Holy Cow!

Checked in on my Etsy Shop this afternoon and looked at my shop statistics.  Hummmm. . . . . . 

Why were there 16 views of my shop on Monday and 402 on Tuesday?  I NEVER have that many people visit my shop in one day. NEVER. Not even on my busiest days in December. Never!

Looked down at where they all came from and . . . Craft Gossip. Really Cool site! I think I'll bookmark it and be back. Thanks Craft Gossip, for all the traffic!

Just a reminder that I'll be teaching The Heart Hang Up and Valentines Day Card thursday night at Paper Niche.  Come join us. We'll be cutting, spritzing and molding our way to Crafting Paradise!

Look What I Got!

 My hubby complains every year that he doesn’t know what to get me for Christmas so I gave him a specific list of four items. On the internet, so he could access it anywhere. No excuses. Christmas came and went and the #1 item on my Amazon Wish List still sat there, un-bought. I really, really REALLY wanted a Rotatrim for cutting all the chipboard I go through creating Address Books. I put it on the list in late summer. He looked at the list and decided that since it was last on the list, having added a Kindle Fire and accessories in late November, that I really didn’t want it any longer.

 I need to back up and tell you that when I get really behind, around October, that he cuts chipboard for those Address Books for me. The old fashioned way. With a rotary cutter, lip edged ruler, and cutting mat. Takes forever. Not always accurate. So in early January, I asked him to cut chipboard for me. (I’m no dummy) One thing led to another and, lo and behold, two days after he left for a 9-day trip, my Rototrim arrived!  Yay!  Yay for him.

Thank you, Jim The Gentleman Crafter, for recommending it. Cuts great, never needs sharpening and it’s light years faster than cutting chipboard by hand! I LOVE it. 

Three Months Gone

I know, it's been a long time. The Holidays got a little crazy and my ETSY Shop even crazier. The good news is that it's over. Bach to normal.

Thought I'd start by showing you my class for Paper Niche at the end of the month. It's already up on their calendar so you can log on and sign up for it.  I'm really excited to teach this class as it's the first time I'll be teaching using stencils with molding paste. SO MUCH FUN! and it's an easy technique to add to your talents! Come join me and leave with an awesome Valentine Card and Home Decor piece.

We'll be using Studio 490's Hearts, Love and Stars chipboard set with lots of sprays, Perfect Pearls and inks to transform it. We'll also get to play with the new Sizzix Pop-N-Cuts die making the cute Valentine's Day Card. You don’t want to miss playing with this fun new die. The possibilities are endless and we’ll start your exploration with a show-stopping card.

Awesome Albums

 Part of late summer was spent creating some new photo albums and exploring some new techniques along the way.  The Travel Album I created and taught in the Spring was so successful (one went to England, one to New York and one to Australia!) that I decided the paper was just too good not to use it again. The result is the “Pack Your Bags” album.  It’s seven chipboard pages in a gatefold style.  The last page unties to reveal room for four more 4 x 6” photos. Lost of detail, lots of photos!

 

The second album “Every Possibility” includes a new binding technique that I wanted to explore based on an album created by Jim Hankins (thanks Jim!). It’s a series of pockets with lots of room for journaling and pictures. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!

How to make a broom

I was working on a Halloween Photo Tray in the studio this week and I wanted to use a miniature broom in one of the windows.  One problem, no broom.

In walks helpful hubby as I'm staring into space trying to figure out how I'm going to create a broom.  Seeing the blank look on my face, (after 42 years of marriage, he knows the look) he asks what I need. I explain, he leaves the room.  Short time later he's back in with several very short pieces of a tree limb and his dad's old shoe shine brush. I had some waxed thread left over from a book making class I took a loooooong time ago with Tim Holtz and that became the binding agent. Not bad.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy the season. It's Sunday, the kids and grandkids are coming for dinner and I'm going to go create a ghost with my grandson. Got the idea here.  Thanks Deb!

Fall Show Schedule

I've had a few requests for the schedule of shows I'll be doing this Fall, so here it is.  I've scaled WAY back on the number of shows I'm doing and no longer will do shows out of town.  Hope to see you at one of these. If you come by, introduce yourself! I love having visitors.

Oct 20 Southwest Ranches Show 

http://www.southwestranches.org/01files/events/country_roads-2012.html

Nov 10-11  Plantation Art in the Park

http://www.pjwcfl.org/

Nov 17-18   The Harvest (Dade County)

http://www.bucklercraftfair.com/miami-harvest.php

In addition, I'll be doing the American Craft Endeavors (ACE) show with Howard Alan's group March 16 & 17, 2013 in Coral Springs. 

http://www.artfestival.com/default.aspx

The Harvest is an indoor show, all the rest are outdoors with my tent. (Now you know why I scaled back, I hate putting that thing up!)

Bye Bye Isaac!

Being cooped up at home while Isaac dances across the Keys and into the Gulf seems like pure heaven! Isaac became the perfect excuse to just go create. I’ve been on a “Pennant and Banners” kick. I know, the trends been around a while but I was slow to jump on board. The first banners I created were based on pre-cut chipboard from BoBunny, 7 Gypsies and Maya Road. One day at Paper Niche it hit me.  They have two large Sizzix dies that cut pennants and banners out of chipboard. YEAH! No shipping, less cost, what’s not to love? And so started the obsession.

I spent Friday at Paper Niche’s crop and created 6 Christmas banners. Easy. I adhered 12 x 12 chipboard to holiday paper, let it dry under the weight of some large dies as I did other things and went back and cut it with the large Ellison machine. When Isaac rolled through I had plenty to keep me busy! I added the lace trim to the edges, punched holes at the corner and used lots of wire-edged ribbon to tie the pennants together.  This idea is so versatile and easy! Keep it in mind for birthdays, graduation, welcome home and just about any holiday. In fact, it’s part of my October class. You’ll have to come back to see what’s in store for my Halloween projects!