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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 23:44:15 GMT
I feel bad for her that her collection got leaked again before she has a chance to make her own announcement! I had heard through the grapevine that another designer had mentioned on a live that there would be a new Shimelle collection (a week or two ago?) and now a shop publishing before she's even had a chance to see which designs made it through the manufacturing process. I guess it's always going to be that way since she's so careful not to break the embargo herself. I see a few patterns that might work for my purposes Glad she's able to keep designing and using her own papers.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 19:59:53 GMT
I assume you looked in other brands/collections for coordinates, right? Especially with hard-to-use papers, I try to think "outside the pad" to find things to make them work.... I really didn't want to take the time to search out papers that would coordinate. I'm lazy! lol. I really just wanted to use the b-side because I overbought this paper. I didn't have anything in my tiny stash. At some point I might go look at Joann's and see what I can find but I don't like buying more to use up things I've got. (I also really love this paper so I know I could just use the a-side and layer a sentiment and call it done.)
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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 19:00:35 GMT
I agree with the folks above me - it takes a LOT of time and patience. More than you can imagine. But it can be done. And you can make progress in small bursts of time! Everything you can get out of the house will make life easier for Future-You. My advice (based on Dana K White's methods) - start looking around and seeing if there's any obvious trash that can be thrown away. Packaging inserts, broken stuff. There is always some trash. - look around and see if there's anything you want to keep that already has a place to live in your house - maybe scissors or stuff that is just randomly mixed in with scrappy stuff and needs to get put away. If there's a mess there's usually some stuff that just needs to be taken to its home or to the recycling bin. Take it all the way there right away so it's done and finished. At this point you've made some progress without getting into the hard stuff. - is there anything obvious you can donate or give away? Try to get donations out of your house before you start sifting through the small stuff. Getting big things out will make more progress faster and keep you motivated. Then - are there any things you want to sell that are worth more than $25-50 individually, like tools or furniture? If you go through the process of selling those you'll get to know how selling works in your area (start with Marketplace, maybe Craigslist) and you can see if it's worth selling some of the smaller stuff. Don't start looking at individual papers and stamps at this point or you'll probably get totally overwhelmed. - start selling things that are with a bigger payoff/value because even those take a lot of effort. You'll learn about the process and pitfalls so you can be more realistic about the value of selling smaller items later. Is an hour of photographing, listing, answering questions, finding a box, printing a label, etc etc worth it for a $5 stamp set for you? You'll know better once you try it out for real. once you're making some progress - can you group things into bulk lots to sell locally? - try selling some good stuff people covet on the For Sale boards here - you need a certain number of posts to see it. - or would you rather just get it out and be done at this point? If you haven't had much luck selling you might be ready to drop it off at the donation center and call it quits. But don't worry about how that's going to look/feel at the beginning. Number one tip - don't start with the things you're agonizing over, the stuff that makes you say "ugh, there's no way I can get rid of this!" Once you work through the process and reach a certain point you can deal with harder stuff. Start with the face-palm, broken, trashed, ugly, or otherwise easy stuff. You can do it
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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 18:31:05 GMT
I have never shipped 12x12, but I have always wondered why nobody rolls it and mails it in a tube. It's not ideal for long-term storage, but if it's good enough for shipping fine art prints, I don't understand why it's not ok for craft papers. Very good point, if it's just a handful of papers rather than an amount measured in inches thick.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 18:29:44 GMT
@joblsckford, it took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about with the eyes in the finished cards, I’d call that successful, great job! Thanks Is that not the worst b-side ever? Usually I can coordinate the a and b sides of papers (if the paper is well designed) but the pattern is so spread out that it just looks like plain white paper if you cut it down. And the eyes are just not a good motif anyway. I don't know what they were thinking, but I guess there's a reason Damask Love isn't an AC brand any more.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 16:15:40 GMT
so I simply stitched a thread through to every second hole from the top, then continued the same thread through the alternate holes to end up at the top again so I could tie the bow. That's a great way to do it grammadee - and such fun paper to use for the shoes! I really love how that works on the page. I don't really think the little eyelets make much difference in the end, especially not to an outside viewer who would never know the die came with teeny-tiny little sanity-testers
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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 16:11:46 GMT
