I’ve mentioned several times in videos that I have two friends who are really ill.  I’m sad to say that one of them has gotten much worse in a very short amount of time and Hospice is now involved.  I’m sure all of you have lost friends, family and co-workers and it’s never easy.  I’ve known this woman for twenty years and her life has not been particularly easy.  She has just found love in the last few years and got married in September.  We had lunch shortly after and she was so excited to have a Mrs. in front of her name.  She sat there with her cute new wig and giggled about being married.  She was so happy and we were thrilled she’d found the love she’d been looking for.  She has brain cancer and three weeks ago we were getting planning on going out to lunch and I’ve missed the chance to do so.   I just sent her another card last week and will continue to send them until I don’t have a reason to.

We have a nephew that was in the first Gulf War.  I sent him letters and cards at least once a week.  When he came home, he hugged me hard and thanked me for the mail I had sent him.  He was so glad that he had someone who remembered him as often as I had.  I told him how proud we were of him and that I just wanted to make sure that he knew it.

With the advent of the internet and email, the art of sending cards and letters is trickling off and I for one, am not going to let it die out.  Locally, we have a group that send boxes to our service personnel that are on active duty overseas.  I’ve been involved with them for ten years and the work they do is phenomenal.  They like to include cards to our service people.  Both written in and ones that the service people can send home to their friends and family.  I’m asking for your help.  I’d like to start making cards (and I will be doing videos as well) to send to service people.  I think they deserve to know that people back home are thinking about them and hope they are doing well.  They might not be getting any mail from home and this box will really brighten their day.  It’s filled with food and toiletries and candy and cards and letters.  Often they do not have any cards or letters to go inside and send 60-70 boxes a month as well as 700+ at Christmas.  I’m hoping that you will consider helping me with this cause.  Here is where you can send your cards.

Project Support our Troops

c/o Laurie’s Embroidery

283 North Street Plaza

Meadville PA  16335

Please help me to make a difference in the day of some of our men and women that are in the military overseas, I’d really appreciate it.

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I promised I would water color with my new Stabilo 68 pens and using the orange range of colors in my palette, I stamped an image from Stampendous Build a Bouquet on Canson XL water color paper that I cut (eventually) to fit on my 5 1/2 x 5 1/2″ pre cut white card that came in a set of 50 from Michaels.  I cut a piece of orange card stock to 5 3/8″ x 5 3/8″ and layered onto the white card.  I had a really pretty orange ribbon that I attached to the back of the orange layer (put the orange layer on foam tape) and attached the ribbon to the foam tape.   I stamped with All Night Media speckle stamp and Stampin’ Up Bermuda Bay.
I really like these markers, but found the pinks to be difficult to use when wet.

I’ve gotten some responses to my question about wet glue and the fine tip applicator that a lot of crafters use.  So far there are some people who are agreeing with me that maybe you don’t even need to use a fine tip applicator.  In fact, my friend Linda went even further with the idea.  She said if she needs a tiny die cut attached to a card, she sprays it with an adhesive.  Genius!  That’s why she’s my crafting guru!  She’s got so many great tips and tricks and she’s always happy to share with me.  I couldn’t do this without her help.

While I’m talking about people who help me,  I have three different ladies (you know who you are), who have been helping get the word out about my channel.  One of them has been distributing my cards anywhere she deems appropriate.  Another contacted Kelly Donovan and asked her to mention my channel.  Kelly has a YouTube channel called Kelly’s Knitting and Things.  Kelly has 17,000+ subscribers and made a video specifically to talk about other You Tube channels she recommends and she had my channel on it.  It wouldn’t have been there without my friend’s help.  I know I got at least one subscriber from it, because the lady told me how she found my channel.  And lastly, a third lady found a channel called Crafty Lori.  Crafty Lori has a Make a Wish day and my friend made a wish for people to subscribe to my channel.  I know it worked because a person subscribed and told me how she found my channel.   (The reason I did not list these ladies’ names is because I didn’t ask them if I could, and I want to respect peoples’ privacy.)

There’s one more lady I need to mention.  I got an email a while ago from one of the owners of Rubber Stamp Tapestry.  She wondered if I would try her peg stamps to see how they work.  Her name is Rebecca and she’s given me so much great advice on how to grow my channel and how to market it, as well as generously sending me stamps to try.  Her help didn’t stop there.  There was an event for director’s of Alzheimer’s’ units and someone from the organization contacted Rebecca about her stamps.  Somehow my channel came into the conversation, and Rebecca made a flier to give to all of the participants at this conference about my YouTube channel.  She had tried to email me to get me involved, but I wasn’t on my email that day so she handled it herself.  I know I’m forgetting something else she’s helped me with, but the bottom line is this.  I’ve met so many really wonderful women who have made this YouTube channel their cause, and I could not be more grateful for the help and support they give me.

