My neglected Cricut and cleaning out the craft closet

I own a cricut expression. I love it! I have had it about 3 years, but have only used it a few dozen times. I got it the year before I got married. After the wedding and some family illnesses, we moved from TN to TX and I just never found the time to get back to paper crafting. We have been in Lubbock for a year, and during that time I have used it ZERO times. It is safe in my very messy craft closet along with my MANY cartridges.
CURRENT CARTRIDGES:
Accent Essentials
Celebrations
Easter 2010 (new)
50 States
George
Hannah Montana
Home Accents
Indie Art
Joys of the Season
Mickey Font
Mini Monograms
Mother's Day 2010 (new)
New Arrival
Opposites Attract
Paper Doll Dressup
Plantin Schoolbook
Storybook
Strech Your Imagination
Summer in Paris (new)
Summer Vacation (new)
Superman
Tags, Bags, Boxes & more

POOR CRICUT! I should be ashamed, I know. So I bought a few new cartridges at a super low price to entice me to get it out and play. I can't wait! There are so many fun new cartridges. Also, I have decided I want the Gypsy for Christmas!

As I said before, one year ago (this week), we relocated to Texas. The move was tough and emotional. One of the not so happy things about the move is that instead of getting a large walk-in closet to craft in, I got two small hidden corner closets instead. (they are about 5' wide, but the door opening is barely 2') It was unexpected and quite a let down for my crafty self. My wonderful husband was super supportive and let me purchase numerous things to make it more functional. But still I never seem to craft. I now drag things out to the dining room table and craft there. It works, but I keep my projects to a minimum. I am going back to school in August, so I am now declaring to you blog land that I WILL have my craft closets cleaned and organized by the end of July. I'll post pictures along the way as I get organized. I have gotten some great tips on the web about how to organize all the odds and ends. I am especially excited about getting my ribbon sorted.
Wish me luck!
~Barbara

My first feature -- TIP JUNKIE

I have just started my blogging adventure and I am loving it. I just need to find more time to take pictures and post. Thanks to all you great bloggers out there. I never realized how much work goes into it. Anyway, I am so flattered to be featured on my new favorite crafty website www.tipjunkie.com! Thanks Laurie

MINNIE (and Mickey) NOTECARDS

My youngest niece had her 2nd birthday last month and it was Minnie Mouse themed. I've got to say it was darn cute.

I wanted to send a little note afterwards and decided to make it Minnie Mouse as well. I did a basic design in publisher and here is what I came up with.


I put bows on some to make them look like Minnie and left the rest as Mickey. I did a pink and red set as well as had some say Thank You and some Say Hello. I thought this made them more versatile.


I did a complete set and sent them to my sister-in-law as a thank you. I think they make a cute gift, so I have posted links below so you can print your own. A small gift from me to you.


Mickey or Minnie Pink Note Cards
Mickey or Minnie Red Note Cards

Enjoy!
~Barbara

PRETTY TILE COASTERS

So a while ago I saw a ton of decoupage tile coasters at a local craft fair and put it on my list of things to try. I haven't had the best of luck with decoupage in the past, and my biggest concern was the durability. I didn't want to make them as a gift and them look bad after a short while. I did some googling and found a few tutorials that showed stamping on ceramic tiles which I liked. But they called for a curing process involving baking them in the oven and coating them with polyurethane. TOO complicated it seemed and still not a guaranteed durable result. So... Last December, as I was stamping a different project with my favorite ink - STAZON - it came to me. I'm sure it is not an original idea, but here's what I did


I will start with a quick product recommendation.
If you've never used STAZON ink before, you must try it!!

It works on anything, drys super quick and will never swear after the fact.
STAZON ink pads are to stamping what Sharpies are to doodling.
(I love me some sharpies too!)

