Friday Favorites AKA Enabler's Alert

With little ones anxious to go to the fair, I don't have time to stamp . . . just enable. I don't know if you've heard the buzz about these Pearlescent Watercolors or not, but recently, I've come across some great projects using them. And . . . unlike a lot of products, they're cheap! My Favorite Things sells them, but as of last weekend, they were out of stock, most like due to all the buzz. Not to be denied, I did a Google search and found them here. Maybe I'll love 'em and maybe I'll hate 'em, but if it ends up being the latter, at least I didn't have to go to the bank to pay for them!! Seriously, I think they're going to be fun. Because paying shipping on $4.79 is not worthwhile, I had to find a few "supplies" while at RitzCamera.com, too. My GlueDots supply was low. Its price was good. I threw some in my "cart."

I also bought this Fiskars' Sunburst border punch, which is my replacement for the Martha Stewart Lace Border punch that evidently she can't even get hold of herself, because it wasn't even listed on her website as of last weekend. I did come across a couple on eBay and whoever was bidding on them wanted one a whole lot more than I do. I can handle $11.85, but personally, while I think her punch design is really pretty, I don't think it's worth the $40-plus it was going for on eBay. I shop there to save money, not get caught up in some outrageous bidding war . . . Anyway, if you're looking for the elusive Martha punch and are willing to "settle," this looks like a suitable alternative.

That's it for now. I hope to stamp later, but first I have to check out the fair with Cameron and the boys. Both are anxious to see Miranda's horses. Bjorn also wants to check out the rabbits, and Mathias says he wants to see the pigs. Something tells me that unless the building is extremely well-ventilated, the pigs won't cause squeals of delight. I can hear it now . . . LOL. I'll catch you later!

Friday Favorites

I'm glad that this photo isn't very big, because I don't have a whole lot to say about this new favorite. Note I said "new." It was one of those "extra" things that I tossed into my cart at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago. I thought I'd try it, taking the chance that it might end up in the drawer where I keep adhesives that I've purchased but don't particularly care for. Does anyone else have a drawer like that? Why I don't just throw them out the minute I determine I don't like them, I don't know. I suppose that would be "wasteful." LOL. Anyway, this one is not going into the bad glue drawer. I like it. The features that I like about it are listed on the label. It doesn't run, and it has a "mess-free precision tip." In other words, if I'm paying attention to what I'm doing, I end up with glue where I want it and only where I want it. It dries fast, which is another plus. The fact that it's photo-safe and acid-free are features I will appreciate should I ever decide to tackle the 5,000 or so photos I have to scrapbook. With regard to usage, I've used it mostly on cards with cut-out elements, such as the butterfly cards I've posted recently. What it cost, I don't know, but it wasn't a bank-breaker - probably in the $3 to $4 range. What I do know is that I like, recommend it, and won't be adding it to "the drawer." Later!!

Friday Favorites

This is a little different. I think I mentioned the other day when working with rickrack that I had Fray Check on my shopping list. Well, I bought it and used it once, which is all it took for it to jump to the top of my "favorites" list. I haven't used this stuff in 10 years or better but in just a few minutes time I remembered why I loved it so and why I'll use it again and again.

While rickrack is a great embellishment for cards and scrapbook pages, the ends fray. For that reason, I was tucking the ends behind my card front to hide the edges, which was creating bulk that I didn't particularly care for. Some ribbons fray, too, even when cut diagonally. With a little Fray Check on those edges, however, you can cut them clean, and they'll never fray. Better yet, it dries clear so you don't know it's there .

I picked my Fray Check up in the sewing department at Wal-Mart the other night, and while I didn't pay any attention to what it cost, I am venturing to guess it was in the $3.50 to 4.50 range - well worth it in my book. With that, I'll create another post and show you the rest of my card!

Friday Favorites

My picks for my Friday Favorites posts seem to fall back on little things, the small tools and accessories that make stamping and papercrafting easier and more fun.

The Quickie Glue pen by Sakura is another item I came across by accident and purchased for the purpose of simply giving it a try. It's a $2.49 ball-point glue pen that doesn't clog up or need to be shook or "primed." I don't know about you, but I've found the Write 'N Rub pen to be one of the most frustrating tools I've ever laid my hands on. When I've followed instructions to the letter and still can't get something to work, I lose my patience pretty fast, which is my story with the Write N' Rub. This pen does the same thing and more. The difference is that it works - first time, every time.

I don't remember offhand where I purchased it but have noticed that it's available from numerous online stores, including Sakura of America, where you can read the full description for this item as well. My last words on the subject: Try it. You'll like it!!

