Get Well Bird

When I got home from my crafty weekend, I didn't unpack since I was having some drawers built in my craft room and I needed to empty it out. So I left all the packed stuff in the Living Room, and emptied out the rest of the craft room so the installer could move in there.

Then I left town for a few days, and fell waaaaaaay behind in the reload effort. Today I spent an inordinate amount of time bagging and labeling about half of my dies so they can be sorted and stored in their new home: one of the new drawers. I cannot believe I spent so much time on the task and only did half the dies. I might have a few too many. But once I get them all done, I'll only need to do the incoming merchandise.

I haven't even begun to re-package and label the stamps yet. All I've done is put them in the drawers in their original packaging. Baby steps, people, baby steps. I promise to show you the new digs once it's all organized.

So naturally I have nothing new to share with you. Thus, I bring you another card I made during my crafty weekend:

First I stamped, die-cut and colored the bird and the bandages. Then I sat and stared at them, trying to figure out what to do. I ended up trimming down the main white panel (so. much. white.), and taking a few strips of paper from my MME Quite Contrary 6x6 paper pack for the sides. The bird is popped up on a piece of foam tape.

I have a few more cards waiting in the wings. Hopefully I'll get back to business later this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Hello There

I think I'll call this one a WHAT WAS I THINKING card, and enter it into the current Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge:

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of s-crap that I thought was a good idea at the time I acquired it, but now ... not so much.

Here's my card, then I'll explain:

This all started with a set of Plaid Folkart Peel & Stick Painting Stencils. I liked that they stick, so there's no need to tape them to your card stock. But I failed to see that they are narrow, and thus I got glop all. over. my. card. And I am so good I did it over and over again. Then I got smart and applied painters tape and/or washi tape to my next few attempts, but where it did reduce (not eliminate) the slop-over, the tape stuck to the card stock and tore it, more than once. FAIL FAIL FAIL

I finally decided all I'd ever get was a strip of the stuff, and once I embraced that idea, I was good. Oh, the paste was made by smooshing together some Pearlescent Embossing Paste with some Distress Mowed Lawn paint.

I had this idea to put tiny flowers between the leaves, and once I realized I didn't have any tiny flower dies (after going through each and every one of them), I remembered I had a tiny SU flower punch. *whew* I punched them out of remnants of Hero Arts layering papers and stuck them on between the leaves with mini glue dots.

I figured I needed mini brads for the centers to make them look more finished, and also to hold them on to the card, since one of the mini glue dots failed me right off the bat. You know what? I have a VAST collection of brads, in every color and shape. But mini? SURE! I have everything.  So I punched a hole in the center of each flower, then went digging for brads. The only pack of minis I could find were black, and they weren't very mini. Pretty much filled the whole flower. Anything smaller? Nope. FAIL FAIL FAIL

Sewing. Sewing would hold those things to the card, and also cover up the holes I'd punched. So I went out to the garage to retrieve my sewing machine that was wedged behind something else I had to move out of the way, hauled it into the 3rd bedroom, also known as the craft room annex, set it up, found some thread in my sewing box that was still in a moving box, a box that Bobra then took over:

Fifteen minutes later, I'd threaded the needle and sewn a mostly straight line through all the flowers.

Now I still needed to cover up some of the holes I'd punched, so out came my Viva black Paper Pen (which I so rarely get to work, so of course, I have it in many colors), and put mostly even-sized dots in the centers of the flowers.

Then I decided the green card stock was boring, so I stamped one of my Impression Obsession backgrounds with Versamark. If you look closely, you might be able to see it.

I finally stuck on the strip of flowers using foam tape. Almost done!

Sentiment, it needed a sentiment. I pulled out my Jillibean set that was made in China and doesn't stamp very well, stamped it not very well, then went over the whole thing with my black Memento marker to color in all the letters. I hand-trimmed it so just the loopy letters stuck up above, stuck it to the card and called it DONE!

This, people, is what it's like stamping without a net. I SUPPOSE I could maybe plan the card out, but where is the fun and adventure in that? And what would I have to whine about (about what would I have to whine)? :)

So there you have it: Narrow, sticky stencils and Viva Decor Paper Pen are my Crap du jour for the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

PS: I hate intensely dislike this card, but this is an example of why I think some cards should cost $10, just in sweat labor.

Products used: Plaid Folkart Peel & Stick Painting Stencils, SU flower punch (I think it was part of a 3- or 4-punch set), Tombow adhesive, sewing machine, and the following:

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