Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #194

          Good morning everyone! I hope you all are having a great week thus far. I am back today with another Word Art Wednesday Design Team creation. This week's challenge is #194. As always the Word Art Wednesday Challenge is an "Anything Goes" challenge and is open to anyone who would love to play as long as your creation is family friendly as well as uses an uplifting or encouraging sentiment. We would love to have join us! To find out all the details and enter the challenge just click here to be taken to Word Art Wednesday.
           For my card today I decided to do something you all haven't really seen me do in awhile and that is color in an image with alcohol markers. Although I haven't put any on a card in sometime, I actually still do a lot of coloring images, but they usually get put on my daughters memory books. I personally think she didn't turn out too bad, but unfortunately I was having some trouble with the dress. For some reason this particular color didn't want to blend that well. It was the first time I have used this color combination so I guess I just need to play around with it some more until I get the hang of how how to blend them. I then decided I wanted to pull in the other colors from the background as well as make her look like a cabaret dancer so I added the little cardstock spirals. I didn't have any feathers that matched but I wish I had because that would have looked really neat. Anyway, I hope you like the way she turned out :)
          I really appreciate you all stopping by my blog today! I hope you will come back again soon! God Bless you all! Have a fabulous week!
Card Front
Card Inside
Supplies List:
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
My Creative Time - Stitched Rectangular Frame Dies & More
Recollections cardstock - Blue Ombre
Recollections cardstock - Spice Market
Stampin' Up - Designer Series paper
Some Odd Girl - Renew Clear Stamp Set
Tombow Adhesive
Tombow Dot Adhesive
Scor-Pal/Scor-Tape/Sookwang Tape 
Scotch Foam Mounting Tape
Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
Small flower purchased from Michael's Crafts
Copic Multiliner Pens (to add black details)
White Jelly Roll Pen (to add highlights on the eyes)
Card/Plate holder purchased from Michael's Crafts
The Stamps of Life - Custom Made Personalized Stamp (used to stamp very back of card)
Michele R Designs - Custom Made Personalized Watermark

Challenges Entered:
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge 


(Disclaimer: Any supply links listed above are links solely being used as a guide to show you what those items are. Some links may come directly from the manufacturer while others may not. Unless otherwise stated all products were purchased with my own money and in no way am I affiliated with these links nor the businesses associated with them. Please use discretion should you choose to shop from the links listed above. Thank you)

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #193

          Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Today I am sharing my Word Art Wednesday Challenge #193 Design Team entry. We would love to have you play along! You can join the Word Art Wednesday Challenge by going to www.wordartwednesday.blogspot.com or clicking here.
          I have a little confession to make about my card for today. I actually made a card like this for my mom back on Mother's Day. I loved the card so much and love my vellum flowers that I had to make it again for you all! I think it's been one of my most favorite cards I have made thus far and I was totally bummed that I couldn't keep the first one I had made. Now that I've remade it, I can't take my eyes off of it, I LOVE IT! I hope you will too. I love this shade of pink of the vellum. It's so soft and elegant! It was hard trying to find a background that didn't take away from that elegance of the vellum as well as a background that could keep up so when I found this background paper at Michael's Crafts I was thrilled. Definitely a great combo... I think anyway ;) (PS: The only difference from this card and the card I made for my mom is that hers didn't have the front bible scripture and the inside of my mom's card was decorated as well as stamped "Happy Mother's Day")
          Thank you all so much for stopping by my blog today! If your not already a subscriber, I would greatly appreciate it if you would sign up and follow my blog. Have a blessed week!


Card front


Supplies List:
My Favorite Things Hybrid Camellia Flower Die-namics
My Creative Time - Stitched Rectangular Frame Dies & More
Recollections cardstock
Stampin' Up - Pink Pirouette Ink Pad
Tombow Adhesive
Tombow Dot Adhesive
Homemade Enamel Dots (made using pony beads)
Simon Says Stamp - Ranger Multi Matte Medium (to make the flowers and adhere the enamel dots)
Glue Dots

Challenges Entered:
Simon Says Stamp - i Scream For Challenge
My i represents inspirational quote since my card has an inspirational Bible quote of the front. Another i is represented by the ink used on my card for the inspirational Bible quote.


(Disclaimer: Any supply links listed above are links solely being used as a guide to show you what those items are. Some links may come directly from the manufacturer while others may not. Unless otherwise stated all products were purchased with my own money and in no way am I affiliated with these links nor the businesses associated with them. Please use discretion should you choose to shop from the links listed above. Thank you)

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #192

          Happy Wednesday all! Today is Word Art Wednesday Challenge #192. I had some inspiration for my card today from Jessica Esch. Jessica is always making beautiful cards and this one is a simple yet gorgeous card that I just had to make. Please stop by her blog to see all her beautiful creations! Her blog is www.chick-n-scrap.blogspot.com Thank you for stopping by my blog today! I wish you all a wonderful and blessed week! PS: Don't forget you can join the Word Art Wednesday Challenge, we'd love to have you play along! If you would like to join us click here.


