Hello 2014!

Can you really believe its 2014? I've had this blog since 2007. I only had 17 post last year. Yikes. I can't image anyone is still reading it. I also have never put much "personal" stuff on my blog or online anywhere really. I have 50 excuses like what if the ex, in-laws,or my parents read it? What if people think I'm dumb or a dork? What if someone uses the info and steals my children? But what it really is is fear. Fear of putting myself out there. Fear of what people will think. Well I have noticed a trend among the crafty, DIYers, Moms, and women lately. We are getting REAL. We are posting photos of our chaotic messy house, the project that was a fail, our pouting children, our no makeup yes still in pjs self. We are writing about our pains, failures, feelings, weight gains, and the truth. And I think its...beautiful and brave. My word for the year 2014 is BROADEN. I want will broaden my world, my experiences, my heart, my soul. It WILL be super scary but I'm ready for that.

I will start out by telling you last year was hard. Really hard. My business Brandywine Designs seem to fall off the planet. No matter how hard I tried the income just wasn't coming in. My husband is a contractor and got a year long "job from hell everything went wrong"  job so he was stressed for 1 whole year. My son became a teen (enough said). That's just some of it. The most depressing part was I almost got a divorcé. But through counseling and a few amazing books and people we are happier than we have ever been together. One of those people was Alisa Bowman. She has a book and blog Happily Ever After. Let me tell you people she is REAL. She puts it ALL out there. And she is super nice too. 

I'm still going to have a "crafty" blog.  I am BROADENING my crafty, art side too.  My goal is to blog at least once a week. I have a lot to share and I don't plan on holding back.

If your still reading this...thank you! And to all any of the wonderful people that have stuck with my blog over the years THANK YOU! 

p.s. I'm mostly social network on Instagram. You can find me here  http://instagram.com/lavenderwolf7

Stamps for sale

I hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn. It's been a little warm but gorgeous here. I'm selling some stamps and dies. Most are Papertrey Ink. If your interested you can e-mail me at lavenderwolf7@yahoo.com  

Includes free shipping to USA. I will ship international. Just ask for a shipping price. I will ship next day after payment.

They will come in plastic sleeves you get from hobby lobby with tip and idea sheet. The labels are on an clear sheet. I accept PayPal as payment. 

dies:

Cutting Garden $18.00

Berry Basket $18.00

Mini blooms $4.00

Stitched Sentiments $6.00

Stamps:

Cutting garden $22.00 lightly used

Stitched sentiments $22.00 lightly used

Mini Blooms $22.00 lightly used

Strawberry patch sentiments $13.00 some stains

Button up $13.00 lightly used

Simply you $13.00 some stains

Boutique Accessories $4.00 used once (stamps & package only)

MFT bold statements $16.00 one stamp used (stamps only)

Sizzix Hero Arts message frames with dies $20 

Thank you!

Halloween Curiosities

 

Halloween is my favorite Holiday. It gives me an excuse to use my slightly morbid side without seeming so strange. haha This is my favorite Halloween display this year. I love it so much I might keep it up year around. Oh wait...I live with other people. I'm not sure my family would like that .Darn.
 

 

 

The center piece is a shadow box/sign I made. The inspiration came from the Tim Holtz Chemistry 102 online class I just took. Honestly I have been using Tim Holtz product professionally for years so I didn't think I could learn more. Boy was I wrong. I learned so much! The class is still being offered by the way. After the class I bought a bunch of his new stuff and this is one of the things I made.

 

 

For the top of the sign I covered chipboard in Lost and Found Halloween paper by My Minds Eye. Then I stamped it with a Happy Halloween stamp by Stampers Anonymous-Tim Holtz.

The shadow boxes are made by cutting one layer of chipboard using the Postage Stamp Frame and Rectangles die from Sizzix-Tim Holtz.The second layer is just the Postage Stamp Frame. I added mounting foam in-between. I first inked them with Tea Dye-Distress ink then Black Soot on top of that. While it was still wet I sanded some areas. I also cut clear windows for two of the boxes out of transparency sheets.

 

Gah! I love these bottles!  I used the Sizzix die Apothecary Bottles to cut bottles from a plastic package. Then I used alcohol inks, and Rock candy Distress paint to decorate them. I BARLY heated them with a embossing gun to warp them. I went around the edges with a black marker.
 