 

I’ve had such a great response to my ATG video that I started thinking about liquid glues.  I have a lot of them that I like and don’t particularly have a favorite.  More importantly, I’ve tried really hard to find and use the fine tip applicators to no avail.  I can’t squeeze the glue hard enough to get it to come out of the tip.  I’ve bought the one that Lindsay uses and the one that Jennifer McGuire recommends and neither of them worked for me.  I’ve taken this as a personal challenge.  I am going to either find a glue that I can get to squeeze through the fine tip or find a fine tip that any glue can squeeze through.  It sounds like it could be easy, but so far, it’s not.

I decided I can’t do this on my own, so put it out to the Splitcoast Stamper community where there are 275,000 members.  Hopefully there is someone that uses the site that has weak hands and has found the holy grail of fine tip applicators.  I’m counting on them to come through for me because left to my own devices, I’ll end up with 20-30 different kinds of wet glue and none that work with the fine tip.  Which leads me to my next dilemma.  Do we really need a fine tip on our wet glue?  I can use regular tips on wet glues as long as the bottle isn’t humongous.  I’m sure it comes in handy on tiny die cuts etc., but maybe we can live without a fine tip.  I’m up in the air about it, but want to be there for the viewers who have asked me about it.  I’m pretty serious about this mission.  Where’s MacGyver when I need him?  All I really need is some Elmer’s Glue, a funnel and a bobby pin and voila, fine tip applicator.  It sounded pretty great for a second there and then reality set in.  I’m no MacGyver.  Geez.

Sometimes I am amazed when a topic really resonates with viewers.  I was asked to do a video on tape dispensers, aka ATG.  It went live fourteen hours ago and already has had ninety viewers.  To YouTubers with a hundred thousand subscribers, that’s not a lot of views.  But to someone with under eight hundred subscribers, that’s a significant number.  I think a lot of people have questions about ATG and because it is a little bit of an investment, and they don’t want to make a mistake in their purchase.  I was fortunate enough to find mine on Ebay.  There was a seller who was liquidating all of their ATG in one box including refills.  It was a really great find and a terrific way for me to discover which gun worked best for me.  Unfortunately, the Scotch ATG is really made for the right handed user.  I can’t see where the tape is being applied, which makes it really frustrating to use.  The trigger becomes problematic after a while as well.

I wish there was a website of crafting supplies made specifically for people like me with some physical limitations.  It is pretty frustrating when I have trouble using tools that should technically, work for everyone.  I didn’t realize so many people were questioning a purchase of an ATG, otherwise, I  would have made this video sooner.  I am really happy that I did get it done for Cynthia, because now I’ve hopefully helped others with their ATG decision.

The first glue gun is the Snail from Stampin’ Up.  It sells for $7.00 from Stampin’ Up that includes 40 ft. of adhesive.  Refills are $4.50 for 40 ft.  It is a small and convenient adhesive.  Tombow and Darice make these as well for a lower cost and more accessible through normal craft retailers.

The second is the Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro that sells at gluearts.com for a grey or green handle for $6.29 and refills are $8.99.  I found the refills less expensive at Scrapbookpal.com for $6.11 for 40 ft.  It doesn’t have a trigger and pushes or pulls for ease of use.  The adhesive is stronger than the other three guns.  The adhesive also comes in Permatac (which is what I used), ExtremeTac, Repositionable, and ValueTac and all are the same price at gluearts.com for 40 ft.

The third is the Xyron Mega Runner that sells for $14.43 at Amazon Prime for the machine and one refill of 100 ft.  The refills are available at Joanns for $10.99 full price (use a coupon).

Lastly is Scotch ATG that sells at Joanns $39.99 full price (use a coupon) or $22.74 at Amazon Prime and $21.88 + shipping at FRUUGO.com with two refills of 36 yards each or 108 feet.  The refills are $6.49 for two at Joann.com full price, (use a coupon.)  If you want a generic, Lindsay the Frugal Crafter buys her refills at the tapedepot.com for $26.64 for 12 rolls.  The nice thing about this adhesive is that they sell it in 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″ and 3/4″ widths.

Then there’s always tear tape if you prefer to avoid a gun.

