Kerry’s Paper Crafts

so I thought I’d at least update you on what we’ve been so busy with (well, part of it at least!)

We own an old farm house. It’s a wonderful New England 100+ year old house - with all the character & charm of an old home (and all the problems, too!). We finally were able to have it painted this summer & we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results.It used to be white (more like a chipped, cracked dirty version of white). We decided to go with a Colonial Blue color, with white trim & black accents. We are VERY happy with how it turned out.

Here are some pictures of the house, freshly painted & landscaped. (We do 99% of things at our house by ourselves - landscaping included. It was nice to have some help w/ the painting - as it was a pretty big undertaking).

And here are my new rocking  chairs. OH, my chairs. I’ve wanted these since the day we moved in. This porch just BEGS to have white rocking chairs sitting out there. I love how the fresh paint makes them pop. And I LOVE rocking in them. And yes, we love that big porch!

A view from the street:

In addition to the house painting & landscaping, we’ve got quite the kitchen renovation going on. I promise to put pics of that up as well when it’s complete. Cabinets are in & I *almost* have a sink back again. Oh, I cannot wait.

Stay tuned & thanks for stopping in!

Other, Photography

I had changed the format of my Wedding Invite “How-To” guide a few weeks back. Apparently the link didn’t work & I just hadn’t gotten around to fixing it.

It should be all set now!

Other

hey all - just a quick video of all the stuff I got at TwoPeas last week. They were having a great sale so I took advantage.

(sorry for the background noise. We are currently re-doing our entire kitchen & it was super noisy inside, so I took it outside…which I’m not sure was all that much better!)

Watch at YouTube.

Other

My collection of clear stamps is rapidly growing. If you’ve watched any of my recent videos you know that I like to use them a LOT

Every now & then the stamps get a little grungy & need some cleaning up. I’m not so much referencing the staining of stamps, as all clear stamps will stain over time. I use a lot of chalk inks & I’m not the *best* at cleaning them right away when I use them - so you might consider my collection of clear stamps very stained well loved.

An example of the sad day (today) when said stamp no longer clings nicely to the acrylic block:

A closeup view of the “yuck” on the back of the stamp (where it clings to block).

The good news is that cleaning these stamps is super simple. All you need is a little warm water & soap. I run them under the water & just use some regular hand soap and rub back & forth with my hands. Don’t use anything other than your fingers - you don’t need a scrubbing pad - all you’re looking to do is get rid of that layer of grime (in my case it’s usually powders & dust that build up).

OK here’s the most important part: when you’re all done rinsing, simply place the stamps on the counter to air dry. DON’T pat them dry with a towel, paper towel, tissue, etc. - that will defeat your efforts of getting rid of the dust As long as you let them sit out for a little while & air dry, they will be nice & sticky again, just like new. I flip mine over after they’ve been sitting out for a bit to ensure both sides dry nicely. (Pete is then under STRICT instructions to stay AWAY from the upstairs bathroom sink for fear of me losing a stamp somewhere, haha.)

OH and are a few tips for cleaning your acrylic blocks. Mine were getting SUPER dirty. They were full of adhesive, ink, powder, dust…ugh…everything. So I finally bought some Ultra Clean from Hero Arts - (I am pretty sure you can get this most anywhere - there are quite a few manufacturers out there.) Anyway, this stuff cleans EVERYTHING. It’s awesome. It even gets rid of StazOn. I spritz some on my blocks & my self-healing mat to get ride of the grime. It does leave a slight film on the surface though - so I usually run them under water to get rid of this film. (FYI: you want to be careful when using Ultra Clean on your blocks & Cling stamps - I have heard that the Ultra Clean can affect the way the unmounted stamps cling to the block).

That’s all for now. If you have any other cleaning questions, let me know & I will help you out if I can!

Do you find it hilarious that I’m posting about cleaning tonight, when you can clearly see the disastrous state of my craft desk in the backdrop of that last photo?!??!?

OY.

Other, Tutorials

Anyone local to the MA area should know that The Scrapbooker’s Dream in Tewksbury is closing up shop & having a MAJOR Sale. I was just there this morning & bought an obscene amount of paper (LOL!)…among other things. I saved over $120 though - because EVERYTHING is 70% off! She is also selling all fixtures, racks, displays, etc.

Here is a snippet from her email that she sent out the other day. Thought I’d post it here for her - I encourage you all to stop by if you can!

3-Day Final Sale

Just wanted to send out a quick reminder about The Scrapbooker’s Dream final sale days… Everything that was saved from the flood (and there’s lots of wonderful supplies to be sold) will be for sale Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only.  EVERYTHING is 70% off, and Cash Only.  There’s thousands of pieces of paper, stamps, chipboard, flowers… everything in the store!!  We’ll also be selling selected machines as well… Specifically, the Accucut Machine, which is complete with 3 full alphabets, various shape dies, the machine and an extra tray… a $5000+ value… we’ll be selling the whole thing for just $800… please call early if you are interested in this amazing deal…

There’s still some 8′ tables, paper racks and fixtures available, all priced as marked, and first come-first served.

Hope to see you all for the final 3 day sale.

