handmade cass

I just got my first Pipsticks envelope in the mail and I was swooning over the packaging right away. Everyone knows about my affinity for clear envelops since I professed my love last December. Pipsticks came to my attention last December when an ad popped up in my Facebook feed. I clicked through and kept going back every few days...I couldn't get the idea of a sticker subscription out of my head. In grade school I had a sticker book and collected all the best glitter, fuzzy, puffy stickers the early 90s had to offer. I don't have that sticker book any more. But because I have been crafting for my entire adult life I clearly don't need any more stickers. See for yourself. This stack of 12" x 12" bins is half stickers...mostly ABC stickers from scrapbooking. Eeek! I can't believe I showed that to everyone. Despite all those stickers sitting in a bin, I decided to try this out for just a month. I want to show you what I got in the January Pro Club Class...

I have always had a wall calendar at home to track family birthdays and school schedules. I am so excited about the photo calendar I made using Shutterfly this year - Whimsical Florals style. It's a bit smaller than my normal wall calendar at 8" x 11" (so I have to write appointments really small), but I love the photo quality and how easy it was to customize. Since it is full of photos of my kids I chose not to share the final result here. Trust me - it looks fabulous! I am also starting a paper planner this year that I plan to use for journaling and memory keeping. I picked up a Heidi Swapp Gold Stripe Monthly Planner  (by American Crafts) last year. I'm hoping to add a few photos every month and business cards or other mementos from our adventures. It is also a great way to keep myself accountable for personal goals and to do lists. I love li sts! This was also the first chance I've taken to use my Fuse tool. The Heidi Swapp planner comes with one p...

I originally started this blog in 2009 when I was just trying Tim Holtz Distress Inks for the first time . I always got so frustrated when I would get rectangle shaped dark ink spots that were impossible to blend out. I eventually got a bit better at the blending but never really enjoyed it. But all that has changed and I have a renewed love for these distress inks! The new mini ink blending tool from Ranger is so much easier to use. And how great is it that the blender pads fit into the bottom of the mini ink pads?! I'm most excited to start making some night sky and sunset backgrounds. But today I needed to make up a sign for our guest room because we have a summer full of visitors. This sign will have all of our Wifi info so they can stay connected during their vacation with us. Does anyone else have a crazy complicated password? I guess I could try to figure out how to change it but that would take time away from crafts. This project also forced me to do some heat embo...

I am part of a Stampin' Up club that meets every other month to exchange cards and work on holiday projects together. This month we are exchanging a set of gift tags to use for Christmas presents.  I spent waaaay too long making these wreath tags with a paper bow, watercolor leaves, and Stickles berries. And I was very excited to use my Envelope Punch Board and the Notcher Punch to make a self sealing envelope from vintage music sheets. Inside the envelope I have a mix of gift tags all ready to be used this Christmas. I hope they enjoy! Supplies : stamps - A Muse wreath | Hero Arts doily | Memory Box reindeer | Avery Elle snow globe ribbon - American Crafts glitter - Stickles tools - We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board and Notcher Punch | Stampin' Up bow punch | Marvy circle punches

I have a good friend that also loves paper crafts and I don't get to see her often. So I am sending her a surprise package with some snow globe shaker tags she can gift to her three kids this Christmas. There were a number of new snow globe stamp sets this year, but I liked this one best because of the sweet little deer. Supplies : stamps and dies - Avery Elle Snow Globe ink - Memento markers - Copic glitter - Martha Stewart ribbon - American Crafts cardstock - Memory Box | Neenah Solar White And since I had an extra 20 minutes I made a few quick tags for my own kids this Christmas.  I used my Sakura Glaze pens to make the ice a bit shiny (because these pens dry much faster than Glossy Accents). The walrus cracks me up. Supplies : stamps - Avery Elle Polar Pals ink - Memento markers - Copic | Sakura Glaze cardstock - Memory Box tag punch - Stampin' Up ribbon - crochet thread

I loved the challenge this week because I could try out a few new products and techniques that I haven't experimented with before. I created a tag that I can't wait to add to a random happy mail package for a friend. After digging through my supplies I found some things that I wanted to try for the first time (like this Any Tangerine stamp set and the translucent embossing paste).  Supplies : stamp set - Amy Tangerine by American Crafts embossing paste - Dreamweaver stencil - Heidi Swapp sequins - Avery Elle ink - Stampin' Up manila tag ribbon

I was so inspired to try something new this week, as part of the Simon Says Challenge "No Ordinary Paper" . I have never tried mixed media because of my super duper strong pull towards a clean and simple aesthetic. I wouldn't exactly describe this first attempt as a mixed media collage, but a step in the right direction for trying something new creatively. Supplies : Corrugated cardboard - from my recycling bin Stardream metallic cardstock (green) Chevron punch - Stampin' Up Embroidery floss - Amy Tangerine embroidery kit by American Crafts Paper doily Kraft paper bag - from my recycling bin USA stamp - Hero Arts Archival Ink - Ranger Watercolors Manila tag ABC stickers - Creative Imaginations Ribbon

