Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy holidays everyone! Sorry I wasn't able to be here for the merry holidays, I just got off a two day plane trip across the world. See everyone next post!

Writing

I love writing, and I created www.littleorangemagazine.blogspot.com to pass on the passion to others. Check it out, I added a ton of new articles to help any young writer out. I'm a young writer too, and techniquely, Little Orange Magazine is my blog for my self-discovery journey. If you have a blog, grab my button!

<center><a href="www.littleorangemagazine.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Kim Fruitheads" src="http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Fruitheads586119/LittleOrangeMagazineButton.jpg"/></a></center>

I'm super excited because, I was able to open up both Go Brushes and Little Orange Magazine on Google, and since then, m Little Orange Magazine has 9 times its number of views in only 1 day! Anyway, I'm going to take a small break on crafting to persue the writing for a little bit. Don't worry, I'll be back. I'm working on a new homemade journal to show. Oh, wait a second, I'm uploading a photo of the first card i ever made with the SIlhouette Portrait!

When Your Cutting Mat Becomes Unsticky...

Grab a semi-heavy duty gluestck, and apply a coat over the part of the mat you want to use. Don't coat areas you will not be using, becaause the glue will dry pretty soon, and parts you don;t use will be wasted. Happy crafting, see everyone next time, and thanks for reading! Bye!

Silhouette Tip!

Yeah, it has only been one day, but I've been busy crafting and experimenting with my new craft tool. Another thing I've found is that when cutting regular copy paper (like this new Christmas card I'm making!), use the blade depth of 1, cut, then select cut again. This strngly minimizes the damage experience to your cutting mat. When I used the blade depth of 2, there were lotsof deep engraved cuts on my mat. On the other hand, when I cut with the blade depth of 1 only once, the design wasn't quite ready to peel off yet. Thanks for reading, and stay tune for my first ever card made with my silhouette!

When Cutting...

One of the main reasons why I love my Silhouette Portrait is because of its ability to not only cut purchased/cartridge images, but also free random ones. For example, if  you wanted a flat tree to cut for a project, all you would have to do is go to Google Images, type up (preferably clip art trees, so that ts easier for the software to recognize the borderlines, save image as, open (in the software), trace image in whatever way you want, and then you're done! Here's a link to a website that offers trillions of free downloadable fonts you can use to cut from your slhouette: http://www.dafont.com/ !

Silhouette Arrival

Yay! My Slhouette Portrait came on Wednesday- five days earlier than I thought it would. When I came home, I saw to my delight that a Silhouette-sized cardboard box was stading in the doorway. Before dong anything else, I seized the box and tumbled into the living room to open the box's contents- careful to leave everything in order in case the need of a return should arrive. Anyways, the Sihouette is so much smaller and lighter than I thught it was- even with the specific measurements they gave o ther website. In cmparison, it's as wide as an average MSI laptop, as wide as an iphone, and when you close the lid, almost as tall  as a laptop. So, I read and reread and reread the owner's manual before taking off the machine's tape, putting on the blade, and connecting the wires. I was scared that the Silhouette Studio software might not work b/c I was downloading it onto the laptop, but everything was great (downloading took only  minutes in total). I registered my portrait, but when I opened the Studio, I dismally found out that the fifty free shapes that said were "preloaded into the machine" was nowhere to be found in my Library! I spent three hours trying to figure that out! (You just have to cut an image so that the softare recognizes your machine and downloads the shapes down. ) The first cut  made were from Google Images- pillow box templates. I'm excited to make some perfectly cut cards! Bye, and thanks for reading!

P.S. From now on. you can all rest assured that the cards created on this blog will be prettier and more fabulous than before- thanks to my new best friend.

Silhouette Portrait!!!!!!!!

The

Silhouette America store is having amazing sales! During Black Friday, with the help of some select promo codes, you could get 40% off almost all of its products. Well, unforetunately, that didn't apply to the very awesome cutting machines. However, with Linda Kaiser's code, I got $20 off my Silhouette Portrait (190$ total )- a deal's a deal. I BOUGHT A SILHOUETTE! Anyway, it said that it would take about 2 weeks for the shipment to arrive (just in time to do Christmas cards:). and I'm just sitting here anxiously waiting! To pass some portrait-less time, I spent a few timeless hours planning out what 10 shapes to buy with my 10$ gift card that the machine comes with. There are so many jaw-dropping shapes and patterns to choose from! Did you know that their store carries 3-D crafts? Well, the new Christmas-themed ones are fantabulous! There's these pretty ornaments, words in frames, a merry-go-round, pillow boxes, shadow boxes, frame arts, plus thousands more! I think the Silhouette artists really outdid themselves designing this branch of shapes! If you hurry, you can still purchase all your shapes for 50% off, 20$ off the Portrait, around 220$ for the Cameo plus the design studio software. Great sales await- of course, now I have to cut back  bit on additional craft shopping, but it sure is worth it! I can't wait to post all the fun I have with this new machine!