joblackford , you are so talented I am sure your watercolour adventure will work out wonderfully! And you sound like Mojo has set up shop in your home. Have fun with the cards. Nothing crafty for me today. I will be taking some photos though, hopefully, to be scrapped later. I thought I might figure out how to assemble the MFT sneakers that I cut yesterday, but I think I am too tired and distracted to take than on right now. Dgs came to stay yesterday, and I think his energy kinda invades the whole house, so even when he was asleep and I was in bed i couldn't settle, so pretty patchy sleep. That sounds like fun. I've heard escape rooms are very popular in Canada Cozy mysteries are good fun. I just finished listening to the first 2 Miss Hermione books (while cardmaking) but they weren't as good as the Veronica Speedwell mysteries I like. I think they're considered cozy mysteries. Have you read them? Haven't heard of those authors but will check them out. My favourite series so far has been Thursday Murder Club books by Richard Osman. Nothing like a bunch of old folks home residents solving murders! Ooh, that sounds like fun. The Veronica Speedwell series are written by Deanna Raybourn. A Curious Beginning is the first one - a lepidopterist and a taxidermist run away with the circus and solve a mystery? That's my joking summary, but it's not far off the truth of it. Set in Victorian England, and the lady loves her "revivifying" beverages. The Miss Hermione books by Anastasia Hastings are rather similar but the characters are less fun IMO. The Converse take a little patience and a decent night's sleep, not too much caffeine if you get shaky hands, but I hope you find the result worth it! I'm tidying up some garden decor junk we removed from MIL's garage, (along with a trunk load of household hazardous waste we turned into the county yesterday) delivering hummingbird feeders to a couple of Buy Nothing members, and then I'm hoping to finish off the cards on my desk to I can start my watercolor class. I'm going to pretend I didn't just stretch tall enough to see the dust hiding on the top shelf of my hutch. I have crafting to do!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 26, 2024 15:57:08 GMT
Took a look at "Scrap Diva Designs" and it looks like every other craft company's stuff, but bit ironic to use this image to market your product, no? oh, but it's different when you're small and you rip off the IP of a BIG company! omg...
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Post by joblackford on Apr 25, 2024 22:04:01 GMT
Ugh, it's especially galling when they lift the photos and descriptions as well. Sadly it happens all the time on many different platforms to many different kinds of creators. I've even seen custom made Doctor Who costumes (made by an artist for a commission) being listed for cheap on various platforms using the artist's listing photos and descriptions. I don't even know if they're knocking the garments off or if it's just 100% a scam and you get nothing.
I'd prefer to buy fewer things and support the businesses that design, demo, and market these products. I know sometimes the prices are painful, although everyone is trying to make a living and if they could sell cheaper I'm sure they would, knowing they'd sell more... I don't think I would fault anyone buying basic shapes straight from the Chinese source, but I don't shop on those platforms for more reasons than just choosing who profits from my spending.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 25, 2024 20:54:17 GMT
"craft in the morning, adult in the afternoon." I'm the opposite. I do the things I have to do before lunch and then I craft and then I turn into a zombie. If I don't start something unpleasant before 11 it's unlikely I will get it done that day. I signed up for a "watercolor for joy" class yesterday through Willa Workshops. I'm hoping to buy very minimal supplies but learn all about color mixing and painting quirky leaves and birds that I can use for cardmaking ephemera. I don't have a great track record of following along with all the exercises and practice to get good at a skill but I want to paint the birds! http://instagram.com/p/C6EoChYPjr4 I didn't finish the book before book club, but we had a great time. We are a Cozy Mystery club--call ourselves "Sisters of Murder" LOL--and we decided a perfect activity for our small club would be an Escape Room! So that's what we did yesterday before book discussion. That sounds like fun. I've heard escape rooms are very popular in Canada Cozy mysteries are good fun. I just finished listening to the first 2 Miss Hermione books (while cardmaking) but they weren't as good as the Veronica Speedwell mysteries I like. I think they're considered cozy mysteries. Have you read them? I just watched a video of using a Doodlebug pad to make 30+ cards with a Sheetload sketch so I'm motivated to craft again! Off to finish gluing down the rest of those Dbug scraps.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 25, 2024 0:10:00 GMT
Did a half Sheetload and shared on that thread, but also sharing here because I was quite proud of myself for thinking to alter the terrible b-side of this patterned paper. I stamped this time but might ink or stencil next time. April share by jo.blackford, on Flickr
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Post by joblackford on Apr 25, 2024 0:08:15 GMT
I tried out the Sheetload with a sheet of paper I bought a lot of. The only issue I have is that I haven't found any matching papers to coordinate and the b-side is completely useless... white paper with hand drawn eyes? ugh. So I tried stamping the b-side with some coordinating inks to make it more usable. Not a resounding success but also not a complete failure. Might've been better off using a brightly colored matting layer. I might try stenciling over the b-side the next time I want to use it. April share by jo.blackford, on Flickr April share by jo.blackford, on Flickr
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Post by joblackford on Apr 24, 2024 23:59:53 GMT
