FabMo January 2019 Workshop

January 2019 Workshop Cards

Just a quick post of the cards we will be doing at the FabMo Paper Crafters workshop this month. There will be a few more cards to fill in the gaps (two of the cards are super fast to make) so people don't have to wait around for the supplies. I really want to post more about the black card, because it was inspired by so many different bloggers. Hopefully I can get to it sometime this week!

Annie's stare down.

German Shepherds are very active dogs and Annie is true to her breed.  She gets a morning workout before I leave for work and some play time when I get home. At night, we go for a walk before bedtime. Annie also gets to spend a lot of time outside when I'm home. I feel so bad she has to be in the house all day. She gets to hang out in the zen garden (filled with sand), even if that means she will be tracking in a ton of sand. Last night we came across a pack of coyotes at the end of our driveway. Normally I only see one but this time it was at least five and they weren't afraid at all by me or Annie's barking. So Annie didn't get to spend anytime out in the garden after our walk. She was not happy and gave me the stare down asking why she couldn't go outside for her nightly cool down. 

Busy Holiday Weekend 2018

Tomato cage tree

For the past few weeks I've had one computer issue after another. My IT guy finally figured out my monitor (which is my flat screen TV) was at fault and replace some burn out parts. Right when that was happening my cell phone locked up and the only way to unlock it was to upload from my PC, which I couldn't do since my monitor was in the shop. My only hope was someone at my aunt's house on Thanksgiving would bring their laptop and fix my phone. 
Now that everything is back to normal, include the weather (finally have clean air after all the fires here in CA) I worked outside all day. Got my Christmas decorations up and lite, vegetable garden cleaned up and compost ready for winter. Annie had a great time being outside all day, she was one tired pup. 

Christmas card 2018

Christmas Card 2018

I was inspired by Jennifer Mcguire's blog post using a die that made this tree shape. I made my own template and had a great time whipping up these cards. I have a ton of DMC thread, so it was nice to finally dig into my stash. The photo of Annie was taken down in Carmel right before Thanksgiving. The best part was I was able to get the pelicans and waves in the background. The pelicans are not always at the beach, let alone get them in the picture with Annie sitting still! The photo goes inside the card. Have to say a big thank you to the Costco photo department. I made a mistake when I ordered my photos online, it was cropped to close. The photo tech made the correction and reprinted everything for me while I shopped. I send my cards out early because I hate to forget  or because they are handmade and a little thick (but still legal) sometimes they get sent back. 

Carmel City Beach 2018

Thannksgiving Card 2018

Very Old Amuse  Thanksgiving Stamp

I was a  little late in getting my Halloween cards out this year, so I'm working extra hard on getting my Thanksgiving cards out on time. I wanted to do something other than a turkey or pumpkin pie, which I've done in the past. Plus I didn't want to buy anything specific of just Thanksgiving. 

When I'm in a creative slum, I randomly slap color (twinkling H2Os) on water color paper. I have stacks of it laying around waiting for me to find something to do with it. For 2018, I decided to break on my mini leaf punch (does anyone use those anymore?) and make a wreath. Yes, this is a very old school design but it works for me. 

I'm really getting into stamping on the envelopes, to the point where I have to think of a card to go with the envelope so I can mail it!

Coloring done with chalk on the front

FabMo - Paper Crafters Workshop 11-11-18

I finally got my samples done for the November Paper Crafters Workshop. Took me awhile to find the Snow Tex for the window card. I had a jar that was 20 years old and didn't check to see if it was still good. Yep, I have some very old craft supplies. :)
Anyways, went to Michael's to get a fresh bottle and it took the store manager to find it for me. I went up and down aisle #19 several times and couldn't find it. The manager of course walked right up to it! 
I still use cut up car sponges I've had for years. Still haven't gotten use to using all the blending tools. 
The window card has a lot of parts but I think the ladies in the class will enjoy making it.  Thinking of giving them the option to put a cat silhouette in the window instead of a Christmas tree. Always risky offering choices in a class. :)

