HappyNScrappin...Stupid Yahoo Merchant!

Poor Shari was getting orders ready and Yahoo Merchang went on the fritz! It even cleared all her inventory and she was quite frantic about the whole situation. I know she posted throughout the day about the problems she was having and I believe it is all resolved now.

If you had issues ordering today please do NOT think it was Shari not doing things on her end. I honestly have never gotten such wonderful service from an online retailer as I have Shari over the years.

I believe the issues is currently cleared up.

Good-Bye HappyNScrappin...SALE

I was very sad to see an email I got from Shari, the owner of HappyNScrappin, saying she made a very hard decision and is not going to be having her online store anymore. I have ordered from Shari over the years and always got excellent service and products from her. I do understand her decision as she is wanting to spend more time with her family. I can't imagine how much time and effort she has had to put in over the years.

In true Shari fashion she is going out with a bang and is having one of the most awesome sales I have seen in a long time! There are products from some of the top lines such as Bazzill, Bo Bunny, Basic Grey, Doodlebug and so many more. And yes, I have made my order before posting this so I would be sure to get the products I wanted before they sold out *okie thinks she ain't no dummy*.

If you see something you want you better get it now and not hesitate because anytime she has a sale items sell out fast and this time there will be no restocking. I can personally attest to her dedication and trying to fill each order. If the item sells out before your order is processed then she will promptly refund the money for those items.

Be sure to check her out and also please make an order. I don't want her closing but I am excited about her spending more time with her family!!

GO SHOP! HAPPY N SCRAPPIN

It Is Amazing!!

I have seen and read about the Oil of Olay Regenerist products a few times and have wondered how they work and I know I am getting older and need to start taking a bit more care with my skin but I am also cheap and didn't want to pay $20 for a little jar of lotion so of course I just left the stuff on the shelf.

A few weeks ago I was at my local bargain store and they had a set of Olay Regenerist Face Wash and Micro-Sculpting Cream for $5.88 and I figured for that price I would try it.

I tried the cream 3-4 days in a row, morning and night, and my face got a few extra pimples so I figured I better cut back. I have extremely oily skin on my face and should have thought of that before using the product so much.

For the last two weeks I have only been using it for 3-4 times a week and only at night and the breakouts aren't happening anymore than what was normal for me so I figure that is the regiment I need to use.

Last night after applying my cream I was looking in the mirror and thought "WOW! I think this shit is really working!". I ran in the living room and had my daughter look at my face. I told her "Do I look younger?". She looked over my face carefully and said "yeah you really do". And we discussed how I don't really have many wrinkles in the first place but how this does seem to be getting rid of those fine lines I do have. Then my daughter added "but you still have the bags under your eyes" *okie thinks she should have given her daughter up for adoption a long time ago*.

I will continue to use the cream, well and the facewash, until it is gone and then...to be honest, I think I will be springing for the stuff at full price!

Working On Some...

MINI ALBUMS!!

Everyone on Facebook, okay will probably not everyone since not everyone papercrafts, but everyone who papercrafts...well probably not everyone who papercrafts since some of them don't do mini albums...okay a few folks, were talking about Michaels having some 6x6 mini albums for like a fantastic price. My friend Carmen, who also tends to be my personal shopper, made a trip to Michaels to pick me up a few...okay more like 12 or something *okie suddenly remembers she owes Carmen some cards for that trip* because I knew I had some 6x6 pads that came in the Webster's Pages warehouse sale boxes and I thought those would be great for the projects.

Since that time I was organizing, as we all know I do frequently, and found that I have quite a few 6x6 pads! I have Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket *okie laughs because she spelled Cricut first and then had to change it*, K & Company, 7 Gypsies, and a few other companies little paper pads. I am not even really sure where they came from since those are not a size I generally buy and I know most of them probably had to come from some very kind people who sent them to me. I did some basic math and I think in order to use up all the pads I only need about 286 more of the mini albums and I will have all the 6x6 pads gone! I might have exaggerated a little here but I do know I am able to get at least 3 mini albums out of one of the stacks and that includes extra for matting pictures and dressing up the pages.

