Today was like a penny candy day . . .

Good day, sad day.  Left home in the dark this morning to drive the 3 hours to Matthews, NC to the Paper Crafters Muse store that was owned by Daphne P..  I had taken card classes from her in the past and when she moved to Matthews for her job and to open her store I was happy to make the drive a few times a year just to shop her store.  Her store always had the newest products and she had card/journal/mixed media items all over the store for inspiration. Throughout the year she held special sales and all in all it was a nice store to shop. Sadly Daphne passed away this Spring and unfortunately the family decided to close the store.

In their email telling us shoppers this sad news and when the store closing sale would begin they also decided to hold one last Customer Yard Sales before they closed the doors. Daphne held this sale once a year at her store and her customers could sell all their unwanted or no longer needed craft room supplies and it was an all day event. She provided the store front in her plaza for this sale and at her store for that day she would also have lots of special sales going on. I enjoyed those sales and never came home empty handed....

The day they began the store closing sale was the middle of the week and I had to work so I was not able to go but figured I would go to this last Customer Yard Sale so I could say good bye to the gals at the store.... Arrived at 7:10AM and when I got there the sellers were setting up so I waited until 7:30AM with other shoppers before we began to shop.... I was looking for two things to buy and bring home to add to my craft room --- all I wanted was two packs of SU Gorgeous Grape card stock - still sealed - but no one was selling SU solid card stocks.... Not to worry tho because I found these:

The wooden Christmas stamps were $1 ea- this gal had at least 5 huge boxes on the ground full of wood mounted stamps-all the ones I bought were unused. She had a smaller box of BOO Day stamps but I was strong and did not even look at those because being a favorite holiday of mine the WHOLE box would have probably come home with me-haha.  Catherine Pooler ink pads, still sealed, were also $1 ea as was a the longer acrylic block. 

The two die sets from T. Holtz were $2 each and the die in the back is the Big Snowflake die from SU and that was also $2. That will cut thicker card stocks, glittered card stocks, glittered felt and such so I am sure that will get used for Christmas projects this year. 

One gal had a misc bin at her table and she said I could buy all the bead pkgs she had for a grand total of $1 so they made the ride home with me:

Another lady had a large plastic bin of Technique Junkie stamps and I picked up these two background stamps for $2 each:

They had two tables set up with all products that were left from the store closing sale and all these items are brand new, in the packaging, and $1 each -- so these came home with me:

The last items I brought home are:

FSJ stamp set for $2 and the Scrapbook Adhesives were $1 each package and I picked up three of them. So lots of new and fun items to add to the Craftroom Warehouse as DH calls it.... We stopped and picked up subs for lunch on our way home and happy me we were home before 1PM! That has to be a first for me!

SOOO many great things these crafting sellers had -- Cuttlebugs, SU Big Shot machines, SU trimmer, Cricut with programs, Silhouette, Cameo, storage, storage, storage items, ribbons, eyelets, scrapbooks, kits, Paper Pumpkin kits, ink pads, Close to My Heart stamp sets and dies, SU stamp sets and dies, Gemini machine, laminators, decorative card stocks, re-inkers, mixed media items, dies from Sizzix/Spellbinders/etc.. One woman used to teach card classes featuring SU stamp sets and she had a full bin of brand new stamp sets in their cases that were left overs from classes she taught and she was selling them all for $1 each! But I did not bring any SU stamp sets/inks/or dies home on this trip.... guessing I found too many other things to bring home.... Did not find my Gorgeous Grape card stock but certainly did find enuf other products to add to the craft room!!

The Paper Crafters Muse store was totally empty with all products/fixtures/samples all sold and I did not want to go into the store to see it that way - I want to remember it with Daphne there and remember all the great products I found out about while shopping her store. Thanks always to Daphne for all her continual inspiration for us crafters and for making our hobby fun.... She is missed already!

Fall Quilted Leaf Cards

 Received a few items from online purchases recently. I combined the Divinity Designs Quilted Leaf die set with the Burlap Background die from HoneyBee Stamps for two cards.  Here is a photo that includes the Quilted Leaf die set:

And in this photo is the Burlap Background die:

For my two cards I wanted to make a rustic looking card as well as another card using gold - here is the rustic card:

For this card I used kraft card stock for the base scored at the top. I used cream card stock for the card front and using a Maple Leaf Memory Box stencil I stenciled that onto the cream piece using matching ink:

Set that aside. I cut and scored the other kraft card stock base and also set that aside.  Using the Burlap Background die I die cut two pieces of that for the card fronts using kraft card stock. Using Rectangle dies from the Ellen Hutson Essentials line I die cut frames for the card fronts. To die cut the frames I used a larger die and then used a die two sizes down to cut out the frames. One frame I die cut from cream card stock and the other is from kraft card stock.

