Sunday, March 21, 2021

Ira Glass Uplifts The Creative

THE GAP by Ira Glass from Daniel Sax on Vimeo.

Stuck in a slump and not creating? Fearful that your work may never be good enough?

Watch Ira Glass's video, a mesmerizing, motivating and inspiring message about the gap between what we may be creating at any point with our hands ~ versus ~ what our minds may be creating.

Find more info about Daniel Sax, the man who shared Mr. Glass' vid, here at Vimeo

 



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Tuesday, March 2, 2021

How To Make A Mason Jar Shaker Card

 

Mason Jar Shaker Card Design by Artsy Craftery Design Studio
This is my first shaker card design and my first time using my BiraCrafts Stamping Pro stamp platform. This stamp platform is unique in how it works and I love using it already. So glad I saved money and bought it.

Die cut red glitter hearts for mason jar handmade card.

I don't have step-by-step images for this project, only finished product. I was rushing, as I made it, to get this card into the mail.

For the mason jar shaker window and flower stems, I used Stampendous! Fran's Bouquet For You clear stamps set. Couldn't find this set at Stampendous!'s website, so it may be discontinued. I bought it on Ebay in a pack with 2 other sets. I found it alone at Ebay and Amazon, if you want to look.

Create a handmade shaker window for your card.

Fran's has some pretty, little stamp sets at Stampendous! I love the Fruity Drinks clear stamps set but while I got a good bargain on the 3-set pk at Ebay (one set was used), on the site that set is $16.00.

You know these craft supplies are expensive! That's why I'm always seeking bargains. I keep a wish list of craft stuff and it's often a long while before I buy a new product. I have to watch my budget very carefully but that does not stop me from crafting whenever I want to. I use lots of generic products as well as found, salvaged and recycled things.

Cut die cut glitter hearts in half to make falling petals.

For the stamped hearts I used a stamp from an Aliexpress set and My Favorite Things Boysenberry Premium Dye Ink Cube. Any heart stamp in the size you prefer and any stamp ink will do. I colored the inside of the hearts with a hot pink gel pen and added a heart sequin to the center of each.

I stamped the leafy vines using Stampendous! Perfectly Clear Stamps Encouraging Words set and My Favorite Things Limelight Premium Dye Ink Cube, and added highlights with gel pens. You can see the stamp set at Etsy and Ebay. I stamped the word Hello and the sentiment panel inside using Aliexpress stamps also and Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink pad.

Handmade mason jar shaker window tut at Printaphoria blog.

The shaker window was made by stamping the mason jar twice, once onto the card and once onto a piece of card stock. I decided to color in the flower stems and the inside of the mason jar on the card to simulate water. I used pastels, Gelatos and gel pens. I won't do that again because it caused the shakers to drag and stick when shaking the card. It would be better to use colored card stock. I guess the media, no matter how dry after applied, are substances that grab glitters and other tiny shaker pieces.

I cut out the mason jar from the card stock and cut a piece from a sheet of salvaged clear plastic that would fit behind the mason jar cut out. I glued them together and set aside. I then cut small pieces of double-sided sticky foam, removed the protective tape from one side and adhered them around the border of the mason jar image that I had stamped onto the card. I ensured that there were no spaces between the sticky foam pieces, that I butted against each other, for the shakers to fall out.

You can use salvaged foam pieces and scavenged plastic to make your handmade card shaker windows.

I salvage any foam that is sticky on both sides with protective tape that has to be pulled away. You can use sticky foam strips, foam weather stripping rolls (cut your pieces to size), etc. You can even use foam pieces in a pinch that are not sticky and that you'd have to glue down.

I added my shakers inside the foam walls that I stuck around the border of the mason jar image on the card. I used glitter, sequins, rhinestones, flat sequins, etc.

Use a variety of shaker pieces for your mason jar shaker window.

I used an Aliexpress heart die to die cut fuchsia red hearts from My Favorite Things Replenishments Celebration Glitter 6x6" cardstock pk. The paper is beautiful but the last time I checked they did not have that pk anymore. I cut some of the hearts in half to make petals. You can see that I glued a couple of the hearts inside. I ended my crafting session by accenting this handmade card with sequins and rhinestones and brushing a green stamp pad over the edges. I signed it and sent it on it's way to my friend for Valentine's Day.

