My Legacy

NEW FONT!!! Sketchnoting Dingbats

2015-08-06T19:46:00.001-04:00

I have a new font! About time, right?!

This time it is all dingbats that are commonly used when sketchnoting in meetings, but i love to make lists with different bullets so these all make me very happy! There are SEVENTY TWO different dingbats! The beauty of having them in font form is that they can be easily resized and printed out to make a blank lists, or even printed onto label paper to make stickers ready for use anywhere. If you have a Cricut or Silhouette it would be easy to cut the labels out ... that's what I plan to do as soon as I get done here. I LOVE STICKERS!

Buy now

OU! Just had a thought, I need a dingbat font for calendars (I LOVE stickers for calendars!)

But first I'm going to make a font for Bible labels!

This font is ready for purchase HERE: Buy now

DIY Acrylic Binder Inserts ... Recycle!

2015-03-05T17:23:00.002-05:00

A few days ago someone on Facebook asked where to get these:

I will admit that these strips are not that expensive but if you need them in a hurry and you have the supplies on hand ..... My first response was "make them yourself" and I explained how I would do it...today I decided to do a little tutorial.

1- find heavy plastic that is at least 9.5" long. I have used transparencies in the past

but today I wanted to recycle something... I used this SPELLBINDERS packaging.

2- Cut the edges off so that you have only the two flat pieces

3- Stick Scor-Pal double stick tape on the very edge of one of the plastic sheets then cut it .75" away from the tape so you now have a strip of acrylic about 1.25" wide (if you use .5" wide Scor-pal tape.

...continue until you have all you need or you run out of packaging... I was able to get a total of six from this packaging...plus a couple more strips I can add .25" to.

4- Using a sheet of 3 hole punched paper mark your hole placement with a sharpie.

5- Punch the three holes... I used a heavy duty punch drill to punch through three pieces at a time, that way I only had to mark one. You can probably tell from this close up that the three strips are different sizes...sorry! I didn't measure, I just cut.

6- I removed the protective paper and stuck the piece of acrylic to the back side of a ruler...of course it can be stuck to the back of most anything you want to add to your 3 ring binder.

And here it is in my binder, ready when I need it!

Just FYI this is my SCRAPRACK Create and Carry Binder

that I am loading with all my jewelry making tools, beads and findings.... So now I have a quick, ready to travel jewelry making kit! So, I will definitely need a ruler!

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?!?!

2015-02-09T15:04:00.001-05:00

Wow! I have no idea what has happened to the design of my blog but I PROMISE it didn't look like this when I designed it! And my bee isn't suppose to take up the whole page! OH MERCY!!!

I will have to take a day and figure things out and try to get my nice little blog looking normal again. PLEASE FORGIVE!!!

Well DER!!

2014-06-04T18:13:00.001-04:00

Have you ever had one of those WELL DER! moments when you say, why didn't I think of this AGES AGO?!

That happened to me this week. I just joined Costco last week and this week I bought some of the napkins pictured below... just the napkins, they didn't have the dispenser (???). Of course you have to buy the smallest quantity they sell which will last a life time! But that's OK, I neeeeeded them!

I am always in search of a napkin, or tissue, or something to use with my "arts" and I am way too lazy to go off in search for it in another part of my house so THIS is my answer!!! I found the dispenser on Amazon and got it in today.... :-) HAPPY GIRL!!

I included my Caran d'Ache crayons in the picture so you can see what I will be using them for. I have mentioned this in the past but I bought the Crayon Tower a while back to hold all my Caran d'ache crayons.... PERFECT! And if you haven't tried these colors yet you can not imagine how wonderful they are.... probably my favorite "watercolor". You just color it on and add water, beautiful. I have linked to the largest package they sell but Amazon does carry smaller sets with fewer colors.

I totally recommend all three things I have shown today. I am pretty certain I am going to buy at least one more napkin dispenser for my car. :-)

Zoe in Jeans

2014-05-13T12:03:00.003-04:00

Today's doll was all made pretty much from scratch... hair, clothes, shoes, and of course the glasses. I did start with the body from the Zoe #2 die/stamp set but it took some tweaking once I found the outfit I wanted to put on her.

Every piece, including the hair was hand drawn using a light box to make each part fit. After I got her all put together I noticed her legs looked all wrong... the bottoms looked way too fat for the thighs and hips, something you don't notice with dresses...so, I had to trim things down.

