Winner Winner Come for Dinner!

Well it might be kind of far to drive for dinner, but it'd be fun anyway! The lucky winner of my blog candy for gratitude is........ *drum roll please...*.......................................

Lisa T said...

Wow, lucky you! How nice of you to share. :) I added your blog candy to my side bar. (I'm on the SCAL list with you.)

October 2, 2011 8:17 PM 


Lisa I will send you email. Please send me your full name and mailing address so I can get your package sent out. Congratulations!!!

How to turn a big screen tv in to a desk protector

Being the perpetual upcycler that I am when it came time to dispose of our broken 52 inch tv I absolutely could NOT throw away all the parts. Like that pop-off lens cover thingy in the pretty see-through smokey brown color. What could I do with it? Well, combine one huge desk that desperately needed protection from a messy crafter with one equally huge hard plastic surface and VOILA! I have to warn you that unlike my idol Brittany over at Pretty Handy Girl I don't have the best tools or knowledge of which drill bits to use on plastic OR the excellent camera skills that she has, so if it's REAL tool skills you're looking for please hop over there because she's started an awesome series of video tuts for folks like me who aren't afraid to use a tool, just lack a tad bit of knowledge and need her expertise. So, now on with the sheee-ooooohhhh.....

My go-to tool is the Dremel. Mainly because it's the only one I can reach and it doesn't weigh a ton. Plus I bought a ton (no kidding, well not a ton in weight, more like a gazillion) bits and attachments for it that haven't seen the light of day since being slipped in to the fancy 3-foot tall rolling tool box I bought for it. First I laid the plastic on the desk (please note the completely empty desk because you will NEVER see it this way again!). 

Then I traced a line where the edge of the desk was so I'd know where to cut it.

 My handy Dremel with the tile-cutting attachment and the bit that said it was for plastic.

 After cutting only about 3 inches I brought in the reinforcements, ear plugs and the cotton swab to clean my ears before inserting the plugs. For someone with severe tinnitus you'd think I'd know better than to expose my ears to the extremely high-pitched whining the tool made while cutting the plastic!

 Here's what the edge looked like after cutting. The plastic actually melted to the drill bit. Sorry no pic of that.

 Ah, note to self, NEVER cut all the way to the end of something without supporting the piece about to drop off or you'll have a mess!

 Another view of the rough edge. Actually, come to think of it this picture should come before the one up there with the white edge. That other picture shows what it looked like after I sanded the edge.

 The metal sanding bit I used on the edge. Now go back up to the other picture to see what it looked like.

 Since the edge was still a little sharp I dug out my handy-dandy rubber shelf liner, cut strips and laid under the plastic. Go figure, had to protect the desk from the desk protector!

The finished product! Ta da! I'll post another pic when I get my stuff put back on the desk, but for tonight I've got two get well cards to make (mom's in the hospital) and you know what that means. Yup, messy desk!

 Oh, if anyone reading this has advice for the right bit to use or method for smoothing the edge please let me know. Thanks!

Time to get organized!

What do YOU do when you take time off from work? Well if you're like me you work even harder at other things. Whether that means gardening, cooking, sewing, taking kids to doctor appointments, cleaning house, caring for elderly parents, or like me, organizing your craft space; it usually requires a lot of work. I've taken the next two days off to clean up my two rooms dedicated to my crafts. Yes you heard me right, TWO ROOMS!!! AAACK!!! For those of you who are now wallowing in jealousy over the fact that I have two full rooms for my crafts (one for paper, the other for sewing) let me tell you that I'd have more room on my dining room table than in both rooms put together! More space means more STUFF!

On Saturday my daughter and I had a very successful sales event in Lawrence, Kansas. There were a dozen Etsy vendors set up in a room at a downtown restaurant, Pachamamas (with absolutely FAB food that we've promised our husbands we'd taken them to later!) The crowd was awesome and steady throughout the entire day and the other vendors were all so friendly and talented that just meeting them would have been well worth the time.

Anyway.... I've finished doing inventory and now it's time to make a dent in the mess called my craft room. Hopefully I'll be able to spend tomorrow cleaning up my sewing room. I have every intention to finally get both rooms to the point where I can actually walk in, sit down and do some creating, then eventually start creating tutorials. What would you like to learn how to do? Is there a paper craft that you've seen here that you'd like to learn all the steps? Maybe you've seen a finished product somewhere else and just can't figure it out? I used to do training as part of my job and I guess you could say that it's in my blood. There are already soooooo many awesome tutorials out there and I don't want to repeat things that are readily available, so pray tell, what can't you find? Not that I can guarantee I'll be able to figure it out, but it'll give me something to shoot for when this old antique computer gets replaced by a graphics capable one. Oh, please also tell me if you're more of a visual, auditory, textual or hands-on learner. I'm one of those people who needs to do all four: see it, hear it, read it and do it. If you're anything like me you do best when there are written instructions to go along with the video tutorial so you can concentrate on soaking in all the visuals and listening rather than scrambling to write everything down.

