We have a local church who has a clothing giveaway once a year, that I think is a truly wonderful idea.  Rich saw the note about this year’s giveaway on facebook, and we decided we were going to go through our closets and our drawers and get rid of anything that doesn’t fit or we don’t wear.  It took us three days to complete, and in the end, I don’t think you can see much of a difference.  On the other hand, we used industrial size garbage bags and completely filled our car and trunk and partially filled my girlfriend’s car.  The church was thrilled to have the clothes, but Rich and I were embarrassed that we have accumulated so much.  It’s ridiculous, the amount of clothing we owned, and continue to own.  I tried to be particularly picky, choosing to get rid of anything that I was on the fence about, and still my dresser drawers are full.  I keep telling myself that I didn’t just buy all of these clothes in the last year, and that they’ve been accumulating over at least a decade, but still, it’s embarrassing.  The ladies at the church were thrilled to get them, and that made us feel a little better.

Today I went dress shopping with a close friend.  Her son is getting married the beginning of September, and she hadn’t shopped for her dress yet.  We started in a wedding dress shop, and after trying on several dresses, my friend decided bridal stores might not be right for what she’s looking for.  Sadly, bridal stores are the only stores that allow you to use their dressing rooms, as every other retailer has closed their dressing rooms.  I heard someone ask when the dressing rooms would open in a large retailer, and the salesperson said, “Maybe in a year and a half.”  Wow, I guess I didn’t look at this long term…So are we also assuming we’ll be wearing masks that long…how depressing.  It was a big wake up call for me for how long Covid will be infecting our lives.

The wedding is in a church and the reception at the mother-of-the-bride’s backyard under tents.  It was supposed to be a wedding for 200+ people, and since Covid, has been reduced to 80.  I feel sorry for brides, not knowing if their wedding will be cancelled at the last minute if we go back into quarantine, and even more sad for the businesses that make their living from weddings, like photographers, who live or die financially, by what happens next with Covid.

This wedding went from a very large upscale event, to a backyard intimate affair.  The mother-of-the-bride told my girlfriend, she hasn’t found her dress yet, and continues to buy a bunch online, try them on, and send them back.  Her idea of the right dress is something floral and lightweight, and not matching the wedding colors.  My girlfriend wants to do this traditionally, and is trying to come close to the wedding colors that are navy blue and burgundy.  Those aren’t traditional colors for that time of year, but originally, the wedding was mid-November, when those colors are more appropriate.  We had fun trying to find dresses that were in the colors of the wedding, and also a bargain, as my girlfriend loves a bargain.  In the end, she went home with seven or eight dresses from four or five stores, and we’re hoping one of them will fit her and make her happy..  Not just happy, the goal is to make her feel pretty, and when you get to be in your 60’s and 70’s, that’s not always easy to achieve.  We both have high hopes for one dress in particular.  It’s navy with a flowery flowing over cape?  (I’m not sure what you call those see-through over-the-head pieces that are being paired with simple dresses.)   The dress is really simple, but that cape (we’ll call it that since I’m not sure what it’s really called) is a navy, white and burgundy floral pattern, so matches all of the wedding colors.   We couldn’t have been luckier, finding it at the first store (after the bridal shop.)  It was on sale for under $20, so my girlfriend’s need for a bargain was also filled.  All in all, if that dress works out, she couldn’t have found anything more fitting for this wedding.  If it doesn’t, she’s got a bunch more to try on, and hopefully, one of those will work.  If she’s not happy with any of them, we’ll try again (although when we got home, I had to take a two hour nap to get over it.)  Let’s cross our fingers that she finds one in the stack that makes her feel pretty.  I really hope she does…

The nice people at InLoveArts.com sent me these products and I really appreciate them doing so.

