Tool Talk - May 2013

Hello everyone! Are you ready for a new Tool Talk? I know I am and I'm LOVING todays tool, It's one that I certainly CAN NOT live without! Today we have a super talented and sweet gal joining us. She's know to most of us through the DeNami blog....Design Team Member, Wendy Elliot!! I'm so thankful for all of the gals that have helped make Tool Talk so much fun. I've decided to open up this fun and informative little segment to give more people and oppertunity to talk about some of their favorite crafty items, so if you'd like to feature your favorite tool right here on the Addict blog just send me an email to DenamiAddict @ yahoo.com.

 

Hi, It’s Wendy from “Created byWendy”.  I’m so excited Tina asked me to share my favorite crafting tool with you.  I knew right away what I wanted to tell you about.  It’s nothing you can actually see on a finished project, but I promise it sure holds it all together nicely!  I’m going to share a few of the reasons I love my Scotch ATG Tape Dispenser . (it's out of stock, but just drop Paulina am e-mail and she will be sure to get you one right away!!)

Reasons why I love my ATG: 

1. My projects do NOT fall apart. The adhesive is amazing!
2. I don’t have to refill the tape very often.
3. I can use the adhesive for everything!  The ONLY other adhesive I use is foam tape.
4. Available in Acid free to use on photos or scrapbooking.
5. Holds on embellishments, bows, etc. Roll adhesive into a “glue dot”.
6. Once you invest in the gun the refills are very affordable.
7. Not messy. You can roll/wipe off the adhesive if you are messy with it.
8. Tape goes exactly where you want it.
9. Repositionable – as long as you are quick.  May need to “huff” on the cardstock if its stuck too good.

Cons:

1.   Dispenser is a bit expensive.  $35-$75.

      2. It’s bulky. (I can’t loose it on my craft table this way!)

      3.A bit tricky to reload, but once you figure it out it’s EASY.

I used the tape to create a glitter strip. 

 

 Rolls directly onto flat embellishments like this button. 

Or roll adhesive up to make a glue dot to attach ribbon, twine or other bulky embellishments.

 

 

 

 

 

Wendy had LOTS of good ways to use her ATG. I have to admit that it took a little getting used to the size and weight, but after about a week I was using it like a pro and it felt like an old friend! This is one tool that you'd have to pry from my cold dead hands to get it from me. ;) 

 

There is one little tid-bit I'd like to add to Wendy's "pro" list. Sometimes I goof up and apply my ATG to the wrong side of my cardstock or just simply change my mind on adhering a piece of cardstock. That doesn't mean you have to throw it away...all you do is rub your finger on it and it rolls right off the paper! Also, the refills are fairly inexpensive and the tape lasts FOREVER. When you make the quantity of cards that I make, that's certainly a great point!! You can buy these tape runners at your local big box store, however, it will be the narrower version. I have both guns and tend to reach for this wider (commercial version) version 99% of the time. While you only get one refill for the price with the wider version, the tape is actually equal to the footage of the two narrow tapes that come in the refill for the narrow version.

 

I hope you've enjoyed this months Tool Talk and don't forget, if your interested in writing about your favorite tool or brand of crafting product, just send me an e-mail or leave me a comment. I hope you take the time and visit Wendy's blog....she's uber talented and is always posting some yummy eye candy!

 

 

 





Birthday present

Happy Wednesday everyone!! I just love having a short week, don't you?? Hope your Memorial day was good. Mine was since hubby, our son, my brother-in-law and my father-in-law make they yearly trip to the Indy 500. That means I had some seriously needed peace and quite....not to mention that my house stayed clean for 2 whole days, hehehe ;)

 

Have I told ya'll how much I just love sequins?? I'm sure you've noticed by now, haha. I try to find excuses to use them when I can....

 

 

Isn't this kinda cute? I simply stamped the gift and fussy cut it out then cut the top off and leaned it against the box like someone opened it releasing the balloons and sequins. I love how fun and versitile sequins can be! I can't wait until I get to play with them again!!

 

Don't forget, I will be back here on Friday with a special guest speaking about her favorite tool on Tool Talk. See you right back here!!

Hello Friend....

