My Sweet Escape

Hi Friends!  I’m happy to invite you to explore my crafty space! First I want to explain that I do all kinds of crafting.. not just papercrafting. That means I have all sorts of goodies to work with. I’m a little embarrassed about the quantity of supplies you’ll find at my house.. but it’s my favorite place to be.. my sweet escape from the outside world.

I have a U shaped desk so I can reach product from three different sides without ever having to get out of my chair. I have 6” clear plastic cubes with drawers full of lots of pretties. brads, gems, buttons, and other embellishments.

I keep colorful cardstock in a file cabinet. It’s easy to reorder and know the name of each color with the printed labels dividing the colors.

Swatches help me keep everything organized. I use a tag punch to make swatches. Names of inks and paper colors are added with labels on the back of the sample.

I have drawers of embossing powder, glitter ribbon, washi, ink, sequins and just about everything you might need to inspire you!

  

I have a long countertop that I try to keep clean! It’s perfect for cutting cardstock and spreading out ideas, paper collections, wrapping packages and more.

This is my work area with everything in easy reach. I have a swivel tool holder, adjustable lamps, markers, twine, adhesive all within reach. All of the shelves are adjustable so as my needs change I can adjust the shelves up or down to accommodate. If you look close you’ll see track lighting and behind that my Starbucks tumbler collection.

All of my dies are kept in 3 ring binders in plastic sleeves. Each binder color designates the brand and the label on the outside lets me know what’s in the binder (example borders, holiday, tags, etc.)

My photo set up provides lots of light. The lamps are adjustable and the shelves above hold props . The corner to the left is just big enough for company to work with they come to visit! Each of us has a different style – my space is organized and ideal for all my craft endeavors! Embrace the crafty side of you! 

Tupelo Designs LLC - Thank You Painted Flowers

I hope you're having a great day! Another quick week for me!! Mr. J is renovating my crafty room - my old desk needed a face lift.. the laminate top was starting to fall apart and scratch my wrists when I'm typing or creating, and the carpet under my feet had lost all its bounce.. so I've been temporarily relocated on a few folding tables so we can work on things a little at a time. We emptied the room last weekend, and yesterday the old carpeting came out. I'll show you more photos as things progress.

Here's where my new desk will go!   And a peek at the rest of the room.   We added the kitchen cabinets and counter top about a year ago. 

You can see where I take my photos to the right - the shelves above are for photo props. 
And here's where I'm working now.. on a few folding tables.  Still trying to locate a few things but most "everyday" items are close at hand! 

Today I'm playing with some goodies from Tupelo Designs LLC!  It's still my favorite place to shop because I can find my favorite brands in one place.  Just as an example, I really wanted a few MFT things but I had to place an order for $75 to get free shipping.  Tupelo Designs LLC has free shipping every day on any size order - no coupon code required (USA only) and I can also add a few other items to my cart from other brands like Altenew or Concord and 9th and so many more if I like. 

I also like that they have reward points - so dollars I spend today equal points that turn into more dollars that I can use off my next purchase.

I have a few back ordered items at Tupelo Designs LLC right now ... like the new Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks.  I'm excited that I was able to order them and will be first to receive them when the shipment from Ranger hits the store.   I know.. its so hard to be patient!  

I had lots of fun stamping with the Painted Flowers Set from Concord and 9th. The stamps are easy to layout and you can personalize how they look by changing the colors or adding leaves, hearts and splatter stamps where you like.

I stamped the painted flowers in the top and bottom corners of a panel and added the sentiment in the center.  I decided to sneak in a little patterned paper from Crate Paper Heart Day.

The pink pattern paper looks great with the red floral image and adds a little fun to the design. I used the Hampton Arts Stamp Perfect tool to get the stamps lined up exactly the same in both corners, and I love that I could stamp the image more than twice to get the deep red color and a clean smooth stamped impression.

I hope you have a great weekend - the weather is supposed to be wonderful here!  Fingers crossed!!

Finished Size 4.25 x 5.5"

Stamps | Concord & 9th Painted Flowers

Pattern Paper | Crate Paper Heart Day 6"

Sequins | Pretty Pink Posh

TD Concord & 9th Brushed Blossom (coordinates with "Blossom" Dies) TD Hampton Art Stamp Perfect Tool TD Crate Paper Heart Day 6" TD Versafine Pigment Ink Pad - Onyx Black

InLinkz.com

A peek inside my mind...

I frequently get asked how I mix and match pattern paper.  I admit this is something that comes easy to me. Mary, at Serendipity Stamps asked me to try to explain the thought process behind this creation.  If you'd like to read more you can find me at the Designer Spotlight at the Serendipity Stamps Blog (click here) today. 

Inspired by.... Lesley Croghan

I have a very special post today.... I was honored and delighted to be asked by Lesley Croghan to be a guestie on her blog (Always Playing with Paper) on a new feature she's started called "Inspired By".  It's a chance for me to tell you a little about myself and I'm hoping you might play along with the challenge at the same time. How to introduce Lesley? That seems like a silly question... like who doesn't know Lesley? Ok.. let's pretend like you dont - although I'm not sure you can be a card maker and not regonize her name. Lesley is the creator of so many of your favorite places to play... maybe you didn't realize that.... Places like..Freshly Made Sketches, The Paper Players, FUSION, The Card Concept, Merry Monday, Dynamic Duos Challenge, Seize the Birthday, Seize the Sketch, e SRM Challenge AND on top of that she's a very talented designer !!!  So yes... swoon... very honored to be asked by her to participate on this new feature!!! 