Supplies List: 
My Creative Time - Pretty Butterflies & Dragonfly Dies
My Creative Time - Stitched Rectangular Frame Dies & More
My Creative Time - Build A Scripty & Watercolor Background Stamp Set
Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
Recollections Card Stock
Stampin Up - Tempting Turquoise Ink Pad
Scotch Foam Mounting Tape
Tombow Adhesive
Tombow Dot Adhesive
Homemade Enamel Dots (made using pony beads)
Simon Says Stamp - Ranger Multi Matte Medium (used to adhere homemade enamel dots)

Challenges Entered: 
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes Challenge



(Disclaimer: Any supply links listed above are links solely being used as a guide to show you what those items are. Some links may come directly from the manufacturer while others may not. Unless otherwise stated all products were purchased with my own money and in no way am I affiliated with these links nor the businesses associated with them. Please use discretion should you choose to shop from the links listed above. Thank you)

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Get Well Card

Hello everyone! My mom had surgery so I made her a get well card and thought it turned out so cute that I wanted to share it with you all. Enjoy!

Front of card

Inside of card
Close up of mouse on front

Close up of mouse on the inside
Front sentiment used on card with the clear glitter embossing powder

Supplies List:
Craftin Desert Divas - Tissue Time
Recollections Card Stock - Cool Waters
Versa Mark Ink Pad
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
My Creative Time - Stitched Rectangular Frame Dies & More
Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
Scotch Foam Mounting Tape
Tombow Adhesive
Tombow Dot Adhesive
Momento Tuxedo Black Ink
Wink Of Stella Clear Glitter Pen
Clear Glitter Embossing Powder

Challenges Entered: 
Simon Says Stamp - Furry Friends Challenge
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes Challenge



(Disclaimer: Any supply links listed above are links solely being used as a guide to show you what those items are. Some links may come directly from the manufacturer while others may not. Unless otherwise stated all products were purchased with my own money and in no way am I affiliated with these links nor the businesses associated with them. Please use discretion should you choose to shop from the links listed above. Thank you)

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #191

          Hello all! I hope everyone had a blessed and safe July 4th. I come today to share with you the Word Art Wednesday Challenge #191. You all have probably figured out by now how much I love bubbles/circles so for my Design Team card this week I again made a bubble/circle style card using bubbles/circles in a different way. I love how you can take a something as simple as a circle or square and make so many different patterns. Since I posted such a long post on Saturday I figured I would keep today's short and to the point, lol! As always if you have any questions feel free to ask. Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you all have an amazing week! I now present to you, my card ;)

Front of card

Inside of card





Supplies List:
Stampin' Up - Sizzix Circle Framelits Dies
Stampin' Up - Pistachio Pudding Ink Pad (retired), Crisp Cantaloupe Ink Pad (retired), Bermuda Bay Ink Pad
Stampin' Up - Pistachio Pudding Cardstock, Crisp Cantaloupe Cardstock (retired), Bermuda Bay Cardstock
My Favorite Things - Blue Breeze Dye Ink PadCotton Candy Dye Ink PadGrape Dye Ink Pad
My Favorite Things - Blue Breeze Card Stock
Recollections Card - Pink Buttons Cardstock, Purple Passion Cardstock
Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
My Creative Time - Stitched Rectangular Frame Dies & More
I used a total of 6 different types of Embossing Folders from Sizzix and Paper Studio.
Scotch Foam Mounting Tape
Tombow Adhesive
Tombow Dot Adhesive
Scor Pal - Sookwang Tape
Zutter Bow It All Tool (I used it to make my bow)
Tsukineko Sponge Daubers
I made the bow with ribbon that I purchased from Michael's Crafts
The holder for my card was purchased at Michael's Crafts 

