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Post by joblackford on Apr 13, 2024 16:11:05 GMT
I either need to sell the product (hard to do) or give it away (wasteful) because of storage concerns as well. I totally know what you mean... but I would reframe keeping something you'll never use in space you can't spare as being wasteful, not giving it away. The money was spent long ago whether you made a finished product or not. If you sell or give it away someone might get use and enjoyment from it and you also don't have to think about the money spent or how to store any more.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 13, 2024 2:22:33 GMT
My upper body workout for this week - 20 stenciled cards using TE Create in Quads hexagons, using 4 colors of Catherine Pooler ink. The die cut “dad” is so much less fussy than the “father’s” word! But I got there in the end with a mix of them. They are from Honey Bee Stamps. Colored my own navy cardstock to match using ink and then stamped the green “wonderful” inside. These are for the Altenew Celebrating Parents card drive that Shakti told me about. April share by jo.blackford, on Flickr
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Post by joblackford on Apr 12, 2024 19:54:18 GMT
Hmmm... that sucks As far as I know Joann doesn't get special papers in their Designer Destinations area - it's just the same papers that are sold to all the retailers by AC, so does that mean they're shrinkflating all their patterned paper? What collection and designer was it? I'd love to hear if anyone has bought the same paper from scrapbook dot com or elsewhere - curious if AC have produced special crappo papers for big box retail or if this is a widespread change...
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Post by joblackford on Apr 12, 2024 17:50:36 GMT
I would totally use this on scrapbooking! However, I already own the waffle flower ones that make larger letter tiles, and a set that makes small tile letters, and I don't use them as much as I should. But small circles would be a lovely addition. Oh, I must've missed the Waffle Flower ones. JMcG must not have paraded them across my screen I think I'd have to make a bunch at once so they were ready to go when I wanted them, and then my micro-organizing brain would want each letter in a little organized tray and pretty soon I'd be driving myself around the twist!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 12, 2024 17:16:29 GMT
That's the biggest downside of Alex drawers for me... I found a couple of very different YT videos showing ways to extend them: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM58bXijU0M lego dude www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5t-hKV-aMM makeup lady I also found a lady who made two drawers into one so they'd be deeper! but they don't pull out further youtu.be/nFPY3ud65B8?si=IoduXH1tDK_-HOScBut with most things I use a container of some kind - box lid, tray, berry box - to hold things in the front so I can pull those out if I need to get to the overstock or less used items in the back. The minimalist in me also wants to say that it's OK to leave those spaces empty or to grow into - store extra "good boxes" back there if you need to stop things shifting.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 12, 2024 17:02:32 GMT
I agree - gathered in a basket they might be fun, but I don't know how well they'd hold up to a lot of handling, and also DUST. Anything on display in a basket is going to get dusty in my house. If you're Paige Evans and you have a glass display case (and a house cleaner??) maybe...
I think some of these kinds of projects are more about the joy of making them.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 12, 2024 16:58:18 GMT
I watched Jennifer McGuire make friendship bracelet cards with a new product from Concord & 9th and thought the little stamp and dies would also be useful for making your own tiny alphabets in whatever colors you're using - stamp on the patterned paper scraps from your layout or matching cs. It's kind of a pain that the dies come with the friendship bracelet pieces as well, since that increases the price, but they have some nostalgic vibes. concordand9th.com/products/best-friend-vibes-bundleI like that they have extras of some of the letters on the stamp and the confetti star and heart shapes cut 5 with each pass, helpful for embellishing. JMcG only uses the round ones but the little squares reminded me of the tile alphabets I used to use on PL. www.jennifermcguireink.com/2024/04/personalized-handmade-card-ideas.htmlWould you use this for making your own alpha stickers? Or does everyone still have stash of stickers they're happy to use?
