An Experiment and a Giveaway!

Have you ever been faced with the problem of too many choices? I know you have, lol! This is what I was dealing with after making some new little collage magnets on formica tags....what to seal them with.

I happen to have 3 different glaze products in my stash:
Diamond Glaze by JudiKins
Royal Coat Dimensional Magic by Plaid
Aleene's Paper Glaze

It just so happened that I had made 3 different collages...so I decided to do a little experiment and figure out, once and for all, which product was the best coating for my magnets. I tried to use the same technique for all three. They were all done in the same place on the same day, right in a row. They had the exact same drying time--I applyed the glaze in the late afternoon and let it dry (untouched) overnight. I checked them early the next morning. All three were properly dry and had a nice smooth feel....no stickiness or gooey spots.

On this first magnet I tried the Aleene's Paper Glaze. It came out of the bottle really thick, I had a hard time getting it to cover the image in a smooth manner. I smoothed it out as best I could and looked for air bubbles, which were difficult to see due to the thickness of the glaze.

What is nice about the thickness is that you don't have to worry about it running over your edges, and you definitely will only need one coat!

This dried nice, but the finish is a little lumpy looking and there are a couple spots where it's apparent that I didn't put the finish on evenly and there are a few air bubbles that didn't pop.

I'd have to give this one a C-.

On this second magnet I tried the Diamond Glaze. It has a really nice consistency out of the bottle, flowed on smoothly and was just thick enough to hold it's edge without running over. I liked the ease of use.

The big problem I had was a lot of air bubbles showed up, even though I was careful to start the flow on scrap paper before applying it to my project and tried to work slowly and keep air out of the procedure. After applying it, blew on the surface to see if the bubbles would pop....nope. I then grabbed a pin and attempted to pop them....nope. Then I gently lifted the piece and dropped it on the table hoping the impact would pop them....nope. The only thing that really worked was to take the tip of the pin push the bubbles to the edge and then off of the project. This actually only worked on the bigger bubbles.

It dried very nicely--I like the glaze this one has. One thing I did notice was that the paper actually lifted off the tag surface along one edge. I'm not sure if that is the glaze's fault or if I didn't glue it down properly (I thought I had??) There are quite a few air bubbles that showed up even though I thought I had most of them. Also, I used a Sharpie marker on the top paper and it bled a bit.

I think there may be a learning curve to using this stuff, I'll have to give this one a C.

The third magnet got the Royal Coat. This also came out of the bottle really nice...a titch thinner than the Diamond Gloss. I put it around the edges and it seemed to hold the edge pretty good (I did have one little spot where it flowed down over the edge) and then proceeded to fill in the center area. It filled very nice. Once filled I checked for air bubbles.... there were only a couple and I was able to pop them with a pin.

This dried very nice, has an almost wet look to it. I like the shine. No problem with air bubbles either! Yeah. I think I've found my product!

This one gets an A.

HOW ABOUT A GIVEAWAY??

So there ya go! I'm thinking that I'll add some ribbon to the top and put a nice magnet on the back and see if any of you lovely Reader's would like to have one of them ??? Warts (bubbles!) and all! LOL If you don't mind a couple bubbles, please just leave me a comment here and I'll have a drawing for each of them (3 names will be drawn). They actually did turn out pretty cute, even if there are some flaws :o)

I'll do the drawing on Friday, May 29th.

Sidewalk Sales!!

Hellooo! I've got good news for all you bargain hunters out there! The Etsy Twitter Team is having a Sidewalk Sales event all this week! We have a wonderful a wonderful variety of sellers involved--I'm sure you will find something to smile about! Just click the pic above and it will bring you to the place with links to all the shops and the sales they are running. Have fun shopping!

Lucky 7 Bird Bag


I am running a FREE SHIPPING Special (on all purchases totalling over $20)---

Free Shipping to anywhere in the US and Half-price Shipping for International packages.

PLUS! each packages will get a special little free "thank you" gift tossed in, because we all love to get a little something extra, right?!

