I’ve been working on the art journal that I wanted to create out of the cardboard childrens’ book, and it’s going pretty well.  I’ve had some ups and downs and hit the hot mess stage (that I might cut out of the video), and decided the cover is finally looks like I wanted it.  I’d used the Nuvo Mousses, and have to say, they are really dry. They don’t look like that when you look in the side, as they appear super whipped and luscious..  I used a pink color that I’ve had for probably a year, but never opened.  It was so hard, I had to add water to it at least three times, to get it to a consistency I could use.  I’d heard that I might have to do that, in a video I’d watched where someone used the Mousses.

With the year old container being so hard, literally, hard, I decided to try the light yellow color I’d just bought.  It was almost as hard as the pink was.  I definitely won’t be buying those again.  The other thing I noticed, is the color appears to be much lighter in the container than what is applied to the project.  I really don’t like buying one color and getting an entirely different one in a product that I’m spreading onto a project, as it’s so hard to remove…Of course I did remove some, and covered more with more napkins.  I guess I forgot to mention that my base was a napkin.  I’m lucky that it was, as I could cut out parts of the design and apply it over the areas with Nuvo Mousse that I absolutely hated.

This was definitely a learning experience for me, and I’m happy to say that I lived through it to create another day…haha….

I saw a potato chip bag done on LiveLoveScrap’s channel and here’s the link to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5pGsJ0Mggk
She uses a piece of acetate on hers so you can see inside, but I want my contents to be a surprise.
I used Hobby Lobby paper pad called Trick or Treat that is 8 1/2″ x 11″ and scored it on the 11″ length at 10 1/2″. You’re doing that so you have a guideline to make your bag even.
Put a line of tear tape on the very edge of the face of the paper between the score line and the edge of the paper. Since I used 1/4″ tear tape, I used two strips to make it go all the way to the 1/2″ mark. Then flip your paper over and put tear tape at the 11″ edge on the very top and bottom. Make sure you get as close to the edge as possible.  This project is made more easily if your paper is thin, like what you would buy in individual sheets from craft stores.
I took some dies I’d bought last year on Aliexpress (type in Halloween dies and you’ll find ones you like). Here’s a link to this year’s dies. https://tinyurl.com/y8xuvuau
I cut mine out of glittery black and orange card stock and then positioned them on the bag (toward the tear tape on the right but keeping in mind that the bag will be folded in half, so you need to center things if possible.
I used a Tonic pen (wet glue) and a make up eye shadow brush from Dollar Tree or Aliexpress to apply glue to thin die cuts. Here’s a link to the eye shadow sponge applicators I bought from Aliexpress. http://tinyurl.com/y9c3arqk

After adhering the die cuts, I took the backing off of the two pieces of tear tape I at put between 10 1/2″ and 11″ plus the ends off of the top and bottom tear tape backing, and took the two sides and lined up the edge so it lines up directly on the score mark I made and making sure the bottom two edges line up as well.
Then once I’ve done that, I pinch the bottom and top of the edge and lay it on my desk and put my hand inside to rub the tear taped area and make sure it’s well adhered.
Then I took the tear tape off the top, pinch the center so the front and back line up evenly, and pinch it closed there, then slowly keep pinching the edge until it’s entirely closed, then rub your hand over it to ensure it’s well adhered and flat. Don’t do the bottom until you’ve filled it with whatever goodies you want to put inside. I added candy and some small spiders that I think are table decorations you’d buy at any party store or Hobby Lobby, that were spiders, and some candy, then took the backing off of the tear tape and repeated the same process that I used on the bottom.
If you don’t have a crimper, use your score board and put the edge of the bag at the top left corner of the board and score every line for the first four lines and it looks like it is crimped. If you have a crimper, use that. Here are some crimpers I found on ebay.
https://tinyurl.com/ydflgyds
I did the project live, and it only takes about ten minutes to make one, so if you have kids or grandkids, it would be a great way to send them off to school with a trick or treat bag from home…

I made a cute potato chip bag for Halloween today and thought it would make a great video.  So Rich is uploading it right now, and then we’ll maybe put our field trip to the county fair video up after that.  I don’t want to have too many field trips close together, as that could be way too much Sandy and Rich for our viewers. haha

I still can’t believe how many views we’ve had on the Dollar Tree video.  I think it’s approaching 25,000 now.  I would never have dreamed that many people would want to watch us sneaking around in a Dollar Tree.  And the number of subscribers we’ve gotten from it, is amazing…we’re fast approaching 10,000 subscribers.  It’s like a dream, and if I pinch myself, I might wake up…Needless to say I’m not pinching myself any time soon.

