUPER fast.  There was no slowing it down, no pacing myself.  It started and it stopped.  When it started, it went from stop to super sonic speed.  I hated it and thought my machine was a piece of crap.  There was a lady beside me that knew how to sew and she agreed that my machine was pure crap, but the teacher thought it was just fine, and maybe needed fine tuned.  Fine tuned?  We found no speed control and the pedal had one speed, fast.  Actually two, fast and stop.

I wanted to really understand what I was doing when trying to use a sewing machine.  I didn’t want to walk away thinking I’ll never be able to do this myself.   Regardless, it wasn’t a winner of a class and my 7th grade Home Ec teacher might have been right.  I really am lucky I found a career in banking, because after she had me in home ec, she thought my opportunities for success were fairly limited.  A lot she knows.  I’ve got part of a pillow and some stitched paper to prove her wrong.  So there.