We’re taking a small vacation this weekend to visit our nephews and their families near Washington D.C.  Both nephews have teenage daughters and I spoke with them about doing a craft on video for my channel.  I let them decide what they wanted to do and how they wanted to do it.  One is going to make a wall decoration of her initial to take to college with her and the other is making mason jars that have the look of lightning bugs inside when the lights are off.  Both are unique to each girl’s personality and should be a lot of fun.  In the meantime.  I thought I would make each of them a back to school notebook in their favorite colors with matching embellishments and post-it-notes, almost like the smaller version I made on video last week.  Since doing my first project with a pre-teen, I’ve learned to just go with the flow and hope for the best.  These girls are older and I’m sure will know exactly how to make sure their voices are heard on video as well as positioning their projects for the best angle of the camera.  I’m really looking forward to doing this because I think I’ll learn a lot more than they will and I’ll get to spend quality one-on-one time with each of them.  One of the mothers would like to do some crafting as well, so I might take some jewelry making supplies to play with as well.  I’m not sure what to take, it’s an adventure and I’m up for the task!  We’re leaving on Saturday so it doesn’t give me a lot of time to get my projects done and pack for the things they’ll want me to bring.  It should be a lot of fun!

I had made a card using this stamp and just showed it in a video with a get well card and my friend Elizabeth asked for me to show a tutorial on it.  The bird stamp is from Woodware Stamps and here’s a link to Joann’s where I bought it.  You can usually find it at least 30% off and I found it at 50% so I bought a bunch of different stamps of theirs.
http://www.joann.com/woodware-craft-collection-special-bird-clear-stamps-sheet/14574552.html#q=woodware%2Bstamp%2Bbird&start=2

The main reason I like them is they are large and great for coloring.   Most of them are 5 x 3″ which is a nice size stamp.  You need to make a 5 x7″ card for it to fit on even after you cut it out (which I did.)  I recommend coloring it before cutting it out, but I keep forgetting to do it in that order.  I used Recollections 110 pound white cardstock from Michaels.  It works well with markers and is a good heavy card stock.  I cut it at 10″ long and 7″ wide and scored it on the 10″ length at 5″ which makes a 5 x 7″ card.
I used a variety of Spectrum Noir markers and tried to make sure I gave the numbers as I used them.
I used a green piece of card stock that was 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ and used tape runner to adhere it to my white cardstock.  I then added the stamped image (once I had colored it in) on foam tape to the left side of my card and put three buttons with little resin flowers attached to the white buttons on the right side and ran a piece of white taffeta 1/2″ ribbon near the bottom of the card wrapped around the green layer of paper.  I put a thinking of you stamp inside the card and used leaf patterned washi tape on my envelope.

I really wasn’t sure how horrible the two night stands would look once they were attached to each other.  Rich bought the plates to stabilize them so they are now as one and I discovered the bottom board that goes across the front was just for decoration, so I had Rich take it out.  It really made a big difference and gave me even more storage space.  I feel better all ready.  I can’t wait for you to see the video because it really did turn out much better than I anticipated.  I also can’t believe how much cleaner my craft room looks as well.  Of course there’s still a long way to go toward decluttering it, but I can tell you how much better I feel just by taking this one step toward making it look better.  I may even do another room tour once I have the clutter taken care of.  Oh, who am I kidding, there will always be more clutter than I’ll know what to do with.  Fortunately though, I’m really feeling much better about the whole process and that is the first time I can honestly say that.  YAY!  I may eventually have a craft room that is organized.  (I might be getting ahead of myself.)  At the very least, I might have a craft room that I can find things in.  That’s probably a reasonable goal.. I would like to be able to find things and have the room organized by craft type so I know if I go to this drawer, I’ll find jewelry tools, and if I go to that drawer, I’ll find embossing folders.  It’s a brand new day in Sandy’s craft room, a brand new day1

I had purchased two “night stands” that were really heavy and well made. I thought they would be a perfect addition to my craft room and give me some serious storage that I desperately need.  The only problem is that they are kind of ugly.  Today was the day.  I started filming the renovation as soon as they had been thoroughly cleaned.  They needed some sanding and some paint as well as a new coat of paint that I added to ensure that the speckled paint I put on top would cover the ugliness underneath.  Some spots were bare wood and some had black marker on it.. All in all, I’m still not sure that I can turn these into something that will be mildly attractive or not.  We are going to need to put rods on the back to ensure they don’t tip over if I pull one too many drawers open at once.  If you’ve ever used a file cabinet, you know what I’m talking about.

