Living Empowered

27 August 2010


I am really looking forward to the Leadership retreat this weekend. I get to see my beautiful friend Laura who I lovingly call QueenieMac because she calls me BunnyMac. :) I feel called to serve as a leader in my community. My heart is rushing into it faster than I am really prepared. I am fighting to give complete control to God and TRUST that God will empower me with what ever I need to live my role in His kingdom. I'll have pictures from this weekend next week. This leadership weekend will be added to my growing list of scrapbook pages or mini albums to do. I have the Women's Retreat and my trip to California to do still. Why is there never enough time in the day to do the fun stuff. :)
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Clear Stamp Storage Tip

22 August 2010

I found my stash of baseball card sheets and had a crafty idea. I have fabric swatches stored in these sheets and thought it would be a good way to store my mini clear stamps. I have a few sheets of stamps that I cut apart and stored in these sheets also. To keep the stamps from falling out of the slick plastic sheets I included the back packaging from the mini stamps and cut 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" pieces of cardstock for the stamps I cut from the larger set sheets. I was left with only 4 sets of clear stamps that I could not store this way. I hope this tip can come in handy for other stampers. Happy Crafting!


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Stamp-a-ma-jig Tip

21 August 2010
One of my favorite tools that I don't use often enough is my Stamp-a-ma-jig. One of the main reasons I don't use it is I find it messy using the plastic sheet the Stamp-a-ma-jig comes with. I often find myself smudging the ink from the plastic sheet on to my card or layout. I also think it's a waste of my ink. I've been using my transparency film more often and had a light bulb moment today. I decided to make permanent Stamp-a-ma-jig sheets using the acetate sheet. They store easily in the stamp storage box. I use ink jet transparency film that has a special coating that locks the ink in place. No smudging! If you do not have coated transparency film or if write-on film smudges, you can either use Staz-On ink or velum for the same effect. I look forward to using my Stamp-a-ma-jig more often.

Happy Crafting!

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Template Tutorial

20 August 2010

When I make cards, I sometimes find it a challenge locating the correct punch or die to coordinate with my stamps. Some of my friends catalog their stamps by keeping a binder with image sheets of all their stamps (which is on my to do list). I thought it would be nice to have a template catalog of my punches, texture folders and dies. (I didnt find it necessary to include all of my dies & punches. Just the ones I use to coordinate with my stamps)


I created the tutorial below using Photobucket. The site did not offer the option to adjust the speed. To view all the images, hover your cursor over the slideshow to activate the navigation menu, click stop and you can manually navigate through the slides.


I hope you find this tutorial helpful. Happy Crafting!




Two items not included in the supply list are your die cutting machine (Big Shot/Kick, Cuttlebug, etc.) and a paper trimmer. I was not able to edit the slide. Sorry. ~Amy

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Craft Night

19 August 2010
I had a wonderful time with my friend, Dian. She came over for dinner and crafts. It made me so happy when she got excited about making a few cards. Not only did she make the 3 cards I had for her to copy, but she got inspired and created a few cards of her own. It was refreshing to spend time with someone so excited to make cards. I showed her my addiction to craft supplies. LOL Maybe I can lure her over here more often with promises of more craft sessions.

While Dian worked hard on her crafty goodness, I spent the evening making a gift for another friend. I was inspired by Nicole Heady's personalized stationary kit. I personalized 24 notecards and 12 envelopes. Using Kraft cardstock, Amy Butler Designer Series Paper and green scraps (SU I think) I created a darling stationary keeper. I used my SU! Kiwi Kiss and Soft Suede to personalize the Single Note cards with SU! Seeing Spots and Martha Stewart Letters. I stamped all the envelopes. I am really pleased how it turned out.