P.S. Silhouettes are perfect for crafting because, you  don't have to buy any cartridges- you can cut anything you can paste into teh Silhouette software- which is virtually everything!

Image above is credited to Silhouette America.

Have a yummy day everyone (I/m eating noodles. SLURRP!)

A Bowl of Ice Cream

Winter's coming, and its time to start making gifts for eeryone! This year, I'm giving everyone a dessert-realated gift- who doesn't like sweets? Here are the first three charms I've created...

A Bowl of Ice Cream!

A Honeybun!

And, a Chocolate Chip Cookie!

Don't they look yummy enough to eat?  These, by the way, were made with colored Play Dough and will soon be glazed with glossy clear glue. I'll keep you guys posted on more of my dessert charms. Until then...
Have a sweet day, and see everyone next post!

Paint Markers? From Elmars

Yes, there are such things. I was at Walmart looking for more of those amazing journalism pens from Elmars, but apparantly, Walmart doesn't carry them. However, I stumbled across these markers that look similar and decided to buy the prettiest pack (they are also sold individually at the sam unit price)- the Sherbet Swirl pack (I know I spelled the title wrong in my last card post guys...:) plus a gold paint marker. Apparantly, these markers are filled with real acrylic paint, yet works just like a marker. Confirmed! The paint in these arkers are just like regular acrylic- they are a bit thicker than water- based markers, so you have to make several layers for full coverage, dry quickly, and don't let you see your streaks. That's good. The sad thing is they do bleed on copy paper after about 2 layers. They don't bleed if you let the first 2 layers dry, then add your other layers accordingly. And like paint, the paint does occaisionally pick up, but not much. Now for the gold...

• Bleeds slightly and strangely evenly after one layer of color
• Great, solid coverage-like a journalism pen
• Semi-shiny aka does imitate gold lining
• You have to shake and press down often!

Caution: The tips of these markers are pretty soft, so if you poke like a needle on it, there will be a hole!

They work lightly on wood, ceramic, pottery, metal. paper, plstic, fabrics, and glass?
Hmm, I wonder how well they work on glass... be back in a moment to test this out...
Verdict: They do work! However, the coverage is semi-solid, and easily removable.

All in all, pretty great buy!

Hope this helps with any qualms you have against purchasing paint markers- oh, and they're $2.50 each.

Have a good day, and see everyone next post!

Changing With the Season

I'm pleased to announce that Go Brushes has just undergo a fabulous make-over...

Well, actually, it has only changed wallpaper, but I like to think of it as mood-altering. Now, this blogpage has more of a warm, wintery feeling to it. I think I might change this blog's skins every season for fun from now on. What do you think? Leave a comment on my blog! Thanks and see everyone next post!

Just A Note Card

Here's an adorable adaptation of a card I found on Scrapbook.com's card gallery (so much inspiration there!) I cut out a 4.5" by 5" rectangle out, and folded it horizontally. Setting up the pre-card up long ways, i cut out a sky blue cardstock square (2.5" by 3.3") and pasted it onto the top half of the card. Next, I cut a 4" by .4" tan construction paper strip with  Xacto 's tiara-edge scissors. I creased every centimetre to create ruffles on the strip before liquid-gluing it (glue stick won't work). With an Elmar's acrylic paint marker (spring green in the Sherbert Swirl pack), I wrote the word "Hi" in large print on the card, and with a blue acrylic marker, I drew blue flowers on the bottom half of the card. The last step was to use a smooth shading technique to add hints of dark brown and finish off the flowers and the card.

This is a great card for a "Just Because" messege you want to give to the wonderful people in your life! Have an marvelific day, and see everyone next post!

Let It Snow!

