Altered State of Mine » Tools

Assembly Line Birthday Cards

Candy — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:53:24 +0000

You want to know my favorite way to make several cards? Assembly line style! Make one card, then replicate it. Once you have your card design, the hard part is over.

I break down the steps of making the card into several phases. I stamped the patterned paper, then cut to size. I punched the front of my card bases. Then I stamped all the insides and adhered the patterned paper.

I make cards for my church’s card ministry and as a group, we’ve gotten smarter over the months. Assembly line card making is what keeps us going. This card was the one I made for July’s feminine birthdays.

I used one of my favorite CTMH sets – Friendship Blessings – for the patterned paper. Yes, I made my own! Not hard to do, just a bit of random stamping and two step stamping. And let me tell you, two step stamping is a BREEZE with clear acrylic stamps.

I also used CTMH Cupcake Sprinkles for the "Celebrate" and obviously, the cute cupcake image. And I used my all time favorite sentiment stamp set – CTMH’s For Every Occasion – for the "Happy Birthday". Colors were Garden Green and Hollyhock – both first and second generation colors.

Yeah, see that punch detail? How cool is that? It’s one of Fiskars newer punch releases, the Fiskars Embossing Border Punch Eyelet Lace. Yes, it embosses as well as punches. Pretty nifty. Makes a big impression with very little work.

So, there you have it – lots of cards in a short amount of time. The secret? Assembly line card making.

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What a Great Father’s Day Gift!

Candy — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:11:30 +0000

I only wish I’d thought of it first.

Got some of these??

You HAVE to check out AlphaMom’s post on altered Altoid tin toolboxes – absolutely so stinkin’ cute!! What a great idea for all those tins I have wandering around the house!

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Tool Tuesday: Paint Shop Pro

Candy — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:11:16 +0000

Yea! I remembered Tool Tuesday! LOL!

Okay, I’m NOT a digital scrapper. I think its very cool, but its just not my thing. However, I DO use Paint Shop Pro (PSP). I use PSP for editing my pictures for clarity and special effects. (Okay, yeah – sometimes I have to ‘fix’ my pictures also. Hey. we’re not all professional photographers.)

PSP is remarkably easy to use and has a low learning curve – trust me on this. You can do amazing things with PSP. My favorite action is the "One Step Photo Fix". It fixes a wide variety of oops-es with only one click. So very cool! My husband and I are the official amateur photographers for our church directory. We’ve taken over 100 photos so far and we use the "One Step" action as well as the "Skin Smoothing" action. Easy peasy and with big results.

So, I found an *awesome* deal on PSP! From now until December 1, 2008 only, you can purchase Paint Shop Pro X2 for only $39.99! That’s 50% off the regular price *and* you get free shipping! Seriously, this is a smashing deal!

Just click on this link for Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 and get a great early Christmas gift for you and everyone in your family!

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! Go alter something!

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ATG Problems?

Candy — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:39:19 +0000

Just a quick disclaimer…I received this information 3rd hand, so keep that in mind. I *adore* my ATG and have never had a single problem with it, but I know there have been a few issues with some of the newer guns. Maybe this will help…

October 15, 2008–I spoke with the 3M rep and have found out that there is a problem with the mold of the ATG guns, this has affected mostly the red 714 guns, but also some yellow 700 guns. 3M has asked all distributors of the ATG guns to stop shipping their stock and have been asked to return whatever they had in stock. 3M has ordered a brand new mold of the adhesive guns and will have new guns available the week of November 3, 2008 at the earliest.

The defective guns were manufactured starting in January 2008, some of the issues you might have experienced are tightening of the adhesive as you use the gun, it just not rolling right etc… If you believe you have a defective gun, 3M is going to work with you on this–starting Thursday October 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm CST you can call 1-888-936-3636. 3M will take your information and will send you a prepaid envelope to return your defective gun. As soon as the new guns are available they will they will ship it to you as well as a roll of adhesive for your troubles–make sure you completely fill out the form that they will send with the envelope

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Tool Tuesday: The Internet!

Candy — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:06:54 +0000

Well, whaddyaknow? It’s Tuesday and I actually remembered to post a Tool Tuesday post! Miracles do happen…

Okay, today I’m talking about one huge tool, but focusing on only one very small aspect of it. (I may revisit other areas of it later…) The internet. The world wide web. The web is truly an amazing phenomenon. And for inspiration, tutorials, how-tos, and templates there is no better place to look.

It will be way to hard to narrow down the internet to one post, so I’ll just list some of my favorites.

Altered Inspiration/Papercrafting

Blogs

Tutorials/How-Tos

Okay, truth time. You want to know what I do most of the time? I go to You Tube or Veoh and search for CTMH, stamping, etc. I get a lovely assortment of how-tos with step by step instructions.

Templates

Time for Crafting

By Donovan

Mirkwood

So, there you have it. All my creative secrets – well, not all of them. But a good library of where I get ideas and inspiration from.

Thanks for stopping by! Go alter something!