Looking Through Rose Colored Glasses

2014-05-12T12:26:00.001-04:00

I wanted to hurry and get today's doll done so that I could test out an idea.... Glasses. I saw a doll on Pinterest with glasses and I WANTED them! No clue where she got them sooooo...

I have been on a major quest in search of glasses for my girls. Yes, first I tried the obvious, just drawing them but I'm not so great at symestry anymore.... Heck, a straight line went out the door years ago....you'll notice there are no straight lines in any of my doodles. I digress... guess what, there is no such thing "out there" that you can buy... No dies, no stickers, no brads.... Until now :-). As always I had a "well der" moment... "You can make them yourself!" So I did:

This is what they look like after I cut them out.... white then I hand color as desired.

I cut them out of white vinyl so that I can color them with any color, lense and frame. The idea is to color each piece then layer the frame onto the lense (if you use one) then place it onto the doll before adding bangs.

If you would like some glasses that you can color yourself I will sell you 15 assorted pairs (including 15 frames/lenses) for $2.00 (FREE shipping). These are ALL WHITE vinyl (I used alcohol pens and permanent ink pens to color mine) and are about .8" (fit the popular DIE CUT dolls ... not the stamped dolls)...click the "Buy Now" button below:

I used the doll and dress from this set:

I got the pad of paper from Hobby Lobby this weekend for only $4 ... it was the 6x6 version, not this oblong one. I used the sheet of white polka dots on pink then put a black dot on every other fold of the dress to make it appear that I used two different papers.

And the Hair (I drew the bangs in myself) from this set:

The leggings and shoes are just colored directly onto the original white stamped/cut doll, no extra cutting...I do that when I'm in a hurry. What I usually do is place the clothes down onto the girl, without gluing it down, to see what needs to be colored flesh color and whatever (like the leggings). This time I had done a really bad job of cutting the foot so there was a big black line running through her foot...problem fixed by coloring the whole foot black and calling it boots. I then thought she needed some lacy socks so I just used a white pen and doodled those in.

All of the coloring was done with the Spectrum Noir pens.

Doll-A-Day

2014-05-11T04:28:00.001-04:00

I mentioned last week that I have a new favorite thing...paper dolls.... Julie Nutting's dolls specifically. Well, I am going to do my best to make a doll a day but I'll be honest I tend to get bored really quick so we shall see. I plan to post them every day but I wanted to do one quick "catch-up" post to cover May 1-10 since I do have 10 made so far:

I won't be showing any end results yet because I hope to use them on customized name plates eventually so they are just hanging out loose in the meantime. I plan to be more descriptive for future dies but not so much for the ones above.

One thing I just noticed, dolls 1-3 were all done using patterned paper but the rest were all done on white then colored and doodled on.

Today's doll:

For day 11 I have a version of "Doll With Ruffled Dress". (?? Must be before she started giving each stamp an actual girl name)... Very simple. I just stamped her on white then colored the body parts and the orange ruffle with Spectrum Noir pens. I then stamped the dress onto a sheet from

By the way, the 6x6 (or smaller) pads are the best for this kind of stuff because the patterns are the right scale.

Prima Paper Doll Play

2014-05-05T08:22:00.003-04:00

My new favorite thing! .... THIS week :-). Would you believe that I just recently discovered Prima dolls by Julie Nutting ?! Truth. But, I'm actually glad I waited until the dies for some came out because I don't really have the patience to do much fussy cutting.

So, last week I bought all three die sets currently available and this weekend I played paper dolls! WHAT FUN!

Stamps and Dies Used: Here are the stamps that go with each set:

And, thankfully, there is a die for each piece.

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I love having all three sets because you can mix and match some of the pieces, not all, but some....like the hair and some of the clothes.

I got tired of switching the stamps around on my acrylic blocks so I found two long blocks + one smaller block and put all the stamps on them so that now all I need to do is ink up all the stamps I want to use at once.

