Monday, February 28, 2022

What I'm Working On (Crafty)

 Hey Y'all!

Here's what I've been working on this past month:

I've been posting 3-4 times a week on TikTok (@craftinwife), and I share them on YouTube shorts as well.

Everything on TikTok is crafting related, an brand specific. The YouTube channel is a mix of both craft & makeup, similar to this blog.

I've also started a marketing class, specifically Digital Marketing, and that's going well. Me being me decided one course wasn't enough, and I decided to add an inkscape course as well. 

I shared the mockups in the February Shop blog post, but here are all the items I added to Smoky Mountains Hand Made Creations:






Color Changing Cups! I took these pictures on top of a cold surface, and as you can see they're all starting to change color.




Peeps!




Have Faith Plus Size L/S Tees.

Work in Progress on the Chillin' with my Peeps Tees.

My vendor tags.


Store setup this month!

Next I did some "merch" for my nephew & his friend:


These were fun to do, and the boys had a clear idea of what they wanted. I enjoyed working with them.


After that I did some decals, I played around a bit, and added all these to the store:





It took me a few tries to get the Hot Mess Express looking how I wanted, but personally I like it without the center pieces of the letters, I think it looks more of a "hot mess" and lends itself to the design theme.

Currently I'm working on this:
Yes, another Craft Room Clean up/Organize/Declutter is in progress.


Working on this right now for my front door!


I do have a few more special orders I'm working on:

This one is for a local realtor, she wants KY and TN on a canvas with hearts over their hometowns. We're still in the design phase on that, but this is the general idea we've got going.

I have two other orders, one is a basketball shirt, and the design is already squared away, this is a repeat customer and she gives me a lot of creative freedom with style and color choices. Lastly is a custom tee, I'm going to use some of the color changing HTV...the design is country music inspired, but that's all I'm sharing about it for now, so check my Instagram, and TikTok to see when I finish that one, I'm excited for it!

Y'all this craft room is a mess.. I have vinyl everywhere! I'm about an hour in to this and so far I've finally got the printer off the floor, cleaned out the closet, and freed up a bit of desk space but moving the silhouette to the closet. Under the desk is the biggest declutter that's about to happen... so much stuff I'm not using. It needs to go to someone who will use it, and I need the space. I'll post a blog when it's all finished!

What are you currently working on? (It doesn't have to be craft related.) Share in the comments below!






Friday, February 25, 2022

Bonus Friday Blog!

 Hey Y'all!

I'm working on perfecting custom/personalized apparel and would love your input, if you could spare a few minutes:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScARDrp3GVqascSp61hFj10zTeoLf125Oi30KoPjfke8NEMAA/viewform?usp=sf_link


Thanks!

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife


Mine's all shades of PURPLE!

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

200 Get To Know Me Questions (101-125)

 Hey Y'all!


It's been awhile since I've done one of these. As a reminder I'm working my way through the questions found here:  https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a22500573/questions-to-ask-to-get-to-know-someone/

I don't look at any of these questions beforehand. When I chose to do these last year I skimmed the webpage, and picked this set because it seemed like there was a good variety of questions.

Previous Blogs:

https://craftinwifescreations.blogspot.com/2021/08/200-get-to-know-me-questions-1-25.html

https://craftinwifescreations.blogspot.com/2021/09/200-get-to-know-me-questions-26-75.html

https://craftinwifescreations.blogspot.com/2021/10/200-get-to-know-me-questions-51-75.html

https://craftinwifescreations.blogspot.com/2021/11/200-get-to-know-me-question-76-100.html


Here we go!

101. How much time do you spend with your family? Not enough, we try to get together at least once or twice a month for my immediate family. We try to visit hubby's at least once a year.


102. Who do you most like spending time with and why? Each person is fun, and unique.


103. Which family member makes the best food? Either Mom. Hands down. (Marcas is a very close 2nd.)


104. How has your opinion of your family changed over the years? I think I didn't realize growing up how shit some people were (not my immediate family).


105. If you’re close with your family, what’s the hardest part about spending time away from them? I'm not that close, we're all grown and got other stuff going on too. For Hubby's side it's hard not being there often enough to really see the kids growing up.


106. Do you wish you had a bigger family, or are you happy with its current size? More sisters, and some brothers may have been nice, but it's not like I wished for more growing up. Outside of our little unit the family is pretty big. Hubby's family is a good size too!


107. Which family member has had the greatest impact on you? I won't name names, but I saw how one family member had absolutely nothing their entire life, do to mistakes/choices of their own making, I knew that was not a road I even wanted to try.


108. What does your family’s last name mean? (Look it up if you don’t know!) Maiden name~ 1 archaic : merchant, trader. 2 British : peddler.

Married name~ remote or distant territory.


109. Who’s the best gift-giver in your family? It was Dad.


110. What’s your favorite story about your grandparents? This is going to sound so sad, but on my Dad's side they really weren't "together" people. I have memories/stories I love of them separately, but other than Holidays and family get togethers they didn't do anything together. (They lived 30min or less from us 'til I was 8, then it was still only an hour.)

