Quick Tip Tuesday

 I just returned from a craft retreat, and it was awesome.  It's great to have dedicated time to work on projects as well as other people to craft along with.  This was an in-person event, but there are also online Facebook groups, websites, craft summits, and memberships available.

Don’t craft alone—find your people! Joining a community of like-minded crafters can spark new ideas, offer helpful feedback, and keep you inspired. Whether it’s a local meetup or an online group, sharing your passion makes creating even more rewarding.

Favorite Weekly Project - Infusible Ink Cosmetics Bag

 I have been wanting to use infusible ink (again, as I tried it last Christmas and liked the look), so I decided to take the plunge.  I used a Cricut cosmetic bag blank and the rainbow triangles infusible ink.  I used a brushstroke pattern for the background then used regular Cricut iron-on vinyl in black for the words.  Both sides are the same. I'm using this bag to store all of my ink-blending tools because the drawstring bag I had them in was getting too small.

 I love the vibrancy of the infusible ink and how it becomes part of the fabric.  It was not as difficult as I remembered.  The process went very smoothly following Cricut's directions.  I hope you'll give infusible ink a try!

Quick Tip Tuesday-Protect Your Fingers

 Today I made some cute decorations for paper clips to give my daughter for use in her planner.  

The superglue was not working.  It wouldn't adhere my faux leather to the paper clip, so I got out my hot glue gun.  It worked like a charm, but... I forgot to use my silicone finger protectors and I paid for it when a big driiiiip from the glue gun hit two of my fingers.

  I've got a blister coming up on one of my fingers now.  Don't forget to use your finger protectors!

Creative Fabrica Sale!

 

We'll be running a HUGE Spring Sale, offering 90% OFF on millions of fonts and graphics - the perfect opportunity to stock up on discounted creative assets. The designs and fonts can be opted out of the sale at any time, so grab your favorites quickly!

Printable Escape Rooms!

 

Escape rooms are all the rage right now, but they are not always a good idea for younger chidren, depending on the theme, and they can get expensive, too.  If you have kids or grandkids, I think you're going to love these Escape Room Printables.  Have an Escape Room experience at home by solving challenging puzzles and ciphers to unlock the secret code.  You even get to see if your secret code is correct which will give you the ending to the secret mission.  

At the Zoo

Into the Great Wide Ocean

Out of the World!

Check these out on Etsy, and please forward this email to someone you know who would also love this product. Super easy to set up.  Print, cut in half, play.  It's that easy!  And the price is amazing!  Baseball and birthday editions coming this weekend!

P. S.  All printables from Crafteverly are 25% off until Saint Patrick's Day!

Don't forget to visit Happiness is Homemade!

Quick Tip Tuesday - For Owners of Cutting Machines

 Does your paper curl when you remove it from the mat?  Don't you just hate that?

Well, that's because we've all been doing it wrong!

Tip:  Don't remove your paper from the mat.  Remove the mat from the paper.  Turn the mat over and    gently nudge a corner of your design. Hold the paper down as you remove the mat.  This really works!

Recent Crafts

 I have been having so much crafting fun this week!  I've been working on some paper projects for my twins' upcoming birthday.  These aren't my designs, so I won't include them in my Etsy shop, but I thoroughly enjoyed creating them.  I will link the designers below this post so you can get the files, too.  They are FREE! (You may have to sign up for a newsletter, but otherwise, no cost except your own materials.)

Paper purse - It is actually a purse with an outside pocket and an inside pocket and a Velcro closure.

This is the front

This is the back

Paper wallet that I will be using as a gift card holder.  It also has a Velcro closure.

This fisherman's bucket hat can actually be used as a gift "bag."  

Surprise!  The top comes off.  Isn't that clever?

I can't wait to fill them with gifts and give them to my kids.

And if you need a last-minute, inexpensive, printable greeting card for Father's Day, here are two options:

Tools

Mustache

Printable cards are great!  Print, fold, crease, done!  Have a great weekend!

Paper purse and wallet can be found at Jennifermaker.com Design 393.

Paper bucket hat can be found at

Visit Crafty Creators for more inspiration!

Beachy Random and More

 

Are you a beach person?  It's certainly that time of year here and in many other parts of the U.S. with temps already in the 90's.  That's normal, though, here in the Texas Gulf Coast region, and school has already been out for over ten days.  Summer is in full swing!

So, are you one of those people that prefers the beach to the pool?  Prefers sun instead of shade?  Loves the feel of wet sand between your toes?  Enjoys the ocean breeze ruffling your hair?  Then you might like the design I created last weekend...

click to see larger

I decided to put it on a t-shirt (11 colors available), a white soft-style tank top, and a tote bag.  Take a look if you'd like.  If you have a friend who loves the beach, any of these would make a great gift!

Speaking of the beach, we are about 30 miles from Galveston.  Granted, it's not the prettiest beach I've ever seen (Hello?  It's Texas, not Hawaii!).  But it's a beach nonetheless.  We try to avoid it on holidays and during festivals because it just gets too crowded or a group of people will start trouble, so, we tend to go when other people are elsewhere.  We can sit under an umbrella, listen to the waves, feel the cool breeze coming in off the water (despite the heat),  wade in the water, have a cookout on the beach, or all three!

Not our actual burgers. Ours were better!  But it does look like Galveston!

