It’s a really great day today.  In the video I made for my art journal cover, I mentioned that I had some great DIY household tips as well as a recipe for DIY gesso.  I had three comments from viewers asking to see either or both of the videos.  To be honest, I was really concerned that people watching the art journal video would see all of the really avoidable mistakes I made.  Instead, they seemed to listen to what I was saying and that really had big impact for me.  I am very critical of myself and the fact that viewers can overlook my errors and have great takeaway from my story, I really appreciate that.

I finished the shutter card video but my editor is a little behind.  I think the art journal video at 40+ minutes was more than he could take.  I really hope the next two videos that are already done will be much easier for him to edit and put up on the site.  It’s not easy being the man behind the scenes.  I really give him a lot of work and I wish it wasn’t so hard, but I am working on doing better so he has less to do.

I used a Reader’s Digest Condensed Book  that I removed several of the pages and gesso’d the rest for my art journal.

On the front cover, I used a Ranger Dylusions stencil called small keyholes.  I put Martha Stewart’s Stucco Effects mixed with Archival Black Ink on the stencil.  On the back cover, I did the same with the Tim Holtz Clockwork stencil.  On the bottom, I ran another Tim Holtz stencil of a ruler and used the same Martha Stewart Stucco Effects on it. I colored this with silver metallic rub on.  I have several industrial style stamps that I had in my stash and one of them I used with Ranger embossing ink in the center of the back and heated it.  I used black paper quilling strips to make the ruler stand out as well as the side of the keyhole.   I found a cardboard key in my stash so I used a metallic embossing powder and heated it to make it look like it was a metal key.  I kept adding more and more of the embossing powder to make it really thick and then pressed a stamp into the molten to make it look like it had a design in the key.  Sparkle and Sprinkle mixed media  embossing powder is what I used for this. I used metallic rub ons to really color the clock and backgrounds, primarily the bronze and silver colors.  I stamped a couple more industrial stamps on the back and tried to heat emboss them, but the embossing powder wanted to stick to the metallic rub on, so I wiped it back off.  I used the silver rub on for the keyholes so they would show up and then used Gray Archival ink on the keyholes to make them more defined.  I used Dusty Durango ink from Stampin’ Up on the background of the right side of the front cover.  I had a cardboard piece that I stamped “Imagine” into and then rubbed Hickory Smoke from Distress ink onto the cardboard to make it darker gray.  I used two black brads from Michaels to attach the piece to the front cover.  I had some black stickers that I had in my stash and I attached them to the binding of the book.  I attached the key on an angle on the front cover.
On the top right hand of the front cover, I used a stamp of gears and heat embossed it.  Below it, I put down three metal buttons. I stamped with Ranger Archival, a postage style stamp on the right side of the front cover and stamped it a few times.

I finished making the video for stamping on ceramics and I really liked the end result.  Sometimes I am so surprised by what I’ve done, I’m not sure what to do next.  I’m missing paper projects though and especially cards.  I’m doing a card video today that is a shutter card, like a camera shutter.  I can’t wait to do it and hope it comes out well.  It’s something I’ve never tried (what’s new there?) and I’m looking forward to doing it.  Compared to the “new projects” I’ve been doing, this is nothing, if not simple.  I’m prepared to make it difficult, though, in case you wondered.

On a side note, Honey is fitting in well and finally thinks Rich is a great guy.  She was not around people very much from what we can tell and she definitely was not around any men.  The first few days were difficult as she clung to me every time Rich tried to pick her up.  She’s over it now.  In fact, after I got up this morning, she went to him in bed and he lifted her up.  A few minutes later, he heard her squirming and when he looked over, she had slid between the mattress and headboard and was clinging on for dear life.  He said she was all about snuggling after he rescued her.  Sometimes all it takes is to be the damsel in distress and having your prince come to rescue you.  Her prince passed the test.