I "shop-lifted" this extremely adorable card layout from My Paper Secret at www.mypapersecret.blogspot.com. I used silver and gold acrylic paint markers from Elmars to create the snowflakes, and black for the sentiment. The red edge was from red Crayola color pencil blended with mineral spirits (I'll do a post on that later). I drew and cut out the snowman, using mineral spirits to blend again- and glued half a pom pom on the stomach. Then, I glued it onto the sentiment's tag. You canh't really see it, but the image is also attached to a foggy piece of plastic. The whole piece was mounted onto the base card.

Yeah, I know its not Christmas, yet, but making Christmas cards is so addicting!

Tea Card

Hi everyone! It's good to be back- I still have a mountain amount of homework to do, but escaped for a few minutes to share with you guys this card I made a few days ago. I created this spotted red tea card with beige rectangles, and a tied brown ribbon. I actually cut a slit through the left (took a minute to know) to string the brown ribbon around. When I give this to someone, I'll probably stick a moss-rimmed tag under the bottom of the ribbon- like an actual gift!
Have a stress-free day and see everyone next post.

First Video EVER!

Some exciting news- I just managed to get the video box on my webcam working, so get ready for Go Brushes' first ever craft video! It's going to be about a really cool way to manipulate plastic and make cool charms in seconds...Plus, there's many more where that came from! See you next post!

Please Leave A Comment!

For the next few months, I'll be super busy. Therefore, the posts from Go Brushes will probably be diminishing greatly. However, I'll definitely try to post and craft as often as possible. There just hasn't been much time since school started (:  Plus, whenever you visit my blog, please remember to leave a comment! I'll reply if I see it! Another thing; I know I said I was inspired by the dessert-themed bath item crafts and stuff and would post when I succeeded in a craft attempt- I haven't even gotten to that yet-sorry!

I'm part of this publication thing, and if any of you guys are looking for advertising opportunities at low costs (around $200), please leave a comment to let me know, so we can discuss the matter. Plus, just to let you know, any ad space purchase will contribute to an organization. Thanks for your consideration!

Thanks for reading, and see everyone next post! LEAVE A COMMENT! Thanks (: I'm kin of in a page view and comments competition with my siblings, so I'm counting on you guys.

Mini Cards

A lot of the cards I showcase here are usually just for display. To prevent wasting too much paper, I make mini cards instead of traditionally-sized cards. They're about 3 by 5" when unfolded, and half the size when folded to make a card. You can use the standard index card as a template. Plus, I usually only decorate the front of card with special paper, not the back or insides. Just thought to let you know.

Have a good day (surprisingly, I haven't ever used this greeting), and see you next post.

Gift/Card? Both!

Here's a cute card my sister designed that I adapted from:

Don't you just love the layout and design?

See you next post...until them...have another yummy day!

Hello Butterflies

When I saw this card in the Paper Crafts magazine, I just had to adapt. At the time, I didn't have any of the right patterned paper (ironically, I received a pack as a gift the next day), so I had to draw the background from white color pencil. The images were cut from random blue patterned paper scraps.
 Here's the front view:

And here's the view from the inside panel- when you unfold the card:

See everyone next post!

Who Wants Doughnuts?

My brother loves doughnuts so, as a card, I decided to replicate a doughnut box!

I don't know if you guys can see it, but under the "window," I attached a layer of clear plastic (its a part of a sandwich bag) to reassemble the clear plastic on a real doughnut box. For the doughnut images, I used Renovations' doughnut paper from Michaels'.

Here's the inside view:

Have a yummy day (am still eating those peppermint balls I mentioned Friday!) and see everyone next post!

Another Good Apples

As I've mentioned in my profile page, I have a thing for fruits. I've made fruit charms, cards, stuffed fruits, a fruit book, and fruit stickers-I'll be sure to post them all if I can find them! Anyway, here's another apple LOL card...

Best Thing: I like the side ribbons and the apple.

Worst Thing: There's something...that isn't quite right-maybe there's not enough colors...

LOL: I honestly don't know! LOL

P.S. That last LOL was a true laugh out loud.

I'm A Good Apple

Just another Learning Our Lessons card that I 've found to share...

Note: This card wasn't inspired from anything; it was actually the forst card I made without ideas from other cards. In a way, this was a milestone card for me.

Best Thing: The dots (made from a white-out pen mentioned in a Just Doodling post) makes the card more fun!

Worst Thing: There is an unnecessary item on the ribbonline of the card.

LOL: Not all cards need bows!

Have a fun day, and see everyone next post!

