Acrylic Image Transfer Technique or Glossy Accents Image Transfer Technique

Well, I tried the same transfer method I used on the acrylic tiles on a few other items today as promised!

Just like before I used only Glossy Accents, an image to transfer and some nice warm water. I tried it on a piece of metal with so so results. For some reason the GA didn't set up as well as it did on the other items so when I went to rub the paper off much of the image rubbed off as well. It was rainy and humid here today so I'm not sure if that was a factor or not... We're going to be having rain on and off for several days so I am planning on trying that again later when it's dry.

I did have two very successful attempts though...

The first was the bamboo domino style place mat tiles! The image worked great but I had a bubble in the center of the image so that part rubbed off. The rest looks great though. This was a collage image btw ~ Laser image I think...

The other foundation I had great success with was glass! It made a very cool ghostly image. This image was an ink jet printed image.

I tried it onto cardstock and it didn't work so well...the bottom paper got saturated when I wet the image layer so it just ended up making a mess. So I would say the best bet for this transfer method regardless of type of image (ink jet, laser, toner, etc) is on Acrylic, Glass and Domino or Bamboo Tiles!

TIP: My best tip for a successful image transfer using this method is to make sure that you have excellent contact between the image and the surface of your foundation material. The Glossy Accents tends to make things curl a bit...if you don't have full contact you will have areas that won't transfer ~ which does give it an authentic looking distressed result (like the bamboo tile).

So has anyone given this a try?

I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Post links to your results if you would like ~ I'm sure we'd all love to see!!

I hope this is something that many of you will benefit from ~

I know it's not always an option to buy lots products to use for one technique...

so I've really been trying to figure out easy and affordable ideas.

Take care friends and have a wonderful day!!

Acrylic Image Transfer Technique Finished Examples

I'm so glad you all liked the Acrylic Image Transfer technique :) I've had loads of questions about it so I thought I'd answer them first....

Thanks everyone for the awesome comments...and Angela ~ thanks so much sweetie...I'm so glad you enjoy Ink Stains!!

Lynda ~ I've posted some other easy image transfer techniques (here) and there are more in the book coming out in July (all step by step just like on the blog).

Cher ~ you weren't dreaming...asked ds to take it to the post office but found it in his truck on Tuesday ~ it will be in the mail tomorrow ;)

Elizabeth & Tammy ~ yes!! You can print your own images...this works with just about any type of image you want to use :)

Scrap Addicts ~ LOL @ the accident prone ;) Too funny...Yes, I always have been but I suppose in this case it's a good thing!

Alison ~ I'd love to see your results ~ please do post!!

Cindy ~ maybe he does sand the edges...that could be what I'm doing wrong because I don't. I'll have to try it and see if they look any better ;) Thanks!

XXSimplethingXX ~ Actually I've got some GA and images drying right now so hopefully tomorrow I can tell you other things this technique will work on. I'm pretty sure (hoping) that it can be used with other non-porous surfaces. I'll let you know tomorrow how I came out :)

Maledilla ~ No, I'm pretty sure this won't work on canvas. I do know the Water-based Stamp Cleaner Image Transfer Technique that I posted a couple of weeks ago works great on canvas. T-Shirt Transfer Material works super and there is another transfer medium designed for "soft" transfers (transfers onto canvas/fabric) but I don't recall the name right now. I will find it and let you know.

Vintage Babes ~ Thanks Bea! It's wonderful to have you here!! I'm glad you like this technique. I posted several other image transfer techniques a couple of weeks ago that you might like as well...you can find them here ~ Image Transfer Techniques. I also have a book coming out in July that has several more transfer techniques ~ all step by step just like on the blog :)

Barbara SP ~ uncoated paper works best (cardstock or copy paper). Glossy papers don't work very well with image transfers for some reason so I wouldn't suggest using those. This works with ink jet as well as other types of transfers :)

On to the examples!!!

Travel the World....

Family...

The Girls...

Now I mentioned before I'm trying this technique on some other materials to see if it works. I'll let you know how it comes out tomorrow...maybe this will be another easy transfer method for multiple surfaces!!

