I like to use fleece scraps for animals toys/tools and here are a few ideas for you..

Dog toy: Take three pieces of fleece that are 2-3 feet long and 1 1/2″ wide (for a larger dog, I have golden retrievers), for smaller dogs, use pieces that are 18″ long and 3/4″ wide. You need to have longer strips as when you braid them and knot the ends, the length really shrinks. Knot the end of the three strips, then braid them until you reach the end, then knot the other end. Izzy loves playing with these by herself, and if I make longer ones, she likes to play tug with Honey and Bella with them.

Cat toy: Take a 1/2″ wide by 12″ long strip of fleece and knot one end then thread a large bell onto the other end (you should cut the end of the fleece on an angle so it’s easier to thread onto the bell) and pull the bell down to the knot. Then knot the fleece on the other side of the bell and add another bell, then knot it again, then add a third bell, then one final knot. Cats like to play with these on their own, or you can make this longer and tie it onto a piece of furniture so it dangles and the cat can bat it with its paws.

Dog Pee Training Tool: The length of fleece will depend on how tall your puppy is..you need this to be long enough that your puppy can “ring” it without standing on back legs only. As the puppy grows, you will make your length shorter by cutting it off. Start off with the longest piece of fleece you think you will need…I’d start with a 3 feet long and 3/4″ wide strip of fleece. You want the bells (my bells are 3/4″ tall and 1/2″ wide) to be at the end of the strip so you can tie the strip to your door knob and then near the end, slide on a bell maybe 6-9″ from the bottom, then knot below the bell, then add another bell, then knot it, then add a third bell and knot it. To train the dog to pee outside, when a very young puppy, you’ll ring the bells every time you take your puppy outside to go to the bathroom, then eventually, the puppy will ring the bells to alert you that they need to go out. Make sure you have enough bells on your fleece that you can hear them from any room in your house so you don’t miss your puppy asking to go outside.

A viewer requested a white gel pen comparison, so I also decided to include white markers, as they can be used interchangeably in a lot of art mediums.

The nice people from Chalkola that make the Funcil’s markers, sent these to me to try.

Funcil set of five white markers: https://www.amazon.com/Funcils-White-Acrylic-Paint-Jumbo/dp/B09RP9MNDL

Gel Pen Tips: Use them when you buy them, because the longer you have them, the better the chance it won’t work well. If your pen doesn’t put out ink, you can hold the tip on your hand and let the warmth absorb into the nib, and hopefully, it will start the ink flowing. If that doesn’t work, you can light a match (adults only) and wave the pen tip near the flame, but NOT in the flame…Let it cool a little then try rubbing it on your hand again, and if that doesn’t work, scribble it on paper, and if nothing comes out, it’s time for the trash. You could also try a heat tool (used for embossing powders) waving the pen in front of the hot air like you tried with a match, or even your hair dryer….If none of these ideas work, it’s not going to be revived, in my opinion.

COMPARISON:

Gel Pens: I had a larger variety of gel pens, but since they weren’t new, I didn’t want to compare them.

Gelly Roll by Sakura 08 medium point model link: https://tinyurl.com/a2822j7f This is a great pen and the ink is a bright white. At first I thought the Uniball was brighter, then re-wrote with them and decided maybe this one was brighter. I think if you buy either this or the Uniball, you should be happy with them, if you use them and don’t store them for a long time.

Uniball UM153 link: https://tinyurl.com/yc59cjn9 Great pen with bright white ink. I think this is comparable to the Gelly Roll and you should be happy with either of these gel pens.

Ranger INK25207 Inessentials white gel pen: https://tinyurl.com/2p8e6ahm Don’t waste your money on these pens as they don’t perform well and are a real disappointment, in my opinion.

Paint Pens:

Sharpie Oil Based White Extra Fine Point Pen Link: https://tinyurl.com/rx53nf87 In case you wondered, I did check to see if this pen will work on paper, and they say it works on “virtually any surface,” and I assumed that included paper. I don’t know why it doesn’t perform well on paper, but you can see the ink when I press the nib too hard and a blob comes out, but as soon as I started writing with it, it became a shadow and no ink is visible.