Using tear and tape behind the frame pieces I placed the frames over the burlap die cut pieces. Once they were in place I used scissors to trim away the excess burlap die pieces. Behind the frame with burlap pieces I cut a piece of cream card stock to be the back of these framed pieces. I used tear and tape to put the backing pieces on these.

The die set for the leaf is a set of two dies - one is the solid base for the leaf and the second die is the leaf piece with all the pieces in it. Once you cut out these two pieces you will have the base and front pieces and all the smaller die cut pieces:

I used all scraps and I die cut the quilted leaf out of different fall coloured card stocks. Put all the pieces onto a piece of copy paper on the work table and then I decided what coloured card stock I would want for my leaf outline piece. The card above I used kraft card stock for the leaf outline piece so I die cut a kraft card stock solid leaf and used liquid glue to put the quilted outline leaf piece onto the solid base. Laid out all the coloured quilted pieces so I could decide what colour to put where. Once that was decided I put all the quilted card stock pieces in the quilted outline frame using liquid glue. 

Used foam tape and put the kraft/burlap frame on the stenciled card front. Used large glue dots and put the quilted leaf on the frame front. Added a small greeting using a very old stamp from the stash:

Stamped this onto cream card stock using a kraft coloured ink and used a 7/8" circle punch and punched that out. Using a 1" circle punch I punched out a circle using kraft card stock. Using glue dots I put the greeting circle onto the kraft card stock circle. Using large glue dots I put the greeting in the center of the leaf piece.

Wanted to make a quilted leaf that would have some sparkle and shine.... so I used gold foil poster board sheets from the Dollar Tree and die cut out the quilted leaf die - here is the card I used that on:

I used kraft card stock for the base and again used liquid glue to put the gold foil leaf piece on that. Used more of the die cut pieces I had die cut and put the leaf together. For the greeting again I used the kraft ink for that and the same circle punches. For the circle behind the greeting I used the gold foil card stock for that:

With using the gold foil card stock for this leaf I wanted the card front to be more simple so here is the front of that card:

Here is a photo of the two cards together:

Will say the quilted leaf die cut out all my coloured card stocks - light and heavier weight - with no problems. Very easy quilted project to put together and another great use for scraps so that is a win win in this craft room . . . Happy to get to use two of my new craft room additions for these cards. 

Divinity Designs Order

 My recent Divinity Designs order arrived in the mail today -- only bought two items so it is a smaller haul:

The Quilted Leaf die set is a sizable leaf that is perfect for card making, tags, or treat bag fronts. Since you cut out lots of different coloured card stocks to piece together for the leaf pattern it will be good for using scraps up as well. Had to pick up the Gnome for the Holidays stamp with dies set. Love the little Gnomes with their Buffalo checked hats.  Here is a photo to show the actual products:

Nice thing about the leaf is the pieces are large enough to work with and not little slivers of card stock pieces. Plus this die set has a die for a solid leaf for your "base" and then the pieced die set you put over the solid leaf to build your quilt pieces on. The Gnome set has the Gnome stamps, word stamps, and dies to cut out the Gnomes all in the one set. 

When my PIC (stamping Partner In Crime) and I would attend stamp shows I would always arrive with a list of items I wanted to pick up and I would always shop the Divinity Designs booth first. They always have such good stamp show promotions and sales and I love their products. All their dies cut the thicker and glittered card stocks on the first pass in the machine and they have lots or beautiful dies and stamp sets. If you get to shop a stamp show they are at be sure to check for their great promotions. Looking forward to going to a stamp show at some point again and hoping they will be there!

Shopping with a sale - -

 Happy me my new order from EllenHutson.com  arrived today. Had ordered it on Aug 15 and since she was having a 20% off sale I as surprised order arrived so soon but happy me!  Here is a photo of what I ordered from this sale:

For my Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil machine I have I ordered their Magnetic Pick-up Tool to take the hot foil plates off the machine to put them on the cooling mat. This tool has a release button so you pick up the hot foil plate and push the release button to drop it onto the cooling mat so you don't have to touch the heated plate. I also ordered the Catherine Pooler Pet Specs die set - it has different eye glass frames in different shapes and sizes so it will be easy to die cut them out to add them to other projects. 