As for my next video, I think I’ll make one with Crayola markers. It’s the perfect time of year for people to find them really inexpensively for back to school, so why not use them to color a poppy?  I really like that idea.  And I love the color red…poppy red.

 

I watched the video I made of our trip to the county fair, and although I did a great job of talking to a calf, two goats, and several rabbits, I didn’t really show much more of the fair.  I showed Rich playing a dime toss game for our nephew and his family, who spent fair week with us last year and were addicted to that game.  We wanted them to see that we remembered them, even though they couldn’t come to play with us.    So I’m not sure how interested anyone will be with our field trip, but I did record a goat who ultimately ate a piece of the sleeve of my shirt.  Maybe that’s worth the watch, haha.

I definitely will be doing more field trips though, and will take my camera with me to the next stamp show I attend, and will walk around showing new techniques and tools.  I did a little bit of that this year, but will try to show more techniques next year.

I guess I never realized the attraction of the Dollar Tree, until I made this video.  It has over 10,000 views in under a week….Who knew?  I know it’s not my magnetic personality that brought that many people to the video…It’s really mind boggling to me, but I guess if you are a crafter, and have a Dollar Tree nearby, you’d want to know all about the ideas people have to use the things they sell in a different way than is normally intended.

I’m off to make a video….Wish me luck.

Today we went to our local county fair with two other couples (college friends)…I don’t know how many of you keep in touch with high school or college friends, but Rich and I are so lucky to have a lot of our old friends nearby, with similar interests to ours.  As we were getting ready to go, I said to Rich, “I ought to take the camera and video tape our “field trip” to the fair…So we did.

I taped animals and our friends, and Rich playing a dime toss game, and I hope it’s something viewers would like to see.  They might not love it, but I had a terrific time and wanted to take everyone along for the ride.  We saw a day old calf that was so darn cute, and baby bunnies, and my friends’ goats, and while filming her goat, another goat tried to eat the sleeve of my shirt….it was so much fun, and I hope the video reflects that.

But now I’m hot and tired and am ready for a movie and bed….Tomorrow Rich has a skeet shoot, so I’m planning on garage sales with my girlfriend.  I’m hoping there are some good ones…and you’ll be the first to know if there are.

It’s a Haul! Plus a couple of cards from viewers…

Joanns Bird House on Clearance (can’t find it online, sorry)

LDRS Creative
LDRS Creative Growing Garden http://tinyurl.com/y87yhxnj
LDRS Creative Feeding Time http://tinyurl.com/y88pwjtz
LDRS Creative Wall Art Stamp–sorry it’s sold out now…darn..
LDRS Creative Basic Background Builders Dies link:
Basic Background Builders I

Peg Stamps sale has ended, but they are having another sale…
check them out at http://www.pegstamps.com
Peg Stamps Holiday Stocking Set https://pegstamps.com/holiday-stockings-peg-stamp-set.html
Double flat flower http://tinyurl.com/y8elru8v
Peeled Flower http://tinyurl.com/ydej7sj7
Blinky Flower http://tinyurl.com/y7z2yau7
Cone Flower http://tinyurl.com/yby3odcb

Poinsettia Stampendous Background Stamp http://tinyurl.com/y7bkk926

Posca Pen Set http://tinyurl.com/y9f9v3og

Neat and Tangled Celebrate You Stamps https://www.neatandtangled.com/products/celebrate-you

Hero Arts Hummingbird Stamp Set http://tinyurl.com/y86lwvva

Hobby Lobby
Earring findings $1.50 each
Collage Pauge $6.99 matte

Joanns
Ranger Paint Dabber Black Tie http://tinyurl.com/y6unqhpc
Ranger Mini Ink Blending Foams http://tinyurl.com/ybdczerc
Nuvo Mousse http://tinyurl.com/yabkz24a
Cricut blades http://tinyurl.com/y77bx6sg for portable trimmer

I show you how to replace the trimmer blades by pulling the blade off the back of the cutting piece, then clicking the replacement back into the same slot.

Today I relaxed.  After yesterday’s drama, I just wanted to have some fun…So we went to see Crazy Rich Asians, and it was exactly what I needed.  Sweet and funny, and romantic comedy always makes me happy.

