Author Archive: cjcraftydesigns

I feel guilty for buying way more than I could ever use – Destashing Your Crafting Inventory

Too much crafting stuff is overwhelming me! I feel guilty for buying way more than I need or could ever use. I was thinking… if I could start this card making hobby all over with what I know now… but that ship has already sailed… and getting started is a topic for a different blog post. First and foremost, do…
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What craft stuff do I have and where is it? Guidelines to Get Started Using Evernote

https://evernote.com

Wow, wow, wow!!! Evernote, the electronic notebook app, has saved me. I now know exactly what I have in my crafting inventory and where it is! No more buying duplicates or hunting through my stash for that perfect butterfly stamp. Trying to build an inventory of an ever growing stash of arts and craft items can be overwhelming. The paper…
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My Finished Coloring Page – Jellyfish by Millie Marotta from Tropical Wonderland

I have spent many a night, for hours and hours (I’m retired), watching all kinds of videos on YouTube about using colored pencils. I finally finished a coloring page. How I Got to This Point I first focused on blending tutorials to get started. I recommend a couple of resources: Coloring Bliss – Rule of blending thirds – Part 1: https://youtu.be/4pQ0s0Gm0Mg Peta…
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OCC – Simply Watercolor – Day 1 – Plaid Background

I am participating in the Online Card Class – Simply Watercolor by Kristina Werner. The classes are focused on creating watercolor-based cards from scratch using no stamps or dies. See here for my initial post regarding this class. The class lesson videos are released over 5 days, with 3-4 cards presented for you to make as your “homework” for each…
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Online Card Classes (OCC) – Simply Watercolor

I signed up for Simply Watercolor – create fun and easy watercolor cards from scratch!, an all-new card class from Online Card Classes. Artist and illustrator Kristina Werner walks you through 19+ card designs using just watercolors and basic supplies. Each card featured in class comes with a complete video tutorial and downloadable instruction file in PDF format. Visit Online…
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Sending You Love Valentine’s Card

I made this card for my Mother-In-Law for valentines day. We will be giving it to her tomorrow, so I hope she likes it. The stamp used is the main floral arrangement stamp from the Altenew Blooming Bouquet stamp set. The image was stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed using white embossing powder. I used the Zig Clean Color Real…
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Time saver! Evernote Electronic Notebook for Craft Inventory

Handy guidelines for getting started using Evernote to manage your crafting inventory

Wow, wow, wow!!! “Evernote”, the electronic notebook app, has saved me. Evernote is a cross-platform app designed for note taking, organizing, and archiving. I had been overwhelmed with trying to inventory my ever growing stash of arts and craft items. The paper binder idea was such a daunting task that I procrastinated getting started on doing it. It seemed very…
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Happy New Year Tag using Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Paints

I have been doing quite a bit of research lately on various techniques for paper crafting.  I am very inspired by the Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Paints line of products. Shown below is my first tag created using the Distress Inks and Paints. There are actually two tags in this project; the main background one and a smaller one that was…
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My first handmade custom card

After purchasing all my paper crafting products for the last few months, I figured I should actually start creating some cards. I watched lots of YouTube videos where people generously showed how to make different cards using various techniques that add unique creative touches to the cards. I was inspired enough to make my first handmade custom card for Thanksgiving….
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