I painted a base layer of a beige spray paint I just got from a friend who was giving away partial cans of spray paint.  it was just the right color to put under the speckle paint to hide the marks and dings in the night stands.  Right now we are at the 50/50 point where they could look great or horrible, I’m just not sure.  The one thing I am certain of though, is that I can’t wait to get them up and filled with crafty goodness.  My organization system will really come into its own once I have these drawers filled.  I plan on organizing each drawer by craft so each drawer won’t have a little of this and that in it like the others currently hold.  I’m really hoping this solves my storage problem and if it doesn’t, plan on seeing a ton of destashing on ebay because enough is enough.  I can only handle the amount of mess I currently have and can’t add any more to it without getting rid of the older things.  Out with the old and in with the new.  It’s a brand new day.  Let’s take something old and make it new again.  I’ve got a million of them.

I made a video today with a close friend’s granddaughter who is 11.  I’ve never made any crafty things with a pre-teen and it was really an eye-opener for me.  She is going to a country-western concert at our local county fair with two girlfriends.  She and her grandmother had accumulated three cowboy hats for the event that were quite frankly, pretty ugly.  So we took the plastic ribbons and worn out feathers off of the hats before we began videotaping.  In retrospect, that probably wasn’t the best choice as the hats were really ugly and you might appreciate the end product if you’d seen how they began.  Regardless, I thought the time it took to tear things apart would be cumbersome, so we didn’t film it.  My young crafter had very specific ideas of what she wanted on her hats.  She wanted a ribbon, a feather and a safety pin with a couple of beads on it.  The first hat did not go well as she tied her ribbon into a very tight bow, but the ribbon wasn’t long enough to go completely around the hat.  We both did our best, but couldn’t untie the knot.  She finally found enough slack that she could wiggle her ribbon onto the hat, then put her feather where she wanted it.  The last step was the safety pin.  Neither one of us thought about how we would be able to push a pin through a hat made of stiff straw.  It was not going to happen.  So plan B, push the pin through the ribbon. It was easy enough, but we had to take the beads off the pin, push the pin through the ribbon and rethread the beads.  In the end, we maybe had three beads on the pin.  I suggested we take some wire and thread the beads through the wire and wind it around the pin, but our young crafter was not inclined, so the pin went on as is.  The second hat wasn’t hard to do as she had mastered the errors of her ways with the first hat.  Hat three was hers and was black suede.  It had a red glittery ribbon on it and it’s one feather. She found some holes with eyelets that she threaded her pin through and the project was complete.  This isn’t the best tutorial as she had trouble remembering to put the project so it faced the camera and didn’t want to talk loud enough to be heard on video, but all in all, I learned a lot about crafting with a younger crafter.

1.  She wants what she wants
2.  She doesn’t want to be on video talking
3.  She will do things herself including the glue gun, and there is no negotiation

All in all, it was a lot of fun and I think I learned a lot more than she did.  Crafting is a new experience every day, especially when crafting with a buddy.

I had a great day of garage sales today and found free spray paints and some great beads, jewelry, storage, and just a wide variety of great crafty things.  Some days go that way and others, not so much.

I have to finish making my girlfriend her birthday card and I have the perfect stamp for her.  It’s an older lady that talks about her dentist saying she needs a crown and she says “well duh!”..  It’s so Mary, who will laugh and love it.  I have to get serious about getting it made because I’m already late to the party darn it.  Why did I make the date book to remind me about birthdays when I forget to look at it.  What to do?  Anyway, an email birthday reminder will have to do for now.  Geez!

