My 4th of July wreath…

Well, not really… At least that is what I was planning to do as my door decoration… Let me start from the beginning…

When I have decided to look into creating my own 4th of July wreath, I first looked on Pinterest as many people do… However, he one that really caught my eye can be found here – something I thought would be simple enough for me to do myself (even if I consider myself not so adept at 3D paper crafting… lol) Of course, it was a couple of weeks ago so, after reading the whole post on how to create that beauty, I told myself I will re-create it while on my summer shutdown – and promptly filed it away somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

…until Tuesday, when I remembered my plans to decorate my front door – after all, my kite wreath needed a break… So, I gathered my supplies: red, white and blue cardstock and some glitter cardstock, Stampin’ Up punches, HiTemp glue gun and plenty of mini glue sticks and a 12″ foam wreath that was hiding in my craft closet (I really should have used a 9″ or 10″ wreath, but forgot to buy a new one…)

As I started to punch the necessary pieces to create my wreath, I realized that I had no idea how many pieces I really needed so, in order to have enough kept on punching till I got a big blister on my thumb and a couple of bruises from pinching my palm in the punch I was using… Obviously – I told myself, I am not using punches enough in my card making and I lacked the experience… sigh…) Then, I had to crumble over 200 pieces and that is when I realized that my cardstock was three different weights: the white cardstock was lightest and easiest to crumple, the blue cardstock was heaviest weight and I had to spray it with a water mister in order to crumple it, and the red cardstock was somewhere in between the two… My fingers cramped dozens of times and they got colored in red, blue and an interesting shade of purple…

When everything was nice and crumpled, I got my HiTemp glue gun and started assembling my wreath… After gluing a dozen of pieces – and burning my fingers every time – I realized I should have bought a LoTemp glue gun… But it was too late to do so, and I kept on working on my wreath… I REALLY wanted to make myself a new door decoration!

A day full of chores kept me away from finishing the wreath this morning, but the evening was all mine – I KNEW I was going to have it hanging by morning… Until an hour ago, when my HiTemp glue gun decided to put an end to my creativity… One of the blue pieces I was getting ready to affix to the wreath slipped and my left index finger got so much hot glue on it was blistered by the time I got to the kitchen, dousing my hand in cold water… Let me tell ya, getting glue off a blistered finger is NOT for the faint of heart! I got a cold pack, trying to numb the pain and stop the burning process, but it did not really help much…

As you can see, the wreath is unfinished and will remain that way until I can regain use of my finger… The empty space at the top will be filled with blue cardstock pieces, while the bottom space is divided in three sections to be filled with red and white pieces (about 12 pieces in each section…) At the top of my “craft” shopping list is – as I am sure you have guessed – a LoTemp glue gun for future projects… I am looking forward to crafting without self-inflicted injuries…

I wish you all a Happy 4th of July!

 

Summer kite…

     A few months ago, feeling more crative – and brave – than usual, I have decided to try something way out of my “cardmaker” comfort zone. I picked up my collection of monthly “Stampin’ Up” publications, and quickly I have decided on re-creating one or both the kites tha were shown. I had to chose some patterned cardstock from a recent non-Stampin’ Up purchase, because I wanted the large base rosette to have more weigh that the Designer Paper Series Stampin’ Up is offering, but otherwise I kept with my all-time favorites: butterfly & flowers punches, color cardstock, background stamp, border punches, brads & ribbons, all SU items (some current, some long gone…)

     Although it did not turn out as pretty as the original, I was pleased with it and decided to hang it on my apartment’s door. To my surprise, I had a few neighbors from the complex stoping me and telling me how beautiful they thought my wreath was and asking where they could get one. Thery seemed quite amazed to hear I had made it myself… Maybe I should make some more and list them in my PaperMoons Designs shop… lol… Just noticed I have the wreath hanging all crooked in my photo – I am thinking that new eyeglasses are definitely in order!

     Gotta start gtting ready: I am leaving for the McGhee-Tyson Airport in a few short hours to pick up the “kiddies” – I can hardly wait!!!

 

Great use for your Bind-It-All

I have got to give this calendar a shot!

craftingcottage

I’m in need of a 12 step program!  I am addicted to yet ANOTHER facebook game! *sigh*  I haven’t been doing much crafting lately, just playing that stupid game!  My crafty friends told me to snap to and and show them something pretty so here’s what I got…

I made this several weeks ago, I wanted a nice calendar for my desk… it would also make a pretty gift for someone 🙂

I totally love my Bind It All and I am always looking for reasons to use it.  It is the perfect tool to make these lovely calendars.  Also, you probably already know, if you follow my blog, I LOVE My Mind’s Eye papers!  especially the ones with the glitter!

Well I am off to take my brownies out of the oven….  We are snowed in today, in the middle of a blizzard so I felt Chocolate would be…

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Tim Holtz Online Class

     Today I’ve started a new online class for card and tag makers, a class conducted by none other than the famous Tim Holtz. The class is called “Creative Chemistry 101” and you can sign up/register  for it at any time HERE. Although I love the results of his creativity, so far I was far from being able to follow his directions, nor create anything remotely similar to what he makes… So, I’ve decided to take this 2-week online class and see how I can improve my techniques and “wake up” my creative brain…

     So… Today I will have to go through my ever-growing stack of supplies and put aside the items (stamps, inks, Perfect Pearls powders, embossing inks and powders, tags and cardstock…) that I will most likely use during the next two weeks… Not an easy task, as I have just started cleaning and re-organizing my craft room the other day… Progress has been achieved in some way, however I have a long ways to go…  Hopefully, I will be able to locate all I need, get the top of my craft table cleared out – and start playing tomorrow…

     I hope your day is a happy one!

 

We can’t all sparkle…

     I do love interactive cards! I love receiving them, as I know they will always put a big smile on my face as I discover all the “tricks” they can do… As I grew up, there were not too many cards like that in Romania, and yet my dad used to get his hands on one, once in a while… That magical memory pops up its head every time I open a Hallmark card that “does” things… LOL

     However, as much I love those cards I am a complete failure at creating them. No tutorial can help my mostly logical brain visualize how a “waterfal” card should work or one that has characters rolling from one end of the card to the other… So far, in my two years since I have started to create paper cards, the best I could do was the “mountain & valley” kind of cards, the type that a message is adhered in such a way that one can read it when the card is fully open, more or less…

     So here is “Sparkle“… I really loved the message it offers: “We can’t all be stars, but we can sparkle…” (front cover),

     “All I need is one star in the sky, to wish for you everyday!” (inside of card)

 

     The card was created with yellow and navy cardstock, hand stamped with solid and outline stars. I cannot remember the provenience of the diecuts, most likely from a kit… I guess it turned out OK 😉