Project Bins

 

While I was on the Paperclipping Roundtable show the subject of how we keep our workspace from getting over run with mess while working on projects.  I, like many of you, work on muliple projects at a time so I had to come up with a way to contain the clutter.

I picked up a dozen black dish pans from the dollar store quite a while back. I use them constantly! These cheap dish pans or "bins" as I call them, are probably the most efficient way I get things done in my studio. I love being able to contain a project per bin. They seem to be the perfect size, 13.5" X 11" X 4.5" H, I can even prop a full size layout in it to dry or to work on later. As I am often working on multiple projects at once with these I can grab a bin work on that project, set it aside and work on another. Beside bins with projects I usually have a bin with busy work for me to work on during tv time. To keep my counters clear I keep a bin handy, usually in the middle of my room, to toss items in that I think I may be done with and need to put away. I then can take my bin around and put things back where they go at the end quickly and easily. And on a bright and sunny day I will take a bin full of stuff outside to work on.  And as you can see Addie thinks that they make the perfect cat bed.

This shows how easily these cheap tubs stack together.  On the left I have 4 tubs stacked together and on the right is one.  You can see that they take up minimal room when stacked.  I have about a dozen of them but rarely are all put to use at the same time. 

Guest on Paperclipping Roundtable

Today I had the pleasure of being a guest on Paperclipping Roundtable along with Wilna Furstenberg and Julie Fei-Fan Balzer . I have been a faithful listener for years of this awesome podcast. Noell & Izzy Hyman, the dynamic duo of a husband/wife  team lead this conversation based hour long podcast about all things scrapbooking.  Noell and I got to be great friends while at Ranger University together.  

 Today's topic was all about how to be able to try out all those techniques you want to or tackling a project with out worry about messing up your space.  Check it out. 

 

Everyone has a product pick of the week and mine was an easy one... the Compendium of Curiosities  vol I & II by Tim Holtz

 

 I keep a box of technique tags next to my workspace to reference.  It is a great way to grab a little inspiration when you have creative block. 

 

 

Toward the end of the show I mentioned my Ranger Station and the clear tiered shelves that I store my products on.  I have a have 2 of them placed side by side to make semicircles along the wall..  I believe in having easy access to my most used products.

 

eBosser - automatic embosser & die cutter

 

I was checking out the new eBosser this week and wanted to share it with you.  There's lots in the video that's not in the post so be sure to check it out.  Enjoy!

 

Fully Automatic

Electric For Ease of Use

Works With Most Cutting Dies & Embossing Folders

Large Format: Cut & Emboss Up To 8.5" x 12"

Cuts Multiple Layers of Fabric & More

Built-in Handle for Portability

The eBosser comes with all the plates you will need plus 3 large embossing folders.  Two of them are designed for cards, the third is a all over pattern as seen in the photos below.  This folder is beautiful!  I couldn't decide which side was my favorite.  Both were equally awesome!  The pattern was well embossed on it's own but I complimented it further by adding a light coat of Distress Ink in Vintage Photo to the top of the embossed pattern. 

 

The eBosser does not come with any die cuts but it does support most of the existing die cut brands so I wanted to see exactly what it could do.  Since I have most brands already I ran everything I had through it.  Watch the video to see my full review.   For the Sizzix Alterations die I tried adhesive backed felt and grunge board successfully and beautifully.  Unfortunately the thin fun foam was too thick to go through the machine.  The good thing about the eBosser is the safety feature that it will let you know what will and will not work in the machine. 

 

 

 The magnetic shim and rubber shim provided worked perfectly with my Spellbinder dies to create these pretty embellishments.

 

 I was also able to fill the plate with a bunch of scalloped octagons from Spellbinders. Cutting them all at once out of felt. Great way to save time. Lifestyle crafts and Spellbinders both have lots of stacking thin dies for frames and shapes. 

 

The eBosser will also accept some of the Accuquilt Go dies.  I bought a Accuquilt die cut machine and it sits in my attic gathering dust.  Why, because it's a hand crank machine that takes too much muscle power that I just don't have.  I was thrilled to see that some of my dies can be used in the eBosser.

These thin dies like the Sizzix Alteration Tattered Floral Garland is the same thickness as most Cuttlebug dies. Although I had to pop the images out of the paper, the cuts were clean and I was really thrilled I could cut an entire Cuttlebug alphabet in one pass.

 

Well I know I enjoyed checking out the eBosser and I hope that I helped answer any questions that any of you had about this new machine. 

 

 

Easy Altered Clipboard

 

I wanted to share with you an easy project to transform those boring and ugly office clipboards into something really fantastic!  You may remember I posted a while back a few clipboards that I altered to hang inside my ironing board cabinet.  You can see the post HERE.  Well, these are done in a totally different way, with a totally different style.  I love the old timey look of them. 

 These clipboards are easily found at garage sales and thrift stores for under a dollar.  The best part is since you are covering it it doesn't really matter if it's in bad condition.  You will see that in the video.  The Tim Holtz Idea-ology Melange Tissue wrap was perfect for this project.  I love the collage effect that the paper has built into it with the beautiful butterflies, text, music and architecture.  If you are interested in another project using the Idea-ology tissue wrap check out my Magnet Board idea. 

