Tomorrow is one of my closest friend’s birthday.  She’s hard to buy for, but this year I’ve got the perfect gift and I can’t wait to give it to her.  She has a new Bullmastiff puppy and Rich took a bunch of photos and I made an album for her.  I included four pockets, for each of her young grandkids to write their favorite story about the puppy and include it in the album.  I also had a license plate made with one of the photos of her puppy’s face.  I know she’ll be thrilled with it.  I did try to make a video of the making of the album, but it was way too complicated and I just didn’t have the time to do a tutorial, so in the end I just showed the album and recapped what I had done to make it.  I’m glad it’s done and I’m exhausted.  I think it took about eight hours to complete.  I was really committed, or maybe I just should be committed for thinking I could whip the album out in a couple of hours.  Who was I kidding?

I’ve gotten really creative in the last couple of days.  My close friend, Lynn, is having her birthday on Saturday.  I couldn’t think of anything to do for her. She just got a Bullmastiff puppy a couple of weeks ago, so I had Rich photograph him and am making a photo album as well as decorating it.  I really think she will be thrilled with it as she wanted to get a photo of him while he’s still young.  Now she’ll have an entire album.  We went to a photo shop to have the prints made and they custom make license plates with photos on them, so I had one of the prints made into a license plate for the front of her car.  I know she will love it because she’s really crazy about her puppy.  I love making gifts for people when I know they will appreciate them and I’m sure she will appreciate these.

Tomorrow my new Oring should come for the binding tutorial, so I should be able to finally finish that video and get it put online.  I really hope we can figure out a way to fix the problems I created with the album.  I would hate to put up a video where I have a complete fail and do nothing to try to save it.  This is me trying to save the album.

I remade my Vagabond video because I had so many mistakes in the first one.  It is a pretty new tool for me, so when I try to do new things on it, I’m never sure if I’m doing it right or not.  Their guide for usage isn’t extremely helpful as it is pictures of the sandwich but that doesn’t help if you don’t really understand what you are looking for to begin with.  If I want to cut dies that also emboss, I need to figure out which photo it goes with and so far, it’s a mystery.  I really like the Vagabond though, because until now, I really didn’t emboss or die cut at all.

As for the birthday calendar, I decided I needed to add a bigger wire onto it so had to special order it from Amazon as there were no retailers that carried them in stock over 3/4″, which is what I already used.  I ordered 1 /4″, deciding to go big or go home.

I’m still contemplating how to correct the other errors I’ve made in punching holes with the binding tool.  I think I’ll have Rich look into how to correct it, as I think it’s above my pay grade (skill set, whatever you want to call it.)  I’ll add the corrections to the end of the video and then put it online.  It was kind of heartbreaking to make the mistakes I did so close to the end of the project.  And to have ones so significant that they may not be redeemable.  But that is the nature of crafting and I’m choosing to show the bad and hopefully end with the good.

I decided I can’t put the video online of the bound book until I fix it.  I know I was going to live with my failure, but now I just can’t.  I’m going to show it, but I’m also going to show how I am going to fix it so it doesn’t look so horrible.  I did order a wider wire which should help significantly.  I’m also doing research on how to fix the part of the book that I couldn’t punch.  I’m not exactly sure if the front cover is redeemable, but we’ll give it a shot.  At least I’m going to try.

I made another video, this one on the Vagabond, so that people can see if they want to invest in one.  It’s over $150, so it’s not an inexpensive piece of equipment.  The price can’t be the consideration, though, if you need a die cutting and embossing machine and can’t turn the crank on the non-electric models.  I should know, I can’t turn the crank on mine so just never used it.  I’m not good at embossing or die cutting, because I just could not do it.  I hope the video helps others decide if they need the electric model as well.  It is a great machine.

Some days just don’t go well.  Today was the day I bound my birthday calendar book.  I watched the videos on how to use the Zutter.  I read the manual.  Apparently it did not prepare me for the journey that I was embarking on.  I thought I knew how to use the tool.  After all, I did read the 3 x 3 booklet with six small pages of information.  I had a general idea of how to use it but in reality, had no idea what to do when my paper was too short to evenly distribute the holes.  I had no idea how to fix this problem and should have stopped and re-watched videos, but didn’t.  In the end, not only did I punch holes off the page, but I punched the back cover on the wrong side and did not have large enough spirals to make my book flat.  So I’m disappointed and I put a video out that I’m not proud of.  I can’t redo this project.  It took over fifty hours to make and I’m not sure if I have it in me to redo it.  All I really need to do is both covers but that’s at least 20 hours of work with sealing it over and over.  I’m disheartened by my failure and wished I hadn’t just forged ahead, but did.  I’m taking the video live, because I want people to see that all YouTube videos do not end in a beautiful perfect project.  The inside of my project is beautiful, but the outside, not so much.  I am not giving this away, it’s mine to use, so I don’t really have an issue with using it as it is.  Do I wish it had come out better?  Sure, but reality is what it is and I’m glad that the project is done and that the video will go live tomorrow.

In price order-

A clear ruler — under $1, works really great for long thin stamps.