 

For the bat I stamped the image from Stampers Anonymous Halloween Blueprint onto Grudge Paper. I fussy cut him out and inked with Pumice Stone. I stamped the image again onto Aged Paper from my shop. I stamped the writing onto the clear sheet.

 

 

 

 

 

On this one the skull is stamped directly onto the clear sheet.

 

 

The chain connecting each box  is just an old necklace I took apart.

 

 

This is a cool tag I created from the Chemistry 102 Class.

 

I found this wonderful, huge cabinet card photo in an antique store. Check out the boy bottom row, third from the left. Seriously....the kid is possessed or something. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial.

P.s. I have been in NO way paid or compensated for this post. The opinions here are my own.

 

Happy Fall

I can't believe it's been so long! I was getting ready for a local craft show. Now that it's over I plan to share my booth and everything I learned with you. I'm also revamping my etsy shop. 

Make It Monday #119: Flagged Borders

Make It Monday #119: Flagged Borders

 

I used Glitz paper, dies from Papertrey Ink and a tag from my shop Anchor and Roses.  I just love that Glitz paper Uncharted Waters.

New Tags

I'v been adding new tags to my shop. 

Happy Scrapbooking Day!!

Yay! Today is National Scrapbooking day! Are you doing anything special?  I will be doing a Fiskars Border Punch Show-IN Tell at Michael's in Abilene, Texas from 1-3. I made this scrapbook page using one. You can get directions to a similar pager HERE.

Today is also Scrap-IN Day from 3-9pm.

Whats a Scrap-IN? Its basically crop night. Its on the first Saturday of every month from 3-9pm. The cost is $5 and you can come any time between 3 and 9.  Its for scrapping, chatting, and project inspiration. Bring your supplies and work on your scrapbooking projects with friends who share your passion for all things paper!

We have a LOT of tools for you to use too. We have: Cricuts, Big Kick, Cuttlbug, Xyron, stamps, punches and MORE!

AND for this special National Scrapbooking Day we have some great prizes to give away. For the First 6 people who come sign up today for the Scrap-IN and tell me you read it on my blog I will personally give you a goody bag!

Hope to see you there!

 

Happy National Scrapbooking Month at Michaels!!

 

I'm so excited about this month at work! Michael's went all out for National Scrapbooking Day and Month. And since I'm the Paper-Ed instructor I get to be involved in it all. Its going to be a really busy fun month.

To get the paper party started we will have a SCRAP-IN May 4th 3-9pm. The best part is all the...PRIZES! This is just an example of what we will be giving away:

3M Tape Gun

Fiskars Bone Folder

Me and My Big Ieas (MAMBI) Pocket Card

Ranger Stickles

Spellbinder Dies

Tombow Multi Glue

and MORE!

 

Also every Saturday and Sunday (except 25th &26) from 1-3pm I will be doing FREE Show in Tells.

You can find the info HERE.

An example of the Show in Tells are:

Spellbinders

Inky Antics Honey POP

Home Decor Using Stamping Gear

Stampendous Embossing

Sizzix Distress Ink

Its like a free mini class. Who would want to miss that!

 

May is also filled to the brim with my Paper-ed classes.You can find the schedule HERE

My Classes are:

 

 

tINKer time- DistressShimmer

$25.00, Materials Not Included

Unveil the secrets to creating art like Tim Holtz. Your designer tags will feature

Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls from Ranger. Cards, pages or inspiring displays

are the perfect use of your unique art. From paper*ED.

Spellbinders Card Tricks

$25.00, Materials Not Included

Cut, emboss and stencil your way to spellbinding cards with amazing detail and

sophistication. Create four all-occasion cards featuring intricate details using Spellbinders dies.

Cricut Test Drive

$10.00, Materials Not Included

Learn the ins and outs of how to get the most from your Cricut machine. Don't

own a Cricut machine or thinking about buying one? Take ours out for a test

drive before you buy! From paper*ED.

Stamping Gear

$25.00, Materials Not Included

Stamping Gear is the next generation of stamping tools with unlimited design

possibilities. Learn how to create stunning all-occasion cards and a holder.

