I wanted to share another AliExpress haul with you as well a card I’ve gotten from a friend.  I bought some cat stamps that were maybe $2.51 (at least that is what they sell for now.)  Check the listing toward the bottom of the page and you’ll find the cat and five choices of stamp sets.
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&isViewCP=y&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170531055607&SearchText=cartoon+cat+stamp+scrapbook&blanktest=0&tc=af
I couldn’t find the floral stamp with the birds again, but did find the rose set   The link to the rose set is:  https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&isViewCP=y&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170531055912&SearchText=roses+stamp+scrapbook&blanktest=0&tc=af
I wanted to use one of the AliExpress stamps so you can see how well they stamp.  The house stamp was $2.33 and here’s the link to it.
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&isViewCP=y&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170531060132&SearchText=houses+stamp+scrapbook&blanktest=0&tc=af
The houses stamp did stamp really well and I was happy with it.
I also used a set of paper by Prima called Paintables and the pad I used was Salvage District and I think I bought it at Michaels (but I’ve had it for a while so I might be making that up, sorry.)  I’d check online and see if you can find it there if you can’t find it at Michaels.

I started with two pieces of paper, one green 4 x 6″ and score on the 6″ side at 1/2″ and 1″ and 5″ and 5 1/2″.  You’ll score the printable paper 4 x 6″ at 1/2″ and 1″ and 5″ and 5 1/2″.    I used the Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors and used green #54.  I’m sorry if I mispronounced this again.    I colored the printable paper from Prima and made sure the colors weren’t really bold by adding a lot of water to them.   I made clouds with a white colored Prismacolor pencil and white gel pen and used the gel pen to make the windows of the houses look like windows.
I colored the houses with Touch 5 markers and the numbers are listed on the screen.  I had a set of stamps from Paper Smooches called Promenade that had a bunch of accessories for in front of the houses.  I also put some of the accessories on a scrap of the printable cardstock, colored them with Stampin’ Up water based markers, then cut them out.  I also used Wink of Stella where I wanted the bike to be glittery.
I used Stampin’ Up square dies and used the #6 die to cut the center out of the printable paper.  The center is the scrap I used for all of the accessories I cut out and added to my card front.
Take the back green paper and fold the scores closest to the center of the paper up, then the scores closest to the outside of the paper, fold down.  On the front paper which is the printable, you’ll take the inside score and fold it down and the further scores from the center, fold up.  Put tear tape only on the outside 1/2″ scores to the edges.  Don’t put any tape past the first 1/2″ score on either side.
I had to cut the background piece down to fit inside my box,  The height is 3 3/4″ high and the width is around the same width.  I put tear tape on the back of it to attach it to the card.
I used sentiments from High Five and Tag Talk from Stampin’ Up.  (both retired but available on ebay)..
I show you how to make an envelope.  Take a ruler and measure your card from corner to corner on a diagonal and add one inch to your measurement.  My card was 7″ on the diagonal and I added one inch and then cut paper at 8″ square to make the envelope.  Then you will center your card on the paper and fold the sides of the envelope over the card and I round the corners on the top and bottom of my card.   Once you’ve folded in your sides, you’ll have a small notch on the sides you’ll want to cut out.  Use tear tape or a good tape adhesive to glue in your sides making sure you don’t get any tape inside where your card would stick to it.
I really hope you like this card and I apologize for the length of the video.

