Solid Steel Die Storage + USTREAM tonight!

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick post to remind you that Christmas Card Camp is tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern USA time over on my USTREAM channel: Kathryn Scraps. Christmas Card Camp is permanently moving to Mondays nights at 9:00 p.m. To convert Eastern USA time to your time zone, click here: Time Zone Converter.

Tonight we'll be working with the Impression Obsession "Lamb Awaiting" stamp. We'll be making at least two projects ~ one more labor intensive and one designed for mass production. I hope to have enough time to make some cute gift cards with this little guy as well, since he is so adorable!

If you're interested in purchasing this adorable little lamb stamp, you can find him in the shop on my new website: Shop.

Last week we were talking about ways to store solid steel dies (these are the wafer thin steel dies like Spellbinders, Lifestyle Crafts, Cottage Cutz, Memory Box, etc.), and there was a gal in the chat who mentioned she stored her Spellbinders Nestabilities in DVD cases lined with magnetic sheets. It sounded like a good idea to me, so I did some research today on DVD cases and found a site with a good solution: Tape Online.

On their site, I found empty DVD cases designed for rubber stamp storage (they have no DVD holders to be removed): Rubber Stamp Case.

They also have adhesive-faced magnetic sheets designed to fit inside the Rubber Stamp Case to convert it into a die storage case: Magnetic Sheets.

I haven't purchased or tested either of these products yet, so they are not "Kathryn Approved" at this time. I have read through the reviews of both items on the site and they are overwhelmingly positive. The only reason I haven't checked out with three dozen of each to hold my Spellbinders and other steel dies is because I am unsure how I will store the cases.

I originally wanted them to store them in one of the drawers of my VIKA ALEX table leg, but the cases are 14cm deep and the drawer is 13cm deep. So close! While I could still fit bunches of cases in one of my VIKA ALEX drawers, I couldn't store them in rows with their spines (and therefore labels with the die names) showing. So that was a bummer.

Then I thought about storing them in one of my EXPEDIT cubes. I could get 32 or 33 cases across the front of one cube by my measurements. But then there's not much else that I can store in the cube, and that seems like a waste of storage space. I thought about designing a box to go across the front of one cube that they could all sit in together. Then they could be easily removed to access something stored behind the dies. As long as I stored an item behind them that I don't use all that often, I'm sure it would be fine.

The other problem is I still have no solution for my longer Lifestyle Crafts dies like my border strips, envelopes and even some of the larger nesting dies. I have a couple border dies from other manufacturers as well. Of course, even if I just got the bulk of the dies sorted into these cases, I could store any stragglers in one VIKA ALEX drawer instead of having dies in a binder and an ArtBin and a VIKA drawer and a box on the floor and ... well, you get the idea!

What do you guys think? I love the idea of the cases with the magnets, but am still hung up on the case storage aspect. Plus, I always wonder if I will eventually find a way to store all my thin dies together in one place and then have to completely redo my storage. I realize this may be an unachievable goal.

So how do you guys store your thin dies? Do you do something similar? If so, how do you store the cases? If not, what do you do?

Also, am I over thinking this?

See you tonight!

~Kathryn :D

Newer Distress Ink Charts!

Hi, everyone!

Here are the links to the PDFs for the Distress Ink reference charts designed to fit on the back of the Kaisercraft Storage Chest. There is now a total of FOUR versions of the Distress Ink Chart.

This is a picture of the chart I made during the show:

In this chart, the seasonal inks are all at the end ~ rather than mixed in with the other color groups. If you want to keep your seasonal inks separate from the others, then download this chart. This chart is available in two versions ~ one with the new "Vampire Tears" name and one with more traditional (but not as cool) "Fired Brick" name. Both charts are linked below, so you can choose the color name you prefer. :)

Vampire Tears Chart

Fired Brick Chart

This is a picture of the chart I made this afternoon:

In this chart, the seasonal inks are mixed in with the permanent Distress Ink color groups. If you want your seasonal inks and permenant inks together, then download this chart. This chart is also available in two versions ~ one with the "Vampire Tears" name and one with the "Fired Brick" name. Both charts are linked below, so you can choose the color name you prefer. :)

Vampire Tears Chart - M

Fired Brick Chart - M

Thanks to everyone who joined me on USTREAM for this project! It was a lot of fun to create with you, and I am so pleased with the final result.

~Kathryn :D

P.S. The "M" in the name of the second set of charts stands for "Merged" so I can keep the two charts straight in my head.

New Distress Ink Charts

Hi, everyone!

Here are the links to the PDFs for the new Distress Ink Charts designed to fit on the back of the Kaiser Craft Storage Tower. I made two versions of the chart. One includes the ink color "Vampire Tears" and the other has the more traditional (but not nearly as cool) "Fired Brick" name. Both charts are linked below, so you can choose the color name you prefer. :)

Vampire Tears Chart

Fired Brick Chart

Thanks to everyone who joined me on USTREAM for this project! It was a lot of fun to create with you, and I am so pleased with the final result.