Niutop paint pen, water based, extra fine tip: https://tinyurl.com/2p84d97r It sometimes spatters ink and the nib is a little stiff, making it tough to make letters that are more rounded, but it seemed to get better with both ink spatter and the nib bending for rounded letters with use. It’s a bright white ink.

Pen Touch 1.0 mm fine point, quick dry, permanent opaque marker: https://tinyurl.com/2erkwrek Bright white ink, takes a little to get a new pen working. It is a bright white ink. Also not as easy to make rounded letters..maybe it gets easier as the nib is used more.

Posca .7 mm paint pen: https://tinyurl.com/k6zn75fa Works great every time I’ve used it. Not as bright white as Niutop and Pen Touch

Arteza Paint Pen: Came in a set I’ve had for a couple of years, so it isn’t a truly fair comparison to the other markers. Link: https://arteza.com/products/acrylic-markers-set- of-20 I did not like this marker, but I wonder if I used it in the past and the nib filled with paint then, and that paint dried, making the nib full of old paint that made the marker not usable…Don’t use my impression of this marker as it’s the only one that I know I used in the past and that may have made this marker not work well.

Funcils set of five markers: https://www.amazon.com/Funcils-White-Acrylic-Paint-Jumbo/dp/B09RP9MNDL

1mm marker 3mm marker 6 mm marker 10 mm marker 15 mm marker

I found all of these markers to work well and getting them to work for the first time wasn’t difficult. I like that some of these markers have reversable nibs, and that’s a great feature that I didn’t notice in the other markers I tried. The ink in them is more of a chalky look vs. a bright white look, but otherwise, the nibs performed well on their first use and I didn’t have any issues with them.

Hope this helped you decide which white pen/marker is for you.

The nice people at globleland (sorry, I pronounced it incorrectly in the video) sent me these products to try.

https://globleland.com/

Birthday gnome stamps : https://globleland.com/products/silicone-stamp-diy-wh0167-56-734?_pos=17&_sid=f81b1fd0d&_ss=r\

Gnome stamps with sunflowers: https://globleland.com/products/silicone-stamp-diy-wh0167-56-773?_pos=14&_sid=f81b1fd0d&_ss=r

Alphabet dies, small and large alphabet plus number dies shaped like candles: https://globleland.com/products/cutting-dies-diy-cp0001-03?_pos=4&_sid=0884d03f4&_ss=r

Flower stamp and die set: https://globleland.com/products/suites-abag-wh0005-36?_pos=8&_sid=a203b60de&_ss=r

To make the gnome birthday card, I stamped the left and right gnome images from the sunflower gnome set, as well as the bees. The gnome image with the balloons came from the birthday gnome set. I stamped them onto watercolor paper that was cut to 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ with Gina K black ink then used clear embossing powder then heat set them. I used alcohol markers from Artxx link: https://tinyurl.com/39p47tcx to color the images. I was going to use the large alphabet for the sentiment, but they were too large, so I used the small alphabet set and used navy blue paper scraps to cut the letters and numbers. I ran them through my small Xyron machine to turn them into stickers link for Xyron: https://www.joann.com/xyron-150-create-a-sticker-machine/5828314.html I attached the letters to the top of the card, starting with the center letters so I’m sure the image will fit on the top of the card.

I rounded the corners of the image with my corner rounder from Kadomaru Pro (Amazon lowered the price to $9.99 which is the lowest price I’ve seen since I bought mine a long time ago) link: https://tinyurl.com/2p82eznt

I took Distress Oxide in Speckled Egg to color the edges of the card front. I used a 5 x 7″ gray card base that is 10″ scored at 5″ and 7″ tall to create the 5 x 7″ card base. I used a foam piece that had one side that was already sticky and used Tombow Mono Aqua glue link: https://www.joann.com/tombow-169-oz-mono-aqua-liquid-glue/1835636.html to adhere the foam to the card base.