6″ Origami Paper (this is much thicker than normal Origami paper, fyi) The letter for my paper is D in the paper options. link: https://bit.ly/3binny9

Grid and Lace Belt Border Dies (Die with hearts in the center) Link: https://bit.ly/34L8oKD

Double Circle Dies Link: https://bit.ly/34LwhBT

Fruit Cane Dies (rectangle dies) Link: https://bit.ly/3agr868

Candy Bow Cutting Dies Link: https://bit.ly/3exZAMI

Belt Decor Dies (Men’s Belt) Link: https://bit.ly/2ymCEQ0

Burlap Rose Link: https://bit.ly/3bjxeE3

The college album I’m making for our great niece might just be the death of me.  I’ve made SO many mistakes and have had to rip it apart so many times.  You’d think once I’d made a mistake that I would learn from it and not make it a second time, no, that’s not the case.  I’ve put magnets in the wrong spots and glued the fold out sections too close to the center, at least three or four times.  What the heck?  I’m SO frustrated, and will be super glad when this is finished.  Of course you know that I’ll keep playing with it until I’m happy, so I might just rip it apart a few more times.  I’ll admit that the very last fold out section made me so frustrated that I used Velcro to hold it in place, as I (again) put the magnets in the wrong spot…I’ll never learn…But, I just might rip that whole section out because the Velcro adds bulk that makes the album bulge.  Crap!!!

I finished the art journal.  Can I say it’s finished when it’s still sticky and I can’t figure out how to fix that?  Boy, the last few days of crafting have been bad.  I think part of the problem is that it’s hot and humid here, so everything I craft seems to be humid, so wet glue dries almost instantly, and (I think) that’s why the art journal is so sticky.  I watched a video by my idol, Lindsay the Frugal Crafter, where she says to rub a sticky journal page with wax paper, and if that’s not enough wax, you can use paraffin wax on it.  I’m definitely going to give the wax paper treatment a whirl…and I’ll let you know if it works or not.

There’s a trend in the card making community called “slim line cards.”  Basically, they are cards that fit into business size envelopes.  I had to laugh when I heard this trend, because I’ve made a slim line card over two years ago..I’m a trend setter, haha…here’s my version.

Every once in a while, a new trend will surface, and it seems like an old trend reinvented.

I’m not sure that simply changing the size of a card is a trend, but since they’re calling it that, I’m going to create another trend, using the smaller envelopes you always see in stores (that I used to confuse with A2 size envelopes)….I think they’ve been used for letter writing in the past, and now, wait for it, I just might call these Sandy Sized Cards, as it’s better than short and fat cards, or shorter and fatter than an A2….I’m still thinking about what to call them.  If you have an idea, please let me know, so when I make the video, I have a name for them.. Here’s the envelope I’m talking about..It’s 3 5/8″ x 6 1/2″

Wow, the summer’s going by so quickly, isn’t it?  Yesterday, I went to some garage sales with my girlfriend, and found a few things that made me happy.   Rich has been obsessing about growing potatoes in five gallon buckets, and I found a couple more buckets for next year’s “harvest.”  It’s amazing how thrilled you can be by finding buckets for 50 cents at a garage sale.  I also found a couple of perennials, and planted them yesterday.  It’s so hot here, that any time spent outside is too much time.  I also found a Shark Steam Mop for $15.  Since I just ordered one from Walmart for $70, I think the $15 is more in keeping with how often I’ll actually use it.  I tried the $15 version once already, and found it’s kind of tough to push (for me.)  I’m sure for other people it’s not difficult at all, but I struggled…Not all the time, but enough that my wrist hurt when I was done (and I didn’t do all the floors I wanted to do, darn it.)

