Fabulous Friday Find- Another Martha Stewart Goodie...

Happy Friday Friends!

Today I want to share a little something useable when we are dealing with glitter & paint.

It's from Martha Stewart & it's her Glitter Tray & Rack!

This Glitter Tray & Rack are made of low-static coated metal so glitter slides off easily. The built-in opening makes it easy to sweep excess glitter back into jar with included brush. Removable drying rack with peg design is perfect for drying 3D objects without the glittered surface.

Contents:

• 1 metal tray
• 1 drying rack
• 1 brush

The tray measures approximately 8 1/2" x 10 1/2".

This little helping hand retails for $21.99 at Hobby Lobby in store & online.

Guess you could say I am on a Martha Stewart kick.

You will be seeing more ingenious things from the Crafty Maven next week so please tune in.

Have a great weekend!

Tool Time Tuesday- The Circle Edge Punch

Hi Crafty Blogger!

Today's tool is brought to you by Martha Stewart & it's her  newest addition to her punches:

The  CIRCLE EDGE PUNCH!

Check out the video below by the Crash Test Dummy Guru Jenny:

Pretty neat right?!
You can find it at HSN now where it debuted this month.
It is not yet out in stores.
It retails for $59.95 USD at the moment on HSN & there are other shape attachments you can purchase separately too.

Look at the different edges they can produce:

So cool! Thanks for tuning in today.

Have a happy day.

Crafting Tip of the Week #158- Baby Bottle Brushes Not Just for Baby Bottles Anymore!

Hello Crafty Friends!

I bet you're wondering what I am alluding to with that off the wall post title.
Has it got your wheels turning?
Any guesses?
I suppose I shouldn't make you wait any longer then.
You know how a couple of Fridays ago I shared those adorable "Woodlands" ornaments from Tim Holtz?
Well, I got to thinking.
Couldn't I find a way to make that adorable Christmas tree myself?
Well, I sure did.
Here's what you'll need:
*Baby Bottle Brushes (You can find them at the Dollar Store)
*Wood cubes or circles for your base( Any local craft store carries them & some dollar stores too)
*Glue Gun/E6000 (A strong adhesive)
*Wire Cutter/ Scissors may due in a pinch
*Sharp Scissors for cutting the bristles
*Glitter/Mica Flakes
*Spray Adhesive
*Optional (spray paint, spray inks, mini misters with your own concoction of color to add to your tree)
 Since the bottle brushes come in white already it lends itself to a white Christmas feel . The inks would be if you wanted to add color or give it a vintage look.

Basically, you cut the brush portion of the bottle brush off its' base using a wire cutter. Then cut the brush in half or to whatever size tree you want. Then you cut bristles on the right & left at an angle, creating that tree shape. After that you adhere the bottom of the tree to your wood base piece.
If you want it raw that is all you do.
If you want to add color to the bristle brush &/or base, I suggest coloring, inking or painting them first. Then after they dry you can assemble them.
They should look like this:

I decided to use empty spools of thread I bought at my local scrapbooking store and I adhered card stock. I also used spray glitter on the trees after spray painting them an ivory color.
It is difficult to see how adorable they are  in person.

You can easily add little beads, tiny garland made from jewelry findings or petite tinsel. The possibilities are many. You have to try it out.

Have a great week.

Thanksgiving Hiatus

Dear Friends & Followers, 

This week I will be taking a blog break to prepare for Thanksgiving, spend time with my family & of course...work. 

However, I wanted to take a moment to leave you all a message from my heart.

Hugs, 

Sonia...The Archiving Angel

Fabulous Friday Find- A Download!

Hello There!

Today's find is a computer download for SCRABBLE TILES!

If you're like me & you love them, well now you can purchase a downloadable zip file and have them all the time.  They look like the image below:

You can purchase them off of the scrapbook.com website where I believe the download is $2.49 (USD). No need to spend on shipping, handling, delivery of any kind. It will come right to your computer.

I thought the price was reasonable and you could use these for many applications and projects.

Hope you enjoyed this find.

Have a great weekend!

All the best & crafty goodness, 

Sonia

Tool Time Tuesday- A Little Something Useful

Hey  Friends!
Thanks for tuning in today.

