My Banner Business

My craft space is in my unfinished basement. It allows me to be messy, and not ruin the finish on anymore furniture. Yes, I've done that! I have a lot of stuff. A couple of weeks a go, it was time for my yearly termite inspection.

The man asked if I had a small business! It is time to downsize.
Back to crafting - I have been working on some banners. This one is for a first birthday. I couldn't find patterned paper I liked for the cupcake icing. I decided to emboss the top with my cuttlebug for some interest.


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10 Things - April

For Lent I gave up spending money on anything not necessary. I allowed my self to buy an outfit for scholarship dinner. So I had to use supplies on hand. I should add that my basement looks a small craft store. So for my first 10 Things, I picked the the 10 craft products/items I use the most. There's no particular order.

Cricut expression - I use it all the time. I started with the small cricut then upgraded.

Cuttlebug - I use it with embossing folders and metal dies.

Stampin up card stock - It's smooth great for stamping and you can't see through it when you stamp on the other side after a mistake.

Stamps- wood mounted, cling, acrylic - I collect them all!

6X6 paper pads - They are great for people like me who have a hard time with patterned paper. There a whole lot easier than using a large background stamp

Cropadile - the key is having it accessible. It even works on adding a hole to a leather sandal! I've been using mine to punch holes in banners.

Background noise- iPod dock /radio and TV. I need something in the background when I craft.

Xyron Create a Sticker -It's great for all those small die cuts.

Ink- You cant just have one type, but I use dye based 90% of the time.

Markers - I have several brands.

When I first started stamping I had a Versamark pad Stampin up pastels and paper-that was it!







This card uses a stamp, ink, marker, patterned paper, Stampin Up white card stock, and my Cricut. Happy Birthday was one stamp and I colored it each word separately with marker to stamp. I used 6 of the items on my list!!!

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Welcome April

A month has gone by and only one post. One of my project 2012 goals was to post once a week.
My first quarter excuses:

January - I was focused on my Mom's party.

February - I recovered from my Mom's party! I was actually sick and missed a couple days of work.

Which brings me to March

My house has been for sale for almost a year with no offers. It really is a cute starter or start over home. The last person who looked at it said he didn't like the kitchen - and I told my realtor neither do I! She suggested I paint the kitchen cabinets because they were blue. So I painted them white which really helped. Then I looked at my lovely fake wood peel and stick tiles. I told a friend I wanted to replace them. She said she could help me lay ceramic tile. She and her wonderful husband gave up a weekend to tile. I had decided to add cabinets above the refrigerator and stove so I could attach a microwave. Th My kitchen is only 8 by 12 with 3 doorways, so getting rid of the microwave cart helped. I really love my kitchen now!

the new cabinets and microwave

the shelves are new too

The Craft Scrubbie does get off latex paint really well!

I hope to do some serious crafting in April along with some yard work.

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No more multitasking

My goal was to start listing 10 on the 10th of each month like Shimelle. Well, I would first have to know it's the 10th of the month! So I am now aiming for April! I mentioned the Craft Scrubbie a few months ago. Yes - it works on latex paint! I have been sprucing up my kitchen. I painted the kitchen cabinets white - next is the floor. Not much stamping going on these days. The older I get the less I can multitask, although that may not be a bad thing. I did make a birthday card for my Uncle. I think I've used this stamp on every card I've made for a man this past year.


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Goodbye February- welcome March!

I know February is a short month, but it's a blur! I was focused on my Mom's birthday party in January. I was sick half of February. Didn't craft much. So I'm looking forward to March. I decided to give up unnecessary shopping for Lent! I even went to Archivers and bought only eat I needed for project.


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The Party's Over

My mom's 80th Birthday party was a huge success.  The decorations looked nice. How did I ever plan a party without Pinterest.The ideas are endless.This rosette is actually 13 inches in diameter. I cut the paper 4 inch wide strips and scored them. Then I put them together.

 

 

Here are some things that worked  well. 

Decorations 

Once I chose a color palette, I picked a paper line, Echo Park Victorian Garden. Everything coordinated. My friend, who is a patterned paper wizard was very helpful. It made it easier to add other paper. I am somewhat patterned paper impaired. After making the first 80 paper flowers, I realized I could add the stem to the last layer. The flowers are from the Cricut cartridge Flower Shoppe. The stems are are from the craft department at Walmart. The centers for the flowers I found in the cake decorating department at Michael's. I used  foam tape between each layer. For the banner, I cut 5 1/2 inch scalloped circles. The letters were 4 inches high.

 

 

 

Guest book 

I used a calendar as the guest book - Pinterest. It was something I had never seen at an event. My mom now has a record of her friends birthdays.

Photographing the event

Assign a person to be the photographer. You can buy a memory card for the person if they're using their own camera. When the event is over, you have all the photos. My brother uploaded the photos onto his lap top before he left town. The down side - I don't have many photos yet. 

Celebrate

This past week has been tough! It was hard to get back on track after Christmas break. Right now, I'm taking the Cathy Zilske class at Big picture, move more eat well. I watched the first video. So that's a start right? I've already changed my word for one little word. It was fun. It is now celebrate. I want to celebrate the little events. Working on my mom's birthday, made me realize that life is to be embraced and enjoyed. It almost makes me want to do project life or a project 360.- ALMOST! I also signed up a for a a declutter calendar . There's more- I signed up for Jennifer McGuire's new class through her blog.This is my third class. This might be a lightbulb moment - doing assignments for her class are fun. It's not homework. Hmmmm. Not sure what that says about some of the other classes I've taken. I'm still making flowers for Mom's birthday party. Hopefully I will have pictures soon. I know - I'm a hot mess!