I Heart Swapping

Me in my new Idyll Hands necklace

I've only participated in 3 swaps but it is so much fun and this last one was by far my fave, to make and to receive! It was called Spring Tweets and the challenge was anything with birds. I was thrilled when I learned my fellow swapper would be Erin of Idyll Hands on Etsy, since I had long admired her delicious jewelry. Now I get to strut about in an Idyll Hands creation of my very own! My taking a photo of myself photo just doesn't do her work justice so be sure to head over to her shop, you won't be disappointed! I was so excited when it arrived yesterday and have been wearing it all day today, it's perfection!


I wanted to break away from scrapping a bit with this challenge so I made a shadow box. Erin has another shop on Etsy called Wooly Hands where she sells her hand spun yarns and roving. So I thought it would be appropriate to make her a little knitting birdie, the idea is that the bird is stealing a knitter's yarn to cozy up its nest. I didn't stray far, I used a pattern scrapbook paper background,diecut tree trunks and branch shadow out of black paper and mounted those flat. Then diecut a brown branch that I raised off the surface. When I put the shadow box on my new bookcase to try and get a good photo of it I almost kept it for myself! I will definitely be making one of these I can keep.

Weekend Feature: The Scrappy Shack Die Cuts

Blah Blah Blah Word Balloon Die Cut by The Scrappy Shack

I'm so excited about this weekend's handmade supply feature. I've been growing more and more in love with designing and making die cuts but Lori of The Scrappy Shack on Etsy is the queen bee of die cuts. Her shop is full of beauties and she'll even do custom and wholesale orders! Have a look at her shop here, click an image in this post to be taken to the listing, where you can make it yours, and be sure to read the interview below. You can also keep up with Lori and her creations on Flickr here and on her blog, www.thescrappyshack.com where she has some exciting things going on. You can enter to win some of her die cuts here and apply to be on the Scrappy Shack design team here. Happy Crafting!

Circles Die Cut by The Scrappy Shack

Flourish Frames Die Cut by The Scrappy Shack

Alphabet Circle Frame by The Scrappy Shack

All photos used with the permission of The Scrappy Shack

Interview with The Scrappy Shack

What do you do for a living in the daytime?

I am a full-time mom and part time paper craft designer. Once upon a time I worked as a secretary in a federal prison, but when my daughter was born three years ago I left to stay home and watch her grow.

Tell us a little about your etsy self

Well....I spend my days running my cutter and my nights working on new designs. I keep a notebook next to me at all times because I have the most random ideas at the weirdest times. My Blah Blah Blah Word Balloon die cut was something I thought of while I was drifting off to sleep one night.

Tell us a little about your non-etsy self

I am married to Jay, who is the very best travel partner in the world. We love to travel and some places we have been together are Hawaii, Seattle, Napa Valley, and New Orleans, and right now we are planning our trip to my favorite city in the world - New York.

In 2006 my daughter was born and joined our family through the miracle of adoption. She is a fun and lively 3 year old, and she keeps me busy. Adoption is very close to my heart, and I love to share Lacie's story and hear other families' adoption stories.

What do you make and why did you start making it?

I design and create die cuts for paper crafting. I started my business to scrapbook memories for others when I left my full time job in 2006. I bought my cutter to help me speed my production time, and quickly fell in love with the machine and what I could do with it. Thus, my designing took off and now I am spending all my work time creating die cuts.

What inspires you?

Everything. Honestly, most of my ideas come at the oddest times and I most times I have no inkling where they came from.

What advice do you have for people trying to sell their crafts?

Network every chance you get. Carry your business card with you at all times and pass as many out as you can. Take advantage of all the networking opportunities online - Facebook, Twitter, photo sharing, blogging, Meetup, CafeMom, there are tons of ways.

For an online venue, invest in a good camera and learn to use it properly. Photos are the most important thing for setting up an online shop.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss: Silhouette Craft Robo

Pink Punk Sweetheart Box

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

So my beloved Silhouette Craft Robo digital craft cutter machine thingamajiggy doohickie's blade has gone dull again. It's only the second time but it made my heart sink with thoughts of the last time I had to replace it (you can read about that here). I started digging around online for the cheapest replacement. Ugh, I live in a town without an adequate scrapbook supply store for a snoot like myself! So I have to stop in the middle of a project, something I despise, and order and wait for supplies. Boohoo for me. Or do I? In this need I learned something marvelous at The Quilling Patch, I can sharpen my own blade, very very easily! All I had to do is cover my cutting matte with tin foil and run it through! No more arm and a leg replacements for me! This site is a fantastic resource for scrappers so check it out: The Quilling Patch. She not only tells you how to sharpen your blade (here) but has free GSD file Friday where you can download free designs and shows you how to make your own cutting mattes!

I also noticed that the Quickutz website seems to be a little deceptive in the selling of their blades. The expensive set (it costs $45 and you can see here) has plenty of details, while there's a much cheaper blade without all the unneeded doodads but they don't have an item description and it actually took me much hunting to realize that was even what it was (it costs $10 and you can see that here). Then I went to purchase it and couldn't. It didn't say out of stock or unavailable it just mysteriously sent me to a page full of other products, including the expensive blade replacement set. Smells a little like fish market to me.

Off to play with my beloved again. I'm working on some new designs for cute little appreciation boxes to add to my shop like the one at the top of this post. Happy Crafting!