October 31, 2015

A Cool Tip for Cleaning your Stampin’ Scrub


Well, as I mentioned to you in my last post, I have a cool little tip for you on cleaning your Stampin’ Scrub and getting it back in business lick-ity split! Yep, you heard me…lick-ity split, pronto, right away!

First, I pop the fuzzy squares from the plastic case and wash them under warm running water and add a little dab of Dawn dish liquid and rinse until the water runs clear. Then, using the palm of my hand, I push as much water down and out of the fuzz as I can.
 
Now, here is the part that gets you back to creating right away…..using your carpet shampooer, the furniture attachment? Yeah, the piece attached to the hose? Suck the remaining water out of your fuzzy squares until dry! That’s it! Easy, fast and dry! You can’t beat that! Now, pop those fuzzy squares back into the case and you’re back in business.
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog


October 27, 2015

My Top 5 Most Important Stamping Tools


I don’t know about you, but I have 5 tools that I consider my must haves when stamping beside the obvious paper, ink and stamps/blocks.

The first tool on my must have list, is my Stampin’ Trimmer! This trimmer is by far the best paper trimmer I have used, and trust me, I have used several. A few years ago, when I was first re-discovering my love of paper crafting, I went out and purchased a rather in-expensive rotary cutter. Ugh, the saying, “you get what you pay for”…I think it came from someone who bought this very rotary cutter….I couldn’t cut a straight line to save my life! It was awful! So, off to one of the big box office supply stores I went. There I found myself a rather pricy guillotine paper trimmer; that should work! Until I got it home that is….Immediately, when I pulled it out of the box, I could see that the swing arm was bowed out and sure enough, I couldn’t cut a straight line from that either! Finally, I decided to purchase the Stampin’ Trimmer. I was so excited when it arrived, but also prepared myself to be known forever to make crooked cards. I pulled it out of the box. It looked good. So, I pulled out an 8 ½” x 11” piece of cardstock and made my first cut at the 5 ½” mark, and there it was, a perfectly cut card base! It was beyond belief so I had to check it again….and sure enough, my eyes were NOT playing tricks on me! Wahoo! I found my new best friend in the craft room!

The second “must have” on my list is the grid paper from Stampin’ Up! This is the perfect desk protector and allows me to ensure perfectly straight placement of sentiments, lines etc. The grid allows me to line everything up to ensure straight even designs. Remember…I can’t eyeball a straight line…see aforementioned love of the Stampin’ Trimmer!

My 3rd “must have” in the craft room is my piercing tool. This little gem looks like it’s uses are pretty limited, however, it’s not just for paper piercing, mine gets used EVERY DAY, every crafting session. I use it to pick up rhinestones, pearls, candy dots, enamel dots, glue dots that need to be placed precisely. I use it to hold down corners that need a little extra glue drying time. I use it to hold down something I may be embossing with my heat tool to prevent burnt fingers…or should I say charcoal fingernails…that’s another story!

The 4th most important item in my craft room is my Stampin’ Scrub.  This is the best stamp scrubber I have used and it’s soft and gentle on your stamps while many out on the market tend to be rough and scratch up your stamps. And personally, I don’t think they would be very good for your lovely photopolymer stamps. In spite of being soft and gentle on your stamps, it does a great job cleaning them with the Stampin’ Mist. These 2 products together are dynamite! And when the scrubber gets too dirty to do the best job that it can do, it is easy peasy to clean…just pop out the fuzzy pads, run them under water, let them dry and you’re back in business!  Don’t want to wait for them to dry 24 hours? Check back in a couple of days and I will share my little “trick” with you! You’re going to LOVE it!

And finally, the 5th most important tool in my craft room is my paper snips! These little pointy scissors are an absolute must have in your stamping arsenal. They allow you to “fussy cut” with precision. They are comfortable in your hand, are great for trimming and cut ribbon like butter!

So, there you have it, my top 5 must haves in the craft room. What are your must haves in your stamping arsenal?



Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog


October 20, 2015

All Stamps on Sale for 15% Off

SnS From the Heart
 
Hey there, I just wanted to let you all know that Stampin' Up! has put ALL stamp sets on sale for 15% off! What a great deal that is! So, if you have been eyeing that favorite stamp set from either the annual catalog or the holiday catalog, now is the time to get it. This sale is only until Friday so be sure to not miss out. Just click the "shop now" button above and pick out your favorite sets!
While I am here, I have to tell you, I recently purchased the Lockdown Punch Holder from Stamp n Storage....OMG! I am so in love with this product. I can now easily grab the punch I need without toppling over all the other punches and not pinch my fingers because they are all packed into a basket. This is furniture quality and looks beautiful in my craft room. I have now placed an order for the marker storage and hope to soon get the ribbon holder and the combo ink pad holder...oh honey....I know what I want for Christmas!!!! I hope he can hear me! But if you're on the fence about ordering, don't hesitate. This company is fantastic and I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

 
 

October 11, 2015

A Beautiful Dove of Peace

Todays card was cased from the catalog. Sometimes, the Stampin' Up! Catalog and Idea book is the perfect place to get ideas from, and this is a perfect example of that.
This card uses dry embossing, fussy cutting, die cutting and a little bit of Blender Pen coloring and was a great deal of fun to put together. So, when you feel like getting crafty with your paper and ink, but aren't quite sure where to begin, begin with your Stampin' Up! catalogs. They're a wealth of ideas all in one place! :-)

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

October 8, 2015

Haunt Ya Later!

Wow, fall has landed in CNY! The air is crisp and the trees are in full color. I have to say, I love the colors of Fall, the reds, the yellows, golds and oranges..all so pretty. I also love to see how others decorate for the season. Some go for the cutesy scarecrow's, while others lean more toward the haunted zombie cemetery lol, all of which is fun to see. I, myself lean toward the cutesy scarecrow look, but today's card comes from the Haunt ya Later stamp set from Stampin' Up! I love this set. It's so dang cute.. Feel free to let me know your thoughts!
Happy Fall Ya'll!
01 09 10 Code line 7 9 is for loading jQuery library. Remove this line if you’ve already loaded it somewhere else in your blog. Hint: If your blog has an image slider, carousel or something with fading effect running, chances are it is powered by jQuery. If this widget doesn’t work, the first thing you want to do is comment out or remove this line. To use your own button, replace the URL in line 3 with the direct link URL to the image. Make sure to keep the quotes. To reposition the button, replace