~Kathryn :D

August Stamps are In + NEW WEBSITE!

Hi, everyone! Hope your week is going well. We've been having lovely, fall-like weather the past few days. It has been beautiful! Last night I even felt the teensiest bit chilly when I wasout on the porch after the sun went down.

I have now received all the stamps from the manufacturers. Impression Obsession's Angel and Lamb just arrived and I have finished packing the last of the orders! Yay! They will be getting picked up by USPS tomorrow, so they should all be on their way soon.

We had our last Saturday Christmas Card Camp this weekend. Christmas Card Camp is now moving to Mondays nights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern USA time, beginning on Monday, September 17th. Christmas Card Camp will be on my USTREAM channel: Kathryn Scraps. To convert Eastern USA time to your time zon, click here: Time Zone Converter.

In other news, I have redone my website at http://www.kathrynscraps.com/ and it is completely revamped over there. The biggest change is that the code for the website is now HTML5 instead of Flash, so you will be able to view my website on tablets, smart phones and other mobile devices. Yay!

The other big change to my website is that there is now a shop page where everything I am currently offering for sale is available all together. Now you won't have to scroll through pages of blog posts looking for PayPal buttons if you're interested in a product.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Kathryn :D

August Stamp Update!

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick post to let you know that I have received the stamps from Heartfelt Creations and Our Daily Bread, as well as the dies from Spellbinders. I am still waiting on Impression Obsession, but they said they will be shipping to me on Monday (they were a little behind on orders due to CHA, they told me).

If you didn't have anything in your pre-order from Impression Obsession, then your order has already shipped and you should be getting it soon. Once the Impression Obsession stamps come in, all the other stamp order will go out immediately.

We had our last Saturday Christmas Card Camp today, and it will be moving to Mondays starting September 17th. I haven't settled on a time yet, but I will let you know on Thursday for sure.

Thank you all so much for your patience!

~Kathryn :D

My Apologies!

Hi, everyone!

I just wanted to write a post to express my apologies for the state of my blog. Things have been crazy around here since I have been helping my mom and her friends plan an event in the fall (I am the tech advisor and web developer) and this week the website went live. If you're curious about what I've been doing instead of updating my blog, you can check out the website I've been working on here: Living Advent.

I know I have promised card samples for the August stamps and not delivered them. So far I have only gotten one sample completed. I apologize for that, too. August has been a horrible month for me between illnesses, websites and some family issues. What I am going to do is order extras of the August stamps so that I have enough for those of you who were waititng to see samples before you checked out. I will work on the samples as I can in the next few weeks. I will work hard to make sure the September pre-order goes more smoothly.

Here is a quick iPhone picture of the August card I finished. It is 4.25" square and uses the Heartfelt Creations "Shepherd Scene" set:




Thank you all so much for your time and patience! I know I have not been my best this month, and I am very sorry for that. I will work hard to be better!

~Kathryn :D

FOR SALE: Christmas in August Stamps

Hello, everyone!

This past Saturday we started our Christmas Card Camp with the Impression Obsession "Winter Pelican" stamp. You can see the recording from Saturday's class over on USTREAM: Pelican Card Camp. The class was a ton of fun & I enjoyed working on the two Christmas card designs with you. Below please find the upcoming August Christmas Card Camp stamps.



Heartfelt Creations "Shepherd Scene":

Approx. Image Sizes:

1. Shepherd Scene: 4.25" x 3.25"

2. Holy Night: 2" x .5"

3. Jesus: 1.5" x .75"

Heartfelt Creations "Wisemen Ornament":

Approx. Image Sizes:

1. Ornament: 2.5" x 2.5"

2. For God: 3.5" x .75"

3. Wise Men: 1.5" x .5"

Impression Obsession "Angel":

Approx. Image Size:

3.75" x 4"

Impression Obsession "Lamb Awaiting":

Approx. Image Size:

3.25" x 3.25"

Our Daily Bread "Joy to the World":

Approx. Image Sizes:

Holy family- 2 5/8" x 3 1/8"

Isaiah 9:6- 1 3/8" x 3"

The child, the child- 0.75" x 3 5/8"

Merry Christmas- 1.5" x 3 3/8"

Christmas Blessings- 1.5" x 3.5"

Joy to the World- 1 3/8" x 2 7/8"

Spellbinder's "2011 Heirloom Ornaments" Nestabilities:

Approx. Die Template Sizes:

1: ⅝ x ⅝"

2: 1½ x 1⅜"

3: 2½ x 2⅜"

4: 3⅝ x 3½"

5: 4¾ x 4¾"

This Spellbinder's die set coordinates with both the August "Shepherd Scene" stamp and the "Wisemen" stamp sets, as well as the July "Nativity Scene" stamp.

