Did you know?-Tissue Tape tutorial and happy mail

I know I started a "Did you know" idea back in the fall then I sort of dropped it while I was scrambling to do my craft shows but I got thinking the other day, I am going to try to do a tutorial or lead you to info that you may not already have or to refresh your creative mind, we can always use a little help now and again.

Today I want to say....Did you know?... you can make your own tissue tape??? well you may have  or maybe just never bothered, but, once I show you how easy it is and how little materials you need you will be happy I showed you this.

Here in Canada Tim Holt's tissue tape is very pricey and I do like Ranger products, don't get me wrong, but, I find sometimes you are limited when you buy some of these things and can only use things on grunge projects or not so feminine looking things. Well, I have some great news, you can make your own tissue tape, just enough for a special project, or, you can make some to have on stash or just make some blank ahead of time when you need to  make that card in a hurry and you need a little pizazz.

OK enough gab about it...here we go....

All you need is double sided tape, I buy mine at the dollar store and you can get different widths, this size is about half inch and I got 3 rolls for under 2.00, tissue, you can use dressmakers tissue, gift tissue or even a nice napkin with a pattern on it, tissue comes in a variety of colours or just use white and you can see how quickly you can transform it. You may need ink, stamps, scissors and that is it.

Not sure why but my picture loaded sideways, but you get the idea, the green card stock is just for a contrast in colour so you can see the tissue.

 Roll your tape onto the tissue, try to keep it straight and the paper smooth, if you do get a few wrinkles, it just adds a bit of texture to the final result. Make as many strips as you like so you have some on hand in a hurry. If you look a the bottom of this picture you will see I left a little tissue overhanging, that is so it makes it easy to peel back the backing of the tissue tape, you can trim that bit off after you adhere to your card or project and tidy it up.

 Now trim the sides of the excess tissue.

Next I had made my own shamrock stamp for another project and I am in another swap for March so I made my partner some tissue tape for our Shamrock theme. Before I stamped the tissue, I just lightly inked the tape, don't worry if you don't get the inking perfect, it adds interest. Next stamp your stamp. I have made some tissue tape in a collage style using numbers, small clocks etc. Try anything, it really is fun and quick.

 And below is the tissue tape that I stamped on the left and the middle and right side are napkins. Remove both layers of that white fine paper from you napkin and you may want to press the napkin with an iron or just lay it out and place your tape on the opposite side of the design. Trim and you are good to go. Remove the backing and place carefully onto a card or altered project.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial....Did you know?.....you can make your own tissue tape for a fraction of the store cost and you can make it more suitable to your theme.

After I made the Shamrock tape, I took a gel pen and just outlined the shamrocks, made them pop a bit.

  And below I want to share a beautiful Spring theme ATC I received from a long time follower of my blog,   Amy Jo from Art from the Heart. Around Christmas time we decided we wanted to swap art and well the holidays are always a busy time of year and lately we have both been saying how we are anxiously waiting for spring. So we decided to do an ATC in the theme of spring. I received this lovely ATC and below the pic is the backside just as beautiful as the front. I wonder how she knew I love sunflowers, they are my favourite. I also had a pic of the goodies Amy sent along but the pic was sideways and I wasn't going to leave posting.

Thank you Amy and I hope you get my little package soon. I hope you like it.

Til next time friends. I am working on a little whimsy faces booklet for my dear Aunt in England. I just need to work on the pages and it will be done soon.

If anyone has any great quote sites that makes one smile or makes one feel good on a not so good day, could you please let me know. I would like to add some sayings or quotes to my little book.

Thanks all for dropping by.

♥

Mail art makes me Happy

Well with ongoing car issues I will not get into but the problem is too stressful to comment, mail came and made me smile when I really needed it.

I was in an ornament swap over in our FlickR group and I was matched up with Jenxo and Jenny. Jenny was a little late signing up so I swapped with her as well. Both live in Australia and I got Jenxo's a few days ago and Jenny's arrived today.

I can't wait to show you....in the ornament swap you had to use paper on your ornie. So of course this could mean a lot of things as long as it is an ornament and has paper on it, made of paper or whatever.

Lookey at these.....yummy..

This is what Jenxo sent me. There is a little book that she sanded some outside of a cardboard box, looks like it had olives and greenery on it then sewed the little pages in, did some binding and there is elastic that wraps around the book to close it. Below it is a doily that has been sewn onto sewing tissue then some string tied in a bow at the top to hang it. A beautiful stack of presents made out of different papers... How cute.

A little ATC pouch she made and it was stapled at the top. I heard something rattling but I thought it was supposed to rattle then I realized it felt like something solid in there. To my surprise I found a bamboo tile necklace with a beautiful paper bead and pearl drop on the bottom. I have already worn it Jenxo and compliments galore.

And this beautiful Angelic tag she made.Beads and lace and ribbon roses. It is hanging on  a corner cabinet  knob in my LR.

Next up is Jenny's

Jenny made me these arches. The Silent Night is gorgeous music paper with gold either ink or some rub on with some other lovely colours blended softly and the Merry Christmas arch is Jenny's whimsical girl she painted. She sure made me smile .

 Jenny also sent me some lovely napkins and this gorgeous card with a lovely message inside.

Thanks so much Jenxo and Jenny and I wish you a Very Merry Christmas and Happy 2012.

