Your opinions wanted..........at least some of them

I am getting ready to start my online store and in the concept phase I would like to hear from you. I have been perusing a lot of other store sites and gathering information. I would like to here your opinion on what you like about your favorite store or what you would like to see in an online store. Your comments can be regarding S/H fees, availability, wish list, photos of merchandise, etc. I want to have a very customer oriented store so I want you to have a say in how it is set up. Please leave your comments below, you never know what your opinion could be worth................. If you don't want to leave a comment here, feel free to email me (put online store in the subject line). Thanks for your help.

Getting Acrylic Paint out of Clothes.....

The discussion of the Krud Kutter.................

Some friends and I have been having a discussion about how to get acrylic paint out of clothes and I mentioned my favorite "all purpose" cleaner Krud Kutter. I use this for everything, as a laundry spot remover, to clean my floors, to clean the tub, grease remover, etc......I could go on and on. It is hard to find in some areas (I get mine at Lowes by the gallon jug, it is also available at Wal-Mart) so a few people were wondering if it really works. So.......here is my experiment for your benefit......


I put green (because you will be green with envy over my Krud Kutter) Making Memories Acrylic Paint on an old white T-shirt. Ok, so I didn't put it on there, I poured it on there. I let it dry for 2 hours, my husband is a witness...

Then I sprayed the spot with Krud Kutter and wet with cold water and gently worked with a soft bristle toothbrush, rinsing and repeating as necessary (it took me 3 rinses)

And .........................................................................

I think my experiment was a success. So get shopping ladies....(this experiment or testimonial was in no way sponsored by Krud Kutter....lol)

NOTE: In answer to the questions about using it on colors....I have used it in the past on colors but as with a cleaners I would say it depends on the fabric and dye set. I have not had any problems but you want may to test a small inconspicuous area before proceeding.

We have a winner...............

BLOG CANDY WINNER .....................

comment #37 Kacey Elliott said...

Super Blog candy Bev! I love your shipping department! To answer your question, I have always been a crafter of some sort, just never saw me as a stamper until two years ago. My littlest wasn't even a year and I felt like my brain had turned to mush. I hadn't scrapped in over two years at that point and as much as I wanted to, it just stressed me out. But stamping cards and projects gives me immediate gratification and I get to use my brain! Thanks for the opportunity to share!

July 7, 2008 8:07 PM

Congrats Kasey, you have won the tote and a PTI stamp set of your choice. Please either PM me from the PTI Forum or email me and let me know which set you would like.

Thank you everyone who visited my blog and left a comment. I will be back in a couple of week with more candy so stay tuned............. I will be posting more MME products for sell as well as a few projects that I completed before I became a PTI addict !

BLOG CANDY..........I know you want to win this !

ToTe-Tally CooL Tote and A FREE SET OF PaperTrey Ink Stamps................





Yes, that's right. You could win a medium size Tote-ally Cool tote from All My Memories in Brown and Pink as well as a free stamp set of your choice from PaperTrey Ink. If you are not familiar with PaperTrey Ink stamps you are missing out in life. Their stamps, as well as all their other products, are awesome. From the design to the quality and everything in between, you will not be able to find a better acrylic stamp. You can select any stamp choice, other than this months coming release, and receive it and the tote for free just for leaving me a comment about why you enjoy paper crafting, whether it be scrapbooking, card making, or altered art. I love it because of many reasons but I guess the main one is it relaxes me. I began scrapbooking because I saw someone else's book and I feel in love with the idea of keeping those memories alive forever. I realized that by doing this it brought me a peace like no other. I have a chronic illness that flares up under stress and this was just what the doctor ordered. When I get in my space and begin a project, I just get lost. I am so at ease and peaceful. Like I said though, I could name 100 more reasons what I love this art but we don't have time for that, we have blog candy to give away. Please leave 1 comment per person to be fair to everyone else and a winner will be chosen Wednesday, July 9th at Midnight just in time for the new release countdown to start at PaperTrey Ink. The stamp set will be your choice, if it is not available at the time, you have the option to wait until it is in stock again or choose another set.

A Saturday well spent..........and a laugh

Stamp organizing.............

I am so happy at this morning, I finally completed a task I've had on my list for a few weeks. I spent the day and most of the evening yesterday organizing my acrylic stamps. I absolutely LOVE PaperTreyInk Stamps, as if you haven't already figured that one out. When the sets first started coming out in 2007 there we no labels except for a spine label to go on the CD holder. All of 2008 sets have beautiful labels showing you where to place the stamps in your holder. Last month they released labels for all of their 2007 stamp sets. I was so excited to get these; they are so helpful in putting your stamps back where they belong, being able to see if you are missing a stamp and enabling just a quick glance at the case for a project. Anyway, I spent yesterday putting all the labels on my 2007 collection, that was 31 sets for me. The spine label is clear and difficult for me to see so I came up the the ingenious idea to put a white label on the inside of the spine (see photo below).