Stitched Christmas Tree - 2018

Part of my morning routine is watching (really more listening to) my favorite crafters (Jennifer McGuire, Sandy Allnock and AmyR) while I'm making breakfast and getting ready for work. 
Jennifer (crafting guru master) posted a Simon Says Stamps release. I loved her stitched card and I really wanted to order the die from SSS but it wasn't cost effective to order since the shipping was more than the die. I decided to make my own template for the holes and it turned out great!  The plus side was I could make the card this morning and not have to wait. 
The other great thing was going through my stash to use some mini red brads (from my scrapbooking days) and mini rhinestones. Finding some vellum was a challenge since it's not something I use. I think this will be my Christmas card for 2018!

Caring Hearts Card Drive 2018

Old Hero Arts Stamp I got at the last used stamp sale

Each year I participate in the Caring Hearts Card Drive. Cards are made for people who are in nursing homes and have no family that visits them during the holidays. This year instead of doing 1,000 as I had planned, the organizers have asked that card makers only donate 100 per person. The logistics of handling over 63,000 cards, as well as some personal family health issue, one can understand the reason to limit the amount. So I'm working on my samples and will start mass producing my cards. I have a local ladies church group that will add a personal note in each card as well. 

Memory Box stamp from the used rubber stamp sale. 

Hi there kitty cat card - 2018

I'm really trying to use all the stamps I picked up at the last 2 used rubber stamp sale. So I pulled out this set and gave it a go. It looked a little plain without a sentiment but everything I tried just didn't look right. So after putting it aside, I decide to find the smallest sentiment stamp I had randomly stamp without using my Misti. It's a little scary to free hand it because little stamps can be tricky. 

FabMo Paper Crafters Workshop October 14, 2018

FabMo Paper Crafters Workshop October 2018

Since most of the people attending the Paper Crafters group at FabMo aren't hard core card makers, I like to do different techniques. I stay away from the over the top cards which would frustrated most people if you don't know how to use all the products and tools. 
One of the biggest plus side to doing the workshops, is the elderly ladies that attend. When I asked someone (when she was just sitting there) if she needed help, she said no, I just like being around all this happy chatter. She comes every month but I think making the cards is just a bonus for her.

FabMo Paper Crafters Workshop - Perfect Pearls and Backgrounds - 2018

Perfect Pearls

The people that are attending my workshops at FabMo really like learning and practicing different stamping techniques.  The challenge is finding something I can teach, not knowing the skill level of the people attending and having enough supplies for everyone. It's not like a scrapbook/stamping store where the students usually have the basic knowledge of crafting. 
Being inspired by the stamping guru Jennifer McGuire, I broke out my Perfect Pearls powers and over sized back ground stamps. The theme for next month workshop will be backgrounds. The cards won't be flashy with all the bells and whistles, but I will be able to teach several techniques. 

October 21, 2018 at FabMo from 10:00-1:00

Mama Elephant Woof stamps and HB Card

Mama Elephant "Woof" stamps and Copic Markers

 I was asked to make a HB card with a doggie theme. I've wanted to get one of the Mama Elephant critter stamps sets (really I want the cat one) so now I had an excuse to picked up the Woof set. Took a couple test runs to get the right color combo to make the dogs look different. Not as easy as it sounds. This card is a little more fussy than my normal style, but I still think it turned out cute. 
My dog Annie is a major bed hog. The other night I called her that and she rolled on her back and stuck her tongue out at me. Really I think she was hoping for a belly rub because I was talking to her. When she does spread out, she can cover the whole length of the bed and pin me to a very narrow edge of the bed. I'm luck Annie moves around a lot during the night, so I just have to wait for her to over heat and she heads down to the floor. 