Your ornies are hanging around with other friends ornies I have collected over the years.

I am so grateful for all your friendships.

Til next time....stay creative and live a stress free life....hah

♥

Lots of scrumptous mail

Yesterdays post I was grumbling but today I am so happy. I love getting nice mail. I love sending mail.
You know when you enter blog land and meet so many like minded peeps, when you receive something from them it is very special.
Well my birthday was back in May but I received 2 birthday pkgs in the mail. First one is from my long time painting friend Becky. She got me Monika Brint's newest paint book. I have my eye on a few projects in there already but like everything else I do, I will put my own take on it and change the colours up a bit. Not crazy on the colour selection of some of the projects. And, some scrabble tiles, a couple Asian scrabble necklaces, some mini dominoes, as you can see I already opened the package to take a peek, Becky got me 2 packages, yippee skippee, how cool are those, can't wait to try them and some brad buttons, and some crocheted scrap embellies to use. I already used  one of each on my sewing canvas I posted yesterday.
Thanks so much Becky.

Next some goodies from Jenxo in Australia. Jen sent me Asian papers, a canvas she made, a brooch some laminated bookmarks she made, and this wonderful shrine. Jenxo asked about a shrine I had posted way back in the beginning of the year so she had some time and was able to make me one. This shrine is incredible. There is a little wire birdcage with a swing inside and a door. I am not sure if Jenxo made this or purchased it but it is incredible and I love the little round flowers with beaded centers. Thanks so much Jenxo. I feel so spoiled by these girls.

And a few months ago I entered a bookmark swap over at the Yahoo group for Gingersnap Creations and the theme was travel the world. As you know we had a postal strike and now that it is over we received our bookmarks. These bookmarks were not marked in the back by the artists so I am not sure who to thank, but they are so lovely and I got an Asian one. Some peeps are really paying attention to my likes.

So I want to thank you very much Jenxo, Becky and the bookmark gals.

Today was filled with happiness and after yesterday, tomorrow truly is another day.

Next post is the Summer of Colour.

Post number 2 to follow.



Happy Mother's Day

To my dear Mum
for all you do and continue to do for me, for listening to me, giving advice and just being you.
I love you with all my ♥

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends and family.
I hope you had a lovely day.

More musings to follow in the days to come.
Stay tuned.

Show report and now some down time

Hello blogger friends and family.
Craft show season is now over for another year. So much work and preparation and anticipation for what to expect. Rattled nerves and excitement. I survived it all with a few hitches here and there.
I had fun, I met some wonderfully talented people out there and I received many positive compliments on my work. To me that mean more than you can know.
Sales were not what I expected to be honest but the economy like many places is not the best here. Factories have closed down and most retail jobs hire people on four hour shifts so many people with families come to working more than one job. Too bad but that is the way it is.
I had some goals set but unfortunately they were not met but on the flip side I made a few contacts and even had a few ladies ask if I taught painting. I did a very long time ago to a few girls I knew when I was working and some neighbour friends but then painting sort of died out.
 I had really no competition at the show except for one girl who tole painted but she had totally different style and items than I did so really it wasn't that bad.
 Back to these women who asked if I taught I gave them my card that I made up and we will see if they call after the New Year. I am not really a pushy person so I will let them contact me and if they lose interest and don't want to bother then I don't have to go contacting and feeling like I am pressuring them.
I also met a girl at the show I had not seen in almost 20 years. We used to work in a retail store at the mall and when I hear Roseanne's voice then saw her face I immediately recognized her. Unfortunately we didn't get too much visiting in as she was volunteering in the kitchen plus she had a table to run with her family so I am sure I will hear from her via email. Please Roseanne if you read my blog contact me as I really want to keep in touch.
And.....through Facebook a girl I went to school with 30 years ago...yikes did I really type that???? Sherry contacted me and came to the show around noon then left just before the end of it. We chatted and had a good catch up visit. Sure made time go by and she looks the same and her smile is just so warm just like her personality. I know we will be keeping in touch.
Well during my show and Sherry was there I had to use the ladies room so I ventured off found the restrooms and walked in did my business and came out of the stall. I was washing my hands and to my horror I saw a reflection of urinals????? did I see that right??? I turned my head around and yup there they were all lined up....urinals. Well I never washed my hands so fast then I got to the entrance of the washroom and looked up and down the hall, the coast was clear, phew I will walk out real fast. No one noticed and all is good. Can you believe it??? I was sure I saw a skirt on that sign. Nope it didn't have one....I looked when I came out. Well that wasn't the first I can now say it was probably my second or so time I have been in the men's washroom but when you gotta go you gotta go.
And here is a pic of my friend Sherry and a pic of my table.
The table was 8 feet and I thought I could have had another one but maybe it was just as well I didn't. Peeps were looking, sales were low but nothing of one particular thing.
I sold a sled, some inchie tree ornies, wood ornies, canvas stocking, signs, canvases and many other things I can't remember them all, oh those wreaths with the snowmen with bird house hats all sold they were very popular this season. Must do some of them for next year.
Well thanks for dropping by. Now a bit of down time but Christmas is coming so I will be back to card making, sending gifts out very soon, catching up on ATC challenges and the like.
Stay tuned everyone and thanks for dropping by.