I’ve decided I need to get some big garbage bags and go into my clothes closet and purge.  I have clothes in a closet in our basement from my years in banking that ended in 2005…They’re mostly suits, and not trendy, and I need to get rid of them.  What was I saving them for?  There’s a church that’s having a clothing giveaway next weekend, and I’m committed to getting rid of as many clothes as possible.  I have so many things that don’t fit or I don’t like, and it’s time to say goodbye.  It’s not like I don’t purge clothes, but apparently I don’t purge enough.  The other day, I was looking for a navy blue t-shirt with a silver buckle insert at the neckline..Could I find it anywhere?  No…So I asked Rich to help and his idea was to pull all of my clothes off of a shelf and onto the floor.  He found the shirt, but now I have a pile of clothes to refold.  I’m not fond of the shelf system, as I can’t seem to organize it to my liking and never find what I’m looking for…And the floor system is working great (haha), I can find anything…it’s also a great way to decide what to donate just by looking at them and saying to myself, “Will I ever wear that again?”   And I have more clothes than I could ever possibly wear, which is another problem.  I’d just like to downsize to the point that I know everything in my closet fits me,  and makes me happy….is that too much to ask?  (And yet I’ll bet after this purge I still won’t get to that point.)

Still working on the album for our great niece.  Today I found some brads on Ebay that would be perfect for the album, but when I went to check out, it said they couldn’t process the Paypal transaction….Since I was using my Paypal balance I knew it wasn’t my fault, but tried it several times, and still couldn’t get the payment to go through.  I tried signing off and back onto Paypal, and again, it didn’t work.  I was getting so frustrated, I wanted to throw my laptop across the room.  I’m not sure if I need to contact Ebay or Paypal, since I’m not sure where the problem lies.  I’m sure Ebay can’t afford to have their payment system stop working, so I thought I’d give it a little while and try again.  I hate it when things like this happen, because it makes me feel like I’m a deadbeat, even when I know I’m not.  Isn’t that nuts?  I remember when I was working, and at a local store, when the cashier told me my credit card didn’t work.  Keep in mind, I live in a small town and I was a bank manager, so that looked bad, especially as it was Christmas shopping time and there were a lot of people in line behind me, and the cashier wasn’t quiet about it.  I went home and contacted my credit card company, and they said my card had been hacked and someone tried to buy $6,000 worth of electronics online, but didn’t guess the expiration date correctly, so the credit card company cancelled my card to protect me, but didn’t think it was important enough to call me, only sent me a letter and a new credit card.  I’ve never understood how credit card companies can basically close your account and yet, think it’s not important enough to spend two minutes calling you for notification…Geez!  Luckily, this time it’s in the privacy of my own home, but I still don’t understand why Paypal isn’t working…And I hate calling any online retailer, as I know it’s going to be a long wait, and I just don’t have the patience for it.  Maybe this is a sign that I shouldn’t buy so much online…Darn it!

I decided to bite the bullet and contact Paypal.  After typing the issue online, they provided me with a six digit code and a telephone number to call.  It’s like trying to crack a safe, getting a contact telephone number for Paypal.. I was only on hold for a couple of minutes because I had a balance in my Paypal account.  Apparently if you don’t have a balance, the wait time can be pretty long. How do I know this?  They tell you that when you’re on hold…Good to know, huh?  The representative said, “I see you’ve tried to process this several times,” to which I wanted to say, “Because I had no choice,” but didn’t.  He said the reason it was declined….wait for it…..was because the seller no longer had the item available.  Couldn’t Ebay have given that as the reason instead of telling me my payment was declined?   So frustrating and so much time wasted, because a seller was too lazy to take down an item that’s no longer available.  Geez!

I saw this craft on Scrapbooking with Me and thought it would be fun to try.  Using a lunch bag, push out the side seams so they stick out and make sure the fold is straight. There’s a triangle on the sides of the bag near the bottom, and you need to push those out, then fold them so they are flat. Then glue down anything that’s sticking up, and glue the bottom flap down. I like to cut the top of the bag off so that half-circle that’s at the center of the top of the bag is cut off.

