FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND- Talking Photocard

Yes crafters! You did read the words "talking photocard".
Brought to us by Dino Talk: Talking Photocards are simply cards that carry a personalized message that we ourselves record with the use of their product.
Check out the video below:


Dino Talk has also made talking paper, envelopes and frames!
Click HERE to go to their website to see all the other innovative products.


Quite clever & crafty wouldn't you say? And because they allow us crafters the ability to personalize our already special handmade creations it's an added bonus.

Something Pretty This Way Comes...Again...

Hello!
Just another crafty share.

 They are switch plate covers. Aren't they lovely?

There are many more in progress. I will share those when they are completed.

Don't forget to stop in Friday for the Fabulous Find.

TOOL TIME TUESDAY- Kiwi Lane Designs Templates

Good Day Crafters!

Today's tool is brought to you by Kiwi Lane Designs & it is their Templates.

Now they are not just any templates. They are super versatile templates that will allow you to incorporate the art of "framing" into your paper crafting adventures.

Here are a couple of their designer templates:

There so many more options. You will see them close up in the video.
Let me let the lovely ladies of Kiwi Lane Designs show & tell you all about it:



Doesn't  this make you want to run out & grab a few?
What a great idea! One of those that make you say....why didn't I think of that?
Oh well, just glad someone did.

You can visit their blog at Kiwilane.com where you can find their shop, tutorials, a gallery & more.

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK #150- Fighting Fussy Fabric?

Hello Crafty Companions!

Can you believe I am sharing my 150th crafting tip of the week?

Today's share is hopefully going to help you when you are trying to craft with fabric & find it difficult to handle in a manual or electronic die cutting machine.

My solution for fussy fabric that does not stabilize well is to:  stabilize it.
How? You ask.
Simply by doing the following:

Back your fabric with cardstock. You can use removable adhesive to do this or you can use permanent  as well. If your intention is to use the fabric in your project in such a way where you want it to flow or be stitched on fabric, that would be a good example of when you should use removable adhesive on the cardstock that you will be adhering the fabric to. This way, once you run it through your die cutting system, you can remove the cardstock from behind the fabric.

Otherwise, use a permanent adhesive, lay the fabric on the sticky cardstock making sure to smooth it out. Then you can run it through your die cutting machine of choice.

If you use dry adhesive such as ATG tape, snail tape or Xyron adhesive it will be much better for both adhesion and keeping the fabric flat onto the cardstock. You can also use spray adhesive but make sure it is safe for both paper & fabric. One thing to watch for with spray adhesive as well is that when you set the fabric on top of the cardstock with the adhesive on it,  be sure there are no  wrinkles, air bubbles or raised edges. Work as fast as you can to rid your surface of them if this occurs during your fabric placing process.

Another thing to note is that you should run your piece through your die cutter 2-3 times to ensure that it cuts through both the fabric & the cardstock. With an electronic die cutter like the Cricut you can set it to multi-cut and that should have you covered.

Fabric makes a fun addition to any project but it can be tricky to handle when it comes to die cutting. So stabilizing it with cardstock is a big helper.

Thanks for tuning in.

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND- Faber Castell Gelatos

Hi Crafty Friends!

Today's find is brought to you by Faber Castell & it is their COLOR GELATOS!

Color Gelatos are creamy sticks infused with brilliant color. The color glides easily onto papers and can then be dissolved with water to create watercolor effects or left to dry for vibrant bursts of color.
You can use them with & without stamps.

They come in these fabulous mix & match sets that make it easy for your to color coordinate any project and have fun.

It's like lipstick for your paper!

Check out the video below and see how one crafter used them 3 ways:



I know these have been out a little bit but they recently caught my attention while I was at Michael's. I wanted to research them a bit before deciding on whether I should purchase them or not and after all my research, I am ready to run out & buy them all.

It's a goof proof, fun way to craft.
Have a wonderful weekend!

A Birthday Card

Hey Crafty Bloggers!

Can you believe it? Another share.
It's a little birthday card for my daughter to give to her pal.

A Sympathy Card

Hello Crafty Friends!

Just checking in with a crafty share.

TOOL TIME TUESDAY- The Scrap'N Easel-Ette for Cards

Happy Tuesday Crafters!
It's tool time again and this time around I am sharing information about another great product from Contain Ya Crafts: the Scrap'n Easel-Ette for Cards.