I’m exhausted.  Normally on a three day holiday weekend, if Rich and I have one activity, that’s normal.  This weekend I spent Saturday going to garage sales with a college friend and then to a late lunch with our husbands.  Yesterday, we saw them again with a bigger group of our college friends at a picnic, and then today we spent the day with our best couple’s friends.  The husband was a good friend of Rich’s since childhood, and I bonded with his wife, so we do a lot of things together.  We had a nice day and ended it by walking around a small town that’s almost like a small amusement park.  It had all kinds of vintage games and arcades, so of course I had to check out this weird game where you throw balls and have them land in holes to create a bingo type win.  The balls had to drop into holes in a straight line or diagonal line with four or five holes to win.  I’d never played it before, and you had to throw the balls under a piece of glass.  About the third or fourth throw, I hit my finger on the glass really hard and decided the game was set up all wrong.  I just started throwing my balls over the glass, completely cheating.  I didn’t care if I won, I just wasn’t going to get hurt playing the stupid game.  So one of the kids that was running the game came over to “talk” to me.  I think he thought he could talk some sense into me, but I just told him I intended to cheat until we were done playing and I hoped it was ok with him.  By then, my tossing skills were so spectacular, that I actually tossed one of my balls into the next person’s game.  Luckily no one was playing there, or they might have been a little freaked out that I was helping them win.  Since it was only our friends and Rich and I playing their game, I don’t think anyone cared what I did.  Besides, he could see that I was bad no matter what I did.  In the end, we put all of our winnings together and I ended up getting seven glow sticks.  Sadly enough, only two of them had the things that turn them into bracelets.  I don’t know what we were supposed to do with them, they were so pathetic…My girlfriend ended up with both bracelets and was really happy with them and I was glad she liked them.  Personally, I wanted candy or gum, but the guy that worked there steered me away from the gum saying it wasn’t very good.  Geez, how bad can gum be?  It must have been seriously awful for him to talk me into seven useless glow sticks.

Today we are celebrating Memorial Day with college friends.  It’s amazing that after almost forty years has passed and we keep in touch with so many of our friends.  I have several of my girl friends that we try to do trips together every couple of years and a few of my friends that are more local, see several times a year.

The friends we are picnicking with today were a group of men that all played football with Rich, but some of them were my friends as well.  It’s been an adjustment for me, because the wives hang together as do the men at these events, and I don’t really know many of the wives so have just recently started to feel comfortable around them.  When I hear the men telling old college stories, I remember those stories well, and was sometimes part of the story, so I miss the inclusion that came with all of us being young and friends.  I’m so glad that one of the men in the group and his wife have decided to move back to our area from Maryland.  I was good friends with him and he and Rich have played three on three basketball together for many years.  He seems to be the social organizer of their group and now that he and his wife (who thankfully I did know) have moved back, we are seeing the whole group a lot more often.  It’s amazing how similar he and Rich are in personality and they really click when they are together.

Back in my college days when I was healthy, I was almost always with my camera.  So today before the picnic, I’m going to go through my college albums and find all of the photos of our friends, and take them to the picnic to give to them.  I think they might like having old pictures to remind them of being young and a little bit wild.

Let’s just say I didn’t just study in college, but made those four years the best years of my life.  We went to a small college, but had the best time and a few years ago, Rich and I bought a marble bench for the college, to thank them.  It says “For Thiel College, because we found ourselves and each other here.”  That’s the truth.

I’m wishing everyone a Happy Memorial Day weekend.   We’re not putting up any videos until possibly tomorrow, as I’m giving Rich a couple days off for good behavior.

One of my friends (who refurbishes old furniture then chalk paints it), wanted to go to garage sales with me today.  I was really kind of worried that she wouldn’t find the things she was looking for, because unless I find an estate auction, I rarely find much good older furniture that isn’t completely beaten by time.  She lives about 40 minutes from us and doesn’t think her town has very good garage sales, but I normally think the same about a lot of our sales.

The first garage sale we found was one where they had a cute shelving unit that she got for $10.  I had to laugh because she said she wasn’t very good at bartering and neither am I, but she’s a lot worse than me, because the man said I’ll take $5 or $10 for it, and she paid him $10.  When we got in the car, she told me the story and I laughed so hard and said, “you definitely aren’t very good at bartering.”  I offered to barter for her if she would barter for me, but in the end, we didn’t do any more bartering the rest of the day because we found really great prices on the things we did buy..

