handmade cass

I'm done! I am so happy to have all of my Christmas cards in the mail and I love the way they turned out. I didn't have to buy any new materials (aside from the postage and photo prints) and got to use some supplies that I really love. Hooray!  They were done on December 1st but it took me a few days to get photos.   I wanted to use clear envelopes without mailing labels, so I needed to address the dark purple metallic paper that was the card backing. Originally, I tried using copper ink and pens to tie in with the copper metallic thread I used, but the white stood out much better. The return address was stamped with Hero Arts Unicorn White Pigment Ink and then embossed with WOW Super Fine White Embossing Powder. I had to learn the hard way that the white pigment ink never dried on the metallic paper. My Christmas cards evolved a bit from the sketch I made a few months back . After I started die-cutting all the layers and did a test version, I streamlined the process ...

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

Although I haven't had much time for card making and stamping since we moved earlier this year, I have been keeping up with my reviews over at Craft Critique .  Here is a quick recap on what I have tested out this year.  Let me know if you have tried any of these and/or have helpful tips. Kinkajou Bottle Cutter Close To My Heart | Inks and Muslin Bags Martha Stewart Crafts for Kids Book Close To My Heart | Micro-Tip Nonstick Scissors Folk Art Chunky Glitter Acrylic Paint More reviews are written and will be published soon. Happy holiday crafting season!

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...

I saw this pin on Pinterest recently that had me inspired to make some chalkboard painted gift tags.  Unfortunately I saw it the same day I was going to give my mom a birthday present.  Needless to say it was a rushed endeavor. First I sanded the wood tags a bit to make sure all of the bar code sticker residue was removed.  Then I did a thin first coat, using the Martha Stewart Chalkboard Craft Paint.  Followed that with a thick second coat to speed things along.  But the second coat never really dried before I handed over the gift.  The tags were still shiny and a little bit tacky to the touch...with no writing on them! Hopefully attempt number two will go more smoothly.  I also picked up some fun chalk markers for the next time.

Almost every Friday morning I have a babysitter come over for two hours to distract the little one.  I originally thought I would clean the house and feel great about it.  But it turned into a two hour vacation in my craft area.  I try to get as much done as I can and feel like I am racing the clock.  But I've always worked better under pressure.  If only I could get those Christmas cards started... I have next Friday all planned out already.  I am going to read up on  Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas  ahead of time (for all the new techniques) and get as many tags done as I can.  I love this series on his blog!  And my wish list of supplies is growing every day he does a new one. Today I wanted to use up the rest of my twine zig-zags since I worked so hard on them.  The layout has a similar feel to the original but I needed a birthday card this time. Chevron patterned birthday card I also wanted to package it up in my ne...

I was more than a little bit interested when I heard that Martha Stewart came out with an entire line of paints and accessories for Michael's.  And I started out slow, just getting one color so I could paint some plastic ornaments for Christmas. Then it turned into this... Here is the story.  We are traveling to see my in-laws for Christmas and there has been much planning about babies around the Christmas tree.  So I decided to decorate some plastic ornaments and send them over ahead of time so my mother-in-law can put those on the bottom of the tree. A couple years back I had seen a demo at the Plaid booth at CHA.  They were swirling paint around the inside of clear ornaments.  Perfect!  Should just be able to squeeze some paint into the ornament, swirl, dry, and done.  Not so much... I squeezed, swirled, and dried.  But as the paint was drying on the inside it was cracking. So I added a second coat.  That one took off some of the origi...

I saw a really easy costume idea in Martha Stewart magazine, that was for a birdcage veil with a spider on it.   And it was easy to make, but I wasted a ton of time trying to find the authentic birdcage netting - called Russian netting/veiling for anyone who is searching.  And then I ran out of time and had to get the closest thing I could find at our local fabric stores.  The supplies I used were: glitter black tulle fine black tulle (to make a little flower) paper mache spider purple glitter purple headband spray adhesive hot glue gun needle and black thread There wasn't a picture of this project on the Martha Stewart website, but you can see it in my magazine clipping below (click to enlarge). And my version: Birdcage veil with spider for Halloween I used a running stitch to gather the glitter tulle so that the back was a bit shorter and pointed upwards.  Then the longer half was draped over half my face and I glued it onto the headband. I used a...

I have really been getting into the crafty spirit lately.  In fact I've been working on so many projects that I can't even keep up with getting pictures posted.  And I forgot to take a picture of the ornaments I just finished and sent off to my mother-in-law!  Oops. But I did get lots of pictures when my aunt and cousin threw a crafty party so we could all get together and decorate some sugar skulls before Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos .  They used a mold to make a sugar skull for everyone, and we all brought a few different things for decorations - glitter, sequins, beads, and a million different colors of icing.  This was something new for me to try, although I see the sugar skulls around quite a bit here in San Diego. The sugar skulls were all set up with the decorating supplies, just waiting for everyone to get started. My cousins brought their sweet baby girl for the special crafting day. And my little helper was also on hand for all the...

I am still adding lists to my Smash Book whenever I can sneak away for a couple minutes.  Here are a couple pictures of the latest.   Today I added a variation on the list.  There were a ton of pictures and recipes that I loved in the October 2011 Martha Stewart Magazine, so I did a collage of pictures and stuck my favorite recipes into a glassine pocket on the page. Just hoping that the Smash Tape will keep the glassine envelope in place. It's hard to get anything that will stick to them!

Watch out, they bite!  The new Martha Stewart Paper Tapes are dangerous.  Turns out I really should have looked at the packaging better before I started to open it.  They come in a pretty little box with an awesome feature - a cutting blade.  But in my haste to rip it open I sliced open my finger and couldn't figure out why.  Now I know why boxes like this have silly warnings that say "blade is sharp".  For people like me, apparently.   I am in love with these tapes!  They were really inexpensive for the quantity and they will be perfect on my glassine envelopes for Christmas cards. Pretty sure I should stop buying these paper washi tapes now.  Or at least get a few rolls used up...

I love pumpkins!  In fact I love pumpkins way more than I like Halloween.  And I was so excited to get my October Martha Stewart to see what kind of pumpkin ideas she had this year.  This one was by far my favorite...and it's not even a pumpkin.   A mummy gourd . And since I saw this right before we took a family trip to the Bate's Nut Farm for pumpkins, I made sure to pick out a gourd too! My mom came up with this great idea for the eyes - just a small blob of wall patch/putty rolled into a ball with a black headed pin stuck through it.  Then all you need is a roll of white crepe paper streamers and you're ready to mummify. I think he is pretty awesome.  Although Martha's mummy wrapping looks better.  If I had free time I would probably re-do the wrapping.  But I don't.  So it's perfect!