FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND-SCAN DIGITAL.COM

Hey There! Thanks for tuning in for today's find.

I chose the website: scandigital.com as today's find because it offers a plethora of incredible services to help you with your archival needs.

They provide photo, album, slide & negative scanning services. They also provide conversion services where they can digitize your projection slides from back in the day. They also do film & video transfers as well.

If anyone out there needs this service, this website is the place for you.

Their website has much more detailed information and if you need to speak with someone they provide telephone consultations or you can contact them by e-mail.
Their pricing is listed on the website as well & I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable it was.

As crafters, scrapbookers, memory keepers and picture takers I thought a site like this one was a wonderful resource.

Imagine the possibilities.
You can get them to convert those old 8mm slides into a cd that you can in turn play @ your daughter's bridal shower or you can get those old photos of your ancestors & create a family cd to gift for a family reunion. I mean the ideas & possibilities with the use of the services they provide are many.
Check them out & tell me what you think.
Have a lovely weekend!

TOOL TIME TUESDAY- 100 Shaped Cards CD

Hi Bloggers!

Today's tool is brought to you by Hot Off the Press & it is their 100 Shaped Cards CD.

 
This CD is packed with lovely art work for cards that are simple to make with full instructions and a tutorial included. You can personalize the cards with the included art. Many have a "Made by me" tag to sign and place on the back of you card. Themes include birthday, Easter, Halloween, Mother's & Father's Days, Christmas, thank you, new baby, Valentine's, get well, love, Thanksgiving, hello, New Year, St. Patrick's Day and more!

You simply glue the art to a blank card, cut out and embellish. It's that simple but the looks are fabulous! Plus the card insides are part of the art. Print as often as you like, as much as you like. Most cards are 5"x6 1/2" in size.

 The average price for this CD was $14.99 USD. You can purchase it online via Paper wishes.com or through HSN.com.
This is certainly a useful tool worth the investment. When you consider that one specialized card can cost upwards of $5 this will pay for itself after a few uses.

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK #145 - Don't Edit, Be Happy

 Hi Crafters!

For today's tip I wanted to share a little something I do when I feel overwhelmed at the prospect of  spending time editing photos, cropping, removing red eye & just getting them the way I want them.

I have learned that I am not always going to feel like taking all those actions. It's okay to leave photos as they are unless of course you just have to adjust the size.
But consider this, why not create a collage using your existing software or just be taking a trip to your local photo store kiosk.
Most Wal-marts, Targets, CVS & Walgreens stores have quite the photo kiosk with tons of options.
By simply turning many photos into a collage of one & printing that out & taking it home you can avoid cropping & editing altogether.
Use the collage photo as is & watch how you can still showcase all your photos without all the editing.
You will enjoy the time it frees up for you to get creative & scrap lots of photos in one swoop.
So give it a whirl!
Have a crafty week.

 

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND- The Crafty Chronicle

Hello!

Thanks for tuning in today.
The fab find for today is : the CRAFTY CHRONICLE by Donna Salazar.
I just love this product.
It takes well to inks, sprays, mists and you can use it for many crafty endeavors.
It's 8 pages of fun content!
Check out the video below it speaks for itself:



Don't you just want to play with this paper chronicle?
Have a crafty weekend!

TOOL TIME TUESDAY-The Sweetheart Inker

Hello There!

Today's tool is the Sweetheart Inker by We R Memory Keepers.

These easy to hold ink pads from We R Memory Keepers are prefect for distressing. Other features include a soft rubber handle that allows for a customizable comfort grip no matter how it's held. The inker has a broad end for large areas and a pointed end for detail work. Easy snap-on lid to prolong ink life. Each Sweetheart Inker contains dye ink and measures approximately 2" x 2.5".

 


It comes in over several other color options like white, blue, green, red, pink & more. They are quite affordable @ $3.99 USD being the average price.

