Zebra Print Giftbags

The other night I was trying to think of something to make and I remembered the stack I got at Michaels over the weekend and thought I would do some gift bags. I posted a picture on Facebook and immediately my friend Khrystal said she needed the giftbag, and stated "I actually need 6! I will pay you!". The dang thangs *okie still laughs at saying dang thang and so loves saying it* were sold before I even got them done! She wanted some names put on them and messaged me the names. The big one is for her daughter. I did 5 small ones for the other girls.

SUPPLIES USED:
Cricut - Expression; Feeling Groovy
Cuttlebug - Tiny Mosaic folder
Cardstock - Core'dinations; Silver Metallic
Patterned paper - Recollections Animal Kingdom
Hot Fix Rhinestones
IRock
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
Colorbox - Cat Eye Chalk Ink
1" wired ribbon
Kraft gift bags

I attached the ribbon at the top with my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. It worked great for this purpose and I think Tim would be proud!

I cut the names with Feeling Groovy. I wanted that cart as soon as I saw it when the Cricut Lites came out but it took me awhile to get it. Now that I have it I use it quite a bit!

I used my IRock to attach the heat set gems. Many people have asked me where I get my gems and I get them off eBay from a seller named OHMYMINI. I tease that they come via a slow boat from China, but it really does! It takes awhile to receive them but they are well worth the wait, especially for the price.

Chocolate Cards Found!

I guess you guys decided they weren't good enough to eat and put them back! *okie eyes everyone suspiciously wondering who took them in the first place*


SUPPLIES USED:
Stampin Up - "Eat Chocolate" stamp set; cardstock; markers; border punch; Decorative Label punch
Core'dinations - Chocolate Box
Cuttlebug - D'Vine Swirls folder
Scenic Route - Patterned paper
Spareparts - brads
Colorbox - Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Baker's Twine (see story below)

One word of caution when coloring stamps....do not be watching NCIS and that hottie Gibbs. Here is the reason, because you get your stamp colored, get ready to huff and you don't pay attention and get the stamp on your lip. And, NOOOO I did NOT take a picture to show you guys! I have to keep some dignity you know!



I used my SU markers to color the images on the stamp. When using this method you get the images all colored and the "huff" or blow air on the stamp then stamp the image on your cardstock. This is something I learned during one of my first Stamp Club meetings. It does take a little while but I think it is worth the effort!

You definitely don't want to use alcohol based markers for this method since they are permanent and won't come off the stamp.





Now let me tell ya'll about this Bakers Twine. I love the stuff and the effects you can get from it but....I got mine in a share and it came in bags all nice and neat. I went to break it down in 20 yard segements so it would be easier to work with and OH EMM GEE did it create a HUGE mess! I threw it in the trash can because I got so frustrated with it! *okie can still hear the gasps from her facebook page of people who were appalled to think okie would throw it in the trash*. Here are some pictures to prove my frustrations.
















Right now the stuff is still in the trash can. I may pull it all out, but I am not ready to forgive it right now so I might punish it for another day *okie cusses under her breath about the pain in the azz string*.

Okay which one of you sneaky....AND THANK YOU

folks came in my craft room and took my cards I made? I made some cards using a set of Stampin Up stamps with a chocolate theme and now I can't find them! And I know I am not going crazy because I posted on Facebook about how if you have to color your stamp and then "huff" on it make sure you don't do it while watching TV or you will stamp your lip! *okie is so glad she was using water based markers*.

I have some cards from the class I took this past Saturday that I will be posting, a little Hedgehog card and also some gift bags. Now if I can make myself stop crafting long enough to take the pictures and write the posts!!

Now for the THANK YOU! I have to tell you how touched I was by the overwhelming response I got on my blog, emails, facebook and Cricut messageboard from people who recognized my layouts! It was just amazing how people could remember the layouts were mine, and I believe each one was correctly identified! Guess it goes to show that you guys do pay attention to my nonsensical ramblings! And thank you for that!

