This, That and More!

Oh my, it’s been a wild weekend!! Got lots of great things done… Made some real progress on the room. Bob (y-ds) helped me finish clean out oldest sons room, took down all the posters, photos, awards, etc. from the walls, clean the walls and then we painted the room twice with primer. YEAH...no more JD colors :)

NOW, I have a thing or two to say about Kilz primer… It “Says” it’s a one coat primer…that’s a lie! I did everything the can said and I still had to paint it twice L Even after painting it 2x I can still see some of the green coming through. I talked to the paint guy today and he said that with two coats of primer and 1 or 2 coats of finish paint I shouldn’t be able to see it anymore. I sure hope not…that’s a lot of painting!
Wall color…after we painted the room with the primer we were surprised at how bright it made the room not to mention how much bigger it looked! SOOOO, I decided to go with Ultra White ~ the paint guy showed me the diff. and it’s amazing how much brighter the ultra white is compared to just plain old white.

I also changed my mind about the floor. I was going to tile the floor using the same stuff that’s in my living/kitchen/hall but I saw a decorating show and they painted the floor!! So yep, you guessed it ~ that’s what I’m going to do! I already have the paint ~ it’s the bottom one ~ Neptune Blue. (bottom color) Love it! I’m also going to have blue shelves and other blue accents in the room along with the existing wood (molding & cabinets).

I was thinking about dry ragging the cabinets with white and or blue but not sure on that yet.
Didn’t get much done craft wise this weekend other than finishing up another square card

I do have some other goodies to share though ~

Card Sketch 20060619
Phinny & Lynn made some really awesome cards using this sketch ~ isn’t it fun to see how people take a sketch and make it their own! I just love it!!
Phinny ~
http://phourphinny.blogspot.com/2009/06/ink-stains-card-sketch_22.html
and
SequoiaLynn’s
http://sequoialynnsstudio.blogspot.com/2009/06/cards-from-sketches.html
Thanks ladies for sharing your creations!!
Thermal Fax Paper ~
If you remember a few weeks ago I shared some creations using Thermal Fax paper…Odeen e-mailed to tell me that she had been playing with her fax paper as well….
A funny thing happened about a week ago. My son asked what I could to get the fax paper to feed properly in my very old fax machine, so I put in a new roll. The old one had been in there several years, and I thought it was because it was near the end of the roll that it wouldn't work properly. Needless to say there was another problem with the rubber roll that had hardened over time that caused the misfeed. In short, I couldn't see throwing the old paper and roll out, so decided to experiment with it. I got out my Hotmarks and used one of the tips to draw designs on the paper. Then I colored in the images with an ink dauber. It worked. I used the Hotmarks tool to draw with, because I think it is a lower temp than a wood burning tool and wouldn't burn the paper.
Hotmarks has many shapes and letters that could be stamped on the paper, and I was intending to use them, but low and behold you came up with a different slant on things.
Joseph’s Coat Technique
Eiglas hadn’t used this technique in years but after she saw it again here she decided to give it another go. Be sure to check out her results.

http://eiglas.blogspot.com/2009/06/resist-technique-acetate-card.html
One last thing…
I know this has nothing at all to do with crafty-ness or anything but I just had to share this fun photo…

We have chickens on our farm and in addition to the regular size chickens Bob (youngest ds) has a couple banty chickens which are also laying eggs. We found this itty-bitty egg Saturday evening ~ it’s sitting beside a regular sized chicken egg so you can see JUST how small it really is. Isn’t that just too funny! Bob ate it for breakfast Sunday a.m. ~ it ended up being about the size of a thumb print – LOL!!
Well, I guess that’s all for today.
Hope you’ve got a wonderful week ahead of you!

Ink Stained Sketch 20090626

It's Friday!!!

Along with it being the start of the weekend it's also Ink Stained Sketch Friday :)

Today's sketch is something I've been wanting to do for a while now and I'm finally getting around to it.

Here is the sketch...

Ink Stained Sketch

20090626

Now I know what you're thinking...BORING...NO ~ don't cause there is so many fun things to do with the rectangle.

ORIGINALLY I had in mind the main image could be a removable ATC card!! Sort of a card and little gift in one.

BUT then I was thinking why stop at an ATC, you could make that area a fun little envelope and tuck all SORTS of fun things in it...a bit of jewelry, a couple of tea bags, a coffee sampler... the list could go on and on.

THEN I thought maybe someone might like to add a fun little puzzle ~ you know the tiny ones that come in a box...you could assemble the puzzle and wrap it in saran wrap then adhere it (temporarily) to the card face so it could be removed & played with...perfect for a childs card!