My Mom's parents split up way before I was born, and though I don't know much of the story I know enough, and never met the man. Love Granny though, we'd visit her yearly since she lived a state away.


111. Have you ever mapped out your family tree? I tried in the early days of all those ancestry websites, never got far though.


112. Were you close with your family growing up? My immediate family yeah. Dad's side growing up, I'd say yeah. Mom's side kinda, they all lived in another state for the most part.


113. How do you define your family now? IDK, spread out.


114. What traits are most important to you in your family members? This question is odd.


115. Who in your family makes you feel the safest? Mom.


116. Do you want a family of your own? Nope.


117. Have you ever been to a family reunion? To my knowledge we don't do those... that or I'm not invited LOL.


118. If you could change your relationship with a family member, would you? If so, with whom? Naw, I'm good.


119. What was it like growing up as the youngest/oldest/middle/only child? Oldest. There were only 2 of us, so it was fine. I imagine in a large family it'd suck being the built in babysitter.


120. Does your family ever take trips together? Yep. We did then, and still do.


121. What’s your favorite family memory? The goat on Christmas Morning. 

Long story short:

Sis and I woke up to a goat on the front porch on Christmas morning, we did not ask Santa for a goat. We woke Dad, and he didn't believe us. Said it must be a large dog or something. It was a goat. He spent the next week looking for the goat's home. No one claimed her. We got a goat for Christmas. Sis named her Missy. She'd play with us, chase the dogs and eat the trees.


122. What TV family most reminds you of your own? None...


123. Do you ever wish you were raised differently? I mean sure, but then I wouldn't be who I am.


124. What’s the best piece of advice a family member has given you? YOLO.


125. Do you wish you had more siblings? If so, why? You done did ask this.


That's it!

Have a great day,

Craftin'Wife


Monday, February 21, 2022

My Crafting Favorites!

  Hey Y'all!

Today I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite craft products! I'm going to try to limit it to 3 items or less, from each of the following categories: tools, vinyl, markers, stamps, youtuber, SVG site, & Dollar Tree items, and more.


Tools~

1) Cricut Explore Air 2 (and I still use my Explore One, just as often). My business and personal crafting couldn't run without my Cricut. Just check out any of Cricut's social media, or their website to see all this line of machines has to offer. 


2) No matter the craft, a good pair of scissors is a must! My favorite are Fiskars Power Cut Shears. Absolutely the best I've ever used. From their website:

 Optimized for size, power and precision, Fiskars® PowerCut(TM) Shears (8 in.) feature innovative, patent-pending, strength-enhancing curved blades for up to 2X more cutting power. Premium, heavy-duty, stainless steel blades power through challenging materials like cardboard, cork, decorative metals, leather and more, making it just the right tool for all your home décor DIY project needs. A serrated edge makes it easier to grip slippery materials, while advanced ergonomic handles are sculpted to fit your hand for unmatched comfort. Additional Softgrip® touchpoints enhance comfort and control, while a protective sheath keeps blades safe during storage and travel.

Vinyl & HTV~

It's really hard to limit myself to just 3 in this category! I need to do an "All My Vinyl" blog soon, so y'all can see.

1) Craftables has vinyl like I've never seen! Velvet, Glow in the Dark, Color Changing, Puff, etc. So many possibilities. I love that they're super affordable, and the company is in Tennessee! I wish they had a stronger social media presence (y'all hiring??) but they do have a very active private facebook group, the admin is fantastic, but I don't see the brand posting much (like not since 2018).



2) Siser EasyWeed is a bit more expensive than other brands, but it is very easy to work with. It's also very easy to find, most anywhere that carries vinyl will have Siser. They have a huge variety of colors, and patterned vinyl, especially seasonally and for every holiday.

3) Oracal 651 is a permanent vinyl available in so many different colors! It's easy to cut, and weed, and is very durable. 


Markers, Paint, Pencils~

1) Markers- Spectrum Noir, if you've seen any of my previous coloring blogs, you know Spectrum are my favorite markers. I like a brush tip, and they are cheaper than the other brand, and don't bleed quite as much as Copics either.



2) Paint- Pretty much anything made by Plaid serves all my painting needs. They have an immense variety of paint options, and still are remarkably affordable!



3) Pencils- Tombow Colored Pencils, I was gifted these in a Holiday giveaway in 2020 and they are fantastic. Great pigmentation, easily blended, and they're sturdy. They sharpen easily, and don't "crumble" like some other pencils do.

Stamps, Ink, etc.~

There are way to many stamp brands out there to pick a favorite, check out some smaller owned companies, they're putting out fantastic innovative new stuff. I will shout out a few of them below:

1) Jane's Doodles always putting out great stuff! Check out her Instagram here.


2) Newton's Nook Designs, they have adorable stamps for every occasion, and every theme!


3) For ink I really only use one of 2 brands.. VersaFine (or anything under the Tsukineko umbrella) or Stampin' Up.