I used Stampin’ Up’s From the Herd stamp set and colored them with alcohol markers. I outlined them with Rusty Hinge by Distress Inks but didn’t like it, so I cut the entire image out (with the exception of the little birdie on top of the buffalo.) I used 10″ x 7″ burnt orange cardstock and scored the 10″ length at 5″ to make the card a total of 5″ x 7″. I cut a big oval in the center of the front of the card with a set of cutting tools from Creative Memories. I used balloons from the From the Herd stamp set and stamped them around the oval. I stamped the sentiment above the oval that said “just looking in on you” and put acetate behind the oval with tape runner. I cut a piece of green and white polka dot paper and placed it behind my cut out animals and adhered the animals with tape runner. I put foam tape on the back of the card surrounding the acetate and then laid my polka dot paper on the foam tape. I had to add another piece of polka dot paper to completely cover the back of the card as my first piece wasn’t positioned to make sure it covered the inside half of the card. I used Handsome Hunter by Stampin’ Up ink and a speckled stamp and stamped around the front of the card (covering the acetate with the paper I cut from the oval.) I stamped the inside of the card with Happy Birthday from the Herd stamp set. I colored my balloons with vibrant colors and then drew the strings for the balloons onto the acetate and into the animals mouths and behind them. I really liked the way this card came out and hope you do as well.

 

 

I just posted a new video that incorporated a haul with a mini stationary tutorial.  As I watched it, I wondered where my mind was, because I had trouble coming up with words and explaining things, and I normally don’t think I have a problem with either.

So I hope you’ll excuse my almost senseless video, as I really want to make videos that are fun and allow the new or not-so-new crafter to be able to reproduce whatever I am making.  I’ve watched so many videos where the crafter tells you to go to another website to get measurements or directions and that’s really frustrating to me.  I always want to make sure you find everything you need on the video itself, or below in the information box.

With that small rant out of the way, the weather has finally taken a small break and is no longer almost 100 degrees.  I have a few outdoor projects I’d like to make, but haven’t been able to take the heat.  My first and probably most important outdoor project is to overhaul the two small dressers I bought.  I can’t take the hoarding situation in my craft room anymore and need to get organized NOW!  I’m so ashamed of the upheaval there and these dressers should give me the organization I need.  Plus the added space I’ll get from moving Bella’s cage, should give me the room I need for these dressers.  So as soon as I get motivated today, I’m going to work on the dressers.  It’s something that absolutely needs to be done today while I can stand the heat.  Or tomorrow, if I can’t motivate myself today.

I’m done making sympathy cards for awhile, at least I hope I’m done for a while.  I think the thing that’s most difficult about making them is that you can’t help but feel your loss as you are making the card.

So I’m onto making cards that are more fun and frisky.  I have a friend who just had a birthday and he’s a lot of fun so I wanted his card to reflect his personality.  I’m really happy with the results and that card should be going live in the next day or so.

The weather today is screaming for me to try some outdoor projects.  I have a couple of small drawered cabinets and want to turn them from kind of ugly, to cute and productive.  They are going to go in my craft room where Bella’s cage is currently residing.  I know it’s hard to relocate Bella, but I keep locking her into the craft room when I’m not using it and I think she’ll be happy relocating to the living room as long as she has a spot that is quiet and private as she likes her “alone” time.

I bought some great textured paint for my project that should really hide any blemishes that need to go.  You’ll see the whole thing from start to finish and I hope it encourages you to try something with repurposing furniture as well.

This is an A2 size card that is 5 1/2″ z 4 1/4″ using Heartfelt Creations Birds and Blooms stamp set.  I used Ranger Archival ink on the bird stamp and created a bird mask and added more leaves behind the bird on the Misti.  I used a wide variety of Spectrum Noir and Bic Mark it Markers and listed each color as I used it.  I used Taken with Teal ink from Stampin’ Up on a Judikins brush on the background around the bird stamp.  I used polka dot paper under the birds and then a blue card with a sentiment from Creative Times from Floral Sayings and stamped it with Taken with Teal from Stampin’ Up.  I made a blue bow on the top of the card and raised the sentiment on the bottom of the card on the blue card stock.  I used blue matching washi tape on the envelope.