I have decided that I want to make lots of dolls for a project idea I have for later on in the year so I started mass producing elements:

But back to the dolls I made this weekend... on the 1st, 2nd and 5th I used patterned paper but on the rest I just doodled on and colored with my Spectrum Noir markers... my alternative to crazy expensive Copic Markers. I'm afraid my iPad photo didn't do the markers justice though, the colors are not showing through like the originals. OK, and to be honest I didn't do such a great job of coloring the hair either. I LOVE! LOVE! playing with these sets! The only thing that I was a bit disappointed with was the fact that she uses the same two bangs in each set. I did a little bit of extra cutting on the 2nd girl myself. Honestly though, the ability to modify them yourself is what makes it fun. I will definitely buy any new sets she comes up with. FUN! FUN! FUN! Markers Used: I am showing all the different sets of Spectrum Noir available...you would have to buy all sets to have all the colors...which, of course, I just had to have

They are very much like Copics except for the number of available colors and the price of course. Thankfully I never got on the Copic bandwagon because I couldn't justify the expense in my own mind... paying between $1-$2 per marker makes more sense to me. Papers Used: I used plain white cardstock (random no name)and two different paper pads. I'm sorry but I can't find the cover to the flowers on but the paper for dolls 1 and 5 came from:

OH! and the white/black polka dot stocking were made with washi tape... I accidentally drew on her let so I need to cover the mistake up so I just covered some cardstock with the tape then cut the legs out again with the die....easy fix, happy solution.

Scor Tape Test or Something Old, Something New... TIME TO USE IT!

2014-02-12T18:14:00.002-05:00

I think I have decided to try and continue my "OK You Just HAD To Have It, Now USE IT!" Challenge

Today I used two new dies:

Memory Box Dies, Kaleidoscope Butterfly

Memory Box Dies, A Little Thanks

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- paper that was collecting dust (for at least two years)

and my new 6" Scor Tape

OH! and some glitter like this only gold:

Gotta say I LOVE THE TAPE!!! So much so that I ordered the 1/8" and 1/4" today. I thought I could just cut strips from the 6" wide but that isn't all that easy...forget cutting a good straight line!

OK, so I wanted to test using intricate dies and glitter with the tape so this is what I did:

1. I took a 2" strip of tape and covered one side of it with the glitter, making it a piece of glitter tape.

2. Cut the butterfly from that strip of just tape w/ backing.

- problem, the die cuts super fine lines (which was part of the test for me)...unfortunately the backing paper came off and left just the glue/glitter part in the die so I had to pull it off and of course it stretched ...bad. I think it would have been fine if I'd used a more solid die, like a solid butterfly, or heart, or something... but I still wanted to use what I had cut so I stuck it to the back of my phone:

I figure this will be a good test of its durability because I have used my phone and rubbed on it all day and that glitter is on there good!

3 - I still wanted a glitter butterfly for a card so this time I stuck some of the glittered tape down onto a piece of scrap card stock and cut it out along with the word:

The results:

It is hard to tell from the picture but both the butterfly and the "thanks" are perfect, solid glitter. So pretty. One thing that I was worried about was that the glue would gug up my die, but not at all, it came out without leaving anything behind. Test was a success.

The "OK, You Just HAD To Have It, Now USE IT!" Challenge

2014-02-12T06:17:00.003-05:00

Archivers is about 5 miles from my house so it was always my "go-to" when I wanted something that Michael's and Joanne's didn't have. Well, they are closing... and everything in the store is now 75% off!!! YES!! I stocked up with tons of stuff I really don't need...but...it was 75% off!

One of the things I bought was this set of Nestabilities:

I have to say, I didn't love it, but it was only $6.50. I decided yesterday to force myself to use them and doodle on the cutouts. Of course I used some of my empty boxes.

I was actually pretty pleased with what I could do just using the shape for inspiration...I started with the obvious, frames for whatever, but then I decided to try flowers....I don't usually do very well with flowers but these were simple. Start by drawing some circles in the middle then draw the pedals out from the circle to each of the scallops.

And then I stuck them down and drew leaves and stems on the page:

A more Pinterest Friendly version:

Another thing I did yesterday was to buy more Sakura markers...AGAIN. I can't tell you how many times I have bought these pens and they fall into the black hole that follows me. THIS TIME I'm going to try and be better and keep up with them by leaving them in the package they came in! Well, I don't know about you but all those little size numbers mean absolutely nothing to me so I decided to make some examples:

NOW I can tell!

