MEOW!

My cat, maddux is meowing non-stop! He's so obnoxious sometimes because he gets bored and wants to either go outside or be played with inside. But he's not easily entertained, for some reason I have a really hard time getting him to actively play with me even though he's a perpetual kitten! His favorite toy is a laser light, he goes crazy for it. He even knows what it means when I say "Do you want to play laser?" He gets all exited! It's so cute.

I had to mention this seller, mct jeweler. They made these cufflinks into steel pans, which is the instrument I play. Someday I will see if they can make me a necklace just like them because it's so cool!

And last but not least, here's one of my latest listing. It's a set of file folder type cards. These have become my favorite to make, so I thought I'd make a simpler version in a coordinating set to give more options to my buyers!

How-To Make Attractive Eco-Friendly Packages

I wanted to share with you how I make my packages attractive, yet use mostly recycled materials. A lot of what I use is left over from either my own supplies that I have bought, or from other packages I've received. Take a look at everything you buy that comes in a package- from scrapbooking supplies, to candy, to groceries. If it's clean- reuse it! You'll save on your shipping supplies and make your customers happy that you recycle.

For my packages I use the following:

1. Piece of cardboard for stiffness in package- you can use cardboard from cereal boxes, or, like me, use cardboard from boxes left over from a move. Walmart is constantly restocking and throwing out boxes. Just catch them when they're restocking and ask if you can have a box.

2. Plastic pouch. Lots of my scrapbooking supplies come in a plastic sleeve, check your own supplies that you buy often and see if you can reuse the plastic it comes in.

3. Paper scraps. Obviously I do a lot of paper crafting so I have a lot of leftover paper. If you're not into paper crafting, try using paper from you printer that printed wrong, or from junk mail that can be turned inside out to use the blank space.

4. Tissue or bubble wrap- I reuse what I get from other packages, but you can also use newspaper. Just wrap it nicely so it looks professional.

5. This is my personal only non-recycled part: Shipping paper and tape.

First, put your item in your recycled plastic sleeve, and attach paper scraps or recycled paper on the top with staples. This is also a good opportunity to save more. If you write a handmade thank you, you can just write it on the top of the package.

Next, wrap your item in bubble wrap, tissue or newspaper, and set on a piece of sturdy cardboard.


Last, wrap in shipping paper and tape. Or slip in a mailer.

More Fun with New Rubber

I love this new stuff! It's great. I finally made another cute cupcake after much hinting from my mom. :)

I got some new linoleum rubber, it's more expensive, but that's because it's awesome! Cuts so smooth, and I can tell it will last longer. So, here's my first stamp with the new rubber.

Feeling a little better

I've been really sick the last few days, but I'm starting to get better, I hope! I don't know what it was, just hit me suddenly. I guess it's always like that though huh?

This is an old treasury, but I had wanted to post a picture. It's from about a week ago. I keep thinking that one of my treasuries will make the front page of etsy, but none so far. This one is very yummy!

I was getting really tired of all the super restrictive angel policies with paper crafting last week. You can't sell die cuts, you can't use stamps on your stuff to sell, the list goes on. So I got the idea that I wanted to try carving my own stamps. I thought this might be another expensive hobby, but it really isn't, and it's pretty easy to get started. After getting some great advice in this thread about it, I first tried making them out of an eraser. That's right, I rode my bike to the Dollar store and got 2 pink erasers for $1 and carved them with an exacto knife. Here's that one:

So then I was excited because it wasn't all that difficult to do. I went to Hobby Lobby and checked out their art section. I found a good tool kit that was made by Speed ball. It was $15, but a nice lady behind me gave me her coupon. I also bought a small amount of speedy carve linoleum rubber, which is made specifically for rubber stamping. I'd like to try Mastercarve next because I've heard great things about it. I'm hoping to post a tutorial on this soon.




This one is an owl on a branch, but I think it turned out to look more like a leaping cat or something. My husband suggested adding lines to make the branch look more like wood. What do you think?



Here's Maddux, either helping or giving me an evil look for ignoring him while making stamps:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries