Fun and Mental Changes

So today is the day!!!  Today is an open house celebrating a friend's new digs.  More importantly.... her new crafting digs!!!  There is nothing more exciting than upgrading scrap space, I definitely know!!!  So for her housewarming (craft-room-warming as I'm calling it), I got her some organizational items for the new space.  You all know me.... it's all about the Chi!!!  So among some of the organizational items I got for her (and the thing I'm most excited about) was THIS little slice of awesomeness: This is the Dignitet curtain wire from IKEA.  It doesn't look like much in it's packaging, but let me share with you just how cool this unassuming wire really is!!! Use this wire with clips and hooks to store ribbon!!!  Get that ribbon OFF your work surfaces and on the wall!  It's visible, accessible and organized!!!  LOVE this idea (click on pics to go directly to the blog posts that featured each of these pics)!!! Hanging curtains from the ceili

I know.... super corny title!!!  But this little guy needs some attention: Isn't this one fun???  Today I get to feature "Texture" over on the Spectrum Noir Blog .  Not only did I FLOOD this card with texture, I also added a bit of texture to the Puppy Stampendous image to make him look furry.  The technique is so very simple.... once you've colored the image, simply take your blender pen and stipple.  Be sure not to over-stipple; remember that with the blender pen, the effect needs time to develop.  But within seconds you get insta-fur!!!  The Spectrum Noir colors I used were: Dog:  TN1, TN3, TN5, TN9 and EB8 Letter:  IG1, IG2 and IG4 ***eyes and nose were accented using sharpie and white gel pens Other texture elements were in the different print papers I chose, the different fibers and the FUN stuff like..... I embossed a Vintaj charm in my Big Shot!  I also "smooshed" a bottle cap in my Big Shot and made a fun metal embellishment.  Here's ho

The other day I posted my rubber/clear stamp storage (click HERE for post) where I place all my stamps on cling foam (if applicable) and stored them in numbered cd cases that are then cataloged in a binder with the stamped images along side the number of the cd case they can be found and the name/maker of the stamp set..... WHEW!!!  Seems like a lot, but honestly, when your stamps are organized this way soooooooooo much time is saved and you never have to worry about not being able to find a stamp!!!  Well..... how about a similar solution for your punches.  Some crafters I know have A TON of punches, and I prefer the IKEA punch storage (click HERE to see), but if you don't have a lot of wall space, the back of a door will do in a snap!!!  Those nifty over the door shoe organizers are super affordable and will do the trick in a jiffy!!! From plastic to canvas to mesh.... there are plenty of styles to choose from!!!  Then, punch all your punches using scrap paper and catalog

It has been SOOOOOO long since I posted one of my healthy recipes, which is super weird since that's all I've been making for the past 5 months!!!  I actually have a few to share but have been a little preoccupied with my Spectrum Noir design team activities.  One kind of play interfered with another... so to speak. So pictured is my Spicy Hawaiian that is COMPLETELY gluten free, crispy and soooooo yummy!!! Spicy Hawaiian Chicken In a large flat plate (I actually use a cookie sheet cuz I'm messy) mix: 1 C. coconut flour 1 C. shredded coconut 1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper (less if you like) 1 tsp. each of black pepper and sea salt (more if you like) 1 Tbsp. garlic powder 1 Tbsp. onion powder 1 tsp. crushed red pepper Set aside.  In another flat plate place another 1 C. of coconut flour.  Set aside.  In a large bowl whisk: 3 organic eggs 2 Tbsp. water Set aside.  Next is dipping the chicken.  Make sure you have a parchment lined cookie sheet that is sprayed lig