Here’s my observation.  The Scotch gun is heavy and difficult for the left handed user.  The Xyron and the Glue Glider Pro are ok, but for me, I feel most comfortable using the small Snail and the tear tape.  I’ll try to use the three other guns in videos so you can see them in action, but I think I gave my reasons for my choices on the video.  I hope this helps you make your choice of ATG.

I bought a template from Kreat-a-Lope aka Green Sneakers, to make a portfolio card holder. (Here’s the link to it.   http://www.greensneakers.com/Portfolio-Box-Template.html).  I thought it would come in handy for occasions when I want to give a gift of note cards.  In this case, I have friends who just got a newfoundland puppy that is all black.  I thought it would be great to make the couple a set of note cards as well as stationary with their puppy stamped on it.  The rubber stamp was very easy to find (much to my surprise.) and since the dog is black, there shouldn’t be any problem stamping the image and making it look good, hopefully.  I really want to do some creative images with embossing powders and use some papers that have gold and silver backgrounds.  I thought a black embossed dog would look spectacular against a gold and/or silver background.  I have some really great ribbons (of course I do) to match.  I’m really excited about this project, because the couple won’t be expecting this gift and if you have a new puppy, you really want to share your joy.  I thought I’d also make a few 3 x 3″ note cards to put into the folder as well. After I am finished, I’ll give them the rubber stamp as well as a black ink pad to complete their gift.  I think I’ll make a couple of different videos so they don’t last too long.  So I’m off to work on my project.

One other note, Rich is busy uploading a video and he has three others that are ready to upload as well (not counting the ones I’ve discussed above.)  He may never see daylight, as I’ve been in a crazy crafting mood the last few days.  I guess I’ll see him in the fall, or whenever my crafting craze ends, whichever comes first.

 

I bought a set of Stabilo 68 markers from Amazon Prime. My set is a 40 count and the tip size is the 68. They have a finer tip that is 88, but I like a wider tip and this is not a very wide tip at all, fyi. I have some really ugly 12 x 12″ paper, and thought it would be fun to use it to make background paper and take the individual flowers and make them into flowers. I’m making another video featuring the Stabilo markers and using them to watercolor with that should be up in the next week. I found these markers to be really easy to work with and recommend them highly after using them for watercoloring and as a blended marker as well as on my Mandala coloring book. I used Archival Ranger ink and a Rock a Block acrylic block for stamping.

I found the 30 count for $19.99 plus shipping on ebay by seller leftys0528 and the 40 count was least expensive with Amazon Prime at $34.61 including shipping.

I really liked the way the colors blended but the oranges were not as easy to work with as the other pens. I thought the yellows were a little drier than the other colors. Overall, this is a great set of pens for the price and I hope that if you are in the market for some water based markers, you’ll give these a try. Remember that the nib is not very large so it takes longer to color with these. Check back later in the week for a card I make by water coloring with these pens.

Some days just don’t go well.  Yesterday, I was highly motivated to make videos and spent all afternoon and part of the evening making them.  I finished three vudeos and was happy with my results.  I wrote notes for Rich and folded the notes around the memory card so it would all be together and nothing would get lost.  Did I say nothing would get lost?  Just one little something, the memory card.  What’s a video without a memory card?  Nothing at all.  I search alone, then Rich and I searched, and finally, Rich searched for it without me.  The bottom line is that card is gone.  Gone, gone, GONE!  Geez.  If it had only had one video on it, I would have been bummed, but would have gotten over it quickly.  Three videos lost is a cry-worthy event.  I only cried for a minute and then decided, what’s the point?  It won’t change anything and will only prolong my misery.  So I decided to put it behind me and remake one or more when I feel like it.  Today might not be that day.  Maybe tomorrow when I’m completely over it.  Maybe not.

I was just looking at my YouTube account and could not believe that I have just completed video number 100.  I have three that are finished and am currently at ninety-seven.  It seems like five minutes ago that I did my craft room tour, which was the first video I made.  One hundred videos, wow, that’s a lot of videos and in just about six months.  I’m really having fun making them and hope more and more people find my channel.  I really want people with physical limitations to know that there is a place that they can find videos specifically tailored to their needs.  I’m especially proud of the “Let’s Talk” series of videos where I do product recommendations based on my needs and not necessarily the needs of someone without any limitations.  I’ve gotten good feedback on those and have had a lot of requests for more of them.  In the grand scheme of things, 100 isn’t very many, but it’s a really great start.