ArtBin Wonderful Customer Service

When I get great customer service, I like to tell people about it.

Sunday I bought the ArtBin Double Deep Super Satchel. When I got home and put the dividers in it, it was missing one. The store where I bought it is three hours away, so returning it wasn't an option.

I just called the 800 number on the label, and within just a minute or two I was speaking with a real person. There were no numbers to push, just a very short and polite recording, then I was on hold for less than a minute, and a very nice girl came on the line. She got my address and is sending a replacement divider right out to me. She is even packaging and shipping it herself. Calling ArtBin, (Flambeau is the name of the company), is just like calling a very small personalized company. I love dealing with companies like that!

I forgot to mention that the ArtBin things are made in the US, so that makes it even better for those of us on this side of the pond!


This is my pitiful little collection of Copics in the double Deep Super Satchel. I have two Copic 36 pen storage units. Each one fits perfectly in one section of the case. I found out that if I put the bottoms and tops of the cases in seperate sections, I haveroom for twice as many Copics, and my few Spectrum Noir pens fit in the divided tops along the edges of them. Then I have my one refill and some of the Copic Syringes in another section. It's pretty empty now, but someday it will be full! :-)

ArtBin has just made a pen holder satchel, and sells some dividers which fit this bin as well as the pen satchel. The dividers are like the cubed things for the flourescent lights at Home Depot, but are designed to fit these satchels perfectly and lock into place. I'm getting some of those soon, to replace the Copic holders.

I love this, because I can carry my pens around , and they stay in order perfectly, and right now, I will be able to put other things in here as well!

There's No One Like You Card

I decided to make a white on white card with my new Cuttlebug Geometric Circles EF. When I did the embossing, I tried using Brilliance Platinum Planet ink on the EF so it would have a subtle sheen in the recessed areas. It didn't really show up, so I went over the raised part with the ink pad after I took it out of the embossing folder, hoping it would have more sheen. I took two photos, one showing the depth, and one showing the sheen.

The card is 5x7, with a 4.75 x 6.75 layer mounted dimensionally on that. I went around that layer with a dauber and the platinum ink. The embossed layer was cut to 4.5 x 6.5 before embossing it, and I cut another piece of white CS the same size to mount it onto to give it more strength, since I mounted the embossed layer dimensionally as well.

Then I stamped a JustRite sentiment in silver and cut it out with a Spellbinders framed tag, and cut and embossed both pieces of the tag. I rubbed the platinum ink onto the bottom layer of the tag, and mounted the sentiment dimensionally onto that.

The tag was mounted over a white satin ribbon. Some Recollections daisies which had also been shaded with the platinum ink were added, and I used White Liquid Pearls to accent the card.

Went to AC Moore and JoAnn's Today

I was desperately in need of new gold pens and refills for my ATG. I did get two PenTouch pens, one fine, and one extra fine, but no refills for the ATG. Both stores have been out of the refills since October, and apparently even when they order them the parent company refuses to send them. Bangor, Maine is in the wrong district for the good stuff at both stores.

They did have really good paper sales at both stores. The 12x12 plain paper was on sale at AC Moore, so I got a few Core'dinations textured ones. Most of the colors were gone, but they had quite a few shades of blue left, and I can always use blue. I also got the DCWV Four Seasons Solid Stack. (I had to really hurry so my DH wouldn't get bored and decide not to take me to JoAnn's after AC Moore, plus money is tight, so I shopped quickly). I also got some ultra smooth white that is supposed to be for alcohol markers.

I also got another package of Sponge Daubers and some pearls. I messed up with the Xyron though, I meant to get permanent, and got repositional. That was an expensive mistake, and the store is too far away to trade it. :-( I also had a 50% off coupon for today only, and now that I'm home and looked at my receipt, that was never entered. The reason I bought the adhesive refill was because I had the coupon, so it was even a bigger mistake than I first thought. Sort of like the time they charged me for two Wonderful Wings Spellbinders and I only had one. They were supposed to credit me, but never did. No Spellbinders there today, it's such a disappointment.

I did a little better at JoAnn's.

I actually found the Art Bin Double Deep case that is the right size to hold Copics in those squared off light fixture things you can get at Home Depot. (They are plastic with open squares that are the right size for Copic Markers. You cut them to the size of your container and stand a Copic in each one). Well, I don't have that many Copics yet, so I put the dividers in the box, (One divider was missing, so I've got to email Art Bin and see if they will send me the missing one). Anyway, with the dividers in, each section is exactly the right size for the 36 marker plastic boxes. Since I have two boxes and 37 Copics, I just put the boxes in two of the sections, and am going to put other stuff in the rest of the box until I have enough Copics to buy the grid thing. I think it will work well, because the Copics stay nicely in order this way, and I can transport them easily! The box was on sale for half price.

