Some News

Yesterday was the end of my term with the Whimsical Wednesday Challenge Blog.
I was asked to stay on but for personal reasons I am unable to commit indefinitely. Rather than take that slot & quit midway I thought it appropriate to allow someone else who can devote the time and attention it requires.
The entire Whimsical team has been a great pleasure to work with.
They are so gifted and generate gem after gem.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to have been on that team.
They are a great bunch.
I hope you continue to support them & tune in.

*WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE* Cards

Hello Bloggers & Welcome to Whimsical Wednesday Challenge Day!

This week both card teams have come together for our challenge to make get well cards for a very special little boy. Angelo, who is the grandson of Margie from Bella Bug Creations, is going through a very difficult time right now. He underwent brain surgery last week and will begin chemotherapy next week. You can read more about Angelo HERE. We hope that you will all join us and make a card for Angelo too.

Below is my GATE FOLD card for Angelo:
Front

Inside

Back


***Supplies Used***
Neutral Cardstock-Nicole (Michael's)
Patterned Paper-Basic Grey (Phoebe-Coit Tower)
Chipboard & regular Stickers - K& Co. Kazoo Kids
Letter Stickers-Mrs. Grossman's & Adornit-Carolee's Creations
Black Ink Marker-Fine point for Stitching
Bubble Letter A-In my stash
Black Pearls-Queen & Co.
Train & Track Die Cuts-Laser Cut-Local Scrap Store
Red Brads-In my stash
Inside Sentiment-Done on the computer using Comic Sans Font in Black

Don't forget you can click on my title above & it will take you right to the Whimsical Wednesday blog where you can see what prizes are up for grabs as well as the sneak peeks of the design team for this week's challenge.

"TOOL TIME TUESDAY" Fringe Scissors

HI Bloggers!

Today's tool is brought to you by: Martha Stewart.

It's her: FRINGE SCISSORS!


Don't they look cool?
You can use them for so many applications.
They are as simple to use as a regular pair of scissors.
They range anywhere from $9.99-$12.99.
They are sold at Michael's & A.C. Moore as well as on many online retailers.
Check them out in action below:

Hope you enjoyed today's segment.
Have a good day.

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK (#95) Button Storage

Hey There Bloggers!
Thank you for tuning in today.

For today's tip I thought you might like to hear of a way to store your buttons by color.

About a year ago I purchased BALL canning glass containers. These are great because they have the removable insert which allows you to store the buttons in 2 ways.



You can use the container without the insert and just place the rim around the jar. This will allow you to stick your hand right in the jar when you need to select your buttons. Because the jars are glass you can see the colors immediately & reach right in and grab what you want.




Or, if you want to keep them secured so nothing spills out, you can just use the insert & stack your jars. They are reasonably priced and can be found at Target, Wal-mart & even some local grocery stores. The average price is $4.99 for a pack of 4 which I found very reasonable.

AN AWARD & PAYING IT FORWARD...yes again!

Hello Fellow Bloggers!


I am finally getting around to posting the sweet blog award given to me by 2 dear bloggers.

Sincere thanks goes out to Tracey @ Garden of Grace & Charlotte @ A Little Bit of Detail! These crafters are both extremely talented & caring. If you have not visited their blogs, please do so. You will be inspired!

Part of receiving these awards includes 3 things:
1)thanking those who gave it to you
2)paying it forward to 8 friends
3)sharing 7 things about yourself

I will of course share it & even tell some things but when I share it I will not expect anything in return. As a recipient, you can share it with as many blog friends as you would like. If you want to share 7 things please feel free to do so but if not, it is okay with me.
As happy and flattered as I am to receive these awards I want those whom I share it with to enjoy it also without feeling obligated to follow the "rules". I don't know who made up the rules and I am not upset about them. I just like the idea of giving freely. I hope this does not offend anyone, it is not my intention.

Here are my 8 blog friends, they are all different but creative, artful souls who create art from the heart:

Nikki @ Bond Girl Creations
Stephanie @ Always Crafting
Janet @ Life Full of Sunflowers
Kelly @ Snipits of Kelly
Kim @ My Crafting Creations
Vivi @ Vivi En Papel
Pinkladibug @ Pinkladibug
PVCreations 2010 @ PVCreations 2010

My 7 Things:(Warning...some may have been shared before)
1- I am bilingual
2- I have the useless "talent" of tying a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue.
3- I have an extreme fear of falling from high places but no fear of heights or flying.
4- I once sang for a gubernatorial candidate.
5- I have the fear of public speaking yet held several jobs that required it and YES I did it.
6- I was in 4 singing groups.
7- I still expect to learn how to play the piano someday. It is on my bucket list.

Again, thank you to those who bestowed the lovely award, it means so much. Thanks to all my followers & guests.
You make this fun and worthwhile.
As always...crafty best wishes!

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND-Pinterest

Happy Friday Bloggers!

