Lamb #2

 

waddles ( that brown sheep on the left) had her baby (a boy) last night ( of course after dark silly)

 

we are planning to go to the grange later and see about some formula

and bottles for him just in case, last year the lamb waddles had passed away at 1 month old. so, not sure why.

 

 

He's really cute of course, and so there is still one more sheep to go.

 

Prepping { Spring Faire } Is Coming! *Ü*

This is the raffle prize I am donating next weekend at the Hosanna Christian Schools Spring Faire. 

( it's filled with some gift tags & gift cards. ) This booth will be open Friday from 9am-7pm and Saturday from 9am-5pm March 7th & 8th. ( yes, those of you who are in the know yep, that is J's 18th birthday but, I signed this contract without having a date for the event and they had it later in March last year) 

I keep getting packing pricing questions, I don't know how to answer them because, there is no one rule. its a gut feeling and trial and error. things sell for less money where I live than they do if I take them upstate or even out of state to an Ren Faire. But, I buy the bulk of my packaging from clear bags dot com. all kinds of envelopes and some lumpy card boxes. 

a closer look at the price tags. they are sorted by amount in some old clear bags. so, I try to get every one of these off the cards at the booths. some people want the price tags left on so, I don't get every one of them but, I get the majority of them back each time. 

they are all various shades of green ( because, its one of my favorite colors so, its something I have lot of scraps of as a rule) with some chocolate hemp string from walmart. 

Now this spinner rack is something new this time around, I had found this sometime last year in a junk shop that was closing for 30.00 and it was holding paper back books in those holders towards the top. and I had my husband remove the center dividers that made those be for paperback books side by side and now boxed cards fit in the slots. on the bottom I am going to hang some of the paper cones. 

the 3-d items do not have the individual price tags on them so, I found these clear acrylic frames at Joanns I think a few years back and the others will be clipped to the wall display. they are just stamped with an canvas background for texture and the letters are from the MM CK Stenography magnetic alphabet. 

these were small pillow box's I picked up from clear bags a few years ago thinking that the 3" cards would fit in them for multiple cards packaged but, they were too small for that and so, I wrapped belly bands on them and stuffed them with basket filler for little gift holders ( small things will fit) gift cards will fit. these do not actually sell that well so, this is what is left over from previous booths and I do not have any more empty ones so, I am hopeful these will all go this time around. 

these are pop up gift card holders as seen here in this previous post. they are all actually have price tags on them though and the one in the front is one that I have people play with so, they can understand how they work. Hopefully this answers some of the questions you have. 

More from last weekend

I think this Unity set came out in January? fun right? :) made me laugh anyways. because, we had an fire extinguisher "class" for one of our safety meetings at work in the beginning of this month. 

This was done for this weeks featured stamper ( Dawn's card seen here) I think I want to try this one again sometime. I should mention I find a card to CASE and then I go outside upstairs to make it... so, sometimes they end up closer than others. this one has the spirit of the colors and the design bones and that's about it, I knew there was something in the lower left and I *almost* stuck a big flower there but, it just seemed too tall. the embossing on the cardfront also seemed to weaken it quite a bit I guess bazzill is too wimpy for that so, I lined both the top and bottom inside this card for some stability. this is A-6 in real life so, I needed to use one of the A-7 folders to go across it without a line I wish cuttlebug would make some of their original designs in larger folders some day. ( maybe not all of them but, you know the most useful ones) 

this guy's from whippersnapper. 

just scraps

another new Unity stamp ( don't know when this one was released but, I just happened to notice it last time I ordered ) 

the birch trees folder was inked with some latte Adirondack before it ran through the bigshot. the stamps are Thomas Kincade from the Original ah shoot forgot the Co. name that made them. ( it got sold and I don't know if the new owners make these old stamps anymore.) This one was done for the people at work to sign for hubs birthday yesterday. its A-7 in real life. 

I'm still working on mug shots for a pricing post. hopefully in the next few days but, Yes I do know I said that last week. the booth set up is in 7 days so, I will probably be doing a lot of last minute little things this next week. 