Heck, just look at that inspiration photo and tell me you don't want to play... all that yummy GOLD and coral!  I feel like this one was hand picked just for me!! 

Of course I started thinking wedding.   A cake like that doesn't come around just any day.   I don't have any weddings coming up so I thought an Anniversary card would be just as nice.  I was going to start off with an embossed background but decided to work use a panel die cut instead.  It looks like Battenburg Lace doesn't it? 

All the products on my card are from WPlus9.  That gold frame is called the Anastasia Tag Die.  If you look close you'll see I have a shiny gold foil outer frame with a glitter frame on the inside. 

 I think WPlus9 makes the prettiest floral stamps.  These were fun and easy to stamp - I did a whole bunch of different colors while I had the set out!   Might as well do them while I have them figured out - these are triple stamped!!

I hope you'll come join me for this one - and stop by and say hi to Lesley - let her know how much you love all her challenges!

Stamps:  WPlus9 Pretty Peonies, Very Vintage Greetings
Dies:  WPlus9 Lattice Frame Die, Anastasia Tag Die
Fibers May Arts Ivory Button Tine, 5/8" Ivory Silky 
Sequins Pretty Pink Posh

Twinery Stash Your Stash Blog Hop!

Are you hopping with The Twinery today?  If you are you should have reached me from Jen Cuthbertson's blog.  If you want to start from the beginning you can get all the details here at The Twinery Blog.   There's lots of goodies up for grabs today  including a prize on EVERY blog you visit on the hop!   Today instead of sharing projects were showing you how we store our twine.  You should find great ideas for storage no matter if you buy the sampler packs or the entire spools.  

So now you have your twine - how should you store it?   What?  You don't have twine?  That's ok - we have a great deal for you today - enter code STASH25 for 25% off your entire order through 11-6.

I confess - I'm a bargain hunter.  If it's on sale, I'm there.  I'm also always looking at what I get for the price.  Purchasing entire spools of twine has always been my personal choice because lets face it - I'm getting 240 yards on a roll for $14.00.  That works out to be around 6 cents a yard.  And honestly I put twine on just about EVERYTHING!   

Since I'm investing in the big spool of course I want to make sure I keep it clean and dust free so that it looks beautiful every time I use it.  I'm not saving anything if my spool decides to meet some of my other crafty supplies like glue or ink by accident.   I saw this coffee creamer idea in a magazine years ago and have been using it ever since.

I purchase the glass coffee creamer jars at the local dollar store.  Yes they still have them - I checked today.   I love that I can see exactly what color is in which jar.  My twine is safe from my inky fingers and I an dispense exactly as much as I like through the creamer hole in the top of the jar. 

Another big plus?  I know lots of us like to write down what products we used on our creations.  As I use more twine the snug Twinery label telling me the name of the color is getting looser.  You can see on the very first photo that the label on the Lilac twine is very loose.  I've been using it, and the spool is getting smaller.  With the creamer jar the label is staying in the jar - it's not falling off.  I can also easily see when I'm starting to run low and it's time to reorder.

I keep the jars on a shelf above my work desk - they are arranged by color and don't take up much room.  

They also brighten up my work space.  I love being surrounded by all these pretty colors!  I 'm always sure to find a match for any project.

OK.. here's what you've been waiting for...

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

Each designer participating in the hop will be giving away a Striped Twine Sampler ($18 value).

To enter just comment on each post along the hop. (And since each designer is giving away a Striped Twine Sampler, each post is another chance to win!).

Comments will close at midnight (EST) on Tuesday, November 3rd.

Winners will be posted on The Twinery blog on Thursday, November 5th.

The next stop on this hop is Amy Crockett!

Here's a complete list of all the designers on the hop today!

The Twinery

Tifany DeGough

Anita Mulcahey

Jen Cuthbertson

Jeanne Jachna - That's Me!

Amy Crockett

DoBea Alberts

Tobi Crawford 

Want to go shopping?  Don't forget the special discount!  Enter code STASH25 for 25% off any order through 11/6

Paper Crafter's Library Designer Spotlight!

Poppystamps is sponsoring Paper Crafter's Library today!  Paper Crafter's Library is the largest on line library of video tutorials for paper crafters!  Whether your interest is in stamping, card making, scrapbooking, creating 3D items or altered art – you’ll find all the resources you need to navigate the world of paper crafting in ONE place, organized and indexed so that it’s quick and easy to find.

It's also a great place to find inspiration!  Their blog keeps you up to date on the latest trends, products, and designers.  Today I'm the featured artist  in their Designer Spotlight. 
Here's some "sneak peeks" at my projects today!





Do you notice a theme here?  Yes!  We're featuring our new clear cling stamps and companion dies!    Here's a look at the prize  - Two clear stamp sets - Into The Words, A Fox Tale, and A Fox Tale Companion Die Set!!! 

Into the Words

A Fox Tale

A Fox Tale

InLinkz.com

You need to stop by their blog to enter to win!  Just click here to jump to the Paper Crafter's Library Blog to find out how!