I have added 7 auctions to Ebay for Stickpins. Auctions will be open for 5 days. I am working to get pins out to the first 20 who responded to my post yesterday and then I'll make more pins to post on ebay.
I'm hoping everyone likes thier pins and continues to want more, more, more!!
My Ebay name is MrsBigE so look for the auctions and tell me what you think
Thanks!
Peg
Soldier Blinkie
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Stickpins/Hatpins for Embellishing Cards
Since I started making cards I have always loved going through the blogs of the members of the Yahoo Groups I belong to. It's amazing to see how each embellish their cards and how creative people can be and just how beautiful some of the cards are.
The "die-hard" cardmakers know where to find all the good stamps, papers, flowers and gems. They are stead-fast in finding just the right embellishment for each and every card they produce and it shows, you can really tell who takes the time to find the most beautiful accents.
One thing I noticed right-off were the stickpins that would be used to embellish the floral or accent areas of the cards. The stickpins are so pretty and simple, but just enough sparkle or glitz that they add to the beauty of the embellishment without taking away from the artistry used in the stamped image or the production of the actual card.
I tried finding these stickpins in local shops and on the web. I fancy myself at being really good at finding everything and anything on the web but these pins were stumping me. I could find beautiful pins but a lot were vintage and were too expensive to put on a card that I was sending away, they were pieces I would want to collect and keep to admire. This in mind I did what I've always done and started making them.
I wanted to make pins that I could add to my simple cards. I wanted them to add a hint of sparkle here or there and add to the look of my card without being too over stated. I found that by using crystals, semi-precious stones and charms. I wondered if others might be looking for pins as well and took my chance by listing some on ebay. Sure enough they sold and soon some others will be enjoying my creations.
I have decided to try selling them in quantity to some local shops. Maybe if I keep the cost down and if the shops can get them at a reasonable price, people will be more apt to buy them. I posted a notice on a couple of my Yahoo boards offering pins to members in exchange for pictures of the cards they used them on. I plan to use the pictures of the cards to show shop owners the many ways the pins could be used and maybe gather some interest in carrying them. Hopefully the first of the sample pins will go out in the next day or so and I'll start getting some pictures back soon.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my posts and agreed to provide pics of your paper art. The pics below are of the pins that sold recently on ebay.
Thanks again to everyone for their encouragement and support!
Peg
The "die-hard" cardmakers know where to find all the good stamps, papers, flowers and gems. They are stead-fast in finding just the right embellishment for each and every card they produce and it shows, you can really tell who takes the time to find the most beautiful accents.
One thing I noticed right-off were the stickpins that would be used to embellish the floral or accent areas of the cards. The stickpins are so pretty and simple, but just enough sparkle or glitz that they add to the beauty of the embellishment without taking away from the artistry used in the stamped image or the production of the actual card.
I tried finding these stickpins in local shops and on the web. I fancy myself at being really good at finding everything and anything on the web but these pins were stumping me. I could find beautiful pins but a lot were vintage and were too expensive to put on a card that I was sending away, they were pieces I would want to collect and keep to admire. This in mind I did what I've always done and started making them.
I wanted to make pins that I could add to my simple cards. I wanted them to add a hint of sparkle here or there and add to the look of my card without being too over stated. I found that by using crystals, semi-precious stones and charms. I wondered if others might be looking for pins as well and took my chance by listing some on ebay. Sure enough they sold and soon some others will be enjoying my creations.
I have decided to try selling them in quantity to some local shops. Maybe if I keep the cost down and if the shops can get them at a reasonable price, people will be more apt to buy them. I posted a notice on a couple of my Yahoo boards offering pins to members in exchange for pictures of the cards they used them on. I plan to use the pictures of the cards to show shop owners the many ways the pins could be used and maybe gather some interest in carrying them. Hopefully the first of the sample pins will go out in the next day or so and I'll start getting some pictures back soon.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my posts and agreed to provide pics of your paper art. The pics below are of the pins that sold recently on ebay.
Thanks again to everyone for their encouragement and support!