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Post by joblackford on Apr 12, 2024 16:47:25 GMT
I have been fighting with my Silhouette over the last few months: it doesn't seem to want to cut through anything--which is kinda the point of having it, dontya think? I want to cut a couple of numbers bigger than my number dies. (the 21st birthday card deserves a huge 21, right? Same with a SEVENTIETH wedding anniversary. I may just go ahead and set up the numbers and their shadow on the Silhouette, then use it to cut what it can and trim the rest with an Xacto knife: easier than fooling all day to hand draw/cut the shapes... Yes, that is the purpose of the cutting machine... sigh... I had some troubles with my SNC to do with blade pressure or sharpness or something and one tip I got was to make sure the blade was nice and clean. I guess little bits of paper can gum it up. IDK. And that thinner paper can actually be harder to cut than thicker paper sometimes. Your plan to tidy up the extra bits with a knife sounds like a good one. We were just watching something on the TV about a couple celebrating a 70th wedding anniversary and we were trying to do the math, especially because they looked fairly youthful for people who had to have been pushing 90 or older! I hope the cards turn out well I got 15/20 cards set up with stamped and die cut sentiments on the front, and I actually remembered to use my adhesive sheets on the fine die cut words to make it a little easier. I think I have the energy to finish off the rest today. I have the house to myself and I have a few longer YT videos to watch/listen to today which keeps me in my seat working, and an audiobook to switch to if the ads drive me crazy. Have fun crafting friends
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Post by joblackford on Apr 12, 2024 0:42:01 GMT
But that's sort of the tension. Given that I've never finished a scrapbook, I don't want it to be too easy to pivot because I feel "uninspired." But I don't want to find myself bored, either. Maybe if you give yourself a list of tasks you can do that contribute to getting the scrapbook done, stuff that has to be done at some point regardless, but which might feel like it's not worth doing as a "project" and then you can switch to those tasks if you're feeling stuck or frustrated - then at least you're still making progress on that main goal of working on getting the scrapbook finished. I'm not sure what those might be for your specific project but maybe photo sorting, coming up with titles, making notes for the journaling, cutting things out, pairing up papers, die cuts or journal blocks with photos... Then maybe take one alternative project as backup.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 19:01:00 GMT
I got my work done! Took right on an hour. Now lunch and then die cutting
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 18:58:16 GMT
Everyone has probably said it already but it really comes down to how you think and look for specific items while you're scrapping, which handily comes back to my favorite organizing mantra from Dana K White - where would I look for this first?
I look for enamel dots in the enamel dot container behind me, Christmas bits and bobs in my little Christmas bins, but I look for die cuts with the matching 6x6 paper pads in my drawer or in a 12x12 envelope on my craft cart on the rare occasion I buy 12x12 paper. If I put all my yellow die cuts together I would go crazy because that's not how I think when I'm reaching for a die cut. But if you look at a page and more often think "this needs something yellow" it might work for you.
Your tolerance for micro vs macro sorting is a big factor too. Do you love digging through this and that, not knowing quite what you need and finding things by serendipity? Or are you someone who always finds themselves dividing a messy pile into dozens of little categories?
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 18:45:26 GMT
I have at least 4 sorts for embellishment storage: First, if the embellishments go with a collection, they usually get stored with the collection (the papers) until it's down to scraps. Second, if the embellishments are themed, they get stored in a case (Iris or Sterlite) with other embellishments with that theme. Third, if the embellishments are all one type (ex. Brads, diecuts) but mixed colors in original packaging, they get stored by type. So all enamel dots go in a bin, all packaged flowers go in another bin, all alphabet sheets in a bin but sorted by color, all buttons on cards in a bin, etc. Last, loose embellishments (no packaging), they get sorted by color. I have jars for buttons and ribbon and trays for everything else. Trays may hold two similar colors, like pink + red, and orange + yellow. I can't tell you if this works or not, it's just how I store my embellishments. It works if you can find what you're looking for!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 18:13:09 GMT
I don't watch TikTok (& would have no way of knowing which specific videos you viewed) nor use liquid glue, but Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive seems popular. The bottles I have seen are huge compared to that, so pretty sure that isn't the one... hmm... most of the bottles I'm thinking of are smaller than that or a pretty distinctive shape (like Nuvo). The mystery deepens!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 16:33:09 GMT
I'm not sure if it's the Bearly Art glue or another one. I don't think I've heard people say BA doesn't wrinkle, but I'm into cardmaking where that isn't so much of an issue. Actually I have seen some wrinkling or lines where the glue was applied on thin paper so I don't think it would be BA glue that they're recommending.