We spent so much time gabbing and crafting, I totally forgot to take pictures. Dian made several cute cards. She made these hearts with the SU! designer label on top that made the heart look like little angels. I hope to have her over again soon for more carfts and conversation. I can't wait to give this gift away.
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The Boys

17 August 2010
I love when my sister sends me picture messages of my beautiful nephews. These are the last 2 she sent me of the loves of my life! I need to plan their scrapbooks. Jellybean's scrapbook needs major updating and I need to start the baby's book. I have a lot of planning to do. Oy!
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Big Lots & a Craft Date

One of my favorite things is finding a deal at Big Lots. I've been dying to find cork sheets thin enough to run through my Sizzix Big Shot for a while and haven't had the courage to splurge on the Sizzix Cork sheets in the new Stampin' Up catalog (6 - 6" x 13" Sheets for $9.99 item# 119819). Saturday morning after Dub Club, I stopped by Big Lots for a couple last minute things for a Craft Date with my BFF, Andreanna. On my way to the back of the store to visit the latest clearance items, I found a roll of Martha Stewart Cork shelf liner. I almost passed it up and it SCREAMED my name!! Five bucks. How could I pass it up? I like that it is on a roll and not sheets. I can cut as much or as little as I need. I tested the Lattice die first. Wow! I am addicted and cannot wait to make cork embelishments my next trademark. Cards and layouts to come.


I have another craft date nite with another friend. I cannot wait to hang out and catch up with her. I'm having her over to make a few cards. I thought I would plan ahead in case she is not ready to create from scratch. I want her to have something to take home so I decided to make 3 cards for her to copy. As I made the cards, I cut all the pieces for her and put them in the envelope for the card. That way she has 2 of each card. I made a lil box with a lid for her. I used transparency film to make a box top. Most of the supplies are Stampin' Up. I am too lazy to list all the supplies out. Sorry if I am breaking some kind of scrapbook code by not listing out the supplies. Sue me. I cased one of the cards. I gave proper credit on my 2Peas account. Here is a sneak peek at the card set. I'll be sure to post pics from my craft date with Dian.


Happy Crafting!

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Running with the "IN" crowd

16 August 2010


I am enjoying spending time with my friend, Kristin. She is my new "Running Partner". We are getting to know each other and having fun exploring east Austin. This week we had dinner at Blue Dahlia Bistro on 11th. The picture above is what greeted us when we left. I can't wait to plan where we will visit next.

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P.U.S.H.

04 August 2010


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P.U.S.H. - PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS


I just wanted to revisit the wonderful experience I had at the Women’s Retreat this past spring by positng some of my favorite iPhoneography shots I took that weekend. Enjoy!
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Crafty Tips

02 August 2010




I thought I would share a few things I do when I need to cut multiple pages or cards and want to make percise and consistent cuts or score lines.




  • The supplies I use are: a paper trimmer with a swing out arm, 2 Binder clips and a piece of scrap cardboard that is slightly thicker than the cardstock. I used the back cardboard for the last DCWV stack I purchased

  • If the measurement falls on the swing out arm, I clip a binder clip on the arm from the inside, lining up the inside edge of the clip at the measurement I need to cut or score. In this case, I lined the clip up at 5.5". Slide your cardstock against the edge of the binder clip and then cut or score.

  • If the measurement falls on the main part of the paper trimmer, I use a shim made out of cardboard. Using a piece that is thicker than the cardstock I am cutting allows the cardstock to butt up against the shim easily. The medium binder clips I use do not have very deep reach but are big enough to clip onto the shim and trimmer just fine. I lined up the edge of the shim in this demo at the 4.25" trim/score line. Rule of thumb: The smaller the measurement, the wider the shim. I secure the shim to the trimmer using at least 2 binder clips to secure the shim in place.

  • With the shim set in place, you can set up a pretty quick assembly line. Using these simple tips will help you with accurate measurements and consistent cards or pages. This tip helps most when making pages for my mini albums.


I hope you find this tutorial/tip useful. Feel free to trackback and leave comments.

HAPPY CRAFTING!



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