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Post by joblackford on Oct 13, 2023 2:35:09 GMT
I got the email from Justine Hovey who usually does the 12 Days on her YT channel. She made it sound like she was doing it as a summit this time with the free sign up, buy a VIP pass, etc etc. I wasn’t interested because I don’t usually get all that much value out of her videos, I just watch them in the background on YT. She didn’t make it sound like it was anything different than her usual videos so I got confused when I saw Jess Crafts mention something about doing it too, but I didn’t follow up on that. I guess it’s a group thing. Not sure why Justine made it sound like it was just her. Or maybe I read it wrong.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 13, 2023 1:44:37 GMT
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Post by joblackford on Oct 13, 2023 1:42:59 GMT
Brown is one of my least favorite colors, too. So is orange. Somehow the two of them together on a fall card, though, are pleasing to me, so I went with a fall card using a cut apart card as the card base, since it had both colors. I made the flower with Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies. Woodgrain browns do work very well with pumpkin oranges, and I love a good orange flower. (And bumblebees) That flower is stunning! I would've sworn you used one of those purchased silk flowers. Lovely card.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 13, 2023 1:41:03 GMT
joblackford I'm not brown's biggest fan either, unless it is chocolate. But you made it fall and crispy, yummy happy times. mbanda , perfect for Halloween. The moon effect, the kids silhouetted in front of the moon, the slight offset behind the kids - LOVE. My hard to use color is grey - so blah, so rainy day. (I like an occasional rainy day! Very soothing and makes things green. But not day after day after day.) I cheered up my grey with pink and gold (the black lines are gold, but they scanned black). Don't move the PNW! Sept-June = 50 shades of grey literally. Day after day after day. Grey is difficult, but is lovely with pink and gold! Very pretty. Thanks for playing along! I agree that brown can be forgiven when it's made of chocolate. I actually have a dark chocolate brown comforter that I love, but it's in a rose pink and white room so I guess I used the formula of adding favorites to balance the less fav.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 12, 2023 21:08:54 GMT
Eh, go SSS! Way to do the bare minimum rather late! I like the example, very pretty. but how does it read to you MichyM ? I'm so used to seeing very one-note Hanukkah examples that this doesn't read like Hanukkah at all to me.. but I really wouldn't know. I'd love to hear what you think and what you might do with this set. I was thinking it almost read as Hindu Diwali - another different festival of lights, although I guess the Star of David probably wouldn't go well with a Hindu holiday. So then I typed in Diwali to see if SSS has anything and now I have two more rants to add to the list. 1. the second you move your cursor to the search bar after you open the home page there's a stupid popup add to sign up for something. You have to move your cursor back to close that before you can search. I get so annoyed. Many sites that's enough to make me click away and never come back. Maybe an overreaction and certainly, obviously not on par with religious discrimination. But I have another one... 2. I typed 'Diwali' into the search bar and this popped up. Twice. No search results, it takes you straight to this page. www.simonsaysstamp.com/products/photoplay-christmas-lights-clear-stamp-sis3588 Nope. I assume they're probably not trying to be assholes pushing Christianity at everyone but that glitch is NOT a good look! I kind of get why that came up. Because Diwali is the festival of lights. I don't see it as pushing Christianity on this one just key words bringing it up based on what tags are used for that item and what Diwali means. I understand the lights connection but this wasn’t one option of many (of varying relevance) to click on. I typed Diwali and didn’t get a list of search results at all - it just took me straight to this item page. In the context of the other issues mentioned here this glitch felt like a slap across the face - as if they screamed “No non-Christian holidays for you! Have some Christmas lights!” But I did just look up fairy lights for Diwali and they are associated, so I guess someone making a Diwali card might use a Christmas light stamp as a background. Maybe I was overreacting because I was already annoyed with them.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 12, 2023 19:03:12 GMT
No reply to me on IG, no.
And have we not learned anything about how to apologize? geez.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 12, 2023 19:01:45 GMT
I finally emailed SSS directly. They now have one single Hanukkah example up with the new stamp and die set (yay them?) and after my suggestion removed the Christmas Card that used Stars of David on it. Gawd that was offensive. Eh, go SSS! Way to do the bare minimum rather late! I like the example, very pretty. but how does it read to you MichyM? I'm so used to seeing very one-note Hanukkah examples that this doesn't read like Hanukkah at all to me.. but I really wouldn't know. I'd love to hear what you think and what you might do with this set. I was thinking it almost read as Hindu Diwali - another different festival of lights, although I guess the Star of David probably wouldn't go well with a Hindu holiday. So then I typed in Diwali to see if SSS has anything and now I have two more rants to add to the list. 1. the second you move your cursor to the search bar after you open the home page there's a stupid popup add to sign up for something. You have to move your cursor back to close that before you can search. I get so annoyed. Many sites that's enough to make me click away and never come back. Maybe an overreaction and certainly, obviously not on par with religious discrimination. But I have another one... 2. I typed 'Diwali' into the search bar and this popped up. Twice. No search results, it takes you straight to this page. www.simonsaysstamp.com/products/photoplay-christmas-lights-clear-stamp-sis3588 Nope. I assume they're probably not trying to be assholes pushing Christianity at everyone but that glitch is NOT a good look!