Keep your fingers crossed!

Acrylic Image Transfer Technique

Hey peeps! I hope you're all having a wonderful day :)

Got lots of good things done so I'm a happy camper.

I mentioned on Sat. that I had another image transfer technique to share with you and I'm so excited about it...this was another happy accident technique discovery during play time - LOL!!

Actually I was sorting through one of the boxes of projects from the book ~ you know...sorting supplies, putting 1/2 finished projects in a box, sorting out finished examples, etc. I came upon the bags of items I had from one of the charm sections on acrylic charms.

As I was sorting I noticed I had gotten some Glossy Accents on the front of a couple of the acrylic pieces sometime during the repacking at the photo shoot. I decided I was going to clean it off. I squirted the charm several times with water and tried to get the GA off... Needless to say once GA is on something it's sort of hard to get it off. Well during this process the back of the charm became saturated with water - DUH!!!

I was so mad, I tried to wipe the excess water off but some of the backing paper peeled off!!!!

EEEK!!!!!!

I put it in my "pitch pile" because I was sure I had ruined it but then I noticed that I could see through the area where the paper came off!

Shazam ~

Acrylic Image Transfer was born!!!!!

WOO HOOO!!!

SNAP-O-RAMA, jump for joy, do the happy dance,

another image transfer technique to share - LOL!!!

I know some of you out there are thinking what a ding dong getting so excited about an image transfer technique. Well, the reason I'm so excited is I have such a tough time making a neat edge on some of the acrylic pieces when I'm trying to trim off the excess paper. I don't know how Tim Holtz does it and makes it looks so nice and even...one of life's little mysteries. Anyway, mine never look that great so this is a savior! It doesn't matter how nasty my edges look....I can fix 'em right up with this technique. ;)

Now one word of caution before you begin....you MUST I repeat MUST let the charms dry for a few hours before begin with the water step. If you don't let the Glossy Accents cure the whole image will wipe right off. Trust me on this....once I figured out it worked I got impatient and messed up more than one charm getting in a hurry.

(Note: Sorry ~ a couple of these pics are a bit blurry but I wanted to get this on here at a decent hour and didn't have a chance to re-take them.)

Supplies:

Acrylic Charms - Tim Holtz Ideaology

Collage Image (examples used - Southern Blackberry Designs, Altered Pages)

Glossy Accents - Ranger

Water

Finger (borrow one if you don't have one handy)

Instructions:

1. Apply a bit of Glossy Accents to the back side of an acrylic charm.

2. Place the charm Glossy Accent side down onto your chosen collage image.

3. Let the charm dry at least a couple of hours to let the GA cure.

4. Once the charms have dried completely, trim the excess paper away. Now this doesn't need to be perfect so don't freak out if you can't get the edges to look nice. As you can see, mine are FAR from perfect!

5. Saturate the paper backing with water and let it set for a minute or two so the water has a chance to soak into the paper (less if you're collage image was printed on thin paper).

6. Now begin to rub! Keep rubbing until most or all of the backing paper has been removed. You can add additional water if necessary.

7. Wipe off the charm and let it dry. If you notice there are left over paper fuzzies simply rewet and rub till they are gone.

8. Once you're satisfied with the image, apply a thin layer of Glossy Accents over the image with your finger. This just helps protect the image from scratches and dings.

Now here is what the charm will look like after it's finished!

Way cool huh?

You can see by the sunset charm (center right) what happens if your charm isn't fully glued down to the image. I wasn't going for the look but it does add some character being distressed and all ;)

Now the charms are usable as is OR you can take it a step further and add some cool paper to the charm. I just slid a piece of sheet music under a few of the charms to show you what they might look like.

Like I said...very easy and way cool :)

NOW, since I'm so excited about this way cool image transfer technique I want to share in the fun....

I have a baggie of collage images and acrylic pieces waiting for a new home.

All you have to do is post what you think of the technique and you'll be entered to win!

You have until May 3rd to post.

Good Luck and Happy Day!!!

