It was a crazy crafting day today.  The weather was frightful and the fire was so delightful, and  as long as you love me so, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.  And it did.

So what’s a girl to do?  Craft, of course.  I got a couple of requests, finally, for me to do different tutorials.  I am thrilled at the prospect.  The first request from my friend Elicia, was for me to do alcohol ink and Dylusions style spray paint.  I’ve done a lot of alcohol inks but the Dylusions was a new twist to me. Actually, I had attempted to make it before, but missed a key ingredient.  I was watching a craft company that does videos and they were making a spray paint and they put tiny balls in their spray bottle.  Genius!  That was the component my original batch was missing.  I could not shake that bottle well enough to get the paint to mix with the water so it just congealed on the bottom.  Not the ones I made today. They were so easy to shake because of the little marbles I used.  It only makes sense because you find those little marbles in nail polish and you could never shake it without them.

Once I finished that video, I went on to my original planned video for a DIY stencil.  It was simple to make but it still took me a long time to make my card.  I’m never sure why I can’t seem to get things done quickly, but I don’t.  It’s a curse.  Maybe I’m a temperamental artist. yeah, that’s it.  Or maybe, I’m indecisive.  That’s more like it.

I’m wishing everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day.  Rich and I are making an addition to our family for Valentine’s Day and I’ll post a photo of her on Monday when I think we’ll be picking her out.  (It’s a weather issue.)   She’s a very light English Retriever and there are eight girls in the litter so we’ll have a lot to choose from. With our oldest retriever, Aggie, turning 15 in four days, I’m concerned that our other retriever, Bella, will be lost when Aggie passes. I know Rich and I will be devastated. We talked to the vet and she said that Aggie is the calm the puppy will need and Bella will be the playmate the puppy will want.  I’m nervous, but excited and can’t wait to see them.  You’ll see the photos when we bring her home.  I better do some serious crafting before then as I might not have the chance after.

 

I made my bow jig today and as I suspected, it wasn’t quite durable enough to weather the storm.  It worked ok, but I made it out of green Styrofoam, and it molted.  I mean molted.  I had that Styrofoam all over my hands and it made it really difficult to tie bows after my hands were covered with it.  I have to say, if you covered the Styrofoam with duct tape it might be a feasibility, but otherwise, not so much.  I had a really hard time getting my bows tight as well.  But that might have been because the ribbon I used was kind of thick.  I think you have best results with a bow jig when you use a thin ribbon.  I wondered why I didn’t use the jig much.  It must have been because I couldn’t get a consistent bow, or else I just forgot I owned it, you be the judge.

Tomorrow is our final DIY project, a homemade stencil.  I hope it turns out well because I have a really great idea for a card with it.  You never know when you attempt a DIY whether it will be successful or a failure and for the most part, I don’t like to have the surprise ruined by making one in advance.  Where’s the fun in that?  I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants.  Where did that come from and what does it really mean.  I’m going to do some research.

Here’s what I found.

Meaning

Decide a course of action as you go along, using your own initiative and perceptions rather than a pre-determined plan or mechanical aids.

Origin

This is early aviation parlance. Aircraft initially had few navigation aids and flying was accomplished by means of the pilot’s judgment. The term emerged in the 1930s and was first widely used in reports of Douglas Corrigan’s flight from the USA to Ireland in 1938.

That flight was reported in many US newspapers of the day, including this piece, titled ‘Corrigan Flies By The Seat Of His Pants’, in The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 19th July 1938:

“Douglas Corrigan was described as an aviator ‘who flies by the seat of his pants’ today by a mechanic who helped him rejuvinate the plane which airport men have now nicknamed the ‘Spirit of $69.90’. The old flying expression of ‘flies by the seat of his trousers’ was explained by Larry Conner, means going aloft without instruments, radio or other such luxuries.”

Two days before this report Corrigan had submitted a flight plan to fly from Brooklyn to California. He had previously had a plan for a trans-Atlantic flight rejected (presumably on the grounds that the ‘Spirit of $69.60 wasn’t considered up to the job). His subsequent 29 hour flight ended in Dublin, Ireland. He claimed that his compasses had failed. He didn’t openly admit it but it was widely assumed that he had ignored the rejection of his flight plan and deliberately flown east rather than west. He was thereafter known as ‘Wrong Way Corrigan’ and starred as himself in the 1938 movie The Flying Irishman.