For the second card, I used the round floral image and the vase image as well as the sentiment. I used Arteza real brush pens link: https://arteza.com/products/real-brush-pens-96-colors. I apologize I didn’t say that when I made the video. Turn the marker on its side when painting the stamp, so you don’t ruin your nib. I colored the stamp with two purples and a green for the leaves. You need to huff (breathe) on the image to make sure the ink stays wet enough for it to transfer to paper. I used my MISTI and white cardstock for the stamps. After huffing on the stamps, I closed the MISTI, and found I needed to add more ink, so used the markers again until I was happy with the results. I did the same with the sentiment and the vase stamp, then cut the sentiment with a die I had in my stash and cut the vase with a die that came with the set. I couldn’t get the die that came in the set to work with the flowers, so fussy cut them (that was a disappointment.)

I used a purple card base that was 4 1/4″ wide by 5 1/2″ tall (the front of the card base) and glued the vase to the card base and added a little bit of foam behind the flowers, then glued the sentiment below the vase with Tombow Mono Aqua glue. I drew a line on the card at the base of the vase, so it looked like a table top. I used a retired purple ink called Wisteria Wonder from Stampin’ Up to color the flowers and around the edges of the sentiment. Sorry, I lost a small clip of me finishing this card.

I wanted to show how to make a replacement die cutting plate for Big Shots and Vagabonds. You can make ones for your die cutting machine by simply making sure this is the same dimension (height and width), and most importantly, thickness. To change the thickness, you’ll add more of the shims.

I took the Crafter’s Square cutting pad link: https://www.dollartree.com/crafters-square-cutting-pads-9×7-in/308178 and traced one of the plastic cutting plates that comes with the cutting machine with a pencil, so I knew where to cut the Crafter’s Square pad. This will ensure the Crafter’s Square pad will fit through your machine. Cut out the Crafter’s Square pad. Next, take the Dollar Tree Cooking Concepts Flexible Chopping Mat link: https://www.dollartree.com/flexible-chopping-mats-11x14in/145661 and trace one of the plastic cutting plates that came with your die cutting machine then cut it out. Attach it to the Crafter’s Square cutting pad with double sided tape link: https://www.dollartree.com/crafters-square-doubled-sided-tape-33ft/281210 and E6000 glue link: https://www.joann.com/e-6000/4357455.html .only put a small amount of the glue in the very center of the plate so it doesn’t ooze out and ruin your die cutting machine.

Once the E6000 is dry, do a trial run and put it through your die cutting machine with the normal sandwich you’d use, ie. the plate you just made goes on the bottom, then the paper you are cutting is on top, then above the paper is the die, and above the die is one of the plastic plates that came with your die cutting machine. If the new plate isn’t thick enough (and mine wasn’t), add a second cut out from the Flexible Chopping Mat (again, laying it on the plastic plate that came with your die cutting machine and tracing the plastic plate, then cutting out the flexible chopping mat and adding double sided tape and E6000 glue and applying it to the Crafter’s Square cutting pad. If the new plate is still not thick enough, add another layer of the flexible chopping mat. Always make sure you run it through your die cutting machine before adding another layer, to ensure your sandwich isn’t too thick and so it doesn’t damage your machine.

I’ve been using the one I made in 2020 and it’s still going strong. That plate was made with a Hobby Lobby self healing mat and the same Flexible Chopping mats from Dollar Tree. Here’s the link to that video. https://studio.youtube.com/video/eV51xNPhA2o/edit

The nice people at Konsait sent me three of their products and are offering discount codes for viewers on two of the products until 8/31/2022.

Konsait sells their products through Amazon and here are the product discounts and links. Sea Life and Seashell stencils, Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R3X74QG?ref=myi_title_dp – 30% discount code: AMXHL6PO

Washi Tape Amazon Link and discount: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076RPHRRD?ref=myi_title_dp – 20% discount code: SQ4LA3BI

Flower & Butterfly Stickers, no discount available, Amazon Link: https://tinyurl.com/yntsc7ka

Stencil project: I used the coral stencil and laid it on a ceramic tile and held it in place, then used a make up sponge and Brilliance Archival Coffee Bean Pigment ink to transfer the coral image onto the tile. I let it dry then used Mod Podge Satin finish on the image to make it permanent.

