Sunflower Birthday Card Redo

I don't think I've ever done this before - change a card and repost it - but I was not happy with the faux stitching on the card from this post.  It was too heavy and way too crooked. Too heavy because I think the white gel pen I was using was too juicy. Too crooked because - that was totally my bad.

So I got my sewing machine set up again after years and a move. In fact when I first plugged the machine in last night it immediately began to run. After a series of plugging and unplugging and wiggling wires, etc., I discovered that when I pressed the pedal of the running-at-full-speed machine, the light would come on. Duh . . . I had the plugs crossed.

Then there was a lot of jamming of the bobbin thread, which precipitated my discovering that I forgot how to properly thread the stupid thing. 

Finally . . . success!

As you can see, I also changed the background of the "Tip Top Taupe" layer.

But also, it turns out that the Splitcoast Stampers color challenge this week is "Cajun Curry and Chocolate in the Garden." So I redid the card in those colors as well. Plus I made the sunflower bigger. Which is one of the joys of digital stamps.

For this card, I colored the sunflower with Copics, and these are the markers I used to come closest to Cajun Craze, Curry Crush, Garden Green, and Chocolate.

Thanks for looking!

Cyndi

Copic Storage

Okay, so Shelby and I have started investing all our hard-earned money in Copic markers, and the issue of storage has come up. Since we like to take our Copics with us sometimes, we wanted our storage to be portable as well. Our need became painfully apparent last Friday night, didn't it, Shelby?

I believe I was doing you a favor by carrying them at all. And I thought we weren't going to talk about this. Focus on the project!

Back a few months ago when we only had 72 Copics, it was easy . . . keep them in the box they came in. But then Shelby got her income tax refund . . .

WoooHooooo!

. . . and bought us some more Copics. So I started looking at other people's websites for how they were storing their markers, and I really liked how Cheryl Horton was keeping hers. But I didn't have a caddy like hers, and I really like keeping them organized in the Copic boxes. So I bought an extra Copic storage box, took some chipboard, and made my own Copic caddy.

You're probably going to want to give them more detail on this, Cyndi.

Okay, Shelby, here goes (I wish I had taken photos while I was making it, but I didn't so try and visualize). I took some chipboard and cut strips to 12" X 2-7/8". These were used as spacers between the bottoms of the two Copic boxes (use as many as you need to make sure the boxes sit flat together and the tops can be put back on comfortably). I made sure everything was taped very securely with clear packing tape.

The I took a piece of chipboard and cut it to 12" wide X 9" high. I marked 3" from each end of the 12" top edge AND I marked 3" down from each of the top corners. I used these marks, a ruler, and my craft knife to remove the triangle from each side of the chipboard, thus giving me a good shape for the handle of the caddy.

Then she cut a rectangle for the finger hole.

After I covered the chipboard with paper, I taped the chipboard handle to one of the boxes very securely with packing tape, then I taped the other box to the first box so that the handle was in the middle. Then I put packing tape on the bottom so that the boxes are taped together very well. Then I covered the bottom of the Copic boxes with scrapbook paper to make it look like one box.

Then I put all the markers in, by number, according to each color family!

And we still have room for more markers!

So Friday I was at my church's stamping/scrapbooking event, and Shelby had put all the markers in an envelope box.

Where they fit quite nicely, but you couldn't pick out just the right colors conveniently.

I dig through the box to get just the right marker from the bottom, and I notice there's something on the markers! Do you want to tell the nice people what was on our Copic markers?

Butter.

Shelby had not only put stamping supplies in her bag, but a loaf of cinnamon bread to share with everyone and a stick of butter . . . and left it in the car all day.

You didn't see most of the mess the butter left in the bag. It was disgusting. I do feel really bad about that. I'll buy you some more Copics to make up for it.

You're on!

Until next time,

Cyndi and Shelby

Christmas Present

Sometimes you don't truly get to know someone until you've lived with them for a time. I have been blessed in my life to, not only grow up with a . . . uh . . . an "interesting" sister, but to have her invade--no, "share living space" with me as an adult as well. I give Shelby a hard time, but we have truly grown closer this past year.

So in the spirit of extreme sisterhood, Shelby and I decided to get each other one combined present that we can both use. Something that will greatly enhance both our lives (I'm so glad she finally embraced stamping). I'm not going to say what we bought each other, but it rhymes with "toe-pick barkers."

Cyndi, you opened them!

Maybe.

Did you make that card with them?

Maybe.

It's only December 20! I can't believe you couldn't wait five days! I'll meet you in the stamp room in 10 minutes.

Later,

Cyndi and Shelby

P.S. Stamp Credit: Impression Obsession