One of my fondest memories is when our whole blended family went to the beach, including the dog -who has since passed :-(  We had a great time, and my husband made "juicy lucy" burgers for everyone.  But enough nostalgia for now.  How about something funny?  These are "shore" to make you laugh!

Okay!  I hear you groaning.  I'll stop!  Don't forget to visit Random Tuesday Thoughts and Happy Tuesday.

Have a great week!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/crafteverly

Crafting Brands I Like

 

When I am making crafts, there are certain brands that I like...

• Faux leather from The Polka Dotted Peach.  They have so many different colors and textures such as embossed, glitter, Western patterns, even red, white, and blue faux leather.

• Keepsake Calico cotton from JoAnn Fabrics.

• Prismacolor pencils and markers which I order from Blick Art Materials because they heavily discount their items because they sell many of their items in bulk.

• Cardstock from 12x12 Cardstock shop.  They have it all!  Foil, glitter, smooth, textured, in every color and pattern you can think of.

• Pops of Color from Scrapbook.com.    There are similar products elsewhere, but Pops of Color are sold exclusively at Scrapbook.com, and they do just that... add an enamel pop of color like the dots on this card.
  
  
  
• Soft Minky fabric (also from JoAnn Fabrics).  There is not much that is softer thank this fabric, and it comes with "dots" or plain.
  
  
  
• MFDSJ Key Fob Hardware sold at Amazon.  This hardware is very sturdy and a good quality product.
  
  
  
• The Team Shop, also at JoAnn Fabrics.  If they don't have your professional football, baseball, basketball (etc.) team in stock at your local store, chances are you can get it online.
  
  
  
• Picture frames from Michaels.  They have a great selection in  several different prices ranges, and in my experience, they are made well.
  
  
  
• Digital Art from Creative Fabrica. They literally have millions of graphics, fonts, and designs, including pages and pages of freebies!
  
  
  
• Menkey earring hardware that is sold on Amazon.  I prefer the Sterling Silver hardware that comes with silicone backs.
  
  
  
• Fonts to use in graphics (in addition to Creative Fabrica) from So Fontsy.  Silly name, but a huge selection of fonts to use in your crafting.
  
  
  
• I prefer to get my cash back from Rakuten.  Most of the shops I've mentioned, obviously not Amazon, but the other retail shops both online and brick and mortar offer cash back when you use the Rakuten app which costs absolutely nothing.  I buy the same products I will normally buy, but now I get cash back for it.  It adds up, too.  I got my biggest check last year in February.  It was over $100, and seriously, I bought nothing extra to get it, and it cost me nothing to sign up.  In fact, they give you a sign-up bonus after you make a purchase or two.  I still don't understand why people don't use it! 

For more fun lists visit Thursday Thirteen.

It's Random and Happy

 It's random and happy, so here goes! Cats!  Random topic. Cats are a happy thing!  I know not all people agree, but I love cats!  Look at this adorable cartoon cat!

Creative Fabrica, Designed by Skaw0414

This is one of 4 cats in a file I downloaded yesterday from Creative Fabrica.  I can make it into a sticker, but I'm thinking of other things I could do such as make it into an embroidery file, use it as clip art, or put in on paper crafts such as scrapbooks and cards.  Maybe you'll see this in my Etsy shop soon.

Did you know that cats can sense when their owner is depressed?  They respond by rubbing against them more, likely to try to cheer them up.  Just the act of petting a cat releases oxytocin, the so-called cuddle chemical, in your brain.  Cats get a bad rap, but it's not necessarily deserved.  Who could resist this feline?

She loves burrowing under (clean) clothes in the hamper or under the covers.  Now, I'm off to Creative Fabrica to find some more cat images to use in my crafting!  But first...

And one more you won't be able to resist!

Don't forget to visit Random Tuesday Thoughts and Happy Tuesday!

(Disclosure policies are updated and the link is in the sidebar)

I'd love to connect with any other cat lovers out there!

Crafting is my Happy Place!

 I've been doing several types of crafting recently, and it truly makes me happy.  It doesn't matter what I'm creating or making, but what does matter is that I AM creating and making. It's my happy place!

I want to make this style of shirt for myself (the polka-dotted shirt, view A on the right). 

I almost never make things for myself!  I'm sure that's common among crafters.  It says, "Easy to Sew," but I'm not counting on that.  I know the sleeves will be a challenge, but as soon as my new fabric comes in, I'm going to give it a shot!

I purchased a UV Resin kit recently.  I don't have the techniques perfected yet, but I'm definitely practicing.  I am trying to "dome" keyrings and use molds for earrings and necklaces.  It's so much fun!

One thing I have become pretty good at is cutting faux leather and making earrings.  Here are some of them.

White textured faux leather with solid white backing

Round earrings made form embossed turquoise faux leather with a bronze backing.

 

Stars and Stripes!  Memorial Day is coming soon and July 4 isn't that far off!

It's so much fun!  My first love is scrapbooking, though I haven't spent much time with that.  However, I did make a few cards, and that's almost like a mini scrapbook page.

Set of 3 birthday cards with metallic balloons

I'm planning my next batch of cards right now. I'll post when completed.  Thanks for hanging around with me today!  Here's a few funnies before you go...

Have a happy week! Don't forget to visit Stacy Uncorked and Comedy Plus for more Tuesday fun, and feel free to visit my Etsy shop or pass the information on to someone else who might like to look.  I really need some feedback. Thanks and have a great week!