This is really slow going for me because for some reason I am crafting slow this week. I think I am still trying to unwind from all the Valentine cards I did.

Here is the cover I did night before last and last night I almost completed the inside pages. Maybe I can get this one and another one done over the weekend. 

I have made quite a few mini-albums over the years and I don't have not one to show for it. I always think I am going to keep one for myself and then wonder what I would do with it since I have scrapbooks full of pictures and I prefer big pages over little ones. I do think mini-albums are great gifts for folks who don't scrapbook but have a few pictures they would like to keep in a special place.

How many of ya'll do mini-albums?? Go ahead...discuss....

Have You Heard Of Vaporizing?

I don't mean like the Vick's Vaporizers...I mean like the kind ya inhale and blow out. My sister stopped smoking in the fall by using the electronic cigarette but she said it was a battle not smoking a real cigarette. A battle I could definitely understand since I had "been there done that". She had saw someone using some kinda contraption and asked what it was. They explained it was a vaporizer that can be refilled and it was better than an electronic cigarette. My sister went to the place and got one and loved it, and loved it so much she told me "I want to get you one for Valentine's day".

The Saturday before Valentine's Day the kids and I went to see my sister so I could give her her Christmas gifts. Cheryl, that's my sister's name, took us over to 405 Vaperz in Oklahoma City so she could buy me a vaporizer. It was a really cool place and they let you try all the flavors for free. There were some customers in there just hanging out and vaporizing...they all had positive things to say about the vapor system. My daughter tried them as well and she was very impressed, Chuck was thrilled she liked it and bought her an economy kit like my sister bought me. I think they were about $60 for the batter, tank and a bottle of liquid.

Since getting my vaporizer I have done a lot of searching on the internet and I am so glad I was able to go into a store and buy mine where it was explained, all the reading can get very confusing! I will try to show the system I am using.

This is the Joyetech Ego C upgrade battery that we have. I would have loved to have had a red but they only  had blue, green, black and silver when we were in the store. We both ended up getting the blue.

The charge depends on how much you use the vaporizer and if you remember to turn it off between uses. It is highly recommended that you do so you don't accidentally hit the button and discharge the unit.

From the research I did most of the systems come with a filter type tank and it can be a pain to fill. The great guy at 405 Vaperz sold this system in the "economy kit". This is a Vivi Nova Mini system and it is very easy to refill, no syringe  needed! There are 3 different "wicks" that vary in resistance, the lower the resistance the deeper the vape *okie is so proud of her use of the lingo*. This system is also easy to clean.

Here is a picture of the batter and tank put together. If you make the picture bigger you might be able to see the liquid in the tank area. I like the clear tank so it is easy to see the liquid and when you might need to refill. My daughter has a cap on the drip tip in this picture, ours are just plain black but there are a variety to choose from out there in the world of vaping!




One of the hardest parts of starting to vape is choosing liquid flavors! It really is a matter of personal choice. Someone suggested the pineapple saying it was his absolute favorite...I was not impressed and actually gagged a little. After trying several flavors my daughter and I both decided we really loved the Fire & Ice liquid. It is kinda like sucking on a piece of Big Red Gum and then the sensation you get when you breath out after sucking on the game. We also both got the Cappuccino but have decided we will likely stick with the Fire & Ice. The 10ml bottle of liquid cost $5.95 and how long it lasts will depend on how often you vape. Mine is lasting me about a week and a half but I am a deep drag vape person, my daughter's is lasting longer because she is a light hitter. Here is a link to where you can see the flavors available where we got ours GOURMET E-LIQUID.

Now for a question you might have...is it bad for you. Well from all the research I can find it is not harmful like cigarettes. There is nicotine in the liquid if you want and how much you will want to get depends on how much you smoke. I smoked ultra lights and less than a pack a day so they mixed mine at 6mg. My daughter was a full flavor and less than a pack a day but they mixed her a 12mg. You can step down if you like or you can go with no nicotine, just however you want to do it.

