Great book for crafters!!

I was celebrating today, along with a lot of Haddon Township.  Our little library has finally reopened after being closed for two months due to a water main break inside the building.  I was like a kid in the candy store, picking up lots and lots of books.  For someone like me who reads sixty books a year, I was suffering from withdrawal.  I found a real gem for crafters too!!  "The Handmade Marketplace" by Kari Chapin is a book on how to sell your crafts locally, globally, and online.  She has included lots of input from other crafters and also the VP of Etsy, who gives advice on selling online.  I sat down with a cup of tea and my 100 calorie cookie pack, and dove right in.  I love this book.  I've just started Chapter 2, but already I have picked up some great ideas and inspiration.  Something I read really resonated with me - working in a clean, tidy environment.  My craft area looks like a small tornado went thru.  So tonight I plan on clearing my space, so my creative juices will be able to flow better.  Clutter makes me feel overwhelmed. After a little break from the 112 heat indexes in NJ, I'm ready to get moving again.

Backgrounds

Sometimes I like to make a quick background when creating a card.  I love the cuttlebug embossing folders.  The one I use the most is the swiss dots.  I also love my bird stamps, so I decided to combine the two.  Sometimes, simple is just so much better.

I also love owls and in the last few years there has been a lot of great owl stamps out on the market.

I didn't have a polka dot stamp, so I found a pen with an eraser which made a perfect circle to create the polka dotted background on the owl card I made. 

Easy does it

Happy 4th of July.  I have a real day off!!  I decided to take it easy - going to a bbq pool party shortly.
I happened to log onto my Etsy account and was presently surprised to find a sale!!  Now more ideas are floating thru my brain, and I want to get into work mode.  Or as I like to call it - my creative mode, because I don't feel like I'm working when I make cards.  I find it a real struggle having a shop online verses a booth at a farmer's market.  I have contact with people and get all kinds of great feedback at the craft market.  While my online shop is sometimes so quiet, I swear I can hear crickets!  I get feedback from some customers, but not all the time.  I can rearrange my craft booth adding cute baskets filled with card packs, etc., but I find it a lot harder to revamp my online shop.  I am going to hire my son-in-law's brother to create a new banner for me.  Then I plan on adding lots more items. 

I just put things out on my tables at the craft market, but Etsy takes a whole lot longer with lots of pictures and good descriptions.  Then trying to let people know I exist out there is a huge challenge.  So my motto for today is Easy Does It.  I am tired from spending my few days off working on my online shop and market booth.  So today I am trying to do as little as possible.  For a workaholic like me that's not easy!!

Die cut cards

I decided to make some small gift cards with my Spellbinders nestabilities.  Now I cannot seem to stop coming up with more little treasures.  I have always liked minature sizes, and these tiny cards are just so adorable with animals and baby themed stamps.  Tomorrow I'll go searching for some smaller envelopes to fit these 2-3 inch cards.  I also had to use my Create a Critter cartridge from cricut. 

I think these would make great little gift cards, so I've ordered a new stamp A Gift for you.  I just love the little banana.  I also have a stamp that reads I'm bananas for you.  PERFECT!!  I love when stamps and greetings work together. 

Old stamps - new card

I pulled out a few old stamps that I haven't used in awhile.  When I attended the Allentown PA Stamp convention, I found some great background stamps from Impression Obsession.  I also purchased their Mega Mount which is great for large stamps.  I combined an old background stamp with a new one to give this card a vintage foreign look.  I then stamped the eiffel tower stamp and framed it with a dark chocolate paper.  Finally I stamped the label and found the perfect word to stamp inside - merci. 

I'm eating a cheesesteak and heading to work shortly - multitasking.  I have painted frames upstairs drying and small notebooks ready to be made.  The Burlington County Market is Saturday and I'm trying to make as much as I can.  The market is located on a working farm.  The vendors are inside a small barn structure, and some are outside in front of silos.  No one realizes how much farmland there is in South Jersey.  People picture New Jersey as the opening credits of The Sopranos - turnpike and industrial wasteland.  Ahhh....time to leave for work.  I'll have to post some pictures - I'll take some shots this weekend. 

Where did the month of May go?

I am in the midst of switching jobs, so for the last few weeks I have been working 2 part time jobs, as well as a weekly farmer's market in Moorestown, NJ.  I wake up and have to figure out where I need to be that day!  Fortunately, I will be down to one job soon and the market.  Then I can focus on my Etsy shop which has been depleted with lots of sales at the farmer's market.  I've got so much to make!  I wanted to share a card I made this past Friday.  I worked 10am - 10pm, and I'm still trying to recuperate!  I purchased a Personal Cricut Machine last year on sale with my employee discount.  My favorite cartridge is Create a Critter.  I love owls and just thought a blue owl would be a perfect color to coordinate with my background paper.  I found a company named The Pink Stamper which has stamps made specifically to go with the Critter images.  The stamps are great quality polymer stamps and I love the adorable sayings.

A few rhinestones and glitter add a wonderful look too.  I use my odds and ends of embellishments to add  extra pizazz.  Ever wonder what to do with left over alphabet stickers?  I mixed and matched 2 different sets for the hogs and kisses card.  I hate to waste anything!

I hope to post at least once a week, now that my crazy schedule is getting a little bit better.  I'd like to get out some of the supplies I've purchased and never used.  Another idea I have is to show one stamp used in  different cards or layouts.  The Scottish have a saying about "make do" - use what you have.  What supplies and materials do you have that can be used in a new and fresh way? 

I'm back!!

April was a busy month!  I took a long girls weekend to Chincoteague, Virginia and then I was gone over a week to Morehead City, NC and Wilmington, NC.  After a much needed vacation, I am excited to get back to creating and doing what I love - making cards.  I decided to make a few wedding cards.  I have a few decorative punches and I have always loved the look of mixing different trims. I also love finding speciality paper - on sale of course!!  So I combined punches and paper and came up with a beautiful Bride and Groom card.