My layouts didn't win, BUT

All three were shown during one of the segments! And would you believe I completely missed them?! Yep, that's right...I didn't even get to see it! I was busy putting some ribbon on some cards I was making and my phone rings and it is Linda, aka LGuild, telling me she just saw them. I was like WTF?? Are you serious? And then my Facebook wall went crazy about people saying they saw my layouts!

But how lucky am I that several people DVR'd the the segment and taped it for me. I am posting the one that Tanya Stillwell of SCRAPPINKYMOMMA did for me...

Jinger shows quite a few but mine are the BIRTHDAY BOY, PICTURE PERFECT BIRTHDAY and BIRTHDAY PARTY OWL NIGHT.

HSN E2 Contest - Birthday Boy and Party Owl Night

Since I posted my Easter layouts yesterday I thought I would go ahead and post the other two layouts for the contest today. This way if any of ya'll are watching the HSN E2 shows that start at 12:01 AM EST tonight you can help me look!

Make sure you scroll all the way through since there are two layouts posted.

BIRTHDAY BOY

This was the last layout I made for the contest. I put it together fairly quickly and thought I would go with a boy theme since I never do those. I think it would look a lot better with a picture on it but it was in the rules that no pictures were to be included.


SUPPLIES USED:
Cricut Expression
Cricut carts - A Child's Year
Cardstock - Prism, Core'dinations, Bazzill
Patterned paper - Pebbles Inc,. My Guy
Eyelet Outlet - Star brads
Spareparts - brads
Stampin up markers
Colorbox - Cat Eye Chalk Ink
3/8" Grosgrain ribbon

I focused on using only one cartridge for this layout. I wanted to showcase how one cartridge can do the job when necessary *but okie thinks that is utter nonsense since she believes diversity is the spice of life...or at least papercrafting*.




I sanded the Core'dinations cardstock before putting it in the Cricut to cut for the balloons. I used a paper towel to wipe off any "paper dust" from the sanding.

I used the hide contour feature in Design Studio so I could have a solid white base for the balloons, this provided a good background for the cut out letters. I cut off the "strings" from the blue balloons before adhering the layers together.

I used a blue marker to dot the white letters and a brown to run along the white string of the balloon.


I wasn't sold on A Child's Year for a long time but when a friend of mine found it pretty cheap I had her get it for me. I did like the font that is included and thought if nothing else I could use it. But now the little silhouette's are starting to grow on me.

For the child top layer I used Core'dinations and used the same method as for the balloons as far as sanding. The frame is also from ACY.

Before adding the lime green brads to the scallops I tamped them on a Colorbox Chalk Ink pad and then wiped off the excess. This helped dull the bright color a little and made the brads coordinate with the papers better.

I cut the "boy" twice, once with green and once with orange, so I could have a shadow *okie so does love her shadows*. I added the star brads at the end because I thought it just needed a little something there.


I added a double layer of mounting foam to the ball so it would stick up enough for a photo to go behind easily. I was careful not to put the foam where the picture needed to go. The ribbon is also not adhered to the photo mat.

I did the brads on the ball like I did for the ones on the scallop frame. It helped dull the color of them and make them blend in with the colors a lot better.

While this is not my favorite I did I didn't think it was too bad for my first ever little boy layout *okie doesn't think she will ever be doing another little boy layout since she is surrounded by girls*.



BIRTHDAY PARTY OWL NIGHT

Of course the inspiration for this layout came from my daughter's sorority whose mascot is owls. I thought I could make this one again for her birthday when she celebrates with her sisters. I really like the bright colors on this one and I think it would be good for a child or adult.

SUPPLIES USED:
Cricut Expression
Cricut carts - Feeling Groovy, Hoot N' Holler, Celebrations, George
Cuttlebug - D'Vine Swirrls, Swiss Dots
Cardstock - Prism, Core'dinations, Bazzill
Patterned paper - Scenic Route Surprise
Signo UM 153 White gel pen
Spareparts - brads
Stampin up markers
Colorbox - Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Janome Sew Mini
1/4" and 3/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
Stickles - Diamond





I cut the hats from Celebrations and the owls from Hoot N' Holler. I had to really pay attention to the placement on the mat with the cardstock since I had so many colors going on but I think they turned out pretty good *okie thinks she is getting better at stepping out of her comfort zone and making things different colors than they "should be"*.