Fold the opening of the bag up to a little below the square that’s on the bottom of the bag, then fold the bottom of the bag so that it’s about 1/8″ of an inch above the bag you just folded up…sorry, this is hard to explain… Using wet glue (I used Art Glitter Glue), put a thin line of glue on the sides to glue the bag shut. The top flap should not be glued, only the sides. Using patterned paper, measure your bag……Every bag is different….My bag needed one piece of patterned paper that was 7 13/16″ wide (and decided my paper trimmer wouldn’t work for 16th, so changed my measurements to 7 7/8″ wide and 3 3/4″ tall. That piece will cover under the flap. The next piece you need to lay on the long side of the bag….Lay it about 1/8″ above the bottom of the bag and using some kind of clips, clip the paper to the bag pattern side of the paper face up. Flip over the pouch and you’ll have the white side of the patterned paper. Using a pencil, trace the outline of the pouch, then remove the clips…Cut out the outline, and trim a little off both sides and the top so you have the paper bag showing on the edges. Score the white side where the paper goes from straight to angled as that’s where the fold is.

The paper I used is Love Nicole Medallion Wallpaper, from A C Moore..AC Moore was sold to Michaels, so I doubt you’ll find this paper in stores.

To make the paper cut out for under the flap, open the pouch and lay the pouch on the designer paper, design side up…It’s crucial that you trace it on the patterned side, or this won’t work. Lay the paper so it’s just above the fold of the pouch and then trace it and cut it out. It should then be trimmed a little on the sides and top so you can see the edges of the paper bag. I used tear tape on the backs of all of my papers but DIDN’T glue down anything, as I have brads I’m going to use for closure and need to add distress ink on the edges of the papers.

I chose Old Paper Distress ink and inked the edges of all of the designer paper I used. Using the longest piece of designer paper, I added wet glue to ensure I could move it if I had to, and laid it in place. Then I took a pokey tool and poked a hole in the center of the top flap (with a thick piece of foam under it so you don’t poke through the whole project) and about an inch from the bottom of the fold. Then you can put your first brad in place and  glue down the paper that goes under that flap. Next, lay the designer paper that is the front of the pouch (that’s under and below the flap) and put clips on it to hold it in place, but don’t glue it down. Poke a hole in the designer paper and one layer of the paper bag about an inch below the first brad. (Since I cut the top off of my paper bag, it leaves two layers and we only want to poke through one of those.) Remove the clips and put wet glue behind the designer paper and glue it in place.

I used a cord to hold the two brads..I pulled the cord around the top brad and tied it into a knot and added a drop of glue to make sure the knot holds. You’ll want to wrap the cord around the brad again, then wrap it around the bottom brad at least twice, then back around the top brad, then trim off excess cord.. I used hot glue to glue down three matching corduroy buttons to the front for decoration.

I had a big day on Monday.  Friends came over and helped Rich mulch around our house.  Rich had his hip replaced last Halloween, and it’s still giving him issues, and we were hoping by now he’d feel well enough to do the mulch, but he didn’t.  He was a big help with carrying bags of mulch and laying them where they could then be dumped, but he paid for it later in the day when continuous bending and straightening got to be too much.  After mulching, my girlfriend, her fifteen year old daughter and I went shopping.  This is the first time I’ve been in a mall since Covid, and it was so odd being back in stores….and wearing masks.  I only lasted about fifteen minutes until the combination of mask and warmer temperatures in stores, started to make me sweat…and I mean sweat.  I had sweat rolling down my back and my face and neck were soaking wet from it…I guess I never thought about the heat inside a mask, but now, it’s all I think about when I’m wearing one.

We did have a really good time shopping and found some good deals, and best of all, went out for lunch at a restaurant/bakery…and you know  how much I love sweet things.  I had to buy all of us cupcakes, and bought an extra one to take home for Rich.

I walked more on Monday than I’ve walked since Covid started, so Tuesday I really paid for it.  I decided I’d spend time working on our great niece’s album, and made so many mistakes in it, I eventually gave up.  I’d already finished a couple of pages, and forgot that I had….and then added in her graduation pages….so they’re out of order….I decided the only way to fix that, was to make the first pages about family, so she can insert five or more photos on those pages…Then I did a great job with the graduation page, but forgot to put a tab to open it (as it also is a fold out)…So I tore it apart and added the tab, but once I glued it back together, I realized the tab I inserted was too flimsy, so had to tear it apart again.  After I glued that page together for the third time, I decided to throw in the towel for the evening.  Geez!!