We will be making at least TWO cards or other projects using each stamp set. One card will be designed for mass production for mailing to lots of people & one card will be more detailed for hand delivery to a few people. To see what I mean by that, here are the two cards created with the "Winter Pelican" stamp.

"Winter Pelican" Mass Production Card:

"Winter Pelican" Hand Delivery Card:

Thanks for stamping along with me on this! I think it's going to be SO MUCH FUN and I am really excited about these projects!

~Kathryn :D

August Christmas Card Camp Stamps

Hello, everyone & happy Monday!

This past Saturday we started our Christmas Card Camp with the Impression Obsession "Winter Pelican" stamp. You can see the recording from Saturday's class over on USTREAM: Pelican Card Camp. The class was a ton of fun & I enjoyed working on the two Christmas card designs with you.

I also previewed the next batch of stamps for pre-order during the show. Because I was sick this last week, I'm a little behind & haven't gotten the blog post for the August stamp pre-orders finished. I'll get it finished today & it will post tomorrow morning.

Sorry about that & see you tomorrow!

~Kathryn :D

Tonight's Scrap Chat Cancelled!

Hi, everyone! Just a quick post to let you know that tonight's Scrap Chat is cancelled due to illness. I'm still not feeling well, so I will rest up and see you all on Saturday at 1:00 for Christmas Card Class!

The first class of the Christmas Card Series will be this Saturday, August 4th at 1:00 PM Eastern USA time over on my USTREAM Channel. The class will run for two hours (the same length as a normal Thursday class), and should finish up before any of the regular Saturday USTREAMers start. That way you will be able to enjoy all your usual Saturday afternoon and evening shows!

Please be aware that this class starts one hour earlier than the normal Thursday Euro Chat, so whatever time Euro Chat starts for you, this will start one hour prior to that time. I wanted to make it the same time as Euro Chat to avoid confusion, but if I did that I would either have to shorten the class or overlap some of the other shows I know many of you enjoy watching.

This Saturday, we will be starting with the Impression Obsession "Winter Pelican" stamp set.

You can see one of the samples below:

Winter Pelican Sample:



Supplies Used: (I'll be tweaking the design for a more blended look, since I wasn't in love with how the markers looked for the sky. The supplies listed below will be what is used in the class & not what was used in the sample above)
White Cardstock
LaBlanche or Ranger Speciality Stamping Paper
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Distress Ink: Faded Jeans & Stormy Sky
Distress Ink Applicator & Foam
Water Brush
Distress Markers: Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Weathered Wood, Pumice Stone, Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, Wild Honey & Stormy Sky
Ranger Liquid Pearls: Pearl, Buttercup & Rouge
Ranger Stickles: Silver

I do have at least one other design planned for this stamp that will be easier to replicate for mass production.

We will continue the classes on this Saturday afternoon schedule until all the stamps have been showcased.

Also during Saturday's show, I will preview the stamps which will go up for pre-order on Monday, August 6th. The pre-order period will last for a week just like last time & I hope to include samples and supply lists for some of the card designs as I did on the July pre-order post. Hope to see you there this Saturday!

~Kathryn :D

Christmas in July Class Scheduled!

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick post to let you know that the first of the Christmas Card Series will be this Saturday, August 4th at 1:00 PM Eastern USA time over on my USTREAM Channel. The class will run for two hours (the same length as a normal Thursday class), and should finish up before any of the regular Saturday USTREAMers start. That way you will be able to enjoy all your usual Saturday afternoon and evening shows!

Please be aware that this class starts one hour earlier than the normal Thursday Euro Chat, so whatever time Euro Chat starts for you, this will start one hour prior to that time. I wanted to make it the same time as Euro Chat to avoid confusion, but if I did that I would either have to shorten the class or overlap some of the other shows I know many of you enjoy watching.

This Saturday, we will be starting with the Impression Obsession "Winter Pelican" stamp set. You can see one of the samples below:

Winter Pelican Sample:


Supplies Used: (I'll be tweaking the design for a more blended look, since I wasn't in love with how the markers looked for the sky. The supplies listed below will be what is used in the class & not what was used in the sample above)
White Cardstock
Lalanche or Ranger Speciality Stamping Paper
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Distress Ink: Faded Jeans & Stormy Sky
Distress Ink Application & Foam
Water Brush
Distress Markers: Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Weathered Wood, Pumice Stone, Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, Wild Honey & Stormy Sky
Ranger Liquid Pearls: Pearl, Buttercup & Rouge
Ranger Stickles: Silver

I do have at least one other design planned for this stamp that will be easier to replicate for mass production.

We will continue the classes on this Saturday afternoon schedule until all the stamps have been showcased.

Also during Saturday's show, I will preview the stamps which will go up for pre-order on Monday, August 6th. The pre-order period will last for a week just like last time & I hope to include samples and supply lists for some of the card designs as I did on the July pre-order post.

Hope to see you there this Saturday!

~Kathryn :D