Sketchy Saturday on 2 Peas Refugees

Happy Saturday, everyone!  Today I'm hosting Sketchy Saturday on 2 Peas Refugees.  Here is my spin on a Page Maps sketch from August of 2019, by Becky Fleck.  I hope it inspires you!

Here's the sketch:

And here's what I did with it:

I moved a few things around, and I changed the size of the photos.  I also added some embellishments (enamel dots, die cuts, and stickers).  The patterned papers are from Doodlebug.  I stamped some pawprints on the brown cardstock base to make my own patterned paper.  I cut the dinosaur, balloons, party hat, and title using my Cricut Maker machine. (* Amazon Affiliate links used at no extra cost to you.  Thank you so much for your support!)

Please leave a comment if you'd like to see me create a video showing these techniques for my YouTube channel.  Thanks for visiting My Crafty Life!

How to Create a Watercolor Background with Nicole from Lawn Fawn

Nicole is so talentad, and hI just love her designs and techniques.

Awesome Color Application!

Kevin from Stampscapes is a fantastic artist!  I just had to share this video with you.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Enjoy the rest of your week, and thanks for dropping in!

Gift Card Holder

This is a wonderful video tutorial from Lawn Fawn.  It's adorable, and I'm planning to make some for Christmas gift cards that I'm giving this year.  Enjoy!

Gift Card Holder

New Fall, Halloween, and Winter Items in My Etsy Shop!

Hope you can stop by and check them out!  Be on the look-out for a new video showing how to make one of these items yourself!  Thanks for visiting My Crafty Life, and remember to always be your crafty self.

Please Join Me in Helping a Wonderful Cause

This month over at Splitcoast Stampers, the monthly Cards for a Cause challenge is to make cards for the Hospice for St. Francis.  All of the information can be found at Splitcoast by following the link above.  It sounds like a very worthwhile and important cause.  Thanks!

Here are some photos of the cards I sent. (Sorry the photo quality isn't so good.

Tip for Using Intricate Dies

Do you find it frustrating to poke all of those itty bitty pieces out of your intricate dies? I tried this today, and it worked really well. If you have a Cricut/Silhouette mat, stick the die to the mat. Burnish it well, being careful not to rip the die cut. Using a spatula tool or sharp craft knife, peel the die cut off the mat, again being very careful not to tear it. Of course, you'll have to scrape all of those pieces off your mat, but I found that to be much easier than trying to poke out all of those pieces out of my die. I only had to poke a few. This works best with a mat that isn't super-sticky, so hold on to those old mats.

If you don't have a die-cut machine, I think low-tack/masking tape will work just as well.


Have fun, and remember to be your crafty self!

Making Beads with Air-Dry Clay

Here is the video I promised you showing how to make beads with air-dry clay.  Enjoy!  And thanks for visiting.

Little

Happy New Year everyone!  This year I have decided to focus on "One Little Word."  Although I was inspired by Ali Edwards to choose this one word that will guide me through the ups and downs of 2012, I will not be taking her class.  It's just too structured for me, and I don't need to feel any more pressure to get yet another thing done.  So I will "do my own thing" with my little word - which is, in fact, little.

I don't know how often I will post, but I'll pop in for a little while this month.  I will be taking little steps toward bigger things, making a little more time for the people and things I value and love, and taking a little more time away from things and people who need to occupy a back seat in my life.  It should be an interesting journey.

See you soon!

November Classes at The Ink Pad

Hi everyone!  Just thought I'd pop in and give you the info. about my upcoming classes at The Ink Pad.  On Tuesday, November 8th, from 7:15 to 8:30, I'll be teaching Distressed Holiday Tags.  Then on Tuesday, November 29th, from 7:15 to 8:30, I'll be teaching Mini Book Ornaments.  You can find all of the details on the store's website (http://www.theinkpadnyc.com/) within the next week or so.  I'll probably be posting photos soon, so stop by and check them out.

Until next time, remember to be your crafty self.

J

Haunted Window Card

I just have to share this awesome video from Hero Arts!  Enjoy!

Exciting News!

I have a new job!  I'll be working and teaching at The Ink Pad http://www.theinkpadnyc.com/, New York City's only "real" stamp store, starting next Monday!  I hope those of you in the NYC area can stop by and say hi.  I'll let you know what classes I'll be teaching and when.  Happy Crafting everyone!

Making Cards From Scraps

Thanks for watching!  Check back soon for another fun project.

Use Your Scraps

I've been reading so many questions about what to do with your scraps lately that I decided to do a video to show you what I've been doing with mine.  These little memo books are so easy to make that you'll be looking for scraps all around the house so you can make more.  Thanks for visiting and watching!

Piggy Bank Card

How adorable is this?  I just have to make one for some special little ones in my life!  Watch the video here:  Video
(This isn't my creation, but I thought you'd love it as much as I do.)

Color Pencil Technique

Here's a fantatic video by Shari Carroll from Hero Arts, showing how to color with Prismacolor pencils without using mineral spirits to blend them. I love it!

Holiday Quick Tip #3: Tiny Tags

Hi guys!  Hope your holiday season is going smoothly and you aren't too frantic.  I'm doing OK, and I'm a little ahead of schedule actually.  So I had a few minutes to record one more Holiday Quick Tip video.  I'm going to show you how to make the most adorable little tags from scraps of plain white cardstock.  Please leave a comment if you like the video.  Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Card

This is a card that I made for a Gina K. Sketch Challenge. I cut the ovals using my Coluzzle and outlined the mailbox and the inner oval with a Stardust Gelly Roll pen by Sakura.  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Gina K. Spring Mix

Paper: White Ultrasmooth (TAC), aqua blue, Rust textured (The Paper Company)

Ink: Palette Noir Black

Accessories: Lime Green and Ruby Stickles, Fiskars border punch, E.K. Success corner rounder (large purple)

Techniques: Colored pencils and Odorless Mineral Spirits

Painting My ATG, Part 1

Hi everyone! I've had some requests asking me how I turned my orange ATG into a blue ATG, so I decided to make a video to show you. It's in 3 parts; and in the last part, I also show you how to load the ATG. Enjoy, and remember to be your crafty self!

Painting My ATG, Part 2

Here's Part 2