I received the most WONDERFUL box today from eclecticpaperie.com!!!  I was lucky enough to score TWO of their Cosmo Cricket value packs (25 double-sided or striptease sheets each) and the paper is so great I don’t want to use it!  Seriously though, I am really looking forward to using it for giftbags and boxes now that I have the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cricut cart.  I also got the Hello Sunshine & Halfway Cafe crafting packs, and the small Get Happy and Hello Sunshine paper pads.  I have been loving CC from afar for a while now but with EP’s great prices I dove in.  Yum, yum, yum.

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I may be placing another order once they get their website refreshed.  Also, the box came way before I expected it, and with a little bonus gift, and there’s nothing better than that.  I placed an order with Oh My Crafts about the same time and it has not shipped yet.  Oh, to think of that cuttlebug, just waiting for me.  *anguish*

I used SCAL for the first time this weekend.  I used the font Tattoo Ink and broke apart the base and the highlight using inkscape.  I then cut the highlight and the base in two different colors and I am more than tickled with how it came out.  I had read that it cuts slowly, but I thought it was uncomfortably fast!  I have a lot of little pieces of stock from a strips & snips lot from a California Paper Goods auction and they’re very heavy – I couldn’t get them to work very well when using SCAL.

Using inkscape has been more difficult than I thought, considering that I use Corel at work and have used Photoshop for a long time.  However, SCAL itself is quite easy to use if you are just cutting text.

I should mention that I usually cut on the slowest setting when using my cricut.  I am going to experiment a little more with that setting, however.  I cut some birds from the 50 states cart on some thinnish DCWV paper and a lot of the inside cut lines looked rough.

I was so glad to have found the Open Clip Art Library!  There are a ton of great SVG files perfect for use with the Sure Cuts A Lot / Inkscape software.  I am hoping to try out this software this weekend – it looks great!

My Twilight on Etsy quest began when I ran across this sticker from ElectrikPinkPirate this afternoon:

It struck a chord with me.  Bella’s love is based pretty much solely on Edward’s hotness, and Edward is a 100 year old being who is in love with a teenager.  ‘Nuff said.  In the last month I’ve read all four books (and the posting of the Midnight Sun draft on Stephenie Meyer’s website) twice, a fact that I am absolutely ashamed of even as I reach for the books again.  Twilight is the definition of guilty pleasure.    Even though I keep my love for Twilight hidden, I wanted to check out what other witty things Etsyites came up with to show their love.  Frankly, a lot of it was tacky tween stuff (which is as to be expected, absolutely) but I did find a few things that any Twilight fan could wear that would only identify them to other fans (and a few other things I just can’t help but share!!).

This is too classy to be borne.  Venbead has put together a gorgeous collage necklace here.  And only a fan would get the reference.  (You could also hide the tag behind everything else for daywear.)

This is adorable, and sooo Alice.  Part of the problem I have with the movies is that the only character in the movie they got even close to how I envisioned him or her  was Alice.  Atwhim has pictured her perfectly, I think.

I am absolutely freaking out over this brooch by humblebea (and her whole store).  I love the cloth, I love the use of Edward’s handwriting, I love the little blue button.  I’m really a fan of the “be safe” items because they’re pretty multipurpose while still being Twilight-y.

This is either brilliant marketing or BibBon was creative with the Twilight inspiration.  Wearing this, no one would suspect your die-hard Edward love but you.  Mwahahahaha.  (Also it looks really comfy.)

To thesorceress770 I have just one word: yum!

I can’t vouch for twilightlips‘ lipbutters, but the packaging had me at “Cullen.”  This would be great for a party favor for a tween girl.  (Or for your purse for that little pick-me-up.)

Simplybitten has a lot of Twilight-themed decals, but “Be Safe” stands out to me.

Bethtastic has more than one stand-out Twilight pendant (and a bunch of other awesome one, too!).

The “My First Wallet” by Frank & Me:

I remember having a nylon Fisher-Price rainbow wallet with play money in and if I remember it, it was definitely one of my favorite toys. This is the *cutest,* and what a great idea.

I can imagine painting my future kitchen stark white and having little Woodmouse toys all over it! They are vibrant without being overly so, and they look pre-loved (which they are, because you can tell she loves making them!) which is a good look on toys.

I spend a lot of time combing Etsy Pounce Undiscovered.

My first find today was Pretty Penny Designs‘ Vintage Poppy Button necklace:

The delicate crocheted wire looks great with the beads in it, and I imagine it stretching out and returning to shape all day as you move around with it. I dig the red painted focal.

Red Pepper makes the Barbie clothes I used to dream of making. The Starshine dress would be perfect for any big Barbie occasion.

I predict very good things for the new Sad Crow Side Show. I am a sucker for folky art (mmm milk paint).

I can’t go to the central coast without hitting the antiques and bead stores hard. So even though we were a little short on time (we usually try to take a long weekend over there and this was a rushed overnight) I found plenty of things to get into.