I need to start this post out by apologizing to ya'll. I know I said I was getting back on track / schedule and then I go throwing everything off once again! For the May Tool Talk segment I have someone pretty awesome guest speaking and unfortunately I've had to delay her post. I went out of town unexpectedly so I couldn't post the segment last week, but promise that I will have it for you on Friday!! Wait until you see what she has to share with us...one of my favorite things ;)

Now then, let's get on with today's post, shall we???

I decided that I wanted to try to get one more entry in for the challenge over at Paper Sweeties. I recently purchased a few more stamps and couldn't wait to play with them. Paper Sweeties stamps are too adorable and they work so well with my DeNami stamps, how could I resist?

Here's the sketch we had to work with....

And here's my take on the sketch....

That's it for me today, I'm off to work on the Tool Talk post for Friday and Wednesday I will have a another fun card for you.

A sweet friend

Have you ever had a friend that goes out of their way to help you with things, let's you pick their brains, sends you surprises in the mail? I have a certain little someone that has done all of that. She's amazingly sweet and I am so blessed to have her in my life. I recently purchased her a cute little 6 X 6 patterned paper pad and made her this little card just to let her know how much I appreciate her.

I know, patterned paper again, can you believe it?? She loves patterned paper and is really rubbing off on me ;)

That's it for me today, thanks for stopping by!!

An Eclectic Birthday...

I've been broadening my little box and playing with patterned papers lately...not sure what has gotten into me, but I can say I've been inspired lately by some of you talented ladies ;)

Here's another little something I came up with...

(Pardon the edge fuzz on my panels, I was using my Mom's paper trimmer and it's kinda junky :S) I was going for kind of a fun eclectic look. I just received the speech bubble as part of my winnings from the DeNami birthday celebration and couldn't wait to use it. This is sooooo not my normal style, but I'm really liking it!

Whimsical summer flowers

Today I have a fun little card to share. I just love pairing DeNami's magenta and red cardstocks together, they really compliment each other nicely. I decided that since I wanted to use such a fun and bright color palette that I'd pull out a fun stamp to go with it...

I also broke out the new grass border stamp...LOVE it!! I was head over heels as soon as I saw it...it's perfect for little scenes like this one. I really wanted a whimsical look, so for my leaves I traced outside the lines with my green marker before coloring and added just a touch of Lime Sherbet and strawberry freeze glitter to finish off the flowers.

Fresh Florals blog hop

Well hello and welcome to another fun DeNami blog hop!!With spring in full bloom, Paulina thought we should show off some pretty little flowers this month....

When: The blog hop starts on May 19th at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until May 20th, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).

Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website! 

Prizes: They are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to their website! One gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop! 

You should have arrived here from Deb's blog. If not, no worries, just head back to the DeNami blog for the full list of participants to get back on track.

When I saw this theme I decided right off that I didn't want to make a regular ole card. I mean, I do that all the time, right? So after a little thinking, I decided how fun it would be to make flower seed packets!

Here's what I came up with....

 Aren't these adorable? I found the template for the two small packets on the Internet and the larger one I drew in the Paint program on my computer. Just add a little ribbon or washi to the little planter boxes and these would be cute little gifts or place settings for a garden party. For the one on the right, I plan on tucking in bible verses for a few friends.

I had so much fun creating these little packets that I wanted to see if I could come up with a card using one....

And for a little surprise....

The seed packet is removable and the card is still adorable because there's a matching panel under it.

That's all I have for you today, it's time for you to go visit with Jennifer Harris
Remember to leave comments along the way to be eligible for the random drawing for the two gift certificates :)

 

Schools Out...

Today is the last day for graduation week. In my opinion, I saved the best for last...this is my favorite one by far ;)

It's gender neutral so you could easily give this to a guy. I know ya'll struggle with guy friendly cards just like I do!