Washi Tape project: I cut a piece of red cardstock to 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ tall and on the 8 1/2″ length, scored it at 4 1/4″. I cut a second piece of red cardstock to 8 7/16″ by 5 7/16″. I used a Christmas sentiment from a Penny Black set of stamps called Christmas and Love, link: https://www.franticstamper.com/Penny-Black–Clear-Stamp–Christmas-and-Love_p_160201.html that I stamped with Versamark ink and then added silver embossing powder to it, then heat set it on the front of the card base near the top in the center. I then laid three different size heart dies around the sentiment and laid the card base open inside my die cutting machine and ran it through. If you don’t open the card, you’ll cut through both layers, and you don’t want to do that. Then once you’ve cut the hearts out of the card base, take the second sheet of red paper and lay strips of washi tape. I kept placing this piece of cardstock into the card base to ensure I was laying the strips where the heart cut outs were. Once you’ve made sure you’ve covered all of the heart openings with washi tape, cut off any washi that is hanging over the edges of the cardstock and glue this piece inside the front of the card, making sure you add wet glue all around the hearts so they are glued down to the washi tape. I added pearls that I had left over from diamond painting to the front of the card to give it some extra bling.

Butterfly and Flower Stickers: I cut a lavender card base to 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ and scored on the 8 1/2″ length at 4 1/4″. I used butterfly stickers that had purple in them, and stuck them to the card base, making sure I covered every inch of the front with stickers. If I had any small spaces that were blank, I used pieces of butterflies that hung over the edges of the card to fill those spots. I then took a “thanks” die and opened the card and placed the thanks die near the top center of the front of the card base that was covered with butterflies. I had to run it through my die cutter twice, once with a shim, to ensure it was completely cut out. I then took another piece of lavender cardstock cut to 4 3/16″ x 5 7/16″ and glued it to the inside left side of the card base. Then took light blue foam and used the same die, and ran it through the die cutter, then took the original “thanks” I cut from the card base and glued it to the foam, then glued all of it to the opening left on the front of the card. Any small pieces cut out of the word “thanks” that were left in the die, I removed and glued into the “thanks” on the card front. I was going to use a navy blue alcohol marker around the edges of the letters to make them show up better, but instead, covered all of the word “thanks” with navy blue marker. It’s hard to see in the photo, but in person, you can easily read the word “thanks.” One note about the stickers…they don’t have a cut in the backing paper, so they are a little tough to remove from their backing paper. I always like to make sure I give you all of the facts on any products sent to me.

If you are interested in the stencils or washi tape, their discount codes expire on 8/31/2022.

Below are the glues I compared and their prices. I appreciate the company that makes FXOEE Precision Craft Glue to allow me to try it out and compare it to the other glues I normally use.

Here’s the link for FXOEE glue on Amazon. https://amzn.to/3yGahsJ

4 oz glue price comparison on Amazon:

FXOEE $10.99

Bearly Art $16.99

Art Glitter Glue $17.82

Simon Says Stamp Tacky Glue $4.99 ( could only find it on the Simon website and only in a 2 oz bottle)

Tombow Mono Aqua 1.69 oz glue at Joanns (Amazon only sold in lots of four bottles) $5.99

The FXOEE glue comes with four pins, as well as an orange stopper cap and two pins. This is more than comes with any of the other glues.

When comparing the glues on black cardstock, all of the glues were shiny except the Simon Says Stamp, and it was less shiny.

The glues performed the same on gray cardstock.

On textured cardstock, all glues performed the same as on black cardstock. I also cut apart the textured cardstock and put a swatch of glue inside (waited for it to dry) and then pulled it apart and in this instance, the FXOEE glue seemed to hold more than the other glues.

I put a swatch of the glue in strips of white cardstock and tried to rip them apart.. The FXOEE glue the same as the rest of the glues. I put a swatch of glue on the outside of the strips I cut, and they all appeared a little shiny, even though we normally are told they are clear when dried.

The Simon Says Stamp Tacky glue is a PVA glue and I’m don’t think the others are, and am not sure if that will make the dried product appear differently, but I thought it was note worthy.

