Scissor Charms

A few months ago I participated in a swap and discovered that just about everyone I craft with has the same scissors! Most of the folks I craft with are either SU! demos or purchase SU! products and so most of us own paper snips and/or craft and rubber scissors, which is fantastic until you put your scissors down on the table and don't know which ones are yours. My friend Tasha told me about a seller on Etsy who sold scissor charms so I thought I'd check it out.

This is the charm I found on Etsy. Unfortunately, I can't find the seller anymore but there are others on Etsy who also sell charms, some of them quite elaborate. (Note: I have since found the seller information. Visit CarrieMe on Etsy to order a personalized scissor charm for only $6.00)The seller I originally purchased through allowed me to select the colors and type of charm I wanted. I loved the fact that she made me a stamped cow charm using polyshrink!

I decided to try my hand at making my own, ordering beads, phone toggles, and charms from Fusion Beads, Joann, and Oriental Trading Company. This is one of my favorites, with a "good luck" kitty on it. I'm not one for luck but you've probably seen these cats on the counters of many Asian food restaurants or stores. There's a restaurant in Fresno, CA called Shanghai that has some of my favorite Chinese food and they have a golden cat sitting on the counter and the paw moves up and down mechanically. I took delight in harassing my mom one night while waiting for an order, repeatedly poking her in the arm and saying, "Mom, wave to the kitty!" It kind of stuck and we make jokes about it now. I even bought one for my mom from Chinatown in London. So if my mom is reading this, "Mom, wave to the kitty!" Ha!

Okay, so I love cows! I could resist making myself another cow charm, especially since I have so many pairs of scissors.

This is for my friend, Melissa. Melissa, if you're reading this, close your eyes and pretend you didn't see it! The original charm cost me $6.00 plus s/h and I'd say that $3.00 to $6.00 is a good estimate on cost for handmaking your own if you use good charms and are having to pay shipping for your supplies. You can obviously make them much simpler, with just one strand of beading. For those of you located in Germany, Listmann's, Hela, Toom Baumarkt, and Bastel Ecke (Landstuhl) are good places to check for beads and charms. Happy crafting!

The Winner is....

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 6
Timestamp: 2009-03-29 11:01:53 UTC

I assigned a number to each person who left a posting for me for the free Papertrey Ink stamps and then entered them into a Random Integer Generator to try and make the selection of the winner as fair as possible. And the winner is...............Nancy Williams! Congratulations to Nancy for being the winner and I thank everyone who played along and left me blog suggestions. I've already visited a few of them and been inspired. Everyone's crafting styles are so different and I tend to get a bit stagnant in my crafting so I appreciate seeing what other crafters are doing. I'll be posting some projects based on your suggestions in the coming weeks so be sure to stop back by!

Cracked Glass Technique

The cracked glass technique has been around for quite some time but is a technique that I never played around with much. While trolling around my list of blogs looking for ideas using the new SU! circle scissors I came across a beautiful card by Beate Johns using this technique and decided to give it another whirl. Beate's cards are always beautifully layered and detailed, using color combinations that challenge me to be more creative. Here's a simple how-to:

1. Stamp image on cardstock, doing any distressing or detailing before going on to the next step. (I distressed the cardstock edges, sponged the image with ink, and added the pierced holes)
2. Press your cardstock image onto a Versamark pad, thoroughly covering the paper.
3. Sprinkle UTEE or SU! Glassy Glaze over the cardstock, tapping off any excess.
4. Heat the image until the glaze is melted.
5. Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4
6. Place image in a plate in your freezer until well chilled.
7. Remove cardstock from freezer and bend paper, creating the crackling effect in the glaze.

You can see the cracked detailing a bit better here. You can also sponge over the image to work ink into the cracked glaze to give it a vintage look. My card isn't nearly as stunning as Beate's card but I'm still pretty proud of it! I hope this inspires you to try this technique.