Friday Favorites

For my Friday Favorites post this week, I'm featuring a tool that I've been reaching for frequently recently, Judikins Extra Fine Mist Spritzer. Holding 2 ounces of water, this little mister does just what the website says it will. It "adds the right amount of water or liquid to watercolors and inks for special effects." I've been using it lately when creating a watercolor effect with stamps and markers. I apply my color to my stamp with my marker, give it a squirt or two with the fine mist spritzer, and then stamp my image.

Prior to owning this spritzer, I "huffed" on the inked stamp. The results were not as consistent. I also tried a regular mist-type spray bottle, which dispensed too much water. As a result, whatever it was I was trying to do usually ended up in the wastebasket. Funny thing about this spritzer is that it was one of those things I added to an online shopping cart without necessarily having a plan for it.

At $1.50, it wasn't a tool that "broke the bank," and obviously my thinking at the time of purchase was that it might come in handy sometime. I was right. I'm thinking, too, that there might be other uses for it. Any ideas?

Friday Favorites

I've had these favorite books from Papercrafts for several years, and while I'll have to say I don't reach for them as often as I did before I found the blogosphere, I do use them. If you're familiar with the sketches in the front of Papercrafts magazine, that's what the books are like - more than 50 simple card recipes with several examples of each.

Before posting, I paged through them to see if they appeared outdated. Rather, I found these publications to be like that classic blazer that never goes out of style. The only thing that appears even remotely dated are the eight or so pages of ads. The books, if you are interested, are available here.

It's still snowing, and according to the weatherman, we could have 10 inches by morning. By Tuesday, it is supposed to be in the 50s again. Maybe this will be the last of the white stuff until October or November. My fingers are crossed. I'm feeling better but am going to go back to bed and try to get some more sleep. I felt better last night, too, and then crappy again in the morning. Time will tell. Thanks for stopping, and have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

There's nothing toxic about my favorite this week. There's nothing fancy about it either, but this plastic box made by Sterlite is one of my favorite storage containers. All told, I have 15 of them in my corner. They are the perfect fit for Close To My Heart stamp sets (each box holds about 18 sets) and can be used to store everything else that CTMH packages in the same-size envelopes (Sassy Strands, Window Charms, Just Blooms Big Pinks, etc.). I also use them to store other things such as my Cuttlebug embossing folders, as in the photo, and Nestablities. If what is stored inside doesn't extend over the top, they stack nicely and if the situation warrants it, hook together on the sides. My boxes were purchased at Wal-Mart. The cost, if I remember correctly, was 96-cents. I've seen them at a dollar store, too. While they aren't as attractive as baskets, they are functional and cheap. Because Kathi's Corner is, for the most part, sectioned off from view, functional and cheap works well for me.

Friday Favorites

Part of my clean-up effort this evening included removing "gunk" from my scissors, piercing tool, paper trimmers, and every other tool that has come in contact with adhesive recently. Thus, my Friday Favorites this week - Goo Gone.

It's not the most pleasant product in the world. Petroleum based, it smells. It's harmful or even fatal if swallowed, too, so it's definitely a product to be kept out of the reach of children. Goo Gone is also highly flammable, so blow out the candles before using it. Regardless of its smell and the precautions one needs to follow to use it, it is, nevertheless, the best thing I've come across for cleaning my tools. I just spray a little on a paper towel and wipe. It's as easy as that.

Available at discount, hardware, and grocery stores, it has other uses, too, although the directions say to test it first on an inconspicuous area. The bottle also warns not to use it on silk, leather, suede or rubber, so it is not a product I would even attempt to try to use to clean up acrylic stamps or blocks.

Now, before calling it a day and going to bed early, I'm off for a little blurfing (blog surfing) to see if I can catch some inspiration for tomorrow. Thanks for stopping. Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites

As you know, I'm not into heavy metal when it comes to cardmaking or scrapbooking. My use of embellishments is limited either by my lack of creativity or my belief that unless they add something significant to the design, they are unnecessary. I use a lot of brads, and I really like ribbon.

My favorite this week is Stampin' Up's taffeta ribbon. I love the way it looks, and unlike some ribbons, it ties nicely, lays beautifully, and is just plain easy to work with. It's available in eight colors, including the Whisper White, Very Vanilla, and Chocolate Chip shown in the photograph. These are the colors I knew for certain would coordinate with my Close To My Heart papers. Three-eighths of an inch wide, the ribbon is sold in 10 yard spools for $6.95.

While I have not seen taffeta ribbon sold in stores, I will have to add that I've never looked for it. If it's to be found, I would almost think one would find it in the bridal section of a fabric store. In the "old days," taffeta was a very popular fabric for wedding and bridesmaids gowns. Maybe it still is. I don't get married that often . . . Before I get silly, I'll close. As for the ribbon, try it. You'll like it!