Well, I have a huge project in front of me. My mother is a snowbird and she will be coming home in the next couple weeks. Before she comes home, she asked me if I could do her a huge favor and tidy up her craft area since she left it a little messy when she left. I went over there on my lunch today and OMG. "A little messy?" It's like mini-hoarders in there. I asked her what she wanted to keep, ect and facetimed with her and she said it was just so overwhleming she did not know where to start, and that she trusted me to keep the good stuff, get rid of the rest and make it so she could find things. What we do for our parents... Guess I know what I will be working on this weekend! Oh wow! That's going to be rough. But if you can get the obvious trash and easy stuff out of there (at the very least) you will have done her a great service. Good luck
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Post by joblackford on Apr 24, 2024 18:02:50 GMT
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Post by joblackford on Apr 24, 2024 17:10:47 GMT
If people pay you through PayPal you can easily print discounted labels through ShipStation. Probably very similar prices to PirateShip - I think USPS offers the same commercial/discount prices to most of the different platforms. I always use ShipStation because I had it set up after taking PayPal payments for some things. I just use my digital kitchen scale to weigh things. Finally figured out that if the box is bigger and covering the read-out area I can put something like a mug on the scale and zero it, then put the box on top to get the weight. Flat rate boxes and envelopes are great for some things, especially heavy stuff like magnet sheets with dies, but check out all the free shipping supplies the USPS offers - you can get different shapes and sizes delivered to your house for nothing, although you pay in the end because they’re only for Priority. I have a stash of reusable boxes and envelopes for mailing all the things (I’m selling random stuff for some relatives, not crafty stuff). Just checked out ShipStation and PirateShip and a few others that popped up in my search. How much per month do you pay for ShipStation? I know that you've been shipping purchases as you destash for your family. How does it work for stamps/dies and maybe 12 x 12 paper pads?
I'm not paying a fee to use ShipStation, just buying postage through them at discounted/commercial rates when I have something to mail out. I think I had to create an account through PayPal to use it, and another to use UPS through them but no extra fees. 12x12 is always tricky because so few boxes fit that without bending and it's heavy! I save the mailers that scrapbook dot com uses but they wouldn't ship flat rate - they would be calculated priority shipping based on weight and destination. I think some people have found a way to fit 12x12 into the large flat rate box on a diagonal (??) I think a lot of people destashing (esp DT members) fill a large flat rate box so they don't have to worry about weight or distance mailed when they're quoting a price.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 24, 2024 17:04:09 GMT
Good Wedensday morning. I have a day in town planned. A quick stop at the bank to pick up something for the accountant, a vehicle service, photo printing, a couple of hours at the LSS scrapping, supper with justjac , then an Escape Room with our book club. Sounds like alot but there are breaks all along the way, and the only pressure is that I have not yet finished this month's BOOK! Guess what I will be doing while I wait for my vehicle and eat lunch and... Have a great day, Ladies! Hope it's a good book! Have fun We have rain coming back tomorrow so I'm keen to go out today too. Wish me luck thrifting a slouchy cardigan for around the house.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 24, 2024 1:37:06 GMT
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Post by joblackford on Apr 23, 2024 16:59:59 GMT
I need to relabel my plastic envelopes where I keep cardstock and patterned paper, especially since I no longer have business inventory vs personal use separated. It will help with the new cardstock color groupings I created yesterday too.
I realized I don’t really look at the file tab labels on the top because of how they’re stored on a cart, and often the branding strip hides the top label anyway. I liked the side labels the CM/3 bears lady in the summit used but I don’t want to buy anything, so I’m going to DIY my own. I don’t even think they need to stick out. Just adding a label down the side edge is probably enough.
The patterned paper probably doesn’t need labels at all. I only have a few envelopes with specific papers or collections and I just look at the clear front and see if it’s cats, girls, fall leaves or sky paper. One of the huge advantages of having very little stuff… even if I have to look at all 6 envelopes it only takes a second!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 23, 2024 16:45:17 GMT
Hope you feel more like yourself soon grammadee! Did you have a good time? I’ve got a load of laundry on, waiting to go hang it in the sun before I maybe head out to Target. I’m sitting in a sunny chair trying out a new-to-me iPad we retrieved from MIL’s house. SIL got it for her just before the pandemic/cognitive decline really took hold so it’s been sitting unused since 2020. I have my other MIL’s giant iPad too. I was I looking at trading it in for a smaller one and hubby said why not trade in both? But I might just keep this small one and use the trade in money for a keyboard cover for this one. The typing on the touchscreen is making me a little crazy 😣 Realized I have some finished cards amongst the unfinished ones on my desk so I snapped photos and I’m off to share now.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 23, 2024 1:08:13 GMT
I don’t have a large collection but prefer magnet sheets in plastic pockets or original packaging sliced open. I like seeing them laid out flat and evenly distributed inside their pockets.