TAKEAWAYS:

  • Don't use media to color inside shaker windows.
  • Design a more interesting background for the card front.
  • Wipe the inside of the shaker window with an anti-static pouch before assembling.
 

 








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Wednesday, February 24, 2021

News: Baroqoo

 


 
 
Went to visit Baroqoo today and found out they shut down last year. I found this post by an Etsy seller dated 6/20:
 
I have just been in contact with the team at Baroqoo today after noticing that my monthly payment was not removed by PayPal. I was told that while Baroqoo is closing at the end of June, they did not feel comfortable taking payments for June. They said they did not have the success they had hoped for and that having public venues to get the Baroqoo name know came to a halt with Covid-19.

No new handmades selling sites seem to be able to make it anymore. While money can be a major issue and COVID threw a monkey wrench into the mix, I wonder if it's something else? I remember more failures before the virus hit. Many massively-successful enterprises in other industries made it through the most astounding odds. There just seems to have been a slump in handmades selling support during the past 10 yrs from which the cottage industry never recovered.

What do you think is the most significant cause(s) for the failure of new handmades selling venues?



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Saturday, February 6, 2021

Hearts & Dots Turquoise Hot Pink Blue Peach Coral Printable Paper

 

Hearts & Dots Hot Experience Single Printable Paper by Artsy Craftery Design Studio
This is a colorway tending towards pastels with pops of turquoise and fuchsia. The peach or light coral highlights add a unique accent to the color theme.

Detail & Full View Of Hearts & Dots Hot Experience Printable Paper
The detail image shows an up close look at the watercolor strokes. This is a digitally-enhanced design of my original Hearts painting that I named Hearts & Dots. This version I call Hot Experience. 

To read more details about this printable paper

visit my shop at Payhip:

PRINTAPHORIA

To buy this printable paper immediately click below:

Buy Now

To add this printable paper to your cart to buy more products click below.

You will be taken to my Payhip shop. 

Click the ADD TO CART BUTTON.

You will see your cart icon appear at the top right.

Mouse over Printaphoria under the listing title to visit shop main page to add more products to your cart.

Add To Cart

 

Thanks For Visiting Printaphoria

Graphics To Beautify, Organize & Simplify Your Life

 

Printaphoria graphics are always personal and

commercial for anything that you use in your craft projects.

The files and the printed images from the files

cannot be sold or given away. 

Please direct anyone interested in my graphics

to my Printaphoria shop or email

artsycrafterydesignstudio at outlook.com

 






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Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Ponderings: What's Wrong With ArtFire Subscriptions?

 

Sometimes I think that the man who started Artfire has lost his mind, but I don't have anything against John A. Jacobs. I just continue to be confused. A long time ago I was impressed by his story of how his mother's struggles as a handmades or jewelry seller inspired him. He decided to launch a venue that would support and make it easy for other cottage industry sellers to succeed. He specifically attacked the challenges that hand-makers had of paying the fees that many selling venues charge.

He said he recognized a growing dissatisfaction with his customers selling their products on the Internet. Some sites charge too much and are too restrictive, he said, and are unresponsive to their customers, sellers and buyers.

I know that goals and purposes change, but...

Over the years I've checked on Artfire and what I have consistently found went from good to worse. You probably have read my similar rants about AF as I discovered each unfavorable change or feature. I've never sold at AF, but I did join in the earlier years when free shops were offered. That has been no more for a long time. The always free shops went from always free to a trial period. That went kaput!

I ran by AF today and couldn't believe my eyes! Maybe it's just me, some type of twisted prejudice maybe? You tell me. I run by from time-to-time just because there are so few handmades-dedicated selling venues that exist anymore and because AF was one of the originals. They have outlived all the many others that have shockingly fallen by the wayside.

Unbelievably, a standard shop with a cap of 250 listings, is $4.95 a month. Not bad, right? But there's a fee of $0.23 per listing. Palatable? The listings are only active for 2 months before you have to pay again. If you are still with the Artfire creator's thinking up to now, think about this. There is an FVF of 12.75%. Like I said, you tell me. Is it me, or is there something wrong with this picture?

