Stacy's Paper Crafts

New Year, New Craft Medium

One of the things I've been wanting to do for a long time is to explore other art mediums. I don't really consider myself to be an artist, but I'd like to be one! LOL

Anyway I've been watching a lot of art tutorials on YouTube lately and came across videos featuring paper clay projects. I figured that was right up my alley, so I picked up a bag/pack from Michaels around Christmas time and decided to play with it.

When I purchased the clay I initially thought I would use it to create ornaments for my Christmas tree, but time just slipped away and I never got around to making them. I started thinking about what else I could create relatively quickly just to see if this form of art was for me.

Then I remembered these little dishes that I bookmarked to my favorites. These are actually made from ceramic, but I thought maybe they'd work with the paper clay since it hardens as it dries.

So this is what I came up with...

I don't know all the specifics regarding the differences between different types of clay, but from what I can tell, paper clay is similar to polymer clay except that it doesn't require kiln firing or baking. You can just air dry your projects made with paper clay.

After rolling out the clay, I used a background stamp from Purple Onion Designs to add some texture to it. Then I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out my shape. I set it aside for about an hour and then began to mold the edges upward to create a little bit of a "lip" to give the clay a dish shape. After another hour or so I molded it some more, and repeated that a few times.

Then I set it aside for about 24 hours. I used white paperclay, but you can purchase it in a number of different colors. After the dish was hard, I painted it with red acrylic paint. I gave each side about 2 coats of paint, and then let it dry for another 24 hours. Then I applied a glossy varnish to give it some shine.

Not bad for my first paperclay project huh?

Creative Memories cutting blades & EK Success Curvy Cutter Circle templates

I've been a busy little bee making Christmas cards and gift tags. I'll be back later to share the card I made to send to family and friends, but I had to jump on here and share a cool discovery I made today. Someone else may have figured it out, but I hadn't heard anything about and decided to try this on a whim.

So a long time ago before we all had die cut machines and electronic die cutting machines, I used the Creative Memories Cutting System to cut out circle shapes. A few years later I discovered Nestabilities and the Cuttlebug and I stopped using the CM circles. I held on to them for some reason, but I'm so glad I did! I actually forgot about them until I received an e-mail from my CM rep friend Carrie.

So I decided to purchase a new mat and blades, I love the 12x12 sized mat and the newer designed cutting blades too btw :) I'm not sure when they were redesigned but I purchased my set probably in 2002 or 2003! So it's been awhile. LOL

I also have the Curvy Cutter Circle Template Set by EKSuccess. I love the larger sizes, but I really, really, really hate the blade/cutter that came with it. I just never have been able to get a really clean cut using it. Maybe it's just me? Not to mention I haven't been able to find replacement blades for it locally. So I put them in a drawer to collect dust too. Well I pulled them out today and decided to see if I could use the Creative Memories cutting blades with it and you CAN! Yay! The only one that has enough of a reach to fit in the tracks of the EK template is the CM blue cutting blade, and you can only use it in the inner most track... the track closest to in the inside of the circle template. Does that make sense?

I'm really excited about this because now I can start adding some larger circles to my scrapbook pages again :) Just had to share, hope you'll find this info helpful too!

 

 

Make It Monday

Hi ya'll!  Yep, I'm back :) 

It rained pretty much most of the weekend here so I spent some time in my craft room. I sorted through things, updated my wish lists, and did some blog hopping.

I also had an interesting conversation with my son. He asked me why I had a scrap room "since I don't scrap any more." So NOT fair for him to call me out like that! LOL But it's true, I haven't scrapped in awhile, so I'm going to be working on that. 

Today I'm going to share a card with you that I created for PaperTrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge. This weeks challenge is to create a background pattern using stamps that aren't necessarily background stamp images. 

For my card I used the area rug from On My Couch Additions.I inked the stamp using black ink staggering the image on each line and then inked the edges. LOVE how this turned out. It kinda reminds me of a Basic Grey pattern :) This was a fun challenge, a great way to look at your stamps a little differently. Hope you'll get a chance to play along too. Thanks for looking!

Food intolerances suck!

Last week I was miserable. I'm still feeling kinda crappy but I'm hoping this week will be better. We went out to eat last Saturday. Something we rarely do anymore because I have some food intolerances that cause neurological & gastro problems and we recently found out that my son is allergic to wheat. I don't eat meat and DH & DS love meat so finding a restaurant that can offer something for all of us has been a challenge lately. I heard about a local restaurant that has an awesome gluten free menu with vegetarian & meat entrees & a kitchen staff that understands Celiac Disease & food allergies & intolerances in general so we went to try them out.

The food was really good, the kitchen staff was knowledgeable about cross contamination which I am sooooooo sensitive to. The food was amazing, but half way through my meal I ran out of gluten free soy sauce and asked our server for some extra but she brought me the regular kind :( Uggg!!!!  I knew instantly that it was regular and unfortunately for me one little taste is all it takes to trigger symptoms that last up to 3 to 4 weeks. I was kinda annoyed because the food was kinda expensive too. But on a positive note, we all enjoyed the food. So we might eat there again, it's nice to have someone else do the cooking sometimes. I'll just have to be a little neurotic about asking for what I need. I hate to be that way but it's not worth being sick for a month... and I'm a great tipper to make up for it! :) 

Needless to say I didn't do any crafting last week. The brain fog & migraines are the worst and it makes it hard to think! Luckily it's a little better this morning. The sun is shining which always makes for a good day :)

I have to do some catch up with cleaning & errands this week but I sat down to create something to share with you all. Isn't purple glitter fun :) One of the Make it Monday challenges PTI hosted recently was to use sticky tape to create a glitter strip on a project. I love glitter but don't use it often enough, and I totally forgot how easy it is to use glitter on a project using sticky tape. I added this huge floral embellishment by Prima flowers to use as a focal point. 

Thanks for looking :)

Did you know…

Sorry I don't have anything crafty to share today. I had a busy week with little time to create but I'll have some cards to share this week.

I do have something to share that I learned in my computer class the other week. Did you know that you can use Microsoft WORD to create a blog post?

If you click your icon or link to start WORD, then click the office button (top left corner). Select "New", and then click "New Blog Post." You'll have to register your blog information the first time you use it, but it works with TypePad, Blogger, and a few other blog sites.



I'm working on a few "scheduled" blog posts and this makes it so incredibly easy! I have a hard time using TypePad to pre-schedule posts, half of the time it just won't allow me to do it for some reason. Using WORD is effortless! You can choose to publish your post, or publish it as a "draft". You can even incorporate some of the cool features WORD offers, such as charts, icons, & clip art!

I used one of the pie chart options to create this icon that can be used to share a "Color Combo" without the use of graphic design software. Pretty cool huh? :)

The only negative I've experienced so far is that if you add photos to your WORD post, once you publish it, you aren't able to resize it. Also the photos and icon images are not "click-able," meaning that you can not click them to enlarge them. I tried adding the screen shots above to visually walk you through getting started but I wasn't able to resize the images to show a close up view.

One way to get around that is to type your text using WORD and then publish your post as a draft. Then you can log on to your blog account and edit the post, adding your photos where you need them. It seems like you end up making a few extra steps here and there but it's a nice option to have for those moments when your internet connection is out and you'd still like to use the time to create your post to upload later. 

Hope you found this helpful :)

Twinkling H2O's...

 

Have you seen Jennifer Mcquire's Twinkling H2O's video  I was so inspired by it, and the fact that I hadn't touched my H2O's in a very long while that I sat down to play with them tonight. Several years ago I read on a message board that the original company manufacturing H2O's were either discontinuing the product and or going out of business. It sounds like Creative Imaginations picked them up... I'm so happy to discover this. It's a fun product! If you aren't sure what H2O's are, they are shimmery watercolor cakes. Here's a close up of one of the leaves on my card...

 

Hope you're having a great weekend!

RESIN Tile Coasters :)

 
 This stuff is awesome! Resin is commonly used in jewelry making but apparently it has several other uses too! I will admit it's a little tricky to work with. It takes a lot of time and patience. 

It's also absolutely IMPERATIVE that you work in a dust & lint free environment when using resin otherwise you'll have those specks embedded on your tiles. The resin needs about 72 hours to fully cure but after 24 hours the resin hardens enough that you won't have to worry about dust or lint. 

  

You'll need to prop up the coasters before applying the resin, I used plastic cups turned upside down. Even though this is a pour-on version I applied the resin using a foam brush. The surface of the tiles are small, about 4.25 x 4.25 inches, so pouring on the resin will cause it to drip down the edges forming puddles underneath the tile. Once it hardens it's difficult to remove them and you really need a flat surface to apply the cork pads. If the resin begins to drip down the sides while you're applying it, just use your foam brush to remove the excess. 

Air bubbles may form in the resin after you apply it, you can use an embossing gun or blow dryer to remove them. You don't have to apply the heat long and you don't need to position the gun or blow dryer close to the surface. I applied a second coat of resin after 48hrs. The end result is a beautiful glossy coaster that is suitable for hot AND cold beverages! It looks store bought but you can be proud to say it's handmade! To clean it, you just wipe it with a damp cloth. 

The resin I used to create these tiles is sold at Michaels in the adhesive & spray paint section. I've also seen it at Home Depot. It contains two bottles, one bottle of resin and one bottle of harder. For this brand you mix equal parts of both to create your resin mixture, then you just pour it on your project!

 

Smooch Spritz

 
My LSS got a new product in several weeks ago that really intrigued me. It's called Smooch Spritz it's been described as being similar to Glimmer Mist or Maya Mist, both of which I've never used. 

If you aren't familiar with either product it's like watercolor & shimmery eyeshadow mixed together in a small tubular spray bottle. It's really neat!! I used the orange color on the base of the card. 

Since it is a water based medium you'll need to use a heavy weight cardstock because your cardstock will probably warp some. If you hold it up high away from your cardstock (don't forget to protect your work surface) it gives the paper a finer imperfect misty look. It kind of reminds me of dyed Easter eggs.

Speaking of Easter eggs have you seen PTI's newest dies????

Supply List for "You've been on my mind"
Stamps:  TAC
Paper:     Making Memories patterned paper, yellow & white CS
Other:     White Prima flower, yellow button, white scrappers floss, Smootch spritz,
     Oval Nesties, & SU ink.

Ways to use it: Scrapper's Floss

 

I really like the clean lines of this card but It also makes me realize that I really "NEED" the skinnier rectangle Nestie dies LOL I think the ballons would look nice on a smaller mat. The background paper is from Basic Grey, and I used Scrappers Floss for the little bow tie. I never really understood the point of Scrappers Floss when I first heard about it but I'm finding all kinds of ways to use it :)

 

Most of the time I use it to thread buttons like on this card.

 

But it's also nice to use to add little tags to different projects too.