Stamp Show No Name Acrylic Block $2–Terrific for smaller stamps and very convenient.  I love the handle on it, but it has a couple of downsides.  The problem is the handle is so visible and it makes it so you can’t position a stamp in the center.  It requires you to put the stamp in the upper or lower quadrants so you can see it, which makes it so ink ends up on the edges where you don’t want it.

Forever in Time Clear Stamp Applicator Set–Set of 3 from Amazon $7.46.  The handle moves from one to the other, but their quality control is not consistent and some of the handles are not easy to remove, others are.  Looks exactly like the Stamp show no name block.

Tim Holtz Fragments $9.99 full price at Joanns, plus Tim Holtz Idea-ology Curio Knob $7.99 full price at Joanns for a set of three.  You can use the Fragments for a lot of different projects but there are two in the set that are the size I am showing in the video.  I used a Sharpie and drew grid lines on it so I can position stamps properly.  Please make sure you always use a coupon when buying anything from Joann’s, Michaels or Hobby Lobby.  Download them from their websites and use them on your phone or print them out.

Set of 3 from Oriental Trading –here is the link to them and they are $12.99 for a 2 x 3, 4 x 6 and 1 1/2 x 6.  http://www.orientaltrading.com/clear-…

Crafters’ Companion Rock A Block -Joann’s sells a set of four of them for much cheaper than I paid for the set of two that I bought from HSN.  They are $26.99 full price at Joann’s before any coupons.

Impression Obsession Mega Mount–The lowest price I found was from Amazon for $33.97 Amazon Prime.

Misti –Usually the cheapest price is from the maker mysweetpetunia.com.  The size I have is $60, but the smaller, newer version is $45.  I recommend buying more magnets though, because you only get two and I like to use four and one of mine just broke in half.

Noteworthy items–
You should always stamp on a softer surface.  Put a telephone book or magazines or a foam pad under your stamping surface.  I bought a stamp pad at a stamp show and it works well, but you don’t have to pay anything to do this.

Stamp a Ma Jig -$8.99 full price at Joanns before using a coupon (always use a coupon).  Makes it so you have consistent stamping images.

One additional note before I go further. I didn’t do my research on price until after filming the video.  The Crafter’s Companion Rock A Block set is now a set of four and since it is now $26.99 full price for four at Joanns’, you should normally be able to get the set for under $15 with a coupon.  Because of the range of sizes and price, this set might be all you need  (with the ruler) to do all of your stamping if the handle on it works for you.  One additional thought, you can’t use the Stamp a ma Jig effectively with the rocking blocks, but the rocking action does create a much cleaner image so you might not need the Stamp a ma Jig.

Additionally, although the MISTI is a great tool, I have to remind you that I use my foot on it a lot to get a good image and that is something you definitely need to note when spending $60 for a stamp tool.  You also need to buy two additional magnets as the two you get with the MISTI are not sufficient for bigger projects.

If you don’t choose to replace everything with the Rock-a-Blocks, then here are my recommendations.

1  Clear Ruler

2. Small acrylic block like the one I got at the Stamp Show or make your own using the Tim Holtz products so you have a clear field of vision (without the big pink handle in your way) Or, you can buy a small acrylic block and add the Idea-ology Curio Knobs to them with super glue as well..

3.  Rock a Block OR Impression Obsession Mega Mount for larger images that you need to have a good handle on.  I would base my decision on which handle you think would work best for you.

4.  Misti– Although the MISTI works well, for me, it is not the absolute because I sometimes have to use my feet to get a good image,  I don’t have to use my feet using the Rock a Block or Mega Mounts so if price is a consideration, buy one of the others instead.

5.  Buy a Stamp A Ma Jig-  It’s imperative for consistent stamping, but doesn’t work with the rocking acrylic blocks, fyi.

I made a video for which acrylic blocks would work best and then did my price research after the video.  That was a HUGE mistake.  I had purchased a set of two Crafter’s Companion Rock-a-Blocks from HSN last year.  They were not inexpensive.  I included that information within the video.  They are now being sold at the big craft stores so the price has gone down and the number of acrylic blocks in the set has been increased to four.  Since the price is now $26.99 at Joann’s before a coupon, you should be able to purchase this set for around $15.  The recommendations I gave were based on the price being higher and no small acrylic block in the set.

If I had the option to revise my video, I would say this.  If you can use the handle on the Rock-a-Blocks, then that set could, in essence, replace every other acrylic block I recommended.  You might need to continue to use a ruler for really long stamps, but otherwise, these could be the only set you need.

I really like the MISTI, but let’s face it, it’s not really convenient for a quick stamp.  I also have to use my foot on it for consistent stamping at times and I don’t want others to have to do that.  I’m not sure that I should have recommended it for those reasons.  I know people love their MISTIs and I like mine, but it doesn’t replace the other blocks I own for the reasons I mentioned above.  Should I downplay the MISTI when every crafter dreams of owning one?  Or am I playing into the myth that this is the Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented (where the name MISTI came from.)  It does have some great features, but I am supposed to be the advocate for the person with physical limitations and frankly, the MISTI isn’t a perfect tool for those of us with limitations, and $60 is a LOT of money for a tool that might not be what the buyer is hoping for.