WOYWW 247

well, this is what I left the table looking like on Sunday evening ( on purpose knowing I wanted a mug shot on wednesday ) how bad is that? I am laughing at my self just a little bit, but under construction are some spool shaped card bases done in kraft with a free template I found on pinterest a few years ago ( you can snag one here) and this is a trace it by hand pattern ( I did blow mine up on a copy machine until it was almost A-2 sized then traced the pattern to an old file folder and kept it to trace around) . and I then stamped the sanded background on the kraft with some cocoa Memento. ( these were set aside to dry) in the below shot also there is some random not smooth Neenah that was spritz with some Heidi Swapp mister sprays off the top of my head I forgot what they are called but one was teal and the other was a seafoam color and they have a little bit of a shimmer. The SU stamp box full of sentiments needing diecut has not gone down during the last two weeks. maybe later after the booth. 

If you'd like to play along here is a link to Julia's blog where you can read about it and see everyone else's desks who is playing this week. 

well that handy basket for scraps ended up being a dump situation so, I cleaned up all the scraps and put them away like I used to ( which makes me happier plus, I may use them up that way) I found I did not want to dig in this basket so, then it was just handing there empty and I remembered I had stencils buried in the closet somewhere (because, I bought two of her sets HS) and so for the moment they are all in here together ( I don't know how long that will last I seriously do not like to dust things each week so, most the open containers are covered with old towels and I just move the towels to get to what I know is under them. 

newest baby

Mary and her little guy. they have been hanging out near the barn the last few days. 

about 12 hours old, Hubs got these waiting for the sun to come up monday morning . The nice thing is we have had really nice weather ( 60's for the high) the last two days. gonna get raining and colder again starting tomorrow. 

On Sunday Mary gave birth to this little guy ( as soon as it got too dark for a mug shot of course) ( little lamb from last year was also born from her in the middle of the night) but, she is a good mama sheep. she is not as rowdy as "she who has a bump on her nose" which makes her sounds like an cast extra from Dances with wolves or something right. So anyways this guy has no name yet. ( which she should go next ) I may change her name to Dodge Jr.s Mama ( which is kinda smaller ) Waddles ( the brown sheep ) does not look as PG as these two did so uncertain about when she may or may not have one. Dodge passed away last fall. 

Lovefest 2014

This was done for the first challenge puppy love seen here. hosted by SCS 

I spent hours searching for my dymo label maker for this one and ( still have not found it yet) but the dog is from Penny Black and the letters are from MM magenetic CK alpahbets CK Stenography & Elusive. this card is A-6 in real life. 

The Stamping Bella challenge was to do something with a Spring theme. you can read about that here. This is one of the oldest bella's I own and the thought behind this is you know its spring when the dirt thaws out enough to play in it. the flowerpot die is from Spellbinders ( heartfelt creations line) so, this is more around the size of a gift card holder in real life. ( it fits in my hand) 

This one and the one below are both for the Taylored Expressions challenge which is to doodle. These stamps are from the set called Knit Wit and this one is 4" square in real life. 

now this was done just for the heck of it on Sunday afternoon before the lamb was born and I was "caught up" with the Lovefest challenges, I had been messing around with some sprays and a stencil and came across this daisy paper in the scrap bin and this TE sentiment ( spectacular set) was already die cut in a jello mold on the table so the centers of the flowers also received some doodled circles with an scattered straw marker. this one is 5 1/2" square in real life. 

This was done for the stamp-n-storage challenge to post a mug shot of either an organizing "win" or challenge. and I feel like I have posted many photos over the years of things I do to "organize" so, I decided to do this crop of this depression glass teacup on the table, its holding really cool vintage buttons, vintage glitter in glass breakers, etc, some wild orchid blooms, an stylus, its mostly a reminder cup because, I tend to play with what is in front of me so this makes me remember to go look for little bits and pieces so every card is not flat. not that there is anything wrong with flat cards I am just trying to not be such an hoarder. 