Hand Made Paper Examples

Well, since yesterday was such a fine day here in Indiana we ended up spending all day outside. We finished installing the new (to us) chicken house, cleaned it out and filled it lots of little chickens!! We also planted 120 pounds of potatoes and about 7 pounds of onions! Today I also planted some green onions and garlic :) The beginnings of home made salsa! Can't wait....I'm hording the last couple jars I have left from last season.

Anyway, I finally got the examples finished incorporating the hand-made recycled paper I showed you over the weekend.

This paper is so versatile, you can use it just as you would any other paper...cut it, paper punch it, die-cut it, tear it, stamp it, etc.... There is an added benefit to this type of paper that you normally have to pay extra for at the store...it's double sided. Since the paper is made from bits and pieces which come together in layers (when you lift the strainer out of the water) you will end up with some bits that show up on one side and not the other! So if you don't like how one side looks flip it over and use the back!

And here are some examples in use....

Stamped & Trimmed....

Torn from the sheet....

Cut from the edge...

Paper Punched Flowers - these flowers look and feel like Prima's original mulberry flowers!!! Now you can make flowers at a fraction of the cost and you will be able to make coordinating embellishments with the left overs!!

So there you have it ~ hand made paper at it's finest :)

Of course you can do all sorts of other things with this paper...journals, note book covers, use it in scrapbooks and so much more!

Winner of the Pound 'o Fun 100,000 Visit Give-A-Way!!!!

Well it's that time folks...

Time to reveal the winner of the

"Pound 'o Fun" goodie pack

to celebrate the 100,000 visitor to Ink Stains :)

I tallied up the posts for each day this week (since I posted the contest) and fed the info into Random.org (like I've done each day)

and....

the....

winner....

is.....

Drum Roll Please....

#55 (out of 192)

Diane!!!!!

Diane said...
I don't know how anyone can craft without cereal boxes and other recycled materials. I always have a stack of something to go to the basement. I'm like my grandson in that I usually have something in my pocket (bottlecaps etc.) that I find along the way. Diane
April 20, 2009 9:41 PM

Woo Hooo!!! Congrats Diane :) Please send me your snail mail addy and I'll get your goodies in the mail to you!!!

Thanks everyone for making it such a fun week!! I hope you've enjoyed the recycling ideas and techniques I've share. I had lots of fun with it :) Remember I'll have some examples of things you can do with the recycled paper tomorrow if all goes as planned then next week I have at least one more image transfer technique to share with you so be sure to stop back in and check it all out!

Take care friends!!

Hand Made Paper 101 - Part III - Straining the Paper

Hand Made Paper 101

Part III

Straining the Paper Pulp

For this step you will need a container large enough to fill with 3-4" of water AND your chosen screening frame can fit into easily.

1. Dump your paper goop into the container.

2. Fill the container until you have approx 3-4" of water. Mix the paper goop into the water so all of the little tiny bits are mixed well and floating. It should now have the consistency of a thick tomato soup.

3. Place a dish towel on your work surface and then place a Handi-Wipe/jay cloth on the towel ~ (thanks Cher & Tammy for the name!!) If you can't find this particular dish cloth any thin absorbent dish cloth* will do.

*Keep in mind, if the cloth you are using has a textural pattern this will transfer to the paper.
4. Slide your screen/strainer into the container from the side. You can push it straight down into the water because all of the paper bits will be under the strainer. Going in from the side allows you to slip under the paper mixture.

Once your strainer is in the container, lift straight up. You should now have a nice layer of paper pulp on the top of the screen as shown.

5. Gently tap the strainer on the side of the container a couple times shaking off some excess water.

6. Flip the screen/paper onto the Handi-wipe as shown.

7. Gently lift the screen off of the towel leaving the paper behind. NOW, don't freak out if some of the pulp is left on the screen...(trust me, I did when I first started!!) Simply peel the paper off of the screen and place it where it needs to be. You can also fill in any holes by scooping out a bit of the pulp from the container and adding where it is needed. Cover with another layer of Handi-wipe. In this case my paper was small enough I was able to fold the Handi-wipe over and use one sheet for two pieces of paper.