This adorable easel style platform sports grid lines and comes with strong magnets that help hold your card parts in place as you are assembling your mini masterpiece. You can work with the Easel-Ette to create cards or use it in display mode.
Below is a video from the lovely owner & creator of this product showing you all about it.



Information of note having to do with breaking in your Scrap'N Easel-Ette:

Scrap'n Easel-Ette has two large "spines". These oversized spines are there to allow enough space for you to close up your Scrap'n Easel-Ette with an unfinished design held in place with the magnets in their highest positon of ½ inch. When you come back to your design to finish up, everything will be in place just as you left it.
There will be some "give" to the top spine the first few times you use it and it will appear a bit "floppy". This is normal. These spines are new and a bit stiff. You can use large paper clips, binder clips or padded clothes pins to hold the spine in place the first few times you use it. This will help "train" the spine to be used in the correct position. Take care not to scrape the grid lines of the easel when clipping. After a few minutes the paper clip, binder clip or padded clothes pin can be removed. The spine will soften a bit over time the more you use your Scrap'n Easel-Ette. If you go a long period of time and do not use your Scrap'n Easel-Ette this process may need to be repeated.
It retails for $39.99.

Hoped it has peaked your interest.
Have a great day!

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK#149- Soften the Blow...

Hello Crafters!
Whatever could I mean you ask? Well, I am referring to softening the blow of how hard it can sometimes be to work with chipboard .
If you have ever worked with raw chipboard you may have found it is difficult to get your chipboard to conform to a particular shape or simply go in the direction which you want it to go. With thick, raw chipboard this is the case because its' fibers are rigid and strong. While we do want that strength, we can do without the rigidity that complicates our crafting process.
I have found a way to work with the chipboard to alleviate some of that rigidity in the chipboard.

All you do is lightly spritz your chipboard with water on one side then smooth out the chipboard by gently swiping your hand across its surface several times til' you cannot feel dampness of the water. Once you smooth out the mists of water that have fallen on your chipboard, flex & bend the chipboard basically allowing for the moisture to make its way into the fibers of the chipboard a bit more.  Then turn your piece of chipboard over & repeat the process.
Do not saturate the chipboard. You must use light spritzes of water and then let them dry completely before proceeding to work with the chipboard.
I find this helps when I am trying to run the chipboard through my die cutting machines as well.

Lightly spritzing with water, smoothing out, bending & flexing the chipboard all help to condition the chipboard and break down its' rigid fibers a bit.
I hope you found this helpful.
Have a wonderful week!

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND- Embellies by Donna Salazar

Good Day Crafty Friends.

Today's find is brought you by Want 2 Scrap & Donna Salazar and it is her Embellies Line of truly terrific goodies.

Donna Salazar has teamed up with Want 2 Scrap to bring you a great line of embellishments you will love putting to use in your crafty endeavors. From denim die cuts to mixed media elements, I think there is sure to be a little something for everyone with Donna's new additions.

Take a look at just a few:

Oh & there are so many more! Donna also designed many of these chipboard dies to coordinate with Spellbinders Dies and the Want 2 Scrap bling.

For more you should visit the Want 2 Scrap site HERE where you can view many more options and purchase them as well.

These would look amazing on any project your clever minds can conjur.

Have a fab weekend!

Something Pretty & Useful...

Happy Hump Day Crafters!

Just tuning in with a crafty share today.

I have been busy making these...

They are waterproof, tile coasters. I wanted them to have a vintage feel so they have been sanded, lightly inked-some more than others, stamped & heat set.
Thanks for taking a peak.

Enjoy your day!

TOOL TIME TUESDAY-GET IT STRAIGHT LASER SQUARE TOOL

 Now that is a mouthful my crafty friends.

But...today's tool is the: Get It Straight Laser Square Tool.
In a nutshell, it is a tool that helps you align your projects with precision.

It debuted at Summer CHA 2012 & I think I am going to let the video do all the talking (& showing) so you can see what it's all about.



You can find it HERE for $89.95 at the time of this post.

Just when you thought you had seen it all, right?

All the best & crafty goodness,

                        Sonia

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK #148- Tic Tac Time!

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today's tip is a quick one & yes it involves Tic Tacs or at least the container they come in.

If you buy these refreshing mints, hang on to the empty boxes. They make a great place to store your mini embellishments such as brads, non-adhesive rhinestones, gems & tiny buttons.

I have seen boxes of the same type at Michael's and A.C. Moore inside cases sold for storing embellies and jewelry beads.