Fine tip bottles are extremely helpful for what I do and liquid glue is much better value than most tapes. Bearly Art glue comes in a giant refill bottle that's quite cost effective compared to other glues. But it's quite a thin watery glue and I'm not sure it would suit what you're doing. I've also heard raves about Art Glitter Glue, Craft Tacky Glue, and Multi Medium Matte is very popular with mixed media makers.
Can you link to any of the makers you saw using it? We can probably recognize the bottle.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 16:24:39 GMT
Why is finding something easy so hard?! I know exactly what you mean... but then again, my superpower is overcomplicating everything! lol. Hope you guys have fun at your crops. I've never been to one. Even moving my supplies 10 steps to the living room table so I can watch the TV while I work makes me wish I hadn't bothered. When hubby called MIL to remind her to get ready for the casino today she said she had "a lot going on" in her head? on TV? a bit of both, probably. And when he reminded her that he is only free today and that they'd scheduled this outing on her calendar she said something about being controlled... so guess who has a bonus day to work on whatever we want?! MIL's dementia has actually mellowed her out, counteracted some of her mental health issues. This is actually something of a "normal" day for her if she's this ornery. We have to laugh about it, especially because she was so insistent the other night, calling every 15 minutes to make plans... but we'd much rather NOT take her to the casino today. Hopefully she has a good day at home watching TV and she can go to the casino next week. I better do a little "work" this morning before I start playing with paper. I've been given the task of selling 130 Hummel figurines from the other in-law's place (maybe I should call them the out-laws like my funny relatives in NZ would!) I'm auctioning the better ones on eBay a few at a time and so far it's going better than expected. I had very low hopes, I hates them. I have 4 listing descriptions I need to write, probably 25 minutes work. I can do that, right?! Have a great day!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 4:39:50 GMT
I guess my bookmarking this thread didn’t work - I don’t know why it sometimes doesn’t notify that there are new comments… sigh. The last couple of days got away from me.
Today I felt bad for skipping my workout but then I spent all afternoon stenciling TE hexagon quads for Father’s Day cards - that turned out to be an intense upper body workout! Less so once I re-inked my ink pads. (Doh. Turns out it’s much harder to stencil when your pads aren’t juicy.) After I added some ink I it was a lot easier but stenciling is still really hard on my arms. I chose a color palette and stuck to it for all 5 sheets, no second guessing, no cleaning needed until I was done.
Tomorrow I was expecting to go to the casino with my husband and his mom but hubby said I can stay home. One of the advantages of MIL’s dementia - she’s forgotten that she called us 5 times on Sat night to make plans for hubby’s b’day (which was a week earlier anyway) and won’t remember that I was going to come. I only go for her birthday visit, hubby takes her once a month.
If I stay home I can do the die cutting and stamping to finish those cards and get my Altenew donation ready. I have a habit of trying a lot of different options as I craft but I’m going to keep it simple and copy the ones I already have finished. I still need to do the insides as well - I forgot about that.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 4:07:25 GMT
I used up all the remaining scraps of the Shimelle MCE papers I bought (about 5 sheets?). I have a few unfinished cards - panels of patterned paper without sentiments or focal points yet - but I don’t have any loose papers or scraps left. I even managed to make a card to use up the cute branding strips.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 2:12:27 GMT
How do you keep your workspace tidy when you are creating? No matter how much I try to keep things under control, my desk space is always a wreck! Many tips or suggestions? One of the presentations at the organizing summit is about exactly that! Jess Crafts, IIRC. It's a real challenge, especially in a small space. I have to catch myself every little while and start the Dana K White decluttering process - look for trash, put away the easy stuff... basically whenever I find myself frustrated or struggling to put my hand on something in the mess of my small desk I just look around for anything I can put away, even if I know I will end up getting it out again. Unless I'm currently using my scissors I make myself put them back in the drawer, put the trimmer back on the shelf, etc. I really try not to have anything on my desk if I'm not using it, but things somehow still gather there... I'm lucky that I have drawers next to me that I can keep open with my grab and go things right where I can grab them, and even though I find myself leaving stuff on the desk surface "where I would look/reach for it first" is in its actual home in the drawer, so if I can just force myself to put it back, even though it feels slower, it really helps. It's still a mess while I'm working most of the time, but just catching myself getting annoyed has started to trigger me looking around to remove what I can. I also have a clear space on the table behind me for finished cards or things that need to get set aside to dry while I work on other things. If something is in my way and I can't easily put it away I put it there so at least it's not blocking my workspace. My craft corner is literally in the middle of my small house so I can't get too messy without access to the kitchen getting blocked. Probably a good thing!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 1:55:41 GMT
