I did this video on a reverse masking technique for Studio Calico using their April Kit. (For more information, click HERE.)

Have a good one! See you soon…

Vintage Doily Mask	Distress Inks	Versamark	White Embossing Powder
Mister Hueys Classic Shine	Heat Gun

Just sharing a video I did awhile go for Hero Arts. In it, I show how to get more from your dies by letting the edge of the die hang off the cutting plates. Sounds confusing but it is simple…

Now you may be saying, “Use a longer die!” Well, I didn’t have one! And there are many ways you can do this “hang off the edge” technique to get more from your dies. Shaped cards, etc. Start playing – you will have fun with it. (If you took Holiday Card Boot Camp, you saw on Day 1 another use for this technique.)

Simple is sometimes the best way to go…

Here is the die I used…

Here is another option for creating a zig zag border – a fun EK Success punch. (Mine is currently MIA. Need to find it!)

Off to rest. Had Colin’s 6th birthday party today. I am wiped out. Night!

Oh, and I decided to do a random giveaway to a random comment left last week on my blog. The lucky winner is Betty M and she won this great stamp set from Hero Arts and Studio Calico…

Just logging in from many miles above – I love inflight wifi.

Wanted to share my technique video using the new Studio Calico Kits. In it, I create misted flowers from trim, and stamped an alphabet background…

Here are the cards…

You can find out more about these cards HERE. And you can get the kits HERE.

I am on my way to CHA and will try to share photos on Twitter. (You can follow me HERE. I am not much of a Facebook person – prefer Twitter.)

Happy weekend.

(And thank you so much for the happy messages yesterday about our big news. We are thrilled and thankfully the baby is doing well!)

I have a new video to share with you. This one I did for Studio Calico using their new January Kit called County Fair and some add-on kits. I show an easy way to create chevron (zig zag borders). These are fun to create and would work on cards or scrapbook pages.

Give it a try – it is easier than it looks!

Winners! We have winners. The three lucky folks getting spots in Clean & Simple Card Making are Cardcrazed (karen G), Sharon M. and Maggie Haroldson. Yay!

I will be back later today with day 3 of my holiday gift guide. But in the meantime, I wanted to share a video I did using the Studio Calico December Kit – Brooklyn Flea. To check out the kit, click HERE and for more info on the video, click HERE.

This video shows creating large rosette wreaths – perfect for the holidays…

These suckers are big – great as a decoration. Or you can make them a bit smaller to put on gifts…

Again, you can get all the products for this video HERE.

Enjoy! See you soon.

The folks at Simon Says Stamp are having a huge event – STAMPtember – where they will be having free gifts, big sales, prizes and more all month. They asked if I could do a few things for their blog and I was honored to do so. Be sure to stop by the post HERE where Heidi shares some did-you-know-facts about me, along with a silly, embarrassing photo of me floating on the Vomit Comet. (For real.) And you can go HERE to see all the details on this video shown below. Oh! And both posts have a giveaway. If you do go post a comment, please say happy birthday to Heidi – SSS’s owner. Her big day was yesterday. (Love you, Heidi. I admire and respect you tremendously.)

So here is the video I did for Simon Says Stamp, using Metallic Rub-Ons and Alcohol Inks. I also show the new Snow Cap Alcohol Ink. I am in LOVE with this stuff. It is amazing. You can completely transfrom dark metal and other colored embellishments. I show it in action in the video, but recommend you check out Tim’s info about it HERE. He, after all, is the master.

Fun stuff, huh?

By the way, when you do alcohol ink, you need to be sure to use the felt pieces on the inking tool. And use foam pieces when you blend Distress Inks. Same tool, just different things you stick to it.

Before heading out, I wanted to remind you to check my last couple of posts for a chance to win some prizes. See you soon!

Today’s video is one I did for the Hero Arts blog – it shows how to create a card with elements “floating” over a window. A fun effect. I like to create cards that are unique – something Hallmark doesn’t do. This fits the bill.

I used the new Pool Notecards from Hero Arts for this. LOVE the colors in this set – three shades of pool.

And get this – BOTH the large and extra large Cloud Punches from Fiskars fit perfectly with the two clouds in THIS stamp set from Hero Arts and Studio Calico. Cool, huh?

For the rest of the supplies, please check the bottom of this post.

I try not to share too much non-crafty stuff here, but a few people asked about how Colin did on his first day of school. It went perfectly. He LOVES it and day 2 was fab, too. I am so thankful. Any moms out there with issues of anxiety can relate to how tough things like this can be on us. So thank you for your encouragement. Here are pics of the school boy…

Answered prayers.

