Hack Job, Part 2 of 2 (the stampy part)

I think I have pretty much established that part of my reason for being is to be an example to others. Or maybe that should be "warning to others". Yeah, just let me try something and I'll be sure to show you how NOT to do it. Or maybe how to save yourself from yourself. Sorry, tonight there was not a lot of saving going on, and not for lack of trying.

Let's go back to last night, where I'd posted my attempt at Brenda's awesome box. Don't get me wrong - the box IS awesome, and I encourage you to try it! Just don't be like me and have NO CLUE how to finish the top and have it be do-able by 15 Ladies of varying levels of skill and patience.

To pick up where we left off, I needed help. I want to thank you for all your comments and suggestions. AND, Brenda herself emailed me with a bazillion different "Oh, and what if you tried ...". Brenda, I love you, but I am beyond help. Really.

Let me show you some of my handiwork. Here we have a pathetic attempt at using the white gel pen to do some faux stitching along the holes left by the Top Note die.

What a mess. Next, I tried sponging some white craft ink along the other edge, just to see if it would provide enough of a contrast to cut all that green:

Nope. Then I added a sentiment between the two floofy stamped images:

Nope. So I started over. This time I stamped the snowflake in Versamark, but did not add clear EP or heat it.

Yawn. B-O-R-I-N-G. Here they are, side-by-each:

(Please ignore my flannel-clad knee.) Oh, and I do feel obligated to tell you this was my 4th attempt at starting over. Seriously. I cut and discarded two other green Top Note die-cut pieces before it got even THIS good. I still hate intensely dislike it.

So I sponged the edges - what did I have to lose?

Blech. THIS WAS NOT WORKING! So I went to Plan 72, and mounted my Scenic Season set, with the intent of eventually stamping a simple tree scene on Naturals White. But did I do what a normal person would do and just mount the two stamps on the provided wooden blocks? Oh, no no no no no. Welcome to Hack 2 of 2:

I cut (yes, cut) the sentiment off the die-cut piece of red rubbah and mounted it separately. In hind sight, this might not have been a very good idea.


I did not even apply the sentiment sticker straight. I am truly hopeless. I WANTED to make my customers love this SU chunky glitter so much they'd need to buy it all, just like I did.

So I stamped the trees, then the sentiment (crooked, of course), then applied some 2-way glue and schmooshed on some of the chunky glitter. FAIL! I hated intensely disliked it, or at least my own execution of it. And I won't tell you that THIS was the 4th or 5th attempt at getting a presentable version. Oh, I guess I just did tell you, didn't I?

The problem with the sentiment being separate? It is a little wobbly to stamp this way. It is a bit too tall to fit on the side of the wooden block, so I mounted it as you saw above. It is a little unwieldy to hold that big block and expect to line up the sentiment. My bad.

On to plan 73: Let's forget all that silliness and instead we'll make a checkerboard quilt-y top! Yeah, let's try THAT! I could use some of the abundance of packs of Christmas paper I bought. Yeah, that's the ticket! So I started out by cutting many pieces of 12x12 paper into 1" strips, then sticking them to a piece of printer paper:

Then I cut those into strips:

... and stuck them down to a piece of white card stock ...

... and cut a Top Note shape out of it:

Then I tied a ribbon on it (GOTS to have ribbon) and set it on top of the box:

Beautiful! But wait! The box is still green. Should I make another box out of a better color of card stock? Wait. How many of these would I need to cut to have enough for everyone? WAIT! Will they shoot me and scream things at me if I make them glue all this stuff down and cut it and then die-cut it AND make the box? WHAT WAS I THINKING?! So I scrapped the whole thing. Not gonna do it.

So what have I learned tonight? I have learned that:
1. I am easily distracted.
2. We knew that already.
3. I need to have these projects made a lot earlier in the month.
4. I tend to overestimate the patience of my customers.
5. Oh, look, cat hair in the laptop keyboard.
6. I still need a 4th project for Sunday.
7. I am hungry.
8. Stamping is not a neat hobby.
9. I am so glad I have The Captain's Quarters and do not need to deal with THIS tomorrow:

So now I must go surf and find another project to CASE for Sunday. I have kits to make and stations to set up! Time's a-wastin'!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hack Job, Part 1 of 2 (the non-stampy part)

Tonight has been one big hack job, so I'm splitting this post into two parts. First I bring you the non-stampy part, because right now, the stampy part is not going so well. But I digress.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you know I am crookedstamper. My avatar started out being my cat sleeping on my shoulder until one of my Tweeple sent me some pics of Captain Jack Sparrow to use instead. Why? Why, indeed. Caution: stream of consciousness follows.

crookedstamper --> crook --> pirate --> Captain Jack Sparrow. Uh-huh.

