Crafting Tip of the Week #174- Stamp Clean Up

Hi Bloggers!

Today's tip offers a way to help clean off your acrylic, foam or rubber stamps. 

There are all kinds of ways like baby wipes, scrubber pads, wash cloths, running them under water and  stamp cleaner spritz options on the market as well. 

That's all fine & good and I actually use some of the mentioned methods and still do. This tip is not to take away from those options, only to add another.

 One of the things I mentioned above was scrubber pads. 

I have found that I can buy more and save by purchasing "PAINT PADS"  at my local home improvement store which provide the same cleaning action as the scrubber pads. 

If you're wondering , the paint pads look like this: 

They are actually more inexpensive to buy then getting the stamp scrubber pad at the craft stores and work the same way. 

It's just another method to use. 

So if you're in a pinch or find you have these lying around your house from an old paint project you may want to give these a try. 

In this beloved hobby we share that is one thing there is never a shortage of...options.

Have a great week!

Fabulous Friday Find- Printable Film

Good Day Crafty Friends!

Thanks for stopping in today to check out the find.

Today's find is brought to you by Craft Attitude & it is their Printable Film recently debuted at Winter CHA 2013.

The product is an inkjet printable film that can be applied to projects of all kinds.  It comes in packages of 8 sheets and retails for $16.99 USD. They offer categories of the film for wood, fabric, magnets, jewelry & other materials but the material itself is the same. They package it differently so the consumer can see its versatility.

Check out the video below:




Pretty interesting stuff right?
Imagine all you can do with this!

Have a great weekend!

Tool Time Tuesday- The New Sizzix Big Shot & Bonus...

Yes crafty friends, another Big Shot from Sizzix.  They also have come out with new dies designed by the lovely Stephanie.

It's all so darling but check it out in the video below for yourself:

The machine itself is great but that Flip it Card die is simply terrific!

Love the technique she shared as well. 

And the tools just keep on coming so come back next week!

Have a great day.

Crafting Tip of the Week#173- Downy or Snuggle Anyone?

Hey Crafty Friends!

Yes, I am talking laundry stuff again but this time it's about fabric softener. 

It's today's quick tip and I think you may just love it. I know I do. 

So I am a big fan of fabric softener and to that end I decided that since I use lots of it for not only laundry but to help  remove wall paper from my home (oh yes I did & yes it worked). Well, I recommended to our painter to use it to remove the wall paper. So in actuality he removed the wall paper not me, just to clarify.  He thought I was nuts but in all his years as a painter he said it worked better then the solutions he purchased at home improvement stores. And it was less expensive then those solutions too.  Now I cannot take credit for that as I saw it on an episode of an HGTV show years ago. Just making sure to give credit where credit is due. 

But...as far as crafting goes, I found another use for FABRIC SOFTENER my friends & here it is: 

to clean paint off your paint brushes!

Simply soak your brushes in for 10 minutes  and it cleans right off! 

It just breaks down the paint fibers attached to the brush fibers so well and BONUS...your brushes smell great. I remembered how well it broke down the fibers of that old wall paper in my home & thought what if it can do the same for my paint brushes? So I tried it and it worked. 

Who knew?

Fabulous Friday Find- The Jenni Bowlin Collection of Winter CHA 2013

Boy oh boy crafters are you in for a treat. 

Jenni Bowlin was busy working out this terrific line of beauties. 

Check out the 2 videos below of her newly released products :

So clever, cute & charming!

The simple vintage touches offer up a great way to create so much and also mix her items with other lines beautifully. 

Hope you enjoyed her collection as much as I did.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Tool Time Tuesday- Quickutz Evolution

Hey Crafters!

As if there aren't enough tools out there right? 

But this Letterpress & Die Cutting machine has had some overhaul done to it which makes it better then its' predecessor, the Epic Letterpress machine. 

Check it out:

So many tools...so little time!

Tune in next week for another newbie for 2013!

Thanks for stopping by.

Crafting Tip of the Week#172- Caps as Cups?

Hello crafters!

Yes, I know...curious title right?
I do try to get your attention, can't blame a girl for trying.

This one is all about using your "laundry detergent caps as cups".

You know the ones, they look like this: (But not the ones with the spout in the center)

I simply use them as vessels for mixing paint or pouring in inks, gesso, gel medium, etc...I think you get the idea. They have a small footprint making it easy to set it aside on my work space & it will stay in place. I also appreciate the high wall giving you plenty of space to fill the cap as you would a cup.

You can pour your medium of choice in gradually & in increments. I always like to start with a little & add more as I need to. It saves from waste and has helped me avoid spills. My smaller / shorter paint brushes and foam brushes fit inside well and can actually stand in the caps too.

It's yet another way to craft-cycle everyday items around the house that you would otherwise discard. 

P.S. Is it crazy that as I was finishing the post I thought of another tip for these?
I'll share it just in case you're wondering- even though I have not tried it myself. What if...

You took a bunch of these and lined the inside of a kitchen or cabinet drawer from end to end and used them to store stuff? ( I suppose you could adhere them/connect them with a strong adhesive like E6000).

You know...like brads, clips, buttons (oh...using the coordinating color of cap to indicate the color of whatever button is inside)...the hamster wheel in my head is spinning!

I am sure you can think of more ways to put these functional caps new life in your craft space or around the house by recycling.

Thanks for tuning in.