Save the Paperback!

Only one book in this series had minimal damage.  The rest were clearly mutilated.

I like to encourage my kids to read and spend a ton of time and money making sure they have plenty of resources.  But my youngest has a thing for ruining brand new paperbacks.  I've told her repeatedly and still, one read and the covers are destroyed.  When I got a new series of paperbacks in the mail today I knew I must take action!

I don't even know what happened to this one.  It appears as if the print was on foil, laminated to the cover... It appears, but no one can be sure now that it's peeled.

 This project requires very few items and very little effort or talent.  I used clear Con-Tact paper and scissors.  I finished covering more than a dozen books in half an hour while watching TV and being interrupted by everyone in the house AND a neighbor.

Step One:  Unroll the Con-Tact paper side up, lay out book for sizing and cut.  I wasn't precise with this, I just made sure it was cut big enough to cover the entire book and wrap the sides.

I left an inch of clearance on every side of the book.  You could also measure your book, add 2 inches and then measure and cut.

 I taped down my paper to the desk.  I am not gifted when it come to messing with sticky things... I tend to get stuff stuck to everything.  Keeping on end of this secure was crucial for me.

Step Two:  Unroll from the other side, to the halfway point of the piece.

Step Three:  Set your book in place with even margins of sticky showing.  Make sure the spine of your book is toward the uncovered half of the piece of Con-Tact.

Step Three:  Clip your corners on a diagonal.

Step Four:  Fold end flap over to inside of cover, clip Con-Tact near spine and fold over top and bottom flaps.

When both sides are finished in this manner, you will be left with Con-Tact sticking out from the spine like this.  Use a scissors to snip it off close to the spine.

Optional Step Five:  Use a bone folder, butter knife or credit card to press the bubbles out of the contact.  This ensures a good adhesion which prevents dust and moisture from seeping in from the outside.   

There!  You can't tell they are covered.  They look the same as always but are much more resistant to tampering and can now be wiped clean with a damp cloth if necessary!

Originally published 11/18/13 on The American Homemaker Blog

COPIC coloring craze

I've come to the conclusion that I have too few Copics to make my card images very diverse.  Time to order more.  Any coupon codes or sales going on out there right now?  Any suggestions on color combinations?  My reds, pinks, purples and yellows need major help.

Love Hedgehogs!

I am absolutely obsessed with Hedgehogs.  Every time I see a stamp with them, I swoon and buy it on the spot.  I realize, though, that I hardly ever use them... merely collecting them.  Whoops.

I hauled out one such stamp set today and whipped up a couple of cards.

Stamps from Penny Black. Card Base MFT Sno Cone.  Accent printed paper Stampin Up.  Accent cardstock unknown scrap.  Background inked with Stampin Up Daffodil Delight and Soft Sky.  Stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and Verafine Onyx Black, Stampin Up Island Indigo.
Colored with Copics:

• Hedgehogs E00, R20, E31, C0, C1, C2, C3, 
• Terracotta pots E08, E33, E81
• Flower B21, B23, B26, G28, 
• Grass G85, G94, YG91, 
• Butterflies Y15, Y17, V01, V04, BG000, BG01

inside

Cardbase MFT Jellybean Green.  Accent paper Creative Memories and Lawn Fawn.  Accent cardstock Stampin Up Garden Green, Creative Memories Lemon Yellow.  Accent Vellum Creative Memories.  Stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and Verafine Onyx Black, Stampin Up Pear Pizzazz.

Colored with Copics:

• Hedgehog:  E00, E31, E33
• Flower: Y11, Y15, Y17, G12, YG91
• Ladybug: R59, R89
• Envelope: B21

inside

Do you love these little guys as much as I do?

Made with vintage recipes

My internet friend, Angie, over at American Homemaker Blog sent me a box of goodies before Christmas.  It included a ton of vintage fabrics and trims along with this huge pile of vintage recipes, some printed, some hand written, some torn from old magazines.  