Anyway, it got me thinking about the coasters. So I ran down to Home Depot and bought some cheap tumbled tiles and threw together a cute gift.
To make this project, you will need the following:
*tumbled tiles ((6 for $4.95))
*stazon ink of your choice (($8/pad...I always use a coupon and get them 1/2 off))
*felt pads or substitute for feet (($4/package))
*various stamps of your liking
((assuming you have some- or alot like me, but if not you can run out and get one out of the $1 bin at Michael's if needed))


All I did was wash off the tiles (they can be a bit dusty) and stamp them with some fun stamps and STAZON ink. I let them rest to ensure they were good and dry (about 10min to be extra safe) and then I rinsed them again and dried them. Afterwards I put on some little felt feet so they didn't scratch the table. You could also use a felt square, but I had stamped on the back as well. I made a set of 6 for my brother-in-law as a housewarming present. (I wish I had taken pictures, but didn't think about it. They were a scientific butterfly (so they looked more manly) repeated in a scattered pattern.) And I made these two for myself. This is how I packaged the set of six and I thought they looked nice (more impressive with a bigger stack of course)


This is a great project for just about anybody. The possibilities are endless as you can use ANY stamp you own or can get your crafty hands on. You can make them as customized as you like. I have even thought about adding names on them. Not only housewarming gifts, but weddings, birthdays, teacher gifts, mother's day, father's day,Christmas, you name it. I think they would be really easy to make and have on hand. You can also add them easily into a gift basket. ADDED BONUS...they are super cheap to make (less than $1 a tile).


Now don't get me wrong, I still LOVE the way the decoupage coasters look and think I may try them just for me some day, then if they don't hold up only I will know.
I hope you enjoyed my rambling and decide to make some coasters of your own.
Until next time, Have FUN!
~Barbara

FLOWER PENS IN A BUCKET

So I recently made a bucket full of flower pens for part of my mother-in-laws birthday gift. She is a teacher and this is a great teacher gift, or for anyone who has a desk that they can put goofy things on. I have seen them at a Vet's office counter to keep people from taking the pens. I made one for our wedding with a gardenia and a rose to use at the guest sign in table. As you can see, there are many ways this could be a useful gift.

This is a super easy project (and inexpensive - I did the whole thing in 30 minutes and I had most of the supplies already. if I had nothing I still would of only spent a whopping $12)

You will need the following:
*various fake flowers of your choice (($6 for 12))
*ink pens (($2))
*floral tape (($1))
*bucket, vase or other container to hold the pens (($1))
*deco stones or beans - to hold the pens so they will stand & arrange easy (($2))
*hot glue/gun (optional)

I know you probably don't need the step by step, but in an effort to get in the routine of detailed tutorial instuctions, here goes...


ONE:


TWO:


THREE:


Now you have a cute place to put your flower pens!

In order to make the pens, you will clip the flowers from their stems leaving as much or little stem as you like that will be taped to the pen with floral tape. I prefer to leave an inch or two so that is is stable. If you want the flower to extend longer you will need more stem to tape to the pen. With some of the flowers, you can use strong scissors, but the better ones will require floral cutters or wire cutters.

Once the flowers are clipped, I prefer to use hot glue to make sure the flower will not fall off of the small piece of stem that will be taped to the pen. This is optional, but makes for a more sturdy gift.

If you have never used floral tape before it is super easy use. It has a bit of sticky that makes it stick to itself. I begin wrapping at the top of the pen and tightly work my way down to the tip of the pen. There is really no wrong way to do this. If you dont like the way it looks, unwrap it and start again. But consider no one will be inspecting your wrapping job.



All done... now all you have to do is arrange your masterpeice.





Get creative and make it your own, I even made some with pretty feathers.



Enjoy!
~Barbara

Better late than never

So I have tried this before with no success, but this time I am committed. I have a plan. I LOVE admiring all of the other crafty blogs out there. I have a ton that I check regularly. I suppose I am a blog stalker. Well, not anymore. I will post, I will comment, I am officially joining the blog community out there. I am working on several new projects in order to get my etsy shop off the ground. In the meanwhile I will try to post a project every week that I have done in the past (and have pictures of). I'll be back tonight with a project post, woohoo.