Today, I wanted to finish the Mickey Mouse diamond painting I’ve been working on.  And after working on it for a long time this afternoon, I only have a very small area left,  then it will be done.  I have been using the sun room (where Honey and I spend a lot of our time) for diamond paintings.  Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, that makes her anxious, and now she’s somehow gotten Bella to start whining and nudging me as well, so I have to wait until either they’re on a walk with Rich, or he has them in another room, otherwise, they drive me crazy.  It was terrible today, and even with him taking them into another room, they kept doubling back to sit by me and whine.  I have no idea why I can sit in a recliner five feet from where I diamond paint, and there’s no issue, but the minute I pull out the chair to sit at the table where I diamond paint, things turn ugly fast.

I bought a few crafty things the last few days..  Unity Stamps is having a big anniversary sale, and I bought some stamps there, and then HSN had a craft sale yesterday, so I bought a mixed media kit, and then I found small gelli plates on Joanns.com on sale and ordered them, plus got some embellishments from Aliexpress.  I try not to buy stamps or dies from them, knowing that they are stealing designs from the US, but I don’t have an issue buying things like washi tape, tear tape, or other generic things from them.

Tomorrow we have a nice day planned, going to our friends that we used to see movies with….And since Covid, we’ve only been seeing movies at their house, which is great, but we all still miss movie popcorn and stadium seating….I guess there’s nothing like a theater for a true movie experience.  It’s fun seeing them, though, and we haven’t spent much time with any of our friends since Covid, and it will be great catching up.  Their daughter had a baby boy a couple of months ago, and I have been working on the Mickey Mouse diamond painting for his room, and their family love Disney, and what’s more Disney than Mickey Mouse?  I hope they like it…it’s cute.  Here’s a photo of what it should look like when it’s complete.

I got the diamond painting from Fansells.com, and I’ve been happy with all of their diamond products…(I only have to finish a part of one foot, and he’ll be ready to frame.)…

I made two styles of cards from scraps..One was influenced by Lindsay the Frugal crafter, and the other, the starburst design, is a favorite go to card for me.

I wanted to start by showing a lot of the cards I’d made for all occasions from my normal scraps of card stock. The process to make these cards is the same as for the Christmas cards, that I describe in detail below. On the all occasion cards, I used: Birthday diamond art from Fansells.com to add to the fronts of several of the birthday cards I made…Here’s a link to them if you are interested. https://tinyurl.com/ydeeox5q

Paper clips w/ cute leather-look tassels from the Dollar Tree. link: https://tinyurl.com/y83w64wb

To make Christmas Cards:  First, I took my scraps and separated them by primary background colors….green, red and light blue. I then took the (for example) red scraps and organized them by the color tone so that when I made the starburst cards, colors next to each other would coordinate. Then I took each scrap and cut part of it into strips of varying widths, then made the rest into diamond/triangular shapes. I found the guillotine trimmer was the easiest for cutting triangular shapes..Mine is from Fiskars and I like it a lot. Link: https://tinyurl.com/y79tgaaf   You’ll need at least three triangular shapes for each pattern for one sunburst card.

I used glue sticks from the Dollar Tree on the Christmas cards. Link: https://tinyurl.com/y88r3orv

I used two sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ white Pen Easy cardstock from Walmart, link: https://tinyurl.com/ydhh9rwd to cover with scrap strips. On the all-occasion cards, I used wet school glue and it made the cardstock really waffly, so when I made the Christmas cards, I changed to glue sticks. I hope the glue sticks hold the cards together until Christmas.

Making the cards from strips, I laid the strips in different directions until the card stock is completely covered in card stock.

Starburst cards: Used an A2 sized card base 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ scored on the 8 1/2″ length at 4 1/4″  Fold the card base and then using your diamond shaped scraps, lay your first diamond so the point isn’t exactly in the center of the card base. Lay each diamond shape so they completely but up against the diamond before it, making sure that the edges of the card is covered. Once you’ve covered the entire front, you’ll let the glue dry and then turn the card over and cut off the excess cardstock. Then put a sentiment and some kind of image on the front over the point where all of the diamonds come together.