Doodle Ready ATC Cards From LC Boxes

2014-02-03T00:03:00.000-05:00

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I haven't mentioned this yet but, I started Weight Watchers (again) on January 1st. I only mention this because I have eaten at least one Lean Cuisine every day since and I can't bear to toss the boxes! That's good, FREE, white cardstock! So they are my first "go-to" cardstock when using all my new dies. This week I cut out lots rounded corner cards (about ATC size) using a Sizzix die, that I can use for doodling and/or adding bits and pieces that I have piling up... like the leaf below and the stamped doghouse on the card below... I just like doodling on something that size because any larger blank white paper intimidates me... I figure anyone can fill up this much white space, right?

After I got several cards done (doodled on) I decided that I wanted to hang them together but I didn't want to punch a hole in the top, just in case I decided I wanted to use them for something later. Sooooo, I punched out a fancy little piece using Spellbinders, Parisian Accents (seen in the middle of samples below).

I only added glue to the back so I could easily remove it without messing up the front of the card...

I'm showing you a close up of this next card because I love the gingko leaf. I made that by putting aluminum tape to the front of a piece of box then cut it out...the die has built in embossing lines. Love it.

Below is a quick card I made using one of my cards... quick quick because the work was already done.

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Learning the Hard Way!

2014-01-28T00:37:00.004-05:00

I made this card ALL WRONG! See those little dark dots on it? Well, those are smashed "crystals"!! (who knew they were plastic and they could be made to be so flat?!) Lesson learned, don't run them through a die cutter! The problem was I ran the blank cardstock through the machine just so I could see a new embossing folder, then I added the crystals, very cute.... but then it all went a muck, I decided that I wanted to add a window using a Spellbinders scalloped oval ... mistake! But, live and learn. I guess I could have peeled them off and added more but I decided to go the cheap route and just added some Stickles on top of each, along with adding it to all of the dots inside the diamonds. Unfortunately, you can't see any of that :-( it really does add a cute little sparkle to the card.

Linked to:

Make It Monday #150: Window Screen Cards

Tim Holtz's Brick Wall Die

2014-01-27T16:14:00.002-05:00

It all started with this die:

It is a Tim Holtz die from Sizzix. LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

BUT....

when you cut it out it is the martyr between the bricks which makes perfect sense but not so much when you try to use it... not to me anyway. The problem is, if you just lay it down on paper it will be higher than the actual brick, and that isn't "real"... not in the South anyway... here the brick sticks out further than the martyr. Problem... so, I look all over the web in search of something someone else might have done to fix the problem...nothing...not even on Tim's personal blog. Well yesterday I had a "suddenly, WELL DUH!" moment. I cut the die out of a Lean Cuisine box (have lots of those these days) and used it like you would use any stencil you buy. I don't have any of the paste that is made for 3-d embossing so I improvised with what I had: (a LOT of)

I slathered it on nice and thick with my finger, then instead of smoothing it out with something I patted it to make it rough, more brick like. Then because I have no patience I took my heat gun to it and that caused it to bubble up a bit, even better!

The two pictures below are just WEIRD because they make it look exactly opposite of what it actually is!

- The very top of the first picture is one I made with just paper and in this picture it actually looks that I would want it to look!...but not in real life.

- the middle is just the "stencil" right after I used the tile adhesive and it gives the appearance of raised bricks! NOT!...just the opposite

- the bottom was the PERFECT results but in the picture the bricks look recessed... ???

Closer:

Now.... how I used it and pictures that maybe show it a little bit better:

Well heck, not really ... you'll just have to take my word for it I guess, the bricks stick out about 1/8".

The solid strip of "concrete" across the top is actually 1 bump cut from a piece of corrugated paper and colored gray.

OH! and I colored the bricks with BIC permanent markers.

Products Used (with links to where to buy them):

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Make It Monday #148

2014-01-14T19:17:00.000-05:00

Today I worked on a card using a technique introduced on the Papertrey Ink Challenge this week.

Make It Monday #148: Generation Stamping with Line Images & Multiple Colors

There is a video showing what they wanted anyone participating in the challenge to do, and using their stamps was required.

The technique produces the image in the middle of the card below. It requires line stamps and lots of re-stamping with three different colors for each element.

I only have the one line stamp set that I just got yesterday.

Stitches & Swirls Stamp Set

I'm not too crazy about using the technique with this stamp set but I do LOVE the set! I was able to make the background card using three different stamps from the set and I could tell that there is real potential there, I'm looking forward to doing more with them.