I cut the leaves on the branch twice so I could pop dot a top layer. Not sure you can really tell on the picture though. The owls sitting on the branch are on mounting foam, and I think you can tell a little bit with the shadow the big owl's hat is casting on the photo mat.


I used George to cut a circle out of Coredinations Whitewash cardstock, ran it through the Cuttlebug with the D'Vine Swirls folder and then wiped off the "paper dust" with a paper towel. I added Diamond Stickles to the swirls to give the moon a little glittery look.

I inked and added a little white doodling to the "Party Owl Night" to make sure it would stand out enough. Sometimes with busy patterns it is easy to lose elements.





I searched through my fonts to find one that I thought coordinated well with "party owl night" and I found that I liked the font from Feeling Groovy with it and so used it for cutting "Birthday". I welded the letters using Design Studio, basically because I am too dang lazy to cut out letters individually! I did cut the "i, h, y" individually out of some light orange so the word birthday to help it blend in with the other lettering better.

I ran the green layer through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder and then colored the dots with black.


The ribbon was actually an after thought. I got the layout ready to put together and had my elements all together with re-positionable adhesive and I just kept thinking there needed to be something on that side to help balance the layout. I dug through my stash of ribbon to see if I could find colors that would work. The bows at the bottom seemed to add that little something it needed.




After seeing some of the other layouts that were submitted for the contest I don't think I will stand a chance on winning but at least I can say I tried and I have to admit it was fun knowing there were friends of mine entering and how we encouraged each other on the Cricut Circle messageboard forum.

HAPPY EASTER!!! Easter layouts...

Since today is Easter I thought I would reschedule posting my layout entries for the HSN E2 contest and post some Easter layouts I have done over the years. They actually show how I have grown as a paper crafter.

This was one of my very first layouts with the Cricut. Now I look at it I can see so many things I would do differently but I am just way too lazy to go back and redo the layout.

The title, date and journaling tag were done with George, ahhh my beloved George. I still have that as my go too cart just because of the basic shapes.

You guys promise not to cringe? I actually used Fiskar templates for the frames for the pictures. I think I had maybe two paper packs at the time and probably 15-20 sheets of cardstock *okie remembers when all her scrappy supplies fit in a rollytote and cringes at the amount of supplies she has accumulated in a matter of about 3 1/2 years*.

The pictures for this layout were taken on my daughters first Easter she was able to take part in an egg hunt, she was about 16 months old. I got a little more creative with this layout and used the welding features in Design Studio for the title and the bunny in the middle *okie rolls her eyes at how primitive the bunny is compared to her DS skills now* and I was so proud of it. I had used some acrylic paints to brush lines on the cardstock for the base of the layout.

Once again I used those orange Fiskars templates for cutting the mats for the pictures and the pictures as well. I am glad that I have learned to scan old photos and crop and edit to make layouts better. But even with the pictures not being edited better I look at how cute my daughter was and remember how I use to squeeze her tight wanting her to stay little forever. And I think that is what scrapbooking is all about, persevering those memories!

This last Easter layout was one that I did when I was on a Design Team *okie tries to shake those bad memories out of her head about being on THAT Design Team and the horrid way the designer s were treated*. Of course when you are on a Design Team you are expected to pull out all the stops on each project so I put a lot of work into this one.

I do have the .cut file available for this layout. The file will cut all the elements and title but the eggs are left up to you to decorate. You can find the .cut file on the original post HERE. You will need the following cartridges - Stretch Your Imagination, My Community, George, Everyday Paperdolls, Lyrical Letters and From My Kitchen.

Tomorrow I will be posting my other entries for the HSN E2 contest.