Ok, NOW I'd better get out of this room and get to work in that craft room! Hopefully I'll have some success stories and pictures to share later. Oh, OH OH! Don't forget to sign up for my October Blog Candy Gratitude Giveaway that closes at midnight on October 29th!

Hear Ye Hear Ye Read All About Kansas Handmade Market!

Our upcoming Handmade Market for Kansas Etsy shops was featured today on the front page of Lawrence.com. We are sooooo excited and hope to see some of you there!
http://www.lawrence.com/news/2011/oct/14/hands-sellers-kansas-etsy-artists-featured-single-/

Halloween Cards upcycled from food boxes

I've been busy lately preparing for our upcoming Handmade Market in Lawrence, Kansas for Etsy artists from Kansas. Would you like to see a few of my Halloween cards? Well you're in luck because I have posted a few pics below beginning with the blob that was supposed to be a spider. Maybe it'll adorn another card as The Blob, ya think? I tried homemade shrinky dink stuff using some plastic cut from something like a salad container and well, it must be the wrong kind of plastic! I ended up just stamping a spider on the plastic and marking over the image with a Sharpee to thicken the lines.

 I like the way this bakers twine spider web looks. I cut tiny slits along the edges of the card to hold the twine in place, then tied the spider on to the center of the web.

 What you can't tell about the pumpkin below and I can't photograph it is that it's painted with glow in the dark paint! Believe me, when I turned out the lights it was really cool looking! Oh yeah, the web on this card is painted on with Epsom Salts and looks awesome, kind of like ice crystals.

 The little bats are stamped on the card using Versamark clear ink. The black dots around the orange circle are done with glitter glue and look great, just hard to photograph.

 The spider and BOO below are done with a puffy black embossing powder that feels grainy.

 Don't you just love the Stampin Up mesh embossing folder? I can't get enough of it!

 Now for those who are just happy it's Fall, here's the perfect card for them. Very simple, yet elegant.

Below I've used a circle to mask off a spot, then sponged orange ink all around it. It really makes the paper cutouts pop, don't you think?

Luscious Heavenly Fabric Goodies!

Look what came in today's mail. Oh before I show you let me encourage you to head right over to SuziQu's Threadworks after you're done drooling over the contents of my package. The pictures she takes are much better than mine, plus you can see all her other beauties!

I knew the package was from her because, well, I currently don't have any relatives or friends living in Australia. New Zealand, yes, but the aunt who used to be a missionary for Wycliffe Bible Translators in Australia has long since retired and returned to her roots in Wisconsin. Ok, I digress and I know you're chompin at the bit to see my surprises, so here they are:

So what will I do with this lovely fabric journal? Well for now I'm just going to admire it, pet it and soak up it's yumminess. Then I think I'll let IT tell ME what it wants to become! Maybe something to house some of my favorite fabric swatches. Or how about swatches from clothing my daughter wore growing up? Or pictures printed on fabric and sewn to the pages? Oh there are so many possibilities! I'd love to hear what YOU would do with one of these!

Blog Candy for Gratitude! -- CLOSED

If you've been reading my blog you know that in one week's time I was the recipient of four blog prizes. This past week has been an all time high for me, making me feel almost guilty, but mostly grateful and appreciative of the generosity of others. The best way for me to show my gratitude is by paying it forward, so ..... drum roll please.... I've got blog candy!!! Yup, I put together a package of ephemera, vintage ribbon, buttons, vintage wallpaper, handmade embellishments, twine, silk flowers and other fun things that would be great for making mini albums, embellishing scrapbook pages and cards or anything else your imagination desires. This blog candy will run until October 29 with the winner announced on October 30. To be eligible all you need to do is the following:

1. Become a follower if you aren't already
2. Leave a comment
3. Tell someone else about the candy. If you want to post this on your sidebar that would be awesome, but is not a requirement. You can just mention how you are spreading the word (twitter, facebook, blog post, etc.) in your comments.

Oh and please leave me a way to get in touch with you. Here's a picture of what I've gathered so far. I will be adding more as the month progresses and if I get over 50 comments I'll start another box. Woohoo, let the fun begin!!!

You're not going to believe this!

Ok, truly now, if any of you want to hop right over and rub my hand for good luck I'm home the rest of the weekend! Oh yeah, I WON AGAIN!!!! I got the message that I'd won an awesome Stampin Up stamp set from Holly and The Dog over at  Ink Paper Stamps while checking my mail on my cell phone in the car and let me tell ya, it's a good thing Mr. H was driving or I'd have gone off the road!!! We were on the way home and I promptly instructed him to stop at the next location that sells lottery tickets! Silly me made him come in with me because, well, I honestly don't know the first thing about buying lottery tickets. No really! Here is the lovely set that will be in my grateful hands soon. You've GOT to go give Holly and The Dog a shout out and enjoy her crafts. She's got some great tutorials if you're looking for inspiration!