Supplies: SU! Not Quite Navy, Shimmer White, and Baja Breeze cardstock, SU! Urban Garden Designer Series Paper, SU! Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze Classic Ink, Versamark, SU! Scallop Edge, 3/4" circle, Boho Blossoms, small oval, and large oval punches, paper piercer, SU! Circle Scissors, SU! Glassy Glaze, K & Company adhesive pearls, cotton thread (Listmann's), sponge, Scor-Pal, heat embossing tool, and dimensionals

Valentine's Day Card

I'm starting to get caught up! This was one of the cards completed by my stamp club in January (okay, so it's two months overdue!) I originally case'd this from a stamper on Splitcoast and didn't keep track of the link for it. I really need to do a better job of that because I hate for crafters to not get credit for their work. :( Yet another Big Shot project, this card features the lovely scalloped envelope die and a monochromatic pink scheme. The SU! Love You Much bundle, which came with a punch, designer paper, and a stamp set, was a big hit with me this year, especially the punch. Most anyone who has seen my craft room knows about my passion for craft punches! I hope you enjoy the card and Happy Valentine's Day in March...ha!

Supplies: SU! Shimmer White, Pirouette Pink, and Regal Rose card stock, SU! Regal Rose Classic ink, SU! Love You Much stamp set, SU! heart, scallop, and 1 3/8" punches, 3/8" white satin ribbon, three-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Michael's Dollar Spot pink sparkle gemstones, Big Shot Scallop Envelope die, and dimensionals

Free Papertrey Ink Stamps!

This is overdue as I promised to post this last week but better late than never! (I think this is my life mantra since everything I do always seems to be late!) Recently I put in an order for Papertrey Ink stamps and accidentally ordered two of the Out on a Limb Sentiments stamp set. Rather than go to all the trouble to return the set, I thought I'd do a drawing and give it away for free! Here's what you've gotta do to be entered in the drawing: respond to this posting with a link to your favorite crafting blog or online craft store and tell me why it's your favorite. It can't be something already listed on my blog...it has to be something new and exciting! Your name will be entered in the drawing and I'll have my hubby draw a name by Sunday. Can't wait to read your posts and who knows, maybe I'll offer more than one prize if the responses are REALLY good!

A Little Embellishment

I have an ongoing love affair with anything paper and journals are no exception. Journaling can be sporadic for me but I enjoy keeping a journal and writing random thoughts or keeping lists of things that I want to remember. For me, it's like spring cleaning for the mind! Alex also loves journaling and has quite the stash of binders and journals overflowing one of her drawers in her bedroom, filled with crazy stories and doodles. I bought this journal as a gift to have on hand but never seem to remember to give it to anyone! In the midst of my recent craft room/office purge, Alex zeroed in on the journal and begged to have it. I promised her the journal as long as she would let me add a little embellishment to it to personalize it just for her and this is the finished product. It took just a few minutes to complete (gotta love the Cricut!) and got to play with my new eyelet lace border punch in the process. Imagine the possibilities for inexpensive gifts you could have on hand for special occasions: a simple embellishment for a recipe book, journal, art book, prayer journal, and more. Most dollar stores carry cute notebooks that just need a bit of personal touch and you've created something special for someone you care about without breaking the bank.

I also think that for those of us who craft, we get carried away with trying to make really elaborate projects and sometimes don't craft because the projects we select are too time consuming. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do those types of projects because they are very rewarding: just don't deny yourself the satisfaction of simpler projects or you'll end up with craft supplies collecting dust! Happy crafting!

Photo of the Week

I'm discovering I have some favorites among our recent photos that would be worth sharing and this one fell into the "favorite" catagory. For those of you who don't know my background, Joe and I met in high school at the restaurant shown in the picture, later marrying at the ripe old ages of 18 and 19. Ah, the glory days of working in a fast food restaurant! Who knew that selling hamburgers could lead to true love :) We thought it would be fun to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary at the place that started it all (I can hear some of you laughing as you read this so be nice!) plus it was a cheap way to celebrate our anniversary and see everybody at the same time. Anyway, Joe's mom loves to take photos and I managed to capture this priceless look on Joe's face as she got up close and personal with her camera. What a hoot!