topic Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016 in Home

Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Wed, 04 May 2016 18:48:38 GMT

Hi Everyone, Long time, no see! Hopefully the drought is over and I will be able to keep this laptop because I miss talking with all of you especially when there is a Crafting Day. I hope some of you of watching the 24 hour Craft Day on HSN. I am and I am enjoying it very much. I have done all the shopping I am going to do, mostly because I am definitely on a crafting budget for the year and you know how easy it is to blow through that when you are buying Anna Griffin items :-)

For this day, I bought the following items:

479-349 Seafarer Papercrafting Collection

333-557 Soft Hues Metallic Card Layers

479-350 Artfully Said Vellum Stickers

395-853 Cuttlebug 12" Paper Tricks Embossing Folders

395-648 Foil Flourishes Decorative Sticker Kit - Silver

Between the nearly free shipping, a 15% coupon for signing up for an HSN newsletter and the 6% rebate from Mr. Rebates, I managed to justify buying the Seafarer Collection :-D I fell in love with this collection, it is perfect for scrapping part of the last vacation my sister and I ever took and I love sailing plus the graphics are great, the colors bright. I plan to create something to frame and hang on the wall in addition to creating cards and scrapping with it. It just really spoke to me, the price, however, did not. It's a little $$ for what it is and I don't think it is going to be super popular with AG fans so it will probably be reduced for the next Craft Day and maybe even end up as part of her Super Sale. Nonetheless, I love it and really wanted it to work with now so I spent the money, instead of applying my savings to the rest of my purchase like common sense would dictate. Oh well. Have any of you fallen for a crafting item that seemed a little pricey, but you just had to have it? I'd love to hear your story if you have

I bought the metallic paper and vellum quotes to use on my cards and the Paper Tricks and Silver Foil Flourishes to use for cards and scrapping. I'm thinking the silver will be especially good for Christmas cards. I understand the instructions aren't so great for Paper Tricks 1 (they were excellent for Paper Tricks 2), but I am going to try it anyway. I am crazy for rosettes/pinwheels and the layering you can do with some of the other designs. I plan to try it all as soon as I get it so I can decide whether I should keep it or not.

I will come back on with reviews for everything.

I didn't buy anything from HSN in April. In March, I bought the Flip Card TS, cancelled it and then bought it again...I just couldn't decide if I really needed her kit to create this kind of card, having done it on my own by checking out YouTube videos. In the end, I thought, why not? The dies make it very easy and I will always love her embellishments so I bought the TS...on autoship...Lord help me

The other thing I bought in March is her wallpaper. HSN initially sold it for $89.98 when she came out with her home line of goods. I couldn't justify that, but "I favorited" it and kept an eye on it as it came down in price and finally snatched it up when it hit $19.98. I will be using it mostly to cover other things, like storage boxes, a pen holder etc. I thought I might use it to cover my closet doors, but decided I want to paint those some kind of accent color instead.

I have a feeling I told you all this before, so, if I am repeating myself, I apologize. Since I haven't had a computer for a while, I missed talking about crafts, so, with my phone, I went over to YouTube and found lots of interesting crafting things like Scrapbook.com (they offer free classes online and great products) and Simon Says Stamp and Ann-marie Vaux (who does Anna Griffin tutorials). I also discovered the very interesting world of "hauling", where people post videos of all the stuff they bought, usually from one of the dollar stores, Tuesday Morning, Michaels, Target etc. It's actually kind of fun to see what people find and some of them do interesting DIY's. My favorites so far are Jeanie Louise, K is for Karen and Abellee25. I subscribe to their channels as well as the ones mentioned above. If you really want something fun to watch, I would definitely check out Jeanie Louise and Abellee25. They will make you smile.

I hope to be able to come on here more often and to post some things. As a matter of fact, I will commit to coming on here every Monday with something since I am usually "free" that day. I am on Pinterest too under the name "Mewsmom" and will post pics there too, that is, if I can remember to take a picture of them. Don't know why that seems so difficult...guess it's a habit I need to develop.

I hope more crafters will come on here and share thoughts, ideas, pictures, what they purchased from HSN and even other craft suppliers etc. We don't have a lot of sewers, but there are a few. If you go to Pinterest, you can see the lap robes and quilts that Gloria has posted (not sure what her name is on this board because I think she changed it, but on Pinterest it is just "Gloria" and it will say @glorpenpaller).