You can get your family & friends to save them for you & before you know you can have yourself a nice collection of Tic Tac containers which you can then recycle  for crafty storage purposes.

It's a win-win!

FABULOUS FRIDAY FIND- ART BIN MAGNETIC STORAGE CASE FOR DIES

Happy Friday Friends!

Today's find is brought to you by ART BIN and it is a magnetic storage case for your metal cutting and embossing dies.

Cutting and embossing die assortments are hot in today's market, but how does one store them after they are removed from the original packaging? The  Magnetic Die Storage Case (6978AB) solves that dilemma utilizing ArtBin's ever popular Quick View Carrying Case. This case includes (3) custom-cut magnetic die sheets to which any shape of embossing die can adhere.

Dies can be costly; crafters want to easily view, safely store, and instantly access them as they create! Of course, as one's collection of dies grows, so can the capacity of the case! Each case will accommodate approximately (21) sheets when full. These stackable Magnetic Die Storage Cases are molded in ACID-FREE translucent polypropylene. Love the fact that this is acid free and can hold 21 full sheets!

The Magnetic Die Storage Case (6978AB) measures 10-1/4 x 3-1/4 x 9-5/8 inches. Magnetic Die Storage Case including (3) Magnetic Die Sheets and it retails for $16.99.

Additional custom-cut Magnetic Die Sheets (6979AB) measure: 7-13/40 x 9-1/8 inches. Set of (3) retail for  $8.99.

You can find this product at Hobby Lobby and other online retailers by doing a internet search for them. You can definitely use the Hobby Lobby coupon on this item too.

If you are searching for a system to store your magnetic dies this may be a great solution for you.

That's it for today's find! 

Thanks for tuning in.

TOOL TIME TUESDAY- FEATURING THE FUSE BY FISKARS

Hi there crafty friends!
Today I am sharing with you ...THE FUSE BY FISKARS!

I had seen this debuted on HSN and my sweet blog friend Nikki from Bond Girl Creations even e-mailed me to let me know about it.
I knew it was a tool that I wanted to feature but I did not get to it as quickly as I intended since I went on my health hiatus.

If you don't know about this tool then take a seat and follow along.
The Fuse is an incredible, portable, , comprehensive die cutting and letter press system.
Check out the informative video by Fiskars below.



Now, it is a pricey product- I will not kid you about that. It retails for $299.99 at Joann Fabrics but for all you can do on this baby it sure seems worth it. Not to mention it works with your 12x12 cardstock.
For all you craft tool junkies out there (and you know who you are) this one seems to pack a punch.

Even if you don't buy it, it is great to see all the innovative tools that crafting companies continue to bring to market.
Hope you enjoyed.

CRAFTING TIP OF THE WEEK #147- Tissue Please but not for a Sneeze...

Good Day Crafty Bloggers.
It is so good to be back.
Wondering what I mean in my post title?
Well, for this week's tip I wanted to share how you can customize your tissue paper.

I customized some of mine & it was quick and simple.Using some inks & stamps I was able to turn my boring white tissue paper into pretty works of art.
Once I stamped the entire surface of my tissue paper, I heat set the ink with my heat gun. I did not let it sit in any one spot too long as the tissue paper is quite thin. You get this really neat affect where you can see your stamped image on both sides when stamping on the white tissue paper.

With a few products from my craft stash I was able to get some really nice tissue paper which I can in turn use in different ways.

Take a look:

There's really no need to run out & buy custom printed tissue paper when you have stamps & inks in your crafting arsenal that can provide quite the range of artistic style. Think of the possibilities!

From monogramming, stamping actual names, special dates, images, etc...you too can make the most of your plain tissue paper. By the way, it works well with colored tissue paper as well. You may need darker color inks for the darker colors or  white ink.

The products I used were as follows:

• Tissue Paper (Plain-white)
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Vintage Photo & Weathered Wood)
• Fiskars Stamp Press
• Stamps by Hero Arts
• Ranger Craft Sheet

Happy Labor Day!
Hope you get some time to craft and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

A Mini Book in a Box

Hello Bloggers!

Today I wanted to share a little video my daughter & her BFF made debuting my mini book in a box.

I will let them show & tell you all about it! Keep in mind they were a bit nervous & giddy. They handled this book so many times practicing takes for the video that I'm afraid it looks a little ragged.

I will post some pics as well.

Enjoy...