Unleashing your creativity: links and ideas

Hi there, hope you had a very nice long weekend : )  We hung around the house and I was able to get a simple house project done (have a ton of projects on my list right now).  Saw a GREAT way to hang kitchen utensils on Pinterest, and went out yesterday to make one for myself.  Our kitchen is small and only has six drawers, and they are very small drawers.  Most of our cooking utensils are in a Pampered Chef tool turnaround, but it was getting WAY too crowded, so I needed a way to spread out the utensils.  The idea I saw on Pinterest used a curtain rod (solid rod) with S hooks, I could not find a solid curtain rod, so I used two different things: a magnetic curtain hooks and then a tension curtain rod.

The rod I ended up using is pretty strong, and it is one of the oval type ones, not the rod that came with the magnetic hooks (the rod was too flimsy). The S hooks were not cheap ( I purchased the stainless steel ones), but am very pleased with the outcome, and I will be purchasing a few more magnetic hooks to help hold the unit up (the rod is attached to our cooking vent which is metal).

My Mom stayed with us all of last week (she is 84, lives alone and is about 50 miles from us), which was great!  She received a new Ipad for Christmas so we were helping her to learn how to use it, including sending email, signing up for Facebook, using Netflix and just about everything else associated with the the Ipad and being online (she has never been online).  It was interesting to say the least, she won't have a wireless internet connection at home for another week, hopefully she won't forget everything she learned.

                                                      
Our plan for 2012 is to bring her to our house once a month for a week or so, that way we get extended visits with her and she has company (if she can stand us that long).

And now we should get on with some stamping things, right?

Don't forget to check Blitsy on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, some absolutely GREAT deals there, I did spend a bit and bought some Archival Ink pads and re-inkers at a wonderful price two weeks ago.  I check all the time to see what is being listed, and when there are good prices on the products I use that is the time to stock up!  The items listed for sale are only available for a short time (7 days), so don't wait to order if you see something you need/want.

Speaking of ink pads:  remember to always purchase a re-inker  when you buy an ink pad!  Having the re-inker on hand is a life saver, and you can use the rei-inkers for so many techniques.  While it does increase the cost of your purchase, down the road you won't have to purchase new ink pads as you can re-ink the pads you have.



This week is all about unleashing your inner creativity, tapping into the artist that is inside all of us.  When you  tap into your inner creativity you unleash all sorts of wonderful ideas that you didn't even know you had!  Have you ever felt like you just are not in a creative mood?  That your projects are lacking something?  Maybe you just don't feel that connection you once had with your scrap booking or card making.

Hopefully the links today will give you a new way to find your hidden, creative talents.  Take some time to try a few of the things below to help you find that inner artist (we all have an inner artist), and in doing so you will also find more creativity when you work on cards, scrap book pages or other paper crafting projects.

How to draw a flower with a calligraphy pen:  Loved this idea, and I have some of these pens, will need to try this!  I image that you could also create other doodles using her technique to get two colors on the pen nib.

How to draw a simple daisy with a brush marker:  Nice!  And so easy!  I have used brush markers to do all sorts of shapes, very easy and makes a very nice graphic for your card. And you could use your Copics (with the brush tip) or dye based markers with brush tips.

Lettering/doodle ideas technique sheets:  A great collection of how you can use your brush tips (Copic markers with a brush tip would work too) for all sorts of lettering and doodles!

Doodling/Art Journal blog:  Wow!  Just loved all the ideas here, doodling/art journaling is a wonderful way to tap into your creative soul, unleashing the artist in you and bringing out ideas for your next card/scrapbook page or other paper crafting project. (Here is a link to a scribd article by the same artist) I have started an art journal, trying all sorts of techniques, doodling, cutting out and pasting pictures, saving images I have stamped/colored but never used and so on.

Keeping an Art Journal is a wonderful way to also get around those times when you feel like you have lost your "mojo" or inspiration.  Each day try to spend a little time with your journal, one day add some background color to a page, the next day draw/doodle on the page, the next day add some more color and so on.  You will be amazed at how your ideas and creativity starts to flow better!

More ideas for brush tip markers:  From I Like Markers (amazing site), love the little hearts and butterflies!



Tutorials GALORE!  Lots of amazing tutorials at this link, you are sure to find something you will want to try, especially if you are starting your art journal.



Art Journaling 101:  This is a wonderful place to start your art journal experience, lots of tips, links to other blogs and more.  Again, unleashing the artist inside you also unleashes the creativity you have for all of your paper crafting projects.



Make your own Smash book:  This is a new/old style of scrap booking, you take your pictures, mementos and what nots and simply "smash" them into a book.  From the link:

Smash Books are basically pre-bound scrapbooks, but instead of plain pages, which can be daunting to fill, they have patterned papers and papers with sayings on them. The books are made from good quality card stock and can take a lot of memorabilia glued, taped or stapled to the pages.