Friday Favorites

The product I chose to feature this week is one that I use frequently - a black pigment pen. I use this pen to highlight many of my cards, and in the case of the In the Wild card, I used a pigment pen to fill in the details on the animals - eyes, noses, stripes on the tiger, etc. It's a technique that I've been using since I started stamping, but it is perhaps one that isn't currently isn't all that popular. The current trend, if stampers do anything at all, is to "distress" with an ink pad. For some cards, that works for me, but as I've said before, I save most of my distressing for cards that I want to look old. When the shabby chic look doesn't suit my the style of my card, I often reach for a pigment pen. In my mind, the detailing adds something - a little more dimension - particularly on cards where I've already used black ink and/or paper.

As for directions per se, unless it's stitching that I am trying to emulate (and I have stamps for that now), what I don't even attempt to do is draw straight lines. Rather, I draw intentionally wavy, broken lines. While I've been doing this for so long that it's second nature to me, I guess it requires some practice.

The brand I use is the My Legacy Writer by Close To My Heart - a set of five pens with .01, .02, .03, .04, and .05 mm tips that sells for $11.95. For detailing, I use the .01 mm tip most often. Prior to using the CTMH brand, I used the Pigma Micron brand, which is sold in nearly every art supply store.

Friday Favorites

My friend Maricar provided me with the idea for this week's favorite when she asked, via email, why I preferred Yes! paste to Mod Podge for my paper crafting projects.

First, I'll have to say that I haven't used actually Mod Podge for years. I tried decoupage a long time ago, and for that application, it worked fine. The reason I've never used it since is because I've read so many comments about the problems others encountered when using it for covering metal lunch boxes, bookmaking, etc.

I believe I learned about Yes! paste on a website when researching bookmaking. As the container says, it is an all-purpose stick flat glue. Using it, my paper has never buckled. There are very few, if any, air bubbles with which to contend. I just apply it to the back of my paper with a sponge brush and lay it on my project. It's relatively effortless. Yes! is also acid-free, has a pleasant, barely noticeable smell, and is water soluble, which makes cleanup easy. Because it's water soluble, I've also taken a damp brush and used it as a top coat. It dried to a clear, mat finish with no brush strokes. It's said to be used by professionals, including bookbinders, libraries, and printers, and according to the jar, uses include paper, leather, cloth, tin, wood, imitation leather, glass, metal, printed surfaces and more.

As for the economics of using it, I am guessing I have had my jar for more than three years. I've shared it at workshops and used it on numerous projects and still have about one-third of my 1 lb. 3 oz. jar left. Although I don't remember what online source I purchased it from, it is available at scrapbook.com, which is currently a favorite online store of this enabler.

Friday Favorites

This post is for Gay, who left a comment on my February 22 post entitled, "Finally . . ." She was wondering how I used a corner rounder to make scallops. Yes, the EK Success Corner Rounder is one of my favorite tools, and I saw it first in the Fall 2007 Close To My Heart catalog. Happy with the Creative Memories corner rounder I already had, I didn't think I needed this one, until I saw that it could used it to cut scallops. I have a couple of scallop paper edgers that I've had forever, but I'm not overly fond of either of them. One is a Fiskars brand that cuts small scallops, and the other, which cuts larger scallops, is from Family Treasures. Both are a bit difficult to use, and neither makes a nice, clean cut.

The EK Success Corner Rounder comes with a removable guard. To round corners, the guard is left intact, and to punch scallops the guard is easily removed. To make scallops, turn the tool over so that you can see what you're doing as you punch your scallops one by one. While I won't call the process easy, it's not difficult either. You just have to take your time and line it up just right. If you're too close, you cut a notch into the previous scallop, and if you're too far way, you've either got some trimming to do, or you find yourself starting over. The advantage is that, looking closely, you can see where the edge of the previous scallop is to line up the next punch. It takes a little practice, and I reiterate that it's a good idea to take your time regardless of how many times you've done it. That's experience talking!

Because this corner rounder is an EK Success product, it is not exclusive to Close To My Heart. I believe I've seen it at Wal-Mart, and I'm sure that it's available at craft stores, too.

Friday Favorites

My Tuesday post, "Bugged," drew a comment from Margaret. I'd used my Cuttlebug and Cricut to make my cards, and she asked which, between the two, was my favorite. I'll have to say that it's a tough call.

My Cricut was purchased first, and I bought it for scrapbooking. I researched it and other die cut machines for weeks prior to what was kind of an "accidental" purchase (a last-minute bid on eBay that I didn't think I'd "win").

