I Learned How To Print My Own Paper

Okay so it's not something I really want to do because I don't believe it is cost effective but when I couldn't find what I was looking for I had to take some desperate measures!

I have been searching high and low for some Graphic 45 French Country so I could make some items for my kitchen to go with the Match Box Project that I made in a class that my friend Linda and I went to back in 2013. The only paper I could find was $60 for the pack and I am not about to pay that much for some dang paper! I did have a deal worked out with someone that I would send them a Foodsaver Meal Saver Vacuum Sealer and they would send me some of the French Country they had but that deal fell through as I never received the paper...and yes I did send the vacuum sealer.

One night at Stamp Club I was talking about looking high and lo for the French Country paper and the lady who runs stamp club said she had some left and would let me buy it. I told her I would just borrow it if she didn't mind and then see if I could scan and print my own. She loves the collection as much as I do and I didn't want to take what was left of hers. I also had a friend scan some of the 8x8 sheets she had and mail those to me. 

Back in August I had made a trip to Goodwill and hit one of those bargains of the century when I found a brand new Canon Pixma Pro 100, which I discussed in my True Confessions post, and I just knew I would be able to print awesome paper with this thing. I had never used the printer before but my daughter had used it a few times printing some pictures she had scanned that she gathered from her pawpaw and granny. She told me it printed great, I wasn't here at the time she printed them, and that is why I was so hopeful about being able to print the paper I wanted. 

My hope and excitement soon waned into disappointment and frustration as I couldn't get it to print the vibrant colors. While it was mediocre and quite subdued I thought I would just have to make it work. When discussing it on Facebook someone mentioned something about matte photo paper and the color management settings in the computer. I ordered some of the matte photo paper from Amazon, being a prime member does have it's benefits since I actually received it the next day. I played around with my settings in the color management and thought I would try it again. By this time I had already finished one project with the mediocre paper, which I will share later, but there was still another project I wanted to do.

Anxiously I loaded the matte photo paper into the printer and hit the print button for the picture that was on my computer screen. I actually went into the kitchen and piddled around because I didn't want to look at it and be disillusioned while the page finished printing.When I came back into the craftroom I think a squeal of delight escaped my lips as I was elated with what was sitting there! Here you can see for yourself how well it printed once I made the adjustments in the color management, which I have no idea what all I adjusted at the time, and used the matte photo paper. You really can't tell the difference between what I printed and the original paper other than the paper feels a bit different.

I quickly printed a number of papers to use and even thought about redoing the first project I had completed with the crappy paper yet I didn't want all the ink I had used to go to waste so I decided against it.  I also figured out how to print multiple images on one sheet, the sunflower in the picture is actually from a full 12x12 sheet and I just cropped it to what I wanted to use. 

Now let me say that if Graphic 45 finds out about this I will likely be banished from ever using their products again but I tell ya what....we crafters are a desperate kinda breed when it comes to wanting what we want and I justify my actions by thinking it is what they get for discontinuing such a wonderful collection! 

The two projects I made with the paper will post in the next few days so be sure to come back and see what I made!

The Red Box I Found

I'm not sure I really found the box as much as it found me.

I got home from work yesterday and there was this red box sitting amongst my daisy plants in my flower bed. I looked for a note on my door or on the box and there was not a note anywhere to be found. With some trepidation I picked up the box and carried it in the house with the contents rattling slightly and carefully sat it on the dining room table. I let it sit there for probably close to an hour before I even opened it. I figured if I moved it around that much and if it was going to blow up then it would have within that amount of time. I wondered if someone was trying to cause me harm why would they put something in such a pretty box. 

When I first opened the box and saw some items with roosters the first thought that came to my mind was that my Aunt Betty had found things at Goodwill and got them for me but then I saw a picture frame and once I tilted the box a bit I instantly recognized the frame as it was one I had decorated for Naomi probably back in 2011 after she moved into the assisted living center. I had someone take a picture of she and I at her Christmas party and when I showed her the picture she said she needed it framed so of course I went into my stash of picture frames ad decorated one up to match her room. 

I knew the box had to have come from her sister Janice. Janice had asked me not long after Naomi passed away if I would like to have the picture and I told her I would and that was the last I heard about it and actually had forgotten about it until I pulled it out of the box. Now why Janice decided to give me the other items I have no idea unless she has seen my posts on Facebook about me having roosters in my kitchen. Naomi loved roosters and I have wondered why all the sudden I wanted some rooster decor in my kitchen but maybe, just maybe, it was my subconscious or my angel Naomi that lead me in that direction.  