I simply stamped the back to school chickie then added a couple of the stamps from the graduation set that I had fussy cut turning it into a cute little graduation card. I was happy to have an excuse to use that twill alphabet ribbon from DeNami again, I just LOVE it! I had added 3 red rhinestones but after editing my picture I realized that I had lost one somewhere along the way, lol...ohhh well, it's just one of those things ;)

I hope you've enjoyed graduation week and don't forget that the Fresh Florals blog hop starts on Sunday! Just head on over to the DeNami blog for the full list of participants. I'll see you right here bright and early Sunday morning :)

CAS graduation card

Hi everyone, today I have a more CAS (clean and simple) graduation card to share with you. I'm not real good with the CAS style, but I still strive to bring ya'll something a little different when I can :)

I wanted to show this to you in several color schemes and since it didn't take but just a couple of minutes (don't ask how long it took to "plan" this card...ugggg!) to throw these together, that was easy peasy!

Like I've mentioned before, I'm more of a "add layers and slap a big pretty bow on it" kinda gal so this was definitely outside my little scalloped box, lol! It just kills me to leave all that white space un-touched! I was itching to add a length of ribbon, rhinestones...anything at all, just to not have all that space there! In the end I did what was best for the card instead of what was best for my sanity and left it blank ;) hehehehehe.

I'll be back tomorrow with one final graduation card (my fave of all of them). It's gender neutral and involves a much beloved chickie so you won't want to miss this one ;) 

Congratulations Owl

Hello everyone and welcome to day two of graduation week! Yesterday I had a more manly themed card so today I thought I'd break some pretty pink cardstock and lovely scallops....

Unfortunately I don't have a DeNami "congratulations" sentiment. I have around 500 DeNami stamps and a "congratulations" is on my list, but as ya'll know, I run this blog on my own time and dime (I'm not paid in any way and receive no discounts or freebies) so there are stamps that I just have to put off if I don't think I'll get a lot of use out of it VS. a different stamp that's on my list :(    So, I just grabbed a cling one from a sentiment set I have by Hero Arts to make my background.  

This is a great "go to" layout and I use it quite a bit. I change up the edge punch and colors and end up with a whole new look from the same layout. For my scene, I just simply stamped the Owl Trio stamp 3 times and added a little fussy cut graduation cap from the Graduation cling set. I finished it all off with some yummy twine and a big pink button.

That's it for me today, I'll see ya back here tomorrow with a more "graphic/CAS" type card that I've made in a couple of different color palettes for you.

You Did It!!!!

Can you believe it half way through May already?? That means the graduation season is in full swing! While I have no one that I know graduating this season, I still have lots of fun inspiration to share with you so make sure you come back everyday through Friday...

Today's card was a snap to put together, it' doesn't get much easier than this little cutie.

I really lucked out finding a piece of patterned paper that matched my loopy Washi tape perfectly. You could easily make this card with polka dot or chevron paper and Washi.

Sorry for the horrible picture, I had to edit it at home and for some reason my pictures just don't come out as well as they do when I use my computer at work. That's it for me today, I'll see you back here tomorrow with another fun graduation card!

Hello Chickie...

Hi everyone! :)

Today I have one of the chickies that came out last summer to show you. I just LOVE this little cutie, he's definitely in my top 5 faves as far as chickies go!

 

This card is one of those magical creations that just makes themselves...you know what I mean? I don't think I've ever used 2 backgrounds on one panel like this and I normally don't use a partial panel like the magenta panel under the chickie. Also, if I have something like the tree and chickie, it would be my focal point, not the sentiment. Not a clue what I was thinking while making this card, but I'm really feeling it! It's a darn good layout and will prove to be pretty versatile I bet.

 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!



A little challenge and some inspiration...

Happy Friday everyone!!!! I'm sure glad this week is over, it's been a tough one since my pinched nerve issue decided to rear it's ugly head...sigh. I was helping hubby rebuild our back porch which I knew was a big no-no, but sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do, right? A little rest and I'll be back to normal again and able to play with my lovely stamps again! That's the worst part...seeing my pretty little stamps, ink colors and papers and not being able to create...pure torture!!!