But I know at least one person on the boards (can’t remember who) who says that they really don’t need to be on magnet sheets at all - they can be stored in envelopes or containers loose and no harm will come to them. The magnet sheets add a ton of weight, and even more so if they’re attached to a board. Mary Polanco showed some of hers stored loose in plastic bins that attach to a wall bracket. I think they were mostly border or coverplate dies. I think even Jennifer McGuire has moved away from magnet sheets for some of her dies.
Maybe some of your dies could be stored loose in plastic containers in your drawers? Without the magnet sheets they might not be too heavy.
The mounted magnet sheet frame idea makes a lot of sense if you have wall space over a die cutting station. Probably the easiest way to store nesting shapes, words/sentiments, and most used dies.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 23, 2024 0:56:07 GMT
I agree with the others. If you can find what you’re looking for, ideally in the first place you go looking for it, it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else, or be consistent. There may be a logic to inconsistent storage that makes sense to you, and for some crafters the serendipity that comes from a little bit of “mess” or macro sorting can be part of the creative process.
I know I have some things stored apart from where they would “ideally” go just because the size/shape/quantity makes it more sensible to store apart. I started to type something about why I store my scrapbk dot com A2 cardstock in a different way than my regular cardstock but the more I wrote the more I started questioning myself… so I just moved them all into my regular cs envelopes. Lol. We’ll see if that helps me use them or not. I still have Dbug cardstock in separate envelopes by collection though, rather than color categories.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 22, 2024 17:15:01 GMT
Sorry if this is a silly question, but where are we keeping track of the points? Or at what point do we come back and say "I earned X amount of points"? Thanks! I keep track on a page of my planner/the printed challenge list and then move the totals into the points thread at the end of each month. I write down my make + share points for each project as I go but I usually only look through the challenge list at the end of the month and check off which ones I did in one go. That way I'm not reading a 5 page list more often than I need to. (I haven't even printed this Q's list yet!) I keep a post it note near my desk to tally crafting hours. The team leader will collect all the points at the end of the quarter or look for them in the points thread.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 22:27:31 GMT
While I was watching videos I was thinking about Dana K White’s container concept, and how she always says things need to fit “usably and get-to-ably” and I realized that my stamps and dies are too full. I moved a few dies onto taller magnet sheets so they’re mostly all in the same size pockets now, which reduced some of the bulk and makes it easier to flip through. I have some frustrating sentiment stamps that are just too small and WHY does every stamp company make their products a different size? Argh! I might consolidate some small sentiment stamps onto one sheet to fit into a standard sized pocket. But I also pulled out several sets that I realize I don’t need to keep any more. A few I was keeping for one stamp but maybe I don’t need that stamp at all. Just that, taking out about 6 sets, has made a huge difference in the flippability of my collection. I really try not to over-organize when I know I can’t handle/use/enjoy a ton of supplies. If I only have a 5-10 of each category I don’t need to label or color code or catalog. I also pulled out a 6” stack of packaging/paper pad backs I was keeping for die cutting shims or IDK what, and suddenly my drawer has so much space! Literal trash. A good reminder of how many paper pads I’ve used up but also, as Dana says, there is ALWAYS trash.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 22:11:20 GMT
Thanks everyone for the ideas - I found a bead storage container at Michaels today and will give that a fair trial Anyone get any great ideas today? Not sure about great ideas but I liked SEEing how the scrapbook.com trays are used - I couldn't quite visualise how they would help me but watching (and I can't remember who it was) demonstate with them, NOW I get it. I think I'll find something around the house to use for now and see if I actually find it useful In general what I tend to get from the organising summits is a desire to purge and tweak my scrappy area a bit to make it more efficient. Like wordfish , I really like the small space videos even though I have a craft room - that's possibly because the actual scrapbook space in my craft room is fairly small - a 3x3 Kallax with Recollections cubes on top, a Raskog type cart, and a desk with 2 Alex drawer units. Yes, I agree that it’s more about motivation and my own ideas sparking for me… Jess Crafts was the one showing the trays. Kristie Marcotte is also a scrapbook dot com DT member and uses them in all her videos for them too. KM also has the Spellbinders version iirc and uses those for her Spellbinders videos. I think they have lids that also function as extra trays. An alternative version is a stacking puzzle sorting system, or maybe you can justify getting the crafty version if you want to use them for puzzles For a while Target also had a version in their makeup/bathroom dept. Jennifer McGuire has also shown some different options like divided appetizer trays for when she’s mass producing tons of layered die cuts. I’ve used the lids from the boxes my envelopes ship in but they don’t stack and they’re not such a good size. Def wait for a sale if getting the scrapbk dot com brand! I like the idea but as Jess asked, where am I going to put them when I’m not using them? And can I be sure that I won’t leave projects in them and need to buy more so I have some free for the next project…? I’m really trying not to buy plastic things.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 19:33:48 GMT
I’m done with the summit, I think. I watched a couple this morning, looked at the supply lists for a couple and realized they weren’t of any use to me, and turned off one more video because I don’t have enough stencils to be bothered listening to extended musings about collecting and storing them. I don’t think I want to “embrace the mess” either, since my craft space is visible from every room of the house and both doors… so yeah, nothing too great, but at least it was free.