As of today I have been 10 days without a cigarette. Every now and then I think "I would like to have a cigarette" but once I take a few hits off my vaporizer I am okay and don't think about it again. There are some hard core vapes out there who can probably tell you a lot more about these systems but for my use what I got is working great for me! I would suggest you google your area for vapor stores as they are starting to pop up everywhere, that way you can go in and try the product and flavors for yourself. I found out yesterday that there is a place that just opened here in my town and I am excited because I won't have to order my supplies online now.

If you want to quit smoking but enjoy the inhale, exhale and the bit of nicotine I would highly recommend looking into vaporizing!

Big Vinyl Wall Quote

I must be getting into another vinyl phase. I swear my obsessions cycle around. Sometimes it goes from scrapbook layouts to cards to vinyl to etching to...well etc etc etc and then starts all over again!

My daughter and I saw a canvas we both loved that had a lot of words on it when we were in Hobby Lobby recently and I had her take a picture of it so I could create something with the words. I had forgotten my cell phone but ya know how kids are...attached at the hip, and for once I was grateful for the cell phone obsession kids have!

It took me quite awhile to make the file in Make The Cut, not because it was hard but because I used so many different fonts and trying to find ones that looked good and would cut fine was a bit time consuming. I can now understand why people would charge for their files.

I cut this one to the size of filling up a 12x24 mat, which was a lot of weeding!

One of the things I did to make the weeding a bit easier was to run my Cutterbee Scissors along the lines between the words. If you have ever done a large project you know how the vinyl can stick to itself and cause havoc by pulling up parts you want left down! This method allowed me to pull off a row at a time and not have the issue happen. 






Here is the project with all the main weeding done. Taking out the inner pieces can be time consuming, especially for something this size but it doesn't seem such a daunting task when you are watching TV while doing it.

I thought I was waiting for Walking Dead to come on AMC but when it got time the stupid movie Anaconda came on and I was not pleased! I did not want to watch J'LO and her big azz, I wanted to watch my zombies!! Evidently the cable company I have, CableOne, made a mistake. At first they tried to blame AMC and say no one was getting the feed but finally fessed up and said it was their mistake. The show came on at 11pm, just a mere 3 hours late! Now I am wondering if I would be better off getting Dish or DirectTV with the mistakes the cable company keeps making. I just keep hearing bad things about satellite tv and how it goes out when it's too windy, rains or snows. I guess nothing is perfect.

Wait...wasn't I talking about a vinyl project??

Here it is on the wall. I am not sure what type of transfer tape I have but it just wasn't wanting to release the vinyl for me. I left the whole thing on the wall overnight and it did release better then.

I really do like this big vinyl wall quote sign thing *okie really isn't sure what to call it* and I had to put it in the laundry room/hall from craftroom to kitchen since I couldn't find another place for it. Next time I think I will reverse the procedure so I don't spend an hour walking through my house wondering where to apply the vinyl!

More Split Initials!

I got an email from a reader who was wondering if I was selling the Split Initials. I hadn't really thought about it since I figured buying and shipping frames would be a little outrageous. She said she can take care of the frame end and just wanted the letters. After emailing back and forth it was agreed that it would be easier for me to have the letters ready to just mount in the frame. This way if there were any errors I could easily fix them and she didn't have to worry about transfer tape and messing up any of the pieces, as anyone who has worked with vinyl it is easy to mess up a little every now and then. Now all she will have to do is pop them in just like they were a picture!

I am using some clear acetate to put the vinyl on so a nice background can be added. I am also wondering how it would look with the couple's picture as the background, with the picture opaque and in black and white.

So far the only background paper I have done is the silver, she liked it in the one I had on my blog earlier this week. I think the possibilities would only be limited by your paper supply.

Someone sent me a message in the Make The Cut forum on how to do split the letters a little easier and boy did it make a difference! I do think I will eventually do the rest of the alpahbet and have it ready to go for 8x10 picture areas. The 11x14 frame with the mat seems to work nicely and it isn't too large but not too small either.