I ordered two die cutting plates from HoneyBeeStamps. The first is the Burlap Background die and also the Candle Cover Plate die both of which I had wanted to buy but had not.  But with this sale I just went ahead and ordered both of them. The last item in this order is the Skinny Stripes die cutting plates from the Ellen Huston brand - already have two cards in mind for that. The nice thing about the Ellen Hutson die products is they are all set to go - they arrive in a clear envelope already on a magnetic sheet so no wasteful packaging to deal with and they are ready to be used and ready to be added to other items in the stash. Glad she offered 20% off at this sale and happy to cross off a couple of "wanting to order" items from the craft wanting list. So once again.... the mailman is the favorite guy of the day...  ;0)

Square Pillow BOO Box

 Used a square pillow box die set from Sizzix for my Halloween treat holders:

For these pillow boxes I wanted to use up more of my holiday 6x6 card stocks. A couple of these holders I used one print for the front of the box and another print for the back:

To make the pillow boxes I die cut out all the front and back pieces for the boxes. Stamped my image on white card stock using black ink. Die cut those all out using a circle die. For the lacey scallop pieces behind the stamped house image I used a die set I recently bought on Amazon. For the solid scallop pieces I used a scallop die from my stash to cut those out.  Stamped a greeting stamp onto white card stock using the black ink. Used a banner die set to cut out the greetings and used a banner punch for the ends of the greeting banner. For each banner I die cut out a solid piece of card stock to put behind the greeting banner piece and I used the banner punch on those as well. 

Put the circle pieces together and put the solid and stamped greeting banner pieces together. Used tear and tape and assembled all the pillow boxes. Since the pillow box has a curved shaped I ran the stamped circle stack over the bone folder to give this piece a little curve to it so it was easier to put that on the pillow box front using tear and tape. Used that tape to also add the greeting to the stacked circles piece. Ready to fill with chocolates for BOO Day.  This is a good size pillow box so it will hold lots of treats.Easy treat holder to put together! Here are more photos:

Pumpkin Pops

 Taylored Expressions has their new Halloween release available and I ordered two items. One die set is a their Pumpkin Treat Wrap holder for a Tootsie Pop (or lollipop) as well as their Itty Bitty Tags Halloween die set. Here is a photo of the Pumpkin Treat Wraps I made:

For my holders I used pumpkin coloured card stocks. I cut out the holders and I used three different background stamps to stamp on the holders to give them some dimension. Each holder has a different pattern on it. This die set embosses lines on the front and back pieces of the pumpkins so putting the overlay die onto the pumpkin is easy:

After I die cut the holders out I stamped them with matching inks using the different background stamps. Set these aside to dry and I cut out the overlay pieces - two of the pumpkins I used glittered card stocks for this and one of the pumpkin I used the same card stock I used for the holder and then I sponged that with ink. I put the overlay pieces on the pumpkin base using liquid glue. I put both the overlay pieces and stems on both the front and back of my pumpkin holder. Here is a photo of one of the backs:

Probably could have left the overlay and stem pieces off the back but I think it finishes it off and if you were to use these in a table setting it looks better finished. I used a sprig punch and a border leaf punch from the stash for the leaves on the front. (For photo purposes I put Tootsie Pops in the holders but with DH in the house I am sure these will be long gone sooner than later.... )

I have some small holiday greeting stamps from Morningstarstamps.com that I wanted to use on these holders so when I saw the new TE mini tag set I decided the dies would work out well for the greetings:

I used twine from the stash to close the holders. Added stash sequins to the holders and tags using Glossy Accents. Easy holder to put together and it is free standing so they would even work as a table marker on the Thanksgiving table. Also if you ordered from Taylored Expressions in the past be sure to check your "rewards/points" balance when you order - on this order I used what I had saved in my rewards/points and I saved $16.00 on this order so be sure to check if you should have a balance you can use. 

Craft Room Organization and stuffs - -

 Creativity is not always working when you have time in the craft room but putting things away, organizing, or moving things around can sometimes help to get the creativity flowing again. . . Been working in the craft room this weekend, reorganizing and moving things around. . .  again . . .