I will add the "link-to" product list to the bottom of the post when I have more time. That really does take more time than I can give it tonight.

The main reason I do these challenges is that there are TONS of new stamps being made available tomorrow (Jan 15) and I want most of them! I need to win the random selection to get some store money!!!!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String....

2013-12-26T22:51:00.002-05:00

Today I did a REALLY QUICK something for a challenge that was sent to me this morning from {capture the moment} ... all about

"Brown paper packages, tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things..."

Thankfully I already had my brown paper packages tied up with string! A while back I wrapped some 4x4 canvases that I have sitting by my front door ready for a quick RAC. They are all different because that was part of that play day.

This one is wrapped with a brown paper bag that I then drew lines on with a sharpie and a white marker, quick and easy! I already had the black ribbon but I added the b/w bakers twine today along with the label that I printed out on my PC. It is a label design I made with CorelDraw to be ready for a Sizzix label die (Sizzix Framelits Die Set 6PK - Labels, Majestic #2) I ordered earlier this week...but it isn't here yet, so I hand cut it. None of the dies I have from Papertrey Ink would have worked with what I had so I had to go generic this time. I LOVE Papertrey Ink products but I haven't gotten that many (ok, I've spent over $100 with them just since I started this madness)... they don't have sales so I have to shop carefully :-)

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Cheery Lynn Designs - Quills & Ink Pot

2013-12-24T12:49:00.001-05:00

Since I am having such a hard time forcing myself to be creative these days I have decided to start doing some online challenges... this one is HERE:

The die is Cheery Lynn Designs "Quills & Ink Pot"...however, I did a tiny bit of modifying because I tried cutting it out of some old glitter ribbon I had in my stash and that was a NOT! It left an impression but didn't come close to cutting it out! I cut them out by hand using the impression as a guide then cut a few chunks out to help it look more like feathers. It cuts paper fine, but not that ribbon for sure!

I just used my PC to do the text (Billy Argel Font) and hand drew the frame because the card looked too plain without it.

Supplies:

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Simon Says Stamp LEAF COLUMN OUTLINE Die

2013-12-23T14:07:00.000-05:00

I'm so sorry that I have gotten SO LAZY these past few months! Not only am I not posting as often as I probably should but I am taking my pictures with my iPad now and it shows! AWFUL colors! But, it is what it is, you can get some idea of what they look like anyway.

I made this card because I wanted to do the Simon Says Challenge shown later. The challenge was "bling" and unfortunately the glitter doesn't show up in any of my pictures. While it isn't a requirement that you use one of THEIR products I wanted to... problem is, I only have a couple of their exclusive products because they haven't had even one sale since I started buying dies and I promised myself to only buy things on sale while such great sales are going on on other sites. I do have a HUGE Simon Says "want" list growing though! Anyway, their product is the leaves.

These are really two separate dies, the black, and the white outline. In order to get the glitter filling I cut label paper using the solid die, then covered the sticky side of the label leaves with red glitter.

I also used the die and stamp I used in my last post last time, I LOVE that stamp, because it makes it look like lots of layers while only being one. I stamped it on kraft paper then used a red pin and a couple of darker browns for the outside brown.

Unfortunately, the red background paper and the ribbon were from my stash and there is no way to link them, sorry! But here is everything else I used:

LEAF COLUMN OUTLINE Die	LEAF COLUMN BACKGROUND Die s169	Holiday Labels No.14	Spellbinders Nestabilities Dies, Labels 14	Tsukineko Small-Size VersaFine Instant Dry Pigment Ink, Onyx Black
BIC Mark-It color collection permanent marker, Fine Point, Assorted Colors, 36 Markers	Guided Brown Kraft Printer Labels

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Spellbinder Tags and Waltzing Mouse Holiday Labels No. 14

2013-12-10T18:48:00.000-05:00

Well, I FINALLY got something made!! I have been collecting dies over the past couple of months and TODAY I finally made something with a few!! And I'm pretty certain that the only reason I finished this card today is that TODAY was my friend's birthday and I HAD to have a card!

See, the thing I learned about myself a long time ago is that the fun I get from any new craft is in the collecting of the tools needed to do it, then once I have all there is I move onto the next thing. I am not too sure what is up with me these days but I have had zero desire to be creative. None. But, I LOVE all the thin dies that are out, so now I sit here with hundreds (literally) of dies and I figure I had better do something with them! I am ready for most any occasion for sure!