Folding Tape

Here's an less costly alternative to adhesive squares: Fold a piece of one-sided tape (I've tried double- sided when I ran out of the regular kind, and it is NOT the same) over into a circle. You can use your finger as a sort of template. Wrap the nonstick part of the tape around your finger once, then when the ends meet, stick them together, so you end up with a circle. Just stick it on to the paper you want to prop, and stick it on a surface. The good thing about this is that even when you press down, it won't flatten down or anything.

Do you understand everything? Yeah, its a little difficult to describe it in words! But, anyway, there you have it. Have a fun day, and see you guys next post!

Welcome to the World!

My aunt's starting a family, and she and her husband are celebrating the health of their three new babies! So, I decided to make them this card and carriage to bring even more merriment!

When I finished the card, I did a super happy dance! Why? Because I had to hand cut the letters, hearts, and picture! I'm happy with the card result, although there's something about that carriage-I think its too close to the sun! LOL!

For the paper carriage, I used paper from Colorbox's Sweet Home pack and pink construction paper. I used tan construction paper for the base of the card (7 by 24 cm, and folded down vertically). For the bottom of card, I used the striped paper form the Sweet Home pack roughly 7 cm. The pack also comes with border paper, which I cut the red HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS strip, and used as a ribbon. For the top half of the card, I cut the word "FAMILY," and other images- careful to leave a border around each image. (Plus, I cut holes in some of the images or letter, as you can see.) For added oomph, I did the folding tape technique (for more info, see "Folding Tape" in Tips) to raise each of the cut images. Hope you and my aunt and uncle will enjoy it! Have a cool (b/c its super hot out where I live) day, and see everyone next post!

Peppermint Candy

I love peppermint candy, and have been meaning to make some for quite some time. So, when I finally got the chance to do it...I didn't just double or triple the recipe, I quadrupled it! I now have what you have to call a butt load (hahahaha) of soft candy. Anyway, I have to say, I am extremely tired of peppermint now, but on the bright side, I think the candy turned out pretty well. Here's the recipe...(quantities for 1/4 of my original recipe)

Ingredients...

• 5/8 Cp. Powdered Sugar
• 4 oz. Cream Cheese
• Wax Paper
• Mixing bowl
• Food Coloring
• Almost Forgot the Most Important Part: 1 tsp. Peppermint Extract!

Instructions:

1. Knead the cream cheese and extract together in the bowl.
2. Slowly add the sugar to the mixture, and knead until you have a smooth and thick dough.
3. Roll the dough into a ball. Take away half, and set on the wax paper.
4. Add 2 drops of food coloring into the dough inside the bowl. Knead well.
5. Roll both balls into a long roll, emulating a snake shape.
6. Attach the colored roll into the white roll. Cut each individual piece about 1/2 in. each. Roll each into little balls, and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
7. Stores for up to 2 weeks.

Have a sweet day, and see everyone next post!

Suddenly Beautiful...

Hahaha, almost. I was incredibly inspired by the products and themes in Open Sundae's Canada- exclusive bath item store. The owner, Mashiah Vaughn, came up with some great products in there! You can view her blog here. Anyway, I'm going to be experimenting with a lot of different related crafts, and will post any successes! Thanks for reading, and have a fantawesome day. See everyone next post.

Be Green!

Here's a card I made- inspired from a scrapbook layout I found online- for my sister's birthday. This post was originally meant to be an LOL, but I got too lazy!(: Got tired from a bunch of candy-making this morning... turned out deliscious, but I almost fainted when I had to tatse some because I made soooooooooooo many! Anyway, thanks for reading and have a marvelous day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Here's an awesome card my sister made for our father for his birthday! I love the colors and layout she used. Here's a link to her blog: www.aniftytip.blogspot.com
I can't believe she actually hand-cut the word "dad" on this card- it looks so neat! You did a great job, sis!
Have a terrific day everyone, and see you next post!

Peppermint Extract

Here are a few fun facts and tips on Peppermint Extract, enjoy!

• Smelling it can relieve light migraines
• Rubbing it on your stomach can help aches in that area go away
• You can add it to candies and icing for fun desserts
• Spray a light coat over gifts for an scintilating and cool waft sure to be a hit among other presents!
• You can also use it to scent bath items, and things.
• This extract has alcohol in it (edible) and is clear, so it won't stain any surface, or leave it wet (however, the peppermint scent will be left behind).

