The next project...

Now that I've got my craft area mostly settled after the move (almost a year ago *facepalm*) I've been thinking about the next blog project I should do.

The last tutorial I did was on all things embossing, then there was the colouring tutorial. How about all things ribbon? I've got a ton of ribbon that's mostly used for putting pretty bows in my daughter's hair, I'm sure I could find a few blog worthy things to do with it.

Another option is a punches tutorial, creative ways to use the punches you already likely own.

Any preferences?

Dryer Balls!

So it's not paper crafting, but it's something I tried out and it is a crafting project!

I read about making wool dryer balls on another blog, and loved the idea! I loved it so much I wanted to try it for myself. My local Walmart doesn't carry 100% wool yarn so I settled on 70% wool, 30% nylon, I figure the nylon might help hold the balls together (I'll let you know when I'm finished!)

I picked up two colours with the intention of making a set for my mom. She picked the red so that left me with blue balls. At first I hoped to get two blue balls from one skein of yarn, but while working on the project I've discovered it really should be one for one if I'm going to make my balls big and impressive enough to work effectively on the laundry. At the size shown in the picture it would be three balls from two skeins.

Another option is if you have any old knitted sweaters that just won't live much longer, snip a bit at the bottom and start unravelling. Or go to a thrift store to find said discarded wool sweater. For the nylons I lucked out and found a pair of baby tights on sale for a buck. Wewt.

The cost of these home made wool balls, if you're purchasing materials new and not taking into account your time and effort, is about the same as the hard plastic ones you can buy all over the place. However the differences and cost saving come later... for example the hard plastic balls ruin the finish inside your dryer. The spikes on the balls are also rougher than the softer wool balls on your clothing and, I would think, wear your clothes faster. And, if your dog steals your balls a wool ball will survive some chewing and slobber without losing effectiveness, where... as anyone with a dog knows, the plastic ones will be toast. TOAST.

Overall a good small project to get me back into the swing of things and something I can easily do while watching Netflix. Aw yeah.

Long time...

It's been several years since I posted here and it's time for an update I think.

Over the years I've moved (still in Calgary), done plenty of crafting, struggled with depression and even had a pulmonary arrest (asthma attack that stopped my breathing) which resulted in a cardiac arrest (my heart stopped due to lack of oxygen) and yet I'm still alive and have no brain damage!

I'd like to return to craft-blogging but need to take baby steps. Step one, register stampoffeh.com again! Check. Step two, post at least once a month... we'll see how that goes.

I see that I still have sixty-nine followers and while one of those is my mother, that means I still have sixty-eight people to thank for hanging in there! Thank you!

New Project (and I'm still alive!)

Well, I've been working on a few non-crafty projects and so have neglected to post here in sometime. Thank you for the kind emails and texts asking if I'm well... I am!








I have a new cricut! I got the Expression2 on a ridiculous sale at my favorite craft store and picked up the Oh Canada cartridge at the same time. HOLY CROW IT'S SO CUTE!! I'm a bit of a nut for all things Canadian and it has almost nothing to do with the fact that my second child was born 3 hours too late to be a Canada Day baby. Honest.



Anyway, Close to My Heart sells this really cute My Creations Memory Game box set and I thought it would be fun to make a Canadian game! There's 24 cards, 3x3 inches, in the box so I only needed to think up 12 pairs. I used the Typeset paper pack, a sanding block, glue and the cricut... no ink or stamps!



I managed to get 7 pairs done (one each of those pairs shown in the photos). Once I get the other 5 pairs done I'll layer on some clear coat to seal it all up and decorate the box. You can see some of my itty bitty mistakes (like having to write in the letters for the coins, man those letters were TEENY... or having to cut off the poor beaver's fingers since I misjudged her size) but for a kids toy I don't think anyone will mind.



Thanks for checking in! I'll try not to go so long without posting again!

Believe in Whoooo you are!