YouTuber~

I've learned a lot of tips, tricks, and how-to from these 3 YouTube pages. ( So hard to limit to three, but I have done a my favorite YouTuber's blog in the past.)

1) https://www.youtube.com/c/MakersGonnaLearn

2) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCteOkDMPlUTXvLazgsPoJ1Q

3) https://www.youtube.com/c/DesignBundles


SVG Sites~

1) I'd be failing if I didn't mention my affiliate with Love SVG first!  https://lovesvg.com/ref/CraftinWIfe/ Coupon Code: NTVIRHFAWF for 20% off!

Be sure to check out their expansive FREE section as well! They add to it frequently.

2) Design Bundles has everything you could possibly ever want/need. SVG's, Sublimation, Mockups, Procreate Brushes, Clip Art, Fonts, Embroidery files, and so so much more. 
Their Dollar Deal Event is this Wednesday 2/23/22!

3) Creative Fabrica has so much to offer as well. SVG's, Classes, Graphics, Cross Stitch, Knitting, Crochet, and much more.


Dollar Tree Item~

I love that they are continually expanding the Crafter's Square section of the store!



1) Wood Sign Blanks, like this, and many more in store.

2) Cutting Machine Tools, like these scrapers. I've also seen weeding tools, and a rotary cutter. Much less expensive than name brand.


3) Foam Adhesive/Pop Dots, are especially handy in card making, and Dollar Tree has a good sized package for $1. (Currently the price in my local stores.)


I've shared some of my other favorites in the blog mentioned (and linked) above, but I want to know what are YOUR favorites? Let me know in the comments below!


Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

January/February Empties

 Hey Y'all!

Surprisingly I have very few (only two) empties for the past month:




1) LA Colors Lip Oil~ I'd give this a 1 out of 5. Most of that is because it's so cheap, and still functions, kinda. This is for the Dollar Tree version, I haven't tried their website version, it's $3.50 USD and has gold flakes, both versions are scented. It works well and isn't too glossy, or slippery, it's okay in the hydration department. The main drawback, is that by the time I get to the last bit (about 1/8th or so) it's gotten a bit gross looking in the tube, and I toss it. Maybe it's lipstick, maybe it's dead skin, I don't know it's just gross. *This has happened 2 out of  3 times. I wanted to see if it's happen again, and with it only being a dollar (our DT hasn't increased the price yet) it was worth the risk. I thought I was in the clear, the first one did it with around 1/4 left, and the second one was fine. This one faired a bit better than the first. Not something I plan to try again. (Have a fantastic Lip Oil suggestion? Leave it below!)



2) Bath & Bodyworks Strawberry Pound Cake Fragrance~ I'd give this a 4 out of 5. I really liked the scent, and it lasted FOREVER, I've had this bottle at least a year, probably closer to 2. I still have the body wash and the lotion, but I'm ready to start using something new. (Suggestions? Leave them below!) I guess the packaging has changed, but it is still currently available. I do not know if the fragrance has changed.
This is from their site:

What it smells like: the sweet, airy treat you love.

Fragrance notes: fresh strawberries, golden shortcake and whipped cream.

That sound identical to the packaging I have, so I'd reason the actual product has not changed.


What's your favorite fragrance?  Share in the comments below!


Have a great day,
Craftin' Wife




Monday, February 14, 2022

Happy Valentine's Day! Creating a Gift Box with Cricut

 Hey Y'all!

Happy Valentine's Day! Today I'm creating a Pillow Box with my Cricut.

For this project you will need:

Cricut

Scoring Wheel or Scoring Stylus


Paper of your choice (I'd recommend a medium weight Cardstock. I used Scrapbook Paper for this, and I think it just wasn't thick enough to work with.)

Adhesive (I like an ATG.)

Cricut Image~ Pillow Box #M45558 (I chose this one because it's a free design.)



1) Load Image into Design Space, and size how you'd like. I did go larger and do roughly 6.5in by 10in. for mine. (I think because I used paper it turned out more like a puffy envelope than what I'd call an actual box.)


2) Adhere your cardstock to your mat. I used my blue mat, because currently it's newer and stickier than either of my green mats.  *I didn't mention this tool above, and it's not completely necessary to do this (or any) project, but the brayer tool works extremely well for getting the material to adhere to the mat without issue. The one I use is a Speedball brayer, the brand is more commonly known for screen printing supplies. I got mine at a church yard sale for about $1.


3) Put your scoring tool in clamp A if you haven't already done so.(Blade in B.)


4) Load the mat into the machine, follow the prompts.




5) Unload the material, and peel off the mat.




6) Fold the score lines. (I took a video here, but the light and phone were in my way, so nothing was really visible.)


7) Assemble! Add the adhesive on one side of the flaps, stick them together. Then stuff with goodies and adhere the remaining flap(s).


As I said before, I really think I needed to use an actual cardstock instead of paper, but I think the box is cute for a few little notes and a handful of candy.


What kind of tutorials would you like to see next (Cricut, or crafting in general)? Should I re-do the box with cardstock/thicker paper? Let me know in the comments below!


Have a great day, 

Craftin' Wife