I love peppermint scents! Have a great day, and see everyone next post!

Chips

Potato chips are one of the most fun chips to snack on ever! Here's a super simple recipe on how to make them right in your home! (Even though not especially attractive, they're still super yummy!)

               Ingrediants:

• Cutting Board
• Meat Knife (or another type of heavy knife)
• Lots of Paper Towels or Napkins
• 1 Potato
• Plate
• 2 Bowls
• Salt to taste
• Garlic Powder to Taste
• Canola Oil

On Your Marks, Get Set, Chips!

1. Wash and peel your potato. Pat dry with paper napkin.
2. Set on cutting board, and chop ends off. Then, slice the vegetable as thinly as you can.
3. Pat dry each slice. (Not as laborious as it sounds with one potato! :)
4. Spray/brush a moderate coat of oil on the plate.
5. Set a slice of potato on each empty spot on your plate. Space each out evenly.
6. Pop in the microwave for about 1 minute on HIGH power.
7. Watch the cooking process closely. At around, 30 sec., the slices will start to resemble chips. If any are already crispy, pause the microwave, and lay chips out on paper towel.
8. Repeat "frying" process until all your chips are chips. Remember to re-oil generously each time, or the chips will stick to your plate.
9. Use napkin to take off excess oil from each chip.
10. Toss chips in bowl, and sprinkle in 3 pinches salt and 1 pinch garlic powder. Lightly mix chips and powders together. Shake off excess favoring as needed, and put on napkin on another bowl.
11. Eat chips (just in case you forgot to! LOL)

Yeah, these chips aren't the healthiest on the block, so please be careful and monitor your inputs. Have a yummy day, and see everyone next post!

Silver Bells and Bobtails

This is a featured LOL card. They may be a bit boring and fails at being attractive greeting cards (they're the first cards I ever made), but they teach valuable paper crafting lessons. Go Brushes presents...Learning Our Lessons...

Best Thing: I like the circle frame.

Worst Thing: The swirls drawn in the middle seem to fade into the card.

LOL: The swirls drawn in the middle need to pop out more.

Yah!

This is a featured LOL card. They may be a bit boring and fails at being attractive greeting cards (they're the first cards I ever made), but they teach valuable paper crafting lessons. Go Brushes presents...Learning Our Lessons...

Best Thing: I like the color theme.

Worst Thing: The card design is too simple in this case. Plus the messege in the middle of this card- what was wrong with me? LOL

LOL: Simplicity isn't always better. Plus, sometimes, card centers desperately need cutouts.

Flowery Thank-you

This is a featured LOL card. They may be a bit boring and fails at being attractive greeting cards (they're the first cards I ever made), but they teach valuable paper crafting lessons. Go Brushes presents...Learning Our Lessons...

Best Thing: The color scheme works well.

Worst Thing: It feels like something's missing. Like more flowers or something.

LOL: I need more flowers here.

When Drawing...

  Everyone always say that drawing isn't about how well you do it, its about how much fun you have. WRONG! Well, at least in my opinion, anyway. Personally, I get discouraged in drawing unless I'm doing a good job. If you're like me, keep these drawing tips in mind when you are Just Doodling.

1. Always know what you're about to draw. You don't have to plan out everything, just know what you want to generate some self-excitement.
2. Draw out everything in pencil. You don't have to worry about being neat, just do a quick outline.
3. Go back with a pen or marker and retrace your sketch in all the places you want.
4. Erase your pencil marks.

Of course, if you mess up with the pen, whip out your handy white-out pen. Have a great day, and see everyone next post.

New Features

Great News, I recently added the Blog Archives list and Follwer's features! Now, navigation through this blog is easier and faster, and you can now join Go Brushes! Thanks, and have a wonderiffic day!

Birdhouse Card

I liked the format of this card the second I found it on scrapbook.com's card gallery. I used a piece of dark brown paper from Colorbok's Sweet Home paper pack. Then, I border-cut a piece of zigzagged, moss colored paper a bit smaller than half of the card. Then, I had to hand cut three circles in the rectangle (this is where the craft knife comes in handy). Then, I cut some yellow triangles out of construction paper, and glued one on each circle. I used a black journaling pen to draw some legs on the circle. Next, I cut a thin strip of tan paper, and glued it over the moss rectangle. Lastly, I finished the card with a the circular framed- birdhouse from the same paper pack. I think this card looks nice, don;t you? Well, have a nice day, and see you next post!