I have already placed the wax burner, basket and plate and cup in my kitchen. The picture is in the living room on a shelf. The cast iron bell is sitting on the cabinet right now until I can figure out exactly where I think it would look best. 

I went on Facebook because I was going to message Janice and tell her thank you and I had a message from her saying she had left me a box in my flower bed and said "use whatever you can and do whatever you want with the rest. She LOVED you dearly!! And, I appreciate all you did for her!!!". 

Now I have a little piece of Naomi that I can look at every day and think of the special bond we shared.

In Love With Heartfelt Creations!

Right before going to Florida back in March I was looking around on Facebook and someone had posted a pile of flowers they said they made with some Heartfelt Creation stamps and dies. I don't think I had ever really paid attention to that company before but for some reason I decided to look up some of their stuff and signed up for their newsletter. I promptly got a link to a video that showed how to make 7 different flowers with their Arianna Blooms set...I WAS IN LOVE!!

I kept looking at the different sets they offer and one day while Karen was at work and I was left to my own devices I started looking again and called Carmen and asked her which sets she thinks we would use the most and we decided on Arianna Blooms, Botanical Rose and Delightful Daisies. I was able to find a coupon code, I believe for 20% off, and the shipping was free...which is a good thing since they are kinda pricey!

Here is a picture of the Botanical Rose set stamped and the die next to it. At first I didn't think I would like the flowers all being connected but I soon found out it was a great idea and I was also able to only stamp off some of the smaller flowers by only inking those and then cuttin my cardstock down so the die would only cut those.

Here you can see them stacked up, I thought this would show the different sizes a little better than just being all flat on the sheet of cardstock. This particular set has 5 different sizes, the smallest flower stamps and cuts twice.

I spent a whole weekend stamping and cutting the flowers. This is a picture of my stash but I sent Carmen a stash of them as well. I thought it would be a good idea to just get a bunch stamped and cut to have for when I wanted to use them instead of having to stamp and cut each time. This way I can just pull out what I want to use, ink, shape and POOF...I will have flowers!

Being honest I will say I haven't used these much but only because I haven't made much of anything lately that needed these types of flowers. I did do a few flowers for practice and put them in a jar for later use. I still like the McGill Flower Tools I got off Amazon and posted about a few months ago and ordered the other set that had the larger balls. Both sets were still cheaper than the Heartfelt Creation Tool set and I think I like not having to change out the ball ends when I want to use a different size. 

I inked the middle with Stampin Up So Saffron and then the outer edges with I believe Regal Rose to color these flowers. I like having the option to color them with whatever ink and colors I want. I used mounting foam in between the 3 layers in the picture. I need to work on these a bit more as I will say it does get easier with practice. 

Oh and if anyone wants to get me an early birthday or Christmas gift you can always send me the Under The Sea Stamps and Dies....it's to die for and I would love you forever!!

My "Stainglass" French Doors

This is one project I am very proud of and pleased with, that is something I don't say very often! I have gotten quite a few compliments on my "Stainglass" French Doors from people who have seen them in person and while I posted a sneak peek on Facebook as I was working on them this is the first time I have shared the full pictures of the completed project. This post is quite long and has a lot of pictures, but I think it is worth the time to read and look. Oh you can click on the pictures to see them larger and get a better look at the detail.

I have had many ideas on what to do to cover my French Doors that are in the dining area and go out on the deck but there hasn't been anything I have settled my mind on. I bought fabric to make some curtains but I wasn't sure that is what I wanted, I made a file to cut contact paper and put over the glass but that wasn't something I thought I wanted to do, mainly after I priced frosted vinyl. Until just a few weeks ago I had some cheap curtains barely hanging from some half broken magnetic rods and while it didn't look nice at least I could open and close them.

One day while looking around Zipp Outlet, before it became a chip and shoe store, I found some cling window covering and I thought it would be great for covering the glass on the French Doors since I could still get light and wouldn't have to worry about magnetic curtain rods that fall and break. The package states it is Window Glass Cling and the design is Dogwood. The rolls are 24" x 47" and I paid $6.97 a roll. I picked up 4 rolls since I wans't sure how much I would need.

