Make : Your Own Sorta-Letterpress* Paper

Don't work on a project when you're tired +other experiments hacking my Sizzix

the rejected banner, not that the other one is perfect, neither turned
out the way I wanted it to look.

Tried something new out for the banner --you know it's true what research says -- working on something when you're sleepy doesn't produce good results. I finally had to close the file {I was nodding off so bad --} and call it a night at 1:30am -- Even after looking at it again I'm pretty sure I should just delete and start over. I'll try it when I'm not so sleepy.

Make : Your Own Sorta-Letterpress** Background Paper
What I wanted to show was the background paper -- -that is actually a "de-embossed" image. Or "de-bossed" ???-- I heard that phrase the other day. Either way its the the opposite side of the paper once you run it through the die cut machine while using an embossing folder. This is what I affectionately refer to as hacking my sizzix.

Tools used : original sizzix machine, cuttlebug embossing template {Damask}, ivory cardstock and pink inkpad.

The thinking one day was this -- wouldn't it be cool if I could do my own letterpress here at home without having to invest in one of those cool vintage letter presses or whatever they use to get those super awesome crisp designs. Why, if they could put silkscreening in a cute do-it-yourself-at-home kit like the Gocco {So much to Love about Japanese design!!!} couldn't someone come up with something like a desktop letterpress kit? hint, hint someone. Um, Hello, Japan, we need your design savvy here.

Enter the Sizzix {the original one} - it's essentially a press so I thought I could try this experiment out. I used cardstock from a scrapbooking project. The biggest paper size you can go to looks to be about 4x6 or greeting card size, or the size of the cutting pad, embossing folders come in all sizes. {sorry, I don't measure anything, sorta like I cook}

1. First I inked the raised design on the cuttlebug template with a pink ink pad. The ink will collect in the pressed down areas of the design. That's the cool part.

2. Working on your cutting pad, slide the paper in the embossing folder. You want the raised, inked design to be above the paper. Which means you put the embossing folder on the cutting pad the opposite way the real instructions tell you to.

3. When the paper is lined up where you want it, carefully close the folder on the cutting pad and slide the whole cutting pad {which has your paper+template on it} under the "press." Careful not to shift anything.

4. Press the whole design in place, the larger embossing folders require you to make several presses to get the whole design. Make sure not to shift the paper and folder, otherwise the design might not line up.

5. Remove cardstock from embossing folder and Admire your sorta-like-letterpress* paper! {Above} See how the ink gets inside the nooks and crannies?

{this one {above} was accidentally "pressed" twice so the texture is not as prominent -- but I wanted to show the right side of the template {named : Damask} it is one of the most elegant from cuttlebug.}

**sort of like letterpress, but not, close though.

Enjoy, try it out if you have a sizzix!

Make a flower loom embellishment

It was so fun to create this -- I took some pics to show how it works, the loom instructions come with the loom when you buy it, but here's my version:

[1] knifty knitter and yarn of choice, go 1 yard or more for a full effect, leave a bit of a tail looped around the first peg {the one that sticks out at the side, not the top} for a knot later
[2] begin looping around the pegs at opposite sides from each other, I made some mistakes here at first, couldn't tell. I do believe it is fool-proof. loops will look like a figure "8"
[3] once you go all around, I do some loops twice for the full effect, begin taking the remaining yarn and weave in and up through the middle of the flower to make the center
[4] tuck the last bit inside and down into the back of the flower and flip over the loom, now you have two ends
[5] tie both non-looped ends into a knot, the tail you left at the beginning and the remaining end piece
[6] now the fun part -- begin taking all the pegs off and you can see your handiwork coming to fruition
[7] little hands always like to come by and interrupt..um I mean help out, I keep him busy putting the pegs back in the little holes :)
[8] and [9] fluff it up and admire your cute flower embellishment. You handmade maven you :)

The finished flower is about 2.75in across. You can cut the remaining tail off if you like -- I like it cause it looks like a flower. I've also thought about attaching this to a pin back so it can be worn on a sweater. I can see this on a scrapbook page for my daughter too.

One week ago...

I started a blog post....then the kids got sick. Do I need to say more? Can't believe how time flies when you have a good idea in your head. Or, how the idea never really comes back full force the second time you try to express it. So, I had a pretty busy week and weekend with no, repeat, NO! fun creative time in between. Could make me cranky, if I let it.

I ended up just jotting down my thoughts in my idea journal and in a quick word document until I could get back here.

So, from the book of scribbles, I add here....

Tuesday Oct/ 9

#1 today

I sit remembering all the things I thought about in the car ride today.

Things I wanted to blog about --- my brain starts to wander and all of a sudden I have a blog post, but no where to record it. It’s a dilemma.
I think I should get one of those mini voice recorders so I can just talk into it with all my ramblings. Today I chuckled as I thought about that. It would make me feel ultra cool & hip. Like I was on some secret agent mission. Sprinkle in little Jason Bourne aka Matt Damon. And what if I had me some of that secret spy gear stuff on. On the other end, a person with a first letter for a name would receive my transmission.

That’s it - I gotta get one of those.

#2 today

I thought about redundancy in my life. I was returning a fleece blanket at the store. Why did I feel like I needed more blankets/throws? Why do I have so much stuff? I mean, why do I keep buying the same thing over and over? Well, in the case of cool plates and bowls and platters shaped like leaves, I love to collect those. But blankets? Really, I didn’t need anymore.

#3 today

There are some brand new ideas I have in mind for my blog and it all started with the idea from her newsletter of sharing what you love to create, or sharing how you create something. So, mainly staying true to scrapbooking, cardmaking and handmade art related stuff I will be adding some ideas called:

Today’s Doodle Not one everyday, but I find that while I am on the internet or chatting it up on the phone I am in some extreme-doodling zone, some are cool, some are just plain goofy, some bring more inspiration. Why not add them here.

How-I-Do Not a how-to, there are plenty of those out there, but more of a- this-is-how-I-do-it thing. I find that sometimes I try to re-create a card look I see in a magazine, but I might not have all the same materials. So its been a way of using inspiration I find in other places and brainstorming on how the same idea can be applied to a card or scrapbook page using a different technique. I simply think that I do this sometimes to save a little money since I can't go buy ALL the stamps/pretty paper I love, and there are just soooo many I fall in love with. Or maybe, a little bit of that DIY in me that comes from growing up with a mom who wanted to make everything from scratch [she still does-she thinks its very "practical"]

Still working on the names {actually, I’m liking those now}

I will find some of the latest doodles in the idea notebook and post it next.
The how-I-do will probably be the project I'm into now, which is Christmas cards.