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 21:16:38 GMT
refugeepea those are great! I love them. Neutral with just a pop of bright red. I'm glad you tried it for Halloween. I was started to worry that everyone was going to feel hemmed into doing Christmas cards. (And don't worry, I know all about the struggles with light. We have very little at the best of time and my crafty window is a few feet away from a dark blue wall.)
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 21:13:09 GMT
mbanda that's gorgeous! I love the spooky moon. I've been watching Amy R's Halloween card series a lot recently. I don't have any stains or sprays but I got inspired by her spooky moons earlier in the month too. The trick or treaters work perfectly with the eek sentiment. Love how bold this is. Thanks for sharing
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 19:43:43 GMT
I love butterflies with slightly fluttery wings. This would be a good one for florals or leaves. I might have some Christmas cards to make with a little lift.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 19:41:22 GMT
I love both of them, joblackford ! Hmmm... I don't really have a colour I struggle with, but I really prefer brights. Maybe I will work with some more pastel or muted tones. Cute cards joblackford. I love your pumpkin pie card. Now to figure out what color I don't like 🤔 If you don't come up with a least favorite color feel free just to use the brown and teal scheme as a starting point! It's OK, even if you don't struggle with brown. I want my challenges to be pretty easy
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 19:39:38 GMT
tossing the couple of what were they thinking stickers lol. I'm getting better at doing that!
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 2:48:38 GMT
I never used any kinds of die cuts when I first started paper scrapping. I don't think I even really knew what a die cut machine was. I guess I saw a Big Shot at a LSS after I moved to the US but it seemed ridiculously huge and unnecessary to have one at home and I don't think I knew what they could cut anyway.
I also didn't associate the thing that the library volunteers used to make paper leaves with anything I would want to do. It had a big lever handle and cut shapes out of tacky colors of cardstock for displays. I never used it. I knew it had some kind of dies that did the cutting but it was ages before I found out that some people had those machines at home, not just in schools, libraries or stores.
A friend won a Cricut when they first came out. It was something I had heard about so she invited me over to try it out. All the stuff we cut got so stuck to the mat so badly we couldn't get it off, just a torn mess, and I recognized right away that I was not interested in having to buy all the cartridges to be able to cut things. She gave it away/sold it with zero regrets.
I had been cardmaking pretty seriously for a while (Kristie Marcotte style) and chatting here, learning from you all, before I decided that I might actually need a Big Shot. I still thought it was way too big and heavy for my small space but I really suck at scissors no matter how much Don told me I just needed to practice. I asked about what to get here and no one could tell me if a Platinum machine was better (they had just released the P6 and no one was using it yet) so I got a Big Shot with a Black Friday discount. I loved stitched shape dies, and still do. I didn't buy too many dies because they're so expensive but I started using my BS almost every time I made cards, usually just for a stitched rectangle frame.
It didn't take too long before I realized that matching dies for stamps were going to cost me too much so I justified the Brother ScanNCut as a business expense. I knew it couldn't give me the nice stitched details I like and tbh I've always hated the sharp cuts it makes - very unappealing to me. I also knew I would never have space to leave it set up. However fast it actually is to plug in it seems like a big hassle, the sound bothers my husband who was working from home 10 feet away, and my results were sometimes not great, so I've never really loved it.
Lately I've realized that the two things I enjoy most in crafting are purchased, pre-colored die cuts that go with a paper pad, and big bold dies that cut something I can put on a card without stamping and coloring (like HB Lovely Layers). I have gotten better with scissors but I've also moved away from things that I need to stamp and cut so I might re-home my SNC. My Big Shot takes up about one-sixth of my little desk but it's always out and used almost daily. I recently got the magnetic platform, so much easier to use than the extended platform I started with.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 2:23:50 GMT
Well, DS#1 with a little help from DS#2 finished the floor while my DH was in Oregon! My Dream Box 2 arrived and I have slowly been putting the different pieces together. Cubbies, Side Table, Dream Cart, Paper storage, tool storage, etc. Lots of cams, screws, and time. In between finishing the soccer season I finally have the box mostly done. Still need to wait on some hardware, and a few other things that I need to finish up the entire room. The Murphy Bed will be coming soon.