When I got it home I cut it down to fit and one thing I didn't like was that I couldn't see out! I like being able to see out the window and I knew if I covered the whole glass the dogs wouldn't be able to see out and they wouldn't like it either. After figuring out the area where I needed an opening to see it worked great by cutting and just moving the cling down and it left enough at the bottom for the dogs to see as well. While I was glad of this I didn't like the unfinished look of the window and I knew I would need to do something to make it look a little more finished. 

Supplies Used:
Window Cling Film
Frosted Magic Cover (like shelf liner stuff)
Vinyl
Cricut Explore
Cutter Bees Scissors
Brayer
Water
Make The Cut for designing
Cricut Design Space for Cutting

After much thought, really...a lot and lot of thought, I came up with a design I liked and the first step was to put my "wrought iron" around the whole window and box in the "stainglass". I cut 1/2" strips of black vinyl and did the outer edges and then the horizontal strips. Ignore the ugly brown smudges at the top of the doors, that is where someone had put mounting foam trying to keep the curtain rods up there. I had to use some Undu to get the stuff off there.

My next step was to trim the window covering down and my Cutterbees were perfect for this since they are able to cut closer to edges than regular scissors. I tried a craft knife at first but the Cutterbee's were faster, neater and more accurate.

The great thing about the window cling is that it just goes on with water and is totally repositionable. I did use my brayer to get the cling down well and help get some of the water bubbles out. The directions called for a squeegee but I dont think they know about craft brayers!

This was actually an all day job and I think that was because I had never done such a thing before but also because of all the detail work that was required. Once I got to this point of having all the "stainglass" boxed in I thought I was getting ready to do the easy part with finishing out the plain areas...I was wrong. Anyway you can see that my dog Willy Wonka has plenty of room to see in and out as does Lucy, she just wouldn't cooperate for photos that day.

Cutting the black vinyl design was easy peasy of course but working with this Frosted Magic Cover proved to be a bit more of a challenge. I had never tried cutting anything like this and I wasn't sure of the settings I would need or how it would even cut. I decided to use the Washi setting on the Cricut Explore and it actually could have been a little deeper of a cut. This stuff was hard to weed because I couldn't hardly see the design!

The view I get in the day is great because light is still coming in and the design shows up nicely. I am able to see out just fine through the design and neither Lucy or Willy Wonka have complained about the area at the bottom where they look out. If I didn't have the bottom area where they could see I might not have a window *okie can just picture Wonka scratching not only through the window cling but the glass it's self so he could see out*. 

The view at night is gorgeous! I love how it looks from the outside and it really does give privacy from the road...yes, I did go out there and look to see how much someone could see looking into it from the road. I love how it glows and really does look like stainglass. The vinyl designs show up nicely and add just a bit more privacy than just open areas would offer.

I wanted to show close ups of the vinyl designs and this one is at the top of the window area where I look out. The milky looking areas are the frosted magic cover that I cut and I had to place each one individually and it wasn't really difficult but was rather time consuming but definitely worth the time! 

Here is the bottom design and you can see it is much like the one at the top. I worked quite a while on a design that would work for the smaller opening at the top and where I could repeat the pattern at the bottom and I think it turned out quite well. 

Like I said, I'm really pleased with how this turned out and I am glad I took my time in figuring out what I wanted to do with the doors because it was worth the wait!

A Little Laminating Trick!

First off let me apologize for not being here for a few months. I am alive and well. I have done some crafting but I've been lazy about getting things posted. I actually might end up losing this dang thing if I can't figure out how to update my information through Google and it would seem I might need to get some technical help to figure it out. It really shouldn't be that hard to update information but it keeps taking me to different links and I don't know what hoops to jump through. Okay enough of that...

I want to share a little trick I learned this morning while working on a banner. I wanted to laminate the banner so it can be used year after year. I had told my friend Andrea I would make her a 4th of July banner last year but I got busy with other things and didn't get it done and since I'm on-call this weekend and can't really go anywhere I decided to work on the banner.

I'll have to post the finished product later since I still have to put it together but I was laminating this morning and ran into a problem of the laminating sheets not adhering all the way leaving me with gaps in some places and also nasty milky looking residue along some edges and that just wouldn't do since I want the banner to be waterproof but also look nice. 

As you can see in the picture it was rather nasty looking and I believe the problem was due to the thickness of my banner pieces since I had 3 layers of cardstock on some of the pieces. 