HSN E2 Contest - Picture Perfect Birthday

This is the original layout I did for the contest before I thought I would do three layouts. I wanted to do something that would be different. I chose a more mature theme for the layout thinking that most people would do bright cheery layouts with child themes.

SUPPLIES USED:
Cricut Expression
Cricut carts - Reminisce Accents; Going Places, George
Cuttlebug; Script folder
Cardstock - Prism, Core'dinations, Metallic
Patterned paper - Bo Bunny
Janome Sew Mini
Stampin up markers
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Vintage Photo







I cut the camera using Going Places. The top layer is with Core'dinations and I put it through the Cuttlebug using the Script folder and then sanded across the cardstock with it still in the folder as to not flatten the embossed image. I decided to add brads to the camera for a little extra embellishment.









I used mounting foam to add the camera to the layout to have it pop up from the layout base. I also added it to the flourishes on the layout as well as the title.

You can see a little bit of the white under the flourish in the picture.









I wasn't sure about the Metallic cardstock because of the shiny look but it cut great and after I got it on there I thought it looked pretty darn good! If you click this picture to make it bigger you can see that the circle on the base of the layout has words pertaining to photography.








Feel free to leave comments but I might not be able to check them until later tonight since I am in the city with Linda, aka LGuild at a card making class and doing a little shopping!

Thinking of you - Stampin Up Bird Punch

The bird punch was another one of my Stampin Up goodies I from my party last month and this is the first time I have gotten to use it. So yeah, I cheated and used PAGEMAPS again for the layout on this card *okie sighs at her slump and lack of creativity*.

Stampin Up - Punches - Bird, Scallop Circle, Word Window, Modern Label; markers; Teeny Tiny Wishes sentiment
Heidi Grace - Patterned paper
Colorbox - Cat Eye Inks
Imaginesce - IRock heat tool
EK Success - Circle Punch
Martha Stewart - Butterfly Punch
Janome Sew Mini
Cardstock - various
Spareparts brads
heat set gem
3/8" ribbon
Inside sentiment - not sure





Once again I cut my cardstock in strips because all the pieces punch out at once. For the branch I punched it out with the brown Mica and then punched the area with the leaves out of green Mica then clipped the leaves with scissors *okie is wondering when she will ever use up all the Mica she got at the auction a year and a half ago, but then thinks since she uses it sparingly it will last longer than her life insurance policy does*.

I thought the white circle showed the bird well but it looked to plain so I inked it and then added some dots with a marker.

The eye is a small heat set gem. Most of ya'll might remember that I order mine from eBay from a seller by the name of ohmymini. Yes they come via a slow boat from China but for the price it is definitely worth it!



I honestly can't remember what the brand is on the inside stamp. One night at Stamp Club there were a bunch of sentiment stamps and I had brought a lot of inside card blanks to stamp sentiments so I found this one in my stash. I thought it went well with the sentiment on the front *okie thinks this is another reason she is a frikkin genius and wonders of everyone who is a frikkin genius hoards things*.

I am not sure I like the butterflies on the inside but since they are glued down they will have to stay.

Tomorrow is Saturday and Linda, aka LGuild, and I are going to a card class about an hour away from here. Of course we will have to hit Michaels and Hobby Lobby...we are sure there is something we just have to have!!

I will be posting the first of my HSN contest layouts tomorrow. The other two will post on Sunday and Monday. The Cricut E2 Anniversary Edition will debut on HSN at 12:01 am EST on April 26th. I am taking the day off work that day just to see if maybe one of my layouts will make it in the background since I doubt I win *okie still curses at some of the talented people that have entered*.

Whooo's Old?

YOU'S OLD!

I couldn't help but use this sentiment and thought of it when I was punch out the owls! The owl is a punch from Stampin Up.