After we got home, I finished a card I was making for one of my college girlfriends.  it didn’t go well, and I’m pretty sure part of the video was deleted, but the card is done, and I can cross it off my things to do list.  The hardest part in making cards for me, is getting them in the mail.  I can’t just put a stamp on them and call it good, as my cards are almost always to thick in some small portion, and requires hand stamping, so I need to go to the post office for them to make that determination.  I guess I could always assume they are too thick, but just when I think that’s the case, I get a different postal worker, and half of them are normal postage.  Go figure…The post office is a mystery to me, that’s for sure.  I mailed a card to a friend in Canada, and it took longer to get to her, than it did to get to another friend in the UK…

The Dollar Tree video continues to get a ton of views and is bringing a bunch of new people to our site.  I can’t tell you how excited we are when we find a video that really resonates with people like this one did.  Of course we also got six thumbs down. and that’s another mystery to me….what’s not to like about a Dollar Tree visit?  If you don’t like the Dollar Tree, why watch the video at all?  Maybe they thought I was tricking them with my tips…I just can’t figure it out.  When I got the first thumbs down on a video, I was so disappointed, but now I realize it’s just a fact of life when you are on YouTube.  It did take me a while before I stopped caring…probably two years, haha..

I have to be honest, the last couple of days have had some big ups and downs.  I am thrilled at the response we’ve gotten from our field trip to the Dollar Tree…It’s kept me going when I haven’t felt the best.  And speaking of that, I probably shouldn’t share things like this, but I’ve decided I just don’t care.

If you’ve never had a colonoscopy, it takes a full day of eating nothing, but clear liquids, then in the evening you drink 16 oz. of the most horrible “prep” drink known to man, then follow it with 32 oz of water.  The water was the saving grace of that portion of the experience.  Then this morning, I had to do it all over again, only this time, every sip of the “prep” drink made me sick, and I mean sick.  I couldn’t keep it down.  So for every one sip of “prep,” I had five big swallows of water…otherwise, it wasn’t going to happen.  I even called the hospital and asked if I had to drink all of it, as I didn’t think I could do it.  In the end, I drank almost all of it, enough to finish the real prep (and I’m sure you know what that was.)

So we got to the hospital, and they put me in a room that had a television that changed it’s own channel every three to five minutes.  And you couldn’t choose a channel number, or use the down button for channels, you could only go forward.  So if you wanted to go back to the channel it just left, you had to go through roughly sixty channels to get there.  And of course you were only there for three to five minutes until it did it again.  It was a minor annoyance, one I could definitely live with.  Then came the IV…the nurse had a difficult time finding a vein that she liked, so put a tourniquet on both arms to see which hand she liked best.  There will be bruises from the tourniquets, as she wasn’t shy about how tight she wanted them….and even that wasn’t bad.

We were ready and waiting, and the time for my appointment came and went.  Then the nurse came in to tell me that their water had an issue, and was no longer clean…Didn’t sound like something that was healthy or viable, but they were going to work on it and get back to me.  I knew immediately that there was no way I was getting any procedure done today, and had already told Rich there was no possibility of me doing the “prep” again…Even in ten years, I told him, I would definitely remember, and not want to do it again.  The nurse gave me options…I could come back tomorrow and have it done, which meant no eating or drinking (or pain medication) for another 24 hours.  That’s out of the question…I haven’t eaten in a day and a half, and they wanted to make it almost three—no thanks…They said I could re-schedule and re “prep”…that’s no even a possibility.  So I told her I wasn’t rescheduling and I wasn’t going to stay for toast, and we left…I got home and drank Carnation Instant Breakfast and went to bed…crying of course, because of all I’d done to “prep” for the day, and never actually having anything done.

I know I should have the procedure done, but it’s just not in me to “reprep”…  I would love to say that I don’t let anything bother me, but this did.  It was too much, and I’m not going to put myself through it again.  And Rich is all right with it…

I think the part I want to stress is that I was not able to take any pain medication and without it, I struggle to function.  People in the medical community only see their specialty, which today, was not arthritis…So when they gave me a warm blanket and I put it under my lower back, the nurse came back and took it from under my back, and put it over me…I think I know where I want the blanket…So I explained I wanted it there for lower back pain, and she went to get another blanket….why didn’t she just ask me why I had the blanket behind me in the first place?  It was a long two days and I don’t often like to share my “real” life, but this has been something I needed to say.