I ran a piece through the laminator again but it didn't help any. I thought about maybe using my iron but I thought there might be an easier and less messy way and that is when using my heat gun popped into my head *okie still thinks she is a genius at times*. I wanted to protect my craft table so I grabbed one of the BBQ mats I had gotten at Zipp Outlet months ago. Quick note on these, they sell for around $10 for 2 on Amazon and work just as well as the craft mats that sell for $10 for 1 in craftstores. Also these are a little thicker than the craft mats and they clean up great. I got mine for $1.97 at the outlet store and I actually bought a number of them to share with crafty friends. 

The heat gun worked great for heating the "glue" up and I worked in small areas at a time. You don't want to hold it too long in one area or it will start to melt the lamination sheet. If you do heat embossing you understand how you need to move the gun back and forth a bit and this is the method I did for the lamination sheet. As you can see the milkiness goes away as the glue is heated and I was really excited about the cleaner looking edge but I did want to make sure it was going to stick together and I had an idea for that as well.

In order to get the lamination sheet to stick together I used my rub on tool, the one I have was made by Basic Grey but I'm sure there is something else you can use since BG is no longer in the paper crafting busines, to go along the edge after the milkiness disappeared. As I mentioned earlier I worked in small areas so I didn't over heat the lamination sheets and also so I would have time to press the sheet together before it cooled down too much. 

I am really thrilled with knowing now that I can laminate multiple layers of cardstock and still get a nice clean edge around the paper. The laminating sheets I was using are 5 mil thick, which is pretty thick, and I might not have had this problem had I used thinner laminating sheets but I want this sucker to be pretty sturdy. Also I got a good deal on the laminating sheets, $3.97 for a box of 100, at Zipp Outlet and since I have two boxes I figured I might as well use some of them.

Oh and since someone will ask about Zipp Outlet I will tell you that it is only in Oklahoma in a few towns here and I use to love the store but now it seems all they get in are chips and shoes, neither of which I need!

I'll try and get a few other projects I've done ready to post in the next few days. 

Making Your Own Pop Dots

One of the things I love to use when papercrafting is Pop Dots but I don't actually use Pop Dots because they are a bit expensive in my opinion when used in volume that I use them. They are especially expensive if you have to buy several different packages in order to get the size you want and my solution is to make my own then cut to the size I want. To make it even better I can layer it to get different heights.

I started to panic last night while finishing up decorating my last box and I thought I was getting low on my own Pop Dots. Fortunately when I went to the closet in the craftroom and checked my box I was quite relieved to find that I still have a "few" rolls of mounting foam. I stocked up a few years ago when Wall's Bargain Center had quite a few packages for $1 each and I think there were like 3 or 4 rolls to a package. I shared my find with my friends Linda and Carmen. 

So what do you need to make your own Pop Dots? Mounting Foam and something to stick it to, yep that's it! What I have found that works great is the left over sheeting from contact paper. I have tried several things over the years but this works the best because it releases the mounting foam the best. I use to just cut pieces off the rolls but my scissors would get gummed up pretty fast and after going through a few pairs I would have to clean them with some Undu because they wouldn't even open anymore. 

Since I store my mounting foam strips in a pencil case I cut a piece of contact paper the length of the pencil case to make things easier. I then lay out strips of the foam covering the piece of contact paper backing making sure to leave a little gap between the strips so I can cut them apart when I'm done. 

My pencil case will hold two rolls of mounting foam strips and this should last me awhile. The case fits nicely in one of my craft table drawers and is handy to get to. I love being able to cut the size I need without getting my scissors all gummed up. After spending about 20 minutes doing this last night I'm all ready for when I need Pop Dots!

Webster's Pages Clean and Simple - Altered Box

I got another one of the boxes covered and this one was a bit harder but I think only because I didn't have all the little extras to choose from with the Webster's Pages paper like I did with the Graphic 45. I might have overdone it with the flowers but I really like how they turned out and wanted to use as many as I could. I did end up with some extra white daisies that I can use some other time. 

Supplies Used:

-White Paperboard Box

-Webster's Pages Clean and Simple

-Daisies Cutting File (available below)

-Cuttlebug Daisy Quillng Kit

-Sizzix Dies Label, Ornate #2

-EK Success Medallion Border Punch

-Stampin Up "Define Your Life" Journey

-McGill Paper Blossom Tool Kit

-Colorbox Chalk Ink

-Glimmer Mist

-Smooch Spritz Tea Party

Here is a straight on view of the top of the box. The white flowers are the daisies that there is a cutting file for at the bottom of the post. The pink flowers were made using the Cuttlebug Daisy Quilling Kit. The center papers were cut using then Sizzix dies. I stamped the "journey" definintion and then adhered the yellow paper on some orange and used the Stampin Up Decorative Label punch to punch it out. 