Back to the full sheets that you’ve covered with strips.  Let them dry, then cut the sheets so there are four pieces that are 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″..I then put them into an (Darice’s Tribal Background or Snowflake) embossing folders and ran it through the Vagabond to get the impression on the cardstock.

I cut them down to 4″ x 5 1/4″ to lay on top of an A2 sized card base. I used different stamps and sentiments that I had accumulated in my stash. I made a reindeer card on camera, and I don’t know who made the reindeer stamp, but I colored it with alcohol markers and die cut it with a postage die, and then put fun foam under it and attached it to a card base. Then for the sentiment, I used Spellbinder’s Dear Santa chipboard stickers, link: https://tinyurl.com/y8wje599 Attached it to the card, and it was done.

Next, I made a card with Stamps of Life Light for Xmas stamp set. I stamped then with Gina K’s Amalgam Jet Black Ink, then clear embossing powder, then heat set them. Watercolored the lights w/ Viviva Colorsheets https://tinyurl.com/y94scvsg and brushes from Grace Art link: https://tinyurl.com/yddcgtfu. I used a tag die and cut out the sentiment, then colored it with the same green as the bulb, then used fun foam under it, and tied black embroidery floss to the tag, then wrapped the floss around the card and glued it down and glued the bulbs over it. I glued a metal snowflake to the tag and the card was finished.

I had a lot of loose embellishments that made this process SO much easier than it could have been. Unfortunately, I don’t know where I got them, as I found them in my stash..It was a great find, but sadly, no packaging..

 

I have had a great few days of craftiness.  I went to a garage sale on Friday, where they were selling a matted frame from IKEA for $2.  I had finished a diamond painting for our great niece of a bulldog…It happens to be her university’s mascot, and I’ve been wanting to frame it to send it on its way.  It looks like this before it’s framed (OK, and a lot more

like a diamond painting.)  I thought the frame would fit two owls leaning into each other, but when I looked through my finished diamond paintings, saw the bulldog and thought, this is it!  I couldn’t believe that it fit perfectly into the mat, and I mean perfectly…That never happens to me, so I was thrilled.  Finding frames for diamond paintings has turned out to be the toughest part of making them.  I’ve bought a lot of frames, but I think most of the ones I’ve bought are too big…darn it.  I need to check the size on this one and buy more like it (size wise.)

I’ve been wanting to finish the art journal I’ve been working on (forever, it seems,) and I had done one page that I absolutely HATE.  It’s the hot mess below.

It was one of the first videos I did, and I am now on the last page, but couldn’t finish the journal without re-doing this page.  And wait until you see how it looks now.  I’m no longer embarrassed about it, and am actually pretty proud of it.  Now all I have to do is the back cover, and my work here is done.  I promised a friend that I would send it to her (she wanted to buy it, but I’ve never considered the things I’ve made worth buying, so promised it was hers.)  I was tickled that she wanted to buy it…but seriously, with that hot mess in there, it was definitely a freebie…..and I know the technique I replaced the hot mess was one she really liked, so I hope I get it to her before the video of the replacement goes live…It’s going to be a sweet surprise for her.

I also started working on the album I’m making our great niece.  I wanted to make it for her for her freshman year, but missed that boat, so hoping to get it to her before her sophomore year begins.  I can’t imagine how hard it must be for the kids in college today, not knowing what’s happening with classes, and not seeing their friends.  I loved my college experience.  It was the best four years of my life, and I feel so sad that kids are missing it…even the half semester they’ve already missed…it’s just such a shame.

I’m trying to make sure there are lots of spots for photos, and different pages for holidays etc.  It will be fun trying to find all of the things I want to include in her album.  I’ve already worked on little bits and pieces of it, and now it’s time to really get serious about it.  The album is constructed, now all it will take is the decorating, and if you’ve ever made an album, you know decorating is the hardest part..

I was asked by a viewer to turn the passport cover I received from Fansells.com (link) https://tinyurl.com/ybqdjcdz into a credit card holder.

