Just a bit of organization....

Good morning! Earlier this week I received a package which I had been waiting for over 2 months.... I had previously bought the one and only Quickutz Magnetic Storage Book at Hobby Lobby to store my Spellbinder's Nestability dies in. I loved it so I ordered 10 more! I have been doing a lot of organizing of my craft items lately and was really exited to get more of these binders. This photo shows my shelf "before"; my Spellbinder's dies are in the 2 plastic boxes.

This photo shows how messy the inside of the boxes can get. The dies get loose and aren't readily available when I want to use them. I had tried the CD cases with magnetic strips, but the magnetic strip was always coming loose; when I would open the box, the dies weren't where they were supposed to be.

Here's a photo of the binder.

Here's a photo of the binder filled with the Spellbinder's dies. Depending on the size of the dies, I was usually able to get between 4-8 sets in one binder.

This photo shows the full binders on my shelf. Note the small amount of space it takes to store the dies! I was able to put additional items on the shelf. The best part is that when I open the binders, the dies are where they are supposed to be!

Thanks for stopping by today! I am hoping to find some time this afternoon to get crafty.... How about you?

Angela

Tuesday Morning Sketches #61

Good morning! Melissa has another fun sketch for us over at Tuesday Morning Sketches; this week our sponsor is Sweet and Sassy Stamps, and the image I have used is from a set called "Country Pumpkins".

The sketch actually featured a star, but I just couldn't make it work.... I thought the spiderweb was a good substitution! Can you see the little spider dangling from the web? He's popped up for dimension. The pumpkin is paper pieced, and I added some accents with pencils before adding a touch of glitter. I also tried something new...I gathered the black ribbon using a basting stitch on my sewing machine. I always think it would be fun to sew on my cards, so I guess I'm getting a bit closer to that...maybe next time I'll actually sew the paper!

Tips and Tricks:
The ribbon was actually easy to do. I left the ribbon on the inside of the card ungathered so that it would lay smooth. For the front of the card I doubled the length that I needed, then basted and pulled the threads to gather them to the desired length, before tying them. The ribbon is adhered with glue dots. I would like to try the technique with wider ribbon too; I am thinking I would maybe use a bit more than double the length to get a nice ruffle.

Image: Sweet and Sassy Digital Image "Country Pumpkins"
Paper: G.P. 110, SU! Cajun Craze, PTI True Black, Bazzill Black, My Mind's Eye DP
Embellies: Bella Dots, Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter in "Polar Bear", Ribbon Boutique Rust Organza Ribbon, SU! Black Grosgrain Ribbon
Extras: Prismas/Crayolas, QuicKuts Spider Web Die, Black Thread, EK Success 3D Dots

Why don't you head on over to the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog to check out this week's sketch and the rest of the DT's creations. I hope to see you play along this week!

Thanks for stopping by; have a great day!

Angela

Tiddly Inks Challenge #22: Sketch Challenge

Good evening! I am getting this one in barely under the wire...I took the picture outside, in the dark! This week the Tiddly Inks challenge was a sketch. I do have to admit this one was a bit of a challenge for me! I followed the sketch loosely, but tried to get all the elements in....

"Battybug" is colored with Prisma pencils; I am still trying to work on highlighting around the image. I do think I'm getting a bit better at it.... I use black grosgrain, black felt, and black glitter paper to embellish my card. It is a bit dark, but I like how it turned out; perfect for Halloween I think!

Image: Tiddly Inks Digital Image "Battybug"

Paper: G.P. 110, SU! Perfect Plum. PTI Pure Black, Basic Grey Eerie DP, Doodlebug Beetle Black Sugar Coated CS

Embellies: SU! Black Grosgrain Ribbon (narrow), Wright's Black Grosgrain Ribbon (wide)

Extras: Prismas/Goo Gone, PTI Cloud Dies, PTI Pure Black Felt, Martha Stewart Bat Punch, EK Success 3D Dots

That's all I have for today, but I'll be back tomorrow morning with Tuesday Morning Sketches.

Have a great evening!

Angela

Happy Birthday Deb!!!

Good morning! Today Deb, from Freckle Faced Printworks, is celebrating her birthday so in honor of that we're having a little hop. You should have arrived here from Imke's blog, Crafting Creations by Imke.

I was originally going to do something grungy because Deb is the "Queen of Grunge", but finally I thought, "Who am I kidding?" and decided the only thing I could do is what I do.... Know what I mean? As much as I like the grunge cards, I just can't seem to pull them off....