8. Repeat steps 4-7 until you have gotten as much of the pulp as possible in this fashion.

9. (optional) I don't like to waste any of the pulp so I normally take the remains outside, lay the screen on the ground and pour the pulp water SLOWLY over the screen. This catches just about all of the remaining paper pulp without wasting anything.

10. Once you have all of your paper on the Handi-wipe, cover the pile with a dry dish cloth. Hand press excess water out, exchange wet dish cloths for dry as needed.

11. After you feel you have pressed as much water out as possible, place the stack on some dry towels and use the rolling pin to extract any remaining water possible.

12. Your paper will feel pretty dry but it still needs to dry out a bit more. Attach each Handi-wipe to a hanger with clips and allow to dry...

End of Part III

Part I

Part II

Pretty cool huh?

And the best part is - it's WAY easy and costs just pennies to make!!! Doesn't get much better than that :)

I will share the finished product as well as some ideas on how to use your Hand Made Paper tomorrow ~

TTFN!!!

oh...I'll be pulling the 100,000 Biggie Size Surprise tonite around 10:00pm EST so you still have time to get in on the fun!!!

Hand Made Paper 101 - Part II

Hand Made Paper 101

Part II

Making a Hand Made Paper Strainer

I know there are loads of cool looking expensive paper strainers out there BUT, since we're talking about recycling I'm going to give you a couple of easy ideas on how to make your own!

Idea #1 -

1. Disassemble a picture frame. Any type of frame will do....wood, metal, plastic, etc. It doesn't matter, just whatever you have on hand. I like to use frames that have been used, damaged, etc. - goes along with the whole recycling thing ;)

Keep in mind the opening size is how large/small your hand made paper is going to be.

2. Slip an old nylon Knee-Hi stocking over the entire frame. This is going to be your screen material.

You're done! Told you it was simple ;)

Idea #2 -

1. Disassemble a picture frame just as you did before. For this example you will need to use a wood frame.

2. Carefully cut an old piece of screen material approx. 1" wider than your frame on all sides. (remember the screen is sharp...you may want to wear gloves.)

3. Bend the screen over 1/2" on all sides tucking in the corners. This will take care of the sharp edges.

4. Use thumb tacks and secure the screening (turned edges towards the frame) to the wood frame.

and you're done!!

Told you they were easy and inexpensive :)

End of Part II

Part I

Part III

Recycled Paper - Hand Made Paper 101 - Part I

YES! It was a wild day (we moved & set a chicken coop) but I still had time to get the first half of this recycled technique finished :)

Of course by reading the title you know it's making Hand-Made paper. I don't know how you all handle scraps but I can't throw anything away....I keep it all because of course I might "NEED" it for something ;) So I have a big basket under my desk that I place all of my paper (treasures) scraps. Every so often I sort out what's been in there forever and give some to my mom but for the most part OR.... I make paper!

I know it sounds complicated, time consuming and sometimes expensive but it's really doesn't have to be. I whipped up 7 sheets of hand made paper in a little under 1 1/2 hours. That includes tearing all the paper in bits AND taking photos AND making a new frame. Now, dry time is another story but all you have to do is hang it up and forget it. I'm getting ahead of myself though so let's start at the beginning.... I'm going to split this up into three posts because I've got lots of photos so here we go ~

Hand Made Paper 101

(Recycling Paper Scraps)

Supplies:

(note - these are the supplies you'll need for the entire process)

Scrap Paper

Bowl (to soak paper)

Blender or Mixer

Hot Water

White Glue

Large Tub

Strainer Frame (Wood Frame, screen, thumb tacks)

Handi-Wipes - aka - Jay Cloths

Dish Towels (to absorb excess water)

Rolling Pin

Hangers

Cloths Pin or other Clips

Part I - Making Paper Soup!

Instructions:

1. Gather your scrap paper and determine what color you'd like your paper to be. I seem to generate LOTS of blue scraps ;) so that's what color my paper is going to be today. That's not to say you should only use one color of paper. You can mix it up or just use everything. I'm a bit anal about getting too wild with colors so I used mainly blue and white. I threw in some cool pattern paper as well as a couple bits of fuchsia and green as well for good measure.