I was having her drive to a little store in town that sells customized unique furniture.  I think her pieces would fit really well there, but don’t know if they take consignments or not.  On the way there, we passed a huge home that is one that’s normally featured in the city’s tour of homes.  They were having a garage sale and they had so much old furniture, it was unbelievable.  She bought big drop leaf tables for $25 and an old enamel kitchen table for $25 as well as a set of Thomasville end tables for the same price.  She bought some other pieces, but I’m not really sure what they were because there were so many really great things there.  I’ll be honest.  I couldn’t believe we found that sale. It wasn’t advertised, and if we hadn’t driven past, would never have found it.  So it was a great day and really, we only went to four or five sales.  We had a terrific time and her husband had to bring his truck (a 40 minute drive) and so we ended up having lunch with our husbands.  Lunch was great because we went to college with her husband, and I haven’t seen him in a while and really enjoyed our time together.  We’re all invited to another college friend’s house tomorrow for a picnic so I’m looking forward to what she’s thinking about her purchases after getting them home and really looking them over.

I found a really neat vintage jar that barbers used to put their combs inside to sanitize.  I thought I might use it to store paint brushes or markers.  It’s really fun because it has a metal piece inside that has a handle that pulls everything inside up to the top of the jar.  $2, a great bargain!

I had purchased a few containers of Flower Soft last year and of course, forgot I had them.  I was talking to a friend and she mentioned them and I thought, geez, I need to get those out.  So I’ve been trying to think of just the right project for them.  I have a tree stamp set from Fiskars that has the tree as well as every possible thing you could attach to it including a bird, nest, flowers and several types of leaves.  Perfect!  So I stamped and played and found that the Flower Soft is so much fun.  I know that I say that often and with so many different mediums, but honestly, it looks good and the more you put on the tree, the better it looks.  I was going to do a small lilac branch on a stamp I had, but what the heck, if I’m going to use it, I want to make a horrible mess and cover almost the entire card front with it.  I think it’s my style.  All in all, I wish I’d used the Flower Soft before now, but then I wouldn’t have been as excited about it if I hadn’t had it for so long and finally discovered a good use for it.

I was at a garage sale and they had a bunch of scrapbooking supplies and I didn’t buy anything.  I was really proud of myself that I didn’t buy anything, but then when I got back to my craft room I started to wonder where would I put one more thing since my room is overflowing with craftiness.  I made the mistake of showing my room to a friend who was visiting, and luckily, Honey had decided to see what she could do with the paper in my garbage can so had paper all over the place.  It looked like every time I make a project, I must just toss everything on the floor instead of using the garbage can.  Needless to say, I was really embarrassed at the mess that was there and that most of the mess was par for the course.

I was answering comments and mentioned that I’m messy, make a lot of mistakes and have a few mishaps along the way and that maybe I should rename my channel, the three M’s.  Messy, Mishaps and Mistakes.  I really like it.  It fits my channel so much better.  After all, how many channels do you watch where the crafter whines when she has to use foam tape….not too many.

I bought a small die with birds on a wire from AliExpress and really wanted to see what I could do with them. Here is the link to the bird dies that I paid 93 cents for.  Please remember that their prices can change.  https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&isViewCP=y&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170526062217&SearchText=bird+party+die+metal&blanktest=0&tc=af