Now just to find some acetate sheets for a reasonable price and I might be ready to put these suckers up for sale as well!

Valetine's Card and Mailbox

My daughter seems to think I never make her cards or anything else so I wanted to make sure this Valentine's day she had something made by me *okie swears she makes that kid stuff and the kid just doesn't remember*.

I had plans for a grand card that had great elements on the front and on the inside and that all went to chit when the glue made the papers wrinkle and into the trash it went and I had to hurry up and come up with something else. Even though I used some scrap pieces to do the card and mailbox, to tell ya the truth, I think this one came out better anyway!

The mailbox is one from Target that were available a few years ago. I had my friend Carmen pick me some up and send to me. I haven't used many of them...yes it is the dreaded "but if I use it I won't have it anymore" disease!

I did ink the white metal a bit to help take down the starkness of the white. I could have used a pink or red mailbox but neither color looked good with the papers.




I absolutely love, Love, LOVE making square cards but dont make them often because they can't be mailed without extra postage. I also want to make really embellished cards but yet again I don't because they can't be mailed without a degree of difficulty. This was my perfect chance to make a nicely embellished square card!

I don't generally break out the pretty Prima flowers and nice pearl brads for cards but this time I made an exception. I added mounting foam between the bottom layer and the middle layer and also under the bottom layer, I really wanted dimension didn't I? I also foamed the layers on the tag. The stamp was one I have had for a long time and I have no idea who made it, maybe Sugarloaf.





You can see a little of how dimensional the card is in this picture. I used a stick pin to attach the bow to the tag, just pushing the end down into the foam. Stick pins are another thing I like to use but rarely do because it makes a card too thick to mail, heck makes them hard to even fit in a regular envelope!

My daughter was thrilled with her card and mailbox. I guess maybe she has been a sweetheart lately since Chuck and I both went to great lengths to make sure she had handmade cards this year!

Valentine's Day Card...Made By CHUCK!

I told Chuck a few weeks ago "Hey, ya know you should make Shiane a Valentine's Day card. I know it would mean a lot to her" and he said "I could do that". Of course trying to time when to make it became a problem because one night we had planned on finishing it and she got off work early so we had to wait until the night before for him to finish it up!

I was quite proud of Chuck. I gave him my drawer of Valentine paper and he picked out the paper he wanted to use and what he wanted to have on the card. I did find an image on the internet for the birdcage, well actually several but the one on the card is the one he chose. While I did work the Make The Cut Software, Chuck did all the loading and unloading of the paper and taking it off the mats. I told him he could do it all but he said "we will be here forever" and he was probably right.

He knew exactly what tools he needed to get the paper off the mat and to punch paper out on some of the images. He has either been around long enough now and watched me use the paper cutting machines that he does really pay attention, or is just use to seeing me use different things for the same purposes over and over that he remembered.

Here he is adding ribbon to the card for the birdcage to hang from.

He was very good paying attention to detail and while I did give him a few suggestions, like using ribbon instead of rope, he did a wonderful job of putting elements together. I am beginning to wonder if maybe he doesn't just come in and hang out in my craftroom when I am not home and wonder what all he could make!





Oddly enough Chuck was the first to use my Kellycraft Laser Square! It was really handy in being able to line up the letters he was gluing to the inside of the card. I did see a few things that I will have to figure out on it, like how to keep the paper from sliding around or the square moving, but that can be reviewed at a later date.








Here is the finished product!! The paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle. Chuck liked the saying on the paper so we measure and cut it so the saying on the paper could be featured on the front of the card. Getting the papers even was a little difficult for him, as he said "my fingers are too big" but he was very patient and got the papers down rather nicely. I was going to suggest inking the edges but I didn't want to send the poor boy over the edge.

Chuck came up with the idea of letting the birdcage "hang free" and that was easily accomplished by taping the ribbon between the birdcage and a piece of paper on the back. We added brads along the bottom to add some weight and help the cage hang better. I will admit I made the bow but he did attach it!