So here I am, all dressed up for the holidays.



Oh, and may I just add that when I tried to change to this:


which is exactly how I was feeling at the time, I was almost booed off of Twitter until the Captain returned. Yeppers, I could not make that up. I love Roz, though. She makes such a statement just BEING there, ya know?

So now that I am forever The Captain (remember The Captain's Quarters, ergo The Captain's Table?), people think I like Johnny Depp. Well, okay, I like his characters, but personally, he does not do much for me.

THEN, this issue of People magazine hit the news stands:


My Tweeple said I was the hottest thing alive! I AM NOT JOHNNY DEPP, Tweeps! So I changed my avatar, out of protest to JD being named the sexiest man alive, to Sean Connery, who, may I say, has aged quite well, if you know what I mean. Mmm-hmmm.

So I bought the magazine, and much to my wondering eyes should appear, look at this:


THIS, my friends, is the inside cover of the Sexiest Man issue. Oh, yeah! Is this not the BEST Photo Shopping ever?!?!? I want to FRAME it! THIS made the whole magazine purchase worth the money spent.

As for the rest of those people between the covers of the mag - I have never heard of about 95% of them, which is why I've pretty much stopped buying this magazine.

Oh, and on the page opposite that pic of Al were the words: Smart can be sexy, too. It's an ad for a GMC vehicle. I think whoever thought up this ad should be given an award. Not the Clio, because I think that's for commercials, but whatever the Print Ad award is, yeah, that one, they should totally get it. At the very least, the person deserves a BIG RAISE. (It is just so stinkin' clever ...)

Okay, did you catch the hack reference? Photo Shopping ... hacking .... okay, moving on...

I am still playing with the top of that box I posted yesterday. Still not happy with what I am creating as alternate tops. Once I get a little bit closer to a design that will not make my customers leave as soon as they arrive for this weekend's Stamp Camps, I'll post it as Part 2 of the Hack Job, because , well, just because. You'll see what that's all about when I post it.

That is all. Thanks for stopping by!

Not Quite CASE #4

I called this post Not Quite CASE #4 because I am not quite happy with this CASEd project yet, so it is officially Not Done. It all started when I saw this post at Brenda's blog, and I just knew I'd found my Project #4 for this weekend.

It's just, well, I do not like the top of my box. I do not. The box itself was crazy-easy to make with Brenda's template and instructions, but the top, well, I get stuck when I do not 100% CASE. I need to make the top MINE, mostly because I do not have the stamp set she used, but also cuz I like to sleep at night, and I do not 100% CASE much.

I cut a Vanilla Top Note like Brenda did, but I was just never happy with what I did with it, including dry embossing. Just not happy. So I started to play with the green piece. What you see here is version # 4 or 5. I stamped the largest snowflake from Serene Snowflakes in Versamark and clear-embossed it, then went back and added some do-dads with the white gel pen. The fleur thingies on the right are from the center of one of the Hostess set punchy-size stamps; I just colored it with markers.

Eh - not loving it. IT NEEDED RIBBON! But the way the top attaches to the box, I could not wrap it in ribbon. What to do ... what to do...

Here is the box between the two Top Note die-cut pieces. See? No way to wrap that top piece with ribbon. Darn.

Here is the hinge opening. Very cool, but it prevents wrapping the whole box in ribbon. I know - I tried.

But you know me: I.must.have.ribbon. Pretty, huh? I think it adds just enough floof to make it look finished, from the side, anyway.

I had to cut the ribbon off at the back to allow the box to open. This actually works out quite well, since I use less ribbon this way, meaning I might even have enough to go around for all The Ladies. Always a good plan.

So if you have any suggestions to make that top look better, I have 48 hours to get a clue. Thank you in advance. And thanks for stopping by!

A Cardinal

For this evening's trick, I present my CASE Du Jour:


Just LOOK at this little guy! So stinkin' cute! Dreena showed him to us and I HAD to try it out. He is VERY easy to make! He is all punches! Really! So cute.

So this will be my 3rd of 4 projects for this weekend's classes. Today I found a 4th project to CASE, so once I make my mock-up, I'll be all set! CASEing is so much easier than making this stuff up all by my lonesome. I think I am burned out from all the craft shows.

In other news, I am trying to figure out what I can sell to make room for the Card Catalog I am buying. I am currently researching if there is a market for my collection of 200+ vinyl albums. I think I'll replace the ones I can with CDs. I may also sell the TV and maybe the stereo. Not sure yet, though. I might need to keep the turntable (yes, I have one, why the puzzled look?) to play the albums I need to keep because they do not offer them on CD. I have a full-length copy of War of the Worlds. Seriously.