Take care everyone, hope all of you are well. For those of you who are moms, Happy Mother's Day! Talk with you soon.

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mousiegirl — Wed, 04 May 2016 19:23:34 GMT

@mewsmomtoo wrote:
Hi Everyone, Long time, no see! Hopefully the drought is over and I will be able to keep this laptop because I miss talking with all of you especially when there is a Crafting Day. I hope some of you of watching the 24 hour Craft Day on HSN. I am and I am enjoying it very much. I have done all the shopping I am going to do, mostly because I am definitely on a crafting budget for the year and you know how easy it is to blow through that when you are buying Anna Griffin items :-)

For this day, I bought the following items:

479-349 Seafarer Papercrafting Collection
333-557 Soft Hues Metallic Card Layers
479-350 Artfully Said Vellum Stickers
395-853 Cuttlebug 12" Paper Tricks Embossing Folders
395-648 Foil Flourishes Decorative Sticker Kit - Silver

Between the nearly free shipping, a 15% coupon for signing up for an HSN newsletter and the 6% rebate from Mr. Rebates, I managed to justify buying the Seafarer Collection :-D I fell in love with this collection, it is perfect for scrapping part of the last vacation my sister and I ever took and I love sailing plus the graphics are great, the colors bright. I plan to create something to frame and hang on the wall in addition to creating cards and scrapping with it. It just really spoke to me, the price, however, did not. It's a little $$ for what it is and I don't think it is going to be super popular with AG fans so it will probably be reduced for the next Craft Day and maybe even end up as part of her Super Sale. Nonetheless, I love it and really wanted it to work with now so I spent the money, instead of applying my savings to the rest of my purchase like common sense would dictate. Oh well. Have any of you fallen for a crafting item that seemed a little pricey, but you just had to have it? I'd love to hear your story if you have

I bought the metallic paper and vellum quotes to use on my cards and the Paper Tricks and Silver Foil Flourishes to use for cards and scrapping. I'm thinking the silver will be especially good for Christmas cards. I understand the instructions aren't so great for Paper Tricks 1 (they were excellent for Paper Tricks 2), but I am going to try it anyway. I am crazy for rosettes/pinwheels and the layering you can do with some of the other designs. I plan to try it all as soon as I get it so I can decide whether I should keep it or not.

I will come back on with reviews for everything.

I didn't buy anything from HSN in April. In March, I bought the Flip Card TS, cancelled it and then bought it again...I just couldn't decide if I really needed her kit to create this kind of card, having done it on my own by checking out YouTube videos. In the end, I thought, why not? The dies make it very easy and I will always love her embellishments so I bought the TS...on autoship...Lord help me

The other thing I bought in March is her wallpaper. HSN initially sold it for $89.98 when she came out with her home line of goods. I couldn't justify that, but "I favorited" it and kept an eye on it as it came down in price and finally snatched it up when it hit $19.98. I will be using it mostly to cover other things, like storage boxes, a pen holder etc. I thought I might use it to cover my closet doors, but decided I want to paint those some kind of accent color instead.

I have a feeling I told you all this before, so, if I am repeating myself, I apologize. Since I haven't had a computer for a while, I missed talking about crafts, so, with my phone, I went over to YouTube and found lots of interesting crafting things like Scrapbook.com (they offer free classes online and great products) and Simon Says Stamp and Ann-marie Vaux (who does Anna Griffin tutorials). I also discovered the very interesting world of "hauling", where people post videos of all the stuff they bought, usually from one of the dollar stores, Tuesday Morning, Michaels, Target etc. It's actually kind of fun to see what people find and some of them do interesting DIY's. My favorites so far are Jeanie Louise, K is for Karen and Abellee25. I subscribe to their channels as well as the ones mentioned above. If you really want something fun to watch, I would definitely check out Jeanie Louise and Abellee25. They will make you smile.

I hope to be able to come on here more often and to post some things. As a matter of fact, I will commit to coming on here every Monday with something since I am usually "free" that day. I am on Pinterest too under the name "Mewsmom" and will post pics there too, that is, if I can remember to take a picture of them. Don't know why that seems so difficult...guess it's a habit I need to develop.

I hope more crafters will come on here and share thoughts, ideas, pictures, what they purchased from HSN and even other craft suppliers etc. @ We don't have a lot of sewers, but there are a few. If you go to Pinterest, you can see the lap robes and quilts that Gloria has posted (not sure what her name is on this board because I think she changed it, but on Pinterest it is just "Gloria" and it will say @glorpenpaller).