She challenged me to make cards from the recipes.  I finally got the chance to sit down and work on it today.  I came up with these 4 cards and, understandably, have enough recipes left to make thousands more.  ;)

inside

First one is Blueberry Pie.  The card base and printed paper were scraps from my stash.  The accent cardstock is Stampin Up Brilliant Blue.  The sentiment stamp is from Stampendous.  The scallop punch is from Stampin Up.  The embossing powder is Hero Arts used with VeraMark.

inside

Fresh Strawberry Pie.  Cardbase MFT Wild Cherry.  Printed Papers Stampin Up.  Red accent cardstock Stampin Up Cherry Cobbler. The scallop punch, scallop oval punch and scallop square punch are from Stampin Up.  Inks from Stampin Up in Cherry Cobbler and Glorious Green.  I painted ivory over the recipe on the inside to tone down the type.  While still visible, it became background onto which a message can be written.

inside

 Banana Slush Card.  Card base is MFT Banana cardstock.  Accent cardstock is Stampin Up Cherry Cobbler. Printed Paper is Creative Memories.  Sentiment is Stampendous.  Embossing powder is Hero Arts used with VeraMark.

inside

What's Cooking.  Cardbase is MFT Hot Fudge.  Printed papers are Stampin Up.  Stamps from Stampin Up and unknown unmounted rubber from last decade.

What would you make with a pile of vintage recipe cards?

Nice Rack Pack

Part of my intention, with such a full craft room. is to use all my supplies or to weed through them.  In conjunction with not spending, I'm hoping to feel productive and to clear out some space around here.  In that effort, I want to use every single stamp set I own.  Big task, but I'm up for it.

This one is relatively new.   From There She Goes Clear Stamps, this clear set, Nice Rack is hilarious.  I threw together a few cards to see what I could do with it.  Honestly, when I ordered it, I expected the moose to be larger and more of a focal point.  It's still freaking cute, just takes quite a bit more work to use it on a card without leaving it mostly blank.

I also used my new Silhouette Portrait to make a moose cutout.  

For this one I used a variety of brown print papers from a 6x4 paper pack from last year's Stampin Up catalog.  I inked the edges to set the layers apart, but mostly it is monochromatic.

inside

The next two are 3x3 gift cards.

inside

The final card for today used the same paper pack as the first.  I added a layer of SU Whisper White that I scored with my Score Board Diagonal Plate then inked with Crumb Cake.

inside

I just love it!

Anne.

Welcome to 2014.

Um.  Yeah.  That's all I've got.

No, really, that's about it so far.

I wanted to post some inspirational New Year blah de blah blah but it just vanishes as soon as I start to type.

So how about facts?  This is the first year since 2009 that I'm writing out a goals sheet for the year.  Not because I never had goals, just because my 2009 list took me until now to finish. Yeah.  Had Procrastinate been on the list I would have had one I could cross off every damn day!

I'm not trying to make any drastic changes this year.  Drastic just doesn't work for me.  I'm going with Moderation.  And since I tend to be an all or nothing girl, MODERATION should help... help me do the things I avoid and help me lay off the things I indulge.  That and a fresh list of things that need to be accomplished around the house should be good, right?

But I'm hung up on MODERATION with food already.  We live in the middle of nowhere with really crappy stores so fresh produce is gross this time of year, if you can even find it.  That means prepackaged make-me-fatter foods and carbs and sugar and OH MY, indulge.  With my hormones all askew, I really need to get my eating under control since my body will no longer just stay thin without work.  Do you have any idea how horrible it is to try and quit sugar and carbs and CHOCOLATE and PEPSI?????  Day Two and I'm dying.  I'm thinking the less sugar and caffeine I have the better I will sleep at night and the earlier I will awake.  Meaning that I will have more hours of the day to do stuff.  Which ends up meaning more hours to try and avoid Pepsi and Hershey's.  YIKES.

I dont know if I'm going to make it Moderately through today, let alone a year.  *whine*

Holiday Plate Stacker Snack display

Isnt this the greatest find???  It's 1960s, made from plastic plates, missing one, but appropriate hardware for 3 stacking plates!  I found this on The American Homemaker's Etsy Shop... who knows where she found it!

This is how it arrived.  I had asked her to package it in pieces for easier tranport.  The plates had a 1/4 inch hole drilled into them.  First task:  secure new plates and a 1/4 inch drill bit that could drill through glass/ceramic.
And this is what became of it:

The process started by marking out the centers of the plates and drilling small pilot holes.

It continued with the glass and ceramic drill blade which is best used with water.

One with a hole, 2 more to go.

As in all projects involving the husband, beer and a 2nd plate with the hole drilled.

Then it was just a matter of assembly...

Which was had a few issues since our plates were heavier and thicker than the original ones, but it turned out perfectly!

Shop at Angie's Etsy shop here. 

She has quite a variety of retro and vintage items.