Thank you for the many amazing comments on my "last" post on Paperlicious. I laughed, I cried, etc. I mentioned in that post that I might start a new nonstamping blog and I have. You can find it here. Continue reading

Dear Readers, All of a sudden, our house is enormous. When my Mom was here, it felt way too small. Now we hear our own voices echoing in the rooms, rather than the swoosh of her oxygen machine. The silence is lovely but big. Mike and I spend our free time looking on realtor.com and visiting open houses and scheming for a different life. We want a much smaller home in a "walkable" area -- near a coffee shop and restaurants and people on the sidewalks, not hidden behind automatic garage doors. We won't move this year as other pieces of our lives have to fall into place but it is coming. I AM SO EXCITED TO MOVE ON. Not sure where, but as long as I am with Mike, it will be wonderful. And, all of a sudden the internet is too big, my craft room too stuffed, and my attention span too short. Now I understand why I posted a few months ago that I was restless. I wasn't trying to figure out how many brands of black ink I needed; I was trying to figure out the next phase of my life. This is my last post on Paperlicious. (Yes, I am still stamping and will most likely post my cards on Splitcoast and other forums and I will still post on forums). I'll keep the blog live for a while because there are a few posts that I would like to revisit for a good chuckle. Since I enjoy writing, I may start another blog some day, or take up writing elsewhere. Thank you so much. I am so happy that I blogged as it allowed me to get to meet so many of you. Your comments, cards, and emails sustained me through some boring days, rough times, and gleeful moments. And many of you were unexpectedly generous and kind to my Mom. And I found your blogs, which delight me. But most importantly, we had fun, didn't we? Sincerely, Joan (Dear Paperlicious) Continue reading

Hexagons are trendy, and I thought I'd join the bandwagon. As usual, harder than it looks -- easy to make hexagons, not so easy to come up with designs that work. Used my Silhouette to cut out hexagons and the honeycomb trim. If you have a Sihouette or Cameo, find "honeycomb" designs in the store. All you need is one as you can resize it -- $1.00 and you will have more hexagons that you ever want. This is a great way to use patterned paper. I was inspired by blatently ripped off Papertrey Ink's hexagon cover plate idea that is being released this week. Eh, not a fan of dislike intensely these colors, but the layout is promising. Learned some lessons on this card: 1. cutting out patterned paper is easier than stamping all these hexagons! 2. pay attention to the orientation of the hexagon (see the blue stripes not matching above). 3. this is a really fun way to make a card -- the possibilities are endless. 4. stamping makes me hungry. After I made this, I resized the hexagon and cut out a bunch using PTI's Fine Linen patterned paper. Used the honeycomb leftover from cutting (see pic below) to figure out where to place these hexagons (laid it over the card, glued the hexagons and then lifted off the honeycomb). Then I ran it through my Big Shot with PTI's Linen Impression plate. MOOD WHEN DONE = B-, but have potential and play well with others Sentiments from PTI Quilters' Sentiments Sampler Continue reading

Our yard is blooming with hydrangeas, including a gorgeous white bush nibbled by deer. We salvaged what was left by trimming and filling a few vases with the blossoms and that gave me the idea for this card. Card Construction Details: 1. Stamped the enormous Stampendous hydrangea with A Muse Studio Lichen ink on white cardstock. Trimmed and hand cut as shown. 2. A2 Lichen card stamped with Impression Obsession Gingham Cover a Card and black ink. 3. Stamped sentiment from Waltzingmouse Compact Sentiments. 4. Adhered white layer as shown and trimmed 1/4" off white edge of card so that it will fit into envelope. 5. Added a few black dots in center of blossoms. MOOD WHEN DONE = So glad I've finally put this stamp to good use! Continue reading

Stamped some dots and then a sentiment on some paper! MOOD WHEN DONE = Pensive Continue reading

A friendly card made with Papertrey Ink's Dots and Spots. Card Construction Details: 1. A2 White cardstock from WPlus9 (more on this below). 2. Stamped the pink circles, then lavendar, finally teal (all Memento ink), repeating the same design three times. 3. Stamped sentiment in teal. 4. Colored May Arts Iridescent cord with a Copic marker, wrapped and tied a charm. The charm reads Love Much (back side is Laugh Often). Love this cord -- the bolt is 300 yards so tie away! 5. Consulted husband, who agreed that bling was needed. Stamped 3 circles in lavender beneath the sentiment, carefully placing them between the last three letters, and added flower bling on top of each circle. 6. Chomped corners. MOOD WHEN DONE = Iridescent And about the WPlus9 white cardstock. Like black ink, can never have enough choices for white cardstock! But it is all about personal preference. 1. WPlus9 is 100 lb. The perfect weight. PTI's 110 lb. is just a shade too heavy for me. This is still substantial, but scores, folds and cuts a bit more easily. Have not tried it with the Silhouette. A Muse is fabulous for hand cutting and cutting with the Silhouette. I also have a ream of Neenah Solar White. Perfect weight for the Silhouette but not great for card bases. Confused? Keep reading! 2. Color -- A Muse and Papertrey are near identical in shade and brightness. Perfect! WPlus9 is a tad greyer. Or grayer. 3. Price -- WPlus9 -- $4 for 15 sheets .266 per sheet (US free shipping with $50 or more; $6.95 otherwise with option to pay less if package weighs less). -- PTI $6 for 40 sheets .15 per sheet (US free shipping with $70 or more; could not figure out shipping cost otherwise and got tired of trying to figure it out!) -- A Muse Studio $7.50 for 40 sheets (plus shipping and tax, but there are hostess benefits if you buy a certain amount) .187 per sheet And then there is Stampin Up, Bazzill, Neenah, etc. So many choices... Conclusion -- So it is cost vs. weight vs. color vs. blah blah blah. I have so much white cardstock that for now I'll use them all and be happy. Continue reading

Sorry to hear that so many of you also suffer from USI (uninked stamped itis). Nice feeling when cured. Here are two more cards that use Papertrey Ink Dots and Spots: Bright happy colors: Sentiment from Hero Arts; banners cut with the Silhouette (and yes, this is one machine that I use all the time). Soft, and as shabby as it gets around here: Sentiment and heart from Technique Tuesday; great checks from Waltzingmouse and other check from somewhere! Tissue Paper Banners -- 1. Take adhesive sheet (got these from Papertrey Ink a long time ago), peel off liner, and lay tissue paper on top. Wrinkles are ok (hmm...love this sentence). 2. Stamp and trim. 3. Done. MOOD WHEN DONE = Happy Continue reading

Was recently diagnosed with USI. Very serious but treatable. Also known as Uninked Stamp Itis. I suspect you may have it as well... So I pulled out Papertrey Ink's Dot Spot and challenged myself to use it. This week I'll be posting a bunch of cards that I made with the set. Some were more successful than others, but I'll post them all! Here are two one layer cards that use Memento inks and a PTI sentiment. Just ink, paper and stamps.... MOOD WHEN DONE = Cured Continue reading

(click on photo for larger view) Card Construction Details: 1. Stamped this lovely hand drawn image from Flourishes and colored with Prismacolor Pencils and some Copic markers. 2. Added a Papertrey Ink sentiment. 3. Matted on black and adhered to an A Muse Studio Lichen card. Love that shade of green. MOOD WHEN DONE = must be peachy! *** Thanks to those of you who took the time to leave a comment or send me an email in response to my last post (which I deleted). They were thoughtful and thought provoking. Continue reading