Yummy Stars

Note: Who knows about the title, but everytime I look at the sprinkled star on this card, I get hungry for frosted sugar cookies!

I was inspired to make this card from a similar card at scrapbook.com's card gallery. I used whiteout on the first star's design on a bright red paper. I used a white star over a red star in the second star, and drew sprinkles over it. The markers I used were the same colors form the dots I colored on an orange dotted paper. Then, I cut a red paper ribbon over the blue paper. Then, I put a birthday ribbon under the cookie star. The design was Xtreme- glued on a tan-piece of paper.Did I mention how much I love this card? It's so cute. Hope you like this card, and have a marvelsome day!

I Don't Know What I Was Thinking!

I'll write the best and worst things about the card as well as the most important technique I learned from making it! Yeah, these cards are pretty boring- but don't laugh, I just started when I made these! I call these posts Learning Our Lessons- or LOL! Enjoy!

Best Thing: The soft color theme is cute, and the snowflakes make it even more adorable.

Worst Thing: The clouds in the center of the card are barely recognizable. I was trying out a new staining technique I just learned, and didn't do such a hot job on the borders! (:

LOL: I won't be able to get off the hook by using a dish washing sponge- I need to use a real ink sponge (the crafts kind without all the holes) to border stain.

Flowers for the Blue

I'll write the best and worst things about the card as well as the most important technique I learned from making it! Yeah, these cards are pretty boring- but don't laugh, I just started when I made these! I call these posts Learning Our Lessons- or LOL! Enjoy!

Best Thing: The color theme is so pretty (forgive me for complimenting my own card, but you know...)! Plus the layout is just adorable! I also really like the smoky strip of teal paper in the center of the card!

Worst Thing: The lined design rectangle on the card should have a dark teal on it to pull the dark teal overtones of the card together. The little area under the large flower feels a little empty.

LOL: This was one of my best beginner card, I like thios color theme, and when making a card, its important to look for empty spaces afterwards.

Sweet Friend

I'll write the best and worst things about the card as well as the most important technique I learned from making it! Yeah, these cards are pretty boring- but don't laugh, I just started when I made these! I call these posts Learning Our Lessons- or LOL! Enjoy!

I got an idea for this card from Paper Crafts magazine.

Best Thing: I love the simple, almost hidden look of this card. The image of the birds are pretty cute!

Worst Thing: The birds are too light.

LOL: You can't use color pencil lightly over the center of attention on a card, and expect it to pop out, you have to ink it!

Ultimate Pen Pack- At the Bargain Price!

When doodling, I like to have a bunch of pop-out colors at my disposal. This awesome pack of Papermate pens include an almost erfect range of fun colors to draw from. Plus, they dry quickly, and don't rub off like a pencil or crayon! This specific pack of pens actually had two pens per color (except black), but if you don't want to buy such a large pack of pens, I'm sure they sell in smaller packs. (The other pens, I used to make my writing draqfts more colorful!)

This is a white-out pen from Better Everyday that I bought from the dollar store. I like the price, but it does take a bit of patience to work with. It tells you to store it upright, but I have found that this slows down the ink flow evey time I open the pen. So, I recommend storing it upside down. Plus, every time you use it, be sure to shake it up, and test it every time on a piece of scratch paper to encourage the ink flow. Why would you need to use this when doodling you ask- well, besides covering up mistakes, you can also use this to make white designs on the paper, unless its white. I do it all the time! Oh, and one more thing: this ink takes like 20 seconds to completely dry, so plan ahead!

Pretty colors, huh? Yeah, glitter pens are super fun to use when doodling. They kind of make your drawings more magical! I got this pack at the dollar store, and it still works great. The only thing I'm concerned about, however, is that the ink is really thin. The result that goes on the paper is dark and glittery, but just a small draw relieves 2 millimeters of ink! So, I have to use it wisely. Plus, I'm looking around to find more colors to buy! I store these in an upright position to reduce unnecessary ink flow to the cap.

