Just beautiful

I don't know how I can say that about tape, but I just did.




I don't remember which blog I found this great tape on but, once I saw it I knew I needed to have it. The tape is from Japan and comes in all these wonderful yummy colors. You can order it from DesignWithinReach. (Feb.28 I just called and they are all out. You can contact customer service and ask about it. Also check out Kamoi Kakoshi Co, for ideas for uses) I ordered mine about a month ago. I am going to use it scrapbooking and cardmaking. I'll probably find a lot of places to use it. (it comes in a smaller sample pack of these colors, 1/4" wide, mine are a set of all the colors 1/2" wide)

Organization: Mini Garden Flag Storage

I have somehow ended up with a lot of the small garden flags, one for every holiday. I used to store them all in a box, unorganized and wrinkled. I found a much better way to organize them, I use the clamp-style pants hangers. It works really well, I can sort them by holiday and clamp them all together. Then they are all in one place and flat (no wrinkles). I have also found that hanging table clothes and linens this way is a easy way to organize them.

ATC Book and Nametag

Since I started this whole ATC card making club, I wanted to create a binder to hold all of my cards. And It would be very un-jen like to not decorate it so this is what I did. It was just a plain 1" black 3-ring binder.




And as a requirement to join this club we needed to create (and wear) a name tag.... here's that too.



(old bingo card under a piece of vellum, stamped piece of twill, letter rub-ons, flower with brad and scrap of ribbon, and old library card for my addictions.)

Tuesdays Tip

Tuesday's tip is the use of 3M removable Command hooks. I am addicted to these 3M hooks, especially the Utensil ones. I use them all over my studio. I was always misplacing my scissors, so now I have a 3M hook right in front of me, above my desk. Now my scissors have a home. For you this could be on a wall, or the side of a cabinet.

You can see other places in my studio where I also use these hooks. The best part is if I re-arrange my studio these hooks will come right off.

Finds #3

So I ended up at a couple thrift stores this weekend. One because my girlfriend and I ended up getting lost (no, not lost... going out of our way). While trying to get to a scrapbooking crop. We found this really cute thrift store with unbelievable prices. We also stopped at old reliable Salvation Army. Here's what I found:



Great old corsages, the one with white and pink flowers is made for a expectant mother to wear at her baby shower, it's made of baby socks. And the other one is just way cool. I'm not sure what I am going to do with them, but could not pass them up for 99¢.



Two Glitterville Dept. 56 hat boxes. Department 56 made this line for Halloween (but you could keep these out all the time), I have found quite a few pieces while out thrifting, and now seem to have a small collection. For 25¢ each, brand new in the box.



My other "could not leave the store with out" finds.
Pavlova Linen wall hanging, great graphics and wonderful pink color.
Glass bunny
Old mini pastel Easter baskets
Fuzzy pink duck
50's Heart game
Postcards
Small ABCDE chalkboard
Wrislets used for holding wrist corsages
Warning...utilitarian purchase, Fiskers paper trimmer blades

...and that cool old "look what we found" dry cleaners bag was used at one of the thrift stores for wrapping up breakables (I should have asked if I could buy a few from her).

A Random Vintage Find

About 3 years ago my DH and I took a walk in our neighborhood and stopped at garage sales that we'd come upon. One of them had this great old gate door... that I fell in love with. He said I could get it only if i had a use for it. So trying to think of something I decided that I'd use it for the Doorknob Bags (here's a sample) that my mom and I were selling at city festivals. It was the perfect use for the gate, we could get all of the designs up for our customers to see.

Then Mom and I decided not to do festivals anymore and I had this gate that went to my mom's house (we were in a apartment at the time). It stayed there for 2 years, until DH and I bought a house. When we started to decorate our bedroom I knew exactly were I was going to use the gate! Thankfully I have a very open minded DH, that did not mind the whole "shabby chic" look. I cleaned up the gate, showed him where I wanted it hung and....