Peg
Friday, July 23, 2010
Penny Duncan... My Crafting Fairy Godmother! : )
The past few weeks I've been kicking around the idea of buying a Spellbinders Wizard. Although I have a Cuttlebug I've been disgruntled because although I could cut the Nestie shapes on my Cricut I couldn't do the embossing. Somehow, by accident I came across Penny Duncan's blog and low and behold, there was a link for a tutorial she'd done on cutting the Nestie shapes on your Cricut and then emboss them on your Cuttlebug.
I began rifling through Penny's offerings of free SVG;s (cut files for the Cricut) and I couldn't believe how many files she had created and was now offering to the public for free... I thought it couldn't be true because rarely do people do anything this enormous and then give all their hard work away freely, but its true.
Penny has laborously generated just hundreds of cut files, including a ton of Nestie type shapes she calls "Shaplies" and then figured out a way to cut extras at a reduced size and push them thru the Cuttlebug so they are now embossed. I've been so happy to think that maybe I wouldn't have to put out the money for a Wizard and all the templates afterall but I still needed to try out the tecnique on my own before I'd become a true believer. Just tried it, and sure enough they work and they're beautiful.
If you have a Cricut and you have a Cuttlebug or something like it, then you can also have these great Shaplies by going to Penny's website and downloading the free files.
Now my next issue was trying to figure out how to make paper roses and be able to color them in the colors I choose but after trying to find Mulberry paper I was starting to think it might be more costly than it was really worth until I went back to Penny's page and found that now she's added a tutorial and the cut files for paper roses just like th ones you buy at the craft stores but these are made from something you probably have in the house... coffee filters.
I'm starting to think that Penny Duncan is a crafting fairy godmother of some type... she reads the minds of those crafters who are budget minded and then she works to make our crafting desires possible. This week alone she's saved me a bunch of money. I figure the least I can do is donate thru her blog and then come here to tell you all about her and give you a link to her site so you all can see how gifted and generous she is. Hopefully you'll download some files of your own, maybe something you've been looking for and just couldn't find or something that you wanted but thought was too expensive. Whatever the reason, you really should take a stroll over to her site and check her out. She'll inspire you to rise to her level of kindness and generosity.
I began rifling through Penny's offerings of free SVG;s (cut files for the Cricut) and I couldn't believe how many files she had created and was now offering to the public for free... I thought it couldn't be true because rarely do people do anything this enormous and then give all their hard work away freely, but its true.
Penny has laborously generated just hundreds of cut files, including a ton of Nestie type shapes she calls "Shaplies" and then figured out a way to cut extras at a reduced size and push them thru the Cuttlebug so they are now embossed. I've been so happy to think that maybe I wouldn't have to put out the money for a Wizard and all the templates afterall but I still needed to try out the tecnique on my own before I'd become a true believer. Just tried it, and sure enough they work and they're beautiful.
If you have a Cricut and you have a Cuttlebug or something like it, then you can also have these great Shaplies by going to Penny's website and downloading the free files.
Now my next issue was trying to figure out how to make paper roses and be able to color them in the colors I choose but after trying to find Mulberry paper I was starting to think it might be more costly than it was really worth until I went back to Penny's page and found that now she's added a tutorial and the cut files for paper roses just like th ones you buy at the craft stores but these are made from something you probably have in the house... coffee filters.
I'm starting to think that Penny Duncan is a crafting fairy godmother of some type... she reads the minds of those crafters who are budget minded and then she works to make our crafting desires possible. This week alone she's saved me a bunch of money. I figure the least I can do is donate thru her blog and then come here to tell you all about her and give you a link to her site so you all can see how gifted and generous she is. Hopefully you'll download some files of your own, maybe something you've been looking for and just couldn't find or something that you wanted but thought was too expensive. Whatever the reason, you really should take a stroll over to her site and check her out. She'll inspire you to rise to her level of kindness and generosity.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Good time for image coloring
Well we decided to bring El and a friend down to the Cincy area for some water activities at Great Wolf Lodge. Usually when we come down here its just me, Ellie and Eric and Eric and I can't relax a bit because someone has to be in the water playing with Ellie. We got smart this time and allowed her to bring a friend so we can actually just relax. Ahhhh, relaxation... We'll see how that works out... I've never been really good at relaxing...