Take care everyone, hope all of you are well. For those of you who are moms, Happy Mother's Day! Talk with you soon.

@mewsmomtoo Thanks for posting, as I had no idea there was a craft day today.

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

Krimpette — Wed, 04 May 2016 19:52:36 GMT

I love all things Anna Griffin. Bought her tri-fold embossing folders. Her coloring book with cards set, her watercolor pencils. Oh, and I bought the long card stock to go with the embossing folders. I'll probably watch her 8:00 show tonight, so I might do more damage!!!!

Their shipping deal is phenomenal! $4.95 for the whole day on craft purchases. Not $4.95 each item, just one set of shipping charges that total $4.95 for the whole day. Love when they do that!

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Thu, 05 May 2016 00:38:02 GMT

@mousiegirl Uh oh, hope I didn't cause any damage to the bank account. It's a rare day indeed on which I buy nothing! :-) Let us know if there was anything you couldn't resist.

@Krimpette The coloring book/cards set was GORGEOUS! I really wanted that and you know her pencils are high quality. I know you really enjoy coloring and I think this is one spectacular set. When you have completed one, if you can, take a picture and post it to this thread (or whatever month we happen to be in)

I'd love to hear what you think of the tri-fold embossing folders too and you are right about their shipping deal! It saves quite a bit and I'm sure they are aware that many people buy more on this day, rather than waiting for the next month or next Craft Day, because of the savings on shipping. Everybody wins :-)

They are showing her Set of 6 12" Trimmings dies and they are soooo beautiful!!!! Unfortunately, I can't afford them now, but they have been added to my list. I hope I can get them someday. Got to buy some lottery tickets....

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

Marsha2003 — Thu, 05 May 2016 01:11:14 GMT

Hi, All!

Good to see the crafting buddies posting. I bought AG's Tri-Fold Embossing and the Embossing for Him set. I still have some auto-deliveries continuing so I try to limit my purchases.

@mewsmomtoo I thought the Seafarer set was nice. I look forward to seeing how you like it in person.

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Fri, 06 May 2016 06:52:05 GMT

Hi @Marsha2003. Good to hear from you & that you are still crafting away. I will definitely let you know what I think of the Seafarer Collection, I am excited to see it in person. Ann-marie Vaux did a card tutorial (#157, I think) using the For Him embossing folders & it turned out so nice. She used the plaid one to create a shirt ( she added Pearl Drop {I think} buttons) then paired it with the tie & collar tabs. I loved it. I could easily see adding a pocket with a pocket square. I think that is a really nice set.

I think I have only one auto-ship going rihht now, but it is an expensive one: the ornate frame dies & I think there are 3 more to come. I will be getting the magnetic pad but I feel like HSN was offering it at a retail price. Even if not, I can always use a coupon. I have been thinking of getting the Sizzix Big Shot, but I am a long way from making that change. I wish I felt like I would be successful with the Cricut but I know it wont go well; however, I think it would ultimately save me some money & it is so versatile, but c'est la vie.

Talk with you soon!

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Wed, 11 May 2016 01:47:54 GMT

Hi everyone, well, i wanted to come here yesterday but my computer is all messed up because ai got on this forum through Internet explorer last week, having forgotten that that is what happened the last time. I switched to Mozilla Firefox, but had to take it off when we did our taxes because TurboTax wouldn't load with Firefox on the computer. Does anyone else have these kinds of ridiculous problems? This is why I find computers/electronics so frustrating. When I am done with this I have to get on the phone to try to fix the computer. (It is McAfee that is all messed up, ironic huh?)

Hope everyone had a good weekend & no one was in the pathway of the terrible weather that affected the Midwest - Mother Nature can be so scary. If you're a mom (human or furbaby), hope you had a nice Mother's Day. I kept meaning to order the 100 blossoms from Pro Flowers but never got it done so I ended up at Wal-Mart on Sunday morning where I found the most beautiful red roses for $8.88! I also bought 2 bunches of tulips for $4.87 each. I had of course made a card usingAnna Griffins All About Her & All About Love card kits. My mom actactually said it was pretty & she is not prone to compliments :-) I took a picture of it & another card I made using the Fantastic Flips card kit & will post them now if I can or later after I get the computer fixed if I'm not successful with my phone.