I often change the pictures on it, so it ends up being a revolving piece of artwork. I also add scrapbooking titles and frames over the pictures. You can find that pennant on my Etsy site. My next project is to alter those clothes pins (you'll probably see a tutorial of that somewhere down the line ;)

Magnetic Chalkboard Wall

Ever since I was little I've always wanted to paint a wall with the chalkboard paint. My dad even bought a can when it first come out (and it was only available in green). It still sits unopened downstairs with the rest of the paint (going on 23 years now). Now that I have my own home I can make that want happen. When we bought this house I knew EXACTLY which wall I wanted to paint. We have this narrow wall in our dining room that is on the side of our pantry, PERFECT for the chalkboard paint.

I went to the local home store to pick up my one can of chalkboard paint, to find out that now it came in Black, great, because our kitchen/dining room is 50's (I have an old chrome dining set that was my grandparents), and the black matched better. I also found (right next to it) a can of Magnetic primer. Oh... I was thinking.

So this is what I did. First I sanded down the wall really good, and then washed it. After it was dry I used the Magnetic Paint as a primer... UNDER the chalkbaord paint! So after the 2 coats of magnetic paint dried, I put about 4 coats of chalkboard paint over it. So I have a...

MAGNETIC CHALKBOARD!

I hope you guys find some great uses for this treatment. In a kids room (would be great on closet doors) or on the side of a old wood box.

February ATC

Here's February's ATC. Theme: A Song in my Heart





I scanned in an vintage Valentines card (the kitties), and cut them to size. As the background I used old vintage sheet music, all of this is mounted on a old BINGO card. I wanted my ATC to be interactive so when I glued down the train kitty, I only did the sides and bottom, that made a pocket where I could tuck in that other kitty (the one that is making a valentine). I attached that kitty to the card through a silver eyelet tied with red and white bakers twine.

January ATC

In January I joined a local ATC group held here. It is a warm and welcoming group, I feel honored that they let me in (I think they've been trading for a while). I had never done ATC cards before, and they were a blast, and even more fun is to see what others come up with. The shop hosts the group and gives us a theme for the month. January's theme was Minne"snow"ta. I forgot to post my ATC card from January so here it is...


I used a Minnesota Map as the background. I included a tag with a snowman made of buttons, and a sewn paper snowflake. And as a rule something on the card must be stamped, so I stamped I (heart) MN. I aged the entire card with Weathered Wood Distress Ink from Tim Holtz.

Binder Clip Tutorial

It is really easy to cover all of those boring black binder clips you have around the house. I use Mod Podge as the glue (mine is Gloss Lustre, but you can use flat). I also add age to mine (after it is dry) by using Tim Holtz Distress Ink (I like Tea and Walnut).

Here's how you can do it:

Welcome to my new background!

I hope you love it, as much as I do. Courtesy of Hof3.

Jennifer

Finds #2

Thrift store finds
This week my DH dropped me off at the thrift store while he went to a Sportscard Show. Lucky for me! and even more lucky the entire store was 1/2 off for Valentines day. Here are the finds I came home with (I probably would not have bought a lot of these things but at half price, could not pass them up). In the next few days I will add a lot of these items to my Etsy site.

• Awesome wool felt card table cover for bridge
• Beige thread (I think a lot of it is vintage)
• Vintage little girls dress-up white gloves with embroidered flowers
• Happy Holidays tray (I already have a matching metal covered basket)
• Huge box of paperclips (they have a unique shape)
• Unique zipper pin
• Vintage glass Mt. Rushmore coasters
• Very odd fully beaded bird wall hanging
• Funky paper w/envelopes
• and another wooded hanger for this project

Close-up of the paperclips and zipper pin



Detail of the beaded bird... isn't it beautiful



Awesome 1950's aprons! (mom found a couple for me too)



Vintage needlepoint dog and cat wall hangings, great colors
Kitchen prayer tray (I think I am going to hang this on the wall in my kitchen, so 50's)