A co-worker gave me a 13" flat-panel TV, so if I need to watch a VHS (oh, might need to keep the VHS player) or DVD (um, yeah, that component, too), I'll have a TV on which to view it. Yeah, that would be a good idea.

Okay, so maybe I won't sell the stereo - just some of the albums. Or I could move. It might be easier.

Hey, thanks for stopping by!

ANOTHER Gift Card Holder

Yes, my friends, another gift card holder ... same design ... nothing new to see here ... BUT! ...

... this one is 100% SU, so I can use it for my Stamp Camps this weekend! YAY! I used the Serene Snowflake set, the sentiment from Great Friend, Holiday Lounge DSP papers, Taken with Teal card stock, Kraft taffeta ribbon, and Champagne Shimmer Paints. It is quick and easy and should come in very handy as a last-minute gift idea!

This is the inside. That right-hand corner is more of the shimmer paint on the snowflake. So easy, with a super-fun result!

What? That's it? No blathering? Not tonight! Now off you go to read some more blogs! And thanks for stopping by!

Wanna See Some New Schtuff?

I am probably the last SU Demo to this party, but I wanted to show you some of the new goodies that will be in the upcoming Occasions Mini catalog. I am sooo excited. Ya know how some people like wood-mounted stamps and some people like unmounted, and some people like the clear stuff, and some people unmount their SU stamps? Well guess what! Starting with the Occasions catalog, all new SU stamps will be offered in wood-mounted or clear-mounted. That's right! You can get 'em with or without the wood blocks!

THAT means, the same awesome, high-quality red rubber stamp images can be purchased ready-to-use on acrylic blocks! Yes! They come with stickers and cool DVD-style storage cases. Let me show you how they work.

We start with the die-cut rubber:

So far, nothing new, right? But wait! Now the sticker sheet is also die-cut:

See those lines around and through the images? The line around the image perfectly matches the die-cut of the rubber. You peel the backing of the sticker off (start at the cut line through the backing), but leave the sticker attached...like this:

See? I just took off the backing, and the sticky side is facing up. Now (and this is important) take off the backing from the rubber piece. I forgot about 7 times tonight. THEN, you carefully line up the die-cut rubber with the die-cut sticker opening, like this:

Just stick it down good. That's right. Then you get this:

The sticker attaches to the back of the stamp so you can see exactly what you are doing! SWEET! So when you put it on an acrylic block, it looks like this:

How smart is that?!?!?! I used two of the new sets tonight to make this quick card:

Okay, that was a lie. It took me forEVER to make this card, because I had not a clue, but I got there eventually. Oh, do you see that cute scallop on the left edge of the DSP ? Yep - new punch!

If you look closely at the floofy sentiment, you can see I traced over the words. I originally stamped them in the Melon Mambo to match the paper, but the image disappeared, so I went over it with my Soft Suede marker. Hey, it's a mock-up!

I am loving this new stuff. You all should know by now how space-challenged I am, so smaller cases and no wood blocks if I don't feel like it are perfect for me.

Speaking of space, today I bought a Library Card Catalog File. You know, those old wooden card catalog drawers that used to hold 3x5 cards, and you had to rifle through them to find the books you needed? I think I'll need to sell some furniture to have room for it when it arrives. Yikes! But I cannot wait for it to get here! I'll take pics, fer sure!

That's all I have for this evening! Thanks for stopping by!

Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

Just saw this and had to share. SO creative and funny!

A Crooked 12-Hour Day

Yesterday was my last holiday craft show of the year, and it was ... shall we say 'interesting' in so many ways. I'll try to plow through all the exhausting details with as little pain as possible to you, my beloved three (maybe four) readers.

It all started with a forecast of snow. Being from the Midwest, I laugh - LAUGH - at what is considered 'bad' weather here. So I blew it off and went about my day as planned. It all started at O'Dark Thirty when I awoke around 5 am. We could arrive and unload as early as 6 am, and I did not want to deal with bumper cars at the curb during the later hours. I got there around 6:30, and there were a few other hardy souls setting up already.

I unloaded with very little pain. Here is all my schtuff:

The photographer behind me had the same walls I do! (In fact, a lot of people have them.) He was pretty much done setting up his walls when I got there. Right where he is kneeling is where his wall is on an angle, which gave me a corner for my chair. You may recall seating space is something with which I struggle in my space set-up.

My space is defined by that blue tape. There is some just to the left of my walls (the round card rack bases are on my front left corner) and the guy behind me has his foot on the back corner. Speaking of which - I HAD A CORNER SPOT! Sweet.