All in all, I found the FXOEE Precision Craft Glue to perform as well as Art Glitter Glue, Bearly Art Glue and Tombow Mono Aqua Glue. The only difference between the FXOEE glue and Simon Says Stamps Tacky Glue, is the Tacky glue is a PVA glue and appeared a little less shiny than the other glues.

I wanted to make a card that matched the gift box I made for my girlfriend that just retired from banking.

A viewer had asked me to make embossing powder with mica powder so I did that. You’ll need 4 parts clear fine embossing powder to 1 part mica powder in the color of your choice. I use mica powder from the Hippie Crafter. If you aren’t clear on those measurements, it would be 4 teaspoons of clear embossing powder to 1 teaspoon mica powder. If you want less, use 2 teaspoons of embossing powder and 1/2 teaspoon mica powder. Mix them really well, as you want to make sure you get the color from the mica, and the shine from the embossing powder. NOTE: I just made up these measurements, as I wanted to make sure you have more embossing powder in your mix than I used, and I hope this gives you enough of the mica color..if it doesn’t, simply add more mica…

To use it, rub your embossing pouch (filled with either baby powder or corn starch) over the page you’ll be embossing, and then stamp with either a matching ink (to the mica powder) and then Versamark ink, and then pour the embossing mix you made onto the stamped image, then dump the excess off, the heat set it. I heat set starting under the paper to melt the mica powder and embossing powder so it doesn’t just blow off…and once I think I’ve got it well heated, I heat from the top to set the image.

To make the card, I used pink cardstock, and cut the first piece to 5 3/4 x 4 1/4″. Score on the 5 3/4′ length, at 3/4″, 1 1/2″, 2 1/4″ and 3″. Fold and burnish the scores. My bone folder is from Fiskars and is no longer made, but you can find it on ebay, link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9f487m

Fold the scores into a box and put tear tape or wet glue (I used Tombow Mono Aqua Glue) along the last panel then hold the “box” in place until it sets up.

You’ll need three pieces of the same cardstock that are 2 3/4″ by 4 1/4″. You’ll take the first one of these and lay it on the box so it buts up to the panel that sticks out from the box. Then you’ll turn the box one turn and lay the next panel on that side of the box and turn the box one last turn and lay your last box. To layer them with patterned paper, you’ll need 3 pieces of 2 1/2″ x 4″ (as one of your panels is the one you’ll write your sentiment on,) and on the shorter ends, line those with 1 3/4″ x 4″. You’ll need 4 of these.

I used a die that cut “Congratulations” and I cut three of these and then laid them on Sticky Specks that allows me to adhere very thin die cuts to projects. Link: https://tinyurl.com/bd4ncafe

I laid the Congratulations die cuts (in purple so they’d show up better) on the edges of the panels and then added a small white pearl where the dot of the “i” would be in congratulations. I also added three of the small white pearls to the page I heat embossed a sentiment on.

I saw a video made by Linda Barker for a similar box…here’s the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icZRCaEk27I

I bought a cute bracelet for my girlfriend’s retirement from Etsy and needed packaging for it.

Etsy shop for Morse Code bracelet: https://tinyurl.com/3ehsurz6

I used pink scrapbook paper from American Crafts link: https://tinyurl.com/ypazx39f that I use for all 3d projects. I really like this paper.

Bottom of box: Cardstock measuring 10 1/8 x 8 3/4″ on the 10 1/8″ length, score at 1 3/8″, 2 3/4″, 7 3/8″, and 8 3/4″ turn to the 8 3/4″ side and score at 1 3/8″, 2 3/4″, 6″, 7 3/8″

Top of box : 9 5/8 x 8 3/8″ score on 9 5/8″ length at 1 1/4″, 2 1/2, 7 1/8″ and 8 3/8″ then turn to the 8 3/8″ length and score at 1 1/4, 2 1/2″, 5 7/8, 7 1/8″.

Handle: 5 3/4 x 1 1/2″ Scoring: on the 1 1/2″ length score at 3/4″ on 5 3/4″ length, score at 3/4″ and 1 1/2″ and then turn it around to the other end and score at 3/4 and 1 1/2″. Fold in half on the 1 1/2″ length and then put tear tape inside close the the edge and glue the fold shut. Fold the two outer scores up and fold the two inner scores, down, so it looks like a handle, then take your corner rounder and round the ends.