  No fancy layout, just put your things in a book!   love this and am working on one right now, gathering up all sorts of scraps of things I have created and putting them in one place : )

Five ways to lead a more creative life:  Nice article on how you can look at what is around you and change how you view and relate to your environment to unleash your creativity.

That is all for this week!  I hope you have enjoyed the post this week, and don't forget that I love reading your comments!  Have a great week and take some time to discovery your inner creativity : )

2012 Winter CHA Sneak Peeks plus other fun links

Hellllloooooo crafters : )  Hope your crafting week has been going well with lots of time to create.  Since I am now unemployed I find that my crafting time has expanded into hours of playing and creating, something that soothes my soul and gives me peace (except when there are problems lol, you know what I mean).

Am working on a list of videos to make in the future, would love if you could let me know what you would like to see.  Distress ink water coloring?  The Melted Crayon Technique?  Simple cards?  Matching paper to your stamped image?  Quick and easy cards?  What ever you would like to see, just let me know and I will try to create a video.

Deco Lady with cork background

So far I am thinking of doing videos on the techniques that already have written directions, which can be found here on Scribd.  And I am working on a "tour" of the AfterHoursStamper craft area, as well as a really cool gift idea (with a DIY embellishment tutorial) for your craftng buddies (new crafters or experienced crafters).  In the future I will be writing directions for all of the videos I do, and will work on written directions for the most recent video, "Make your own designer paper with a wine cork."

As someone who loves to craft I also love to help others learn how to do anything related to paper crafting, especially as so many things can be frustrating when you are not sure how to do them properly.

What I have discovered is that practice is key to learning any type of technique, and also getting rid of any thought that your first attempt has to be perfect, rather the worse you do the more room for improvement : )  And sometimes you discover a way to change a technique to fit your style and your way of crafting, which is also fun and a bit exciting as well : )

There is no technique out there that can't be changed, or done differently if that is how YOU want to create, and don't be afraid to change techniques, even if your idea or effort doesn't turn out like you thought, well, the next time it might be even better!

Let's get on with some links, shall we?  Today will have some links to the upcoming 2012 Winter CHA, lots and lots of new paper, stamps and other goodies to drool over.  And of course there are a few other odds and ends as well.  So....grab a cup of coffee, tea, wine, or water, sit back and start craft surfing : )

Blitsy:  If you need some distress stains run over to Blitsy and stock up!  Great price, $2.99, (as of this post many of the colors have sold out so hurry over to get what is left) and there are also albums and other things on sale there.  Remember that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday new items are posted at Blitsy, and the more popular items sell out quickly.  I check all the time and love when they have something I need (want lol).






Kirstens Blog Tutorials:  Love these projects, and don't forget to visit her entire blog, link here, to view some amazing coloring with colored pencils.  Some of her posts are not in English, but most are.



Becca's Distress Ink Blenders Storage:  Love this idea, and absolutely LOVE Becca's blog (she has the most amazing work, as well as lots and lots of tutorials).  And her blog leads us to.....CHA Sneak Peeks!




Spellbinders CHA Sneak Peek:  WOW, wow, WOW!  You are going to LOVE these new die cuts!  Am really going to have to save up to buy at least one of the new sets.  The link is to day one of the release, click here for day two (which has the most amazing die cuts).



Tim Holtz 2012 CHA Sneek Peeks:  LOVE the new dies, papers.....just so much to see and drool over!  Don't forget to click on day two to see more new products.







CHA Sneak Peek from Studio 490 Art:  Lots of cool things here, especially like the retro stamps and embellisments.





Petaloo Sneak Peek:  Love the soft colors of these embellishments, just in time for spring!





Lifestyle Craft Sneak Peek (used to be QuicKutz):  Love these dies, and just in time for Valentines Day!  Make sure to check out all of the projects on the blog as well, beautiful projects there.




Prima Sneak Peeks:  The paper and embellishments are just breathtaking....link is to one of the release days, make sure you check them all out and be ready to part with some $$$ : )





Ok, that is all for now, will have more CHA links in the next post, hopefully the video of my craft area, and of course other links (I have literally hundreds of cool links saved that are just waiting to be posted : )

As always I want you to know how much I appreciate your emails, comments and support, without you there would be no AfterHoursStamper : )

Enjoy your day, and don't forget to find some time to craft.

Happy 2012! Time for updates and all sorts of great links

Hi everyone, yes, I have been out for quite a time now (three months), and it feels good to be back!  As my last post stated, my life turned upside down when my father's wife (my stepmother) took ill and needed full time care.  I did not realize how sick she was, and my father and I took care of her 24/7 until her passing.

It was perhaps the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and it has taken me months to recover physically and mentally, from the impact of what happened.  In a nutshell:  my stepmother left her home to live with her daughter, this lasted three days (two nights).  Sadly, the arrangement did not work out at all, and my stepmother left her daughters house and ended up in a residential hospice facility until my Dad and I could get her back to home.

