Crafty Chatter

I don't know if you all love the Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks as much as I do, but in case you do here's a great tip for saving money !

Instead of purchasing those packages of felt blending pads ( 50 for $4.95 ) purchase plain white sheets of craft felt and cut your own to size. A sheet of white felt cost me $0.29 and I got approximately 42 1.75" x 1.25" pads out of it. A definite savings, and it works just as well as the pre packaged felt pads :)

Hope you found this tip helpful !

These glass blocks make such gorgeous lights and great gifts. They're so easy to make as well !

Supplies Needed :

Glass Block - you can purchase these at Michael's and I'm sure they can be found at other craft stores too. I just get mine at M's.

Small string of lights - I suggest the 30 light strings. These can be colored or white, the choice is yours depending on the type of block you want to make.

Mod Podge & Tissue Paper OR Armour Etching Cream - I've made glass blocks both ways. I prefer the glass etching cream, but mod podge and tissue paper work just fine as well.

Vinyl or Cardstock design - I mostly use vinyl, but you can certainly use black cardstock in place of it.

How To :

First you want to "frost" both flat sides of your block - if you're using armour etch, apply it liberally to one side, let it sit for about 15 minutes then wash off. Flip block over and repeat on other side. If you're using mod podge and tissue paper - apply a light coat of mod podge, place tissue paper over the mod podge and smooth out carefully. Let dry and then add a second coat of mod podge. Flip the block over and repeat on other side.

Once your block is frosted on both sides then you can apply your image. If you're using vinyl you can use transfer tape to get your placement. Smooth it on with an ink brayer to remove all bubbles then I coat it with a very thin layer of mod podge to seal it on. Let it dry and repeat on other side of block.

If you want to use card stock...apply a very thin coat of mod podge, place your card stock on the block and position it. Smooth it out to remove air bubbles and let dry. Once it's dry apply another thin coat of mod podge to seal. Let it dry and repeat on other side of block.

Once your design is dry, put your string of lights inside the block and plug it in to admire your handy work :)

I did this one last evening just to show my hubby how it's done :)

Whatever you call them, they're adorable ! I love using skittles...they're simple yet add so much to many projects.

I have quite a few of these available for sale in several colors.

Available Colors :

Currant
Lettuce
Watermelon
Twilight Purple
Citrus
Sailboat Blue
Sunshine Yellow

If you would like to purchase in any of the above colors the prices are as follows.

100 - $2.00 - You can mix this 100 in up to 2 colors - shipping is free

I have so many photos to take at some point today. I've been working on a number of projects and most of them are 1/2 finished...but I thought I'd post pics of the middle stage LOL

So look for new pics later today :)

I was browsing Create For Less this morning and noticed they had quite a few nice crafting items on sale this week. If you shop there, you should definitely stop over and check out the sale items they have currently.

I found a great "boo" border punch and a couple other items too.

I was a bit bored today, it's rainy out and I didn't feel too well so I grabbed this old clipboard that I had sitting around and altered it :)

Hope you like it !

Mommy Scraps Alot is offering up some free blog candy ! I always enter these things and rarely win...that means someone else is winning, and that someone could be YOU ! But you need to stop over at her site and get all the details on how to win :)

http://mommyscrapsalot.blogspot.com/2009/10/yummy-blog-candy-request-for-help.html

Well I planned to do a few batches of soap, make a few pieces of jewelry and a few cards. It hasn't worked out quite the way I planned.

For some reason I woke up this morning and decided to make an Advent Calendar...oh my, this is going to take me awhile LOL

I'll be sure to post photos when it's done. Hopefully tomorrow sometime !

Every year we go through the same thing...asking kids and grandkids for Christmas lists in October and every year they put it off until the last minute. This year I decided to make a family wish book. It will sit on our coffee table from now until 2 weeks before Christmas. As people think of little things they may want, they can easily pick up the book, find their personal wish page and jot it down. I made one page for each person in the family. No one has to sit down and come up with a complete list at one time.

Having the family wish book will make creating a list and shopping so much easier for not just hubby and me, but for everyone else too. Anyone can pick up the book and look through it to see what a brother and his wife are hoping for, or what a niece is anticipating.

Anyway, here it is, it was simple to make.