Spat Backgrounds 2018

I borrowed a friend's MFT Distressed Patterns stamp set to make the bird poop for my "Oops My Bad" card.  As I was cleaning up my work space I thought I would make some backgrounds. I was very carefully not to over lap the colors when I accidentally drop the stamping block I was using. It looked pretty cool, so 3 hours later (my space didn't get cleaned up) I played with stamping spats all over everything. Now the task of thinking what to put over the spats!

Oops My Bad Card 2018

I saw a card on Pinterest a few weeks ago by Julie Ebersole and wanted to case it. I don't have any of the stamps but thought I could find something in my stash. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. First I thought I could just draw the images but that didn't work out to well. Even draw the lines wasn't come out to well either. What makes the card if the "Oops, My Bad" sentiment, which of course I didn't have either and I don't own a printer. Yes, I know I live in a cave for not owning a printer but I use one so infrequently that the ink dries out and makes the printer useless. I was almost going to give up when I opened one of the drawers to my printer's cabinet (has a lot of drawers) looking for something else when I saw my alphabet beads and the light bulb went on! Now the card makes sense to those crafting buddies who wondered why I was making a bird pooping card! :)

Thanks JE for the inspiration!

Tile Back Ground Hacks

When I watch my favorite craft bloggers, they always have nice backgrounds for their cards. During one of Tim Holtz's video set ups, he showed his background to be a piece of laminate floor that looks like planks of wood. So for me the light bulb went on and I started my search for a good back drop. I volunteer at FabMo every month and they get in all sorts of cool stuff. I rummaged around the tile section and found this square mosaic tile. It's has a flat finish, so doesn't reflect any light, and has an interesting design. Going to give this a try on my next photo shoot. 

Marble Craft Mat. Large shell I use to hold misc bits. 

While I was looking for background tile, I found this large 24"X12"marble tile, sort of reminded me of the Tim Holtz glass craft mat that's all the rage right now. I had decided not to get the Tim Holtz mat since I don't really have the space for it and I'd rather spend my stamping money on something else. The surface is easy to clean, the price was right and makes a nice backdrop for photos. Guess this is my semi hack of Tim's mat. :)

Sea Glass Card 2018

For over 30 years (maybe even longer) I love walking along the beach and collect sea glass. It was always in the back of my mind to turn the glass in jewelry, but I realize jewelry making isn't something I enjoying doing. 
So this week after checking out a ton of Pinterest posts, I dived in and made a card. What I did find out it takes a lot of glass to make one card. Looking for the right shapes is like working a puzzle and knowing there are pieces missing. This card was made for one of my creative mentor. She who takes her dog to the beach every Sunday to play in the ocean and I know she will appreciate the thought behind this card. 

Mama Elephant - Whale details

A few people have asked about my Mama Elephant whale card so here's a photo of all the parts that went into making the card. You really can't see the stamp of the whale but it's has a wood block design, which I think makes the whale look scary. When I first stamped it, I didn't like it at all. I decided to color it in with a black copic marker and give it a googly eye. I got the stamp set at Joann Fabrics when it was on sale, an impulse buy. The stamp set doesn't stamp too well so you will have to plan to use either a stamp tool (Misti) or plan to color in the uneven area. Used my Misti to stamp the sentiment, which I had to stamp a few times. 
I sponged the background using an old sponge. I just to heavy handed to use the Tim Holtz blending tool. I have a box full of old sponges I've used for years in the classes I teach. They have held up really well and work for me. Think they came from the dollar store several years ago. 
I added some Wink of Stella to the waves and  whale spout. which you really can't see in the photo. 

FabMo Paper Crafters Workshop - 2018

FabMo Paper Crafters Workshop 9/16/18

Sunday is my normal day to get all my creative projects done. I do a workshop for FabMo once a month as a mini fundraiser. I donate my time and all the supplies. 
Since I never know the level of the craftiness of people coming to the workshop, it takes a lot of time to come up with projects that can get done in a few hours, look good and won't mess up my tools or supplies. 
I'm now on the hunt for 2mm googly eyes for the snail. That would be the icing on the cake!