Anyone get any great ideas today?
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 19:30:06 GMT
Ok ladies, I had to go back to Joann’s for something. I took a look at the papers again that were thinner. I found three. Paper 24 from Blooming Wild, the butterfly paper/blue dots paper from Vicki Boutin, and a green plaid/darker green leaf paper from crate Paper Gingham Garden. This is totally just a guess but maybe those are the papers from their respective collections that sold well, sold out of the regular weight, and are going to be permanently carried as thin open stock papers in the future. I wonder if anyone has those same papers bought from a Designer Destinations earlier or in a different region that are still the thicker paper. I’m way too invested in this mystery, lol.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 18:09:42 GMT
Ryann you could trim the scraps to 3x4” and use the extra 0.5” strip to decorate inside the card. There’s a sheetload with two 3x4 panels placed askew from each other that is one of my easy favorites - April 2020. I’m back to watching the organizing summit today and planning to glue down some of those cards I’ve drafted.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 18:05:01 GMT
Also - how does everyone store sequins? The little baggies they come in are fine until they are opened and then they are a mess. I loved the bloom flower container Laura shared on her video but I need something more compact - hopefully that'll fit in an Alex drawer. I don't have a ton but I would like them better contained. I use tiny jam jars that I (force my family to) bring home from hotel stays- these exact ones: www.bonnemaman.us/made-for-you.htmlThey are the perfect size and fit beautifully in a top Alex drawer. I keep them inside a box so I can pull all of them out at once if needed. The lid of the jar makes a perfect tray to work from as well… Plus the jam is divine! If they’re the same tiny jam jars I’m thinking of Linda you could get a Bonne Maman jam advent calendar and be set with room to grow! I got one from Amazon a couple of years back and then gave away all 24 tiny jars in January. They have just enough jam inside for a couple of English muffins.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 2:06:32 GMT
I spent another day working through my Doodlebug scraps while listening to organizing summit videos. I should’ve taken a proper before photo but I have seriously emptied out the container! I didn’t have the energy to commit to gluing everything down today but I used some scraps where I had a lot (relatively) of one pattern and cut them with a quilt die. I was able to make 3 little patchwork star cards that turned out pretty well. Bonus points for using a die I’ve been neglecting. I think I have at least a dozen more cards that need a little trimming and gluing and then some kind of focal point to finish them off. Some of these scraps were so small (but so cute!) and went back to 2017-18!! Basically since I started using Dbug. I’m making a dent in my old die cuts too and hope to get even more on to these cards by the time they’re done. I aspire to be as productive as you are with scraps. I love making my own envelopes using patterned paper, but it has dramatically increased the amount of scraps I have. Each leftover piece is 3.5x12, so I have to mat it a couple times to get the 3.5" piece wide enough to fit across a card front. When I do the 2peas card swaps, I end up with 25ish pieces of leftover envelope paper. It adds up so quickly. Way faster than I can use them. Ugh, that’s an annoying size of scrap! We’ll have to find you some card sketches that use 3.5” pieces.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 21, 2024 2:03:05 GMT
Thank you joblackford - I think I have somewhere in the 10-15 range ...I'll have a look for bead storage. It looks like Amazon has a lot of options 🙄 of course. That’s where Jennifer McGuire’s blog sent me. But your local craft shop might have better options that don’t have 40 little containers inside!
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