Saturday, July 4, 2015

MISTI and Foldio 2 Review

          Happy 4th! Hopefully you all are having a fantastic July 4th holiday. I'd like to take a moment to send a big THANK YOU to all of our Military men and women who have served or who are currently serving. My family and I greatly appreciate your bravery as well as all the sacrifices that you and your family have made that allow us the ability to celebrate the freedom we have. There will never be enough Thank You's said to show our gratitude!
          My apologies that this blog didn't post yesterday. Apparently I didn't click publish so the scheduler didn't know to post yesterday. Something told me to check the blog this evening and thankfully I did because I would have never known it didn't post.
         Today's blog post is going to be quite lengthy as I am sharing my reviews of the MISTI tool and the Foldio 2 'fold-able studio'. I haven't had these products very long so I am basing my reviews on how they have performed thus far so as I use them more should I find I learn something new or the my opinion of the product changes I will let you know. As for now though, I LOVE BOTH of the these products.
          Let me first start with the MISTI. If you haven't heard of the MISTI, the MISTI is short for the Most Incredible Stamp Tool Invented. It is an acrylic stamp tool much like a stamping acrylic block use with a positioning tool, but this tool does so much more than an acrylic blog used with a positioning tool could ever do. Just to mention a few of the things this tool allows you to do is perfectly re-stamp, stamp multiples, and stamp with proper placement. As I said that is just the beginning! I was going to do a video to show you how it works but there are already so many videos out there, so I am going to post some of the ones I found to be most helpful. Let me start though first with where you can purchase this amazing tool. I purchased mine directly through the inventor/manufacturer My Sweet Petunia. I found purchasing it directly through the inventor/manufacturer gave me the best/lowest price. At the time I bought mine it was on back-order but that didn't affect my order at all because I ended up receiving it just 4 days later. I was told they are constantly restocking so the wait times on the back-order are usually only a few days, but just to be sure I would contact them because this baby is in high demand so the turn around times can vary. Other places you can purchase it are from Simon Says Stamp and My Favorite Things. When purchasing this I highly recommend you purchase atleast a couple of magnets as well as the Novus Plastic Polish/Cleaner. I purchased 2 magnets but wish I would have purchased more. Be very careful with the magnets as they are extremely strong so you will get your fingers pinched if not careful. DO NOT stack the magnets together either as they are nearly impossible to separate since they are so strong. There is also a warning on the manufacturer's website that these magnets can break or chip because they are made of Neodymium so be sure to read that warning if you chose to purchase the magnets. Not only are these magnets strong but they are also the perfect size which will allow the lid to close properly and allows your stamps to stamp properly. Using other magnets might be to thick or large and not allow for the tool to be used correctly. The Novus Plastic Polish/Cleaner is also important to purchase because it is currently the only cleaner the manufacturer recommends and says won't damage the acrylic. According to the manufacturer other cleaners can crack, dull, scratch, and fog the acrylic where as the Novus Plastic Polish/Cleaner is specifically formulated to be used on acrylic. Another item available for purchase is a Grid Paper Pad. A lot of people have loved the grid paper pad, but I chose not to purchase it because you can download a free grid template, use graph paper, scrap paper, or even make your own template. I chose to use the free grid template as well as make my own template that I just make copies from. This allowed me to customize it to my likings and specific ways I do things with the tool. Currently the MISTI tool has a screen printed grid line on the lid, so because of that, the MISTI will come with a clear vinyl cling to place on the lid. This will help protect the screen printing from coming off, so be sure to place that over the lid immediately upon receiving your tool. My tool already had some of the screen printed grid missing and was told this is normal due to it being hand made/screen printed by hand. Mine as well also had some scratches and bubbles near the hinges and also squeaks which again I was told is normal due to be being handmade, but that it will not hinder the use or quality. Now if there are any cracks, that is not normal so contact the manufacturer to notify them. By the way this tool can be used by a right handed or left handed person. To change the MISTI tool for a left handed person click here for the video. One other thing that I loved about this tool was that I was able to use the outside of the lid to stamp as well. I had to prop up my card stock on a book since I was using the outside of the lid but everything still stamped really well. By using the inside as well as the outside of the lid, I was able to stamp 4 cards with 4 different images and sentiments. This was amazing because I then made 10 cards of each of those 4 so overall I stamped 40 cards in about 12 minutes. All I had to do was change the cards, ink, stamp, and then repeat. I have not seen a video of anyone doing this yet, so I will try and get a video done soon so you all can see this technique.
          As I mentioned there are so many videos on the internet on how to use the MISTI tool so you can research the Internet/YouTube to see them all but these are the ones I have found most helpful:
My Sweet Petunia YouTube Channel
Jennifer McGuire - Introduction (Speed up to the 5.48 minute mark)
Jennifer McGuire (techniques)
Jennifer McGuire (techniques)
Jennifer McGuire (techniques)
Darlene DeVries
Maureen Wong (browse through the channel as there are many MISTI tool videos)