The ‘old flying expression’ quoted above (although it can’t have been very old in 1938) that refers to trousers rather than pants does suggest that the phrase was originally British and crossed the Atlantic (the right way) prior to becoming ‘flies by the seat of one’s pants’.

So it literally means exactly what it says, weird.  So I’m not flying but I am wearing pants, at least I’m halfway there.

 

 

 

 

To create pearlized or metallic inks from existing small cube style stamp pads or regular size pads as well.

You’ll need
1. Mica Powder–I use LA Colors eye shadows from Dollar Tree and for $1, the white works best for all colors.  You can use any really glittery eye shadows you have as well as you can use crafting pearlized powders like pearl ex.  To take the bottom off of the LA Colors eye shadows, take a sharp pointed object like a pokey tool or end of one half of pair of small scissors and pry under the bottom edge of the plastic bottom.  It usually comes off easily for me, but I had to use Rich for this round.  Once you carefully remove the bottom, tap it on the edge of the container you’ll be putting the mica powder into because a lot will stick to the inside of the container.  Hold the eye shadow container over your new lidded container and tap on the top and the most of the powder will come out.  Use the little brush that comes with it to go around the inside to remove any that is left behind.
2. Paper or plastic for under your ink pads and eye shadow container so mica doesn’t end up everywhere.
3.  A small spoon or spatula or popsicle stick to pick up the mica with.
4.  An old credit card or gift card to spread the mica with.
5.  Ink pads.  Use ones you aren’t crazy about or ones you forgot you have.  They can’t be very dry or this won’t work.  Mine were ones I’ve never used.  I’m storing them upside down now so the ink and mica have the chance to blend better.

Take the top off the stamp pad and put a small amount of white mica powder (or color of your choice) on top of the pad.  Using your credit card, rub it into the surface.  The more you rub it, the better it will work later.  You can always add more, but it will be impossible if you use too much because it will form more of a paste instead of an ink.  The pearlized ink will work better once your ink pad has time to sit as well.  Store it upside down so the mica and ink  mix better as well.

I found the recipe for mulberry paper from this YouTube site and she has a lot of great ideas.
Hectanooga1 – Crochet, Knitting, Jewelry, Crafts, Cooking and here’s her link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4sY3…

To make homemade mulberry paper you’ll need:

1.  Equal parts white glue and water.  I used inexpensive school glue and it worked great.  I really stock up on this at back to school time because I can get four of them for $1 at Staples and maybe cheaper at Walmart (mine didn’t have any but Elmers and it was more expensive.)
2.  Inexpensive craft paint in the color of your choice
3.  Dried leaves and/or flowers  You can pick dead leaves up outside and wait for them to dry if you can find them or use Valentine’s Day flowers once they have dried or any store bought potpourri that will crush.  Crush the leaves and flowers so they are small pieces.
4.  Something to let it dry on.  I used a plastic place mat that worked great.  You need it to dry flat.
5.  A plastic container to mix it in, I used packaging that was something I could use for crafting then recycle.  It should hold a cup at least so it won’t splash out when you mix.
6.  a paint brush
7.  Something to stir with, plastic spoon, popsicle stick or whatever you like to use.
8.  Two paper towels

Take your glue and water and mix in your plastic container.  Add the amount of paint to the color you like.  Stir well.  As you saw in the video, it took a lot more than I expected because paper towels absorb.  Place one paper towel on the placemat or wax paper might work.  Coat it well with the paint mixture with your paint brush.  Sprinkle flowers/leaf mixture over surface. Less is more because you need your paper towels to stick together.
Lay your other paper towel on top and paint with the mixture.  Coat your edges well.  After your have made sure you have enough of the paint mixture on both paper towels, press gently with your brush to make sure there are no gaps between the towels and that they are sticking together well.  Set aside to dry.  Make sure they are on a flat surface or they will bend like mine did.  You can use a ruler and tear your mulberry paper or scissors or a paper trimmer. My paper trimmer made a score line and then I could break it in half.  Good luck and I hope you try this DIY project.  I really love the pearlized/metallic inks as well.

 

 

You can make a Stamp-a-Ma-Jig  (we’ll use the acronym S-A-M-J)from wood, legos, anything that creates an upside down “L” shape.  Additionally, you will need,
1. a piece of clear plastic (acetate)
2. black archival ink works best
3. wood stamps

The Stamp a ma Jig can be used at least three ways.
1.  Place the acetate in the corner of the S-A-M-J.  Stamp the image you want to place on your card.  Remove the S-A-M-J and place the acetate image where you want it on the card.  Put the S-A-M-J back on the corner of the acetate, then remove the acetate (clear plastic) and stamp the image.

