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Thursday, October 8, 2020

Tips and Ideas for Using Big Stamps

Using Big Stamps

Recently, I found a new-to-me stamp company, Colorado Craft Company. Their Big and Bold stamp collection looked particularly interesting because they are really large images!  I purchased a couple of sets and started playing with them. The first one is called "Miss You Peony". Working with the gorgeous peony image led me to discover a few tips and ideas that I hope you will find useful when using big stamps on your projects.


Stamping Tips

3C's Blissful Butterflies and Miss You Peony 

Extra-large clear stamps may be too big for a traditional acrylic block. Listed below are some alternate ideas for using a big stamp. Practice on some scratch paper to see which options work best for you and your project. Keep in mind, it is a good idea to turn the stamp upside down and apply the ink to the stamp rather than tapping the stamp onto the ink pad.

  • Using the carrier sheet that the stamp comes packaged upon
  • Fiskars Easy Stamp Press I have better success with this tool if I press down without hesitating
  • Using your hand as a flexible 'block' - this is particularly useful in art journaling 
  • Using the top side of the MISTI tool or removing the top of the Tim Holtz stamp platform and using it as a giant block

Ideas

Watercoloring

Both of the examples above were colored using watercoloring techniques. The stamps can be stamped using traditional, no line, invisible line, or ghost stamping and then inked or painted. In the video below, I show a couple of ways to do this along with some of the stamp block substitutes.

Traditional Coloring

The card posted below was colored with Tombow Dual Brush Pens. I outlined the image to help make it pop a bit. This is a personal preference. Please do what you think looks best!



Background stamping - no coloring

Neither of the example shown below needed coloring after stamping. The crisp image is so striking on the scrapbook page that it did a good job of adding to the story without taking away from the photographs.


The art journal page on the right-hand side has the peony stamped on it several times. Both projects used Tuxedo Black Memento ink.


Supplies

From the Colorado Craft Company: 

Inks:
Rose Madder Archival by Ranger

Thank you for visiting today!
Beverly

Monday, October 5, 2020

An Old Garage Turned Into A New Office, Studio, Gym, and yet is still a Garage - Part 2

Garage Makeover

Before it became a multi-function space

Yesterday's post, here, has lots of "before" pictures of our old garage.  Before we turned it into a new office, studio, and gym I took a quick video of the area. Here is our before and after video:


This house is 60 years old and did not have any energy-saving measures when we moved in three years ago. When we knew we were going to move our home office out to the garage we started budgeting for all of the things necessary to make it a habitable space, even though it was not to be conditioned. It was important for us to keep in mind that this area would still need to function as a garage for future homeowners!


New Age flooring

Cost

The flooring was a big expense, about $2,000 for materials. Because my husband is very handy, we knew he could install it. However, there was a lot that needed to be done first! The cost of the mudjacking was about $2,500. The scarifier rental, the storage rental, the sheetrock, and lots of other smaller items added up to around $1,000. The door, window, and garage door were about $4,500. My husband installed the back door and window.  We ended up needing to buy a new garage door opener because the garage door installers broke the old one. The insulation was professionally installed. The total for the project was around $11,000. That is a lot of money! Especially since there is no HVAC. Though, this was by choice. We did not want it to be considered "living space" for two reasons - one is resale and the other is that our property taxes would likely go up.
Mini Home Gym

Components

That being said, we also needed the space to function for many different purposes. Therefore, we felt that we needed to make it as air-tight and comfortable as possible. 