Yep, here is my entire rubber and clear stamp collection... about 300 stamp sets in all.  None of my stamps are on wood.  If I purchase a stamp that is attached to a wood block with foam, I am quick to remove the rubber from the foam, adhere the rubber to a piece of EZ Mount cling foam,trim and place in a cd case.  Luckily many of my favorite stamps are already mounted on cling foam so there is no wood/foam removal.  The stamps shown in the cd case below were all ready to place in a cd case!!!  Shown is Graphic 45/Hampton Art's Magic of Oz II set with Stampendous' Count Jack and Mumpkin.  How do I know what's there so quickly you ask? Well, once my stamps are in a case, I assign a number to the case (if you click on the top pic, it will enlarge and you should be able to make out the numbers that are labelled on each case).  I then stamp the images on a page in my stamp catalog which, along with the stamped images, includes the name of the stamp set and which cd case n

Welcome to the very first Spectrum Noir Blog Hop EVER! And we are celebrating BIG TIME!!! Wait till you see what's up for grabs!!! Wait till you see all the amazing projects the design team put together for YOU!   If you are new to blog hops, simply visit each of the blogs below in the order shown and leave a comment on each designer's post finishing the hop at the Spectrum Noir Blog. Danielle Leann Angelique Linda Jennie Louise Kristine Marcea Taylor   Suzanne Cyndi Wendy Jacqui Spectrum Noir Blog When you arrive at the end, be sure to leave a comment on the Spectrum Noir  Blog telling us one fun new thing (tip, trick, interesting combination of colors, etc) you learned about the Spectrum Noir markers while hopping with us this week.  A random winner will be drawn using random.org at 9:00 AM GMT, Saturday, June 23, 2012 and posted at  Spectrum Noir .  The winner will have one week to claim their prize and will win a full set of 72 Basic Spectr

Tomorrow is Spectrum Noir's FIRST blog hop and while I was gearing up for the festivities tomorrow (you DON'T want to miss this hop..... TRUST ME), I went through my projects that I've completed with these awesome alcohol ink pens so far; this is a compilation of my very first Speccie projects.  For those who read my blog, you've already seen these projects, but for those who may join us tomorrow on the hop, ONE PROJECT does not do these incredible pens justice.  And I also noticed that seeing these projects back to back has really shown my progression with these amazing and affordable alcohol ink markers!!!  So here we go.... buckle in, this one's pic heavy (and feel free to click on pics to enlarge)!  LOL! OMGosh.... aren't these pens fun!?!  Hope to see everyone tomorrow at the hop!

Welp.... the Spectrum Noir blog is runnin full steam and that means that I get another turn to play!!!  Today I'm sharing a tag that I made using my Spectrum Noir Pens using a dual-tone stamp technique to draw the eye to the subject.  For my post over at Spectrum Noir, I called it:  Dueling Mementos !  LOL! Here’s how it's done.  Stamp your subject in a complementary color to the rest of your image.  In my tag, I stamped everything but the cabbage in Memento Rich Cocoa and then stamped JUST THE CABBAGE in Memento Bamboo Leaves because I knew I was going to color the cabbage green.  Had I colored the cabbage purple, I would have used Memento’s Lilac Posies to stamp the cabbage and then stamped the rest of the image in the Memento Bamboo Leaves instead of Rich Cocoa as purple and green are complimentary colors.  The use of a color wheel will help when using this technique as complimentary colors are found on the opposite side of the color wheel from each other.  Cli

Well.... The Spectrum Noir Design team is off and running with the newly active Spectrum Noir blog going strong!!!  Today is my day to feature and after a few glitches.... namely that I fell asleep last night and missed some pretty important emails, I'm finally up and running this morning!  Whew!  Don't you just love new beginnings??? hahahahahaha!  I'm super excited to share yet ANOTHER hair highlight.  So see my original Hair Tutorial Click HERE .  I just love coloring hair and those perfectly placed streaks that gives my colored images a bit of realism. Today I want to spend a little time reviewing exactly what gives you the ‘perfect’ hair.  We'll just call this a follow up to my original tutorial (instead of overkill).  I promise, it will be worth it! This image was a FUN one to color simply because its pretty much ALL hair!!!  The Spectrum Noir colors I used on the hair were TN2, TN5, TN9, EB3 and EB8.  I started the hair by simply filling in