 

Well, enough on all of that, today I have a couple of things for ya. Sunday is Mother's Day so I wanted to give you the links to the Mother's Day cards and project I posted just in case you procrastinated and need a little inspiration and I wanted to post a little card that I made for a challenge over at Paper Sweeties :)

 

I couldn't stop at just a couple of Mother's Day cards....I ended up making 6! Guess I have a card for my Mom for the next 5 years, lol!!! And since she's not a "black & red" color combo kinda gal I get to keep my "white board" ;)  She would never use one anyway so no loss to her on that, lol.

fun & easy floral card
A jar of country flowers
A little shabby chic Mother's day card
Bright Flowers
A Mother's day bouquet
An elegant Mother's day card

Project - "white board" frame

 

Now for a little challenge I wanted to enter. I made this card a week ago but just never had a chance to take a picture and post it...sigh. Today is the day though!! Paulina introduced us to Paper Sweeties over on her personal blog, Pretty Pink Posh and I fell in love with the darling little stamps and couldn't wait to add a few to my stamp collection!

 

Paper Sweeties has a monthly sketch challenge and I thought I'd try my hand at it...ya'll know I love sketch challenges, so how could I resist ;)

 

Here's my little card. Now mind you, this isn't my usual style, but ya know, I'm really liking it!!

 

I used a fluffy little cloud from Paper Sweeties along with one of the kites (the blue one) and a kite from DeNami (pink) and the sentiment is one of my faves from DeNami. The larger kite is from Hero Arts I think but don't hold me to that ;) hehehe. This is a little more fussy than my usual style but I'm trying to create outside of my little box....hope ya'll like it!! :)

 

 

Well, that's it for me today. Have a GREAT weekend and a VERY HAPPY Mother's Day!!



 

 

Spring Showers

If you follow the uber awesome Paulina on her personal blog, Pretty pink Posh, then you know of her puffy heart love for sequins. After seeing some amazing creations using her beloved sequins, I just had to have some of my own. She purchased her's from Ellen Hutson (link on bottom right of her blog) so that's where I went for some blingie goodness. Unfortunately they were sold out of several colors I wanted but I did manage to pick up a few beautiful colors. The pictures do not do the colors justice, they are sooo pretty!! I was talking to Paulina about buying some sequins but not being able to get all the colors I had wanted and true to her sweet self, Paulina shared some of hers with me! Isn't she awesome???

When I saw the blue sequins I instantly had a vision of what I wanted to do with them. It's not often that what I plan in my mind works so perfectly on paper, but this one sure did....

 I can certainly see why she's addicted and truth be told, I'm seriously addicted now too! ;)

That's it for me today, thanks for stopping by!!!

DeNami Happenings - May 2013

Well hello everyone and welcome to MAY!! Can you believe we are well on our way into spring? It's going by fast for me and I still have literally ton of stuff to do in the yard before the near triple digit heat & swampy humidity drives me indoors for good. The Midwest is not a fun place in the dead of summer...just sayin'.

 

 

Can you believe that Mother's Day is next weekend?? Wow, this year is flying past me for sure. I recently had a Mother's Day week here on the blog and posted 6 inspirational ideas geared towards Mom.
fun & easy floral card
A jar of country flowers
A little shabby chic Mother's day card
Bright Flowers
A Mother's day bouquet
An elegant Mother's day card

I also managed to slip in a fun and easy project this past Friday that can be made for Mom too. Hope ya'll enjoyed all of that!

All of my cards & projects can be also be found here on Pinterest: My Handmade Craft Projects. Feel free to follow my board and put your own spin on some of my creations.

I'm currently gearing up for Father's Day. Now I know it's not until June, but let's face it, it will take me that long to come up with a hand full of decent guy friendly cards! ;)  Wish me luck (hehehe)

Along with Father's Day week, I've come up with some other ideas. The graduation and wedding seasons are upon us so look for some inspiration here on the blog comming soon!

 

So far DeNami only has one show scheduled for the month of May;

May 3-4 at the Scrapbook Expo in Orlando, FL

 

 

Don't forget about the latest blog hop over at DeNami on the 19th.

 

I haven't made my card just yet, I can't decide what stamp to use!! Uggg...Nami has created so many cute and beautiful flowers that I want to show all of them off and I can't, ain't no body got time for that ;)

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions. If there's a particular DeNami stamp you'd like to see used or a certain themed card for some inspiration, just drop me a note or leave me a comment.

Thanks for stopping by!!