For your viewing pleasure:
DH arrived back from Oregon last Saturday night. It is nice to have him home. Many of the things I wanted he did bring along. But he can't understand why I didn't get my favorite parts of my former craft room packed in June. Well we ran out of time and space in the Penske truck! Still not all craft supplies have made the trip. Most but not all. But I do have the rest of my kitchen, towels, etc.
Exciting!!
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Post by joblackford on Oct 11, 2023 2:06:55 GMT
Another Wednesday, another color-scheme starting point. Please add this to your list grammadee. Make a card using a color you really struggle to use/enjoy. For me that’s easy. Brown. Twist: pair it with a color you love so the card makes you happy. OR if the idea of using your own least fav color doesn't appeal, use this color scheme from my second card as your jumping off point - shades of brown with teal or aqua, maybe some yellow and orange. The first card is just very brown. It's fine, someone will love it, but it's not very appealing to me. The second card is still quite brown but the twist of adding one of my favorite colors worked - it makes me happy. CARDtober 11th by jo.blackford, on Flickr Thanks for playing along
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Post by joblackford on Oct 10, 2023 23:44:27 GMT
I was prepared not to like any of these but they're not bad. (I'm looking at them for cardmaking for charity so I don't have to really love them and they don't have to go with anything else or be different/special from past releases. They just have to be usable and moderately enjoyable to me.)
I could use the birthday ones, and like the ladybug more than I expected. The love notes looks like a less bright version of a Doodlebug collection I really enjoyed using but had trouble giving away (felt a little too lovey for me). Meh on the St Patricks and nope on the basketball.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 10, 2023 23:33:32 GMT
I didn't know what to do when I sat down at my desk today so I tried this challenge. I did it from memory, didn't check the details, maybe I'll still get credit for the twist. I used a 3 part layering stencil and a triadic color scheme and blended heavy towards the center and let it fade out a bit around the edges. Not exactly two shades but kind of I stamped the sentiment twice with a navy color and then layered the same purple from the stencil over the top to deepen the color more. Thanks for giving me something fun and easy to do when I didn't know where to start Oct share- stencil by jo.blackford, on Flickr
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Post by joblackford on Oct 10, 2023 21:15:23 GMT
To limit it to "big deals" try this linkI got all excited that a gel plate was on sale but it wasn't discounted. I'm so put off by all the nonsense brand names like "Infunly" or "Aromoty" that scream knock-off to me. Not that the stuff is necessarily bad, but I have lower trust and don't really want to support those businesses. It's making it easier not to shop on Amazon at all, which is great. (No criticism of anyone intended, just my own current feelings).
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Post by joblackford on Oct 10, 2023 16:09:45 GMT
I used an older sunflower stencil to make these panels. I tried the technique Jennifer McGuire used awhile back where she cut 4 panels then taped them together and rotated them/re-taped them to get the stencils to cover the panels in an unusual way. I used 2 shades of golden yellow for these plus orange! Great use of that technique I want to give that a try now.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 10, 2023 3:58:42 GMT
joblackford how do you get them to be so straight, perfec,t and symmetrical? A really good paper cutter? You use an electronic paper cutter for all the matts? I seriously struggle with getting things to look that clean. And the cards are adorable too! Thanks. No electronics involved. A great guillotine style paper cutter, liquid glue (for a little wiggle time), mild perfectionism… and a lot of practice. But believe me, they’re not actually perfect. I do trim off extra bits that look uneven if I can but I also realized that once things are done most people don’t notice small imperfections. I will say that I had a terrible time with a previous (Fiskars) trimmer that didn’t cut square. Nothing will look right if the corners aren’t square.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 10, 2023 2:56:54 GMT
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Post by joblackford on Oct 10, 2023 2:54:37 GMT
I made some more cards using the same page of cut-aparts (plus 2 more I will share in my next CARDtober post) for a total of 20 I’m mixing in 6x6 paper and I’ve used cardstock to cover the gap from stretching some scraps in some cards. It also helped the focal point stand out on some of the cards. Still thinking about whether to add sentiments (which means I probably won’t! Lol) Oct share/Sheetload by jo.blackford, on Flickr
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Post by joblackford on Oct 9, 2023 21:42:44 GMT
This year I have a new puppy to document. His name is bandit and he’s like our little baby. Or big baby really. So I plan to document his first Xmas just I did my actually children. I have a bunch of stuff from fairytale scrapbook-Andrea bethke. I’m subbing to cocoa daisy till the end of the year, and the sneaks look frightening similar to last years which I did not love so I’m not too hopeful about the kit. Anyways hi guys amd nothing much else new in my life. Hubby still the same asshole he was last time I posted. I’m just much much meaner in return. 🤷♀️ Welcome back! You’ll need to share some photos of the new baby…
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Post by joblackford on Oct 9, 2023 0:36:29 GMT
Wrist update: possible hairline fracture at the growth plate. There is a bump there. We have to go to a fancy peds x-ray person in 7-10 days (read $$$) to see if it has gotten better or worse. Brace until then. No band. She has two parades, two band spectaculars, and a game in the next 7-10 days. She is going to have to march with no clarinet! Poor kid.