I started by using the dies with several different colors of cardstock.  I used an 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ Recollections white 110 pound cardstock and scored it on the 8 1/2″ length at 4 1/4″ to make the card a 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ card (an A2 size card.)
I used two other rectangle dies I bought from AliExpress that were the two largest in the set.  Here’s the link and I paid $2.39 for the set.
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&isViewCP=y&catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170526062020&SearchText=rectangle+wave++die+metal&blanktest=0&tc=af
I centered them on each other and washi taped them together and put them in the middle of the front of the card and ran it through my die cutter making sure that the card is open so I’m only cutting through the front of the card .  I used My Creative Times This and That stamp set for my sentiments and stamped it on a scrap piece of white cardstock.  I used another rectangle set to cut the sentiment and edged it with the same ink I’ve been using.
I took the center out of the two rectangle shaped die cuts and put some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink on a piece of plastic and added water to it and painted it on the rectangle so it looked like sky blue, then let it dry.  I did the same thing with the inside of my card to make it look like sky as well.  I decided to smoosh ink inside the card and then pressed the plastic into the ink pad then pressed the plastic onto the inside of the card to make it look like clouds, then dried the card.
I used three brown die cuts of the birds and cut out the individual birds in different colors and glued them to my brown die cut.  I alternated the placement of the birds on all three wires so that the bird colors were varied on the card.  It would be a lot easier if you die cut three  birds on a wire in white and then colored them.  I never thought of that, Rich asked why didn’t I just color them.  Geez.
I had some plastic from a stamp set and laid it behind my front of the card and used a lot of tape runner to adhere it.  Then I used a Zig Glue Pen and put some on the back of each bird and their wire and then laid them on the acetate/plastic.  After making sure they were glued down, I added the inside rectangle die cut that I had colored blue.   The back of my card did get blue spots of ink (even though I cleaned my area thoroughly.)  So I cut a piece of white cardstock that is 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ and put glue on it and applied it to the back of my card.  I realized after stamping my “Made by Sandy Parker” stamp on it, that there was no good place to write in the card, so tore that piece of paper back off.   In the end, I glued the card shut so the clouds were really visible and no writing would show.   I decided that I should add another card base to it.  I added an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ piece of white cardstock to the back scored on the 8 1/2″ length at 4 1/4″ .  I’m sorry I forgot to mention that in the video.
I had an extra line of birds, so glued them to the back flap of the envelope.
I used three peg stamps and Versamark ink with chalk colors that matched my birds.  The peg stamps are soponaria solid, dainty floral and another tiny flower.  The chalks I used were from Inkadinkado and the applicators are from Sofft sponge applicators.

I have been thinking about the collaboration video I’m going to do with Gracie Harrold.  If you’ve never heard of Disney Bounding, join the club.  It’s a really interesting concept, but you really have to be a Disney lover to get it.   Gracie makes cards that will have the colors and ideas of let’s say “The Little Mermaid.”  The card might have something that reminds you of water and something else that’s the color of the clothes she wears.  I’ve watched several of her videos and they are really well thought out, but again, if you don’t really know the Disney movie in detail, you might not get the correlation.  The great part is this..  You don’t really have to know anything about Disney to appreciate how cute her cards are.  Since I’m not a huge Disney follower, I never really watched many of the movies more than once.  Ok, the original Cinderella, but that’s probably one of the only movies I saw more than once.

I really liked the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” and have seen a bunch of television commercials featuring baby Groot.  I’m pretty sure I can make a card that looks 3-d and is Baby Groot.  I’m not going to be Disney Bounding it, you’ll be seeing Baby Groot and hopefully it will turn out well.  If not, I’ll have to start over with an entirely new concept and I have no idea what that would be.  I really doubt I can replicate anything from Cinderella, so we’re back at the drawing board.  Since it’s another drizzly day, I should be able to get my card done.  It depends on how dedicated I am, or if I’m dedicated at all.  I’m thinking I might just read a book instead, I can always tackle the card later.  Lazy is my middle name.

If April showers bring May flowers, then what do May showers bring?  Mud.  Of course we have the days that are sunny, but I can usually predict that Memorial Day weekend will have a lot of rain involved.  It’s a bummer, because we have two towns in our area that have Memorial day garage sales all over their towns and although I’m sad to miss the sales, I’m a fair weather garage saler.  I wonder what the real term is for people who go to garage sales?  I’ll see if I can find the answer…maybe I’ll ask a few of the women that are die-hard garage salers (that definitely can’t be the correct term.)

