Thrifty Thursday: How to clean your clear stamping blocks.

Thrifty Thursday happens almost every Thursday and it's my way to contribute with some tips and techniques that will not bankrupt your pocket book. So be sure to follow my blog so you can see when I post a new money saver tip. Now on, for today's tip...

I was recently playing with my newest Prima and Technique Tuesday stamps and found that my acrylic blocks were just too dirty that I couldn't see through them. I know, that sounds awful! But sometimes I have to decide if I am going to clean and organize or scrap and create something!

Anyway, I had read somewhere that you could use a Magic Eraser to clean them. I didn't believe it until I tried it.

Here are the before photos:



Here are the after photos:



My observations:

you don't need a lot of elbow grease. Gently rub the sponge and it will erase all the permanent ink you might have on your acrylic blocks. I use a lot of Black Staz On ink and you can't get that off with just water and soap, but Magic Eraser will do it. If you rub the sponge to hard it will erase the grid lines of your block, so go easy on them!

Let me know how you like you newly cleaned blocks. :)

Tereza

Digital and Hybrid Scrapbooking: is it worth the money?

A few months ago my husband made a huge investment (huge for me that don't like to spend more than $100 at a time on anything) and bought us an Adobe Suite. It has the famous Photoshop program as well as other programs for making illustration and other digital work. It is a fantastic software. Of course, as anything computer wise, you need to invest time on it, to learn how to use it. I have been slowly learning it and incorporating it into my card making, scrapbooking, altering art.

If you would like to see what I have been making please check out my other blog. Under the Digital ART label you will find the posts where I am showcasing my treasured creations.

Although your initial investment to go digital may be greater than with traditional scrapbooking, the good thing about it is that your resources never end. Let me explain. How many times have you bought a favorite paper collection and after using it on a couple of projects they were gone? You either went and bought more to use it again, or to hoard it so that you would always have it. :)

Well with digital, you have it forever (unless your hard drive crashes and you didn't back up the files. That's another story for another day!) anyway... as long as you have a printer so you can print your digital file or a screen where you can see it, you will have your digital papers, brushes, embellishments forever.

Now for a paper hoarder like me, that is HEAVEN!!! So I am definitely a Hybrid scrapbooker. Now, go take a look at some of the things I have already created and get inspired.

I will be sharing some of my knowledge as I discover more and more of the wonderful digital world!! So, have you dared into the digital world yet?

Would love to hear from you. :)

Tereza

Think long term instead of instant reward.

ok, so I am always trying to save a buck, right? Now, with so many tools, gadgets and the newest electronic devices that will cut, emboss and whatnot your papers, acrylics, chipboard and more, it is really hard not to fall prey of every trend that comes around.

If you got tons of money and storage space, then go ahead and indulge. But if you are like me, you don't have the extra money to spend on this hobby and your craft room is over flowing with stuff.

So, whenever I want to buy something new, I follow these steps:

1) It needs to be in my budget. I cannot go into debt because of it.
2) I research prices, specifications, reviews and whatnots about the product. I wait. I never buy something immediately. Usually it takes me months to make a big purchase. If I am convinced that I still want it, I go to step 3.
3) It needs to be something I will use again and again. I will not fall for an impulse purchase to buy a gadget that will sit and gather dust. So, if I have to, I will try to see it in action, ask people that have it what do they use it for, how often, what are the expenses with replacements etc etc.
4) So after all that, I can tell you that the most expensive thing I own that I use DAILY in my craft is my computer, my trimmer and my punches. LOL

How about you?? what is the most expensive gadget you got? and do you use it EVERY TIME you sit down to craft??

Love to hear your comments. :)

Tereza

Getting rid of Blood Stains

I know that Blood stains has very little to do with scrapbooking, but there is a verse in the Bible that says "My people perish for lack of knowledge". How many times have you wished you just knew that one piece of information that could have saved your day??

So the other day, my husband was running late getting ready for work and I heard him in the bathroom having a hard time. He cut himself while shaving and the cut would not stop bleeding. He got more and more aggravated as his brand new shirt got stained with blood and he kept putting pressure on the cut trying to make the bleeding stop. He got his second shirt stained again with blood and was rapidly losing his patience.

Finally I told him to lay down on the bed and calm down. He finally did, the bleeding somewhat stopped and we were able to put a band-aid on his chin. So I made him change his shirt again. All the while he kept complaining that I was going to have to wash all those blood stained shirts. I told him not to worry about them, I wasn't going to throw them in the washing machine. A little cold water and scrubbing in the bathroom sink and they would be squeaky clean again.

He left for work and a couple of hours later after I had fed the children and somewhat organized the house I went back to the bathroom.

Now, this is where you need to store this piece of information in your hard drive (your head) and next time you are faced with this problem you will know what to do.

The best way to get rid of blood stains is to get the area wet with COLD water. Not hot or warm water, COLD water otherwise the stain will set. After the area is wet, scrub the stain. With your hands formed into fists as you grab the cloth, scrub it against itself, like our ancestors used to do when there was no washing machines. Scrub, rinse with cold water, scrub again, rinse. It should take you a couple of minutes and the stain will disappear. No need for laundry detergent, or any other chemical, or soaking to get rid of the stain.

I squeezed the wet area and hung the shirts back in the closet to dry. After they were completely dry there was no sign of the blood stain, or yellowing of any kind. :)

Now, it's important that you don't let the stain set on the fabric. You can probably wait a couple of hours to scrub the stain off, but don't soak your blood stained garments in water in the bathroom sink all day. Take a couple of minutes and get rid of it right away!! I heard this technique will work with wine and other foods that will stain fabric. So make sure to try it out!! :)

I hope that piece of information saves your day some day!!! :)

Tereza