I saved the best pens for last! I loovee journaling pens! These particular ones are from Elmar's and I got each separately for $2.50. The tip is thick, but have a thin edge to them. The thin edge is thin, but not especially fine. However, I rarely use the pens because, they're so precious. :) When you first get them, you have to shake pretty the marker pretty well and do this often to get a consistent flow of ink. PLus, the first time you use them, you have to press down a bit to encourage the ink to go down. The thing that I love about them is that they produce such an amazing color- so vibrant and dark that they actually look like they've been printed! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE this effect. The silver pen dries pretty quickly (you can actually see the color get lighter when it dries), shimmers, and is a pretty light color. The black pen takes 10 whole seconds to dry, but produces awing, print worthy marks. Here's a picture of the inks in thick and thin line:

Here are the different thicknesses. There are a bunch more, and I guess you just have to experiment a little to find the perfect font. Plus, I store these upright to prevent unnecessary ink flow to the caps.

This was a super long post, and whew- we're done! Have a drawable day, and see you next post!

Wonderiffic Gluestick

The Elmar's Xtreme gluesticks claim they can be used for heavy-duty pasting on surfaces like poster paper and paper, and they're right! These things are stick three times better than ordinary gluesticks, and takes a bit longer to dry out so you have more time to adjust the glued paper. They sell for about a dollar a stick in a pack of three. I love using these, because they combine the durability of liquid paste and the even distributiion of a gluestick!

Xacto Knife and Mat

More than just regular scissors and a ruler, a craft knife and mat are practically essentials to paper crafting!  What I love about this particular mat (Xacto- 12$) is that it-

• has a "sticky" back side, so the mat stays firmly in place on your work surface when you're working.
• has a lightly "rubbery" front so your paper doesn't slide while you work.
• has inches, half, and quarter inches marked out all over the board, so you know exactly how large your paper is.
• has degree markings across the board
• can be used to correctly align a ruler, so you can easily cut/mark a straight line, and know it won't be slanted or something
• has a very durable surface, so you can cut paper on it all you want, and the mat will definitely protect your desk
• about four millimeters in thickness

The knife (Xacto, about $2.50) is handy because-

• Sharp blade that cuts paper easily and mostly smoothly
• you can use it to cut something anywhere on a piece of paper without having to poke a hole around the area or cut the paper from the side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*The blade does dull within a week of moderate cutting, however, the dulled blade is easily to work with- if you accidentally cut out of line, it probably won't cut through the area much, The dulled blade still cuts one sheet of regular printer paper easily, however.
Most scrap booking stores also sell replacement blades, blade caps, and knife grips for your convenience, too!

Have a funtastic day!

Just Doodling!

I recently saw a picture-animated commercial on T.V., and was immediately inspired to keep a doodling journal. It's just like a journal where you record your thoughts with words, except you have to draw what you're thinking of! I had a really fun time stretching my creative juices to come up with fun scenes to draw! Above is a page I drew in my first page of the Just Doodling journal. You can see (if you look closely- I'm not that great an artist! :) a fish in a car, a clapping ketchup bottle, a crab reading the newspaper, a cloud blowing out a candle, and because it's in all great doodle journals, a unicorn jumping from cloud to cloud. I generally used one ink color per scene (I got a marvelous 7- color pack of pens for a gift), changing colors whenever I switched a scene. And, much like the doodling formats I see everywhere, my pictures are splattered all across the page.

This was a very fun project, and I'm glad I started. I'm definitely continuing! Hope you guys are inspired to start your own doodle journals! More posts about this to come, See everyone next post, and have a drawable day!



John and Kate's bLOG

yOU mUST sEE tHIS lINK to JOHN AND kATE'S NEW bathroom and master bedroom renovation! I have to say, the remodling of the room looks AH-Mazing! Here's the link: http://www.johnandkristie.com/archives/2010/03/bathroom_remodel_walk-in_closet.html
They also have other makeovers and recipes, too if you want to check them out!
Plus, the photos are marvelous!

P.S. Sorry for the caplocks malfunction!

Have a perfect day, and see everyone next post!

DIY

Visit this site for "some serious DIY inspiration," blog.craftzine.com. It has fantastic ideas for just about any topic of crafting!  Oh, and while you're there, check out the other fun DIY blogs loaded with great ideas!Have a fantabulous day!

Paper Boutique

For amazing crafty inspiration, please visit Linda Keiser's blog at www.paperboutique.blogspot.com !
Thanks for reading, and have a fun day!

Moshi Monsters

Please come and rate my room! Here's the link: www.MoshiMe.com/fruitheads
Thanks so much, and have a fabulous day!

When Handling Glitter...