I actually hadn't opened the Fantastic Flips kit until Friday under the assumption that of coutse I was keeping it because I have yet to return an AG item, but, you know, the colors are a little dull & the patterns just "meh" for the most part. I think this might have been my first return; however, I now feel like it is my challenge to spruce it up a little so I am going to emboss & minc & stickle & bejewel & pearl & even distress a little & see what happens. What have some of you been doing? What do you think of this kit?

I did stop at Tuesday Morning to kill a little time this weekend (i was meeting friends for dinner) & I found the most beautiful pad of paper. It was details of impressionist paintings printed onto text weight paper & the colors are so gorgeous & the subject matter just wonderful. I want to use them on a clipboard project I have in mind. I think they'll be perfect for the distressed, vintage look I want so they were a very exciting find. I think the pad was only $2.99, 12 x 12 paper but only something like 24-36 sheets. Still a great deal I thought.

Ok, I will try to post the pics I talked about. If you see them, then you'll know I was successful :-D ( I will post them in a separate post)

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Wed, 11 May 2016 01:55:47 GMT

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mzlg — Wed, 11 May 2016 02:17:40 GMT

Attention crafters - according to Anna Griffin's blog, HSN will have some shows for crafter's on May 24th and May 25th.

In addition, HSN Craft Day will be on Wed. July 6th.

Per Anna:

"Tune in May 24th and 25th for our next shows on HSN. We are excited to be a part of Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass event.

We have the premiere of our Chinoiserie Quilt Set at 6pm on the 24th, and Discover Alice with Anna Griffin Crafts at 7am and 2pm, and then bedding again at 4pm on May 25th."

"Lastly, there’s a big Craft Day coming up on HSN Wednesday, July 6th. Our shows are 1am, 10am, 5pm and 9pm. So mark your calendars! Our previews will start on May 31st."

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

Marsha2003 — Wed, 11 May 2016 03:04:47 GMT

@mewsmomtoo wrote:

Nice job!

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Tue, 17 May 2016 07:04:00 GMT

First, thank u @Marsha2003 for the compliment. I like the cards but they were pretty basic. Once again, I am late after promising to be here every Mondsy, but I have a good excuse-my mom had to back to the hospitsl on Saturday morning (her c.diff came back ) so I havent been except to feed my cats twice a day (& that is an 80 mile round trip). My father has Alzheimer's & shouldn't be left alone for more than 4 hours max & never overnight so I am staying at my parent's house.

My HSN products arrived on Friday (yea!) & I thought I would open them on Saturday but that plan has been put on hold. I may get to them on Wednesday night, we'll see (I'm hoping!) .Anyway, nothing has been created, I do want to get a couple of Tim Holtz (interesting, my phone suggested Russert after I typed Tim!. The 8th anniversary of his passing is about a month away. A great loss, definitely still missed)...anyway...I want TH stencils & a texture paste. I think they might be on sale at Michael's tomorrow but I dont know if I'll have a chance to stop. BTW, someone reminded me Peachycheap! I had forgotten (so much lost in my dysfunctional desktop )so I am going to take a peek over there this week. I also need to stop at the local university's used office furniture & supplies place to get some clipboards I want to use for a project.

I will be back with my reviews of what I bought. Hope I love the Seafarer collection as much as I think I am going to! BTW, CVS Pharmacy makes really good prints, nice & bright, much better than Walgreen's or Wal-Mart, IMHO

Would love to hear what others thought of their purchases-any returns or wows? Talk to you soon!

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Tue, 17 May 2016 14:45:21 GMT

These are the Mother's Day cards I created in 2013 & 2014. My mom has them posted in her office. I chose medium . ze for the last pics I posted, so I tho ught I would see what small looks like:

I wonder how I can rotate them because they are right side up in my "gallery". If anyone knows, would you please share? Sideways pics arent very useful! :-)

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

Marsha2003 — Tue, 17 May 2016 15:00:55 GMT

@mewsmomtoo Hope your mother is out of the hospital soon.

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Thu, 26 May 2016 07:19:14 GMT

Thank you @Marsha2003 for your well wishes. She was out for a few days but had to go back in & is there now so I am taking care of my dad & trying to take care of my own cats. They are very confused because while most dsys I go twice, I just feed & clean & then I'm gone again. I feel especially bad for my cat with cancer. He seems so sad but I just dont have a choice :-(

I'm so sorry I haven't made it here on Mondays as promised. I finally opened my box of goodies from May 6 & here are my thoughts:

Paper Tricks 1: havent had a chance to try them yet, of course, but the reviews are right. The instructions are nearly non-existent. Luckily there is YouTube for ant difficulties that may lie ahead.