Today's find is the website: PINTEREST!

This is a fabulous site where you can catalog the things you like, organize your ideas, interact with other creative minds and just go crazy. It is like a pin-up board where you use tacks to pin up your findings but you do on the computer instead.

If it may seem like I am struggling to describe it, it's because I have never seen anything like it.
You just have to see it for yourself.

Click HERE to go there & check it out.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

*WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE*

It's Whimsical Wednesday Challenge Day again...
Head over to the blog by clicking on my title bar to see the fun challenge in store for this week.

"TOOL TIME TUESDAY" Magnetic Cutting Mat

Hi There!
Thanks for tuning in to Tool Time Tuesday.
Today's tool is brought to you by: We R Memory Keepers.
It's the Magnetic Cutting Mat!
This 16"x20" mat is double-sided & self healing. It comes with a useful 18" magnetic ruler as well as magnetic posts.
Check out the video below:


You can purchase it HERE!

It's a tool that once you have in your stash you will find all kinds of uses for.

Hope you enjoyed it.
Have a great day.

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK (#94) Storage for Small Craftyt Items

Good Day Bloggers!

Today's tip is designed to help you coral together your small embellishments like tiny beads, eyelets & brads.

If you want to keep some close by but in separate containers try using a pill box. You know the ones that you can sometimes get from your Dr.'s office for free. They also carry them at the dollar store.
They look like this:



These containers are great because they are portable & come in different sizes & styles too. You can easily make a label to cover the day of the week or am/pm writing on the boxes and adhere them with a very strong adhesive like E6000 or glossy accents. You can customize them to suit not only what you are storing inside but to match your craft room decor. They can easily fit into a basket, a drawer, a tray or a tote.

Hope you feel inspired to give this a try.
Have a wonderful week!

A TRIBUTE TO ALL FATHERS!

Happy Father's Day to all the crafting & non-crafting dads out there!

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it...
Dad

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND-Epson Stylus R1900 Photo Printer

Today's find is the EPSON STYLUS R1900 PHOTO PRINTER!


This printer has all the bells and whistles any crafter would want and the biggest being it can print 12x12 digital layouts.
The quality of printing performance from this machine is outstanding.

Check out this informational video:



It is pricey, like $500 & up depending on the retailer but we crafters can dream, can't we?

*WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE* Grandma's Recipe Mini Album

Hi Bloggers!

It's time for Challenge #11 with the Whimsical Wednesday Challenge Blog that I am so lucky to be a part of.


This week at Whimsical Wednesday's we are having a color challenge and have a photo for inspiration. We all had to use the colors Yellow and Red and then we could chose another color/colors from the photo on our card/project.

That makes my heart feel super happy.

Check out the inspiration photo...


So for my design team project I decided to make a recipe book.

The pages are all decorated just waiting for my grandma to hand-write her favorite recipes & for me to insert photos of those that I conjure up along with photos of grandma. I cannot wait to fill it up.
My grandma is in her 80's so I may not get too many recipes in there but we will see. She is a great sport & quite a sweetie. I have not told her of my idea yet so I will just have to give you a status report when I chat with her.

I used white paper so the colors could pop like in the inspiration photo but they aren't coming across as well as they do live.
I used Tim Holtz-Peeled Paint distress ink to ink all the edges of the pages in the inspiration photo green & there are touches of the red & yellow on almost every page, although the yellow is reading like an orange because it is a checkerboard orange & yellow mix. Sorry about that bloggers.

So without further ado...here's my project for this week's Whimsical Wednesday Challenge Blog:







Now click on my title bar above & it will take you right over to the Whimsical Wednesday Challenge Blog where you can see the challenge information, view design team member sneak peeks & see the prize or prizes up for grabs. The sponsor/sponsors of the prizes are usually listed as well. We have terrific sponsors who are quite generous!

Can't wait to see what you come up with for this utterly fantastic color challenge.

***Supplies Used***
White Cardstock by Bazzill
Color Cardstock by Cloud 9-Resort Collection
All Die Cuts from the Sweet Life by Colorbok
EK Success-Lattice Punch
Peeled Paint Distress Ink
All ribbon (orange, red, white,green) Michael's
Pots,rolling pins & Pans Brads-Eyelet Outlet
Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge for Grandma's Recipe title
O'Wire from Bind It All
Bling-Queen & Co.
Assorted Brads-In my stash
Lace-Antique Store Stash
Pasta canisters, pot holders, spice racks & pizza stickers by Jolee
2-Glassine Bags-Local Scrap Store

"TOOL TIME TUESDAY" Dies Direct Dies

Hi!

Today's tool segment hightlights dies brought to you by: DIES DIRECT.

They are factory direct, American made thin metal dies for tabletop paper crafting machines like the Cuttlebug, Sizzix, Epic & Wizard. Dies Direct also makes custom dies with embossing features, embossing plates, embossing pads and custom dies for borders and templates.