Mudroom Area
Now that all of the work is done and we are enjoying the space, it was definitely worth the time, hassle, and money. It also forced us to re-evaluate how much stuff we could part with and what really needed to stay.
Home Office
One of the nicest things is that my husband can be working at his desk and I can be at mine and we are not in each other's way - and we are together. We had that in our previous house and I missed that. 
Tool Area
My husband has made some big sacrifices to fit his tools into this area. We have two Rubbermaid storage sheds on the side of the garage where he has moved the gardening tools and some of his other tools. 
Studio Area
The wood furniture that is pictured above and below was offered for free by someone in our community who was remodeling. They wanted to save it from the landfill. It had been custom made for their house by the previous owners and the new owners did not wish to keep it. My hubby built backs on the base cabinets and we made the pieces work for our garage. It was such a wonderful find for me! It really makes the garage seem less 'garage-like'.
Wonderful Light from the Backyard
My favorite thing in the garage is the window overlooking our shallow backyard. I love to see the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks enjoying their space as I enjoy working in mine.

Thank you for going on this home renovation journey with me! And now I can get back to papercrafting! 
Beverly



Sunday, October 4, 2020

An Old Garage Turned Into A New Office, Studio, Gym, and yet is still a Garage - Part 1

Have you ever thought about converting your garage into something other than a parking spot for your car? Or maybe, like my family, you've been using it for storage and want to have a place to do other things. This summer we undertook this project so our home office, my art studio, our gym, and my husband's tools could be better housed in the space.

Old garage door

Our house was built in 1960. There is a two-car garage, which is attached to the kitchen. It had not been insulated or drywalled so it was drafty and had a healthy creepy-crawly habitat within the space. I was skeptical that I would want to have Any of My stuff out there. My husband assured me that it would be nice enough for me to work there. With a heavy dose of skepticism, I agreed that we could give it a go. At the bare minimum, it would help for resale in the future.


We had stuff piled from floor to rafters

In the beginning, I thought the biggest job would be clearing out all of the stuff. We had A Lot of Stuff! To house it while we worked on the garage, I rented a large storage unit to sit in the driveway. We rented it for three months. Unfortunately, that is how long this renovation took. 


The old door had huge gaps around the frame


The back door of the garage opens to the patio on the backside of our house. I wanted to have that be the new entryway for the family to use as a mudroom-like area. We bought a new door from Home Depot and my husband installed it. This was after he took out all of the rotting wood around the frame and fixed it. And he had to build a base for the threshold and pour leveling compound to get it to fit properly. The old threshold was built on wood. Lots of critters had used it as their main point of entry because the wood was essentially decomposed wood and splinters.

This is the Southeast corner of the garage

My husband works full-time so the work was done on his days off. He did not take any vacation time to complete this project. In retrospect, completing this over three months of weekends is pretty impressive! He did most of the work himself. For example, he ran the wiring for outlets and lighting. He fixes machines for a living and has electrical experience because of that and also from previous home renovations.

Part of this wall was inset and was brick on the other side
Every area had some type of conundrum that presented itself. The wall above had to be built so the drywall could be attached. Hubby put the sheet of insulation in and then built a wall in front of it. Then more insulation was added in between the studs.

Our refrigerator and storage unit in the driveway
The neighbors are probably as happy as we are that the project is finally done so that they don't have to see the driveway storage unit any longer. Most of them didn't know there was a refrigerator behind the unit, too!

Drywall had to be installed on the ceiling rafters
There were a few things for which we hired outside contractors. Originally, we hired a company to do the sheetrock. They were to install the ceiling sheetrock and then the insulation people would come the next day to do the blown-in insulation for the attic and put the batts in the walls. The drywall company would come the following day and finish hanging the drywall and start taping and mudding. They would finish their job by adding texture and sanding all of the surfaces. That did not go to plan. When the insulation company was here to do their part one of the pieces of sheetrock fell off the ceiling. The job stopped because none of the drywall had been properly installed. My husband ended up hanging all of the sheetrock because the insulation company had a tight schedule and had to come back when they could squeeze us in. I am so thankful no one was hurt.

The previous owner had taken out the window
There had been a window on the southside of the garage. We bought a window at Home Depot and my husband learned how to install it. He also learned how to uninstall, cut, and reinstall siding. The picture below shows the exterior with the work in progress.