For awhile I've been thinking about a project I wanted to do with a group of Tilda and Edwins and keeping in mind I'd have two days of "relaxation", I inked up a bunch of Maggies, packed up my Copics and brought them all with me so I could use my time constructively. As we're just unpacking our suits and other junk I'm already itching to get out my card stock and pens.
Hoping at least to get a few of my images colored and ready to mount.
I've been kicking around the idea of becoming a Stampin' up consultant. If anyone who reads this can offer advice on this and can relay experiences both good and bad, I'd be glad to hear them. If anyone reads this and thinks they might want to host a demo or whatever its called, let me know that too.
Oh well, off to color.. Check back with ya'll soon!
Live, Love and Laugh!
Hugs,
Peg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
For awhile I've been thinking about a project I wanted to do with a group of Tilda and Edwins and keeping in mind I'd have two days of "relaxation", I inked up a bunch of Maggies, packed up my Copics and brought them all with me so I could use my time constructively. As we're just unpacking our suits and other junk I'm already itching to get out my card stock and pens.
Hoping at least to get a few of my images colored and ready to mount.
I've been kicking around the idea of becoming a Stampin' up consultant. If anyone who reads this can offer advice on this and can relay experiences both good and bad, I'd be glad to hear them. If anyone reads this and thinks they might want to host a demo or whatever its called, let me know that too.
Oh well, off to color.. Check back with ya'll soon!
Live, Love and Laugh!
Hugs,
Peg
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, July 12, 2010
Tiny Lil Tilda's - Havin' Fun with Shrinky Dinks.... again.....
When I was younger I found it fun to make things with "Shrinky Dinks." Funny how things could start out being six or so inches tall then go into an oven and come out about 1/2" tall....
Tonight after reading an article that described how to created a charm bracelet using Tilda stamps and Shrinky Dink plastic I decided to give it a try again... I had some time on my hands and curiosity was going to get the better of me...
The package of Shrinky Dinks I had purchased at Michaels awhile back ended up being a variety pack that included some frosty, rough sheets so I stamped some images on those and got out the Copics. Needless to say you can't really do any detail work on the Shrinky Dink images... pretty straight forward... you can make brown hair... brown and a pink dress.. pink but they came out kinda cute so what the heck.... instead of using the oven I used the heat gun and started shrinking all the Tildas. I freaked out at first because I didn't remember that the plastic shrinks all up, shrivels and gets curly, making it appear that your project is going south but after sticking it out they straightened up and flatened out and I'll be darned.... they looked just like they did when I started heating them up... just smaller... they're so cute... just miniature little Tilda's all colorful and ready for a new home on a bracelet. Tomorrow I'm going get them ready to be added to a charm bracelet for Ellie. I think she'll love having all those lil Tilda's with her all the time.
If ya get a hankerin to try something fun and different, try Shrinky Dinks... they're just so adorable.
Check out the pics!
Peg
Tonight after reading an article that described how to created a charm bracelet using Tilda stamps and Shrinky Dink plastic I decided to give it a try again... I had some time on my hands and curiosity was going to get the better of me...
The package of Shrinky Dinks I had purchased at Michaels awhile back ended up being a variety pack that included some frosty, rough sheets so I stamped some images on those and got out the Copics. Needless to say you can't really do any detail work on the Shrinky Dink images... pretty straight forward... you can make brown hair... brown and a pink dress.. pink but they came out kinda cute so what the heck.... instead of using the oven I used the heat gun and started shrinking all the Tildas. I freaked out at first because I didn't remember that the plastic shrinks all up, shrivels and gets curly, making it appear that your project is going south but after sticking it out they straightened up and flatened out and I'll be darned.... they looked just like they did when I started heating them up... just smaller... they're so cute... just miniature little Tilda's all colorful and ready for a new home on a bracelet. Tomorrow I'm going get them ready to be added to a charm bracelet for Ellie. I think she'll love having all those lil Tilda's with her all the time.