I also got a Cardmaking and Paper Crafts Magazine with the prettiest little stack of 5x5 paper called Floral Fantasy in it. The paper is really beautiful!


Then I got two packs of Core'dinations Pearl paper, one white and one pale gold, and the 12x12 DCWV Chataeau Lavender plain stack was half price, so I got that as well.

I wanted some more colors of Brilliance ink, but they only have a couple of the dew drops sets, and I had both sets, so I got a gold Delicata stamp pad instead. I wanted to try a different shade of gold, since all of my old ones are kind of brown, and my Galaxy Gold is quite yellow. This one looks like it is a color in between the two. I use a lot of gold, so it will be fun trying this one.

They also actually had a Cuttlebug Embossing folder they never had before, and it's one I wanted. It's the Geometric Rings one, and it's 5x7 and it's got a matching border folder with it. I'm really glad to see these folders coming in larger sizes, since the old ones are all smaller than my cards.

JoAnn's also actually had a few older Spellbinders as well. I had most of them, but they did have the Classic Petal Edgeability, and it was on sale for 11.99, so I got that. I so wish we could get some of those gorgeous new ones around here, but once I can get my shop open this summer, maybe I will be able to send for some!

Anyway, I got some new stuff, and it will be really fun playing with it!!!

Oh yeah, I got the bright idea of going into a smoke shop to see if they had any cigar boxes, and they did!!! They only had one, but it is varnished, quite heavy, and has nice brass hinges and a latch. It's quite large and deep, and beautifully made, and it was free!!! It's much nicer than the kind of unfinished boxes they sell in the craft stores! The finish on it is so nice I will have to figure out a way to alter it without covering up the whole thing. Maybe I'll just cut some gold filigrees and things with my Spellbinders and make it look like a varnished box with brass accents.

Anna Griffin Flowered Birthday Card

I bought a couple of Anna Griffin card kits a few years ago, but had only made one card from them so far. I always feel like I'm cheating when I use a kit, but it's also wasteful not to use them, so I thought I would make a second card.

For this card, I took a card blank and one of the smaller panels included in the kit and outlined both of them with a gold pen. Next, I applied some lace from my stash to the smaller panel and mounted it dimensionally onto the card. I took one of the sentiment panels and mounted that onto gold mirror card and mounted that dimensionally onto the flowered panel. Last, I added dimensional flowers, a butterfly, a bow, and some Liquid Pearls.

It was quick and easy, but it made a pretty card, and mounting everything dimensionally gave it a lot of depth.

Copics Over White Embossing Powder Card

Well, this one is different, it looks much better in person, since the colors aren't as bright, and the red is actually more of a burgundy color. (Copic R89).

Anyway, I kept seeing cards on pinterest where they colored over white embossing powder. Unfortunately, whoever originally pinned the cards did it from the blown up page on blogspot rather than the blog page itself, so even after googling for hours, I never found the person who did the original cards. (When you pin the enlargement, it just shows something like 2bp or 4bp rather than the blog address).

I decided to try this background stamp, since it would have quite a lot of white once I used the EP on it. It was stamped with VersaMark and embossed in white, then I colored it with my Copics. I'm not sure this is a great idea, because a lot of white from the EP does get on the tips of your markers. Mine still seem to work fine, but I'm not sure how many times I would want to try this without any extra tips on hand.

The card stocks I used are generic teal, generic black, gold mirror card and some gold and teal patterned paper I got at a paper mill years ago. The label is one of the newest ones from Spellbinders, the pearls are Liquid Pearls, and the sentiment is from JustRite.

Pink Morning Glories Card

I think I got carried away with the Liquid Pearls on this one, the card would have been better with fewer of them!

I really like this digital stamp I made last month and decided to make another card with it, coloring the morning glories pink this time. All the coloring was done with Copics, and all the layers are outlined and accented with a Gelyroll metallic gold pen. The stamp layer is outlined with a PenTouch because I wanted the border a little thicker.

The dies used are Spellbinders Grand Labels One, Spellbinders Marvelous Squares, and Spellbinders Decorative Labels One.

Creatables and Butterflies Card

I haven't used this Marianne Creatables die for a long time, so I decided to use it today. I also wanted to make a card that looked like spring, so I chose greens, yellows and Brilliance Galaxy Gold, which is a very yellow gold.