It's not exactly super new on the market but a tool I found could be most helpful when trying to ink up tricky corners & rounded spots.

Thanks for stopping by today.

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK #144- Reuse the Xyron Sticky Sheet

Hello Crafty Bloggers!

Say that title 10 times fast...

I want to preface this tip by saying it is geared toward owners of Xyron adhesive runners.

For today's tip I wanted to share with those of us lucky enough to own Xyron adhesive runners of any kind that we could totally use the leftover, clear sticky sheets to clean up &  pick up all sorts of our  crafty remnants.

You know the sheet right? Well, just in case you're wondering, all of the Xyron adhesive runner machines from the smallest to the largest is made up of 2 parts. To keep it simple...a white part & a clear part and somewhere in between is the adhesive. Actually the adhesive is on the clear part. So once you run your die cut or whatever you want to covert into a sticker through your Xyron and you peel off the clear sheet-there will be left over sticky residue on that sheet.

Set that clear sheet aside until you are done with your crafting, then use it to help you clean up your craft area.

Simply tap the sticky part of the clear sheet on to the areas in your craft space or work desk  where you have  crafty bits that were left behind. It works well on carpet to help pick up hole punch & cardstock remnants, glitter, flock powder & other small items that may have made their way on to your floor, carpet or desk.

You can then either discard the sheet.

By the way, it is also helpful if you drop something that is sharp & you needed to retrieve it. For example,  a sewing needle or stick pin. It would be much easier to handle it by using the sticky sheet then grabbing for it with your bare hands.

I'm not recommending you keep them on hand forever. They would be hard to store since they are pretty sticky. I am just saying if you use it while working on a project, don't discard it until you finish your crafting session. It could come in handy.

So there you have it- 2 ways you can reuse the Xyron sticky sheet leftovers.

Have a wonderful week!

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND-

Happy Friday Crafty Bloggers!

Today's fab find is all about the shimmer!

It's brought to you by Thermo-Web & it is GLITTER DUST.

Yes, you read that right, Glitter Dust is its' name & adding shimmer to your crafty projects is its' game.
This fabulous glitter spray comes in 4 color options: silver, gold, pink & iridescent.
It won't ruin your ink, it won't ruin your paper or change the color of your paper. The more you spray the more sparkle you get.
It won't warp your paper & it does not dry sticky.

• Great for use on paper, cardstock, invitations, crafts, dried & silk flowers, wood, Stryofoam, ceramics, fabric, canvas, glass and more!

• Thermoweb's Tip: when adhering embellishments to a surface treated with Glitter Dust, use a strong adhesive such as SuperTape or Zots.

During my research, I found the average price on the market was $6.99 for a 39 oz. can.
If you are a fan of sparkle then this just might be for you.
Talk about kicking it up a notch!
Have a great weekend.

Tool Time Tuesday-Stamp Mount Press

Hi Crafty Friends!

Today's tool is brought to you by none other than Ms. Martha Stewart & it is her Stamp Mount.

This cute little tool can really make a big impact.

You just place the stamp on the grid, ink it up, and place it on your cardstock. The little foam feet keep the stamp from touching the paper while you make any placement adjustments.

When it's just where you want it, you just press down. Perfect placement every time.

The small measures approx. 3 1/4"x 4 1/4"

There is also a medium sized stamp press which measures 4 1/4"x 61/4" . 
I saw the medium sized one at my local Michael's for $11.99 USD .

This would work great on cards, small projects, tags & more.
So get your coupon & grab it next time your out.
I think this one is a winner!

Crafting Tip of the Week #143 -Raise the Roof...

Hi Crafty Bloggers!

Well I did not literally mean raise the roof although I think when you get a load of this tip you may want to.


I used that title because with this tip I'm sharing a way to use your die cuts  from your die cutting machines (like Cricut or Silhouette) to emboss. So you will be raising something, just not the roof.