I actually found my inspiration for this card on Pinterest that linked to its creator, Claire Brennan HERE. I LOVED the color scheme she used so I felt like I just had to have the stamp set she used (and designed herself). The only place you can currently buy her stamps is from her ...in New Zealand! And I am here to tell ya the exchange rate hurts!! I paid way too much money for a set just to get the one stamp I wanted! The good news is, she does have a distribution point here in the US so I got it very quickly! ...And then, of course I had to buy the Spellbinders die set she designed the stamps especially for, right? She doesn't sell those and they weren't available anywhere locally so I ordered them from Amazon. And I used the BIC markers I ordered from Amazon to color the wooden house, the trees and red and green parts of the stamp (all non black areas). Unfortunately, I took the picture with my iPad as it was getting dark so I had to keep adjusting and tweaking the color so it could be seen. There is actually a lime green border next to the checkered border, completely gone here! Sorry. It really was/is much nicer in person.

Anyway, here is most of what I used:

Wafer Die Storage (Part 2)

2013-10-31T11:28:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to give a quick update to Tuesday's post:

Tuesday I said:
----------------OU! OU! I just found (and ordered) larger clear case CD holders...the size of DVD cases - 7 1/2 " long by 5 1/2" wide... They should be just what I need for the extra long dies from Cheery Lynn. I am showing you the Amazon version below just for the picture, but DON'T buy from Amazon... go directly to the online store because shipping is MUCH MUCH cheaper buying direct. That and you aren't forced to buy 10 at a time, you can buy as few as 1 if you want. I bought 20 and shipping was $7.80. If I had bought from Amazon shipping would have been $20!!! From the same company! That's not Amazon's fault, the company just doesn't offer combined shipping rates through Amazon. .... OOU!!! Best part yet, I just got a notice that they have shipped already! 5 hours after order and they are on their way via FedEx! YES!

-------------------
UPDATE:

I ordered the above directly from the company and got them THE VERY NEXT DAY!!! I LOVE that kind of service!

I had hoped that the longer Cheery Lynn dies would fit straight up and down in the larger case, but they don't... I have to angle them every so slightly, but that's ok, I can still fit quiet a few in a single case. (all that I have, for sure) I don't understand why they make some of the dies as long as they are ??? completely unnecessary.

And, because I knew I was only going to put the longer dies in the larger cases I decided to just run three lines of glue across the case (about 1" from top and bottom then right down the middle) ... PERFECT!...and so much quicker. It is enough to hold the die tight but not so much that you feel like it will bend when you take it out. PERFECT!
------------ One more thing, I just went back to Amazon and ordered something else (SHAME!)... I got a flip CD display holder thingy for easy die viewing. It will be a little less portable but I'll just look for another box it will fit in and add a handle to that... COUNTRY REDNECK style :-)

Wafer Die Storage - Using What I Already Have

2013-10-29T07:04:00.000-04:00

Well, I am onto ANOTHER new thing.... Wafer Dies. And I think I'm going to post all about it on this blog since my other active blog is about doodling and I want to continue with that there, for the most part. My real final goal is to combine the two but in the meantime, I'll post here.

While using the Wafer Dies is somewhat new... it really isn't, I was buying wafer dies years ago, before they were so popular and the choices were really pitiful. Naturally, I have no clue where all those dies ended up...so I have started a whole new collection....the fun part of any new craft :-)

To start things off I bought a new Cuttlebug V2.

I love it because it is so small and portable I can sit on the sofa, watch tv and cut to my hearts content...all my others are large, desk types.

Before you buy a bunch of extra stuff you don't need I want to share a couple of DON'Ts with you.

I love to read all the feedback on any product I am about to buy on Amazon. Unfortunately, this time I ended up buying an extra cutting plate that I DO NOT NEED! Argh! Apparently V1 had a cutting plate that V2 does not have. So far, it was a complete waste of money.

Another complete waste of money is a storage thingy with magnetic sheets, (Artbin Magnetic Storage). Thankfully I only bought one set of refill magnets to see how they work ... and they didn't! The dies fell off with little or no prompting and I would have filled it up almost immediately.

So, MY answer to the whole storage problem was to use what I have already.