Go ahead and make your purchases, put "Etsy Twitter Rocks" in the note to seller, and I will refund the shipping fees back to your Paypal asap.

Monkeying Around Keychain Wallet

Red Roses for a Blue Birdy

Simply Blue Bird Bag

Pish ** Posh

I've always wanted to do one of those paper banners...and I finally did! Some fancy schmancy new papers, scallop punches, lovely smudgy brown ink, fancy script lettering, and a beautiful variegated ribbon to tie it all together.......

Yes....it says "PISH POSH". I love that saying! Cracks me up.

Daughter: "Mo-ommmm, I don't have anything to wear. Mommy, I just love it when we go shopping together....We NEED to go shopping."

Mom: "Pish Posh"


Son: "Mo-ommm, You are so sweet and loveable and I love you so much!! Do you think you could let me take your car out cruising with my buds...we promise not to crank the stereo and mess with every button in the car..."

Mom: "Pish Posh"

Husband: "Honeeeeey...You are such a doll face and I love you sooooo much. Oh, by the way, I'm thinking of inviting all my buddies over for a "few" beers and cards...do you think you could get the house cleaned, go shopping for food and beer, and then whip up some of your famous tacos?"

Wife: "Pish Posh"

Kitties: "Mew, mew, meow...purr purr, scratch post, wink, meow"

Mom: "Pish Posh"

And, by the way...when did Blogger start making it such a pain in the ARSE to move pictures around?? Did I miss something? Help.

This Happy Mother Got to Craft Today!

Happy Mother's Day to all you beautiful Mother's out there--you are each very special and I hope you got properly spoiled on your special day!!


I actually had a really lovely, mellow day. Went to church and then came home to kids promising to do all my work for me today! Yeah! I headed down to my studio and got some crafting in. I got a new stamp from a special young lady (thank you!) with a sweet little cupcake on it, so I made up some sweet new tags

And then I finished a cute little birdy bag that I've been working on for a while now--which turned out adorable, if I do say so myself! LOL There are lots of happy little birds flying around in Mrs. Kwitty's world--I'd love to introduce you to this little bluebird cutey!

He's taking a loopity little flight through the flowers on his way to where he's going. You see, he knows how important it is to stop and smell the flowers and enjoy the journey. Good advice for us all. ♥♥♥

Stop by and check out the EtsyTwitter Team's newest "Shop of the Week"--SouthPawStudios--beautiful jewelry (and her product photos are just beautiful too!)

Mr. Pickles?

Is it my imagination, or does my Dad look just like the guy from the "Pickles" comic strip?! lol

Where's my Bloggy Mojo?

Hello! Remember me? lol Can someone help me find my blogging mojo? I seem to have lost it! Heck...I've even lost my crafting mojo, it's a mess over here!

I'm so ready to get back into the swing of things again. Today I have another appointment with my orthopedic doctor and hopefully he can get me back in shape...I've had such a problem with my legs the last 3 months which has made it impossible for me to get down to my studio or even stand and walk for more than 10 minutes at a time. Sucks. Seems we treat one problem and another pops up!

~~~~Joe and my Uncle Paul on Joe's Confirmation~~~~

My brother Paul is still battling the cancer and is not having very good time of it--but we are not giving up hope! Keep on praying for him, his miracle is only a prayer away.

