PaperFections

Ewwwwww!! & Q&A

Meet the new resident at our almost-complete new house! He (or she) has taken up residency on the back porch. I have no idea what kind of spider this is but he certainly does look ominous, doesn't he? Does anyone happen to know what kind he is? I'm off to do some Internet searching to find out. Meanwhile, I think I'll schedule an exterminator before we move in! ETA: Many thanks to Kelly S, who answered my question very quickly . . . we have a female yellow garden spider! (Males are about 1-1/2" while females can grow up to 3" -- ours was very large!) She is not harmful to humans and will loose most of her bright yellow color after she lays her egg sack(s), dying soon after. Aww, I get a little teary -- reminded of Charlotte's Web, LOL! You can read more about them HERE. It's been a while since I've answered any of your questions you posted for me, so how about a few of those today? How many cards do you send out a week? Amber H. Well, Amber – I need to get a lot better at this! I have hard enough time... Read more →

Inky Q&A

Please bear with me, I'm trying out a new, simpler blog banner! It seems I get bored easily, LOL! My all time favorite color is soothing blue so I thought I'd try it out for a bit. How about some more Q&A from those questions you all asked me. Today's subject is Ink: What kind of ink do you use most often? I almost always use SU classic pads but am debating about trying some others out. Dawn I’m the same way, Dawn! Since they are what I started with, I automatically know exactly which color I want to use – especially since I mainly use SU’s cardstock. Then I know exactly which color(s) will coordinate. I do have and have been trying out more often, the Brilliance Pearlescent and VersaMagic Dew Drop chalk ink pads by Tsukineko. Of course, StazOn is a must for my watercoloring. The success of your blog is directly related to your creativity - congratulations! I am hanging on to my old style SU classic pads and reinking them --- would it be a benefit to me to purchase the new style pads? Congrats again - Sharron (with 2 R's!) Sharron, I sure wouldn’t worry... Read more →

Retirement Q&A

Since it's hot and heavy on everyone's minds at the moment, I thought I would answer these questions that you all asked in my last giveaway regarding Stampin' Up's Retirement List: So, do you have a favorite set that has been retired? My question is what SU set are you sorry to see go? Ruth What retiring SU set will you miss the most? Sheryl Definitely Roses in Winter. I could/can always pick up this set and love anything I do with it. Petal Prints and Mixed Bouquet will also be missed but won’t be far, as I’ll not part with them. Thank goodness I wasn't very hard hit on my background stamps or alphabets! What do you do with your retired sets? Ellen S Until this year, I’ve managed to hang on to most of them. Sometimes I trade them away if they aren’t getting the use I thought I would out of them. I honestly haven’t taken a good look yet at what all I’m losing, but I’m certain I’ll be selling off quite a lot this year. So check back after July 1 for my sell list! How do you feel about SU! "In Colors" being discontinued... Read more →

Questions Answered

Here we go on our first round of questions to answer. Thanks for all your thoughtful questions -- it's been fun reading through them! Are you on a design team? If you are, do you enjoy it? No, not at the moment. But I’d definitely welcome any opportunity! What is your favorite time of day to create? I like to get started in the morning, when I'm fresh, but somehow usually end up doing most of my stamping after the kids are in bed! What are some of your favorite color combos for jazzed up tone on tone effects (i.e. so saffron stamped over barely banana, etc.)? Some of my favorites are mustard on saffron, regal rose on pretty in pink, rose red on regal rose, pumpkin on apricot, ruby red on coral, olive on celery. What are your favorite pattern papers? Right now, probably Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, Crate. What do you do when you find yourself in a creative slump? Usually I’ll flip thru some cardmaking or scrapbooking magazines and see what elements catch my eye, then try to incorporate those into my own design. Sometimes it’s as simple as a color combination that will get my creative... Read more →