          Now let's talk about the Foldio 2. The Foldio 2 is a 'fold-able photo studio'. The new Foldio 2 is much larger and brighter than the original. I purchased my Foldio 2 during their Kickstarter Campaign so I got it for a great price as well as being able to get it before it ever hit the market/stores. If any of you have ever backed a Kickstarter Campaign you may know there are pro's and con's to it so this Campaign was no exception. I expected to receive this back in March but due to some manufacturing issues it took longer than expected, but I finally have the product now and I LOVE IT! What is great about the Foldio 2 is that it comes with 4 backdrops, a dimmer, multiple styled plugs for traveling to other countries, LED lights, portable, comes with a carrying case, and soon will have an app to do cool things with your pictures. There were some issues with the stickers coming undone and a magnet sticking to another but it's an easy fix and something you can do yourself. You just locate the magnet remove it and reinsert it into its original position. The sticker re-sticks just fine but in the event it doesn't they have included extra stickers. Some people reported flickering with the lights but if you simply swap the plugs with one another the flickering goes away. I then marked mine so I would know how to plug them in each time or you can just leave them plugged in because it is a 2 part plug so the lower half can be removed for storage. The Foldio 2 is approximately 15" squared when fully open where the original Foldio is 10". When closed and stored in the case it is 15" squared by about 1" to 1½" thick. I purchased this to take pictures of my cards and other craft items I make and I will say that the quality of my pictures has been amazing! So crisp, clear, and bright! Below are some pictures of the Foldio 2 as well as pictures for you to see the difference in my pictures before the Foldio 2 and now with the Foldio 2. If you are interested in purchasing the Foldio 2, it is currently available for Pre-order through the manufacturer/developer Orange Monkey. To go to the Orange Monkey website and learn more about the Foldio 2 or to pre-order your Foldio 2, click here.


Foldio 2 - open with lights off/unplugged

Foldio 2 open with lights on. The card I have in the center is 4.25" x 5.50" so as you can see with this 15" overall, there is still plenty of room to put larger objects inside.


Picture of my card WITHOUT using the Foldio 2

Picture of my card WITH using the Foldio 2 (I did not use any of the backgrounds that come with it so the backing you see is the Foldio 2 interior itself, but the picture below is using the white background that comes with it.

Taken with the Foldio 2 and using the white background. The backgrounds I received with my Foldio 2 through the Kickstarter Campaign were the white that is shown, grey, black, and green.




I think that about sums it all up for my reviews of these two products. If you have any questions on these products don't hesitate to ask. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. I hope you all have a blessed, safe, and wonderful holiday weekend!



(Disclaimer: Any supply links listed above are links solely being used as a guide to show you what those items are. Some links may come directly from the manufacturer while others may not. Unless otherwise stated all products were purchased with my own money and in no way am I affiliated with these links nor the businesses associated with them. Please use discretion should you choose to shop from the links listed above. Thank you)

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #190

          Well hello again my fellow crafters! It's Wednesday and I think by now you all know what that means ;) That's right, it's time for my Word Art Wednesday Design Team post. Woo Hoo! This week is Challenge #190. We would love for you to join us so if your interested just click here to be taken to the Word Art Wednesday Blog where you will find out all the details about how you can play along.
          I told you all that I would be including my reviews on the Foldio 2 and the MISTI but I decided to do it in a separate blog post so that today's blog post didn't drag on forever, lol. I have already typed up the post for my reviews and it is scheduled to post on this Friday, July 3rd so please check back then.
          Now let's take a look at the card I made for you all today :)

Front of card. Card size measures 4.25" x 5.50". The verse was printed out from my computer rather than stamped. The handmade bow is actually a perfect match in color but for some reason it looks different when photographed.

Supply List:
Stampin' Up - Pistachio Pudding Cardstock (cardstock is now retired)
Stampin' Up - Pistachio Pudding Ink Pad (this color ink pad is now retired)
My Creative Time  - Scalloped Stitched Oval Dies
Peachy Keen - Polka Dot Background Stamp (discontinued item)
Georgia Pacific White Cardstock
Scotch Foam Mounting Tape
Tombow Adhesive
Tombow Dot Adhesive
Scor Pal - Sookwang Tape
Zutter Bow It All Tool (I used it to make my bow)
Polka Dot Ribbon purchased from Michael's Crafts
Card holder/plate holder purchased from Michael's Crafts

Challenges entered:
Simon Says Stamp - We're Going Dotty

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog and I as well greatly appreciate all of your sweet comments! Have a wonderful and blessed week!



(Disclaimer: Any supply links listed above are links solely being used as a guide to show you what those items are. Some links may come directly from the manufacturer while others may not. Unless otherwise stated all products were purchased with my own money and in no way am I affiliated with these links nor the businesses associated with them. Please use discretion should you choose to shop from the links listed above. Thank you)