Take your die cut of choice & triple it. By that I mean have 3 of the same shape. Adhere them all together so they become one thick die cut. You could also just use cereal box cardboard or chipboard. If you use those you won't need triples of those.  The idea is that you want a somewhat thick die cut so that when it is run through your embossing machine it does take shape & the image rises up.

Then take your die cut image & place it under the desired area you wish to emboss. In other words, that die cut is going to serve as your embossing folder.
At this point you can run it through an embossing machine  following your embossing machine sandwich guide.

 And that should do it! You should have yourself an embossed element. Once you are done with your die cut for embossing purposes it can be repurposed into another project.

 With all the options available on Cricut cartridges & the Silhouette for die cuts you can really create a vast embossing image library because what serves as a die cut can now serve as an embossing medium too.

So ...what ya think about that?

Fabulous Friday Find- A Retro Camera

Hi There!

I just adore today's find. 

Remember those instamatic cameras with actual film?

Well, you can wax nostalgic with these adorable retro 35mm film cameras that look like juice or milk boxes. You simply click the straw to shoot the photo. 

Then you get prints made at your local drugstore, Walmart or Target & savor the magic moments the old fashioned way.

I just love these cameras. Just go over to Four Corner Store.com by clicking here where you can find these & other FABULOUS retro items. The price at the time of this post was $25 USD which I thought was rather reasonable.

Have a terrific weekend.

Tool Time Tuesday- The DREAMKUTS Machine

Happy Tuesday Bloggers.
Today's tool  is brought to you by ZUTTER & it is the DREAM KUTS Machine.
This snazzy tool is a paper cutter of sorts.
It can cut many size combinations of your cardstock. You can use 12x12 cardstock all the way down to your 6x6 paper pad cardstock & more.
It looks like this:

 This dreamy machine works without electricity by cranking a handle.
It is lightweight, pretty & functional. It works quite well when you have multiples of any project to "crank" out.
Watch below how Theresa Collins puts it to great use:




If you click on my title it will take you over to Scrapbook.com where you can purchase it for $93.09.
I have one & I love it.

Crafting Tip of the Week #142 The Better Picker Upper Method

Happy Monday Bloggers! It is great to be back :)


Wondering about today's tip? Bet that title got you going- huh?

Well, it's all about INK ABSORBENCY!

Next time you use your clear stamps do these few things to increase your ink absorbency & stamping potential.

1: Rub the stamp across the top of your hand back & forth a few times before inking. This action will assist in your stamp picking up the ink better.
Why you ask?
Because there is something about the natural oils in our hands that help the clear stamps take to the ink better.
I swear if I had not tried it myself I would not have believed it.
I don't always do it but there are times when my clear stamps seem to be less than willing to really soak up that ink. It could be that they worn or that the ink is fading but whatever the reason, this first step helps.

2: Once you have inked up the stamp, bring it up close to your mouth & breathe on it. Your warm breath will moisten the ink prepping it even more to perform at its' peak.

3: Use a foam mat underneath your stamping surface. It provides buoyancy & allows the stamp to penetrate your project providing you with a deep impression.

Sometimes I do all of these steps, other times I just pick & choose. Depending on the quality of the stamp they are not always necessary. I emphasize too that this applies to my experience with CLEAR stamps.
It may work for rubber stamps too but honestly I have not needed to try it with rubber stamps.
Let me know if you try this & how it works for you.
Have a wonderful week!

My Recent Blog Break

Hello Dear Blog Friends &  Visitors!

It is good to be back in blog world after my recent unexpected break.

A huge THANK YOU to all of my regular followers, those that visited & left comments and for all of your blog support.

It means more than I can say.

I had a recent death in the family & am now battling health issues of my own.

I do have every intention of continuing my blog.

I will resume with my normal line up next week.  I hope to continue to bring you crafty news you can use &  pictures of my creations just as soon as I get back to making pretty stuff.

With warmest appreciation & sincerity!