My steampunk video is really long. Over forty minutes.  How long is too long when it comes to a tutorial?  I’ve been watching more and more YouTube crafters doing I Steams and video chats that last over an hour and they are mainly answering questions while they do a project.  I watched Kristina Werner label her new stamp pads while she answered questions.  Is it better to do a short tutorial but a long  Q & A?  I didn’t think people had time to sit for over an hour to listen to people basically talking to each other on an I Stream, but they must.  I saw Patti Tolley Parish does IStream videos that are over two hours long.  So where does a tutorial fit in the grand scheme of things?

Time is a very precious commodity and one I don’t want to squander for others.  I hope people will watch my videos, but in the interest of time, I’m ok with them fast forwarding and using their time wisely.  I hope I have valid content, but need to keep an eye on the length of videos going forward.

Making the cover for my art journal was a long process and involved many different techniques.  I hope people will find it of value and if not, it’s a lesson learned.  I’m really happy with it’s result and hope others will want to try some of the techniques I used.  My takeaway is that I am really a slow crafter and need to be more efficient with mine and everyone else’s time.

I tried something new today.  I had seen people use their Rubber Stamp Tapestry peg stamps on ceramic and thought, what the heck, I should give this a try.  I wasn’t sure exactly how to proceed so used makeup sponges and put acrylic (the kind you bake) paint on the sponge and stamped onto it.  It didn’t really work that well, so I used a paint brush and painted the stamps instead.  It had better results, but I liked the second image over the first, so proceeded onward.  I really had fun with this technique because as soon as I stamped a mess, I wiped it right back off.  Wouldn’t it be great if it worked the same way with paper?  .

I stamped on a soup bowl that had a handle and lid.  It made for the perfect stamping situation because I had a lot of space to stamp and could make a pattern that wouldn’t be near the surface that you would eat from.  I haven’t baked it yet, that will be tomorrow’s project and then I’ll be able to do the video on the second bowl.  I like using my stamps for something different and this technique is fun and a little challenging.  I’m crossing my fingers that it bakes well and looks like something I won’t want to discard once baked.  Wish me luck!

I had a viewer Kay, ask for a video with stencils and a steampunk  theme.  I’ve never done anything like it, but was definitely game for the challenge.  I had started an art journal for myself.  Well, started it, is kind of a stretch.  I took an old Reader’s Digest condensed book and covered every other page with gesso.  I removed several of the pages so the book wouldn’t be so thick, and that’s where the project stopped.  I just didn’t know where to go from there.  I hadn’t done anything to the cover and it had gesso on it and looked pretty bad.  When Kay asked for the video, I couldn’t believe how easy the decision became.  I had my art journal cover.  It was as simple as that.  After I finished the project, I couldn’t believe how well it came out and I’m pretty proud of it.  I really wanted to play with the journal but needed a direction.  Now I have it.

To be honest, I’m not sure how steampunk it is, but it looks good to me.  I think it would have been better if I had found some old watch parts or anything gear-like that I could put on the cover.

I guess the moral of my story is this.  If Kay hadn’t asked for the steampunk video, I wouldn’t have had the theme for my art journal.  Thanks Kay, for the great suggestion.  I’m hoping others will let me know when they have a video idea that they would like to see, because I’m up for it!

One additional note.  After asking viewers to put the word out on social media about my YouTube channel, we hit 300 subscribers within a week.  I really appreciate everything the subscribers are doing to help advance the viewership of my channel.  I have the best subscribers on the internet!

An extra DIY video, just for you.
To make alcohol ink you need:
1. A Sharpie or similar alcohol marker
2. Xacto knife
3. 70% rubbing alcohol
4 Small spray bottle
5. plastic container
6. Needle nose pliers
7. regular pliers
8. Plastic gloves if you don’t like stained hands
9. Paper towels to mop up any mess
Fill the spray bottle with the rubbing alcohol and then pour the alcohol from the spray bottle into the plastic container. Using the needle nose pliers, remove the nib from the Sharpie and put into the plastic container. Using both pairs of pliers, ben the Sharpie back and forth until you pull it apart. The marker I had needed to have the end removed. Once you pull the marker apart, remove the long plastic covered tube inside. Using your Xacto knife and needle nose pliers, cut the length of the plastic you removed from the marker. Do this on the front and back. If your container isn’t long enough to hold this piece, cut it in half. Pull the fibrous pieces out of the plastic if you can’t cut it in half and then put all of it into the alcohol. Let this set until the ink has soaked into the alcohol and the fibers are a lighter shade. Once you think the ink is dark enough, pour it into the spray bottle and you are ready to go. If you get the ink on anything, the alcohol will remove it.