It took me a lot longer to buy the Cuttlebug even though it involved much less money. Because it, too, is a die-cut machine, I didn't think I could justify another. Still, it's dry-embossing capabilities made me crazy, and eventually, I must have seen a card or something that finally pushed me over the edge on it. I set a price and watched and waited on eBay and ended up purchasing my Cuttlebug for the right price from a company from which I'd purchased many of my Cricut cartridges.

As in recent months, I've been doing more card-making than scrapbooking, I'll have to say that I've found my Cuttlebug pretty indispensable. I love the embossed look and feel and the texture it adds to my cards. In many cases, it eliminates the need for patterned paper. Another plus is the fact that the embossing folders are relatively inexpensive. I use my Cricut for card-making more often than I thought I would for cutting various shapes and most frequently, scalloped circles. However, if I didn't have a Cricut, those shapes could be cut with punches or the new Nestabililites that are compatible with the Cuttlebug. So . . . After all of this discussion, I still can't really say which machine is my favorite, but I what can say to Margaret is that if you're solely a card-maker, I would opt for the Cuttlebug. What do you think?

Friday Favorites

This post was inspired by a question I received earlier in the week, asking about the Dove Blending Pen I mentioned. There are several features about this particular product I like. The most important one is performance. When compared with other blending pens, the Dove pen, in my opinion, wins hands down. The second plus is the fact that it's refillable, and the tips are replaceable. While I am 100 percent certain, I am willing to wager that I have had my pens for at least four years. About one-third of the bottle of refill fluid is gone, and as tips are sold in packs of five, it appears I've replaced the tips on each of my pens once. At Scrapbook.com, the pens sell for $3.49, a five-pack of tips for $2.99, and the refill fluid for $4.99. That $11.47, which is less than the cost of three regular non-refillable blending pens. Before choosing the Dove pen, I went through blending pens pretty fast, so I'm guessing I'm saving some money. My preference for these pens, however, isn't about money. I like the way they work with CTMH's inks, chalks, watercolor pencils, etc. I've also found that I don't have a problem with black dye-based inks running so long as the ink is dry before using this particular blending pen.

Friday Favorites

Scotch Mounting Tape is another discount store find, a product that I've been using for a very long time when I want to create a layering effect on my projects. The tape is 1-2-inch wide and comes on a 75-inch roll. Because it lasts so long, I don't recall what I pay for it. Besides, cost is not a factor in choosing this product over traditional pop dots or foam squares. I like it because it's thin - approximately 1/16th inch - and easy to use. I just cut what I need from the roll. If I want my card element to stand out more than a 16th of an inch, I layer two pieces of the double-sided tape together. The foam is dense, and the adhesive is strong, and my projects stay together regardless of how small a piece I use. A single roll lasts a long time even though this is a product frequently. The only thing I'm not certain about is if it is acid free, something I would check into before using it in my scrapbooks.

Friday Favorites

I'm frequently asked questions about various materials, supplies, and tools I use for stamping. Those who ask questions also like to know where I make my purchases. With that in mind, I came up with the idea for a "Friday Favorites" post. Each week, I will discuss a product I use and provide information (to the best of my ability) about where to purchase it, etc.

What's a better thing to start off with than adhesive? It's as basic as a supply gets, because everyone uses it. For the past couple of years, I have been using the Ad tech glue runner and refills that I purchase at Wal-Mart. My reason for using this product is two-fold. First and most importantly, it works. I have never had a card or scrapbook layout fall apart using this adhesive, which is more than I can say for some of the other adhesives I've used. My second reason for using it (the bonus) is cost. It's cheap! While I don't recall what the runner itself cost, I know that it was under $4. Because I purchase them so frequently, I know exactly what the refills cost. A package of two is $2.27. For the most part, this product is trouble free. On occasion, it gets a little gummed up, which is remedied by clearing away any excess adhesive that has accumulated near the roller. Every now and then, too, the tape doesn't want to advance, and when that happens, I just open it up and manually turn the back gear until the tape moves the way it's supposed to go.

Prior to using the glue runner by Ad tech, I used the Tombow Mono Adhesive runner. The biggest reason I switched product was cost. With regard to problems, I occasionally had the same problems with the Tombow runner that I encounter with the Ad tech product. Once in a great while, I ran into a Tombow refill that would not work at all, and I would end up throwing it in the trash. I have never experienced this with the Ad tech refill, although I may have just jinxed myself by saying as much. If you're a Tombow fan, the best place I ever found to purchase refills was Business-supply.com. The cost was, and still is, $2.49 per refill. Shipping from this company is free for orders over $50, which meant that I stocked up when I ordered. This company's service was excellent.

I hope you enjoy Friday Favorites and that someone will find the information useful.