Here is my first iteration of a set-up. It changed about four times during the day, largely due to the input of my dear friend and fellow crafter, MaryBeth, who sat directly across from me and scrutinized my set-up and lack of customers. It's what we do for each other. I mentally rearranged her booth all day long, too.

Notice the two green-covered walls behind my table. Also notice they are a foot taller than the ones behind me. I had the legs made that way because the bottoms of the walls do me no good when I am displaying cards, and I wanted the walls to stand higher so I could use all of the available space. Of course THIS time they were just being used as backdrops.

Check out my card holder. This is a Christmas Card display thingie that Lydia enabled me to purchase. I decided to use it to display my remaining book marks, magnets and decorators/ornaments. I like it!

Then the organizers came around and told me the next booth was a no-show, so I could expand into it. Yay! So I spread the walls open a little more and moved my card racks over a bit. I call this Set Up Iteration #2:


Notice how I am past that blue line there on the left, now. Also notice how that little table looks disembodied and out of place. For set-up iteration #3, I put that table perpendicular to the other tables, right along the right edge of my space, to form a corner.

Then MaryBeth thought I should move all the tables out to the front of the space, and I could sit behind them. We moved everything, and Iteration #4 came to be. And THAT, my friends, was the ticket! With the extra space for the card racks, it worked out perfectly! And no, I have no photos. I think I started to take one, but I got so busy I never did!

People came in pretty much all morning and traffic was fairly busy, yet everyone said it was getting nasty out. BUT THEY STILL CAME, and they shopped and we thanked them profusely.

Then we had some snow. Yes, real snow began to fall from the sky. See:

By this time, some of the vendors were packing up and leaving. SERIOUSLY! Who leaves one of the biggest shows of the year because of a little precipitation? The SHOPPERS were there, but some vendors were packing up as early as noon (the show was from 10-5). I registered an official complaint to the organizers, because it is really bad for the rest of us when vendors leave early. In fact, most shows have it written into the rules that if you leave early you will not be invited back. But they said it was okay because of the weather. Pttttht, I say to that! By 4:00 I was one of about 5 remaining vendors, and you know what? I made sales! HAHAHA! In fact, I had such a good day over-all, I'd be comfortable declaring it my best-ever one-day show! Just imagine if it had not snowed!

I sold all but about 10 of my Tea Bag/Candy holders; one woman bought 15, and another bought 10. Then two women (Mother & Daughter, I think) spent about 20 minutes picking out cards, and they eventually got up to 18! I almost hugged them. Right at the end, a nice gentleman came by, thanked me for being open still, and bought two ornaments and a Sympathy card. I gave him a third ornament out of sheer gratefulness.

By the time I left, we had about 2" of wet snow, and about 3" of melted slush in the street. I know this because I stepped in it when I stepped off the curb. MaryBeth gave me a ride to my car, because we had to park about 1/2 mile away from the venue, and by the time I got back to load up, I was the last one. Oh, well. With wet, squishy sneakers, I loaded up; I encouraged the helpers to actually help me carry stuff out to my car which shortened the re-load process a little. I finally got home about 6 pm. Now THAT was a 12-hour day! I think I went to bed around 8pm last night. Seriously.

This morning I unloaded my walls and card rack stuff at my storage unit. This was the first opportunity I've had all week to take a pic of my car in the daylight.

LOTS of room! I got the walls and the card racks out of there, and it looks like a normal car now!

Once I get all of these boxes out of the back seat, I'll even be able to take the car to Michigan in a few weeks.

To celebrate the end of my Craft Show season, and the fact that I was out of the house and it was not raining, I went to Target and bought a few things I needed. This item was right next to the Milk Chocolate chips I needed for my Buckeyes (that's another story for another day), so I just had to get some!

I dumped a bag of them into some brownie mix, and all I can say is:, "Get yourself to Target RIGHT NOW and buy these. HOARD them if you must!" OMG, this place smells heavenly right now.

I'm off to finish some laundry and be a little domestic for a few hours, then I think I'll go fondle and maybe even USE some of my new SU goodies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Chance At Life

I am sitting on the couch right now, thinking I am so not prepared for tomorrow's craft show (Bauer Drive, for those of you local to me). I just know there is some huge task I have forgotten. Oh, well, guess I'll figure it out tomorrow when it is too late to fix it. That's just how I roll.

But today's post is a serious one. Back in November I posted about how everyone should register to be a Bone Marrow Donor. My friend's husband is now in his third round of very intensive Chemo in an attempt to force his cancer into remission so he can have a bone marrow transplant. But first he needs to FIND A MATCH. In order to find a match, there need(s) to be people registered. The more people registered, the greater the chance of finding a match.