The Cats Pajama's challenge was a section of Inspiration Photos that were birdhouse/garden/spring-y themed and since I do not have any stamps from them yet I decided to just do this tag and added an IO sentiment to it. 

Now this was for the Sweet 'n Sassy color combo challenge. I have a very limited supply of SNS stamps and they just were not going to work for Red, Pink, tan & white as a color combo so I went with this A Muse sentiment just because. This one is 5" square in real life. 

The scor-pal challenge was called lets score... so, I used that handy dandy Gina K tutorial for another pop up gift card holder. That printed paper is from Basic Gray. the lace is vintage and the fabric sentiment sticker is from MM.

The My Favorite things challenge was to use an Heartfelt sentiment. so the brad is an heart shape. the printed paper is two sides of the same sheet from My Minds Eye and this one is 5" square in real life. 

The Simon Says Stamp challenge was to use diecuts, and so I had recently gotten this Prickley Pear sleeping baby stamp and thought this is something that "needs" a few frilly layers of die cuts. there are pop dots between the baby layer and the diecut layers, the lace ( sizzix ) embossing folder was colored with an copic marker also to add some depth to it. the seambinding is from hug snug and was spritz with some tap water to crinkle it.  

a closer look at the baby as promised. its colored with copic markers. the sentiments from an old old su set ( but, I don't know which one ) the lace on the corner is vintage. 

The paper smooches co. had a choice between fun and cute or classy & elegant and they are another one on my to buy from list so, I went with this Whippersnapper cute quaker oats cow and the fun Gina K sentiment from the funny farm set. the burlap is sewn to a scrap of speckletone before it was frayed along the edges. there are also pop dots under the cow layer.  

Now, I did not even notice the newest member co. but it is Perfect Paper Craft. If that makes you scratch your head ( me ok) its the Co. that makes those brilliant can't work without them Perfect Layers tools rulers. :) ( which I own several sets of ) you know just in case God forbid something should happen to the first set of rulers nope, I'm actually serious about that and not rolling my eyes. this was done for Hubs birthday tomorrow as we were having a "Quality vs. Quantity discussion of Wine at the grocery store on sunday... 

Sending Joy

If I remember right this Phyllis Harris Unity set ( every breath) was my first one in her line and its still my most favorite to color. I think its the  movement of the dress combined it the blowing in the dandelion you know? its just such an can be used for so many reason's image. and I know for certain that Gina K sentiment ( make a wish) was my first set from her line so, its just a funny thing. they have Lovefest going on now at splitcoaststampers with challenges being issued from the current member companies and it tends to catch me by surprise when one co. is new in the line up ( there are a few new ones again now and in my head all the stamp co.'s I "found" because of SCS remain "member" co.'s in my head. 

that printed paper is from Basic Grey, the felt diecut ribbon I took out of its packaging a long time ago and I no longer remember who makes it. the blooms are from wild orchid crafts and this one is boxed in real life. This one is 6" square in real life, used those MFT pierced tags die on the gal and spellbinders ( inside die) of the fancy layered tags dies for the sentiment. mind just went blank on that die sets name ) the paper clip is unknown. This card was done for fun I will do an complete love fest post after today's ( last ) challenge goes up and I get it done. 

some of this last weeks cards

I sold out of wedding and sympathy cards in November so, this is the start of some new things for that this spring. 

those wild orchid crafts blooms do not lend themselves to paper envelopes very well so I buy these clear boxes from clearbags.com. I have ones for 5X7, 6" square, 5" Square & 4" square for sure and sometimes I buy other sizes and do other things with them. like once I bought some 3" boxes but, I don't sell the 3" cards in "sets" very often plus unless you were willing to make them all exactly the same they cannot see the inside cards so, I tend to just do single cards like this with no paper envelope and I tell people they can wrap the box in tissue paper after they sign and add the gift card or what not to it.