~~~~Dad with some of his bros and sis'! ~~~~~

Something wonderful did happen since I spoke to you last though....my Dad came for a visit! I hadn't physically seen my Dad for 13 years! LOL He is so worried about Paul and just felt he needed to come and spend some time with him. We had such a wonderful visit...he stayed for a week and we ended up having lots of get-togethers with family (my Dad is the oldest boy of 17 kids) so lots of Aunts and Uncles and cousins and all that. His visit actually coincided with our son Joe making his Confirmation--that was on the last day of Dad's visit! It was such a treat to have him here. Now I miss him more than ever!

~~~~Dad and Me and the Bros! ~~~~ (that's Paul right next to me) Oh...and by the way, my apparent fatness in this pic is an optical illusion produced by standing next to 3 over 6' skinny guys! LOL I'm actually a little slip of a gal! (haha)

Passing it along...

Just popping in for a quick to share a good giveaway with you! You meet so many truly wonderful people when you are in the crafty business...both in person and online. The same goes with blogging. I received an email the other day from a very lovely gal, Gail, who has been a good customer in my Etsy shop over the last year or two. She informed me that she's having a giveaway to celebrate her 100th blog post **yeah!!** and asked if she could offer something of mine in her drawing! How sweet is that? I am honored and excited to be a part of the celebration :o)

Check it out...stick around and get to know her a little bit, she's a real sweety!
GAIL'S BLOG AND GIVEAWAY Wedded Bliss

I was also asked by Bella at Alpha stamps to help her come up with a couple sample birds for her bird swap--you can read all about it HERE. Make some birds of your own and join in the fun! I've added some pics here of some of the birds I made up for samples for it.
Feedsack Fun Little Brown Wren in the Daisies....this one I made into a collage and it's in my Etsy shop. It contains a quote from Thoreau about following your dreams, it would be a great graduation or inspirational gift.Have a great day!

Yup...still breathing!

Bernard


Hello friends. It's been a while, and I apologize for that. I'm afraid that I've been a bit blue lately and haven't had the urge to write.


Scotty Dogs in the Pink mini memo book cover

Things are going fine around here...hubby's laid off so we have been working on our usual remodel project. This winter we've decided to do 2 projects: Lindsey's room, and a major cleaning and destashing of our kitchen cupboards!


Composition Notebook cover

Linds hasn't had a redo since she was a small girl, so her room was looking a little juvenile for a soon-to-be 16 yo! We just finished the painting --she chose a very bright lime green for the walls, which scared me a bit at first, but really looks good once it's up! lol I just finished making her some cute curtains...we picked out some white fabric with lime green, pink, aqua, and brown dots--so crisp and fun! We also bought her a new mattress set (which she badly needed) . Now we are currently adding the fun stuff--shelves and artwork, etc. I'll post some pics when we get it done.


Next up are the kitchen cupboards...it's gonna be a tough one to get motivated for , but HAS to be done! lol It's to the point where things will actually fall out onto you when you open a door!


Vintage button topped clips


I'm writing this from work so I don't have access to all my pictures, but here are a couple thing that I've listed lately that are also in my Flickr photostream.



Sweetly Blue Bird bag

Well, one last thing. I'd ask you all to keep on praying for my brother Paul. That damn cancer is really giving him a run. I just spoke with him last night and he is feeling pretty sick from the constant treatments, can't eat, and is losing a lot of weight. All prayers are appreciated.

Dang Magnets!

I can find more excuses for being fat than you can shake a (chocolate-covered pretzel) stick at!

See?!! lol Now, get some magnets for your fridge so you can use that wonderful excuse too! Here are some that are available in my Etsy Shop (you know, for your convenience). :oD

Have a great day!

Smooches...Karen

It's not money that makes the world go 'round....

I found this quote from Louise Bogan today and it spoke to me

"In a time lacking in truth and certainty

and filled with anguish and despair,

no woman should be shamefaced

in attempting to give back to the world,

through her work,

a portion of its lost heart."



This is as true today as it has been through all the hard times throughout history. It makes me think of the bright colors of patchwork quilts made with outgrown clothing and feedsacks, & plain rough linens decorated with colorful embroideries, stitched in spare minutes. We still do it today, times are hard and money is scarce...but we still manage to make a loving home, comforting meals, and gifts from the heart.

Here's another quote from the Ladies Home Journal 1932, another lean time in our history

" When money is plenty, it is a man's world. When money is scarce it is a woman's world. When all else seems to have failed, the woman's instinct comes in. She gets the job. That is a reason why, in spite of all that happens, we continue to have a world."