I started off at Unique Bead in San Luis Obispo. They had findings and TONS of beads out by-piece. They had good prices on some of their semi-precious bead strands, I picked up a strand of small (6 or 8 mm) picasso jasper rounds labeled at $25 for $7 and change. The selection of higher-end semi-precious strands (on sale – 25% off) were behind the counter but I was readily invited back to peek. Unique Bead is much more than just a bead store – they had lots of unfinished stones and lapidary supplies, finished fine jewelry, and plenty of novelty jewelry items. Being in downtown SLO, which is a huge college town, I definitely understand the casual approach to the huge store area and the large selection of informal and body jewelry.

I couldn’t resist hitting up Beads Back on Main in Morro Bay for a brief visit. They carry the dichroic glass beads you see in the link but they also carry plenty of other beads, findings & chain as well. I love this store because it is completely organized – each set of strands of a specific type, size and color have their own hook on the wall and the price and material is clearly labeled. There is lots of light and plenty of space to move around even if there are other shoppers. I do like Beads By the Bay quite a bit but I only had time for one shop and Beads on Main is right next to the new/used bookstore which provides a diversion for my traveling partner.

I unearthed a wonderful bead-related surprise on this trip. Remember When in Cayucos has a TON of beautiful semi-precious strands. I did not buy even a tiny fraction of what I loved there, but I will say that I spent the whole ride home wishing I had bought a strand of big striped carnelian rounds only to find that I had and had just forgotten about it. It was something like finding $20 in an old pair of jeans, but better.

There was a soft yellow leather suitcase at Remember When Too (yes, they are related) that I was hoping would still be there from my last trip but someone else scored out on that one. I did get a yummy brown samsonite train case for a scandalously low price and a couple of old maps. It was a distinct challenge to leave Rich Man, Poor Man empty-handed that I met only because I practically ran through it as my traveling partner was awaiting me for our departure, browned butter sea salt cookies from the Little Market in hand.

I set up my light tent on Sunday thinking I would have a free afternoon to take pictures but of course, after I brought all my projects down and took up the entire kitchen bar with the thing, my battery was dead. I based my light tent on this post over at make, and it looks quite a bit like that but with fabric interfacing over the pvc to diffuse the light.

To build it I purchased several of the short lengths of 1/2″ pvc (the long ones wouldn’t fit in the car) and the appropriate connectors. I purchased these items at Lowe’s along with the industrial clip lamps (approximately $6 apiece if I remember correctly, I think the pvc & connectors were under $5 for all) and full-spectrum lightbulbs. I made the frame to fit a piece of 19 x 25 mi-tientes paper from JoAnn’s, primarily because I associate posterboard with decidedly un-fun school projects and I’ve wanted an excuse to buy some of that paper for a while. It has a wonderful texture. Also at JoAnn’s I picked up some fabric interfacing, the non-fusible kind (the clip lamps do get hot and although I’m careful to keep them from touching the interface or getting it too hot I don’t want to risk it sticking to the shade) that was a dollar or two a yard.

The pictures I took last night were lacking only in a little extra brightness and stability so I ordered the gorillapod tripod. I gave my sister the photographer one for Christmas and she is happy with it so I am sure it will more than meet my needs. I also used some accumulated geek points to get a powersquid so I can ramp up the focused lighting with more clip-ons. All in all, it was a very affordable project and I think once I get more lights up it will be well worth the small amount of money and effort.

Today, a light tent, tomorrow, etsy!

I get those iron-band-around-your-head-aches during the day but I tell you, crafting is better than aspirin. This week I splurged a little and got a few new awesome things -

A Fiskars guillotine cutter – got this at Michael’s with a coupon. When I opened it I was very surprised that anyone would spend $80 + tax on this and immediately wished I had done a little more research. You have to put the “ergonomic handle” on yourself which was a little tricky because, obviously, the blade arm has a blade on it so you can’t grab it and shove the handle on. The directions say to leave the blade arm locked and put the handle on that way but it is not easy – it just takes a little patience, something I was sorely lacking when I wanted to try it out. But after my first initial botches, I am pretty happy with it and feel that it was maybe worth a little more than the $40 odd I paid for it. I really like the aluminum base plate. I do not use the plastic safety guard thing, I don’t really know how safe that can keep you. I’m not sure what it’s preventing. *shrugs* I also really like that it’s lightweight and has a handle so I can flip it around the room depending on what I have going on in the four square feet of useable space in the whole room. (The rest is piled with materials, of course.)

When I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago in Pennsylvania I stopped at a great rubber stamp boutique, Morning Sun Studio. (They also have an awesome eBay store!) They carry quite a bit of stuff from all my favorite papercrafting brands for their size. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to be able to fit in my suitcase so I didn’t buy nearly as much as I should have but I did get a little bumblebee stamp and a couple of sheets of EZ Mount. I needed the EZ Mount for my new Mad Rat Rubber stamps. I’m not a fan of the clear cling – I like and trust real rubber the best. I absolutely love her stamps there and I love being able to purchase them unmounted. I picked out a bunch and then I also got a grab bag. I regretted buying it instantly because I have never had much luck with grab bags but I was very, very pleased when I received it. I can’t want to get more of her stamps.

Also I recently purchased something I’ve been meaning to purchase for probably as long as she’s been offering it – the metal mix from gemmafactrix. I can’t believe I haven’t bought it before. And no, I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with it, but it came tied up in a little waxed paper bag with butcher’s string and it was delicious to open, I was so, so excited to get it.

- – everything is always revealed in due course.