One of the first swaps I was in with Deb was a Stampendous swap, so I thought Changito was a safe bet. I also know her favorite color is green, so that's how I came up with my plan. I think this little Changito stamper is so darn cute and knew that one of my hoarded embellies would be perfect for this card. The little stamp embellie is from Hero Arts and I bought it years ago. Actually I was afraid to try to stamp on them in case I would mess is up and ruin it! It was much easier than I thought; I just used Memento ink and stamped away! I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #91; I used it earlier this week, but I thought it was such a fun sketch I would use it again.

Image: Stampendous
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Sakura Black Gel Pen
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select and Dark Chocolate, SU! Pear Pizazz, Basic Grey Origins
Embellie: Hero Arts Stamp
Extras: Prismas/Crayolas/Goo Gone, Spellbinceder's Nestabilities, EK Success 3D Dots

Thanks for stopping by today; I hope you will hop along with us and wish Deb a Happy Birthday. Deb, here's to you, I hope you are having a fabulous day! Next stop along the hop is Kelly from Wishin' I was stampin'.

Angela

CAS PTI Christmas

Hello! I recieved a box of PTI goodies last week and today I had the chance to sit down and play a bit. I was really excited to work with the new tree die! I combined 2 cards that Nichole Heady and Maile Belles had created for the last release and this is what I came up with. I like the non-traditional Christmas colors.

The card was very simple to put together. The pink layer has a bit of sponging and I ran the white layer through the Cuttlebug with the woodgrain impression plate (the tree trunk is impressed as well). I stitched the buttons in place before adhering the tree to the card and finished it off with a simple sentiment.

Sentiment: PTI Holiday Button Bits

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, and Dark Chocolate

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette New Canvas

Embellies: PTI Buttons in Pure Poppy and Hibiscus Burst

Extras: PTI Woodgrain Impression Plate, PTI Simply Chartreuse Felt, PTI Tree Die, DMC Floss, SU! Corner Rounder Punch

That's all I have for now; I hope to be able to dig into that PTI box a bit more later....

Thanks for stopping by!

Angela

Tuesday Morning Sketches #60: Handmade Flowers

Good morning! It's time for some fun from Melissa at the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog. This week the challenge is to make flowers!

My card uses an image from Stamping Bella, a sentiment from Penny Black, the MFT Die-namics Rolled Flower die, and The Cat's Pajamas Flower Buttons CutUp die (leaves). Kim has a nice tutorial using the MFT die on You Tube; click here to view.

Image: Stamping Bella
Sentiment: Penny Black
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Sakura Black Glaze Pen
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select and Dark Chocolate, SU! So Saffron
Embellies: Swarovski Flatback Crystals in "Smoked Topaz"
Extras: Prismas/Crayolas/Goo Gone, MFT Die-namics Rolled Flower Die, PTI Felt in RaspberryFizz and Harvest Gold, The Cat's Pajamas Flower Buttons CutUps Die, MFT Green Felt, EK Success 3D Dots

I hope you'll hop on over to the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog to check out the Design Team's fun creations. I am excited to see what Hollyanne, Jackie, Jessica, Lisa, Melissa, and Theresa have created! I am hoping to see your creations too; so please play along!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Angela

Cupcake Anyone?

Good Monday morning! How did Monday get here so fast? Today I have a card to share using one of The Cat's Pajamas new release stamps " Coffee, Tea, or Meow?" I like that some of the newer stamps are a bit bigger...this one was perfect for paper piecing. I combined The Cat's Pajama's Tuesday Supply Challenge "Mad for Plaid" with Mercy's sketch "MTSC91"

The basic card came together quickly, but I had a bit of difficulty embellishing this one. I had first planned to used crystals for Sprinkle's eyes and necklace, but they were too big.... Then the flower I wanted to embellish it with wasn't right either.... Next I thought I would use one of my cup/saucer charms.... Oops, I guess I used all of those up for a swap! I settled on some ribbon and a simple bow. Maybe that's all it needs; there is plenty going on with the plaid and the scallops....

Image: The Cat's Pajamas "Coffee, Tea, or Meow?"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Black Sharpie
Paper: PTI Stamper's Select and Dark Chocolate, SU! Pixie Pink, Doodlebug DP
Embellie: SU! Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon
Extras: Prismas/Crayolas/Goo Gone, Spellbinder's Nestabilities, EK Success 3D Dots

Have you decided which cupcake you would like? I call the one with the cherry on top!

Thanks for stopping by today; I hope your day is a good one!

Angela