Pictured here are some of their latest releases:



Aren't they just so pretty?

They are reasonably priced and can be found HERE! Great website with video reviews of the Direct Dies products.

Sometimes it is hard to remember that these pretties are tools. They are investment pieces which can be used for years to come.

I love that they are made in the USA so you know you are getting a great quality product while keeping jobs in the U.S.

Have a good day!

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK (#93) RANGER INKS

Good Day Bloggers!

Today's tip is for all crafters who use RANGER INKS. (And who of us doesn't?)

Did you know that Ranger has PDF label sheets on their website that you can print off and use to keep track of your Ranger Inks?

These are wonderful to keep you organized and to help you keep inventory of your stock. And BONUS...They have color swatch charts as well. Who couldn't use that? Truly helpful in so many ways. They are for use with any 1 3/4" x 1/2" label like Avery or any other brand as long as it is that size.

Click HERE to go there & get yours.

Did I mention they were FREE?

So head on over & print yours today!

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND-Hot Glue Gun Holder

Hey There!
Thanks for stopping in today to check out the Fabulous Friday Find.

Today's find is a HOT GLUE GUN HOLDER by the wonderful people of HURCRAFT-Quality Craft Furnishings.



This simple yet useful gadget can be found HERE for only $6.99

The HurCraft folks make fine furniture geared towards all of your crafting needs. I am sure that once you check out their site you will find other fabulous products that will only serve to make your crafting experience even more enjoyable. They help keep you organized & safe by providing a place for your essentials.

That is all for this week, tune in next time.
Have a great weekend!

*WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE*

It's Wednesday Bloggers & you know what that means...

Time for you to head over to the Whimsical Wednesday Challenge Blog to find out what the challenge of the week is.

As usual there are always great prizes up for grabs and you cannot beat the inspiration from the great design team.

Click on my title & it will take you there.

Have a great rest of the week!

"TOOL TIME TUESDAY" Kodak Easy Share Mini Camera

Hi Bloggers!

Today's tool is brought to you by the fabulous folks at Kodak.
It's the Kodak Easy Share Mini Camera!




Check out the video below:



This little gem is barely the size of a credit card but the petite little powerhouse features a self-portrait mirror and wide-angle lens. Framing group shots of you and your friends is a breeze. Just press to impress. It takes great HD quality photos, it allows you to capture, edit & share video and it has a face recognition feature.

You can find it on Amazon, Kodak's website & other fine retailers online & in brick and mortar stores.

I have seen a variety of prices ranging from $71.95-$100.

That is it for this segment.
Have a great day.

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK (#92) Command Hooks to the Rescue

Hello & thanks for stopping by today.

Today's tip attempts to help you with storage ...yet again.

I have been saying this for years now but my craft space is always getting some kind of organizational overhaul.

Something I discovered that is helpful with lightweight products that require hanging (like our Cricut mats and Nestabilities dies) is a product from 3M. The product I am referring to is their line of Command Hooks.

They look like this:





These are great because they come off the wall easily when you are ready to remove them, they are not expensive and there are many options available like white, clear, wire, silver & even decorative styles.

You can find them HERE

I used a medium hook to hold 2 Cricut mats & it has worked perfectly so far.
I hope you guys give it a try.
If you do, drop me a line & let me know if it worked for you.

Have a great week.

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND-Wood Veneer Pieces

Hello there bloggers!

Today's find is brought to you by : STUDIO CALICO.
It's their fantastic newest product called wood veneers!

They come in a variety of shapes like buttons, hearts & butterflies which happen to be my favorite.
Check them out:


These would look great on anything!
You can use them on cards, home decor, scrapbook pages and anything else you could think of. They are inkable, paintable, sticklesable...not really all words to all people but to you crafty people...you know what I mean. You can use lots of mediums on these precious embellishments.

You can find them HERE and HERE.
Prices look like they vary depending on retailer but anywhere from $3.75-$4.50 has been the norm that I have seen. There are other retailers carrying these online as well. I wanted to provide you links to at least 2 to start.

Hope you like these as much as I do.

Have a fabulous weekend!

*THE WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE BLOG *

IT'S WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE DAY!

VISIT THE BLOG BY CLICKING ON MY TITLE BAR. IT WILL TAKE YOU RIGHT OVER. YOU WILL SEE WHAT THE CHALLENGE FOR THIS WEEK IS ALONG WITH SNEAK PEEKS AND INFORMATION ABOUT PRIZES UP FOR GRABS.

HOPE YOU JOIN US!
THEN YOU WILL KNOW WHAT ALL THE WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE BLOG BUZZ IS ABOUT!

THIS BLOG IS FUN, INNOVATIVE & FILLED WITH TALENTED DESIGN TEAM MEMBERS AND PARTICIPANTS. YOU GET TO MEET LOTS OF FANTASTIC CRAFTERS ALONG THE WAY.