Glitter is a very necessary component to life. Necessary, but messy. When you want to cover your crafts with glitter and don't want it to flake off; first, apply it over a sticky surface. Next, using a platic spoon, spread an even layer of hot glue over the glitter. Depending on how you want the glitter surface to look, use more or less hot glue. (Work fast because, it takes like 20 seconds for the glue to dry.)

Colorbok Paper Packs

I recently wanted to purchase paper packs for my crafts. However, none of the ones I found had all the paper designs I loved. Fortunately, Wal-mart carries Colorbok paper packs for only 5$! It includes 2 pages of each design, totalling to 50 great sheets about 8.5" by 11." (I'll have to get back to you on the actual measurements). The designs are almost perfect! You are guaranteed to love the entire book and price, too! There are pages of flowers, twisty vines, inpsirational words, dots, stripes, and many more. The only con I noticed was the color. Of course, Colorbok carries its paper in other colors, too, so you can purchase those separately.

Tag Books

Starting this today, I'll be posting a card I made when I began crafting at least once a week. I'll write the best and worst things about the card as well as the most important technique I learned from making it! Yeah, these cards are pretty boring- but don't laugh, I just started when I made these! I call these posts Learning Our Lessons- or LOL! Enjoy!

This LOL post is a three-fer. I'll say a quick thing about each of my mistakes!

Blue One...
Best Thing: I like the designs of the individual tag pages (you can't see much of the insides, sorry!).
Worst Thing:The scheme is OK, but I didn't have a matching ribbon! Plus, the flower in the front is too dark.

Pink, Blue, Brown Tags...
Bets Thing: I love the color scheme and layout of these cards!
Worst Thing: I had to hand-cut these birds- luckily, they didn't turn out too badly! I don't like the ruffled edges, and the paper ribbon could have been much neater and more realistic.

Black and White One...
Best Thing: The design of the paper and the layout was beautiful.
Worst Thing: The color scheme stinks- no offense to myself (: The flower could have had a better design, too.

LOL: I learned the valuable lesson having to wait until I have all the supplies I need before creating a tag book inspired from somewhere else!

Sweet Day

Starting this today, I'll be posting a card I made when I began crafting at least once a week. I'll write the best and worst things about the card as well as the most important technique I learned from making it! Yeah, these cards are pretty boring- but don't laugh, I just started when I made these! I call these posts Learning Our Lessons- or LOL! Enjoy!

I found the inspiration for this card at scrapbook.com in the card gallery (you should visit this site- it is loaded with amazing card designs!

Best Thing: From afar, this card does resemble a candy bar halfway in its wrapper. Plus, I love that ruffle divider that I made to distinguish the two card halves.
Worst Thing: The candy squares were pretty sloppily cut! The ruffle wasn't even on both ends- which some people like for its unpredictability, but...
LOL: I am a bad square cutter and probably need a square puncher! c:

Journal Cover

Here's a journal cover I made a few weeks ago. I covered a 9" by 4" piece of chip board with a punch of scrap paper. For the spine, I marked where each fold would be. Then, I pressed the fold lines along a metal ruler, and the chipboard folded amazingly without any extra creases! This post was to get your creative juices flowing for your own cover! See you next post, and have a creative day.

Ribbon Sprays

Put a few drops of coloring in little travel soap containers. (I got a pack of 3 at the dollar store.) Then, have a separte bottle for a few drops of water. You should also use a spray bottle. This way, you have ready to make dyes by mixing colors and that with water. Use the spray bottle to spray colors on fabrics to make ribbon, and things.

Food Dyes

Food dye is the cheaper alternative to inks. The color does rub off, but if all you want is to use it in cards and stuff, this is the better option.

Bathroom Decor

This craft was made from a metal candle lid. shells, and a watercolored clay seashorse. Plus, I in the process of adding white paint swirls around the seahorse to give this a more underwater foam look.

Tag Stencils

I got this Xacto tag stencil in a pack of 4 for $7.50. I love this stencil because, it is very durable. Other stencils can be cut through using a knife, but not this one! Plus, it has a border you can use to cut from. This makes making gift tags and tag books for any occasion in a bunch of sizes super simple! It is made to be used with the Xacto swivel blade knife.

Scissors

Lace-edged scissors are the best! They provide a quick and easy, beautiful, and fancy borderline to any piece of paper. You can also cut thin strips of paper using these scissors to make cool designs to any craft! Plus, I love how versatile these things are- you can cut the border to any length, and how inexpensive they are! I got this in a pack of 4 for 5$ at Walmart. Its a Xacto brand.