On the close up side view you can see the ribbon on the side of the box a little better. I found some Sobe glue at Zipp Outlet and I have to say I love this stuff! It was great to put the ribbon on the box and also for the little dangling "Spirit" embellishment that I used as a open/close apparatus. 

You might be able to tell from the photo but in case you can't...I used mounting foam and a lot of it! That is one thing I love about altering items is that I can add a lot more dimension than I can on cards or scrapbook pages. 

I think you can see the "shimmer" on these flowers better than you can on the last box I did. I used Glimmer mist on the white daisies and Smooch Spritz on the pink daisies. For the centers of the white daisies I ran some yellow circles I had cut, that are included in the cutting file, upside down through my Xyron and then covered with flock. 

The quilling kit has a plate that cuts some straight strips that I used in the center of the pink daisies but then it looked a little plain to me so I popped in some pearls to jazz it up a bit. 

When the last box posted on Facebook someone asked if I had covered the inside as well and asked for me to post pictures if I did indeed cover the inside. I don't know why I didn't think about posting pictures of the inside then and I thought I should go ahead and post a picture of the inside of the box so you can see how the inside is covered as well. 

  

Graphic 45 Come Away With Me - Altered Box

I've been busy working on converting a bunch of files in Make The Cut the last 2 weeks or so and haven't done any crafting. This weekend I got tired of working on those files and decided to get busy on a project. I had found these bare boxes at Zipp Outlet a few weeks ago and I think I paid a whopping $2 for 3 of them. I love boxes around this size not only because they are fun to decorate but also because they will hold A2 size cards or those small Bath and Body Works items which makes them convenient for gift giving. 

Supplies Used:

- White Paperboard Box

- Graphic 45 Come Away With Me

- Stampin Up Flower Punches

- Ranger Memory Slide and Frame

- Various Embellishments

- Basic Grey Magnet Closure

- McGill Paper Blossom Tool Kit

- Colorbox Chalk Inks

I think I improved my flower making skills a little since my last attempt. I was pleased with these flowers and will be working on some more this week for another box. 

It's probably a little hard to see in the first picture but if you look at the bottom of the picture you can see a small metal square that is a Basic Grey Magnet Closure *okie bows her head and has a moment of silence in remembrance of Basic Grey's wonderful run in the papercrafting world*. The closures came with some small magnets and I placed one on the side of the box and then to attach the metal piece I looped ribbon in the "hanger" of the metal piece and then attached the ribbon between the box and the piece of paper that I used to cover the inside of the lid.

I used a small picture of a ship from one of the sheets of paper from the Come Away With Me collection and put it in a Ranger Memory Slide. The ribbon is from Stampin Up. The little white flowers are earring jackets and the pearls in the middle are earrings. I got a ton of these years ago and use them for everything but earrings. I used Sobo glue to hold the "pearl" in place. The little gold roses are buttons and since they were plastic I was able to snip off the shank of the button. 

For the little stamps, hot air balloon, the woman and ticket I just found scraps from sheets I used and fussy cut them to add to the box. 

I took a close up hoping you could see where I used Glimmer Mist *okie wonders why some people don't like that stuff* on the flowers. It actually served a dual purpose, one being to add some shimmer and the other was to add wetness to the flowers to help me shape them and then when they dry they hold their shape better. 

I have some Webster's Pages paper picked out for my next box that I will be doing this week and of course I will be trying out my flower making skills for this one as well...at least that is the plan. Sometimes I have great plans but then they get changed as a project goes along so I guess we will just have to see!

I Remember Flat Stanley

In 25 days I will be heading to Orlando Florida to spend a glorious week with BFF Karen! It's been almost 2 years since I've been to see her and I can't believe it's been that long since we have seen each other, 6-9 months is usually as long as we go without a visit with each other. 

We won't be going on a cruise this year as it isn't in the budget for either of us right now. However I will be spending a week in Karen's pool. She bought a house not long ago and the mission is actually for me to get her craftroom set up. If you are a regular reader you might remember me doing this like 2 years ago in her apartment. When I last talked to her she said "I thought about going in that damn room and doing something but since you are coming I'm not touching any of that shit". The cool thing is that Karen lets me have free reign to arrange and put things away however I want and then she never moves things around because she can call me and ask "hey do you know where that brown paper is" and I answer "yeah it is on the 3rd row down and 2nd cubby over". Seriously...that so happened before!