Decorator Paper Cover for box: 10 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ Four circles punched to either 1 1/4 each or 1 1/2″ — if you use the 1 1/2″ circles they will probably meet each other on the top and bottom of the box…but are easy to score at 3/4″ and then turn so that score is horizontal and score again at 3/4″…when you use the 1 1/4 punch, you’ll need to hand fold them in the center as it’s almost impossible to score them in half. Once you fold them in half once, burnish them, and then the second fold going the opposite direction, you’ll fold and then cut them in half, so you’ll have left, 1/2 of a circle with a fold in the center of it.

Fold and burnish all score lines on top and bottom of box, then on each corner there are four boxes that are scored. On the 10 1/8″ length of the bottom of the box, you want to cut on the first score lines up to the second score line and the second score line beside the first one you cut, cut up to the second score line. Cut out the first set of boxes (from the first cut you made) and then cut out the bottom box (from the second cut you made) and cut an angle on each side of the one box that’s left behind and you’ll do this to all four corners, making sure to cut the long center piece that’s left behind on an angle on both ends (only up to the first score line). Do the same cuts to the top of the box on the 9 5/8″ length. Put tear tape on the back of the small tab on each corner and put tear tape on the front of the long center box near the edge of the paper. Remove the backing to the tear tape and fold in one corner flap making sure the corners are even, and once both sides of the box are folded, you can go to the other end of the box and do the same thing, then fold in all of the longer center sections. If your tear tape doesn’t hold, add some wet glue. If you have any places where you can’t easily fold your flaps in, that means you didn’t cut out either the sides on an angle and you’ll need to do that so the box is put together properly. After the box is done, rub inside with a bone folder to ensure the sides are as flat as possible. Fold the top of the box exactly like you did the bottom.

Put the box together. Then take the decorated paper you have for the cover of the box, and lay it right above the spot where the top and bottom meet and then slowly wrap the paper around the box, making sure to fold it tight on each corner. I turned the paper over and scored on those folds, and then it fits the box better. Before removing the paper, put tear tape near the end of the paper on the underside, and adhere the paper to itself, but not to the box…this way the box can be reused.

I took the four circles I cut in half and using Tombox Mono Aqua glue, glued them to the corners of the box, making sure the straight side of the circle lines up with the edge of the decorated paper. Take the handle and using a hole punch, punch holes on either end of the handle and then place it where you want it on the box and make a mark through the holes you made, then remove the decorated paper from the box, and punch holes over the marks you made. I took a 5 3/4″ x 1″ piece of copier paper and used a long scallop punch and punched both sides of it then used Tombow Mono Aqua glue and adhered it to the handle. I added tear tape to the back of the two end flaps of the handle and put matching brads through the holes I made and then removed the backing of the tear tape, adhered the end flaps to the decorator paper. I made sure the backs of the brads were flat and then put the paper around the box. I added a decoration to the front of the box link: https://tinyurl.com/2h4xmpaa

The nice people at Chalkola sent me this set of 32 acrylic paints. They came with a plastic palette, a palette knife, 16 different brushes, and a sponge.

http://www.chalkola.com

https://www.chalkola.com/collections/best-sellers/products/acrylic-premium-artist-paint-set-32-colors

I bought this wooden buoy and decided I didn’t like the faded colors. I really like orange and navy blue, and thought it would be fun to repaint the buoy. I used a 3/4″ brush by Robert Simmons and mixed Indian Yellow and Vermillion Red to create the orange color, and to make navy blue, I used Ultramarine Blue, Mars Black, Paynes Gray and white. The set came with a navy blue, but I had already used the entire tube on a lamp.

The paints are really nice, cover with one coat and look great. I have been using these to repaint bird houses, lamps, and the back of a large periwinkle painted stand. I wanted to share a video of Lake Erie at sunset, as I find it so relaxing and it’s truly helping me not think about my arthritis. I hope you enjoy it too.

I’ve been struggling this summer, trying to get videos made, and am not feeling up to the task. I’m going to take a small break to hopefully allow myself to start to feel better.