Now I know a lot of people say you can only use certain types of papers but I use it all...bazzill, DCWAV, Club Scrap, water color, pattern papers, etc. The only type of paper I don't use is glossy paper.... it tends not to bind together as well as uncoated papers do.

2. Tear your paper up into bits...this is a great stress reliever. Trust me after the day I had yesterday it was a welcome job - LOL!! As for how much to tear up, it's up to you. I tore up I'd say approx. 3 cups of paper (torn bits). The more you tear up, the more paper you can make.

3. Now that you've got your paper torn up, pour just enough HOT water into your bowl to cover the paper - at this point you don't want too much water.

4. Mix the paper and hot water...make sure all of the paper is saturated. Let this mixture set for approx 5-10 minutes to ensure that the water has a chance to soften all the paper.

5. Now it's time to pulverize your paper. Most directions state that you HAVE to use a blender for this step. I don't have one...never have sooooo I use my hand mixer. Works just fine and it's not another piece of equipment setting around taking up space. So it's up to you ~ you can either pour your water/paper mix into a blender or use a hand mixer in the same bowl.

Beat the heck out of your paper for 3-4 minutes until you have a goopy mess. It should be the consistency of thin oatmeal as shown.

I like to leave larger bits of paper mixed in with the mush...I like the look myself but if you want a finer paper, keep mixing until you like what you see.

6. (optional) Now is the time to add "stuff" to your paper if you so desire. I know they sell all this fancy stuff to add to your hand made paper but it's not necessary. I'm sure you have enough goodies in your stash to really add some zing to your paper without the added expense.

You could add things like flower petals, leaf bits, Mylar glitter, glass glitter, bits of metallic or regular thread, leafing flakes, bits of mica flakes or powders, pigment powders, etc.

7. Add some white glue to the mix. I normally just eyeball it but I'd say anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup depending on how much you've made. It's not critical, it's just to give it some added stability when it dries.

End of Part I

Part II

Part III

100 K Winners - Thurs & Friday!!!

Well, I messed up huh? Last night I was way too tired after company left to post so I *Thought* I'd get to it first thing this morning....well Murphy's Law prevails and I had an emergency that I had to take care of today so I didn't get yesterday's winner OR the technique for today done either...

So....

Here is the winner from Thursday....

Nunt!

Nunt said...
Imagine how many visits you'd have without us, who silently stalk your RSS from Google Reader and do not count towards the number ;) Well, I had to pop by into the actual blog to give you a +1 :)
April 20, 2009 4:21 AM

and

Here is a winner for today...

xxSimplethingxx

xxsimplethingxx said...
Wow Roni, you are SO organised I can't believe it! Some great ideas in here.. thanks again!
April 24, 2009 2:35 AM

Congrats Ladies ~ Please send me your addy and I'll get your goodies in the mail to you :)

Now if things go as planned I should have one more recycling technique for you tomorrow...if Murphy is hanging around again...I may not! We'll just have to see but either way the drawing for all the goods will be tomorrow for sure!!

Till then friends, hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!

Organizing Recycled Art Supplies

Everyone had such great ideas to add to the list (which I did) and I thought of several more items to add as well so the list keeps growing :) Funny thing is...all that stuff that people suggested is in my stash already - LOL!!

Magpie, pack-rat, whatever you want to call it, I've got it bad ;)

It's so good to hear that I'm not the only one though! Dh thought it was funny because he knows never to throw anything away without asking me first. He's even started bringing things home from places he goes because it looks "interesting" and thinks I could use it for something! LOL!!!

I've gotten lots of questions on how I store these recycled supplies after I've saved them from the dumpster so today I thought I'd share a bit about some of the things I do.

First, lots of people mentioned acetate packaging.

Most of the time it's very bulky and takes up sooooo much space. That's very true, it really does. If you keep too many packages like this you'll end up with a house full of "stuff" and you won't be able to craft or move for that matter.

