Paper crafting is so much fun!

A friend of mine needed a banner for a high school reunion party. She found a sample on pinterest that she adored, and wanted something similar. She thought she'd find a banner kit at the local craft store. I told her I have all the supplies in my craft room, I would LOVE to create a banner for her. She was so relieved to hear that!
I asked her what her school colors were and what she wanted to the banner to say. Her school colors were orange and white, her mascot was the braves.


That weekend she posts a picture of the banner hanging in the venue of her class reunion! She was stoked that it came out so well. Here is a picture.

 I gave her a spool of white and a spool of orange ribbon, and decided to het her figure out how she wanted to hang it. I honestly thought she would hang the 1983 on a separate line, but it looks great! It was so easy! I had all the paper and ribbon on hand, and my cricut and sure-cuts-alot software did the rest! She had a great time at her reunion.

Frugal Storage tip: Storage of clear stamps!

How do you store your clear stamps? I have a penny-free way to store you stamps without spending a dime!
I purchased two new stamps.

 The clear plastic sleeve that each stamp comes in is the key. The glory of modesty stamp comes in the sleeve with a hang hole at the top, the free flight stamp does not. Both will work. Take the stamp and the thin cardboard sheet out of the wrapper. Grab a pair of scissors and cut off the hang hole above the crimp mark. This is the bottom of your pocket. 

Open the top of the sleeve, and cut off the fold to make the opening of the pocket. Slip your cardboard and stamp back into the pocket, and store them upright within easy reach and poof, you have a easy storage solution that did not cost a penny!

 I store mine in a little wooden box. I am quickly outgrowing it.  :) I love having them at arm's reach, and pulling them out of the sleeves helps to clean up quickly!

Featured Duo: Experimenting with embossing powders!

Hello,
     I was cleaning up my craft room last weekend, and took a good-hard look at all the embossing powders I have collected over the years, and realized I need to play with them on my next duo!

This card uses just white embossing powder on it. I used two distress inks on the background.

On this card, I used a shimmery embossing powder on the background. I was not sure if it would endure my blending pf ink on top of it, but to my surprise it did! I know the picture did not come out the best, but you can see the glittery embossing.

 Here is a picture of the duo together. Enjoy!

Featured: Organizing blending pads - follow-up!

Hello Everyone,
     I have several comments asking for dimensions and how-to's on my blending pad books. Click here for the first post. I have put together a few pictures to help you create your own!

Steps: I was given a few large pieces of black poster board from a teacher. I am not sure the thickness, but it was very rigid, not like science project poster board. Mine was thick enough that you cannot curl or bend it. I am sure you can find it in a craft store, any color will do, you will cover it with your favorite patterned paper anyway.

I cut the sheet down to 20 inches long, and 10 inches wide. The spine is  2 inches wide. I marked the spine with pencil from the left side at 9 inches and again at 11 inches.

With a ruler and a exact-o knife, I cut on each of the lines, but I DID NOT CUT all the way through. This creates a hinge. (I fortified the cuts with clear packing tape because I knew the cardboard will be weak since I cut almost all the way through.) Your pencil marks are now on the outside.

For my stampin' up book, because there are so many colors, I needed to add a page in the center on the spine. I took another piece of poster board and cut it 8 3/4 by 10 inches. I scored it 3/4 inches in on the left to make a hinge again and taped it onto the spine as seen below. I used clear packing tape on both sides. This page is NEVER coming loose!!  (lol)

I decorated the outside first with some designer paper from SU! and wrapped the paper around the edges into the inside of the book. Once the outside was finished I used some sparkly silver paper on the left inside, right inside and a smaller piece for the spine. 

 I am sure you think the ink will transfer from one pad to another, honestly, the spine is wide enough they don't even touch each other. I have not had an issue. I really love this project. I don't dread searching for the correct pad anymore, and I don't have to worry about smearing the wrong color on my current card. It also shows me which colors I use the most, and which colors I shy away from. I left space on the last page for additional colors and growth! I have used a label maker to add additional colors. I hope this has helped! Enjoy, feel free to ask me any questions, I will be sure to answer you!

Featured: Duo and Challenge

Happy 3rd of July!
     I cannot believe the fourth of July is almost here! That means I have been work free for almost a month already! WOW! the time is a-flyin'.



I wanted to use my two new distress pads I purchased. The colors are not new, but they are NEW to me and my collection. I am proud to add faded Jeans and Salty Ocean. They work perfectly together too!











I wanted to complete one challenge today with my new inks, so I joined Freshly Made Sketches #93. It was so straight forward and up my alley, I had to play!
















I had so much fun creating the first one, I turned it into a duo! The second card is slightly different, but the two distress inks are the same. Thanks for dropping in, I LOVE all the comments, keep 'em coming! :)