A Little Crafty Haul on the Weekend

Here is what happens when you spend a good part of 2015 upcycling, recycling, repurposing, and using up your stash...you run out of something! And that's a good thing right? So when darling daughter needed some colored pencils I wanted to see how far a small amount....$25...would go at the ole craft store. With tax, in all, I spent 27. but not bad I'd say. The fact that everything I got was either on sale or bought with a coupon made all the difference.

The patterned papers and paper pads were all 50% off, so I was immediately drawn to this gorgeous 12X12 pad called Simple Stories. It has a bit of Disney to it, and I like that, and I especially love the bold gorgeous patterns and colors which I desperately need in my stash which had way too much floral in it! The nice thing about this pad is that it has some great variety and it doesn't necessarily have to go with Disney things, but it would be perfect if you were scrapbooking your Disney World trip! My favorite pattern in here is the cameras with the hearts. So cute.

Since it was all 50% off I had to get a couple of 12X12 sheets of an adorable heart pattern and a 6X6 pad. This one, called My Mind's Eye, is double-sided paper which I love, and has plenty of shiny foil in the patterns which makes it magical. I'm already using some of it to decorate Midori booklets.

Besides the papers, some cute washi, the colored pencils, and the adorable cupcake stickers (on the really nice sticker paper) I couldn't resist this sewing stamp set. 

I have been wanting a sewing machine stamp forever. It wasn't until I got it home that I realized it also had a button in the set, and I actually needed a button stamp for a project! That was a win-win. I'm going to keep trying to resist being a craft shop-aholic, but my list is getting longer for the next haul! The main rule is, I can't buy it unless I have a place to put it. And I have a lot more room in my patterned paper storage caddies now, so I don't feel guilty at all.

Click here to see my original declaration to use up my stash this year.

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch



 

Mini Folders for the Little Things - Busting Your Patterned Paper Stash

It's Tuesday and I'm back with my little continuing series on busting your paper stash! Today it's a quick post about making mini folders.

These are quick, easy, and useful--exactly what we like! They slip perfectly into a wicker stationery caddy on my desk, and I use them to organize things I want to include in a scrapbook layout, such as a ticket that was in my purse, a stamp I clipped off of something, a cute product tag I saved to upcycle, or a little photo. Other mini folders are dedicated to things like this week's receipts, magazine clippings, stray sticker sheets, and whatever ways you choose to sort out those little pieces of paper that would otherwise be strewn on your desk!

My mini folders are filed in this caddy on my desk--very handy!

They are made from some pretty, cardstock weight 12X12 patterned papers, cut to 6X12. Then I put them on the little scoreboard, put the crease in the middle at 6 inches, and add a coordinating tab with adhesive. 

I use the Sizzix On the Edge Die by Tim Holtz for file tabs to make my coordinating tabs--the tabs can be made from your scraps too, because the die is not very wide at all. I really love that particular die, and I have used it a lot in my organizing and planner making and now folder making--what it's really meant for! Just think, with that die, you could make any size folder. It also makes a cute card I've seen done.

However, you can easily fussy cut your tabs, or you can buy a post-it product for your tabs.

The point is, in just a couple of steps you have yet another beautiful way to organize yourself, enjoy your pretty paper stash, and keep your desk space clean for creating! Have fun!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Organize

Gelli Printing Newbie

Whether you make your own Gelli plate, buy one or borrow a friend's, I highly encourage it. What a fun way to paint and make one-of-a-kind monoprints.

Gelli printing on deli paper

My new 6X6 Gelli plate arrived in the mail the other day. Being a newbie at this, I wanted to start small. There are lots of great YouTube tutorials on Gelli printing, so I basically took a free workshop!

My new Gelli plate was so perfect looking!

My Gelli plate is not homemade, so it must be placed on a nonporous surface. I kept mine on the plastic backing as I worked. But after I finished, I had to peel off the backing and wash the whole plate, because I'm kind of a messy Gelli printer.

It was fun to experiment with different textures for making prints. Stencils, string, leaves, flowers, a pencil eraser for polka dots, q-tips to write letters, bubble wrap--there are many things lying around the craft room you can use. You just have to keep in mind not to use anything that would scratch your plate and cause permanent damage.
 

I made so many tags in no time at all.

I got great results on kraft paper, manila tags, white cardstock, and deli paper. It's fast and easy to make many prints that you can use for art, scrapbooking, cards, and your art journal. I was going for a lot of tag-making that I could embellish on later, and use in artwork and scrapbooking.

 Some tags pulled up more paint than others, depending on how I was using the stencil, and I liked that since some of them will have embellishments and sentiments added later.

I embossed some cardstock and used it to create some fun prints with the embossed side down, of course, and now I can also use the actual embossed sheet. After this photo I went over the raised parts with a gelato stick and I love the results!

I love both the texture and look of Gelli on deli! I get big boxes of deli paper at Sam's, so it's economical too--can't wait to apply it to scrapbooking and my art journal.
 

I found an old heavy cookie sheet to work on - perfect.

 The next day my nine-year-old nephew visited and he started Gelli printing with me. He used the tags and made bookmarks for his friends--so cute. He had no trouble catching on to the technique!

Old file folders make cute art tags

I upcycled old file folders into tags (I used a punch--I also have a tag diecut I use a lot), Gelli printed them, and now I'm embellishing them to create an art piece. I am a frugal crafter (thank you Lindsay Weirich!) and I do a lot of

upcycling and shopping my stash, so I don't jump right into buying every new thing that comes out. But I have decided that this was a great investment for all my paper play and so glad I bought one! I thought about making one, but the price of a big box of gellatin with several packets in it is quite expensive at my grocery store! It was better for me to buy a Gelli plate that will last a long time. On Amazon I didn't pay shipping or tax, so it was truly economical! (I was buying a couple of other things, so it was free shipping.) There are recipes out there to make a longer lasting Gelli plate, and the advantage to that is that you can make it square or round, and make it any size you wish. A small little stamping-size square would be great, and you could actually turn your little Gelli plate into a stamp! But for now, I'm sticking with this 6X6 size, it is perfect for what I need.


Happy printing!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Gelli

Envelope Envy--A Little Review of My Mini Scoreboard

For quite a while, I envied those crafty bloggers who handmade their own envelopes. So impressive. I had envy-lope! But then I discovered their tool of choice for this craft--a simple scoreboard. I immediately went scoreboard shopping--they are at craft stores and online everywhere, but I landed on the Martha brand with a coupon. I was hooked. And now I love making envelopes.

Why make your own envelopes? The biggest reason is because, most purchased envelopes are white! I think the joy of making your own envelopes is that--
1. You can make an envelope to match the card
2. Your envelope can be as unique as the card inside
3. Mixed-media cards fit better in homemade envelopes
4. You can make an envelope out of any piece of paper as long as you cut it to the dimensions needed.  
     What a great way to upcycle.
5. There are many scoreboards out there to choose from that make it sooo easy to do! There is even a scoreboard that clips out the little triangles. I don't mind doing that by hand though.

I wish, back in the day when DD was in grade school that they had had these scoreboards available! I would have done things like, made envelopes out of copies of her daily school papers to send things in a fun way to the grandparents for example. So cute! But now I do make envelopes out of sheets of music, dictionary papers, even pages from vintage recipe and craft books. Pretty adorable.

So, being a happy envelope maker, imagine my thrill at discovering a mini scoreboard! I didn't know if it would work as well. Same brand as my big one--50% off coupon that day--the verdict is, I think I love it even more.

Mini scoreboard front - still in package

Mini scoreboard back

 The three things I love most about it: how the bone folder hooks into the front, the complete envelope guidelines on the back, and how lightweight it is and easily fits into any of my tote bags.

Those guidelines allow you to simply line up your paper, once you've cut it to the dimensions, and quickly score it!

Then snip out the little triangles (there may be a technical name for those, idk) which allow a nice clean fold.

 

Use your handy little bone folder to neatly fold down the flaps, add a little glue to seal the bottom flaps, and done. You may use envelope gum for the top flap--I don't really worry about that, I just use a sticker if I'm sealing it. And I have to add that I've even had a postman at the post office comment on my pretty envelopes! No more envy-loping for me. Have fun!

My larger scoreboard--I love making envelopes with double-sided paper!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Score