Karen really can craft and she actually comes up with some really cute ideas. I was thinking about this and remembered when we did Flat Stanley for her nephew and thought I would share that post again since it was something we worked on together and we were both so proud of ourselves.

Without further ado I present -

Flat Stanley project.....

My BFF Karen is in for a week for my daughter's graduation and brought Flat Stanley with her. Karen's nephew is in first grade and sent Flat Stanley to her before she left California to come here. When Karen told me about the project I told her we could fix up something nice. Karen's idea was to write a letter and put some pictures in a plastic brag book type thing. Of course that just was NOT going to work for me! *okie wonders if maybe Karen had a lapse of temporary insanity with even thinking that would work at okie's house*. Especially after she said her nephew was talking about how a little girl in his class had a really nice project from her grandma!!

We sent the pictures to Walmart for development and of course I had idea's running through my head. Evidently my idea of nice and Karen's idea of nice are most assuredly not the same. I did tone things down a bit, but not by my choosing! *okie is still cringing because none of the pages are inked*.

Here are the pictures of Flat Stanley's cross country trip in his own mini-scrapbook. You can click the pictures of you would like to see more detail

The little album is 6x6, which does fit in a flat rate priority envelope in case anyone is wondering! HA HA HA

For the cover I used 50 States, Locker Talk and Everyday Paperdolls. I did manage to get in a little doodling when Karen wasn't looking. I cut the United States in red, white and blue and then cut the white into stripes and cut the corner for the blue. The starts are iron on studs.

I used a black marker to dash the flight pattern across the United States.

I wanted to to cut Massachusetts again but with silver thinking it might show up better.....Karen wouldn't let me!

Karen found a post card for the first page to represent that Stanley made it to California. She wrote the story out and then I placed the pictures in order through the book. After she got it typed up I measured what size was left for journaling and then used MS Word to get the size right.

The starfish at the corner of the journaling is a die cut I got on clearance years ago.



Karen is a travel nurse and was able to take Stanley to work with her and get a few snapshots. Everyday Paperdolls was used for the Ambulance and the stethoscope. I cut the ambulance in black and white and then cut the tires off the white. I glued a small piece of red behind the cross and then glued the white on top of the black. Brads were used for the hubcaps. The stethoscope was cut in blue and I used a silver gel pen for the end and ear pieces. I added a surfboard brad for some decoration.

So I had problems with these two pages. Karen didn't want to cover up the paper and kept telling me I couldn't use it. I figured it was my paper and I could dam well use it if I wanted too! I thought she was going to have a heart attack when she realized I cut the word flip flop in half *okie grins a bit evilly* and she felt that was like a mortal sin since she loves anything flip flop!




I used die cuts for all the embellishments on these two pages, except for the word sand, it is fuzzy sticker letters. I love how Karen had Flat Stanley in all the pictures! I don't know if I would have thought of doing it or taken the time!! *okie does have to admit that Karen is an awesome Auntie* 






I had a hard time deciding what to do for the Old Town clock and decided to use the "wish you were here" from Going Places. I did make it longer using Design Studio so it took up more room. I colored in the arrow with silver gel pen.

The fish is cut from Pagoda and I used orange Mica cardstock to give it a more glitzy look and then added a little doodling with a silver gel pen.



The sailboat is a die cut from the same package as all the beach die cutsused. I cut the waves from Everyday paper dolls. The shark is a rubon, as is the word "CHOMP!". They came in a package of Sea World rubons and worked great for that page.

Karen even had a friend of hers in California in on the project, that is the hand you see saving Flat Stanley from getting eaten from the shark. *okie certainly hopes the first graders in Massachusetts don't get nightmares from this image*

I so cracked up when I saw the picture of Flat Stanley buckled up in the car for the ride to the airport!! I would really like to say that Karen was teaching the kids safety but after being BFF's for 23 years I have to admit she was likely being a smart a**!*okie falls out of chair laughing*. I used Going Places for the suitcase and the airplane embellishments. On the suitcase I used a Stampin Up marker to color the corners, handle and around the name tag. And yes boys and girls, inside that tiny name tag it indeed says "Flat Stanley". Karen thinks I go overboard sometimes *okie blinks innocently*and I have no idea why she thinks that!