- The clear CD cases (I bought a bunch way back when I was storing rubber stamps) I have the standard size, not the thin...I was going to order more and get the thin but I'm afraid that you couldn't use both the top and bottom for storage, it would be too thin...

- "The Best Glue Ever" - a glue that stays super tacky after it is dried. Just for the record, I don't agree that it is the best glue ever, but it is excellent if you want the stays tacky kind of glue.

I just applied the glue to both sides of the case in a polka dot pattern. I don't know, I suppose I could have just drawn lines but something in my brain said dots were better ??? I think it makes it easier to take the dies out without a lot of effort and less risk of bending them ??? You could always try both ways to see which you like best.

Let the glue dry completely before putting your dies in the case. (the glue dots will be completely clear) You can see in the picture below that the dies stay in place and it is MUCH CHEAPER than magnetic sheets!

I also think that this glue is better than double sided tape because I have bought dies that use the double sided tape to hold them in place in the packaging and I had a hard time taking the tape off the die. Then, if you don't get it all off it sticks to the cutting plates and bending becomes a problem again.

I don't know if I have mention this before but probably my most favorite crafting supply EVER would be my 8.5"x 11" label sheets. I use them for EVERYTHING because you can cut any shape or size you want! LOVE! LOVE! And that's what I used to label the CD cases. Cut in half down lengthwise then cut 1/4" strips...perfect! The link is Online Labels, the best (spelled cheapest) source I have found.

OH! And they are in a cardboard box that I just happen to have, but I think they still make CD case holders. ??? I don't know, as fast as technology changes it might be a good idea to get them while you can!

There are tons of solutions out there on the web and I may have to switch to something different when I buy A BUNCH more but so far this is the PERFECT solution for me because it is portable and I have easy access and easy clean up.

OU! OU! I just found (and ordered) larger clear case CD holders...the size of DVD cases - 7 1/2 " long by 5 1/2" wide... They should be just what I need for the extra long dies from Cheery Lynn. I am showing you the Amazon version below just for the picture, but DON'T buy from Amazon... go directly to the online store because shipping is MUCH MUCH cheaper buying direct. That and you aren't forced to buy 10 at a time, you can buy as few as 1 if you want. I bought 20 and shipping was $7.80. If I had bought from Amazon shipping would have been $20!!! From the same company! That's not Amazon's fault, the company just doesn't offer combined shipping rates through Amazon. .... OOU!!! Best part yet, I just got a notice that they have shipped already! 5 hours after order and they are on their way via FedEx! YES!

Faux Silver Bangle Bracelet From a Plastic Drink Bottle

2013-06-06T09:57:00.001-04:00

This is actually a modified version of the bottle bracelet I made last year HERE

Basically, what I did was... Covered stir straws with glitter, then cut those into "seed beads" that have large enough holes for easy threading.

For the "silver" I stuck some aluminum tape (see source below) onto the bottle plastic before I cut it into strips.... The tape is silver on both sides so it will be silver on the "inside of the bracelet as well.

After I cut the strips I loaded the beads onto the strip,spaced them out then connected the two ends by running them both through one or two beads....add a bit of glue and DONE! I think an arm load of these would be so pretty and CHEAP!

If you leave the tape off and just add beads they will appear to "float" on your arm, that would be kinda neat if you had a bunch on.

Stay tuned, this sparked yet another idea that I will share soon.

A Deal That REALLY IS A DEAL!

2013-05-15T12:28:00.003-04:00

I'm not certain you have picked this up about me yet... probably not.... but I tend to say what I think. And, if I love something, I REALLY LOVE it and I want to spread the good word (and vice versa, but we won't go into that). I want all my friends to know about it and get in on a good deal too!

WELL! Such is the case with AMAZON PRIME! I have been using it for about seven months now and I have loved every minute of it! If you take the time to bother reading this you WILL THANK ME, I PROMISE! I'm excited about it today because yesterday I saved TONS in shipping and that excites me.

Yes, you have to pay $79 for a year, up front, but I have WAY more than made that back in benefits! And I will GLADLY pay it again in October.

WHY????

You wouldn't believe all the benefits!

(first, you get to try it for 30 days FREE! Do that just for the free shipping!)

1. "UNLIMITED Prime MOVIES and TV Shows "

It works much like Netflix and Hulu Plus (only without commercials!) ... each of those cost $7.99 a month, making their total for a year $95.88 (see, already saving) ... No, not every movie that Amazon sells is free to watch, but there are thousands that are! And, you can watch them on any digital data device! TV, cell phone, Kindle, iPad, whatever.