2.  If you stamp an image, and want to make sure it is perfect, keep the stamp in place and put the S-A-M-J on the corner of the stamp and remove the stamp.  If the image isn’t perfect, re-ink the stamp and put it back into the corner of the S-A-M-J and re-stamp the image.

3,  If you have a lot of design on your card and want to find the perfect spot for your sentiment, stamp the image on the acetate with the S-A-M-J placed in the corner of the acetate.  Remove the acetate and position it on your card until you find the exact spot you want the sentiment.  Once you find the perfect spot, keep the acetate where you want the image, position the S-A-M-J in the corner of the acetate and remove the acetate.  Stamp your image and leave the S-A-M-J in place until you are sure your image is perfect, if not, re-ink and re-stamp the sentiment.

I’m sure there are other uses for the S-A-M-J, but these are the only ones that I am aware of.  If you have other ideas, please leave them in the comments.

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I really felt like I was in the groove doing the video today.  It was one of those times when almost everything went well.  It’s such a rare thing for me, that it was a welcome surprise.  I find myself more prepared yet still not able to locate things when I want them.  It’s funny how you look at some of your craft tools in a certain way.  I was researching how to make your own envelopes and came across a YouTube video of a lady using her Martha Stewart score board to create envelopes.  I own one and have never known you could make envelopes on it, so it was really fun to find a new use for it. I always wondered about the triangular piece that pulls out of the side, but never took the time to read the directions or really look at what was written on the triangular piece.  So today was a great day for discovering new uses for old tools as well as making envelopes from six different techniques.  I’m really proud of this video as it has so much content but does not take very long to watch.

I’m starting to think that a week of DIY is a little more than Rich and I can handle.  I think a video will only last five minutes and it ends up lasting 25.  I’m not sure where the time goes once I start talking.  Today’s project is another round of pearlized (and for some reason I keep calling them metallic) inks.  I decided it was too simple, so I added making handmade mulberry paper as well.  Neither really took that long to produce but somewhere along the way, the card I made seemed to take forever.  I may be overstating it with “forever” but seriously, that card took a really long time to make (in my mind).  I’m hoping it is only in my mind and that it really only took maybe five minutes.  How long is too long to create a card?  I used to watch videos of a woman who said she would produce a card in five minutes and she always went significantly over her time limit.  Should I expect to create a card that’s not really simple in a short amount of time?  I’m not sure, but something keeps popping into my head that I don’t believe has any significance to my card issue.  How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?  That stupid Groundhog Day “groundhogeeze” isn’t out of my head yet apparently.  I think I must be trying to decide if I’m chucking enough wood, or if my video is lasting too long.  Oh who can tell what’s going on in my head?  Maybe I should confer with my neighborhood groundhog.  Surely I must speak the language.

To create washi tape storage, I used two methods.
First, I used heavy card stock and cut it to 2 1/2″ across and 3 1/2″ long.  I used a hexagon punch and only inserted the paper halfway into the design then punched it on both ends of the 3 1/2″ side.  Then I took a 1/4″ hole punch and punched about 1/4″ from the edge in the center of the 3 1/2″ length.  I used an old ball key chain to connect them together.  I put a glue dot on the end and attached the washi tape to it and then wrapped the washi tape around it and attached the end with another glue dot to the side of the washi tape so you don’t ruin the paper.

The second storage system is using an aluminum foil box and covering it with ribbon.  I used hot glue to do it and ran the ends of my ribbon above a lit candle flame to seal it and avoid fraying.

You can remove the roll inside the box and use it for your existing washi tape storage as well and it would cut easy on the cutting bar whereas ours might not because of the difference in the thicknesses.

To create washi tapes.
Methods
1.  Take a thin paper bag from a store with a nice design on it and put scotch tape over the images you like.  Cut it or rip it off and roll it into a ball with the tape on the inside.  Put in water for a few minutes and if it’s shiny, the paper just falls off.  I could not get brown paper bags to work, I believe they might be too thick.

2.  Take washi tape you don’t like and decorate it.  I used different gelato colors and rubbed them in with my finger.

3.  Take an old book with interesting designs.  Put tear tape on the back of the page where you want the design.  You can put two pieces side by side for a wider washi tape.  Cut out and put in storage.

4.  Using designer cardstock, run tear tape along the back of it and cut out.  Again, you can double it for wider tape.

5.  Cover as much of a piece of tissue paper with a painted layer of (I used Matt) Mod Podge and wait for it to dry.  Once dry, apply the tear tape to the back and cut out.  Or stamp on it and decorate it however you like, then cut it out.