To make Dylusions style spray paint you’ll need:
1. small spray bottle
2. two small marbles
3. acrylic craft paint
4. very warm tap water

Put an inch of paint into your spray bottle and then drop in the marbles. Pour the hot water over the paint and close the bottle. Shake really well. If your spray paint is runny, add more paint. If it won’t come out of the sprayer, you may need to put in more water. Make sure before you do add more water, you really shake it well again.

I’ve decided my camera is the spawn of Satan.  I never know when or why it stops, and it stops whenever it feels like it.  So what is up with it?  I just don’t know. I decided I needed to put a timer up so if it stops at twenty minutes, I’ll know that’s the problem.  It’s not.  I try checking on it from time to time and half the time, it’s already stopped.  I know you have got to be noticing the technical difficulties I’ve been having, and it’s happening much too often.  I’m not sure where to go from here.  We bought this camera specifically for videos and in November, so it should work well.  It doesn’t.  I’m focusing on staying in frame and now I have to broaden my focus to making sure my camera is on.  Geez, does the Frugal Crafter have these problems?  Probably not.  She’s probably seen and experienced every technical difficulty there is to have, and so far, I’m only hitting on the surface.  I have so many mistakes ahead of me, I need to take one camera problem at a time.  It’s not so bad, at least you get to see most of what I video.  Or some.  More than half.  There’s no where to go but up.

My seventh DIY video is up.  I’m really happy with how they all came out.  There were a couple of iffy moments, (the diy bow jig), but all in all, I’m really happy with them.  I was especially happy with the way the shamrock stencil performed when I stamped through it.  If you watch the video, you can tell I’m a little worried about how it would turn out.

That stencil has had me thinking though.  Why is it a three leaf clover?  Is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated with a three leaf instead of a four leaf.  Let’s do some research and here it is.

Why the four-leaf clover has nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day

This stone gets its luck from the shamrock engraved on it. (JULIA HATMAKER/The Patriot-News)

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By Sean Adams | sadams@pennlive.com The Patriot-News
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on March 13, 2014 at 10:26 AM, updated March 13, 2014 at 10:15 PM

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Everyone likes to pretend they’re Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, but I like to pretend I’m Irish all year long. It’s perhaps unsurprising, considering my given name (with the proper Gaelic spelling, mind you – none of that Anglicized “Shawn” business, thanks).

So, when a discussion arose at the PennLive office regarding the validity of the four-leaf clover as a symbol of Ireland, I was surprised to find myself making the same mistake that most people seem to make at this time of year.

To be brief: the four-leaf clover has nothing to do with Ireland or St. Patrick’s Day.

The green leafy plant we ought to be associating with St. Patrick is, of course, the shamrock, which is specifically a sprig of the clover plant with three leaves, not four.

View full sizeThis photo is of a statue of St. Patrick in Ireland.Flickr user starbeard (http://www.flickr.com/photos/starbeard/87295773) (Photo has been cropped)

What’s the difference? For one thing, the three-leaf clover was, according to legend, what St. Patrick used to explain the Holy Trinity of Christianity to the Irish people. Four leaves just doesn’t add up.

For a more detailed explanation, I turned to Charles “Cholly” Shields, a local attorney and expert on Ireland who has patiently pointed out the difference between the four leaf clover and the shamrock. More than just a symbol of St. Patrick, Shields says the shamrock became a national symbol of Ireland itself, just as the English use the rose, the Welsh use the leek and the Scottish the thistle.

So now I know.  The shamrock isn’t a four leaf clover.  Why do we all assume it is?

I’m not sure, but now I’m informed and so are you.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.