She was happy to be home, but estranged from her daughter, she would not talk to her daughter and told us she was frightened when she was at the daughters house.  The daughter never called to ask how her mother was doing, but did come over one day to scream at her terminally ill mother.  It was the worst situation I have ever seen (and hospice told us that it was the worst they had seen in 25 years), daughter screaming because the mother was cutting her off financially, mother telling daughter to get out and never talk to her again, you get the picture.

Somethings change your life in ways you just didn't anticipate, and this situation was such an event.  I loved my stepmother and feel blessed that I was able, along with my Dad, to give her the care and love she needed and wanted during her last days,  and I miss her very much.  She was 13 years younger than my father so her illness was unexpected and traumatic to my father.

My father ended up moving to a rural community in Northern CA, and for the last two months I have been visiting him (and my Mom who lives in another Northern CA city) on a regular basis.  Given all that there has been little time for blogging (though I have continued to post here and there on the facebook page).  Am back now though, with lots more time since I also ended up having to quit my full time job, but still teaching classes at Michaels.

Sorry for the long intro, just wanted to catch you all up and thank you for your emails and support during this most difficult time.

How about some crafting talk, finally?  Am considering posting a bit more often, without as many links (I find  all sorts of links each day to use at a future date).  Would love to know if you would like shorter posts with fewer links or if you like the way the blog is now, ie, one post a week with more links. I do post more often on the facebook page (since it is just a quick post with one link).  Speaking of facebook......

Would you like to win a free Magnolia bench stamp?  If so, all you need to do is to guess how much I spent on this order:

                                   
Leave a comment on the AfterHoursStamper FACEBOOK page, the most recent post, and the person who is closest to the amount I spent will win the stamp.  Contest ends on Sunday at midnight, PST.

Have been cleaning/clearing/organizing my little craft area and thought you might like to see a video of what I have done recently, watch for the video next week : )  We now have an extra bedroom in our home, but I really like my little craft area in the family room and have no desire to move to a larger area.  I am going to be clearing out the garage (have been going through all the rooms in the house and organizing) and storing some little used craft items in the garage, that way I will have some free shelves in my craft area for even better organizing.

Ok, now, finally, how about a HUGE amount of links?  So many fun things to view and find, so little time : )

Blitsy:  Am LOVING saving money here!  Have already made a number of purchases that saved me a ton of money.  You really need to check the site on Monday/Wednesday/Friday for new offerings, and they only have limited amounts of products, if you see something you like purchase it immediately, it may not be there later (as I have, sadly, found out).  Right now you can find savings on Glimmer Glam, Glimmer Glaze, ColorBox Pigment ink pads and reinkers, and much, much more, and remember that on Monday there will be other new products posted!

 Tombow doodles:  Loved this quick and easy way to use your markers to create a fast, easy card or note.

Make your own dauber:  Really great idea, especially since you can change out the foam inexpensively. Video is provided below as well:


DIY Glimmer Mist:  Nice video that shows a number of different ways you can make your own Glimmer Mist, as well as has a few other DIY ideas.

Cool technique using Vaseline:  Interesting technique, a must try since it is fairly easy and of course quick!

Colored Pencil Tutorial:  I love using colored pencils for coloring, and love finding tutorials on ways to color with colored pencils.  This is a nice video that takes you through all the steps. Click here for the blog (which as of Jan 2012 will not have any updates, but the archives are a wonderful resource).

Am purchasing the Perfect Layers tool, have read a great deal on this product and would like to try it out, am tired of sometimes having "issues" with layers when trying to finish a project.  (please note that I am in the Amazon referral program, if you click on the box below and make a purchase I receive compensation)

Mama Dini's Stamperia:  Link is to her tutorials, but make sure to visit the main blog page (click here), for GREAT inspiration.  Loved her site and her work.

Goosebumps:  Nice video on a new product from Tsukineko, looks very interesting and a fun product to try.  Here is the product techniques PDF from Tsukineko mentioned in the video. 

Copic Paper:  Why spend $120 on Xpress It when you can use Hammermill Color Copy Digital Cover Stock, (photo white is the color) 80 lb for $10?  The Hammermill paper works just as well as the Xpress it paper for copic coloring, and at $10 a ream, you can't go wrong!  And yes, I have used the Hammermill paper and love it, will be ordering some more soon!  The Xpress It paper comes in packs of 125, the Hammermill comes in packs of 250!  What is great about this paper is that you don't have to have separate papers for your base card stock and then another paper for your copic coloring, given the price of this paper you can use it both ways and not feel like you are wasting expensive paper.

Ink Pad guide:  Great link for a listing of the various types of ink pad available.  I have sent this to many new rubber stampers and they always appreciate the information. 

DIY Foam Board Cabinet:  Wonderful tutorial on making your own mini cabinet.  If I had room in my crafting area this would be something on my list of todos : )

Don't forget to go over to the AfterHoursStamper Facebook page, lots of links there as well (some are here, but not all), make sure you "like" the Facebook page so you will see updates on your personal Facebook wall.

That's it for today!  Take care and have a most wonderful and amazing day, feels good to be back, thank you for understanding my long absence.