Stampin Up - Punches - Owl, Scallop Circles, Decorative Label; markers
Making Memories- Patterned paper "Cheeky", tag rim
Colorbox - Cat Eye Inks
Imaginesce - IRock heat tool
EK Success - Punches - scallop circle, circle
Cardstock - various
Spareparts brads
heat set gems
3/8" Grosgrain ribbon
Sentiments computer generated








I got the "map" for the card from PAGEMAPS. I think the scallop circle helped offset the owl. My friend Linda, aka Lguild, said I had a psychedelic owl.

The punch does all the pieces at once and to save paper I cut my different colors into strips, such as the red was cut in 1 1/4" strips, etc. This made it a lot easier to keep up with the pieces as I punched them and I could set them aside.






I used MS word to make this sentiment in the circle shape. I punched it with a 1" punch but then had to trim it slightly to fit into the tag rim.

I know a lot of people don't use the tag rims anymore but I love them! My friend Angela sent me a bunch that she said she would never use and I LOVE EM!!

I punched a 1 1/4" circle out of red to help highlight the sentiment. I was afraid with the bold pattern behind it the sentiment would get "lost".





The sentiment for the inside was done using Hallmark Card Studio, which gets a thank you Linda, aka LGuild. She is the one that introduced me to the program and actually shared with me. It is wonderful to make the card insides with and art work can be added as well if you wish.

I can't wait to use this punch on something else! I actually got it because I get anything that has owls these days. The mascot for my daughters sorority is an owl so you will probably be seeing a lot of owl themed projects in the next 3 years!!

Scrapping Old Pictures - happy layout

I love going through old pictures that I haven't scrapped yet to see what I can find. However, sometimes the pictures have lost some of their vibrance because of not being in an acid free album *okie hears the gasps* Oh shut up! Like ya'll knew to keep yours in acid free before ya'll started scrappin!

Anyway I came across these pictures that were taken when my daughter was about 15 months old. I scanned the originals and then made the pictures bigger. Since the pictures were muted I looked through my paper and came up with some Cosmo Cricket paper that looked like it would be great to use.

I did use some Coredinations cardstock and sanded it a bit to distress it. I think the colors worked great and really complimented the colors in the pictures.

Oh and don't worry about her falling in to the little lake in that picture to the left. She liked water even back then! *okie cracks up laughin* Actually a friend of mine was standing right behind her just out of frame.

Oh if you click on the picture above and make it bigger you can see some flower brads that I used on the photos. I found them in my brad stash, well didn't find them, knew they were there, and this was the first layout I have done that I thought I could use them on. I got those brads at EYELET OUTLET. I love that place and their clearance prices can't be beat!

I only used 3 small Cricut cuts, the butterfly, bee and title, all of which came from Walk In My Garden. I thought the images went well with the ones on the paper. I did layer different ribbon, lace, uhhh, whatever it is. I went along with the stripes on her jacket, well at least the pink and blue, but I just had to use the white butterfly! You might need to click the picture to see it better.












I think I will be going through some more pictures soon to see what else I can use the Cosmo Cricket *okie so wants to spell Cricut every time* paper on!!

Card From Some of My Stampin Up Goodies!

I have wanted the Stampin Up butterfly punch and some of their stamps like FOREVER!! I was able to get both when I had my party last month. This is the first project I have been able to make with my goodies!!

So I totally cheated and got the "map" for this card from PAGEMAPS. I so love that site and go to it frequently when I need some inspiration!

SUPPLIES USED:

Stampin Up - Butterfly Prints set; scallop circle, butterfly and border punches; cardstock; markers
Scenic Route- Patterned paper
Patterned paper - Scenic Route
Colorbox - Cat Eye Inks
Imaginesce - IRock heat tool and pearls
3/8" Grosgrain ribbon
Viva Pearl Pen
Clear Embossing Powder
Versamark pad, Heat gun




I stamped the butterfly on some coral cardstock with the Versamark ink and then added embossing powder and heated until glossy *okie thinks she is so silly sometimes by giving such explanations but she figures if she doesn't that will be the time someone asks*. I punched a butterfly out of red to make a base for the coral butterfly to go on. I added the pearls with the Irock tool for the body and then just drew on some antenna.

