Review of We R Memory Keepers Foil Pens

I am in love with the We R Memory Keepers foil pens. I must admit I was quite resistant to trying them. Early in my transition from scrapbooking to card making I bought the We R Memory Keepers original foiling pen and found it awkward to use and got inconsistent results. When the foiling machines came out I immediately became enamored and had to have one. I love it when it works well but get frustrated by having to manage the embossing sandwich. In addition, the foil stamps can be expensive, so I had to question why I would need to go back to using a pen. Well, thanks to Tuesday Morning and the half-price deal, I gave in and bought two pens. I watched a youtube on how to connect them to my Cricut and plunged right in. I used my GoPress and Foil gold foil and the results were perfect the first time. I used it again last night with equally great results.

What makes this GREAT is that I don't have to buy more "stuff" because I can use designs that I already have through Cricut Design Space. So, while I have no intention of abandoning my Go Press and Foil machine, the WeRMemory Keepers pens will be the more frequent choice.

New Years Crafting Resolutions

As I spend yet another day cleaning and organizing my craft room I am inspired to make some New Years' resolutions in order to gain control of a very limited area containing far too much STUFF


Although I have made some headway about organizing in the past weeks I keep running into the same problems: Paper scraps from preparing for my monthly card class
                          Embellishments made from Watercolor Wednesday and Kit and Clowder

I actually have a very elegant system for paper handling, thanks to Totally Tiffany, but neglect to use it efficiently as I get so wrapped up in crafting

I  hesitate to make cards out of my premade embellishments for no good reason at all. I think I am under the illusion that I will use them as inspiration pieces. But in the years that I have been crafting, I don't think I have ever actually done that. LOL

So the new deal is: Clean up after each card
                               Make a card out of each successfully completed embellishment

For future consideration: putting together card kits to sell or use as rewards. At this time I have far more cards then I will ever use. Despite being an avid card maker I seldom actually send cards!

I would love to hear your suggestions for clutter control you use in your craft area.

Preparing for CREATIVATION

This will be my first time attending AFCI  and I am so excited. Room reservations have been made. I watched the presentation on preparations for first-time attendees. And so excited at the thought of meeting all the crafters that I have been following for the past several years. I am also hoping to meet crafters from my local area of York, Pennsylvania so that we can pool our resources and perhaps form a local support group that would continue past the conference.
 

New Location For Teaching Cricut

I will be forever grateful to Joann's for giving me the opportunity to teach Cricut in their stores, but the time has come for me to relocate to a site that provides a more flexible schedule and the ability to design my own programs. I was fortunate to be invited to teach Cricut classes at Charmed Again, a new consignment store located in York, PA. The owner has assured me that wifi is readily available and students should have no trouble connecting or staying connected to the internet.

Art Impressions Christmas Card

Although today is Friday I just finished coloring. the Water Color Wednesday for this week. Not only that, but I made it into a card front.
I'm so proud of myself for how much I have improved and for making the card right away. I have so many potential card fronts piled in a drawer waiting to be given their due.
I don't want to promise anything but I am working on being more organized and productive, I even downloaded a Posting Planner and am considering buying the calendar that goes with it. But that is for another post.

SOME CRICUT HELP FROM MY CRICUT GURU

As a Cricut instructor, I had a class scheduled to teach layering vinyl. After having an epic fail at a previous class I was anxious to research that prior to the class. I want to give a shoutout to #MelodyLane for her excellent video and personal advice which resulted in my ability to easily design and produce layered designs.The following layered vinyl Unicorn was used as my learning tool and designed by Melody Lane. For anyone not already aware of Melody Lane you should know that she makes her designs available to her patreons

AINT IT FUNNY HOW (CRAFTING) TIME SLIPS AWAY

It isn't that I haven't been crafting, just not the kind of crafting that is post-worthy. On Monday I had to drive my daughter to an appointment in Hanover. After her appointment, we went to Hobby Lobby where I treated myself to the Desk Maid Hands-Free Embossing Station. On Tuesday I had a Cricut Class to prepare for and teach. On Wednesday my dog was behaving strangely and the vet wasn't available so I had to watch over her while I played with my new Tim Holtz Vagabond 2 embossing machine. (The dog is fine. It appears she ate some catnip and was High). And so far today I had to take my grandson to work and grocery shop. Of course, I forgot the main thing I went there for so I will need to go back. And then when I got home and tried to vacuum the vacuum was so full it wouldn't pick anything up so I had to clean it first.

On the positive side, I was asked to offer Cricut classes by a private business owner so if you live in or near York, Pennsylvania I will be offering Cricut classes at a new consignment store called  "Charmed Again" located across from the Home Depot on Market Street.