This card is very simple, but it was actually really fiddly and annoying, so I decided to only make one. The "father's" is cut into the card base with a piece of scrap woodgrain paper behind it. The sentiment is very fine and always sticks in this die (not enough pokey holes) and the little bits in the loops are too tiny, very annoying to glue in to use the negative. I was totally done by the time I got this stamped. I put some bright stars on it so it hopefully looks a bit more finished. April share by jo.blackford, on Flickr After that I decided that wood grain paper is not my jam right now so I put it away and finished off all the remaining scraps from the Shimelle MCE papers I bought. April share by jo.blackford, on Flickr Even the branding strips. Maybe I should've angled the ends or planned the stack a bit better (the top sun strip is bugging me) but hey, it's a card. Maybe I can add a heart or something to balance that gap. The sentiment was leftover from some others I was making so each card got one - the card above has it inside. I used the last couple of strips inside the two cards and stuck some tiny offcuts into my junk journal. I love those little birds. April share by jo.blackford, on Flickr
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 0:35:02 GMT
I used the {Not} Just For Boys “Offbeat” Limitless Kit for this layout. This layout is stunning! The color combination is quite unexpected but works so well with the photo, and I love the peek of dark wood grain.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 0:33:15 GMT
Thanks for the comments in Flickr grammadee. I’m amazed how many hockey pages you can make with so many different looks and color schemes. Your little golfer dude came out great! I’m sure your ds will love that. He looks like he took quite a bit of engineering - was he more difficult than your hockey gnome?
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Post by joblackford on Apr 11, 2024 0:29:26 GMT
Cute farm animals card breetheflea and yes, cards are a great way to use stuff that doesn’t quite work for layouts Don’t forget that every picture scrapped also counts for Donna challenge points, if I remember correctly. So that’s a couple of extra points. Love the ugly Christmas sweater and the faux stitching on your cross stitch pages, and the cross stitch itself too!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 18:18:05 GMT
And I thought this thread was going to be about the 5 daily emails they send. It’s ridiculous. They go straight to the trash. I finally managed to unsubscribe a little while back... and then had to buy something, so I'm back on the list... gah!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 18:15:52 GMT
Yeah it’s almost comical- my boyfriend bought me a Betterpress for Christmas and now he can’t escape the ads. Nothing funnier than sitting on the couch in the evening and have him burst out with “New Magic Mat, it will change your life!”, or something like that. Yes! My husband knows all about die cutting now... I laugh when I see the ads he's getting because I searched something. He doesn't even need to have bought anything. They just know that we're in the same household. But yes, also, they are relentless in advertising and emails. I am so sick of their stupid little YT ad song. Thanks for the adblocker info Embri . That reminds me, has anyone else noticed the scrapbook dot com ad for inks on YT where they feminized Simon Hurley's hands? He has very distinctive hands and weird thumb joints, so I recognized them (weird, but you know, you get used to seeing certain hands from crafty videos!) but also, it was his hands using his own products. I think they digitally added some burgundy and white floral sleeves to his arms and maybe also removed his hand hair, or maybe it's mostly just covered by the digital sleeves. The sleeves look really familiar to me so I wonder if they got them from another set of hands who crafts for them. It must be really odd for him to see that.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 18:05:14 GMT
Sounds like it could be a fun project! (or a headache)Once you do the fun things to the pages will the remaining bits of plastic near the tabs be noticeable? Maybe you could use a ceramic cutting blade to cut through the plastic without as much risk of damaging the paper (I think) demoed here: http://instagram.com/p/C4k1s2Hsmbn
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 17:57:18 GMT
If you have a local nursing home you could contact their activities person and ask if they would welcome card donations. Usually that will involve making enough for each resident for whichever holidays you want to celebrate but some homes also welcome cards that the residents can use to give to their family members for birthdays and holidays. It helps if you know someone in a rest home to find out how things work there but maybe there's some nearby and you can start your own nursing home card project.