George (that's his name) is of Greek descent, and short of a close relative, there is a much higher chance of finding a match with people descended from others from the same part of the world. So if you or anyone you know is from that part of the world, or descended from someone that is/was, please take a few moments and follow the instructions below to register with the Bone Marrow Donor organization.

And even if you are not of Greek descent, please register anyway. You never know when someone you know, or even a complete stranger, will have another chance at life because you did.

Here is the registration information:

Go to http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now/join_now.html

1. After you click the link above, you will see “Join Now”
2. Scroll down and check the boxes in Step 1 (ignore any reference to cost; you do not pay anything when you use your code)
3. In order to continue the registration process, you must agree to the terms of use and sign the consent through electronic signature
4. Enter your information
5. Enter Code: George126 (<-- it is case-sensitive)
6. Once the form is complete, the system will automatically send you a swab kit to your residence, with a self-addressed, returned envelope
7. Urgent: As soon as you receive the swab kit in the mail, immediately swab and mail off the envelope so your results will be on the Marrow Donor Registry as soon as possible. It can take up to 6 weeks to tissue type, so the earlier you send in your kit the better.

Thank you.

PS: If you are already registered, please make sure your information is up to date. I registered about 15 years ago, and I know I need to update mine.

Rainy Day Blathers

Happy December, everyone! Holy Cow, can you believe it?! DECEMBER!

I survived my first Cyber Monday with okay sales, and got everything to the PO tonight, including all of my freebies. Yay! Done.

Now I am getting mentally prepared for my last show of the season, which is this Saturday. The only thing left for me to do is finish packaging the last few cards I've made, and also go to my storage unit and retrieve my walls. I was not going to use them this time, but I am loaning one of them to a fellow vendor, and I thought I might as well bring two of them and use one myself! I never, ever, ever set up my spot the same way two shows in a row, so it adds a certain element of excitement (or panic, depending on how you look at it) to every set-up experience. I live for these opportunities!

So last night, after I got all my stuff packaged and ready to mail out today, I got an idea for a quick but elegant Thank You note. Check it out:

It was already in the box before I thought to take a picture of it. That stamp is from the SU Thank You Kindly set. I used the retired Pomegranate ink on retired Vanilla Raised Edge Note Cards, of which I have a ton since I hoarded them. That's retired Pomegranante ribbon, too. It's all in a clear box that I adorned with a snowflake rub-on. The gold elastic cord is also SU. Okay, everything but the clear box is SU.

I was going to fancy up the front of the card with some flourishes on either side of the Thank You, but once I stamped it, I decided I liked it plain. I think this design has much potential. Not for this weekend's show, because that means I'd need to be stamping RIGHT THIS MINUTE, which I am obviously not, but maybe for my etsy store, and definitely for next year's markets!

In other news, it is still raining. I think because of the rain, Mr Brown got very confused and mis-delivered some packages. The one I got was for 'Scott' at a different address (no Scott here...). I set it aside, intending to deliver it tomorrow after work. Lucky(ily) for me I have great neighbors! First my upstairs neighbor braved the downpour and brought me a box that was delivered to them. Next, another knock at the door and it was a guy with TWO boxes for me, mis-delivered to him. I took a chance and asked him if he was Scott. Yep, so I handed him HIS box. Done!

So what is IN all these boxes? Well, first I got a ton of paper on sale at A Muse. Yay! I love that they now sell 8.5x11 sheets of card stock to match their 4-bar note card packs. Second I did a last-minute I NEED IT NOW order with SU and got a Christmas set and some chunky glitter. And, well, a few other things, to, you know: justify the shipping. AND, I got my PTI order. I wanted to use their dark blue ink last week, but all I had was the refill, no ink. So I ordered it! And some card stock, and patterned paper, and ribbon. You know, to justify the shipping.

That is A LOTTA new stuff! Oh, I also pre-ordered my SU stuff from the upcoming Occasions and Sale-A-Bration catalogs, and THAT should be here tomorrow. Schweet!

So lessee, what else is going on. OH! I am looking for rental space to hold a Craft Supplies Yard Sale early next year. So far I have a line on two different places in Gaithersburg. I'm thinking Feb/Mar/Apr 2010. So if you know anyone in the area who might want to rent a table and sell their stuff, please pass it along. Also, if you have any DOs or DON'Ts to pass along to me, please do it now!!! AND, if you are local to me and your neighborhood has a community room that can be rented, please let me know THAT! I need options! I think this will be tougher than I expect to make happen. Um-hm. Yeah.

Okay, I have run out of brain dump, and it is time for bed. Thanks for stopping by!