Today's tool is small but super handy especially for those of us who like to bling it up!
Any guesses yet?

It's a glitter funnel set!
This set comes with 2 funnels great for all types of glitters. It is brought to us by Advantus, the same folks that work with Ranger & Tim Holtz.

But it just doesn't have to be for the many types of glitters out there like fine, ultra fine, fragments, chunky, vintage & more.
You can use it for flocking powder, micro beads and mini pearls too.

This tiny tool (helper) costs only $.99 cents.

Now that's a bargain!

Hope you enjoyed this simple share.

Crafting Tip of the Week #157 - Don't Fret over Fraying

Hello Crafty Friends!

Thanks for tuning in today. Today's post is more of a quick tip on one way to help stop your ribbon from fraying once it has been cut.

I am sure most if not all of you know about  using the heat of a lighter but did you know that you can use glue to seal your ribbon edges?

Yes, that's right. As long as it is a wet glue...it will do.
Simply place & spread a small, thin bead of glue along the edge of your ribbon, seam binding and even lace edges and it will seal them beautifully.

I have had the most success with the following glue:
-Martha Stewart white glue with the brush attachment (white glue)
-Tombo Mono Adhesive in the green bottle (white glue)
-Mod Podge (white glue)

There is no need to use a lot, just make certain to cover the edge completely and let it dry.

From my experience it would seem the white glues are the most successful for this.
Most of us already have adhesive on hand in our craft room so it is great to have yet another use for it.

Have a wonderful week!

Fabulous Friday Find- It's from Tim Holtz...Need I Say More?

Hey All!

It's Tim's "Woodlands" Christmas Ornaments Collection!

Aren't these the cutest? Imagine all the gorgeous Christmas projects you can create with these. Canvases, shadow boxes, 3D Art & more.

You can purchase it HERE for under $5 USD.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tool Time Tuesday- Tab Punches

Hi there!
Thanks for tuning in today.
For today's tool I am sharing the new Tab Punches by We R Memory Keepers.
They were debuted at Summer CHA 2012 and are now out for purchase.

Check out the video:


These would work wonderfully in all sorts of applications. From making dividers for your albums, on cards , on recipe cards, on index cards, etc...You get the idea.


Just love these!

You can purchase them HERE .

Crafting Tip of the Week #$156- Don't Ditch that ...

Overused Cricut or Silhouette Mat! You know the ones, my crafty friends. When you have used up your  cutting mats til' they just don't work for you anymore why not craft-cycle them? I know you can always reapply adhesive and continue to use them but in the event that you don't want to do that I have some other uses up my sleeve.

I know what you're thinking...how in the world can I use that in my  craft projects?
Well, simply put- it's not for your actual projects.

You can use it to help you during your creative process- just make sure there is no more adhesive left on it. Otherwise, it won't work.
Here are a few ideas:

1- As an extra cutting surface. For example: if you are using a rotary knife to cut fabric, you can place your fabric on your worn (non-sticky)  mat & use your rotary knife on it. You can also use your craft knife for fussy cutting. After all, it is a cutting mat.
2- As a back up cutting surface to take to crops. Just leave it in your crop bag & label it with a permanent marker. 
3- As a measuring guide.
4- In a pinch as an extra surface for inking, painting & chalking.
5- To set your acrylic stamps on temporarily when you're working with several at a time. You can lay them out on the mat, figure placement and keep them there until you are ready to work with them.

Maybe you can think of some more uses. I sure hope you find this helpful.
Have a wonderful week!

Fabulous Friday Find- Scissor Holsters!

Hello Crafty Friends!

Yes, you read that right...Scissor Holsters brought to you by Westcott.

The funky and fabulous scissors holster attaches to your belt or apron, making storing scissors easy, safe, and stylish! 

This decorative holster can fit scissors measuring up to 8 inches long, so it’s great for holding your tiny tape and glue scissors, as well as your heavy duty fabric and paper scissors.

It comes in other funky finishes as well.

Check out the video below:

Hope you enjoyed this fabulous, fun find!
Have a wonderful weekend.