To start with DH recently went to one of his swap meets and he came home with large glass jars with lids for me for the craft room. Awhile back he had built me two holders for my mason jars that I have clothespins in and when he saw the larger jars he thought I would be happy to have those as well. Here is a photo of one of the holders he made for the mason jars for me using wood from a free pallet:

In June we attended the NC301 Yard Sale that covers over 100 miles. One of the sellers had a lot of the old wooden crates that soda came in. I picked up an old wooden Pepsi tray for $10.00 and brought it home for the craft room. DH lightly power washed it to clean it up and I brought it in the craft room but was not sure what I wanted to use it for. Once DH came home with the large jars from the swap meet I knew they would work well together. I cleaned the jars and the lids but for the most part the lids were covered in dirt and rust so after I cleaned them up DH lightly sanded them and we spray painted them red and I put them to use shortly after that. Here is a photo of them:

I took all my beads/jewelry supplies out of the drawers of the Alex units and sorted everything into clear bags into the jars. With the jars being clear I can see at a glance what I am looking for and it has worked out well since I moved everything to the jars. An earlier trip to Hobby Lobby they had their "Spring Shop" items on sale for 66% off so I bought two of the metal containers - a medium and a larger one. The medium is in the bead tray and that holds all the jewelry making tools - pliers:

The larger container holds my corner chomper and my eyelet setter (with direction sheet for sizes):

My eyelets are in the drawer nearby so having these tools in this area is a good idea. Plus since these tools and the jewelry tools/pliers are heavy the metal containers work well. While I was moving things around and sorting I decided to centralize my hot foil system and supplies.....

I have the Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil machine and of course with that comes all the supplies you need..... so I decided to clean off one of my Ikea Raskog carts and put all hot foil supplies together:

Foiling is very pretty but you have to be mindful of dust particles so I decided I would keep everything covered. On the bottom part of the Raskog cart is a clear container with a snap on lid from Walmart (sold in the office supply/school supply section) and in that container is the Glimmer Hot Foil machine and cord.  On the second shelf are two containers with lids from Ikea (Kuggis brand) and I have the hot foil rolls in there. They are all out of their store packaging in these containers and I labeled the inside of the rolls with the package bar code and product colour so I can reorder easily when they are gone. I also have a soft brush to brush away any dust on my card stock before I foil it.  These boxes are very sturdy and stackable so that is nice. 

The top part of the cart has a larger Kuggis container and I have all my hot plates w dies in that. I used the We R Memory Keepers tab punch board and made dividers so the plates/dies are organized. Behind that bin is the Spellbinders foil trimmer that my PIC (stamping Partner In Crime) had gifted me and I keep it there for easy access. I keep this cart right next to my table DH had built for my die cutting machine so when I want to hot foil I can just wheel the cart over to the table and all my supplies are together for foiling. The cart makes it easy to move around as well as to keep all foiling items organized and together for use. 

I do not have many but I do have a few of the ink pads from Catherine Pooler. Altho the ink pads stack nicely there is no labeling on them so when you stack them you can only see the top of the top ink pad so you do not know what the colours are. I used scissors and cut apart small Avery labels I had in my craft room to label the ink pads. I used a dauber to put ink on the label pieces and then put them on one end of the ink pads. At least now I can see what ink pads I have:

Always happy when things move along and happy to say I got a lot accomplished.... always more to do but sometimes we have to stop the organizing and moving things around just to be able to craft again -- working on some Fall projects so at least those are getting started:

Busy weekend in the craft room and things are coming along.... but are we EVER done???   ;0) 

Queen & Co Holiday Jar Kit

 My Queen & Co Holiday Jar Kit arrived this weekend and am looking forward to using it. Here is a photo:

These jars can be made into shakers or you can use them for card making, embellishments, etc.. With their kits you get the dies, stamps, foam for shakers, shaker pieces, stamps, and a 6x6 pad of card stocks. So many dies with this set -- including a rocking horse! Looking forward to getting this in use in my craft room:

So many holiday icon dies! Plus they include a die guide sheet so you can see what dies you need to use to complete your holiday icon:

and the stamps for both the inside of your cards as well as for outside or maybe tags:

Foam pieces for shakers:

and their 6x6 pad of card stock:

Plus Queen & Co sell kit refills on their website if you should need to reorder more pieces for your projects. I have other kits of theirs and they are all good quality products. This will be a good start for the Christmas projects and cards ahead. . . Busy, busy..... but fun!

Dollar Tree find - -

 Recent trip to Dollar Tree I picked this up:

Have this on the craft table with the shammy for stamp cleaning. Here is a wooden stamp I used and cleaned off and it was not dry after I wiped it off:

After I wiped the stamp off I rubbed it onto the Dollar Tree microfiber pad and now the moisture is off the stamp:

This way the stamp and go back into the box for storage, clean and dry.  Had not seen this pad at my Dollar Tree before but already it has been put to use in this craft room and so far? So good.....