The paper I used was from Love Nicole called Medallion Wallpaper and is 12″ x 12″ paper pad…Love Nicole was an AC Moore brand, and they’ve been sold to Michaels, so unless you find this paper on ebay or etsy, I doubt you’ll find it.

Start with two pieces of 5 1/8″ tall x 7 1/2″ wide score on the 7 1/2″ length at 3 3/4″. Score on the reverse of the paper you want showing.  To make this easier, (which I should have done with the first cut, but didn’t) lay the paper with the 5 1/8″ tall facing up, and make marks on the right side of the fold at 1 1/2″, 3″ and 4 1/2″ Then put the paper in your trimmer unfolded, with the marks you made closest to you, then put the mark in the cut line at the 1 1/2″ mark,  cut from a little past 1/8″ to about 1/8″ from the center fold. Then move the paper up in the trimmer about 1/16″ and make another slit the same length, then using scissors, snip the ends so you have an opening for your card. Move the paper to the mark you made at 3″ and repeat what you did at 1 1/2″ and then do the same at 4 1/2″. After you’ve made your snips with the scissors, make sure a credit card will slip in and out of the cuts you’ve made. If they do, go on to gluing it shut. If the slits aren’t long enough, take your scissors and snip a little longer until the card does slide in without a lot of effort. To glue it shut, use tear tape or some other type of non-wet adhesive. Wet glues are a mistake. (and I’m trying to save you from my mistakes.) Run a line of thin tear tape, 1/8″ if you have it, above each of your openings for credit cards and then around the outer edge of the side with the slits cut into it, then remove the backing and carefully close it so there aren’t any gaps.

You’ll need another piece of matching paper that is 7 3/8″ x 5 1/8″ tall scored on the 7 3/8″ length at 3 3/4″. You’ll have one end that is shorter and one longer. Glue the back of the longer piece to the back of the piece you’ve cut slits into with the shorter piece sticking out the left side of what you’ve glued together…Then cut angles off top and bottom of the left piece and slide it into the passport cover. If the cover doesn’t close, cut a little strip off the left edge so it slides into the cover further.

Taking the second piece of cardstock that you cut to 5 1/8″ tall x 7 1/2″ wide score on the  7 1/2″ length at 3 3/4″..cut a notch out of the center of the left edge with a round or oval punch, punching only a portion of the oval or circle. Then place a folded dollar onto the left side where the notch is, and put a line of tear tape below where the dollar is, so the dollar doesn’t go where you can’t reach it. Tear tape the center fold, the top and bottom edges, but don’t close it yet, as we need to add magnets. Put tear tape on the back of the right side of the fold (on the back, so it can be glued to the other papers) and glue it to them. Then add a magnet link: https://tinyurl.com/ydcct3vc to the top and bottom of the left paper that you cut angles and on the inside of the dollar holder. The magnet in the dollar holder has to be glued to the side with the circle notch, so it doesn’t glue shut the dollar bill holder. Glue the dollar holder closed.

If you want to make the credit card holder for the other side of the passport cover, the papers are the same, but everything is in reverse, as you need to slide it into the right side of the cover, vs the left side. You’ll need the same three pieces of paper, two that are 5 1/8″ tall x 7 1/2″ wide score on the 7 1/2″ length at 3 3/4″ and another that is 7 3/8″ x 5 1/8″ tall scored on the 7 3/8″ length at 3 3/4″. The first 5 1/8″ x 7 1/2″ is now going to be marked at 1 1/2″, 3″ and 4 1/2″ on the left of the fold, then open it and put it in the trimmer and cut like you did before. Once the cards fit inside, put tear tape along the sides and directly above each of the slits. Take backing off tear tape and close this and add tear tape to the back. Take the piece of cardstock that’s 7 3/8″ x 5 1/8″ tall scored on the 7 3/8″ length at 3 3/4″ and glue the longer side to the back of the piece with slits in it, with the shorter side sticking out the right side. Cut the right side top & bottom angles and make sure it fits inside, then add magnets close to the angle cuts you made..(other 1/2 magnets are below) Then take the other 5 1/8″ tall x 7 1/2″ wide paper, score on the 7 1/2″ length at 3 3/4″ glue the left side to the other papers and cut a notch in the center of the right side with a circle/oval punch, then lay a bill inside and put a line of tear tape below the bill, on the center and on the top and bottom, then add the other half of magnets to the right side where you laid the bill (make sure the magnet’s glued to the side with the center notch).