This took a LOT of time but was well worth it. Now I am in the process of transferring all of my clear stamps to CD cases and labeling them. My other acrylic stamps, MSE, Autumn Laves, Technique Tuesday, don't come with labels so I made spine labels with my Dymo Label Maker and cut the plastic sheet they come on and taped to the inside cover (see photo below). I made a copy of my stamps on the copier with the black outline before cutting it up and have them in a binder with the number and name of the stamps coordinating with the CD case so now just a quick glance through the binder to find the stamp of my choice. I have a file drawer full on these stamps to go but excited that I am finally getting to organize my system.




and a laugh............My Shipping Department............

In the previous post I have some photos of my scrap room(s) and said I would be posting more, which I will, but thought I would go ahead and throw this one in for a good laugh. Everyone who knows me knows that I am addicted to products and take up every available square inch of our house for supplies. When I started selling some kits online and shipping them out I needed a "shipping area" for my supplies (boxes, tape, labels, bubble wrap, etc). Well, I was not giving up any of my scrap space for this so I found some unused space...................







I know, I am crazy. My son moved away from home so his bathroom goes completely unused......so why waste space. Behold, my Shipping Department was born. I can close the curtain and no one is the wiser ( I just pray for no water leaks). Just thought you might enjoy a little look into my maddness................and a good laugh ! Have a great weekend and I will be back on Monday with BLOG CANDY !

My Scrap Space or Spaces

I have been wanting to post some photos of my scrap space but wanted to wait until it was completely organized. Well, that day, I have decided, is not going to happen. I will get one part organized and then I will mess up another area. I am already working on Christmas orders so I see no end in sight to stop and clean so here it is.......mess and all........

Room 1 (12x14)

1. Walking into my main craft area. My DH ripped up the carpet and installed hard wood floors, installed shelving, wooden blinds, lighting, counter tops, etc... He is sooooo good to me !

2. A closer look at my Island. My DH and I built this from an idea I had. We bought three separate units at Wal-Mart; a 4-cubed unit, a unit with a drawer and 2 cabinet doors, and a unit with 3 long drawers. I put them all together and flipped them upside down and anchored them together from the bottom with 2x4's. I installed 4 coasters so I could push it around the room depending on what I am doing. I then bought a piece of counter top and secured it to the top. Shazamm - an island.

3. A closer look at the top of my island. I try to protect the top when I am making frames and such with 22x34 quilting mat. Please excuse the mess, I was working on some frames this particular night.

4. Counter top work station with 23x17 Making Memories Mat. I have the capability to have 3 of these stations on this L-shaped counter top. I mounted it onto 4 rolling file cabinets and a bracket across the back against the wall. It measure 10 ft long with the L being 5 ft. I have 2 rolling office chairs that glide across the room. When my nephew who is 3 comes over, we race around the island in these, it's great to be a kid sometimes.

5. I wanted to separate my stickers from my rub-ons but ran out of room so I hung 2 curtain rods on the end of my island where 2 unit sides came together and hung my rub-ons by book rings. Sticker storage will be shown later on another post.

6. These are 2 book shelves as you enter the room. I used to have my 12x12 paper stored here but I am in the process of moving it to Room 2 (coming up ). Click on the photo to enlarge it and notice the old hat boxes on top, I love the look of them with my Comstock chipboard letter boxes from We are Memory Keepers. I also have 3 sets of drawers that have my stamping blocks, embossing powders, flock, etc. On the other side I have 6 clear boxes that holds my transparency's, titles, chipboard and die cuts from MME. There is a lot more stored on these shelves but I will be moving it all shortly into my other room.

7. My beloved PTI Shelf. Notice I am running out of room and getting ready to expand down a shelf when I finish moving my other paper. I put my ribbon on a tension rod above my paper so everything is easily accessible. The blue box holds my extra rolls of ribbon, inks, etc.

8. These are 6 CD shelfs from Big Lots. My ceilings are slanted so I like the extra height I gained by stacking 2. I store my Prima flowers, 6x6 and 4x6 paper pads, 7 Gypsies albums and other craft kits here. It is just the right size so that my closet door opens. You will have to stay tuned to see what is behind the closet.

9. This is behind the entry door to the room. I have a rack used in pantries where I house my Marvey punches and PTI stamps in their CD case. On the wall I have a rack that houses blank mini scrapbooks and kits as well as a little of everything else.

10. This is more ribbon stored on tension rods hung between the wall and the end of a entertainment center. It is neglected of late thanks to Nichole's beautiful ribbon selection.

11. I stole this from my DH's garage. I store my large brads, buttons, embellishments, etc. in here.

12. This is a spice rack attached to my peg board where I store my mini buttons and other attachments and a wooden crate where I store my ink pads. This is right above my work area so everything is within reach.

13. This is my son's old entertainment center that holds a little bit of everything. I use the large drawer to hold my wood mounted stamps ( that haven't been touched in over a year ), I use the TV area for my 4 white boxes from Target (similar to cropper hopper storage cubes). I have scrap paper, blank cards, various tools, punch strips for my Quickutz, .......in these units. The sides of the unit still houses some 12x12 paper kits, magazines and such.