I’ve been thinking about all of the different products I use from the Dollar Tree, but normally not for the purpose they are intended. Rich and I took a sneaky tour of our local Dollar Tree and showed you as many ideas as I could think of…

1. Color Palette–I use them for all of my water mediums, but I recently saw Lindsay, the frugal crafter, take a piece of sandpaper to hers to allow her to simply scribble a watercolor pencil or Gelato across the surface to release pigment, and I’ll be showing it on an upcoming video.
(Peg Stamp Storage is at the bottom, sorry)
2. Posterboard–use it for Xmas trees, ornaments, and I use it for the backgrounds of my photos on YouTube.
3. Finger Paint paper pad and Art Pad. I use these for stamp cushions and to layer behind my projects to absorb messes.
4. Paper pads–great for gifts. I’ve linked one of my videos to this one.
5. Washi tape-it’s more papery than normal washi tape.
6. In auto dept., their masking tape isn’t as sticky as others, so works for holding down watercolor paper and remove without ripping. If you’re worried, rub it on your clothes or skin first to remove excess stick.
7. Foam tape in auto dept…great cheap foam tape.
8. Hair Gel–buy the blue for realistic water on cards, Check the link for video.
9. Hair Spray- works well for sealing projects with chalk or Mica Powder.
10. Spray bottles and pump bottles–work well for stamp cleanser and their spray bottle works like more expensive ones.
11. Hand Sanitizer–cleans MISTI and your hands..See video link.
12. Chap Eze use it to adhere red rubber stamps to adhere them to acrylic blocks or MISTI and clean up after is a breeze.
13.Shave Cream–use for marblizing card stock. check video link
14. Eye Shadow applicator, cosmetic wedges and blender sponges, use for applying chalks or as blending tools, and use for stencils.
15. Large Make Up Brush…use it with a small closed plastic container with corn starch or baby powder for wiping cardstock before using embossing powders to remove fingerprints, excess powder and smudges.

Nail products 16. Sanding block–great for removing rough edges on card stock
17. Eye Shadow in pots–use in place of Pearl Ex or for any time you want something glittery, check link at end of video for making pearlized inks.
In Laundry 18. Drier Sheets–use to remove intricate die cuts and leave nothing behind.
In Kitchen –19. Chopping Mats–use it to protect pages in your art journal and use for cutting surface for craft knife, as well as to put your project on like a craft mat.
In Child Dept. 20. Clasp Free Elastic Bands- use for book marks. see link
21. Baby Powder–for embossing, texture paste and DIY Gesso, see link
22. Baby Shampoo–DIY stamp cleanser 10 parts water to one part baby shampoo..
23. Baby Bibs-use in place of baby wipes (#24), as baby wipes add to trash, and baby bibs without plastic backing, velcro to the arm of my craft chair and clean up is a breeze.
25. Reading Glasses for those of us over forty.
26. Knee Highs–put two knee highs together and fill with 2 Tablespoon either baby powder or corn starch then knot them and cut off the excess. See link at end of video for heat embossing.
27. Decorator Dept. Take a small glass bowl and add flat backed marbles to hold your glue bottle with the point side down, so the glue is always ready to come out of the bottle.
28. Alcohol. I use 90% that’s available at your big stores like Walmart/Target, CVS and put a few drops with a baby dropper into your alcohol based markers to re juice them if they get dry. I also use it to take ink off of the inside of the MISTI. See link at end of video.
29. Cotton Swabs-applying chalk to projects. Or, removing ink from a portion of a stamp that you want to color with another ink.
30. Sheet Protectors–put them into a 3 ring binder and put your larger embossing folders inside.  See link at end of video for Watercoloring on Embossing for demo.
31. Peg Stamp Storage in plastic goods–I love using these to hold my peg stamps, as they stand upright and you can see them easily, and they come in a variety of colors if you want pink for flowers, blue for holidays, etc.  If you search my videos for peg stamp storage, you’ll find videos that show this is in action.

I spent the day eating candy and reading…I’m preparing for my colonoscopy on Tuesday, so thought it made a lot of sense to eat whatever made me happy today, as tomorrow I’m on a liquid (gross) diet, and then nothing until my 12:30PM appointment on Tuesday.  It seems a little bit excessive, not being able to eat all day tomorrow and half of Tuesday, but I’m playing along.  I really just wanted an excuse to eat chocolate, and this is the perfect excuse.

The book I read is by Harlan Coben, entitled Six Years.  I really enjoy his books, especially his Myron Bollitar series.  This one was a good read, and had a lot of twists, which I enjoy in a book.  I like to be surprised, and this one had a few good surprises.  If you like suspense, you might like this book.

As for tomorrow, I’m hoping to finish the card I started a few days ago, but didn’t have the energy to unbox and set up the new Vagabond..Hopefully we’ll make that a priority tomorrow…If not, it’ll probably be Wednesday, as I doubt I’ll feel like doing much on Tuesday.

Rich is working on the Dollar Tree video where I show over twenty items and how I use them with crafts.  I hope viewers will enjoy watching it and get some good crafty DIY ideas…