That's why I always trim away the bulky parts and keep only what I know I will use. It's usually the edges of the packages that have the large molded areas that take up so much space. I always trim those pieces away...

So I'm left with only usable parts that are far easier to store and take up MUCH less room....

Ephemera (labels, post cards, ads, postage stamps, etc.) is hard to keep track of. How do you know where everything is when you need it?

This is what I store most of my paper/flat ephemera in...o.k....not just one of these but that's another story ;)...

I keep things by what they are or specific categories....this way I know exactly where to go when I need something.

When it comes to larger items I keep them in recycled boot boxes that the guys boots come in. They are pretty big (14" square x 6" deep) so they hold lots of stuff, they are very sturdy and stack nicely. You can't see in them like the clear plastic boxes but I can't see buying those types of boxes when these work so well. I label the ends and sides so no matter how I have them stacked I can see what is stored in each one. I've got a box for game pieces, vintage/junk jewelry, buttons, found objects, etc. It works very well!

Now for smaller items I like to use the clear boxes that stamps come in... These are nice because the snap closed so I don't have to worry about things falling out and they stack nicely as well. The added benefit of this is you can see into them of course. Again, I label the end so I know which box I need.

I also have several tackle boxes that have the slide out sectioned drawers that I keep all of my smaller parts and pieces in. I have some small buckets that I hang off my wire cubes (with "S" hooks) for tall skinny items; clear plastic jars (with flip top lids) for ribbon, fibers & trims; apothecary type jars and muffin tins for assorted "Stuff" that I like to rummage around in.

I hope these suggestions give you a starting point for finding what works best for you.

The most important thing when storing recycled supplies is organization....

If you don't know what you have or can't find it you simply won't use it. It will just clutter up your life for no good reason. So if you're going to keep it around you might as well know where it's at so it's actually useful other wise you're just a crazy lady with a house full of junk - Or at least that's what dh tells me ;) LOL!!!!

Wednesday's 100K Hit Winner!!!!

Today's winner in the 100K Hit list is.....

TRINE!!!!

Trine from Norway said...
Yes.....it's so ,much wounderful wallpaper....but I think there is one problem with it....it's not acidfree...Did anyone know if it is?Acidfree or not.....I use it at soooo many other prosject. I love minialbums and altered art....so wallpaper is a "must have in my stash" items..

Congrats Trine ~ please e-mail me your snail mail addy and I'll get your goodies out to you :)

We've got 3 more days for you all to post post post :) Remember the more you post the better your chances are of winning!!

Happy Earth Day!!!!!

Recycled Crafty Projects

I have the recycled projects I promised but first I wanted to answer a few questions...

*Where to get the wall paper sample books?

I got mine at a place that sold wallpaper and blinds, but you can also ask for them at home improvement stores, department stores (that special order wallpaper), some paint stores that offer wallpaper, etc. Simply ask them for their old obsolete books...if they don't have any at the moment, ask to be notified when they do. Usually they are more than happy to give them to you once they are no longer useful.

*What do you use rubber stamp scraps for?

Phinny was right...I have used mine in the past to make mosaic rubber stamps, or cut free-hand shapes to make unique stamps all your very own. You can also use it in place of double stick foam to give embellishments a "lift" - simply apply glue to both sides, stick it to the card (or other project) and glue the embellishment on top!

*Did I open an Etsy store?

Yep, I sure did! I guess I forgot to post about it when I stuck the link in the side-bar. I am going to be offering all sorts of "stuff"....ephemera, supplies, and crafty items....many from the book if you're interested in owning a piece of published collage/altered art. :)

Now on to the examples!!

Recycled Buttons....

Wooden Nickel & Poker Chip

Game Pieces

Case from broken Pocket Watch

Glass Jar, Beads (from broken necklace) & Easter Grass

Copper Nails, Game Pieces, Ticket

So there you go....

a few fun and funky ways to use recycled goodies in your art!

Happy Earth Day!!!