Something else to check out…

My dear friend Kristina is working hard to raise money for research for type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is heartbreaking – something my brother has battled with for years. So, I feel very strongly about supporting these efforts.

Right now she is auctioning this fabulous piece from Lori McDonough…

She also has lots of prizes you can win with a simple $10 donation. You can see them all here – one is even an iPad2! Please consider checking it out. (Big hugs to you, Kristina. Proud of you.)

Here is another great thing to check out: My friend Ali was just nominated for “The Moms Who Are Changing Your World” award in the inspiration category over at Babble. If she wins, $5000 will be donated to Ali’s two favorite charities. I have known Ali for many, many years and she deserves this award for many reasons. Please consider going to vote for her HERE. (Way to go, Ali! Proud of you, too.)

A few people asked about the class structure of my upcoming Inspiration Showcase class. Here is a bit about it:

Each row of the canvas represents a category of techniques – from resist to finishing touches to Distress Inks and more.  On the first day of class, I will walk you through the first row and all of the techniques. On the second day, I’ll share cards using these techniques, along with a project from a guest artist. On day three, I will present the second row and day four will provide card ideas with those techniques. This will continue through the class days. I will then end the class with alternative canvas designs and cards using sketches and elements from the canvases. So, you will be have reason to check out the class every day for videos!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up already!

Have a good one.

Today I am joining my fellow Paper Crafts Go-To Gals for a fun Card Making 101 Blog Hop. I actually didn’t do a card (I broke the rules!), but instead did a video showing how to create a fun paper heart garland. Please forgive the quick video – I was short on time but wanted to be able to show you…

I used my all-time favorite patterned papers for this garland – the Bo Bunny Double Dot papers. There are so many great colors and they are tone-on-tone. Love love love. I hoard them.

I added the letters with my Silhouette. I tell ya – I am amazed how much use I have gotten out of that machine…

Couldn’t get a great picture of the whole garland, but it says “COLIN ROCKS.” (A little something to tell him how proud I am that he did so great on his first day of Kindergarten!) This project is so easy with the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

Now be sure to stop by the Paper Crafts blog HERE for more on the Card Making 101 Blog Hop. Thanks for stopping by!

One product I get a lot of questions about is Distress Stains. The most common question is: “Do I really NEED them?” The answer?

YES.

To find out why I think they are fabulous, head on over to the CLASSroom with Ellen Hutson. I am a guest on this fabulous education blog today. And there is a giveaway. Yay! Here is a peek at one of the three cards I share…

And I share step photos on stamping with Distress Stains...

… and coloring flowers with them…

Fun fun fun. Be sure to go HERE to the CLASSroom to see all the finished cards and step photos.

And since Ellen and her team are so wonderful, they put together a great prize! Just leave a comment here  for a chance to win these goodies. Yay!

Enjoy!

Months ago, I had promised to do a video showing how to make molds for creating flowers and buttons. I filmed the video back then, but never got around to finishing it. So I filmed some more video a few weeks ago… and am just now getting to pulling it all together. Sorry to those who waited!

This video shows how to create molds and how to use them. It is all very easy! You use this these methods to create your own plastic/sculptured/resin/cabochon flowers, buttons or other hard embellishments. And it is a lot of fun!

(Something seems to be wrong with YouTube. If you can’t see the video below, please go HERE to watch it.)

So, here are the products I like to use…

This is Mold N Pour from Ranger. This product simply rocks as it is easy to use and creates molds that are durable, flexible and safe to bake at temperatures needed for clay. It is fun to create molds from many things with this stuff! They are flexible and reusable. A little goes a long way, too. You can find Mold N Pour HERE and HERE.

This is the Ice Resin you can use to create “resin” embellishments. It is easy to use and you can use many types of reinkers or paint to add color. You can try anything! You can get Ice Resin HERE.

As for clay, there are a million places to get it. I prefer the resin. If you have a Melting Pot and UTEE, that works, too.

If you are looking to buy some resin flowers or cabochons, you can get some HERE and HERE.

I also like to create my own colorful pieces from some of the Tim Holtz embellishments, such as THESE. (Don’t tell Tim that I am taking his brown embellishments and making my own colorful versions – ha.

If you don’t want to make your own molds, you can get them from THIS seller on etsy. However, making them is fun!

So how about a giveaway? Just leave a comment here by Friday at 11:59EST and I will pick a winner of a set of Mold N Pour. You will love it.

Good luck!

Project Supplies:

Ice Resin	Resin Flowers	Mold N Pour	Resin Flowers 2
Tim Holtz Buttons