2. The next, most important (to me) benefit is that you get is FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING on almost everything your order!! Just yesterday I place two different orders and they will both be here tomorrow!.. FREE SHIPPING!! AMAZING! And I order almost everything I buy from Amazon because I don't have to pay taxes or shipping!... and, the prices are usually better. Like the book I show in the left column iPad for Artists: How to Make Great Art with Your Tablet
sells at my local Barnes and Nobel for $19.95 + tax = $21.54, I paid $9.46 TOTAL! I bet I order something at least every other week.

3. A FREE Kindle Book each month. Would you believe THIS is the reason I joined?! And I use it the least.... but, the Hunger Games Series was available and I wanted to read them... and I did, for free! No, you don't have to own a Kindle to take advantage of this one, they have a PC/iPad/Android app so you can read it on any device.

4. There are more things that I haven't bothered to learn about...like a 5 GB Cloud for storage. So, instead of using up all your valuable hard drive space on your iPad/Kindle/whatever, you store songs, movies, pictures, whatever there and access it through "the cloud"!

Can You Hear Me Giggling?

2013-05-14T13:17:00.002-04:00

I don't know what's up with me today but I decided to treat myself with some fun stuff!

I was on Pinterest and decided to look at my "I WANT" board and then to oblige ...

1. butter slicer, love it! Love butter, HATE cutting it! Problem solved.

2. Egg shaper, HOW FUN!!! now my eggs will fit! HA! Just think, PERFECT scrambled egg sandwiches! I LOVE, LOVE egg sandwiches but not so crazy about all the overlap and bits and pieces, problem solved:

3. This last thing was on the "I WANT" board but I ordered it a couple months ago and I won't get it until January :-( The 3-D Doodler! FUN!!! Just wanted to show you what's coming. It was my first introduction to Kickstarter ... who knew?!

FREE Washi Tape Storage

2013-04-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

Well, it is free if you already have what you need.... and I bet you do :-).

This past Monday Archiver's had a "ONE DAY ONLY" 33% off all Embellishments! Well.... that has my name written all over it! I have managed to resist the temptation to own more than 2 rolls of washi tape up until now but, hey, Archiver's has the largest selection around and it was 33% off!!!

I'm too embarrassed to admit how much I bought, but I did make two trips. :-)

So, now I have all this tape, how the heck do I store it??? I KNOW!!! Wax paper doesn't really need the box it comes in right?! And it comes with its own "cutting" blade. PERFECT!

The only other thing you need is some kind of rod to pass through the rolls of tape... I just happen to have the twisted wire rod on my coffee table, a left over from another project. You could do the same thing or cut the long edge of a wire clothes hanger, just bend the ends up a bit so it doesn't slide out. OH! almost forgot, I punched holes on either end of the box so that the wire ran through and out.

Now, you could stop there but...it really is kinda ugly so I grabbed my ever ready can of black paint and sprayed that baby down, then covered two sides with the tape that was going inside the box. Now i can tell what is inside even if the box is closed.

TA DA!

Just remember to face all of the tape edges towards the outside of the box so that you can unroll and tear it on the box edge more easily.

Today I Went Back To the Library!

2012-09-13T22:02:00.000-04:00

AND I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT!

I have been on the look out for a book "The Harbinger" for a few weeks and I don't want to pay for it! So, today I decided that I would check out the library again (after AT LEAST 20 years!). They didn't have it, BUT, they DID have the DVD for "Miss Potter"...another something that I have been wanting to see but wasn't willing to pay for. Did you guys know that libraries have movies now?!!! And you can check them out just like a book FOR FREE!... and you have a whole week to watch them! I got two movies, "Miss Potter" (about Beatrice Potter) and "The Notebook" OH MY GOSH! I didn't remember it being so sad!!! I SOBBED!...(snot and all!)

I HIGHLY recommend both movies.

Another shocking thing is that they let you check out up to FIFTY books at a time!!! WHAT?! This world, it is a changing. I got a "How to" Calligraphy book, and two other craft books along with several novels. ... I can have those for 3 weeks, and if I'm not done I can continue to renew the check out at least two more times!

Long story short, check out your local library, you may be pleasantly surprised!