Chuck found this piece of coordinating paper in my stash and wanted to use it saying "I think it will look good to have the flowers going all along the bottom". Now ya'll tell me he doesn't sit in my craftroom while I'm gone!!

My daughter was impressed and at first didn't believe he made the card. She said "the first thing I did was flip it over and look at the back", of course she was looking for my stamp I use on all the cards I make LOL. I had written "handmade by:________________" and had Chuck sign his name and put the year so she can always remember and treasure that he took the time to make her a card with his own hands....and best of all, we got the pictures to prove it!

Split Initial Name Frame

Everyone seems to be doing the split letter's with the names in the middle of the letters these days, not even sure what they are called but I will just call it "Split Initial Name Frame". Well, I decided I wanted to do what everyone else was doing, because I am such a follower of others and all and decided to make one for my sister and brother-in-law.

I asked for and was given some files of split letters but they wouldn't open in MTC for some reason so I had to use my noggin and figure out how in the heck to get the letter to split. I got the K, in the regal font, up on my screen and then used the snipping tool to save the image. I then opened up Windows Paint and opened the image where I used the selection took to take out a chunk in the middle of the K. I saved the letter and then did a pixel trace in MTC and cleaned up the image and was able to split, join, break and all that good jazz until I got it how I wanted it. I know it seems like a lot of work and it probably was but now that I have it figured out I can likely do it a lot faster next time. Okay, there is no likely about it...I will be able to do it a lot faster!

I got a frame from the local bargain store for this project and looked for one that was a little elegant looking. I really wanted it to be matted as well and so I think I lucked out!

I will tell you that the first time I cut this I messed up. I read my ruler wrong and had it too tall and narrow, good thing I had plenty of vinyl! Oh and that is one reason I don't believe in buying vinyl in sheets...only rolls...always order rolls! After the first mess up I remeasured and got it right!

I debated about putting the established in the middle of the letter with their names but then decided it looked better at the bottom.

The kids and I went to see my sister on Saturday and I took her this little gift and she absolutely loved it! Now I need to think of some other worthy couple's so I can make some more of these!

Vinyl Decals

One of the things I love about a cutting machine is all the cool things you can make with vinyl cuts. I have made signs for windows, decorated tumblers, labeled totes and probably a lot more if I thought about it.

Last week Linda was working on a file she created and sent it to me because I wanted to cut one for a friend. Linda had some problems figuring out the feature to get the words to curve properly so I sat at the computer while talking to her and manually spaced out all the letters more evenly and then she had me send the file back to her. I told her "my journalism major that I never followed through on finally paid off" and we discussed how back in the day before computers and software programs that typesetting was a lot of counting and basic math. I am thinking I might have stayed with journalism if we would have had all the cool programs that are available today. I sure did hate counting words and figuring out how to justify the columns.

Here is a picture of the decal after I got it cut. The guy I gave it too loved it. I told him "as soon as my friend Linda sent me the file I knew I had to cut one for you!". He is quite the gun enthusiast so it works perfect for him.

I have been asked to make a few more of these decals and as soon as I get the other things done I am needing to finish I will get these cut and weeded.

Since my friend Linda made this file I will not be offering it for download on my blog but you can contact her at Nothin' Fancy and ask if she would be willing to send you the file.

Valentine Cards From Leftovers

After making card kits for my groups at McCalls I ended up with small pieces of scraps and I used those to make cards for my friend Carmen's daughter Dani.

The sentiment circle was obtained from the internet and I just printed it on my computer and then used a circle punch. I used two of my Stampin Up Circle punches on the teal paper and then added mounting foam between the layers to get it to pop up off the card.

I had cut extra hearts for the kits for McCalls in case anyone messed up but luckily they didn't and that left me with extra hearts which came in handy for these "scrap" cards. The mat of the card is the back side of one of the other papers and it had that stamp and tag image printed on there. I just worked the flowers, hearts and ribbon around the images and I think it turned out pretty nice.