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Tool Tuesday: How to Load an ATG

Candy — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:48:28 +0000

(Trying something new – look for the spotlight on one of my favorite tools here every Tuesday in Tool Tuesday…)

So, I mentioned my love affair with my ATG. One of the issues that many people seem to have (after getting over the size of it) is how to load it. It really isn’t as hard to load as one might think. I had to reload my ATG recently and took some pictures of the process to help you along…

Okay, this is the ATG totally out of adhesive.

Opening the ATG is super easy. Just push and lift on the release latch.

Here it is open. Notice that all the used tape is on the right and there is an empty spool on the left…

The first step after opening the ATG is to remove the cover from the take-up reel. Simply follow the arrow directions on the cover. Then remove the used tape liner. (This is a bunch of fun for the kiddos to play with!)

Just set the take-up reel cover aside.

Remove the old adhesive roll core. This can be thrown away.

Yep! This is what a brand new roll of Scotch 3M ATG Gold 908 looks like. Look at all that fabulous adhesive!

Okay, just put the new roll on. You may have to wiggle this a bit, but you’ll feel it ‘lock’ into place.

Once it’s on the roll, it’s time to thread it around the rollers. Again, Scotch 3M has made it easy – there are directional arrows printed everywhere! Just follow them.

Once it’s threaded, feed the end of it through the take up reel. I feed it in and out (see picture) to insure it remains secure.

Time to replace the cover for the take-up reel. Turn this opposite the way it came off.

Close the cover and you’re done! You’ll be amazed how long one roll of ATG adhesive lasts!

Update: You can now view a flash video demonstration of How To Load An ATG.

Thanks for stopping by! Go alter something!

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Oh how I love my ATG!

Candy — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:22:54 +0000

Scotch ATG 700 – Adhesive Applicator Gun – Uses One Half Inch OR Three Fourth Inch Adhesive

Okay, I just think the ATG by Scotch 3M is maybe the most amazing adhesive EVER! I’ve had this little beauty for 2 years now and I am still amazed by it.

I am a former adhesive junkie. I had at least one of every kind of adhesive that was made for papercrafters, a few that were "borrowed" from other crafts, and some that were strictly ‘office’ adhesives. Seriously – I needed a storage cabinet just for my adhesives! It was way out of hand. Then I heard of this "new" adhesive. An ATG. Long lasting adhesive that actually *stuck*. The size of the dispenser was huge, but I was told it didn’t matter. Hmm…I was definitely intrigued. After doing a comparison of costs, I was more than intrigued – I wanted one!

A quick search of the Internet revealed a definite price scale. The cheapest price was, oddly enough, found in a neighboring town (remember I live in a tiny town in the mountains). A friend happened to be in the area. I called her and she (great friend she is) agreed to go pick up one for me.

Fast forward 2 years and I’m still using it and love it! I’m a reformed adhesive junkie with a few select adhesives now, for when I need a specialty bond.

My adhesive of choice? The ATG!

Why? Many reasons…

1) It actually STICKS! If you’ve ever poured your heart into a project, only to have it come undone or find elements of a scrapbook page at the bottom of a page protector, you understand what I mean. Ever give a card and as you’re putting it in the envelope an embellishment comes off? Yeah, you know who you are…

2) It’s acid free! At least the refill I choose is. I use the ATG Gold 908 refill. I’ve seen dissenting opinions on this – some say that since the ATG was originally designed for framers, all of the adhesive is photo-safe and fine. I’ve also heard (from the source I purchased mine from) that the only adhesive that is truly acid-free is the Gold 908. I’ve tried both refills and honestly prefer the adhesive qualities of the 908. So I pay a few more cents for the "guaranteed" acid-free refill and don’t worry about it.

3) You can’t lose it in ‘creative clutter’. No, seriously – in the midst of a creating frenzy, you always know where your adhesive is when you use one of these!

4) In a pinch, you can make your own glue dots. Just take the gun and run it over the palm of your hand, wad it up and voila! A makeshift glue dot.

5) The price! Yes, the dispenser does cost more up front, but the savings are quickly realized. The cost per yard of the ATG adhesive is almost negligible. And you can save even more if you buy in bulk.

I have the ATG 700, which is the yellow gun. It applies adhesive in 1/2" or 3/4" strips. Another choice is the ATG 714, which applies 1/4" adhesive. The choice is truly a personal decision – buy whichever makes you happy.

Thanks for stopping by! Go alter something (with your ATG)!

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Love my Bind It All!

Candy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:00:50 +0000

Here’s a simple project to make – a coloring book! Our 5 year old loves princesses of any kind. I love her being quiet and respectful during church. The answer? A personalized coloring book we can add to at any time.

If you don’t have a Bind-It-All, you need one! LOL! This is one of my favorite toys, er tools. It allows you to make your own books with very little effort.

This little book has Basic Grey paper from the Oh Baby! Girl set, a random fiber I had laying around and a tag from the same Basic Grey set. All I did was cover 2 pieces of chipboard with the patterned paper and bind them together along with some coloring sheets (of princesses, of course) that I printed off the internet. The hardest part of the whole process? Finding and printing the coloring pages. Seriously!

Thanks for visiting! Go alter something!

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