The scallop circle is on mounting foam to pop it out from the card base.



I was going to use something different for the inside sentiment but when I got the card done it just seemed to really fit so I just used the sentiment that came with the stamp set.

Once again I decorated the inside of the card with some of the scraps I had left.









Here is a close up of the dots I did with the Pearl Pen. My friend Carol with two hearts sent this to me quite some time ago and I coudln't ever get the thing to work right. I decided to try it again and low and behold I got it to work! What I did was squeeze lightly until a little was coming out of the tip. I then lowered it to the paper, not touching the tip of the bottle on the paper, and the pulled away at a slight upward angle. This seemed to eliminate the flattening or "hershey kiss effect" I got when trying these before. Now that I have the hang of this........I WANT MORE!!

My New Couch...or Lucy's New Couch

I got my new couch on Friday afternoon and I was so excited when the delivery truck pulled up. My excitment lasted about as long as it took for them to set the couch up and head out the door because as soon as they did this is what I saw........




















Yeah Lucy thought it must be like the Oklahoma land run and decided to stake her claim to the new couch. And it went on all weekend!! At least here she looks like he is loving the couch and not telling me to stay away.




















Could she look anymore comfortable? I mean come on!! Using the arm of the couch as her head rest??? I swear my BFF Karen is right and Lucy thinks she is human!! I posted on Facebook that I was so glad I had a $900 dog bed!


































But the killer picture...When I told her to get off my new couch this is the look I got from her!! I swear she is saying "go to hell bitch this is my couch!"


































She did allow me to take a nap on the couch this weekend. But of course she had to be up on the couch as well, I guess to make sure I wasn't going to stay there or something...who knows!!

Happy Birthday to Scrapper69!! She's having a giveaway!

Today is one of my most faithful follower's birthday! Scrapper69 is celebrating her birthday with a giveaway on her blog...SCRAPPERS ANONYMOUS. She is giving away the Holiday Cakes cartridge! I have this cartridge and haven't gotten to use it yet but I have looked through the handbook and it has some great cuts on it for other cards and layouts as well! So if ya have a minute why not hop on over to SCRAPPERS ANONYMOUS and tell her happy birthday and enter her giveaway!

Easter Cards Made By Clients

Sorry it has taken me so long to get the pictures posted. I was very busy the last few days working on layouts for the HSN E2 contest. I actually got 3 done but then I found out that beech Monique Griffith of Monique Griffith Designs is entering so I think I will just go start a fire with the layouts I made!! *okie so hates Monique and all her fantastic talent*

Oh but back to the cards...

My clients had a blast making the cards and now they are asking about making birthday cards. I told them we would do that either in May or June.

Here you can see where they are signing the insides of their cards. Some said they were giving them to their friends that live at the facility or to staff members, others said they were going to mail them to family members.

I guess you can see my favorite glue in the picture!! I did have to work with them on how to squeeze the bottle SLIGHTLY after one of them gave it a good squeeze and glue went flying across the table. Luckily it was before anything else was on the table so nothing got ruined.




I took gel pens for them to use to decorate the eggs I had cut from the From My Kitchen cartridge. A few chose not to decorate the eggs but most of them did. They really enjoyed going through and looking for colors to use. I did have to keep reminding them to put the lids back on the pens and during my last group one of the ladies went through the pens and found 3 that didn't have lids and she chastised the group for putting them back in the container without a lid *okie laughs about how her clients will reprimand each other* and told them "Shirley won't let us do this again if we don't treat her stuff right!".


My last group of the day were able to get a little more creative and decorate the fronts and insides of the cards since I had cut extra images and I told them they could use what they wanted that was left over. Most of them in that group chose to make an extra card.










I did have the bunnies and baskets all put together. I only have an hour with a group so I needed to make it a little easier to put the cards together. Some chose to have me put the mounting foam on the back. Which was rather humorous because I forgot to tell them they needed to peel the back off the little pieces of mounting foam and they couldn't figure out why the images weren't sticking.