I used a left over mat and hearts from the kits and then added some of the scraps I had to make this card. I think the bling on the hearts really added to make it different than the other one I did that was somewhat similar.









Is anyone else ready to move on to some other projects besides Valentine's Day? I AM!!

Two Heart Card

This is really a fast and easy card to make and you can really change how it looks with the papers you use. I did this one for the groups at McCalls and also for my card party since the papers I had seemed to go a long way! The files have a scallop border you can use at the bottom of the strip that goes horizontal on the card. I just decided not to cut it for the card kits.

Supplies Used:
Make The Cut
Bo Bunny Love Letters Collection
Echo Park Polka Dot paper
Stampin Up sentiment
Stampin Up marker
Stampin Up cardstock
Brad
Mounting Foam
Colorbox Chalk Ink




If you would like to download this file please click below:
MTC- Two Heart Border Card
SVG - Two Heart Border Card

Owl Bee...You're Valentine

I always think owls make such cute cards and especially with the sayings you can use! We did this card at the card party and everyone really loved it. In the files there are the words "owl be" that you can cut. I just decided to be lazy and print the sentiment for the front.


Supplies Used:
Make The Cut Software
Various Paper and Cardstock
Cuttlebug Hearts Folder
Pearls
Signo White Gel Pen
Colorbox Chalk Ink
Stampin Up marker
Stickles
Heart Brad
MS Word for Sentiment
Stampin Up punches


I actually think the owl looks better without the Stickles on it *okie can't believe she just said that out loud* but what's done is done, at least on this card! LOL

Of course you can download the file just for the owl if you like and you can change the heart to something else. That is just one of the things I love about the Make The Cut software!!

Valentine's Day...SO OVER IT!

As someone kindly pointed out that I have not posted in 10 days so figured I better get on here and post *okie smiles and feels warm and fuzzy thinking that folks miss her*. I do have some cards I will be posting over the next few days and there are some MTC files for a few of them. I have been busy working on cards this past week. I did Valentine Cards with my groups at McCalls on Tuesday and they really loved the cards they made. I also have been working on some cards for my friend Carmen.

Carmen has been away from home for a few weeks tending to her brother who had to have some very major surgery. He is doing well, and actually so much better than we expected or even thought he would...God is truly working a miracle! Carmen always makes cards for her daughter Dani to give to her friends for Valentine's day and since she isn't at home to make the cards I am working furiously on getting enough done for Carmen to give to her family members and then Dani to give to her friends. I will be mailing out a box of cards to them Monday and luckily since Carmen lives in Houston she will have them in time for Valentine's Day.

I don't think I have made so many Valentine cards in all my life and I will be so OVER IT by the time the day actually gets here! Although I still have to make one very special card this year...more elaborate and gorgeous than anything I have ever done. I just hope I can do it!

I had my card party last Saturday and my friends Linda, Wendy, Andrea, Nancy and my cousin Teresa all made it to my house for an afternoon of card making fun! I had kits made up so each of them could make 4 cards each. I try to have enough so they can give them to their kids, spouses, etc.

Wendy and Linda are old hats at this stuff since they are both card makers so I didn't have to help or explain anything to them.

Teresa isn't a card maker but she sure whipped them out that afteroon! Andrea learned how to embellish and how it can really add to a card. Nancy did a great job on her cards and she learned about embellishing as well. Both Nancy and Andrea really liked the Cuttlebug and the effect it gives to the papers.

They all finished the cards a lot faster than I thought they did and I told them that next year I might make them cut their own stuff so they have to stay with me a little longer LOL.

Teresa did spend the night and on Sunday we worked on some projects for her grandkids. I totally forgot to take pictures of the items and maybe I can get her to take pics and email them to me so I can post them later on. Especially after she jazzes them up how she said she was going to.

I am thinking that maybe this summer we need to have a "Birthday Card Party". It will be an excuse to get my friends to visit me and also to keep them from stealing cards from my stash! HA HA HA