I did something last summer in red with roses with this ODBD sentiment and someone bought it for a sympathy card ( even though it was red and white not black or shades of gray ) and so, I was thinking well lets try something more somber. the gray crinkled ribbon is silk and unknown. that center diecut is from spellbinders for heartfelt creations called raindrops on roses. ( cut with wax paper)

This one was done with the scraps from an above card and the gal is tuesdays bathing beauty from whippersnapper designs colored with copic's the dies are spellbinders labels 8 & decorative labels 8. I traced around the outside of an labels 8 with a pencil and cut it with scissors as the inside of the die (where it would cut) is too small for this image and the largest die in the set works it is too big to lay over the top of the decorative one. this is up on pop dots. the roses are from the notions dept. at Joann's many years ago. with some seambinding and May Arts iridescent cord. this one is 5X7 in real life. 

FS367 Shelter

This was done inspired by this week's featured stamper (Lorraine whose card can be seen here) I so totally love that 3 umbrella's in this design, and I don't think I have ever played with this memory box die since I got it, its a little on the small side. This card is A-6 in real life. so those umbrella's were cut twice for each one the printed papers I just used scissors to remove a sliver amount off the edges to paper piece them to the grey cuts. there is an 1/8" pop dots under the center panels and then 1/16" pop dots on the edges to give them that curve. The "rain" is diamond glaze applied with an paintbrush.

This sentiment is from an old old hostess set from su called blooming with happiness, its stamped on the same scrap as the sky background paper ( unknown) in stream and die cut with one of those MFT pierced tags dies. (have not put those away since I got them haha) both the printed papers on this the floral and the swirl are from the scraps pile from making the cones on Saturday. 

More Pop-Up Giftcard holders

These were done following the the tutorial video Gina K did a long time ago seen here. Nope, I did not re-watch it so these were wing-it ones. the funny thing about me is I tend to make things similar in batches I was laughing at my self looking for a previous blog post for some I had done for the November booth to find the link to Gina's video's in it and ( its here if your curious) and this batch I like a little better than the last batch. 

what they look like opened with an gift card inside them. I keep one ( seen in a previous blog post ) opened and available to play with with an used up gift card inside it on the ladder shelf outside what ever basket I put these in so people can "get it" 

I think these go over better as generic cards but, I have some up-coming holiday sentiments stamped and on the table so thought what the heck... 

this one that sentiment was stamped and die cut on thin printed paper so, I diecut a second tag ( MFT pierced tags) of cardstock than reverse glued it to the back side of the paper for stability. 

I get a lot of questions about pricing, these will not sell where I live for $3.00 but, will sell at $2.50. so that is what they are priced at. in side clear envelope's with no paper envelopes. they are about 4 1/4" wide and folded about 3" tall. 

Saturday's cones

This is a crop shot of my favorite one of this batch. Did 10 cones yesterday. they go together pretty easily its the bulk of an 12" piece of printed paper cut with an Sizzix pro die. the hardest part is getting the lace across the tops of them ( to stay in place while you tie or tack glue or what not) 

So, I did some in mostly spring colors and or theme's these don't sell as well as you would expect them to but, I think it is also because, I do them for the spring booth and not the Christmas one... ( the Christmas one gets 5 times more shoppers through it) 

love this kaisercraft paper will have to remember to pick up a few more sheets of it. 

graphic 45 printed paper

Anna Griffin ( old old printed paper)

this one is My Minds eye its an sturdy printed paper.

this is either SU or CTMH ( forgot ) very thin pp, came in a multi pack of prints in just this color) 

 remember the photos will enlarge if you click on them. I'm working on a packaging / pricing type post but, it may take most this week to get done. ( will try to get it ready for wednesday.) 

These are packaged in an clearbags dot com bag FDAGB7 seen here, they are gusseted bags and just tied off with snips of scrap ( I have tons of it) ribbon or lace. 

I don't actually put price tags on the 3-d things they have these stamped multiple items on a tag that are hung around the booth with the prices on them. I am guessing off the top of my head these sell for 3.00 ( so do the baskets and the tall bags made from papers too)