Add ribbon under the inside flaps of the passport cover and tear tape it under the flaps, making sure it’s long enough to tie in a bow.

I made two batches of freezer jam using Sure Jell, and neither batch got thick, so I found this solution .

Using corn starch as the thickening agent….

I used: 3 cups of runny jam

2 Tablespoon corn starch liquefied in 2 Tablespoon cold water— I try to use any runny jam left in the freezer containers to replace the water, as it’s flavor that is left behind after dumping the jam into your measuring bowl. Mix with a fork to ensure you’ve removed all lumps…and make sure you only use COLD water, as warm water causes issues.

Note: I started with 2 tablespoons of corn starch, because you don’t want to start with too much, as the amount needed may vary based on how humid it is where you are, and how hot. I didn’t want to ruin anyone else’s jam, so as I do this, I continue to add corn starch and cold water until it thickens to the degree I want. My jam didn’t get thick enough with the initial corn starch, so I added another 1 1/2 teaspoon corn starch and the same amount of cold water.  Even with the additional corn starch,  your jam still isn’t thick enough, add another small amount of corn starch mixed in cold water until you get to the desired consistency (once it’s boiling–corn starch doesn’t get to it’s full potential until it’s boiled…)

Note: I started with two batches of jam with Sure Jell in them, and combined them into four or five batches when adding corn starch, as it was a lot easier to boil in smaller batches. I used a 2 qt sauce pan on medium heat, stirring constantly..Once it starts to boil, add the corn starch mixture and continue stirring. If you don’t notice it getting thick once it’s at a full rolling boil (boiling even while you are stirring), you’ll want to add more corn starch/cold water. Take your pan off of the heat while you’re preparing more corn starch. Put the pan back on the heat and add your corn starch mixture. I always use a fork to make sure I get rid any lumps, and you must use COLD water, as warm water will give you lumps too..

After adding corn starch, if you have a batch that’s overly thick, remove about 1/3 of the thick jam from its freezer container, and put that back into your sauce pan, and when that batch gets a little thick, take your ladle and add the 1/3 back to your freezer container, mixing it in so the whole container is the same thickness.

I use a wood spurtle to stir the jam (I recommend any material that’s not metal for the utensil you use to stir with–metal gets hot) a ladle to skim any foam off and a small bowl to put the foam in a plate to house my utensils while stirring the hot jam (as this can make a big mess and the plate will hold any jam left on your ladle a funnel used in canning Freezer safe containers for the hot jam…don’t wait until your jam is cool to put it into freezer safe containers, as it will difficult (or in frank terms, a nightmare) to remove once it’s cooled.

After putting the jam in freezer containers, wait until it has reached room temperature, then put into the freezer.  I put one container in my refrigerator and showed the results after about 10 days…Here are the notes I thought you might want to consider before trying corn starch to thicken your freezer jam.

End results to consider:

1. I found my jam to be nice and thick, but had a slight “skin” on top of some of the containers. It’s easy to stir the skin into the jam and it doesn’t cause any issues by leaving it there, but I wanted to make sure you knew it might happen to your jam.

2. The jam has a more starchy consistency and taste. It’s not significant, but I wanted to make sure I noted it.

3. My jam seems like it’s more tart once I added the corn starch, and if you don’t like a tart jam, you might want to add more sugar when you are heating it (and before you add the corn starch), as the sugar needs to be completely dissolved before adding the corn starch.

I’m happy with the end result, and if you think you can handle the three points I mention above, you might want to try this remedy for runny freezer jam…