This wall had a mystery cut in the insulation
The garage had a problem with water coming in and puddling. We hired a company to mud-jack the floor because half of the garage was much lower than the other half. The mud-jacking was done with a foam product that was pumped into the ground under the garage floor. It helped quite a bit but didn't even the floor as much as necessary. We rented a scarifier which is a big grinder and my husband ground down the high parts. Then he filled in the cracks.

Concrete crack filler
The floor prepped and the walls have been painted so the next step is flooring. As this still needs to be a garage, I opted for a very durable tile that is manufactured for garages. It looks like tile but is a vinyl product. The installation was pretty easy once the prep work was done!
 
This post is quite long. I will post the "After" pictures tomorrow. Here is the link to that post. 
Thanks for visiting today.
Beverly

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Lawn Fawn Interactive Card and Machine Embroidered Gifts

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Lawn Fawn Magic Picture Changer Card


My sweet grandbaby recently turned two-years-old. These pictures show some of the things that I made to send to her. It was fun to make the Lawn Fawn Interactive Card. This is the first time I used this die and it was very easy to assemble.  The machine embroidered things were also easy to make. I love machine embroidery for lots of reasons but my favorite is that because while the machine is humming along, I can work on other things, for example, coloring the pieces for this card.

Copic and Tonic Aqua Shimmer and Flow Markers


Tips for interactive cards

  • Use sturdy cardstock. 
  • Anti-static powder will make the paper move easier
  • Try to assemble as much as possible before using adhesive to check if it works properly
  • If you make a sample, label and keep the pieces to help for future assemblies

Gifts for Toddlers

The following designs are from Scissortail Stitches, which is an offshoot of OESD.  The puzzle is done completely in the hoop. I used some scraps to make a little bag to store the eight pieces of the puzzle.

Scissortail Stitches Machine Embroidered Puzzle
Both of the towels are made with a bath and a hand towel, each. The designs are machine embroidered applique on the hand towel. After the design is done sewing out then the hand towel is sewn to the bath towel. It is a very simple and useful project.

Bathtime Buddies Hooded Towels
Thank you for stopping by today!
Beverly

Supplies:









Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Use Your Craft to Help Others


During the past few months, I have been creating things as much for my own sanity as well as to donate to others. I wanted to use my crafting skills to help others. At first it was masks. As a bonus, this was a great way to use up large fabric scraps as I continue to downsize.



Masks for Multnomah County Health Department

Masks for family and neighbors - no elastic phase

We made signs to show our appreciation for the Essential Workers living in or traveling through our neighborhood.

Then I started making quilt tops and stuffed animals for local charities. The quilts shown below are pictured as works in progress. They will be donated through my local American Sewing Guild Chapter to families who have a member who is facing terminal illness or other end of life scenarios.


These stuffed animals are also to be donated through my ASG Chapter. They will be collected later this Autumn. If they look familiar, it may be that I posted the original ones which were made for my granddaughter on an earlier post. These are new - but are the same designs from Urban Threads.

And now I am working on cards. Some of those will be posted in the near future. Many of you have probably found yourselves in a similar situation while you have been sheltering in place at home. And maybe you have had other things to do, too. My husband is an essential worker and for that we are very thankful that he has an ongoing job. But, truthfully, in the beginning I was a little apprehensive about him getting sick. Thankfully, we are very fortunate that we are all healthy and also that my daughter transitioned to learning at home without any hiccups! My family is truly blessed. 

 Where to donate

Maybe your community no longer needs donations and you would still like to help. If you are looking for new places in which to donate your talents and creations.  Here is a short list of organizations that can use our help:

The Navajo Nation is in need of masks and other items.

JoAnn’s is collecting cloth masks.

Love for the Elderly. Send a handwritten card.

Cards for Kindness is collecting blank cards.

Bee a Blessing Card Drive is collecting handwritten cards for medical staff and senior citizens.

Please share the names and links if you know of additional places in need of donations. Whether you are a card maker or a quilter or are just getting started with finding your preferred creative way to make the world brighter, please know that many places will be happy to accept your donations. We are in this together. 
Stay safe and stay healthy.
All my best,
Beverly