Room 2 (10x12)

My DH again, remove the carpet, painted, and installed hard wood flooring for me ( I didn't even have to ask he just offered one day and did it all in a weekend).

14. One side of my paper racks. This is the 2nd best find of my life ( in terms of scrapbooking). I purchased these from a store that was moving and changing out their storage system. I received such a good bargain that I loaded my moms Escape with all that would fit, 6 total, and was tempted to go back for more. This is where I am in the process of moving all of my 12x2 paper to from the other room. This will make Room 1 looked less cluttered I hope.

15. The other side of my racks, there are 3 across and stacked 2 high. Five of the racks are for 12x12 and one for 8 1/2 x 11. I use the far corner rack for colored cardstock.

16. This is my BEST find! Again, it was a discard from another LSS that I was able to rescue, clean up and put to good use. I store all of my MME (My Mind's Eye) collection here. ( Don't forget I still have a few kits for sell, scroll down to previous post) . My DH came to my rescue again and helped me remove all the plastic holder and wash, dry and re-hang all 64 of them.

17. This was my first shelf unit when I stated scrapbooking. I have just purchased more Cubes from Target and Photo Boxes form Hobby Lobby and am in the process of moving some of my things from Room 1. Again, I am trying to achieve a less cluttered space. Yes, that is more ribbon (from QVC) that is waiting to be given it's proper home.

18. My son helped "set me up" with an awesome new computer and printer recently so I moved my old printer/copier in here next to the filing cabinet. My husband can now make copies without changing any of the settings or paper in my main printer. Next to it is 2 small racks that hold my Christmas Paper. I sell a lot of Christmas items and get started early therefore I like to keep this out year round and easily accessible.

That's it for now, hope you enjoyed the tour. When I get the rest a little more organized I'll be back with more...... peg boards, tool storage, overstock supplies, stickers, computer area, etc..............and yes, I know I have issues and have just a "slight" addiction to craft supplies. My life long dream is to open a store in my hometown some day; for now, I sell out of my home, at shows, parties, and some on the internet so I consider this a prelude to my dream. Please feel free to leave a comment or question about your favorite part or just to say hi and you enjoyed the tour.

RAK's, Flowers and a Card

I know this is a long post but please be patient, I have a lot of updating to do:

FIRST, let me start by apologizing for not saying thank you and posting the following RAK cards sooner. I have been very busy with the My Mind's Eye merchandise coming in. Sit back and enjoy the photos:

This was from my blog candy winner, Sandy Dayhoff. She said she saw the idea for the card on Dawn McVey's blog and Sandy actually used some of her winning kit for the stripe across the top of the card. Thanks, Sandy.

I received this card from Carrie Bohrer (Craft Crazy Carrie). I love the colors, brown and blue and my favorite. The coordination of this card was wonderful, the inside and the envelope were both inked and/or stamped to match. Carrie said the design for the card was from her Craft Crazy Sister Suzanne. Great Job !


I LOVE this card that I received from Katherine (Katie) Renz from My Paper Haven. I actually saw this card in the gallery and really admired it then to actually receive one put me on top of the world. The photo here and in the gallery does not do this card justice. The embossing on the Kraft cardstock is amazing and the color of yellow and pink with the Kraft is beautiful. The card is scored across the top and bottom of the front of the card. I am so going to CASE this card so I hope you don't mind Katie.



This is a Thank You card I received from my friend Niki Estes at mypapercreations.blogspot.com I so admire those brave enough to create their own pattered paper. This is a very cheerful card that added a bright spot to my day.




NEXT - A card I made. This was made for a friend of mine, Farrah, to send to her husband who has just returned to Iraq. He had just been home for 14 days to see his new darling daughter Colie Jean. She was born while he was in Iraq. The photo was taken the day he had to return and was at the airport saying goodbye. Farrah ask for me to make a Father's Day Card to send and I couldn't wait to break out my PapertreyInk Father Knows Best stamp set as well as to use my new PTI Kraft cardstock. I wanted something very personal from Colie so I decided to use a photo. I think he will love the card and can show off the photo to his pals.


(the photo is not very good quality so I will tell you the sentiment stamps I used were the "Happy FATHER'S DAY" and at the bottom of the card "you are my HERO", the inside sentiment was "any man can be a FATHER it takes someone special to be a DAD". )

And LAST just a few photos of my Lily's. The first photo is of the Lily's that my Dad started at their house and were a vibrant orange. Yes, I said orange. After his passing my mother separated them and gave all the kids some cuttings. Up until last year they always bloomed orange in my flower bed but this year to my surprise they bloomed yellow. The crimson red are 1 year old. I am beginning to wonder if Lily's are like hydrangea's and change color according to the soil content. If you have an answer to that please leave a comment. Anyway, just thought I would share some of my photo's, enjoy.