The Creatables die was cut in white and light green CS, and layered onto darker green, gold mirror card, and a white card. The die was accented and shaded with Brilliance Galaxy Gold, and the outside of the doily was outlined with a metallic gold pen.

The white filigrees in the center are from Spellbinders Marvelous Squares. The butterflies are from the MS Monarch punch. I wish they had been more delicate. I tried some stamped ones, but they weren't delicate enough, and my Cheery Lynn and Spellbinders butterflies were all too large. These were the ones which looked the best. I tried different flowers in the center, and liked this dimensional one from K&Co the best. The butterfly bodies and the pearls are Liquid Pearls.

Cherry Blossoms Card

Lately I seem to be making a lot of cards I'm not crazy about. The one I did today I really don't like, so I'm uploading the one I did on Saturday that I wasn't happy with. The worst part about cards you aren't happy with is that it seems like they take the longest because you spend so much time trying to figure out what you can use on them to make them better.

Anyway, I was looking through my paper stash the other day, trying to use up some older papers when I came across this one. It is one corner of a 12x12 sheet from pad I bought at Walmart a few years ago. It was kind of pretty and reminded me of spring. I cut the paper out with Spellbinders Grand Labels One, and cut a card and a front to fit using the same set. Next I shaded the card front with Brilliance pink. It started to go wrong after that. First I outlined with a gold Gelyrol pen, which worked well. Then I tried to make one of my new metallic pens work, and it got messy.

Then I had to figure out how I wanted to decorate it. Even though I spent hours trying lots of things, I wasn't happy with any of them. I ended up using a very old Anna Griffin stamp from my stash. It was stamped with Brilliance Pink and embossed with clear EP and a few highlights were added with Copics to make it match the background more. The stamp was cut and embossed with Spellbinders Labels One, and matted with Spellbinders Decorative Labels One.

I tried ribbon, bows, and lots of different flowers, but the best I came up with were a couple of these Prima ones, and some Liquid Pearls for accents.

Pink Gold, White Gold and Yellow Gold Card

When I was in New York in December, I bought some pretty white paper with a gold shimmer to it. I also bought some ink pads with a gold shimmer, including Tsukineko Brilliance Rocket Red Gold, and Tsukineko Brilliance Galaxy Gold.

I've wanted to use the paper for a while, but was hoarding it because I can't get it again easily. While I was trying to get to sleep last night, I was thinking of a way to use it, and decided I would make a card using that paper and the two ink pads, along with some dies.

The dies I used are a Marianne Creatables square, a die from Spellbinders Marvelous Squares, and two dies from Spellbinders Persian Accents. The papers are all either gold mirror card or the white paper with a gold shimmer to it. The colors are from shading the paper with the inks.

All the shading which looks pink is the red gold ink. The darker shade is applied with a combination of blending stumps and those Ranger nibs, and the lighter shade is applied with sponge daubers. The card itself is made from the white paper and shaded with the brilliance gold. It looks yellow in the photo, but in person, that, the pink paper, and the white paper, as well as the inks all have the gold shimmer and look quite pretty together. One layer of the pink shaded paper is outlined with a metallic gold pen. The pearls are Liquid Pearls.

PSX Floral and Filigree Card

This morning I designed a card around some paper I've had forever, but I wasn't happy with the card. Since I won't have time to make anything tomorrow, I will probably upload that one tomorrow anyway.

While I was looking for a stamp I liked for that card, I came across a very old Floral set from PSX. I've always liked the set, but the stamps are very small, and I haven't used them in years. I kept the set out, and decided to use it to make another card after I finished the one I wasn't having much luck with. This is the card I made with it.

I cut a bunch of white CS using Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight . The card itself is also cut with this die set by folding the card in half and cutting it so the fold was inside the filigree on the folded side, then I layered a single die cut sheet over that for the front of the card so it would have filigree all around it.

The DP is some very old Anna Griffin CS from my stash, and is cut with Spellbinders Labels Eight. I used a gold pen to outline the die cuts.

The DP was mounted flat onto the filigree layers, then each layer was mounted dimensionally on top of the one below it.

The design was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, then colored with Copics. I wanted the design to look more like an embellishment, so after coloring it, I ran VersaMark over it and used clear EP over the whole thing. I really wanted to use UTEE, but no matter how many times I've tried that, I've never gotten a finish I was happy with. I think I need to try the UTEE in a toaster oven. Anyway, I like the one coat of clear EP because it is shiny but has a little bit of texture to it.