We really couldn't think of how to decorate these pages and decided the ones with the clouds were fine as they were. We came up with peanuts but I didn't have any peanut brads *okie knew she should have ordered some* so off to the internet I went searching. I found a picture of some Delta Airline peanuts and a can of Coke. I sized the images to what I needed and printed...WALAH! instant embellishments!



Stanley finally arrived in Oklahoma!! Oh yeah, and Karen made it also *okie snickers*. I found a post card at Walmart that we used for the one page. I also resized a picture of the Cheyenne Arapaho tribal flag to use. For the statue picture I just used a sticker I had left over from a layout I did years ago *okie hears the gasps when she mentions stickers*, OH GET OVER IT! You guys know you have used them before also!*okie cracks up laughin*


I printed a picture of a Sonic cup to add to the page here. The lime and cherry brads are some I recently ordered from Eyelet Outlet. Karen mentioned something about her nephew should feel special that I used some of my nice brads on him*and okie whole-heartedly agrees*. The other page didn't seem to need much embellishing. We did add a picture of my daughter since her graduation was the whole reason for Karen and Stanley's trip to Oklahoma.


Finally on the back page we added Stanley decked out with his new sunglasses and surfboard. The sunglasses are a die cut and the surfboard is from a picture Karen had left over.

So that is the little scrapbook of Flat Stanley. It could have been better, but it could have been a lot worse to be sure! Overall I am quite happy with the project....oh and that little girl from Karen's nephews class.......She can tell her grandma to EAT IT BECAUSE WE ROCK!! *okie composes herself*.

Hope you guys enjoyed the Flat Stanley project!! *okie smiles sweetly and waves bye-bye*

I Have A Magic Mirror

Mirror, mirror on the wall who's the fairest of them all. I think almost every girl knows that line from Snow White and how the wicked step mother wanted to be the fairest and how the mirror would tell her she was, until of course Snow White came into her beauty. I, myself, have a magic mirror.

I have had the same make up mirror since my college days. I have sat in front of that mirror almost every morning since I was 20 years old either getting ready for class, work or just starting the day. I don't always put on make up since I hate the stuff and as I am getting older for some reason make up is bothering my eyes. The magic isn't in how long the make mirror has lasted, the dial on it won't turn anymore so I am stuck with only one light setting, the daylight setting. I am fine with that setting because I don't ever really remember using the other three settings and I am not a vampire and daylight is not my enemy. The magic of the mirror is how it makes me look. 

Now remember I said I got it when I was 20 and well now it is 30 years later, yes I am 50 now *okie wonders if that is some sort of record for a make up mirror and thinks it has to be* and the magic is when I use the mirror, for I still see a strong resemblance to the girl I was 30 years ago, albeit the gray hair does show in the mirror and a lovely shade of gray at that. About 5 years ago I started to think my make up mirror is rather magical and within the last year I have determined that it must in fact have some enchanted source of reflectional powers behind it because when I look in any other mirror I look...um *okie tries to think of a word besides old* mature, yes that is it, I look mature. 

Deciding whether the make up mirror's deceiving qualities are a gift or a curse is something I am tryin to figure out. I wonder if it is a curse because it lies to me, but to think of it as a gift makes much much more sense. This mirror has been more consistent in my life than most anything else and maybe it is some sort of supernatural bond we have that allows it to project a younger face back to me. The mirror has been through God only knows how many relationships and a few engagements and the corresponding break up for every one of those events. It watched me through the pregnancy, birth and raising of my daughter. It has survived multiple moves throughout the last 30 years. It has shared my mornings of grief and my mornings of happiness. In that mirror when I do put on make up I see a bright, vibrant woman who looks only half of her true age. 

Now the problem comes when I move away from the mirror and catch my reflection in any other mirror and see what is likely truth. I see wrinkles on my face and neck, I see huge bags under my eyes, I see hugely large pores on my cheek and nose area. I see an old woman and feel confused wondering just when did that happen because not 30 minutes ago while looking into my make up mirror I saw nothing like what stares back at me. 

When I take time to look into a mirror other than my make up mirror my thoughts are always the same as I walk away. I always think "Why is my make up mirror magic and make me feel younger and more confident?". Which is generally followed with "I only wish other people could see me, see my reflection as I see it in my magical make up mirror". 

Now I must go and think on this subject more and decide if having a magic mirror is a curse or a blessing of some sort. Or maybe it is just one of those twisted cursed blessings that occur from time to time in the fabric of the cosmos.