Amazing Cutting Plate Hacking 2018

There are some crafting hacks that aren't worth doing but then there is that rare one that is totally amazing!
Several videos started popping yesterday show how to use a rubber cutting mat in place of the hard plastic mat that goes with most die cutting machine. It works so well, I was wondering why no one thought of it before or if they had, why didn't they market it for all die cut machines out there! 
I had a new rubber mat that I forgot in my car  (very bad when it's hot out) and once it gets hot, it buckles so won't ever lay flat again. I hated to throw it out, so I stuck in under one of Annie's rugs hoping it would magically go flat.  I had nothing to lose by trying this hack out so I cut it up. I was so impressed I made a few for some crafty friends. This is the best crafting hack in a long long time!

Itatani Beach Party 2018

Every year my family has a beach party at a friend's private beach. It so nice to have a beach that Annie can run around all day and I don't have to worry about other people being scared of her. 
It was a perfect beach day, warm and sunny. I just love the birthday photo of my Auntie Mich, who turned 95. She's still drives and has a very full social calendar. Annie got in the picture wanting to put her stick on the table so the kids could throw it for her. She wasn't trying to eat the cake. As usual it was an Itatani food fest with everyone bring something to share. We are hoping that next year we can spend the night, giving the city kids the whole camping experience. 

Felt - ing 2018

Years ago I gave felt-ing a try. I guess I didn't really like it, so I gave all the tools away to a friend. Well fast forward to now and I wondered if I could felt pre cut wool (using my die cuts) and felt it on a background. So far the first test rounds look pretty good. Now just have to think of a way to turn them into cards or something cool. 

String card - 2018

Friends of mine weave some amazing things (Stonewater Arts) and I asked for the end cuts of thread. I was using them in my cross stitch and decided (after seeing something on Pinterest) to do this very simple card. I like to think of it as up recycling. 

Plant Nursery - 2018

I started another round of aloe vera plants after I did a swap with my neighbors are few weeks ago. Need to stock up for the next swap in a few more month. 
Living in ranger rick land (deer, gophers, rabbits, rats, coyotes and various birds) it's hard to grow anything. Succulents happens to be on of the few things no one wants to eat. :)

UFO night at FabMO

Something I've been trying to organize for a long long time, a UFO night for crafters. With the meet-up sites getting more $$$ and complicated to use it was looking pretty grim. 
FabMo recently moved to a new and much large space. The great room is a perfect place for people to gather a work on their own stuff while still being able to chat with other like minded people. Hope you can make it to our first ever UFO night!

Paper Quilling art 2

This is my second attempt at paper quilling. For being something so small it did take a lot more time than I thought. There's a lot of gluing and use of pins to hold everything in place while the glue dries. 
I've had the quilling tools for years (like 20+ years) and never really made anything with them. Finally decided (after watching ton of youtube videos) to sit down and do a few projects. 

Party Favors - mini tootsie roll pops.

Some times you see something and just think how cute it would be to change it up into party favors.
FabMo is hosting it's annual BBQ for the volunteers in a few weeks. I made thank you cards for all the volunteers and decided to add a little party favor too. 

Quilling 101

Like many crafters, I have supplies for projects I "think" I may try some day. I've had the paper quilling tools for many, many years (maybe 20+ years!) I even have the big AccuCut die cut to make the quilling sizing board. Don't even know why I got that!
Anyways the plan is to do a workshop at FabMo next month to teach basic quilling. The daisy was my first attempt to try and finish something to put on a card. Now I just have to figure out how to teach a class so everyone walks away with a finished card.  :)  

FabMo Workshop July 15, 2018

My next FabMo workshop is Sunday July 15, 2018. 
The theme started out to be "quilting" but as I started making the samples, it looks more like mosaics since I didn't want to add any embellishments. 
It's a great way to use up scraps!

