Washi, Washi, Washi...

...as in Tape, that is (some call it Trendy Tape and a few other names).  I love this stuff -- tried it yet?  Here are a few ideas for your for card making:

This first one is a lace pattern that I just love -- or maybe because it's blue, or maybe for no reason at all!  I just butted the pieces of tape against each other to form this lovely background.  THEN, I placed a few pieces on a piece of card stock big enough to accommodate my flower die (by MFT) and die cut and curled it.  Oh boy!  Another world just opened up!

This second one I used a combination of Washi Tape and Ribbon and a technique that Judikins did years ago.  I also repeated the flowers again.

While the brain was whirling in a mud puddle of happiness, I thought "I wonder if I can make a bow with my Craft-Dee BowZ using Washi Tape?"  You be the judge -- I had so much fun creating this little tin!  

I figured it out!  I ran different lengths of Washi along a white plastic supermarket bag, then trimmed the excess bag away (it zips along - get your scissors in the right position and whee!  it's done!).  This gave it some stability plus something to stick to.  You can't use card stock - it's way to stiff to tie a bow.   I added in a few more die cuts - you know me!  Queen & Co. is supposed to be sending me a box of their tapes to "play" with.  I guess I know what I'll be doing for a few weeks!  Well, probably after CHA anyway. 

Well, that's it for now.  Talk to me -- let me know what you think!

Ciao Bella!

Here comes a butterfly (again)!

This card came about because a customer claimed the die wasn't cutting.  So I took it home and zipped it through my Vagabond.  You should always keep in mind that a metal shim will give you the best results when cutting intricate dies.  I was so fascinated by this butterfly that I HAD to try it out.  Here's the result:

For the curious, this die is from (wait for it...here it comes!...) Memory Box!  I'm sure you're surprised by that (NOT!).  I used a technique under the butterfly using the new Stampendous bits and glitter encased in embossing powder.  The roses are just punched from a 1" round punch, cut in a circular pattern and rolled and glittered.  I then accented the butterfly wing with that fabulous Holographic Glitter from Stampendous.  My new favorite glitter!

Thanks and feel free to leave a comment.  Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

West Springfield show...

I'm baaaack!  Most of you know that I'm the creator of the Craft-Dee BowZ bow making tool (see the banner just above this post??...).  Well, we just got back from West Springfield and I've posted the story of our wonderful weekend on my Craft-Dee BowZ website.  Hop on over and see what was going on!

Before you go, though, I just wanted to share our great food/restaurant Karma with you.  It seems that whenever we travel, we trip upon the greatest food places on the planet.  Sometimes by plan (i.e., checking the iPad for restaurants) or just by driving by an "interesting little place" or sometimes asking locals their advice.  Well our food Karma held out for us once again!  Here's this tiny little restaurant that had NO cars in their parking lot, but with an "Open" sign in the window.  Hmm, we said.  Why aren't there any cars in the lot?  Let's try it anyway because we are short on time and need to get to the show early to clean up the booth.  Here's the little place we found.

The interesting thing about this is that it is mainly touted as a Tea House.  It's owned by a Russian and they have so many kinds of tea on their menu, it would boggle your mind.  They have a Tea Bar as well as a piano with a little fireplace in the corner.  But, they also serve breakfast!  You could have eaten off the floors and we were greeted by an exotic young lady with gorgeous slanted eyes and the sweetest of personalities.  All I wanted was a bowl of oatmeal - and what a bowl I got!  First of all, it was steel cut oatmeal and it was topped with fresh strawberries and blackberries.  It was the finest bowl of oatmeal I've ever eaten in my life!  One of the girls had a fruit filled crepe and the other had a "pancake" sampler.  She got to choose whatever types of pancakes she wanted and she chose 2 farm cheese, 2 potato and 2 zucchini pancakes served with a small bowl of sour cream.  These are NOT your traditional pancakes, mind you - they are about 3" round and lightly fried.  We all got to taste them and BOY were they good!

I thought you'd get a kick out of the sign outside the restaurant -- you you will laugh - I know we did!

Well, that's my West Springfield chronicle for today!  You may want to join our entourage as we travel -- guaranteed you'll eat at some phenomenal places!

Ciao for now and hop on over to Craft-Dee BowZ to see what's going on there!

Ciao Bella!