Friday 10-5
Saturday 10-5
Sunday 11-4

Other

seriously, how could I not let this face have a little spot of his own on my messy desk?

He’s the King.

Craft Room, Other

hi everyone - I’m back from our vacation to sunny Florida! It was HOT - ohh so very hot. In fact they had record breaking temperatures, and the humidity was pretty brutal. But we had lots of fun in Disney and SeaWorld - and found ways to beat the heat. We did a water park one day which was great.

I was pretty sick the week before we left, and still had some issues down in FLA, but luckily had the DR prescribe some meds over the phone so I could get better soon. The double ear infection is almost gone!

This isn’t really going to be a crafting post, but I just have to brag about my wonderful husband who took the time before we left to Google the area of Orlando to see if there were any scrapbooking or stamping stores. And don’t ya know there was a great one right in Orlando?? So he took me there one morning & I got lots of goodies. It’s always great to visit a new store. I am sure I will start creating fun stuff with my new goods this week.

Here are a few pics from our trip….!!

Pete & I in front of the castle…Mickey is popping up in the corner to say HI

Pete & I with Donald Duck in the World Showcase at EPCOT.

another shot in front of the castle on our last day. It was Halloween…didn’t feel like it though because it was 90 degrees!

With my brother & his wife in Hollywood Studios…my favorite park. I LOVE the Tower of Terror!!

That’s about it for now…thanks everyone for checking out my blog & being patient while I was away. If you sent me an email just give me a few days to get back to ya. I still have a few fairs coming up so it’s back into the swing of things for me!

Other

Hi guys. Just wanted to post some things I’ve come across that are too good to pass up, and also share what I am totally diggin’ right now.

Red Sticky Strip & Dimensional Adhesive:
I LOVE Red Sticky Strip. I use a lot of it on my 3D projects, therefore I go through it like water. I need a lot. And I’m not really down with ordering it through SU! or going to Michael’s to get it - the prices just aren’t that great. Thanks to the awesome ladies on SCS, I stumbled across this site where you can get both Sticky Strip & TONS of dimensional adhesive for really great prices. I just ordered some of both. I will have to let you know how I like them. I’m really eager to try the dimensionals - I’m not sure, but I think you get more per pack than you do with SU.We shall see!

ATG Adhesive:
I use the 1/2″ ATG adhesive (I have the yellow gun - I believe most people with the 1/4″ adhesive have a red gun?) Anyway, I get mine HERE. They have a great price for a bulk package of 12 rolls. Plus if you spend over $50 you get free shipping. Seriously you can’t beat that. I LOVE it when I get free shipping. It pretty much influences my choice to buy at a store online or not.

ATG Information/Video:
If you are thinking of getting one, try going to this site HERE and clicking on the photo of the ATG gun. It will download a video for you to watch. This teaches you how load your ATG gun. I used it a lot when I first got mine. (Now I do it so often that I think I could do it in my sleep, ha!)

Mono Adhesive Refills:
Even though I am an ATG lover, there are still times when I grab for my Mono Adhesive. Let’s face it, it’s small & convenient. I hate to pay the $3+ for it in the stores. A “little birdie” sent me this link where you can get it super cheap.

Unfinished Wood Products/Alterables:
I get most of these at AC Moore, Michael’s & Joann’s. I am bummed that they are not available in all parts of the US. (Then again, we have NO Hobby Lobby’s anywhere in New England, which I am bummed about!) But I get asked this question a lot for my Wooden Purses, Jumbo Clothespins, Door Hangers, etc.

Things I am really into right now:

• Cosmo Cricket Designer Paper
  
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink…this is thanks to Jennifer McGuire’s Thinking Inking Series…AWESOME videos!
• Hero Arts Stamps & Blog - cannot wait to get my hands on some of their new Cling Stamps
• Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers. This thing rocks! It has happily replaced my old CM Corner Rounder punch - which was getting super old. I like that you can do both 1/4″ and 1/2″ sizes, and it’s super easy to press down, just like the Crop-a-Dile.
• PaperTrey Ink Cardstock…and stamps…and ribbon…and OH everything? Seriously, their Kraft cardstock is super yummy. The weight of their CS is just great and makes a great card base. (and we all know how much I LOVE Kraft CS?)

My friend is coming over tonight to have wine & scrapbook/stamp/be crafty with me. I’m looking forward to it. I hope to get a lot done this weekend. Have a great weekend everyone!

Other, Things I'm Into

hey guys - just wanted to let you know that I haven’t forgot about this blog, we’ve just been busy enjoying the last few days of Summer here in New England!

I’ve been home these past few days & have been doing LOTS of fun stuff in my craft room - been going crazy with Craft Fair Stuff - so be prepared for lots of posts this week! Also, last week I was a lucky gal & got some gift certificates for my Birthday…which allowed me to go out & finally buy the Flip Ultra HD camera! So be prepared for some more videos too!

See you soon!

Other

Hey everyone, just a quick note that I *FINALLY* added the ability to get updates to my blog via email. This means that whenever I update my blog, you will get an email letting you know!

To join, scroll down on the right sidebar —-> and you will see “Subscribe to Email Updates” - it’s that simple!

Sorry it took so long but I finally got my act together

Other