Where in the world is my glue?

Hello Ladies (and girls  , and guys?)

Up for some crafty tips? Here goes....

Tip #1:
I usually buy my sticky-things like glue bottles, double-sided tapes, 3-D tapes in a pack of 6.  I also bulk-buy acetate sheets, black sharpie markers and glitter bottles.

What happened was, it seemed i had lot of everything but in reality i was using things haphazardly. So i had 6 nearly empty bottles of glue, a quarter tape on every roll & so on.....

This went on for quite sometimes because i had no idea what to do..... Then one day i had an idea .....
Now , when I buy anything in bulk, I put a number on all things from 1-6.  I don't use bottle/roll marked "2" unless i have emptied the "1".
And when i reach #5 , I know it's time to go shopping!

Tip #2:

I don't own a diecut machine & buy them from my lovely crafter friends. There are times when there is not enough time to order & I am short on diecuts.... For those rainy days I keep some diecuts as templates. While you can't hand cut doilies....... Oval frames, tags, butterfly silhouettes, can be traced and hand-cut.

It's time consuming but hey! We all started with a pencil, ruler & a pair of scissors...... No harm getting back to basics sometimes!

Happy crafting
<3

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2016/01/crafty-kick-start-2016/

Inspired by craftykickstart16 again!

Hi again,
Here comes my second post.....

After watching people creating all those lovely master pieces with distress inks in #craftykickstart16 , I was just dying to buy them. And i did it this month :D

The Ranger Distress mini inkpads are economical and you get so many shades. Plus there was a valentines sale at artful crafting so I just had to shop. These are the things i got:

Aren't these lovely?

Then came the distressing part & I was distressed :(
All the tutorials seemed so easy and here i was with a blotted piece of paper.

Then I thought spraying some water will give it some effects...

Still not impressed......then i gave it one more go, this time I added more colours and blended with more force. Misted the paper with regular water spray bottle (forgot to order a mini mister :P)  this time it worked :D

Then I distressed some more..... (see , I am showing-off my new stamps  too :D )                                                                                

Loving my new inks , watching Tim Holtz videos and practicing. Taking it slow & steady ...... 

Thank you for joining me :)

Take care!

My shopping list:
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/stampendous-perfectly-clear-stamps-3x4-love-thoughts/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/unity-cling-rubber-stamps-sweet-on-you/
rtful-crafting.com/shop/crafty-impressions-clear-stamp-hugs-kisses-2x3/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/distress-mini-ink-kit-13/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/distress-mini-ink-kit-8/
http://artful-crafting.com/shop/distress-mini-ink-kit-7/
liquid pearls,
dotted essentials cardstock
american craft cardstock,
rangers glossy accentsstencils by heidi swapp
stencils by Crafters workshop

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2016/01/crafty-kick-start-2016/

Inspired by Craftykickstart16

Hi everyone,

As the title shows, this post is inspired by the #craftykickstart16 . The last day of January , still its better late than never :D

These are my go-to tools & stamps:

A metal ruler
Paper cutter
Acrylic block
Ranger Black Archival Inkpad
You are the best stamp set by Hero Arts
Thinking Of You stamp set by Inkadinkado
Flower stamp by studio g
Scallop punch by EK Success
Lace border punch by Martha Stewart
Fiskars circle cutter

The sentiments stamp sets are just LOVE!  These have almost- ALMOST every sentiment that we usually need.

Flower stamp gives a nice effect as a background as well as the main element when stamped with bold colours.

Lace punch & scallop punch are so versatile that we need one whole post for it :)


Fiskars circle cutter comes in handy all the time. It can cut circles from 1" diameter to 8" diameter & is super easy to use.

Archival ink is very easy to work with. I like bold, black outlines so its perfect for me.

Acrylic block is a necessity offcourse!

This paper cutter has been my friend when i did not know there were all sorts of punches , trimmers and cutters out there & its still my best friend <3



PS: next post coming up before February starts :D

http://artful-crafting.com/wordpress/2016/01/crafty-kick-start-2016/