FabMo Thank You Cards

FabMo TK cards 2018

Every year I try to make a thank you card for the volunteers at FabMo. Hannah, the founder of FabMo really encourages us to use items found at FabMo. It does take all year to round up the supplies because you never know what's going to show up! I just gather up interesting things and a month before the annual volunteer picnic, I start making something. 
This year a whole roll of embroidered daisy trim was donated. I squirreled that away with no idea what I would use it for. Next Hannah gave me 3 sample books of high end linen wallpaper (can't even imagine what the cost was per roll!) thinking I could turn them into cards. Then Bron (another FabMo volunteer) showed me some off the beaten path donations that came in from a crafting hoarder up in San Francisco. There are cases of various miniature things and these wooden dolls stood out because Bron said "what in the world would someone do with these !?!"
I know the cards look a little grandma-ish but I was able to source everything from the donations made to FabMo, even the embroidery thread. I like to think of it as handmade rustic upcycling. :) 
Can't really see the stitching details around the edges made by the die cut in the photo but it does add a nice touch. 

FabMo Workshop June 24, 2018

June 24, 2018 10:00 - 1:00 

The card samples for the workshop this coming Sunday at FabMo. The theme is H2O in stamping. 

I volunteer to do a workshop once a month for FabMo to help raise money. 
FabMo moved to this awesome big bright warehouse. Very nice to do classes there now. The best part is that Annie has plenty of room to run around and get her people fix. 

Simple Cat Card - Inky Antics

Yes another stamp I got at the garage sale. Guess I should title my posts "the .50 stamp deal". It's an old one from back in the day when multiple images where put on a wooden cube. Inspired by Jennifer McGuire to use Gamsol with your color pencils, I broke down and got a bottle.  I've been playing around with the technique and still trying to get a smooth blended look. Sandy Allnock (also a favorite) has some great videos on how to use color pencils. She's a little more advanced in her techniques, but has a ton of helpful tips. 

Sewing Card 2018

Some birthdays are coming up and I think you can guess what their hobby is. I borrowed the "stitch with love" stamp set from a crafty buddy since I already went over my stamping budget. The thread is actually hand spun wool from another friend who spins, knits and weaves some amazing things. I'm thinking I should make some more for my card racks and to the charities I support. 

Iris Card 2018 - FabMo workshop

This is one of the clean and simple cards I will be doing for the FabMo workshop on June 24, 2018. The workshop theme is H2O and stamping. This direct to rubber stamping technique is old school but still fun to do. 
The stamp is one I found at the garage sale a few weeks ago for .50. It's 28 years old but still in great shape!

Living in the Bay Area - foodies dream

Yes, the housing prices in the bay area are obscene and the traffic is  now all day long but there are many perks to living here. One is our growing season is almost year round. Second the local ethic grocery stores are everywhere. I like the Asian stores because the produce is always the best (the little old ladies would have fit if it wasn't) and I can easily find ingredients to make just about anything. Today I picked up some char-sui pork (my impulse buy) which they don't always have. I also try and buy only what's in season so local artichokes and asparagus are on the menu for tonight. 

Hero Arts June Kit 2018

Hero Arts June Kit 2018

From what's been posted, this Hero Arts kit sold out in hours. It was helped along by the amazing Jennifer McGuire's video. (If I can ever figure out how to link anything to my blog I would  but I'm very low tech) 
I get up super early because Annie likes her breakfast at sunrise. I always tune into my favorite crafting peeps. I don't think I was even one minute into Jennifer's Youtube when I click to order the June kit. I knew it would sell out fast and better get it done before I left for work. 
Being a beach person, it just had to find a place in my stash. 
There were many people who were upset they missed out. Even more shocking was seeing the kits on Ebay selling for $150.00 ($35.00 from Hero Arts) before the kits even shipped. The scalpers have tapped into the limited editions of these kits. If people wouldn't buy from these people, then maybe more would be available. If they can't sell them for a huge profit maybe they would give up. 
Hero Arts does take a poll in the fall to find out which was the most popular kit and they will re-release it. I would hold out and wait to vote for it in the fall.  Can't wait to work with this kit! Thanks Hero Arts!