ATC Swap

A few years ago I was doing a few swaps on the Cricut Board and the last one I did, which was inchies, I got burned.  You had to do 100 inchies and then you would receive 100 different inchies back.  Well, the gal who was doing the swap not only kept all the inchies that were sent to her, but all the postage money.

That was it for me until I went to Roni's blog (see Blog Sidebar Ink Stains) & did some swaps while we were full-time Rving.  I love her challenges & her blog.  There is always something new to try.

Now that our Swaps for the Summer are in, I want to share them with you techniques & products I used:

 



This is my favorite.  It is a mini-painting, mixed media.  I have painted several larger ones using the same techniques.

The base of this ATC card is canvas ATC paper I bought at JoAnn's.  It comes in a pack of 10 which was great because I painted 6 of these. 5 for the Swap & I always make a set for Roni.It is a lot of work conducting a Swap so it is a Thank You gift to her.

I used acrylic paints for the background, real sand & very small shells for the beach, Studio G letter stamps & Shrink It.

SURPRISE...the seagulls were cut from white Shrink-It with my Cricut using Life's a Beach cartridge.

To get the right size for whatever canvas I use, I took a tip from Tim Holtz and made a Shrink-It ruler.

If you have never heard of a Shrink-It ruler, this is how to make it:

• Cut a length of Shrink-It.  I made mine 8" x 1".
• Using a sharpie, make & label inches, half inches and even 1/4" if you want.
• Punch a hole in the top of the "ruler" before you bake it according to manufacturers directions.

It may come out a little wonky, meaning not exactly straight, but it will help you to know what an inch of shrunk plastic will look like if you cut or punch a 1" shape or letter.

The first of many more...

I have been long gone travelling with my husband for almost 3 years.  I crafted a bit here and there & I was even able to do a few craft shows in California & Oregon.  BUT...now I have a whole room again filled with my craft stuff .  I am creating almost everyday.

I had stuff in the RV, but it was hard to get it all out, make sure hubbie was going to be doing something outside for a couple of hours & then put everything back.

Now in my Craft Room which I lovingly call "MY HAPPY PLACE".  I will posting a lot of my creations now that we have landed in a permanent place on the Oregon Coast which is filled with so many creative artistic people.  Lots of amazing galleries & art groups.

Hubbie also has just completed building his "HAPPY PLACE" which he missed so much travelling.  His workshop is making my workshop lots of things to paint, stencil, and cut vinyl (and more) with my Cricut & Silhouette.

I also am going to get my Etsy store back up & running.  So as soon as I finish my 30 ATC cards for my swap, I will be posting each one with a list of everything I used.

Yep, I'm back & it feels great!

Saying Goodbye..Saying Hello

When we embarked on this journey we had to say goodbye to old friends. Friends we have known for 6 years or longer. It was hard, but new friends have taken their places.

For instance, we had to say goodbye to the Kenmore twins - Washer & Dryer. We were friends for 11 yrs. & really didn't know what we would do without them. However, new twins have taken their place: The Laundry-Mat Twins, Washer & Dryer 2. I never thought I could cozy up to these new twins because I have always been a snob about Laundry-Mat Twins. I have found that they are a lot nicer & cleaner than the others I encountered in the past outside of an RV Park. You know the PUBLIC Laundry-Mat Twins.

Another old friend we said goodbye to was - Mr. Direct TV. All our satellite TV channels & programs gone. We were hoping that we could strike up a cable TV relationship at the various RV Parks but found out that very few have cable TV. Why? Because most people travel with their satellite TV friends Direct & Dish TV.

How are we coping? There was a great new friend waiting for us we didn't expect & she travels with us no matter where we go. It's Ms. TV from the Antenna on our rig. Who knew?! Granted she has limited stations: CBS, NBC, ABS, Fox, but she has channels we have come to know & love. Most places call themselves MeTV & AntennaTV. What's so wonderful about these stations is all the oldie shows like: Bionic Women, 6 Million Dollar Man, Adam-12, Emergency, Dragnet, and on and on. We watch more of those show than anything else.

Yes, we miss HGTV, Discovery, History channels & especially Fox News, but Ms. TV from the Antenna on our rig has given us hours of enjoyment.

Next time I will introduce you to our last 2 new BFFs we have made on the road. These two are probably the most important friends we could have made.

The Desert

Who said the desert is hot?  Whoever said that has not been to Las Vegas in January.  It has been the weirdest weather ever in the Southwest.  We have had hard freeze warnings the past 5 nights & one morning we woke up to icicles hanging from the bottom of the windows.

It is supposed to warm up to low 60's by the weekend, but whoo hoo has it been cold!

We will hang around here for another 5 - 6 weeks before taking our time heading back to Oregon.  Scrapbook Fun Fest is looming ahead & we will getting into gear in the next few months.

Missing the coast a whole lot!  Getting restless to move on over & explore. 

We were able to meet up with my BIL at the Wynn for breakfast last week.  He looked great & it was fun to catch up. 

Our friend was able to buy his dream house here in Las Vegas & sell his house in Sacramento in less than 24 hours for more than he was asking.  We will be helping him get all his stuff down here.  Fun times & busy times a'coming.

Went to Senior Tuesday movie day last week at Sam's Town & saw "Lincoln".  It really was amazing although Rod fell asleep during some of the longer oratories.

Heading out to a new area near here next week.  More on that!

I have been posting photos on Rod's facebook page.  Didn't get a photo of it, but we went to "Amore Taste of Chicago" for Chicago style pizza last night. It was amazing!  Definitely going back to try some of the other items they have.

Happy New Year 2013

Yep, it's been an awful long time since I have blogged here.  Between packing & storing & choosing & leaving & travelling it has been a very busy time.

I have crafted & Cricutted very little since we started this journey.  I have a lot of my "stuff" with me & I have added as we have visited different cities.  Discovered Hobby Lobby & it is my new favorite craft store.

I did knit scarves - 7 - for Christmas presents so that kept me a little occupied.  I did take a few classes:

• Beading - made 3 bracelets, a pair of earrings & 6 charms for a Christmas Charm exchange.
• Stained Glass - I took this with my husband.  He made a star & I made a candy cane.  It was fun crafting with him.
• Card class - made 4 real cute cards in Pahrump, NV.  When we go back for a month I will definitely take some more.

With the New Year it is time to get geared up for Scrapbook Fun Fest which is May 25.  It seems far off, but I have a lot to prepare like a class for 20.  I have some ideas rolling around that I can't wait to get started on.

We won't be back in Oregon until May 1, but I also want to teach 3 Cricut classes while I am there & before we start our Northern trek through Oregon & Washington & then down through Idaho & back to Nevada.

So hang in there with me & I will be back to creating very, very soon.  I am so ready.

You can also follow our travels at my other blog:
rtdrollinon.blogspot.com

MIA

Yep, I have been missing in action & for a great reason.  We have been wheeling & dealing twice for our house & it has finally SOLD!  Our dream is about to become true.  Whoo Hoo.

We picked up our new "house" yesterday.  It is a 26" trailer & it is amazing!  As soon as my feet touch the ground I will post a lot & I do mean a lot of photos.

More T-Shirt Fun

My new t-shirt.  I used the Nifty Fifties cartridge & cut everything at 10".  There was no wing so I cut it free hand.   The small part of the beak I cut from paper & then hand cut that also.

Using a permanent black fine point pen I went around all the cuts to make them pop.    So fun!