       

The clip on top got a make over too with some Alcohol Ink and some awesome metal embellishments that I also attached with the Matte Multi Medium.

 Since I used legal size clipboards I had a few inches at the bottom extra after the paper was attached.  I tied on some twine and added a few adornments to make my creative soul happy.  Now I have a place to tuck in a business card or a few loose notes and leave my writing surface free of clutter.

Idea-ology Tissue Wrap Melange	Matte Medium Claudine Hellmuth Studio	Alcohol Ink Applicator Adirondack	Alcohol Ink Adirondack	Metallic Alcohol Ink Adirondack
Label Pulls Idea-ology	Ornate Plates Idea-ology	Trinket Pin Idea-ology	Muse Tokens Idea-ology	Locket Keys Idea-ology

InLinkz.com

Create Your Own Glitter Palette

I've always had a thing for Stickles but when once I got my hands on the new Dry Stickles it went to a whole new level.  I created a video for you to show you just how easy it was to create my own custom color palette using the fabulous Distress Stickles Dry Glitter and Adirondack Alcohol Inks.  I am In LOVE~  

There are a few differences between the Distress Stickles Dry Glitter

 and the regular Stickles Dry Fine Glitter.

 

* Distress Glitter comes in just one color (clear Rock Candy) but don't let that stop you, with the help of my video tutorial you can create a multitude of colors for your projects. 

* Distress glitter has variegated glitter sizes

* Distress glitter has a beautiful shimmer without being overly sparkly

* Distress dry glitter comes in a large 60 gram jar 

* The Stickles Dry Fine Glitter is available in 24 colors

* Stickles Dry fine glitter comes in a 21.2gram jar with shaker top and screw off lid

* Stickles Dry fine glitter will add lots of beautiful sparkle and shine to your projects

Click HERE to view the video at my YouTube Channel

 

One of my favorite things, as you will see in the video, is you can make several shades of the same color glitter!   The ones below I created in 3 shades of Eggplant by adding more or less of the Adirondack alcohol ink to each little container of Dry Distress Glitter.  The stripes were made by using Wonder Tape.  Love It!!!

 

 It's as easy as 1, 2, 3!!!

1. Scoop glitter into a smaller container

2. add a few drops of Alcohol Ink

3. Stir well and let dry!

  

Woodland Table Centerpieces

My best friend Julie, is almost due to have her baby.  I was more than happy to help in the preparations of her baby shower.  Since her nursery is going to be a woodland theme I thought it would be appropriate to incorporate that into the decorations of the shower.  I created the favors, centerpieces, a banner, wishing tree and a few other surprises I will share with you in my next few posts.  Enjoy!

 I created the birdhouses from plain birdhouses I found at my local craft stores.  Each birdhouse was uniquely decorated.  I used my Ranger paint dabbers to paint the houses.  Each house was decorated with it's own combination of decorative papers. Most got additional details added with paint, die cuts, embellishments, etc.  I then used a strong epoxy to attach them to a candlestick I painted to match.

The woodland animals I cut from the Cricut cartridge Give A Hoot.  Our area was hit hard with storms and I was able to use some fallen trees for the pedestals for my creations.  My wonderful Dad help me cut the wood into the sizes that I wanted and then I used some heavy adhesive to attach the top to the bottom.  A few pine cones and other nature elements added to the centerpiece. 

Because I wanted the centerpieces to look great no matter where you were sitting at the table I added mason jars filled with flowers and greens.  Not just ordinary mason jars though, I painted these with the delicious colors from my Ranger Paint Dabbers.  I simply poured a little into the jar added a little water and used a brush to coat the sides and bottom.  The outside of the jars remained the beautiful shiny glass but showed the gorgeous color that coordinated with the decor.  Lovely!

I will be selling the bird houses along with many of my other creations at my next show 

36th Annual ALL NIGHT Flea Market

August 18th, 4 PM - 4 AM

Yes, you read that right

4 o'clock PM till 4 in the morning!!!

DuPage County Fairgrounds

2015 Manchester Road ,Wheaton, IL 60187

Table 1 Centerpiece

 Table 2 Centerpiece

Table 3 Centerpiece

 Table 4 Centerpiece

 Table 5 Centerpiece

 Tables 6 and 7 Centerpieces

Hello CHA 2012

It's that time of year again. CHA summer is back at Rosemont and I couldn't be happier to be here. I'm looking forward to lots of classes. Seeing all the great products for the season. I will be taking lots of photos and video to share with you all!


Even though My husband Tim and I live here in Chicagoland we never actually get downtown. So we decided to take a mini vacation and spent the past 4 days in downtown Chicago acting like tourists. We stayed at the Palmer House Hotel, and since they are pet friendly we brought Addie and Jack. We were just a few blocks from Millennium Park and the Art Institute Museum. We also went to Navy Pier, took in an architectural boat tour, windy tall ship, Shedd Aquarium, Water Tower Place and lots more.