Craftinbish

 Greetings crafty friends. Today I'm sharing some fun and easy cards I made using Spellbinders Hex Tile stamps with their clear stamp of the month for August 2021. I picked this stamp set up on sale but sadly didn't get the coordinating die set. Stamp Set I like the paint splatter in this one. Since I don't have the die set I decided to do a flat card. I didn't want to bother with fussy cutting. I stamped images into the corners of my cardstock using the Misti stamp tool and Memento black ink. Next, I colored in the flowers with Prismacolor colored pencils and opted not to "build" them with the included stamps. I blended my colored pencil using some mineral spirits and a brush for a watercolor-like effect. After the flowers were colored I restamped my images to make the lines bolder. This is easily done using the Misti and makes a big difference in the finished product. I used watercolor to outline the design in light blue and then splattered it wi

Postcard of Brooklynn Bridge in 1890. Hello, all you lovely crafters out there. This post is dedicated to all my fellow snail mail enthusiasts. If you're like me you discovered your love of correspondence as a child. I began receiving and writing letters to my Grandma Georgia and Great Grandma Bessie from the time I was old enough to realize the magic of the mailbox. My Grandmas would send me birthday cards and letters regularly. Before the time of email and social media, the only option was to use the good old postal system. I also wrote letters to my classmates over summer break and even wrote to my first love in boot camp and throughout the years while he was stationed all over the world. Needless to say, I have a collection of correspondence from loved ones that I cherish. Received Postcrossing card from the "another day in paradise" collection  Jump to the current day, my Grandmothers have passed away and all my schoolmates have put down their

 Hello crafty friends. Today's post features some really fun typewriter greeting cards with floral accents. I used Spellbinders clear stamp of the month with an accompanying die set for February 2022. Love this cute design! I began by using my Misti stamp tool to lay down these images with some black versa fine ink. I love using the Misti because it ensures you get a usable stamped image. If you don't have one of these in your craft room yet I certainly think it's worth the investment. Next, I heat embossed my stamped images with Wow clear embossing powder.  A card I'd love to recieve.  Coloring in my stamped images was a lot of fun. I used a combination of alcohol ink markers, Tombow brush markers, and colored pencils. Because my images were embossed the clear layer allowed me to use any medium I wanted without fear of smearing the ink. I even used some watercolor on the typewriters simply because I love the way watercolor looks! I wanted to ach

 Hello, wonderful crafting friends. Hope you're all feeling inspired to create and have been cleaning your crafting space as you go. 😋 I'm the messiest crafter ever and usually have to spend time picking up and putting things away because I've run out of every inch of space possible and lost all my tools under the clutter. HA! When inspiration hits, you just have to run with it, right? Today's greeting cards go hand in hand with being a bit of a messy crafter. Often my cards will have smudges on them or imperfections, which is expected to some extent as this is a handmade item. I don't really understand how exactly this happens, but it just does. When the smudges can't be erased using a pink eraser, I LOVE splattering my cards with some acrylic paint. Not only does this look cool and artsy, but it's also fun to do and hides any small or large imperfections you may have in your design.  Card using Catherine Pooler Date Night inks In creating this

      Good morning my paper-loving friends. I have another upcycle project for you today. I call these specimen envelopes because they feature a clear widow like a slide with a "specimen" in the middle. I've had these envelopes in my stash for a while now. I love them so much, that I haven't been able to part with them. These would make a lovely addition to a happy mail for a pen-pal, a swap, or of course, tucked into a journal. I could also see these tied to the outside of a gift package with a note or a little something extra inside. So, let us get into it.        I used some pages from my German English dictionary for these envelopes. I got out my Gelli plate and swiped some Distressed Oxides onto it and misted it with water before I pressed my paper onto my Gelli plate. If you don't have a Gelli plate a regular craft mat or piece of laminated paper (or any non-porous flat surface) would work just as well. I used my heat gun to quickly dry my paper.

 Hi friends. I wanted to share a fun upcycling project with you today. I followed a YouTube video by Pam at The Paper Outpost for turning used greeting cards into journal cards for your junk journal. Not only is this very fun and easy, but it's also a wonderful way to give a second life to the beautiful notecards you may have from friends, pen-pals, and family members that you don't know what to do with. This idea could also be used to create postcards instead of journal cards.  So, grab your stash of received happy mail and pick out the cards with images that you like. I wanted to give all my cards an aged look, so after gluing some paper to the back of the card to cover up any writing I decoupaged some used tea bags to the front.  Once that surface was dry I collaged some images to the front of the cards. I distressed around the edges, front and back with some distressed Oxide in Vintage Photo.  I also stamped images around the

   Happy Saturday you lovely crafters! Just think, a whole weekend to work at your happy desk and create: cut, paste, spackle, paint, sew. . . .or whatever it is that you do to make jolly. I've joined a few swap-bot swaps that I'll be working on and sharing later. I also started an art journal that is strictly for the sake of creating with no "goals" in mind other than to express myself. If I'm being critical of it, so far, it's a hot mess. But, on to the current project I'm sharing.      These fun vintage guest checks are great ephemera for junk journals or a tuck-in for a pen pal who loves vintage items. I like guest checks because they remind me of the past. How often do you actually receive an old-school guest check like this in restaurants anymore? My guess is probably not often, as everyone is using thermal tape receipts these days and those aren't that great.  So, let me share my steps in creating these little dandies.  Tea dye your guest checks