Materials Needed :
2 Rings or if you have a BIA that will work too :)
2 pieces of chipboard ( mine are 4.5" x 6.5" )
White cardstock for the pages or any color of your choice.
Patterned Paper or Card Stock to decorate.

The rest is really 100% up to the individual making the book. I could say decorate the covers and pages...but you know that, HOW you decorate them is up to you :) Just have fun doing it.

I just did this leaf SVG because I wanted a background leaf stamp. I whipped this up, put some Cricut stamp material on the cutting mat and a minute later I had a great acrylic leaf stamp that was big enough to use as a background stamp :)

I hope you can find a use for this leaf, and if you can please remember to leave me a comment letting me know.

You can download it here : Leaf SVG

Ooooh I so love a good sale :)

I walked into Joann's today planning to purchase just one stack of paper ...bahahahahahahahahahahaha !!

I cam out with everything you see in this photo - and probably stuff you can't see cause it's hidden behind all the other goodies :)

The best part is, I only spent $57.00 =) I was thrilled with my take for so little cash :)

Here's a few items that I just have not ever used, if you like any of them, drop me an email and we could work out a swap for something you have laying around that you don't use :)

Tany Sol is offering a great blog candy contest in honor of her 30th birthday. Stop by her site and check it out ! Maybe you'll get lucky and win...

Blog Candy HERE

What's cookin' in your craft pot this weekend ? I have a few projects planned for Saturday. Sunday is reserved for the grandkids, we're taking them to Hershey Park for their Halloween special.

Saturday I plan ( translates into hope to, but probably won't ) to make a few cards, a few tags, at least 2 batches of soap, and a few pieces of jewelry ! Wow, reading that it seems like so darn much LOL

Ah well, hope I get it all done...or at least most of it :)

Please leave me a comment and let me know what crafty stuff you're up to this weekend.

I made this bracelet and earring set last night while watching Top Chef lol - I can never seem to just sit and watch TV. I have to be doing something else too, and crafty stuff just seems like the best thing to be doing :)

In case anyone is interested...this set is for sale. It's made of silver wire - hand wrapped, with glass pearl beads and glass rounded square beads with silver bead covers/accents. - The bracelet is 8" long and will fit most ladies wrist. Price for the set is $10.00 free shipping. Just email me or leave a comment if interested in purchasing for a holiday gift :)

I love this gazelle, it's another SVG I did tonight. I just thought this guy was so cute. Feel free to download it if you want, but please remember to leave a comment for me so I know whether it's really worth creating and posting these SVG files. If no one is downloading them...why bother posting them :)


You can download the gazelle svg

Here's a woman with a hair dryer SVG file I did this evening. I needed a card for a friend of mine who happens to be a hair stylist. I thought this was cute and I hope you can use it. If you download, please leave a comment here and let me know. The more comments these SVG files get, the more I'll make :)

Download the woman with hairdryer svg

Did this one yesterday evening. I'm having a lot of fun with these, they're so quick and easy to do :)

You better hurry for this one. The deadline is tomorrow to enter. I'm so glad I found it before it was too late :)

You can enter to win the blog candy here : LINKY THING TO CLICK

This is a fantastic candy package too !! Lots of flower soft :D

Flower Soft - Christmas Green
Flower Soft - Russet Red
Flower Soft - Vintage Christmas
Flower Soft - Holly and Ivy Toppers
Flower Soft - Traditional Door Toppers
Flower Soft - Vintage Taglets
Flower Soft - Christmas Sentiments
Flower Soft Glue

Be sure to visit Cricut Creations, she has a lot of great information and cut files to share :)

I make svg files for SCAL now and again, and occasionally I'll post something for free here. Today I did this really simple balloon svg, nothing spectacular, but a balloon is something we always want :)

You can download the svg file HERE

I don't know about you, but I'm always in search of good sentiments to use on my cards. I can NEVER think of good sentiments. Sooooo, for all you sentiment/quote challenged people like me, here's a short list of nice friendship related quotes for use on cards and scrapbook pages.