The design is mounted dimensionally on top, and Liquid Pearls were added to the filigree.

Decorative Labels Layered Card

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Today I cut and embossed all my Spellbinders Decorative Labels One and Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight dies.

All of them were shaded with a gold ink pad and my sponge daubers, then accented with a gold Gelyrol pen.

Next, I layered them onto a white CS background which had been shaded with the same gold and outlined with a gold PenTouch Pen. The background paper had already been mounted onto a white card.

Last, I added a simple punched and shaped flower and Platinum Liquid Pearls.

The top photo shows the dimension of the card, and the photo below shows how the gold shines.

If the pearls in the center look a little funny, it's because my platinum Liquid Pearls are very runny compared to the other colors. I took this photo while they were still wet and didn't notice that the center ones had flattened out already, so I cut and pasted them from other areas of the card in Photoshop. After they are all completely dry, I will go over them again, and they will look okay. I always have to do this with my platinum ones.

Dragon Paper Album

This is another album made from a tutorial on the Graphic 45 blog. The first one I made is here.

I bought a few sheets of handmade paper with gold dragons on it for the album. I had no idea it would take so much paper! I also bought some really pretty handmade paper without a pattern to make the tags inside with, but found out I wouldn't have enough, so I substituted some white mulberry paper with gold in it instead.

The matting is white cs shaded with metallic gold from an ink pad. I wish it looked more metallic, and the tags and journaling spots are white CS which I ran the same ink pad over to give a bit of a gold metallic sheen to. The labels are also accented with a gold metallic pen, and a gold Gellyrol pen. I did the lines on the journaling spots inside myself using the Gelyrol pen.

The top photo is the front cover, which has space for whatever the recipient wants to add, and a label.



This photo is the album standing up and open so you can see how all the pages are arranged.



This photo shows the inside front cover and the first page. Each of these pages has a pocket with a tag in it. There is room for a photo on the tag, and on the page behind the tag. Each tag has a journaling spot on the back. I have removed one tag to show how the page looks without the tag, and the tag is flipped over to show the journaling spot. Each page also has a label on the pocket.



This photo is the album with the next section open.



Each side of the next section has a flap which can be opened. Each flap has a place for a wallet sized photo and a label. This is how it looks with one side open.



This photo shows both sides and both flaps open. The center section is a gate fold.



This is the center section with the gatefold open.

Pink Springfold Card

I have been trying to get another album finished, but it's slow work, so I didn't get a card made today.

This is one I made quite a few years ago. I think the papers are Core'dinations Pearl, Core'dinations Gemstones, and gold mirror card. I think the rose was probably from a book with Redoute roses, that I fussy cut. (I apparently wasn't too fussy when I cut it though). :-)

The gold accents are Dresden Trim and gold outline stickers, and I added half pearls.

Colorful Butterflies Card ODBDSLC145

Wow, these butterflies really aren't quite as bright as they look on here. In fact, I was thinking they weren't bright enough when I finished the card!

I made this card for the Our Daily Bread Designs Challenge ODBDSLC145 Sketch. The design is from the Faith Set, and was cut using ODBD's Custom Butterfly Branch Die.

The medallion behind it was cut with ODBD's Custom Elegant Oval Dies. All stamping and shading was done using Memento Cottage Ivy, and all coloring was done with Copics. The embossed background is Spellbinders M-Bossabilities, Mystic.

All the stamping and die cuts were done on Core'dinations Pearl, to give the card a bit of shimmer. All the outlining was done with a Sakura Pentouch Metallic Ink Marker.

The ribbon and pearls are all from my stash. After finishing the card, it needed something, but I couldn't find anything I liked, so I added a bow to the top. Now that the card is finished, I wish I had tried a dimensional butterfly to the lower left instead.

Royal Blue and Gold Card

This card was done with the DCWV Royal Garden Stack.

It was inspired by a card on the back of the stack. I changed mine quite a bit from the inspiration card. The card itself was made with pale gold Core'dinations pearl CS.

The shape of the front was cut with Spellbinders Grand Labels Four, and the inside writing space and outside motif were made from Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two and Spellbinders Twisted Metal Tags and Accents. Some of them were cut with gold mirror card.

All the paper was outlined with a gold metallic pen, and I added blue and white pearls and gold outline stickers from my stash.

Blue Persian Accents Card

I made this card using only the Spellbinders Persian Accents Die Set.

All the shading was done with VersaMagic Aegean Blue Ink.

Blue half pearls were added to accent the dies. The blue and white colors remind me of Wedgewood.