If ya get a hankerin to try something fun and different, try Shrinky Dinks... they're just so adorable.
Check out the pics!
Tilda Tiptoeing Through The Tulips
Good morning everyone!!
Hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying yet another beautiful day in rainy, muggy and hot central Ohio.... I'm not going to complain about the weather because I'm feeling about 100 times better today than I was feeling a week ago. Don't know what hit me but I was sicker than a dog during the week of the 4th and that really made for a miserable holiday weekend. I felt bad that I couldn't get out and see the parade, fireworks or even cook a 4th of July meal for the family but luckily they're all understanding and just encouraged me to rest! Thanks guys, you're the best!!
Now that I'm feeling better I have been working on some cards and trying to learn some new things. I love working with my Cricut Expression but I'm really loving the new line of cartridges they've distributed exclusively through Walmart called "Cricut Lite." The cartridges are fun and have a lot of fun projects on them.
This week I combined a new stamp that I'd received of Tilda holding tulips with a tulip shaped card from the Cricut Lite cartridge called "Bloom." They're both fun and I enjoyed trying to make an easel card from the tulip shaped card. I thought it came out ok but after getting it together I look back and wish I had made her clothing with different colors than I did. The blue and yellow together remind me too much of Michigan colors... eep.... being an OSU fan, putting blue and yellow together gives me the eebie-jeebies.
I've also had some fun this weekend making some purses via the Cricut. I purchased some designs of small summer purses that are cut on the Cricut and assembled with glue. The designs are digital and were purchased from SVGCuts.com and were so reasonable. Just a lot of fun to assemble. I think I'll make more later in Christmas colors. They'll be great when it comes time to pass out gift cards...
Well I'm off again to work on laundry and in between loads I can take some time to color even more great Magnolia stamps. This afternoon I'm working on stamps that'll be included on an exploding box for Ellie. I'll post pics when it's all done!
Have a great day
Hugs,
Hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying yet another beautiful day in rainy, muggy and hot central Ohio.... I'm not going to complain about the weather because I'm feeling about 100 times better today than I was feeling a week ago. Don't know what hit me but I was sicker than a dog during the week of the 4th and that really made for a miserable holiday weekend. I felt bad that I couldn't get out and see the parade, fireworks or even cook a 4th of July meal for the family but luckily they're all understanding and just encouraged me to rest! Thanks guys, you're the best!!
Now that I'm feeling better I have been working on some cards and trying to learn some new things. I love working with my Cricut Expression but I'm really loving the new line of cartridges they've distributed exclusively through Walmart called "Cricut Lite." The cartridges are fun and have a lot of fun projects on them.
This week I combined a new stamp that I'd received of Tilda holding tulips with a tulip shaped card from the Cricut Lite cartridge called "Bloom." They're both fun and I enjoyed trying to make an easel card from the tulip shaped card. I thought it came out ok but after getting it together I look back and wish I had made her clothing with different colors than I did. The blue and yellow together remind me too much of Michigan colors... eep.... being an OSU fan, putting blue and yellow together gives me the eebie-jeebies.
I've also had some fun this weekend making some purses via the Cricut. I purchased some designs of small summer purses that are cut on the Cricut and assembled with glue. The designs are digital and were purchased from SVGCuts.com and were so reasonable. Just a lot of fun to assemble. I think I'll make more later in Christmas colors. They'll be great when it comes time to pass out gift cards...
Well I'm off again to work on laundry and in between loads I can take some time to color even more great Magnolia stamps. This afternoon I'm working on stamps that'll be included on an exploding box for Ellie. I'll post pics when it's all done!
Have a great day
Hugs,
Peg
Tilda with Tulips on Tulip Shaped Card - Card base - Cricut Lite Bloom Cartridge
Summertime Purses - Really fun to make.
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