I love owls. I think it's a hold over from when my mother was collecting owls (same time she was my Brownie leader). This little guy is part of a new stamp set fondly referred to around here as the Double D. It's got two D size stamp sets in one package! I'm hoping to see more of those from Close to My Heart. I used the Dreamin' paper with some Craft cardstock and colored the little guy with my markers. I also stamped on a canvas badge button and filled in the stamped image with my markers. So awesome to be able to creation your own accents!

On November 13th I'll be hosting a Christmas Card Workshop. If you live in Calgary and would like to attend please contact me (contact information on the side of this post, phone or email). More details will be posted on Facebook and StampOffEh.com closer to the date.

Thanks for checking in!

Fairy Nice!

My middle child, Kerowyn, is really into anything pink, sparkly or relating to princesses or fairies. For her birthday this year (last month) we had a Fairy Princess Tea Party after visiting CrocTalk to pet some live reptiles. Interesting combination hey?

Well, in honor of the Fairy portion of her party, I made a card. I used a stamp from Paper Pretties, and the Sophia paper pack from Close to My Heart. To get the real sharp color I first stamped in a light color (in this case Bamboo) then colored with the CTMH markers that match the Sophia paper, and then stamped again in a darker color (Grey Wool).

To make sure the image was exact I used my travel scrap tote (basically a wooden box) and nudged the paper and stamping block right into the one corner and did the same when I stamped the second time. Sometimes the paper slipped a tiny bit so there was some trial and error, but in the end it was super easy to -exactly- stamp over the image with the darker color.

Thanks for checking in!

More Mischief

Thank you so much for your comments on my last post!

This is one of my favorite of the new stamp sets. I used the Mischief paper again, cause... wow, harvest colours much?!


The wreath is two stage stamping, the branches were stamped in Desert Sand and then the berries in Barn Red. There are two other options instead of berries (leaves and flowers). It's versatile and so... freakin... cute!

I topped one of the i's with a pearl just for a little sparkle. I think I might stamp the sentiment in a darker brown next time instead of the red, let it pop a bit more.

Exciting new products!

Close to My Heart has released the new Autumn/Winter catalogue and wooo am I excited about some of the new stuff.

First let me say that if you are in or around Calgary, Alberta, on August 7th and you would like to attend my Open House, just let me know and I'll pass on my address. We're making a couple cards (originally I was going to use the new paper called Sonoma, but I fell in love with this month's Stamp of the Month).

This is one of the cards I made using the August Stamp of the Month (which you can get for only $5.50 with qualifying purchase, or $19.95). The paper is Mischief, one of the four new paper packs.

For those of you with a Cricut... CTMH now offers a Cricut cartridge complete with images that coordinate with our stamp sets! Feel free to contact me for more information, or stop by the Open House to see it in action!

You're a STAR!

Another card today using the Miracle paper pack. Nothing special, stamped the star (from Shining Star) and cut it out, used dimentional tape to stick it down. The words are one stamp, to get the two different colors I just bent the stamp around the end of the block (so that only "you're a" was on the bottom of the block and then only "star" was on the bottom). Since the blocks are clear it's super easy to see where to position the words. I could have also used finger daubers to ink the stamp with different colors (making sure to "huff" before stamping so the ink isn't dried out)... I just didn't have any on me when I made the card heh.

On a more personal note, a while back I was sharing my plans for The Butterfly Bed. Well it was completed sometime back and I'm not sure if I shared the results. So.. here is Kerowyn seeing her Butterfly Bed for the first time.

Fun Flock!

This is one of the cards I made for June's stamping group that I run. I used the Miracle paper pack (by hostess request) and a fun little stamp set called Howdy. In another version of the card I used the cow from the stamp set and the sentiment "I herd you were sick. Hope you're feeling butter!"

Fun flock is a fuzzy powder you can use to add a little something to your crafts. I used it on the mane and tail of the horse. You can also put some in a ziploc baggie with a couple drops of re-inker to dye it any color you want (for brown teddy bears, yellow chicks, green catapillars and more). All you do is use a glue pen on the area you want to flock, pour the fun flock over top and gently press it down. Tap the excess off and return it to the jar.