I went insane this week and I ended up spending hours upon hours clean and organizing my craft space. It's my happy place and I love the big window and the tall ceiling and the built-ins. However, it's also my work space right now. I just saw a commercial for Tuff Sheds in which they are recommending getting a Tuff Shed for a home office so you can leave the space behind at the end of your work day. That's the problem I'm having - and I'm not kidding that I'm going a little insane. As much as I love this space, I never leave it. Now it's my happy place and my stressed out space. I don't want to work in a Tuff Shed so I stared at my space for a long time and I decided that if I really organized and in the process made the difficult decision to get rid of things that haven't seen the light of day, I could quickly and easily switch out my spaces. The work stuff has a place to hide when I'm crafting - and my crafting stuff doesn't cover everything when I'm working.
One of the things that came out of my flurry of organizing was a basket full of products that I had purchased intending to experiment with or needing to pick the best option. For instance, I have a shockingly high number of paints and sprays that bloggers promised made splattering easy so you'll be seeing a lot of splatters on my card. But not today.
Today I pulled some Altenew ink out of the basket. I'm a full collection kind of person - and I already have full collections of inks/cardstock from six companies! I know...it's a sickness. I recently saw a discussion on people's favorite inks and Altenew showed up a lot so I've been thinking about adding a seventh company!! When I ordered from them a while back, I tucked in the Rainbow Prism 6-pack of mini-inks. I decided they were today's experiment.
Then I saw the the current challenge at CAS on Friday: Love. The lightbulb came on. I haven't used the Mini Delight: Birthday Love set also from Altenew. This mini set doesn't have balloon strings, but I also recently got some basic Altenew washi that could substitute. And to really get carried away with the same company - the sentiment is cut from the Altenew Featured Sentiments die set that I got for the rounded edges.
I liked the inks - maybe not enough to go full collection (only because I already have six full collections and they've recently been organized!) However, I think with the collection I picked, I missed out on the full benefit of these inks and that is those sets that include dark to light of the same general color to be used for layering stamps. That is something I do not have in my collection so I'll try one of those before I render judgement. I like the coverage I got with it but it took a few tries each time because these inks don't play well with the baby wipes I used to clean. (FYI - I use Costco baby wipes as recommended by Jennifer McGuire. Her most recent "My Favorite Crafty Things" video said try micro-fiber cloths. My problem is the cats that walk across the desk and into my lap multiple times a day. No matter how well groomed they are, they drop fur everywhere. So I prefer baby wipes so I can use a fresh, unfurred one each time!)
Thanks to CAS on Friday for the inspiration!!
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Altenew Mini Delight: Birthday Love with die
Dies: Altenew Featured Sentiments
Ink: Altenew Rainbow Prism set - Ruby Red, Orange Cream, Warm Sunshine, Parrot, Lagoon and Deep Iris
Other: Altenew Delicate Stripes Washi Tape, Pretty Pink Posh Glossy Black gems
Love a rainbow card and rainbow balloons are always the best!
ReplyDeleteJust putting in my two cents... I have a lot of Altenew inks - the sets with the ombre colours. I used to use them a lot and I still love them (especially for layering) but I find they fade more than any other inks I use. I sell some of my cards at the bookstore I work at and the ones with Altenew inks fade quickly if they're on the rack for awhile. Its a bummer since the ombre and layering aspect of them really are great.
Sounds like a real struggle. I hope you have a more peaceful place to work and create now. Your card is adorable! I like the colorful heart balloons!
ReplyDeleteSweet card. I'm a big Altenew fan and have their full mini-ink collection. Thanks for the tip about Baby Wipes and Altenew ink--that could be the reason I struggle getting good coverage all the time.
ReplyDeleteI love this birthday card, Kim. You have inspired me to actually re-organize my space. I have not put my Christmas stamps, etc., away and now Valentine stamps also need to be put away. I'm saying if Kim can do it, so can I. Thanks for the nudge! haha! Enjoy your organized space and your day!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh there's a lot of information here! I hope you sort out the work space/craft space issue because those two areas definitely should not overlap. We can't have your INSPIRATION being trampled by WORK! Oh, and I love the Altenew ink. They work especially well on the old SU Whisper White (a/k/a Gina K Pure Luxury). I've learned to only order them in the color collections so that I can layer the colors when I need to. And I used to use baby wipes to clean my stamps but for a couple of years I use a cloth called "The Absorber." It's some kind of synthetic cloth that is fantastic. I I got mine at Wal-Mart. I think a lot of the stamping companies have come out with their own branded version of it, but it's cheaper to buy it at WM. Now after all that unsolicited advice, I will just comment that your balloons are fab and your birthday card is equally so. :)
ReplyDeleteOh you enabler you!! I need to get that stamp set! i just love your card!! Thanks for sharing some love at CAS on Friday!
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