I told them to be creative and make their card how they wanted when several kept asking if theirs was right. I let them know that in card making there is no right or wrong "there is only the masterpiece you create" and they seemed okay with that.

It can be a lot of work to get stuff ready for 30-32 cards and wondering if I got it easy enough to complete in an hour but artistic enough to have them feel they did well, but it is worth it when I see the pride on their face of how they made a card.

Busy busy busy!

I got pictures taken of some of the cards the clients made on Wednesday but I haven't had time to upload them. I thought I would do it last night and have it post today but wouldn't ya know we were under tornado and thunderstorm warnings all evening and then my power went out for about 2 hours!!

Today I will get my new couch *okie does the 'happy to get a new couch after 17 years' dance* and I will try to get the pics uploaded while I am waiting for the delivery men. The lady called yesterday afternoon and told me it was in. She said "we are in for some bad weather, do you want to wait until tomorrow". I told her "YEP! that will be just fine". Shoot if we were gonna have a tornado I would rather it be in their possession and their responsibility than in mine! HA HA HA

Cards...check, cuts....check, envelopes...check

Cards...check
Cuts....check
Envelops...check
Glue...check
Gel pens...check
Mounting foam...check
Tape...check

Okay think I have everything packed in the bag! Today is the day I do groups at the ICF/MR and the groups asked if they could make Easter cards since they liked making the Valentine cards. I asked for some ideas and they said "bunnies" "eggs" "baskets". I think I got it covered!!n One of the girls at the school I work at in the mornings said she would help me glue all the baskets and bunnies together to take out to my groups.

This is the basic design I had in mind so all the items were covered. I stamped "HAPPY EASTER" on the inside of all the cards. I am taking gel pens so they can decorate the eggs or doodle on the card if they would like to do so.

I am also taking my camera so I can take pictures of their cards when they are done with them and post them for you guys to see. I can't tell you how much my clients liked this the last time they got to make cards and how thrilled they were when their family or friends praised their work!

After one man sent his Valentine's day card home he met me at my car when I arrived one day and said "Shirley!! My mama got her Valentine Day card I made her and she said it was beautiful! She said it was the best one she ever got and it was nice I made it. I did make a beautiful card didn't I Shirley!" You could tell the pride he felt as it was beaming from his smiling face and his smile broaden even more when I told him "Oh it was absolutely gorgeous!!".

I so love doing my groups and I don't think they will ever understand how much joy they bring me and how much I learn from them!

All that numbering!! WINNER

So I and to go through and copy and paste all the comments and then number them so I could find the winner. I went to RANDOM.ORG and put in the numbers 1-150 and the number that came up was number 8. Now why did I have to spend all that time then it be a number 8 that I could have easily counted and found? *okie shakes her head a laughin*

The winner of the Fabulous Used Giveaway of 44 ProMarkers and 2 carrying wallets is...

AndreaA said...

Nobody will mind Okie if these markers are used. People trade use stuff all the time.
Best I could find there are 148 colors,Momento ink works best is what I think i read on facebook,
I love little Betsy Bluebell... Thinking of you, and Okie is the best because she Okie!!!!!!!
Thanks for the chance!!!

April 8, 2011 8:08 AM

Congrats Andrea! I will be contacting you for your mailing information!

I Do NOT Handle Rejection Well....

So there is a big contest going on right now and the prize is a new Expressions E2. The winner will be announced April 26th on HSN on the big launch of the new machine.

I want to enter but I can't stand rejection. I even made a project for the contest and sent pictures to a few friends. I told them I thought my project would quickly get tossed to the side because it isn't bright and cheery and child themed. One of my friends replied that she didn't think they would even consider my project. I figure I will just save my postage and not send my entry. I don't even know what to do with the dang thang now!

I am never going to get the idea of entering anything ever again!!!

Unmounting Stamps - Revisited

I have had a lot of interest in the last few days about how I unmount my stamps. I have posted the link to the post on my blog where I showed pictures and went through how I do this process but since getting a few more inquiries I thought this post was worth revisiting. I did do a little editing to the original tutorial.