OR you could hunt around and find one of those plastic or metal mini frames for this area as a gift for family or friends!

Also, a bit about sentiments...so many people think you have to use the standard greeting card sentiments but I love to use Quotes or little sayings on cards. I know some of you know I have list after list of quotes, sentiments and proverbs here but just in case you didn't know there are loads of them for many occassions which I will continue to add to as I have more time.

So I hope you all decide to give this sketch a try and if you do, remember to post a link or send me a scan and I'll post it here :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Lovely E-Mail Today....

I hope everyone is surviving this heat o.k...It's been a real stinker here today ~ in the 90's before adding in the humidity factor. Too hot to think about! I can't imagine how miserable it is for the areas of the country where the temps are even higher...I just hope they don't have the humidity to go along with it.

I had planned on having a few more of those fun cards to share with you but I didn't feel real well this a.m. then I had company this evening (my grandma came over) so no craft time today. I did get started cleaning Ben's room (my future room) again. When we initially cleaned & sorted he just threw everything in boxes with no rhyme or reason. So I went through and sorted things out, packed all the books together, wrapped all the glass items and his FFA plaques, etc. It took almost 3 hours but it's finished! I just need someone to be home long enough to carry the boxes to the shed for me. I'm a good packer so they are heavy ;) LOL!!

I do have something that I wanted to share with you today...it's an e-mail I got from an Ink Stains reader. I'm not posting her name but her story touched me so ~ it brought tears to my eyes (good ones of course) as I read it. I thought I'd share it with you all....I hope you will enjoy her little tale as much as I did!

Here is the postcard she is referring to btw...

Hi Roni,

I'm 60 years old and have long wanted the answer to a memory of mine. When I was about 6 years old my Dad and I went on a mini vacation together. Mom stayed home with my 3 younger siblings.

We lived in Las Cruses NM at the time and my Dad and I traveled north up to Albuquerque and beyond. One thing that made a big impression on me was a visit to a river gorge. I remember we got in "cages" and rode down the side of the cliff to the river below. If you looked up you could see a bridge that crossed the gorge.

Well, as the years passed, I could still remember the trip and those cages down the cliff but I never did ask my Dad where we had been. A few years ago my husband and I visited the four corners area and I asked a few people where this river & bridge might be. Nobody seemed to have the correct answer.

When I was checking your blog a few weeks ago THERE THEY WERE... THE CAGES! They were in one of your old post cards and they are at Royal Gorge in Colorado. I was trilled to see this. Now I know where I was with my Dad.I went to the web site for Royal Gorge and the cages are still operating, taking people to the bottom of the gorge.

I love your blog and tutorials. You do a wonderful job of demonstrating techniques and comparing products. Congratulations on your forthcoming book. And thanks so much for posting that post card!

It still gives me goosebumps as I read through it again...amazing how something as simple as a postcard can touch a person's life.

Hope each and every one of you has a wonderful day!!!

Hip to be Square Card

Half Way!!!

Whew, half way through the week and today was a kicker...I put together our new computer armoire today ~ you have to practically stand on your head for some of this stuff! Our computer is going in the kitchen when I move into Ben's room so Mom and Dad got us the armoire to put it in...I was just going to put it on a desk we had but this is much nicer....Thanks Mom & Dad :) Anyway, it's together and I'll get a pic of it soon. I like how it looks. Once we get the freezer out of our kitchen (going into the garage) I will be able to rearrange it so it doesn't look all cramped but it will be cool ~ literally. The room we have it in currently is very hot in the summer and I think that's why the comp. has been acting weird for a while now which is why I haven't been on as much as I normally am. Once we get it into the cooler part of the house I'm hoping it will do the trick.

SOOOOO, do you get tired of rectangle cards? Me too...I like square cards but they can be boring after a while as well. Today I have a square card that is anything BUT boring! It's colorful, interactive and very easy to make...and no math ~ I've done it all for you ;) LOL!!

Let's get started....

Hip to be Square Card

Supplies:

Cardstock

Pattern Paper

Trimmer

Bone Folder

Ink

Stamps

Adhesive

A bit about the card before we begin. The example I made today is a 6" card but you don't have to stick with that size. If you need/want a smaller or larger sized card simply add or subtract an inch, two, or three... You can make this card any size you need by substituting the whole number (leaving the fractions the same) to create virtually any size card as long as you can find paper large enough to make it!