And thank you!!
Argh!
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Post by joblackford on Oct 9, 2023 0:34:14 GMT
So shipping theory #1 apparently isn’t correct. Shipping theory #2: They put everyone’s name in a giant hat and pull them out randomly to fulfill orders. 🤷🏻♀️ Someone needs to get a job there to find out! Where is our SC insider? I suspect it’s something closer to random, probably not by zip code or we’d be able to notice the pattern. I assume they have many people getting pick lists and some must take a lot longer than others to box… I’m trying to imagine how I’d do it if I was running things… but I don’t think I can imagine the scale of the task correctly. And Inked sucks, so they probably do it differently than I would, lol. I had to look up zip codes because I was curious to see how they are distributed: simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ZIP_Code_prefixesSorry to hear you have to wait for your surgery
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Post by joblackford on Oct 9, 2023 0:14:13 GMT
Paper Rose also has a coated, slightly glossy finish.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 9, 2023 0:12:48 GMT
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Post by joblackford on Oct 9, 2023 0:07:20 GMT
Sorry your daughter ended up in the ER blemon Sigh… I hope she didn’t hurt herself too badly.
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Post by joblackford on Oct 9, 2023 0:05:33 GMT
Here’s my favorite pumpkin soup recipe www.budgetbytes.com/spicy-coconut-pumpkin-soup/(90% of the food I cook is from her site. I never knew I could use up spices regularly until I started following her recipes. She uses the same spices over and over so if you like those flavors it’s easy to stock a limited selection of spices and actually use them all the time.) I got the spiderweb idea from a Pea years ago; http://instagram.com/p/BpjQdgFDfV7
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Post by joblackford on Oct 8, 2023 21:13:27 GMT
This project is a bit challenging for me. I know what it is: It is still just Fall. The Halloween stuff hasn't really started happening yet. I have tons of Halloween bits/stickers/paper but not so many Fall bits. That's fine, I'm making it work. Just not in the groove yet. I'm going out of order and that's fine too. But I'm super bummed. Our town does a zombie walk each year and last year we went to watch and it was so much fun. I didn't realize it was happening yesterday until I saw some photos of it after it was over. Oh well. I'm following their facebook page now so I shouldn't miss it again but I was excited for that story. We went camping so I've got lots of photos from that. I'm going to scrap the swap now. Then I was home alone one evening and made myself "mom is home alone" charcuterie (basically a pile of random foods so I didn't have to cook). I took a photo of that with my pumpkin little debbie and will scrap that with the packaging from the treats. Has anyone had the skull caprese salad pop up on instagram? basically they are smashing the mozz. into a skill mold. It looks so amazing. I'm going to try to find a skull mold right now. Also, I have some goat cheese and I don't know what to do with it. How do you all eat it? We were going to make a dish but it's not going to happen so now I have it. Skull caprese - YES! I have seen it, but not done it. I love that the balsamic vinegar collects in the eye holes and makes them look extra creepy. Goat cheese - added onto a pizza for extra yum, tossed with various salads (here are some ideas - www.budgetbytes.com/?s=goat+cheese) or just on crackers. I could eat it right out of the package tbh. Or this www.seriouseats.com/caramelized-onion-and-goat-cheese-tartlets-recipe yum. Also recommend making an orange soup (carrot pumpkin, or whatever orange squash/butternut? soup you like) drizzling with thinned sour cream then running a fork through the drizzles to make spiderweb shapes. Maybe do a search on IG or Pinterest for spooky foods and create a wishlist of things to try making, even if you don't actually make many. People have some pretty creative ideas. Even my local Kroger sends out a flyer full of silly foods to make for Halloween. For the zombie walk - that's a total bummer to miss it, but I would still put it in your album. Just steal some Fbk photos and journal about missing out on it. Maybe you can come up with some brainless pun about how you missed it because you were in zombie mode. Or not. You could totally just add a page/card about making sure you don't miss it next year. Hopefully more spooky fall activities come your way I found that I just don't do enough stuff in October to lead up to Halloween to feel like I could make a whole album. Fall doesn't really seem like a big thing here, maybe because our summer is perfect, and fall is a moldy mess, dark and wet. Not a lot of people here are excited to go outside in October compared to in July and August because we don't have disgusting hot summer weather (or central air conditioning). Even the pluviophiles are just excited to stay inside and hide in a blanket fort with their books and a cat while listening to the rain in October. Or at least that's how it seems to me. I still need to get started on the cover for my OD from a few years back.
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