Silver Foil Flourishes: Really beautiful, similar to the gold ones but not exactly the same as far as I can tell

Metallic Layer: So pretty, subtle sheen, very useful colors & sizes

Artfully Said Vellum Stickers: These have a funny smell that Im hoping goes awsy after a few days in the air. They were wrapped in a bag, in a box, tissue paper & another box! I really like them, they are pretty, wonderful colors, have a large group of chalkboard sentiments & pretty much all useful. There were, surprisingly, maybe only 4 different "happy birthday"'s for a total of 8 because there are 2 of each sentiment. Luckily i think there are others that will work for the occasion. It's a very nice set.

Seafarer Collection: Turns out I love this more in person than on T.V. - Yea!! The papers are beautiful with wonderful color & you will love the foiled anchors & seahorses. The sentimenys and diecuts are beautiful & the 3-D embellishments are outstanding. Forgot to say there are 4 of each paper design - 2 in text weight & 2 in cardstock. I will attach pics of tje embellies etc & if ypu want I can take pics of the paper. I cannt wait to usethis!

@Krimpette What do you think of thecoloring books & cards? Are they as nice as they seem?

And somebody bought the pencils (cant go back & check when using the cell phone): how do you like them? Have you used other watercolor products that ypu can compare them to?

Ok, I will be bavk on Monday even if it's judt to say, "I'll be back later in the week".

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Thu, 26 May 2016 07:22:52 GMT

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Thu, 26 May 2016 07:27:21 GMT

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Tue, 31 May 2016 06:40:50 GMT

Hi everyone, I hope you were able to enjoy the 3-day weekend. I did because the freeways were much emptier than normal (excrpt for early afternoon Friday when everyone was leaving or driving through Phoenix on their way elsewhere). My life is still topsy turvey & I have done no crafting for several weeks so I apologize for that. I thought we would be able to come here & share some of our creations. I barely got my last Anna Griffin order unpacked!

That being the case, I saw the Michael's ad & had to stop to check out some of the doorbusters. Many of the little items in the front baskets were on clearance for 50 cents so I picked up a bunch of little pads & clothes pins & page markers, trims, a new compact mirror, Timree cards etc. Then I went to the paper aisle where it was on sale for 16 cents. I bought 62 sheets of paper! Throw in some patriotic things & 3 mason jars & that's my trip.

It was so fun to just immerse myself in crafts for a while & heaven knows I could have spent a lot more money but I am so happy with the paper & doo das I bought. I need to get some black ink soon & I am dying to order some of the cutest Simon Says Stamp "Critter" stamps. Scrapbook.com is offering free Tim Holtz classes in June, July & August. I think they are sequential so you have to start with June's class. I am signing up so I will need supplies for that so the other things are on hold. I am excited to try these classes!

Did anyone see Anna on the 24th & 25th? I saw a little, but I honestly cant remember exactly what she was presenting. It was papercrafting, but I remember it was expensive. I dont buy nice bed linend so I didnt watch any of that, i never even ran across a presentation. I loved the David's cookie jars & Heidi Daus Jewelry related to their "Alice" tie-in but I dont need the cookies or the jars & the jewelry is always out of reach.

Here are some pics of my Michael's purchases (i know the quality is poor. Sorry!)

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Tue, 31 May 2016 06:47:16 GMT

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

mewsmomtoo — Tue, 31 May 2016 19:26:03 GMT

Re: Calling All Crafters - May 2016

Marsha2003 — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 04:30:05 GMT

@mewsmomtoo Wow! It looks like you found some good bargains. I've put a moratorium on craft buying, actually all buying, until I can get my closets organized this summer. That won't stop me from enjoying your purchases, though. I like seeing your projects and puchases.

How is your mother doing?

It's interesting that you bought some Timree items. I've attended two painting parties hosted by her this year. I have absolutely no talent for drawing or painting, but it was fun to see how she thinks as she has no formal art training, but clearly has an innate ability to draw.

I didn't watch any of the AG shows during the Alice promo day nor did I buy anything. Now, if I can just keep my order finger under control during the next shows...lol.