 

Card Tricks in a Flash

$25.00, Materials Not Included

Printed journal cards aren't just for pocket scrapbooking anymore. Quickly create

a stack of cards with little effort and lots of impact! Learn how to add finishing

touches using today's hottest textures.

Scrapbooking 101 $25.00,

Materials Not Included

Learning how to scrapbook is easier than you think! Our certified paper-ED™

instructors guide you through the basic tools, design and techniques to get you

started in this heartfelt hobby.

If you have any questions or would like to get E-mails with class info feel free to e-mail me at brandy.papercraft@yahoo.com

 

Trendy Celebration Card Kit

I thought I would share with you a fun kit I added to my shop. I'm calling it Trendy Celebration Card Kit. You can made 6 birthday or graduation cards with it. The kits has sequins, streamers, balloons, and confetti.And everything else you need except the adhesive.

PTI March Blog Hop

Its time for the Papertray Ink March Blog hop. Today is all about sequins.

I think I covered most of the trends in papercrafts right now in this one card! We have sequins, arrows, confetti,enamel dots, and washi tape.

Heidi Swapp Tutorial

Hi. I am doing a Heidi Swapp Color Shine Show IN Tell Sunday March 17 from 1-3 at Michael's in Abilene, TX. Its free! I'm so excited about this because I LOVE Heidi Swapp stuff. Michael's now carries  it and I must admit I have purchased a bunch! I thought I would put together a quick little tutorial on how a made a card using Heidi Swapp supplies and Color Shine.

First I took a Mini File, opened it and cut it down the crease.

 

 Next I took a scoring board and bone folder and scored the half with the tab a 4 3/8 inches. The wonderful thing about the mini files is they are reversible! Good luck trying to decide which side to use. But, because we cut the file in half you could make a card using each side!

 

Then I took  one of the sheets from Color Magic 8 x 8 paper pack and cut three one inch strips. I used four colors of Color Shine to color the strips. I cut them into 2 inch pieces and cut the bottoms to make a banner.

 

 

I added a 3 3/4 x 3/4 strip from the 12x 12 Sugar Chic Paper Pad on top of the banners. And a 6 x 1 inch strip across the card from the same paper pad. I added a Color Magic butterfly that I  sprayed with Primrose Color Shine. And some embellishments from the Chip Board Stickers. The enamel dots are from My Minds Eye.
If you want to see it in action come by on Sunday to see me!
* I didn't receive free product or compensation of any kind for this tutorial.

Come Join Me

I am so excited to anounce that I am the new Papercraft Instructor at my local Michaels store!!! I feel like this job was made for me. This Saturday March 2nd I will be hosting a Scrap IN. It is from 3pm to 9pm. Come CROP, CHAT, & CREATE. The cost is only $5.00. I'm so super excited to meet other papercraft lovers. If you live in the area I would love to meet you!

3433 Catclaw Dr

Abilene, Tx 79606

I will be offering weekly papercraft classes soon. I will post all the info on my blog in a few days.

I hope to see you there!

 

Sketch No.2

Make It Monday 103

Make it Monday 103.

 

My hubby has been such a sweety pie lately I thought I would make him this card. I LOVE sequins. So glad they are trendy right now! 

Have a fabulous week! 

 

 

January Papertrey Blog Hop

! 

Today is Papertreys January blog hop!
The challenge was to use a black background.
I never would have chosen black as a background but I LOVE how
clear embossing looks on it!
Happy Hopping!

Make It Monday #100: How to Package Cards with Oversized Embellishments

 

 

 

 

Make It Monday #100: How to Package Cards with Oversized Embellishments
This was a super fun challenge! Its been a while since I've made a card and it was hard to get
back into the grove.
The items used to make the card are Papertrey Ink and October afternoon paper: Farm Girl.
 

Just Buzzing By To Say Hi

Just thought I would buzz by to say hi! The BEE Tags are new in my shop. By the way do you Instagram? I LOVE it. You can find me on Instagram as lavenderwolf7.
 

 

 

Vintage Valentine Kits

I hope everyone had a lovely Holiday! I have added some Vintage Valentine Kits to my shop.