Also, tonight is the deadline for the ProMarker giveaway! If you feel you didn't answer all the questions correctly that is okay, I said semi-correctly. For those who feel like I made you jump through hoops this time...oh well. I just thought it would be something different to do and since it was a bit of a bigger giveaway I did think it deserved a little more effort. I will never tell you that you have to post about my blog on a whole bunch of different places nor will I tell you that you have to follow my blog *okie is still in awe that people think they NEED blog followers since it kinda freaks okie out that 1,700+ are following her and is always concerned about making a wrong turn and getting everyone lost*.

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I got the static cling foam on eBay from a seller named 941nmb and I got the product quickly. The seller did combine shipping. I ordered 7 sheets and I now only have 1/2 sheet left. I believe the foam is about 1/8 of an inch thick, if that thick.

1. In order to save on foam I laid out a sheet of foam and then arranged my stamps to maximize usage of the product *okie thinks she sounded very professional just then*. Okay, let's break it down, ya'll know I am cheap and I am gonna find the best way I can to get the most out of anything! HA HA HA












2. Here you can see where I stamped the images with Stazon ink. I used Stazon so it would be permanent and not rub off. I left the stamps on the foam as I was stamping so I could get them positioned where they were originally. I did sometimes have to move a stamp or two so I could get an image stamped.











3. I unmounted my stamps by peeling them off the blocks and foam. Usually the foam stayed on the block and I was just able to peel the stamp off the foam. If you have problems you can stick the stamp in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen up the adhesive. Luckily I didn't have any problems and mine come off pretty easy. Some of the older ones took a little bit more elbow grease but it wasn't bad.





4. I lined up the image on the foam by holding it up to the light. I actually had the stamped side toward the light and the stamp facing me. I thought about trying to find my little light table thing I have but I was too lazy to go look for it. The good thing about the foam is that it takes a few hours for it to become permanent so if you don't get it straight the first time *okie thinks...or the first four times* don't worry, you can just pull the stamp up and reposition.











5. After trimming the foam on a few I noticed my scissors were getting sticky and I go the Undu out and cleaned them off. I decided to use the little device shown in the picture to get rid of the sticky and it made it a lot easier to trim the stamp. I can't remember the name of the thing, but it has talcum powder in it.







6. Next I trimmed right next to the stamped image. The foam cuts very easily. I was using big scissors at first but then went to using my Cutterbee's because I could get in the corners a lot easier on some of the stamps.








7. TADA! *okie throws her hands in the air like she just did the most fabulous magic trick* And this is what you end up with after you get the stamp stamped on the foam, unmounted from the block, positioned on the foam and then trimmed! A nice little stamp that takes up about 1/4 of the room you were using before!


You may have to rinse or wipe off the stamp after you do this because the powder keeps the stamp from sticking to the DVD case.





8. Now you can see why I unmounted my stamps! What you see in the picture is actually space saving proof. All 10 sets of the stamps fit in 3 DVD cases! A few of the sets were smaller ones but at least half were the large sets.








Stampin Up is offering many of their stamps in the "clear" form now that is how I order mine when possible. Those I leave on their original foam. If you do some rearranging of the stamps you can often get two sets in one case. I just line them up where I can fit more in, this way it saves on storage as well. But I do not store on both sides of the DVD case if the stamps are on the original Stampin Up foam.

If the stamps are a new wood mount set I take them off their original foam since it is thicker than what I use for the rest and it allows me to use both sides of the DVD case this way. Here you can see how they stamps don't come in to contact with one another with the case closed.

I have my sets on a shelf in my craftroom *okie thinks that was stupid to say because where else would she keep them? The bathroom?* I have the DVD crates from Walmart standing up and slide them in there. Stampin Up sells the DVD cases for $4.95 for a set of 4. If you are interested in ordering cases and don't have a Stampin Up demo just let me know and I will gladly refer you to a demo I do business with quite frequently.