Rich and I put flowers on my parent’s graves this weekend and I dread doing it in the rain.  I also am not particularly fond of doing it when it’s hot, but my dad and I always made sure that his parents and grandparents’ graves had flowers, so I’m carrying on the tradition.  Our grandparent’s grave is next to my parents, so I feel bad if I don’t put a few flowers on theirs and my other grandparent’s are nearby, so by the time we are finished, Rich is exhausted and I feel exceptionally guilty for making him weed, hoe and plant flowers for hours.  As a side note, Rich has never really planted much at our house, I usually have done it, but I can pace myself here, and you really need total commitment on Memorial Day weekend, or you’ll never get your flowers finished.  We both dread the whole experience, but know my dad is happy that we’ve done it.  It’s the least I can do for people who gave me so much.

 

 

 

I wanted to share a really nice set of cards and gifts I have gotten from friends as well as make a simple one layer card..
The stamp sets I used were from Stampin Up and one is Swallowtail and the other is Another Thank You (both are retired but available on ebay).  I used chalks from Inkadinkado and pastels from Stampin’ Up that are both really old and kind of abused.  Any chalks or pastels will work for this technique, even ones kids use.  You can use makeup sponges for blenders or Q-tips.  I had some Sofft sponge blenders that are made specifically for chalks or pastels and used them as well as Q-tips and other blenders.  I used a bunch of different sponge blenders so I could show you options.  I also used pompoms and a bracelet buddy to hold the pom pom.  They make tools to hold pompoms but I had the bracelet buddy and figured “why not give it a try?”  It worked like a charm.  Here’s a link to where you can find bracelet buddies, but I didn’t check for lowest price, just wanted you to see where you could find them easily.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bracelet+buddy

I used a 5 x 7″ 80 lb Neenah solar white cardstock for my card (It’s a one layer card.).  I stamped Versamark ink onto the Swallowtail and stamped it on an angle then turned it the other way and stamped it again using Versamark ink. I laid the stamp face up and laid my paper over it because the butterfly was so large and I wanted to make sure I inked it well. Then I took different colors of chalks and pastels to color on the Versamark.  The camera doesn’t do the card justice, as the chalks/pastels were much more vivid than they appeared on camera.    You need to change your pompom out for each color you use.    I stamped Thank You on the front with Versamark ink.  I added a bunch of small peg stamp images around the butterflies using Versamark and a middle swirl flower peg stamp.  Here’s the link to the middle swirl flower peg stamp.
https://pegstamps.com/middle-swirl-flower-mini-peg-stamp.html

I colored the swirl flower images with blue, purpose and yellow to make them stand out but still match the butterflies.   I stamped the same Middle Swirl flower peg stamp on the back of the envelope with Versamark and then made it match the inside of the card by using the same colors of chalks and pastels on them.

I find that people like special fold cards, so decided to make one today.  I have a friend who was trying to sell her deceased parent’s home, and today, we got an email that she finally sold it.  I went through the same thing with my parent’s home, and I know how frustrating and overwhelming it can be.  So the card I made is unique and kind of quirky, but I think she will really like it.

I used the Aliexpress stamps of the houses with another set of stamps that had accessories like trees, lamp posts, benches, and bushes.  I thought the combination of the two stamp sets would really work with the way the paper was folded.  It’s hard to explain, but Lindsay had made a card using this technique and it looked like it wasn’t very difficult, so I gave it a try..  The only thing I did wrong was measure the paper that I stamped on incorrectly, so I had to cut a bunch off of it when I was done with coloring it.  It was kind of a bummer, because it would have been a lot easier if it had been an inch shorter.

I also looked at the history I have of purchases from Aliexpress and found that I’ve gotten everything from my first order and I’m really impressed with the quality of almost everything I bought.  Everything except the tape runner, and let’s be honest, that was really my fault for not reading the fine print closely.

I’m happy with the card and it adds yet another video into Rich’s pile of unedited videos, so I’m ahead of the game (currently.) haha