I hope you are all having a very GREEN day today :)

I thought I would start the day off by giving you a list of goodies that you might come in contact with in your every day life that you could use in your crafting. Mind you this is only a partial list...I'm sure if I sat and thought about this long enough I could come up with a list triple the size but this is good to get you going!

RECYCLE THIS!

Acetate Packaging
Bags
Baseball Cards
(or other sports)
Beaded Lace or Appliques
(from gowns, prom dresses, handbags, etc)
Beaded Curtains
(like the hippie love bead things you hand in door ways.)
Belts
Berry Baskets
Books
(discarded, damaged, out of date, etc)
Bottle Caps
Bottles
(glass or plastic)
Bread Bag Closers
(the plastic things)
Bubble Wrap
Buttons
CD’s
Candy Wrappers
Cans
(food)
Cardboard
(packing, tubes, etc)
Calendars
(large & small - the photos and date pages are great!)
Chain
(from anything…jewelry, toys, mechanical things)
Chop Sticks
Christmas Cards
Coins or Paper Money (Chok Keun)
Cloths Pins
Coasters
(the type from bars/restaurants)
Coffee Filters
Corks (Nancy)
Cracker Jack's Toys (Nancy)
DVD’s
Dictionaries
(I know this is a book but I LOVE dictionaries – so much fun and so useful!!!)
Egg Cartons or Trays (Chok Kuen)
Encyclopedias
(ditto on what I said about dictionaries)
Envie's with Neat Linings (Nancy)
File Binders
(those metal bendy things that hold paper in a file folder)
File Folders
(some places toss them when they become worn)
Film Canisters
Flash Cards
Foil
(tin foil, candy foil, gum foil)
Games & Game Pieces
(paper, cardboard, dimensional pieces – it’s all good!!)
Garland
(from Christmas trees)
Gift Wrap
Greeting Cards
Hair Accessories (Chok Kuen)
(hair pins, clips, bands, etc)
Handwritten anything
(in this day and age it’s hard to find anything handwritten)
Jars
(large, small, and everything in between)
Jeans
(tags, zippers, pockets, etc)
Jewel Cases
Jewelry
(junk, broken, etc)
Juice Lids
(the metal pieces on each end)
Keys
Key Chains (Chok Kuen)
Labels
(from clothing, packaging, food, etc.)
Lace or Trim
Leather Scraps (Chok Kuen)
Leaves (Nancy)
Lids
Magazines
Magnets (Chok Kuen)
Maps
Match Boxes (Chok Kuen)
Medicine Cases or Bottles (Chok Kuen)
Medicine Cups
(like from cold meds – great for mixing small amounts of paint, inks, UTEE, etc)
Mesh Bags
(like what onions, potatoes, fruits come in)
Metal Parts
(from various gadgets…I always find something cool on dh’s workbench!)
Nails
(I have some AWESOME copper nails I found in a box of junk)
Newspaper
Paper Clips
Placemats
Playing Cards
Pop Cans
(tabs, can-for metal)
Post Cards
Puzzles
(with missing pieces)
Rubber Stamp Scraps
(like from unmounted stamps you have to cut out)
Silverware
(trust me on this one…I’ve got some fun projects planned for this!)
Sizzix Containers
(you know the clear plastic ones the dies come in – LOVE them!!)
Skewers
Stamps
(from letters or packages)
Straws
Tags
(from new items)
Thread Spools
(wood or plastic)
Thumb Tacks (Chok Keun)
Ticket Stubs
Tins
(from cookies, candy, etc.)
Tissue Paper (Chok Keun)
Tokens
(bus, subway, game rooms, etc)
Toothbrushes
(to use with inks, paints, etc.)
Trading Stamps
Tree Branches (Chok Keun)
Twist Ties (Smullis)
Tyvek Envies (Nancy)
Wallpaper
Washers
(like you’d use with nuts & bolts)
Watches
(broken, parts, etc)
Wire from Spiral Bound Notebooks
Wood Boxes, Containers
Wooden Nickels
(some places still give these away)
Zippers
(from clothing)

How's that for a list of things to be on the look-out for!!

Can you add any to the list?

Please do so and I'll add them to the list!

A bit later I'll be sharing some projects I've made using some the the items in the list to give you some ideas just how to use these gems.

Till then, have a wonderfully GREEN Earth Day!!!

First 100,000 visit Winner is.....

Sequoia Lynn!!!!!!

SequoiaLynn said...
Congrats on the BIG 100,000 WO HOOOOOOOOOO Love the wallpaper too!

Please send me your snail mail addy so I can get your goodies out to you :)

Don't fret if you didn't win today....there are still 3 regular days to win plus the giant goodie bag on Saturday!!! So keep posting and you might just be one of the lucky winners!!

And thanks everyone for helping me hit that mark!!

Fun Mail Day!!

Well I had a really fun mail day for a change!

I unexpectedly received a copy of the new Stampers Sampler Catch Up Issue! Turns out they used a Christmas Card and an altered Microscope Slide Mailer I made. :) So if you get a chance to check it out...lmk what you think!

What a nice surprise!

AND

a GI-NORMOUS thank you goes out to Cher!!!!

I received a very neat package from her stuffed with all sorts of goodies....everything from a bit of lace, some copper buttons, a copper charm, some copper paint (ahhh I do love my copper!!), some way cool pewter house stickers (never seen those before!!), some REALLY neat skinny tiles (that just screams cuff bracelet), bubble bath confetti and some yummy chocolate :) I've never had the Ghirardelli Pecan Pie before but it's DELISH!!!!

I don't know what I did to be so spoiled but...

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH Cher!!!!

It really made my day :)

((((((HUGS)))))))

Recycle II ~ Wallpaper!

I have been thinking ahead about this "recycling" thing for a while now trying to come up with unique and interesting options that most people don't think/talk about ~ I mean everyone is doing the "green" thing this week so I thought I'd go for something a bit "off the wall" today and let you in on a confession of mine....

I LOVE wallpaper!

The colors, textures, variety....it's just amazing and SOOOOOOOO useful!!

O.k. so that means I have to go out and buy some wallpaper?!?!?

NO!

RECYCLE it!!!

If you start asking around I'm sure there is someone you know that has bits of it left over from some home improvement project they had going on. There is an even better source for wallpaper though.....home improvement stores, designers, or wallpaper/blind stores! They have those GI-NORMOUS books full of coordinating wallpaper/border samples. When a company discontinues a line, changes styles or trends those books become useless and are often thrown away!!! (EEK!!!) Don't let that happen, go to any local store that sells wallpaper and put in your request for old books. You'd be surprised how receptive they are to giving them away instead of having to throw them away.

Now here are a few examples of why I love it so....the following are actual photos from one of the sample books I have. Normally they have 3-6 coordinating patterns for you to look at in each section. Sometimes these sections have multiples in a variety of colors - for example this pattern was ava. in blue, red, green and natural.

This section had 5 different wallpaper designs again all in coordinating colors.

And a couple more...

And these samples were from just one book!!!

I have another book that is very thick rich textured wallpaper samples. I love it because it's also got a shimmer finish to the designs. Way cool stuff!

O.k....so what can you do with it???

Well, how about die-cuts, cards, envelopes, gift bags, gift boxes, book marks, magnets, ATC backgrounds, frames, etc. You can stamp it, ink it, paint it, stitch it, punch holes in it, sew it, embellish with stickers, markers, glitter, fibers and ribbons, brads, eyelets and so much more!!! There are just all sorts of fun things you can make with it and here are some examples I came up with this afternoon....

So run don't walk to your nearest retailer that offers wallpaper and put your name on a list for their next obsolete, headed for the dump, ready to recycle sample book. I promise you won't have a lack of fun projects you can use it for.

AND...

WE HIT 100,000!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

That means some lucky person will be a winner tonite!!

I'll give you till 10:00pm EST to post at which time I'll draw today's winner.

Just a hint...today's prize might include some wallpaper to play with in addition to some other fun goodies I have in my stash ;)

Good Luck Everyone!!!!!

Remember...you can't win if you don't post!