Also, I used 2 different colors of cardstock for the card base. This isn't necessary but it does make the finished card more colorful :) Totally up to you!

Instructions:

1. Cut 1 Light Blue piece of cardstock 6" x 12"

Cut 1 Dark Blue piece of cardstock 6" x 12"

2. Score & Fold both pieces of cardstock in the center.

3. Adhere the dark blue cs to the light blue cs. Over lap the two at the center folds as shown...giving you 3 - 6" sections to your card. (Remember this could be 3 - 5" sections, 3 - 2" sections, etc. depending on the desired finished card size.)

4. Score 2 diagonal lines on both of the outside flaps. These score lines should both be going in the same direction.

Your card should now look like this....

5. You will notice I have written "fold back" on the left upper and right lower triangles in the above photo. At this time, do just that...fold both of these triangles back.

Your card will now be "closed". At this point, I like to run the bone folder over both score marks a few times while it is closed. This creates a "Memory" helping the card lay flat once finished.

6. Time to start decorating.... We'll begin with the front.

Cut the following:

1 - 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" (red cardstock)

1 - 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" (pattern paper)

7. Now cut each of these two squares of paper into triangles as shown...

8. Glue the pattern paper to the cardstock and affix one to each of the triangles forming the card front.

9. Cut the following:

1 - 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" (red cardstock)

1 - 4" x 4" (white cardstock)

Stamp desired image and/or text on the white cardstock. Adhere the stamped piece of cardstock to the 2nd panel.

10. Apply adhesive to one corner of this stamped panel as shown....

If you apply adhesive to all 4 sides your card won't open!

11. Affix the stamped panel to the card front.

Your card is ready to use as is or if desired you may wish to add a bit of extra zing to the inside as well with step #12.

12. (Optional) -

Cut the following:

1 - 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" (pattern paper)

1 - 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" (red cardstock)

1 - 5" x 5" (white cardstock)

Adhere all layers together ~ stamp on the white cardstock if desired. Adhere to the center of the card.

And there you go....

You of course can embellish as desired but your card is done!

Tomorrow I'll be back with a few additional examples in a variety of sizes to demonstrate how versatile this card really is :)

Soar GlueFoil Tag

Well, how's your week going so far?!?!? I hope very well... Still stinkin hot here and I didn't get to start on the room today but the cable guy did show up on time and we can now move the computer to it's new home!! Things are happening, just not as fast as I want them to ~ I'm just a bit excited - can you tell - LOL!!

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the card sketches! Someone asked about the dress stamp on the Sew Happy card ~ it's by "Dimensions - Clear on Clear" stamps. They are a set of acrlic stamps I found at JoAnn's...there were like 20 stamps in one package. HTH :)

I didn't get to work on the postcard projects today so I wanted to share a tag I made using Aluminum GlueFoil and Archival Inks.

Soar

The GlueFoil is great, since it already has adhesive on the back it can be glued right to your project or to other materials.

Supplies:

Glue Foil

Fun Foam (sheets)

Tag Template

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Archival Ink

Maya Road Sheer Bird

Double Stick Foam Tape

Fibers

Stamps (alpha - Wordsworth & swirls - Fancy Pants)

Instructions:

1. Iron the GlueFoil to the fun foam.

2. Trace the tag template on the GlueFoil and trim.

3. Place the tag in the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and press (either with a machine or rolling pin). The great thing about ironing the GF to the fun foam is the foam with hold it's shape after being embossed so no worries about smooshing the embossed area back down which would happen if you just embossed the metal.

4. Rub the green archival ink over the embossed area of the tag.

5. Stamp swirls on the back of the bird and "soar" on the front of the bird.

6. Attach the bird to the tag and add fibers!

Simple as that...

you can now add the tag to a card, scrapbook page, gift bag, etc.

It makes a flashy addition to any project you might have waiting in the wings :)

Happy Inking Friends!!

Ink Stained Sketch 20090619 Examples

Hi Friends...

I hope you had a wonderfully inky weekend! Garage sale ended up being a bust mostly due to the weather but had a good time hanging out with Mom so it wasn't all bad.

I had a few people ask about the postcards...what to do with them once they had them saved. Well, a bit later this week (tomorrow if I get on the ball) I will be sharing a few examples of some things you can do with postcards or collage images in general. So if you love the images but are stumped with what to do with them be sure and tune in!