Well, ArtFire is still functioning, you say. Yes. Most smart businesspersons don't continue to invest time and money in non-lucrative ventures. I don't know what the turnover in shops is but some sellers are still finding the site useful. Af, however, is not the same as it used to be with regards to happy socializing and devoted promotion of the site by sellers.  Af was fondly talked about on all the crafting forums and social platforms. Listings even used to appear in Google Shopping. I stopped hearing about AF a long time ago. As far as the cost to invest in a shop? It's worse than Etsy and not nearly as much traffic and probably very little promotion, if any. Still, I wish all of the sellers there much success and satisfaction!

Printaphoria - Artsy Craftery Design Studio




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Monday, January 25, 2021

Pink Purple Hearts Hand-Painted Printable Paper

Hearts In The Window Single Printable Paper
I like that this Hearts printable paper design came out looking like neon lights. It looks dark and mysterious and at the same time exciting.

The detail image shows an up close look at the mottled painting. This is a digitally-enhanced design of my original painting that I named Hearts In The Window. This version I call Glow of Love. 

To read more details about this printable paper

visit my shop at Payhip:

PRINTAPHORIA

To buy this printable paper immediately click below:

Buy Now

To add this printable paper to your cart to buy more products click below.

You will be taken to my Payhip shop. 

Click the ADD TO CART BUTTON.

You will see your cart icon appear at the top right.

Mouse over Printaphoria under the listing title to visit shop main page to add more products to your cart.

Add To Cart

 

Thanks For Visiting Printaphoria

Graphics To Beautify, Organize & Simplify Your Life

 

Printaphoria graphics are always personal and

commercial for anything that you use in your craft projects.

The files and the printed images from the files

cannot be sold or given away. 

Please direct anyone interested in my graphics

to my Printaphoria shop or email

artsycrafterydesignstudio at outlook.com

 


 



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Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Snipbit: What Is Behance?

I did not realize that Behance is a place for creatives to create online portfolios to showcase their work. I was reading this overview at ArtisanTalent where you can learn about the pros and cons of using this Adobe Creative Cloud site.



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Sunday, January 10, 2021

How To Use Inkscape

Free Inkscape Vector Graphics Program
Before I bought Serif's Affinity Designer, I was learning how to use the free Inkscape program through Nick Saporito's Youtube tuts

Nick is a very good teacher in that his diction is clear and his directions precise. It is easy to follow his instructions. 

The reason that I did not continue is because I already had Affinity Photo and I like it so much that I bought Designer.

If you want an accelerated program to learn Inkscape I recommend Nick. He also offers freebies often and his advanced course are very affordable.



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Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Junk Journal Ideas & How To Make Them

How many times have I wondered what is the purpose of a junk journal other than a creation to look at? What are some junk journal ideas?
 
How To Use A Junk Journal
Compass & Ink Handmade Journal Blog Post
Since you've wondered too, here is a good overview, by Megan at Compass & Ink, of how they can actually be used and a link to how to make them too. 

 
Compass & Ink Handmade Journal Post
Using Handmade Junk Journals By Megan
I like the suggestion of using one as a gratitude or spiritual journal. I add that one can also be used as a dream journal in which to record significant dreams. 
 
Have a Happy, Creative Day!
Sandi
 

 


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Friday, December 18, 2020

Printable Christmas Trees And Holly Tags

 Holly & Trees Printable Tags


Printable Holly & Trees Tags by Artsy Craftery Design Studio

HOLLY & TREES CHRISTMAS GIFT TAGS


♦ 9 Per Printed Sheet, 3 Designs

♦ 300 dpi for crisp printing.

♦ Prints On Standard 8 1/2 x 11" Card Stock Or Heavyweight Paper

♦ Print on home/office copier.

♦ Print as often as you need.

♦ Print in black and white by changing your printer settings to grayscale.

♦ PERSONAL AND COMMERCIAL when used in your crafting projects.

♦ Digital license file included.

♦ Use in digital applications, scrap-booking, cards, collage, altered-art, journals, other crafts.

♦ Can be saved to flash drive, taken to copy center/printer and printed on premium paper. Take a copy of my digitals license agreement for copyright release questions.

♦ PDF files available upon request, free of charge. Msg me.

♦ No attribution is necessary but appreciated when you can mention Printaphoria or Artsy Craftery Design Studio.

♦ Not available in brick and mortar stores.

PRINTAPHORIA PRINTABLES are always PERSONAL AND COMMERCIAL for anything that can be used in your crafting and art projects, and as often as you need. No attribution or additional license is required, but mentioning Printaphoria or Artsy Craftery Design Studio is always appreciated.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦



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