I hand stitched "celebrate" on this card for my mom. I am out of practice and giddy with new stamps to use, so a few hours of love went into this one. Love you mom! Supplies : Cardstock - Stampin' Up Stamp - Stampin' Up Ink - Stampin' Up | Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger Thickers - American Crafts Embroidery Floss - Amy Tangerine by American Crafts

I have a new love! And it is the metallic gold embossing paste from Wendy Vecchi  (Dreamweaver). I got it as a Christmas present and am just using it for the first time. It was something that Jennifer McGuire started using and I thought that I had to have it. She was right. I made my own chevron stencil by cutting a few layers of card stock with my new Stampin' Up punch. It ended up a little wonky, mainly because my distress stained background paper was warped. But I still in love with the result. I actually have a real chevron stencil , but have not found it since moving last year.  I used a new stamp set and punch from Stampin' Up - "Simply Celebrate" stamp set and Chevron border punch.  And a few older items - Radiant Rain gold shimmer spray (mixed with the Distress Stains) and the Amy Tangerine "Capture" embroidery stencil kit.  Supplies : Tim Holtz Distress Stains - Ranger Simply Celebrate stamp set - Stampin' Up Chevron border punch...

I had the best of intentions when it came to putting together a little Christmas package of crafty love for a friend, but I was late. Really late. Sorry Christine! So I changed themes and made her some tags for Valentine's Day instead.  Supplies: Embroidery Kit: Amy Tangerine for American Crafts "Capture" kit Washi Tape: We R Memory Keepers Stamps: Simon Says Stamp "Envelope Sentiments", Lawn Fawn "Critters in the Forest" & "Bee Mine", Avery Elle "Party Animal" Twine: Peppermint Divine Twine from Whisker Graphics Tag Die: Papertrey Ink Ink: Hero Arts Neon, Hero Hues Chalk Markers & Pens: Stampin' Up Stampin' Write markers (heart ombre), Copic (fox), Sakura Glaze  Cardstock: assorted scraps

I have had a Silhouette electronic cutting tool on my wish list for a long time.  And I got to use one for the first time this weekend.  It was love!  My mom is the proud new owner of a Silhouette Portrait and I think she plans on using it to cut fabric for quilting.  But she is in the middle of a big move right now, so I get to use her machine for a bit.  Hooray! I used it to make a father's day card for my husband, and was amazed by how clean the cuts are.  It was really easy to set up with my Mac too.  Here is the cut held up to the window so you can see through it. Now, what else can I cut??? And here is the finished card.  I really like the way the bumble bee came out. I used an enamel brad and Sharpie marker and added some vellum wings.  My husband said it was one of his all time favorite cards.  Just goes to show what a difference the Silhouette makes. I also pulled out some old Hambly screenprints paper to make a mat...

There must be something in the air right now, because I have a bunch of girlfriends that are all expecting babies this summer and fall.  So I decided to send some happy mail to these special ladies and try out some new stamps and craft supplies. I fell in love with the oven image on this Lawn Fawn stamp set and then the sentiment really sealed the deal.  Everything else just came together in 5 minutes increments while unpacking and keeping my toddler from destroying anything in my new craft room. This is the sentiment from the same stamp set that I used on the inside. I used my Copic markers to color the oven images and found out the hard way that they smeared the new black ink I was using for the first time (Hero Hues Dye Ink).  I have always used black Memento with Copics in the past, but I thought this would be safe since it is a die ink...no such luck.  Stick with Memento Dye Ink for Copic markers.  Even after drying overnight, see the bleeding...

My family went through some big changes recently!  We packed up and moved from Southern California all the way up to the very top of Washington state.  Did I mention we did it all in less than 14 days?  It was crazy. Now that things have started to settle down and I'm not spending every free moment unpacking (don't get me wrong, there is still a ton to unpack), I got creative and made some moving announcements.  I was inspired by a few I had seen on Pinterest ( mainly this one ), and knew that I wanted to use kraft envelopes because they remind me of moving boxes and packing paper. You can also see a bit of the return address stamp that I designed (more on that later). I used an old Thomas Bros. California map book to make a bunch of USA die cuts and printed up the cards using my new Canon PIXMA MG5320 printer .  The inside has all of our contact info and a picture of our family in front of our new house.  I loved printing the picture right on the ...

I was really glad that Craft Critique was re-launched right before the CHA Winter 2013 show, because the timing was perfect for me to attend as a reporter.  It is such a special conference for any crafter to attend - full of all the latest and greatest products, tons of inspiration and projects, and even some celebrity crafters.  Here is just a small portion of what I saw.  At CHA I made a beeline to the American Crafts booth to check out the new Amy Tangerine line " Yes Please".   LOVE the new stitching kit from the "Yes Please" line.  This set has chevrons too!  Amy was doing a make and take project, so we could test out the stitching kit.   Loved the Amy Tangerine travel kit that I have seen online.  Perfect for vacation mini books! Smitten with the colors and patterns in "Lucky Charm" from Dear Lizzy and American Crafts. My favorite color is glitter.  And I can't believe how awesome the POW glitter paper is...