I wanted to let a few people know that their goodies are finally in the mail. I've been swamped lately trying to get everything done that needs to be and mailing kept falling to the bottom of the list. Anyway, Jamie, Liz ~your bracelets are on their way; Jeanie & Tammy ~ same for the GlueFoil...you should have it soon and finally Val ~ Your acrylic pieces & collage images are in the mail! Except for a few goodies that I don't have addies for everything should be taken care of. It's nice to not have that weighing on my mind.

The room update...well, it's still in limbo. Took off basically most of last week for Garage Sale 2.0. I could have started taping off wood work today BUT, my son has already semi trashed his room again ~ he is SUCH a slob!!!! He has to pick up his clothes before I can move his bed, dresser, desk, etc to the center of the room before I can start. I asked him nicely twice to pick it all up this weekend w/o success (how do you get an almost 21yr old male of the species to actually do what you ask????) so I have decided that if it's not done tonite I am going to take the whole pile and put them in his cloths "shed". He'll have to run around naked until he actually does his laundry...not my problem ;) I know, I'm a mean mom...

So tomorrow one way or the other I'm taping off then painting on the primer/sealer. I'm hoping to go get the paint & extra tiles on Wed if all goes well!

Enough of that who ha...

Today I have a few card examples made with last weeks Ink Stained Sketch 20090619 to share with you! I really had fun making these anyway, here you go ~

Sew Happy

This card was a challenge for me...not because of any technique or stamping or anything. It was hard because I actually left some "white space"!!! I can't tell you how difficult that is for me. It almost pains me to leave an area of a card, scrapbook lay-out, etc. with an empty space. I have a terrible urge to fill it up with SOMETHING... LOL!!! Anyway, I really liked the pattern paper in the lower right so I purposely left it blank.

U R Beautiful

Ahhh, look at all that bling ;) LOL!! Gotta love them Stickles!

Hello Friend

This one flip-flops where the stamped image is but I like it. I think it works well with the rest of the card.

So there you go...a bit of inspiration to get you in the creative mood. Remember if you end up using the sketch before this Friday, please feel free to send me a photo or link to your card and I'll post it here on Thursday :)

Happy Monday All!!

Postcards 20090621

HAPPY SUMMER

and

HAPPY DAD'S DAY

(just in case there are any Dad's out there lurking around)

I hope you've all had a great weekend...mine was so so...we had not such great weather for Garage Sale 2.0 so we didn't do as well but thankfully EVERYTHING is gone and I had a good time hanging out with Mom so it was worth it :)

It's hotter than blue blazes here today...guess it's appropriate since it's the first official day of Summer.

To celebrate I have some great vintage/retro Summer themed postcards. I hope you enjoy them!

As always, you can download them and make anything you like, I just ask that you don't compile them to sell as a collage sheet.

"Just the Right Temperature in Florida"

Bryce Canyon

Driveway to Club House

Miami Jockey Club, Hialeah, Fla.

"Algarve- Portugal"

Orange Harvest

Along Lake Erie's Shore

Water Ballet at

Beautiful Florida Cypress Gardens

Awesome aren't they?

I just love the bathing suits and the amazing colors.

Hope you can find a use for them!!

Have a great evening ~ see ya tomorrow!!

Ink Stained Sketch 20090619

Good Morning!

I hope you're all having a great day so far...it's Friday right so it's bound to be a good day :)

Here is today's Ink Stained Sketch...

It's made up of 4 distinct quadrants...The largest being an area along the left hand side for a sentiment. This is a great way to use those giant alpha stamps or die-cuts that have been gathering dust... A simple one or two word sentiment sometimes makes the boldest statements. Next we have a smaller area under the sentiment ~ this can be 3 tiny stamped images, brads, gemstones, buttons, you name it. The right hand side of the card has a smaller are on the top for the main stamped image ~ I left the lower section empty because I thought it might be cool to see what you could come up with ~ I envision pattern paper or possibly a stamped background or maybe even a bit of ephemera.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll create something spectacular with it!

Have a super weekend everyone!!!

Ink Stained Sketch Results 20090612

Well, I didn't get my cards done today ~ we moved all of the garage sale left overs and new items to my Mom's house today and then spent the rest of the day setting up getting ready for tomorrow....I'm wiped out!

BUT, I do have some great cards to share ~ Phinny & Smullis both made cards using the sketch :)

Phinny's Fabulous Card

She used some Glimmer Mists and some way cool QK letters ;) to make this card!

And

Smullis made a Father's Day card using the sketch plus the Parched Pigments technique which can be seen on her blog ~ Dragonfly Dreams!

Thanks so very much ladies for sharing your creations with us all!!