May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."
- Irish Blessing

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest aren't bad people; they're just acquaintances.
-Jay Leno

It’s the friends you can call up at four a.m. that matter.
-Marlene Dietrich

The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
-Unknown (often attributed to Albert Camus)

There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.
-Saint Thomas Aquinas

The real test of friendship is: can you literally do nothing with the other person? Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple?
-Eugene Kennedy

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
-Oprah Winfrey

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.
-Bernard Meltzer

What is a friend? I will tell you it is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.
-Frank Crane

Twinkles Glow with Stamps is having a birthday blog candy giveaway ! I don't think I've ever seen blog candy this nice !! Want to see the candy ? OMGosh, this stuff is nice and there is sooooo much of it.

I did this bookmark yesterday afternoon. It took approximately 5 minutes to complete, and I think they just look fantastic. They're so simple to do, yet so appealing and would make a great gift for the reader in your life :)

Step 1 : Cut a piece of cardstock to 3.25 x 3.25 inches.


Step 2 : Fold the top right and left corners in, so they meet in the middle and you have a point at the top middle of your cardstock.

Step 3 : Cover the seam you have with another piece of patterned paper or cardstock and decorate.

Step 4 : Turn the bookmark over and decorate the reverse side in anyway you like.

Step 5 : Stand back and admire your craft work :)

Did this set of coasters using my youngest GD's pictures from her 1st birthday in August. I love how they came out :)

Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday so I spent the day working on gifts for him :) I made him a set of coasters and a t'shirt, hope you like them :)

Had a really busy weekend, here it is Wed all ready and I'm so far behind I'm still working on Monday chores and errands !!

BUT, even though the weekend was busy, busy, busy...it was well worth it. I got rid of some excess craft supplies that I don't need or use and I managed to get some GREAT bargains on items I do use. Frequently.

Yesterday I hit Michael's for a bit, big mistake, took hubby with me LOL He was shocked to see how much I can spend in one outing at Michael's...good thing he loves me ;)

I really shouldn't be allowed out of the house unsupervised. Really I shouldn't. I spent the morning and afternoon wandering the 3 local craft stores...Joann's, Michael's, and AC Moore. All 3 of them are within a 2 mile radius so it makes hitting all 3 on any given day waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too easy !!

First stop was Michael's - Walked out with 12 different Stickles, 2 clear stamp sets, ink pads, watercolor pencils, and blending pens ! Thank goodness for coupons ;)

Second stop was AC Moore - Ohhhhh why won't they do away with those Studio G $1.00 stamps ? I can never resist digging thru the bin to see if I find something I don't have. Ended up with about 14 of the Studio G $1.00 stamps, a couple rubber stamps, & a glue glider pro refill.

Last stop Joann's - Joann's was having a sale on DCWV card stock books - Regularly $19.99 today they were $9.99 - I restrained myself and only got 2 new ones. I then hit the Studio G stamp bin there !! Left with about 9 Studio G $1.00 stamps, some acrylic blocks for the stamps, 2 card stock books, and some heat n bind.

What a day ! I was so excited to get home to play with my new goodies and once I got home I found a package waiting for me !! A trade from the Cricut message board WoooHooo !! Opened it up to find even more Studio G stamps, some alcohol inks, LOTS of Stickles, and some Studio G ink pads !! I finally have everything put away and relatively organized ( hahahahaha ) so now I think I'll do some playing around.

Oh yeah ! I also remembered to bring home batteries for the camera so that means pics will be coming soon :)

I made a couple new cards yesterday and today and planned on posting pics of them today. When I reached for my camera I discovered that my batteries were dead =( Guess I'll be posting the photos tomorrow.

Anywho...this is what I made.

1. B-day card for my hubby - he turns 43 in a couple weeks so I wanted to get it done early.

2. Simple Christmas card - just something simple. I'm working on my Xmas cards early. Want them all done by the end of October :D

Made a few cards yesterday with the grandkids, they're simple and easy cards since I was working with a 6 and 4 yr old :) but they're adorable and I'll be posting pics of them later today hopefully ( if I can find my camera )

I'm moving my existing blog to blogspot. I know I have more options with my own hosting, but ultimately I have the craps of maintaining my own hosting. I've been doing it for years and I'm just tired of it :) I prefer to take the easy way out, at leas for now, and utilize bloggers free service.

I'll be moving my posts from my other blog over slowly throughout the day, so be patient with me please !