I have also started giving some family members bundles of random cards for their birthday gifts. I try to tailor them a little bit to the person's needs so my aunt and mother get more sympathy cards and my SIL gets more teen boy birthday cards, but I also don't worry too much - I just let them know they can pass on what they can't use. I sometimes include various sentiments with double sided tape so they can add a sentiment to plainer cards to fit their needs.
Proper sets are nice for fancier gifts too, if you like making sets. Or you could offer sets of cards as raffle prizes if there's a charity or community group you like that does silent auctions or raffles.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 17:47:21 GMT
grammadee your little hockey dude is so cute!! Looks like it was a lot of engineering but you made it work so well. And yes, I wondered if your gnomies might need a motorbike too They're very needy.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 2:26:47 GMT
I did a quick reverse image search to see if they popped up on one of the art license sites like Creative Fabrica, where a lot of companies are sourcing images for their papers and embellishments. I didn't find any exact matches but there were tons of other similar digital art scenes, many of which were on AI sites.
I don't know if many of the small crafty manufacturers are actually paying artists and designers to create their products in the way we imagine they do. I've seen plenty of products that are licensed artworks bought from Creative Fabrica or similar, arranged onto a 12x12" canvas. The artist is just getting a few bucks from whoever wants to buy these images. My fav IACB pieces are all licensed icons and fonts put together in a pleasing arrangement. Tim Holtz talked about his process of finding cool art online that he could buy to turn into stamps with his name on them - he's not doing the art himself.
I'm not certain that there's all that much difference here. I don't think Brutus Monroe went to the AI and prompted these themselves - more likely they bought a licensed artwork from someone who used AI to make it - so is it particularly different whether it's AI or not? (I do acknowledge the issue when AI slurps up artwork by people who didn't opt in to training the machine and it's used to create work in their style which cuts into their ability to make a living.)
I think they're cool images, I like the style, but would never use them for cards.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 1:53:58 GMT
Yup! I got into it for the same reason as you mentioned, but in hindsight I would've wish I got into donation card drives instead, or just giving more cards away to friends, maybe taking a little money under the table if they insisted. You're in NZ though, aren't you? so the logistics and economics might be quite different. I don't want to be a total bummer but I wouldn't personally recommend it. One of the reasons I stopped selling was because of the hassles of tax documentation and obligations to keep my business legal. Some people think that if their business is mostly a hobby that taxes aren't an issue, but they are often wrong. I don't mind paying taxes on income, but keeping records of every die cut and gem that goes onto a card is hard work, and the US tax system requires it so you can calculate the "cost of goods sold". I won't go on and on since your tax situation might be completely different, but I do recommend you find out how the IRD (or whatever they call it now) taxes small craft businesses. The other big thing was that Etsy seems to be moving away from small one person hobby shops and rewards bigger shops that have employees and scalable ideas, like people who make art that can be sold as stickers, tees, totes, etc made by a manufacturing partner. Cards that are digital art printed on demand are so much cheaper than handmade one-of-a-kind pieces, easier to restock too if they're popular. I struggled to find a good price point, especially considering the extra price customers had to pay for shipping. And I put in a lot of hours for very little money when it came down to it. It was a good excuse to buy more supplies, but then I would have to log them into my inventory system, so even that stopped being fun! Business wasn't good. It was hard to even know if I was getting seen and why or why not. I had a few devoted fans, but several were personal friends who I would've given the cards to for free. One person was a random stranger who loved my style and bought a handful of cards every year or so. I had a few people who snapped up lots of my cards when I clearanced them 40-60% off as I wrapped up my business and tons of people just LOVE my cards when they're free... lol. I had one busy Valentine's Day (in 7 years of having the shop) where lots of different people bought a card or two and then Etsy showed my shop to lots more people, but once things died down I could go months with only one or two sales and barely any views. When you're busy and renewing or posting listings steadily you stay busy, once you go on vacation or slow down it tends to stay very quiet. It seems like people might prefer seeing handmade cards in person at craft shows or boutiques. That is my impression from other crafters I follow. But that has its own hassles and wasn't my cup of tea. Online also has the hassle of photography - I had no idea how much I hated product photography until I did Etsy and discovered it can be really hard. I think Ryann also had an Etsy shop for her lovely embellishments and IIRC found the photography and listing side of things a downside.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 10, 2024 1:16:53 GMT
That's perfect grammadee! What timing. It was clearly meant to be.
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