Tomorrow I'll have the new Ink Stained Sketch to share ~ hope you all give it a try. Remember if you do and you'd like to share the results with us all, just send me a link or a scan and I'll post it next week!

Crossing my fingers so we'll have good weather...they are calling for some pretty severe storms Fri. night ~ while our sale is in a partially finished building (no roof but it has a tarp) I'm worried because the weather people are talking about high winds, hail or worse! EEK!! Anyway, I'll try to post something Saturday after the sale is over if nothing more to let you all know how it went :)

Talk to you all later and hope you have a great weekend!!

Thermal Fax Paper Examples

As promised, here are a few examples of the thermal fax/stamping technique papers in action!

BUT FIRST...

Another IDEA to use with the Fax Paper!!!

Oh I happened to think of something this afternoon while I was working on these cards and things...ya know if you have a photograph type stamp (any stamp will work but the photo types would be awesome) you could stamp with the clear embossing ink and make your very own negative! After it's heated the image/background colors will be the reverse of a black and white picture...how cool is that!!! I didn't have time to give it a try tonite but I think it would be awesome on lots of different applications.

Just another fun technique to try!

Live, Love, Laugh

(stamped using clear embossing ink)

The Face...

(paper heated lightly)

Diva

(stamped & embossed)

Rose

(background ~ crumbled, inked & heated, rose ~ stamped & embossed)

Well what do you think???

Pretty awesome huh?

As promised, I have some paper to share so at random I'll choose 5 people to receive 5 sheets of this way cool fax paper so you can try your hand at it as well.

You can comment on this or any of the other 2 posts related to this (Mystery Technique #2 or Mystery Technique #2 Revealed) or on this post and you'll be entered to win!

You have until 6-24 to post :)

Good Luck Everyone!!

BTW, someone reminded me I forgot to draw a winner for the Parched Pigments give-a-way!!!

Sorry about that! I will do that tomorrow and add it to the card examples from last week's card sketch. And if you make a card, scrapbook layout, atc or anything else using the sketch, be sure and send me a link to the card or send me a good scan of it and I'll add it to my post tomorrow!

Hope you all have a wonderful evening!!!

Mystery Technique #2 Revealed!!

Oh this was so much fun, I had lots of people post or e-mail their guesses and I have finally stumped you. It was a bit sneaky in a way but the top 2 guesses were Bleach Stamping or Soot Stamping (or some form there of) BUT neither was correct!

This is what I like to call....

Thermal Fax Paper Magic!

YES, it's all achieved by heating the paper!

I was cleaning and putting stuff in our supply file cabinet drawer when I noticed I still had a partial roll of thermal fax paper from our old fax machine ~ B*I*N*G*O!!!! I instantly had to sit down and start playing. I thought to myself ~ ya know, if you can add heat to print words then you can add heat (via a heat tool) and it *should* work for craftiness...

I was right ~ it does work!!!!

Everything is done with a few simple ingredients...some sort of ink (clear embossing or light colors work best), stamps, heat gun and of course the thermal paper!

If you don't have an old roll laying around it is very cheap ~ you can find it at any office store for just a couple dollars a roll. I'm not sure but there is usually 100+ feet on each roll so enough to last you a LONG time :) If you frequent Goodwill or other second hand/discount stores you can usually find a roll or two there as well. I always passed it by...till now ;) LOL!!

To just get some cool color, simply place the thermal fax paper on your work surface and add very little heat.

Trust me on this ~ it doesn't take much heat to activate it. Just a bit will do the trick for a cool looking background paper....Remember to keep the heat gun 6"+ from the paper and never stop moving.

The technique that most everyone commented on was the crackle image. For this you crumble the paper...

Smooth it out and add your ink to the high spots...

and heat...

by varying the color and amount of time you heat the paper you'll get a variety of great looking results!

The next technique is stamping with clear embossing ink ~ simply stamp

and heat....

for awesome snow white results...

If you prefer, you can add a bit of embossing powder...

for a sooty, shimmery image!

You could also stamp with plain old dye inks....

for another take on it...

NOW, the coolest thing is if you heat the paper by accident (ahem, don't ask how I know - lol) before you have a chance to stamp on it,

it still works ~ now your finished image won't be as white as the image you stamp before heating but it is a nice tranquil dove grey image after you heat it a second time.

This also works with dye inks! Again, a darker image than a stamp first image but still pretty cool.

So, there you have Mystery Technique #2...

Tomorrow I'll be back with a few examples putting Thermal Fax Paper Magic to use as well as some paper to give away so you can try it too!