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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. 

Stickers!

I have always had an interestingly deep fondness of stickers! However, all the fancy stickers at craft stores were quite expensive. So, I decided to try my hand at creating my own! Here's Go Brushes' first ever craft video! Yay! Hope you enjoy!

Stamping

Many rubber-stamp creating techniques require you to carve "negative" spaces out on your eraser's surface using a carver. This process can be very difficult and time consuming- especially when you have to carve out all the details! Luckily, I came across an idea on how to make much faster stamps.

Ingrediants

• Craft knife
• 1 Standard Pink Pearl Eraser
• Eraser Carver (Optional)
• Hot Glue
• Markers

1. Slice the eraser into 4 equal slabs across the side.
2. Separate the parts with the pre-made smooth surface and the ones cut from the middle of the eraser.
3. The middle parts will be used as a base for the stamps. (You can make 2.) The outside slabs will be what you will use to make the stamp images from. Separately, you can now cut the main shape of the entire desired stamp image. (Ex: if you want to create a grape image, just cut the outline of it.)
4. Using the eraser carver, you can now go ahead and carve in the details. You can also use the knife for this step, too, of course.
5. Hot glue the finished image onto an inside eraser slab- be sure to press the image on top of the glue firmly before it dries. I used hot glue because, it creates a strong bond, but you can use other types of liquid adhesives, too,
6. Fill the image with marker inks, and stamp!

Tips-

*Draw an image in graphite on a thin paper. Then rub it on top of the eraser part you need to cut to help you see where you'll need to cut. You shouldn't draw the image directly on the eraser b/c it'll come out in reverse when you stamp with it!

*Having a very sharp blade helps with smooth cutting.

*I like using markers instead of traditional stamping inks because, its cheaper and it being a marker and all, I can easily direct specific colors to specific parts of a stamp!

On Play Dough

I have found that using colored play dough is simply the better option when creating figurines. It sells for about a dollar at Walmart for a container of about 3 oz.- cheaper compared to clay. Plus, it can be air dried, so you don't have to buy a super expensive kiln!  Here are a few extra tips and info on using Play Dough...

• It takes 3 days to dry about 2-3 gumballs of Play Dough
• When dried, there will be a kind of salt-like texture to the surface of your works; just paint a layer of clear glue to make the texture glossier and smoother!

• Play Dough is much softer than clay.

Stay tuned for more ideas on using play dough! See you next post, and have an awesome day!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom's birthday's coming up, and I decided to make her this super adorable card! It was inspired and adapted from a Mother's Day card found in Paper Crafts magazine! I used the flowery black paper from Colorbox, and trimmed the edges a bit with those special edged scissros (I forgot what they're called). Then, I cut a pink paper ribbon out, and glued it near the left. Then, using transparent, rose colored paper, I cut a strip at about the same length and width as the paper ribbon, folded it in half, and glued it in the middle of the ribbon. The cute nametag was a lace- edged lager hot pink circle under a white circle with "Mom" written across it. Now, for the ribbon flower to finish the card off! First, cut a strip of the transparent rose paper a bit smaller in width than the other two strips of paper (eyeball the width). Cut a short length, and fold both ends towards the center. Tape this down. Repeat this step- each time almost doubling the length of the paper strips, and tape them in criss-cross  patterns below each other. I wrote a sweet sentiment on the inside afterwards. Happy Birthady, Mom! Well, thanks for reading my second post- see you next time, and have a tremendous day!

Welcome to Go Brushes!

Welcome to Go Brushes, the super awesome place where you can go to to find inspiration, tips, and recommendations for fun craft projects! Each week, I'll try to share at least one project I've finished, tips on crafting, essential tools, challenges, or add links to amazing craft blogs or websites! See you next post! Have a creative day!