I hope you enjoyed this DIY, please stay tuned for tomorrow’s DIY, Stamp A Ma Jig.  Plesae subscribe to my channel and give this video a thumbs up and forward it through social media, I’d appreciate it so much!

My latest DIY venture had some issues, I must admit.  I really thought I could make a Stamp a Ma Jig out of Legos but didn’t have them until this morning.  The problem I had was I was using smaller stamps with it and my fingers weren’t really proficient at placing the stamp directly down onto the Legos.  I think it was because of the small nubs that stick out of a Lego.   Anyway, it was my usual antics and the card was pretty cute even with the mistakes I made.

Sometimes I think my fails are more fun that my successes.  There is no drama or excitement when a project works well for everyone.  Remember when everyone watched “Wide World of Sports” when they always showed the ski jumper falling and said “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”  I think every person stopped what they were doing to watch that skier fall because where was the thrill if he landed?  Maybe it’s why that “America’s Funniest Videos” television show has been such a success.  If someone slams a basketball that’s one thing, but if they slam the basketball, break the backboard and then land on another player, that’s television viewers want to see.

Because of my failures with projects on video, I have the potential to be the next big You Tube star, you never know.  Or not.  The agony of defeat.

In order to take a rubber stamp off of a wooden block, I use a very sturdy metal spatula and put it between the foam and the block. Pressing straight down, I remove the stamp. If it won’t come off, I have heard you can microwave them, but have never tried it.
If you can also remove the image from the front of the stamp, it’s nice to apply the sticker to your storage so you know exactly what your stamp looks like.
To create storage for your rubber stamps you will need:
3″ 3 ring binder
cereal boxes
8 1/2 x 11″ paper, whatever color you like
crop a dile or poky tool or 3 hole punch if you can get it through the materials you need to punch or very sturdy one hole punch
glue or hot glue
pencil
clear contact paper
good scissors, I recommend Tim Holtz short blade ones for cutting the cardboard
a piece of notebook paper with 3 holes or an existing rubber stamp storage sheet to line up your holes, you can use your three ring binder as a guide as well but I’ve never been very successful using this for the depth of the holes.
a brayer or rolling pin

Cut your cereal box to 8 1/2″ x 11″ using both sides of the box
then glue the colored paper to both sides.

Put your existing rubber stamp storage sheet, or notebook paper onto your colored paper lining up all edges. Take your pencil and make circles inside the circles where the holes will be.

Use whatever punch tool you have and punch through all layers on the circles you created.

On a large flat surface, unroll your contact paper and place your new storage sheet centered top and bottom on the contact paper about 4″ from the right edge. Wrap the 4″ around the side of the storage sheet and press firmly in place making sure there are no big creases or bubbles. Carefully, unroll more contact paper and roll your storage sheet onto it holding the contact paper tightly so you don’t get creases. Use the brayer on the back and front. You can now cut the contact paper on the edge or wrap around the back so you have a thicker surface. An additional layer of contact paper doesn’t hurt. Now using your scissors or poky tool, poke through the contact paper on your holes. Place in the binder.

To use stamps on this surface if they do not adhere.
Use Alene’s Tack it Over and Over in small dots on the back.

Place your stamp close to the top and corner of your page to conserve space and put the sticker of the image as close to it as possible. I overlap part of the sticker with my stamp so I can only see the stamp image and not the outline of the sticker.

If any of your stamps won’t stick to your acrylic blocks you can:
l. use Aleene’s Tack it Over and Over in small dots on back
2. Run tape runner over back but don’t overdo it.
3.. Use a glue stick on the back.
To clean your acrylic block, either use a baby wipe or alcohol to remove residue.

I hope this helps, it’s easy and saves a lot of money considering the storage sheets are about $1 each on sale.

To use a rubber stamp without the foam backing, get Aleene’s Tack it Over and Over and put small dots on the back and adhere to your storage sheets. Then use a rock a block or Misti to ensure a good image on a padded surface. I don’t buy stamps with foam backing any more as I’ve never had problems stamping without. If it is a larger image, put the stamp on the surface and ink it and then rub your paper over the image making sure it doesn’t shift while you rub it. Make sure to rub the entire image.

If you have stamps that aren’t trimmed, make sure you trim them as close to the edge of the image as possible to make sure you don’t get lines showing from the edge of the stamp.