Deadbeat Designs

I Do Not Scrapbook

I do not scrapbook. But I think it's great that other people do. Other people with more time. Other people who have big events to commemorate. My memories will just have to stay in my head instead of in a book on my coffee table. At the moment, I don'e even have a coffee table.

Anyway, since there is a scrapbook convention in the Dallas area next week and both Stamp Asylum and Googly Eyes are there showing my new stamps, I thought I'd make some samples. I hear over and over that scrapbookers aren't rubber stampers. That may be because most scrapbook stores usually only carry those crappy clear cling stamps. Nothing beats a good wood-mounted red rubber stamp!

Instead of buying the same printed scrapbook paper that everyone else has, you can make your own with rubber stamps! Here I used several, all stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa. Since you're going to put a lot of crap - I mean SCRAP on top, the background is just the background. You don't have to obsess over it.

And here's the perfect page to display the pics from your bluebonnet road trip. I've seen printed bluebonnet scrapbook paper but it looks cheap and tacky. And if you are a company that produces cheap, tacky bluebonnet scrapbook paper, it's just my opinion, ok?

But it's also true.

I've seen a few decent western style papers but they are few and far between. Maybe because there aren't any of the major scrapbook companies in Texas. Let's face it... if you don't want your picante sauce to come from New Jersey, why would you want your Texas-themed scrapbook paper to come from California or Utah? So why not make it yourself and get what you want? More background stamping this time with Memento Rich Cocoa, Rhubarb Stalk and Potter's Clay.

Mainly it's about making your scrapbook original. You can find the typical selection at the dreaded Michael's/Hobby Lobby but think how fun it will be to make your scrapbooking friends wonder where you got your amazing paper!

On this one I masked off the different areas to get some wide stripes and dragged some ink across - Memento Paris Dusk and Rhubarb Stalk.

So be sure and check out both booths at the Arlington convention! And while you're in the area, visit their stores as well!

Next post - no Texas!

En Fuego

Just in case the world had ended on Saturday, I didn't make any long term blog plans but since it seems to be spinning around just fine I guess I have to come up with something. I don't think I've done this fire tutorial before but if I have, just pretend you've never seen it, ok? Stamping fire comes in handy - you know, just in case you want to send a card from the depths of hell...

or invite someone to a barbeque...

or tell someone they're hot...

or suggest that they have too many candles on their birthday cake.

You'll notice that the fire stamp has two sides. For the first and second layers you'll be using the longer flames. I used Memento pads because I really think they are the best but any dye-based pad will work almost as well. I think pigment pads look funny when you stamp a color on top of another color - not funny 'ha ha' either.

Start with yellow - go across the card and don't worry too much about getting it just perfect since the next three layers will hide any imperfections. As you can see, mine aren't aligned perfectly but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Next, add some orange but move the stamp down a little. Also it looks better to avoid stamping directly under the first layer. Move it over a little so the flames don't look like they are on top of each other.

For the red and purple layers, you'll flip the stamp over and use the short flames. Why mot just keep using the long flames? Well, you've paid for the whole stamp so you might as well use it! Again. move the stamp down a little and line the flames up across the card.

Finally the purple layer is really just barely there but makes a big difference. You can also use a dark blue but I think purple is the way to go. But purple is almost always the way to go if you ask me.

If you want to stamp something on fire, you can either mask some of the yellow flames or just lightly ink the bottom of whatever you are stamping so that it looks like it fades out.

Then again, I dug this out of a box of old samples and I clearly didn't bother fading or masking at all. The alphabet if from the late, great Curtis Uyeda. I don't really remember making this and I don't even know what you'd do with it - clearly, since it's been in a box for several years.

... and I put it right back in the box after it's photo shoot.

Judgment Day

Well, it's Saturday, May 21. According to some people, the world ends today so I figured I had better get one more post in. I know you might think these people are nuts but if you think about it, doesn't every religion require their followers to believe something crazy? So let's not throw stones - at least not until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, for those of you who aren't completely offended and continue to read on....

Here are a couple of new cards with some of the new images that still aren't on the website or in any stores yet. Soon, I think. I hope. Depends on the apocalypse. This one is called Texas Flourish. It's embossed in black and painted with Twinkling H2O's - I hate even typing the word 'twinkling'. The background is all monochromatic in Rich Cocoa Memento and I used a wadded up paper towel to add the leather-like texture.

This quote from Sam Houston is also new. If you don't live in Texas, you probably can't appreciate it but I want to stamp it on everything.

If you live in, for instance,

just off the top of my head,

after an extensive 2 minute Google search of cities with funny names,

Jugville, Kentucky,

you could just not ink the "Texas" part and insert Jugville. Who knows? Maybe Sam visited Jugville and loved it.

Now a few words about this blog.....

Thanks for your comments! I do read them and enjoy most of them - a few negative comments would also be fun but I guess that's not what people do. I really don't take anything personally so even if you commented something really mean, I doubt it would ruin my day. Nor would the type of blogasm that people give Tim Holtz make make me dizzy with glee. Anyway, thanks for the comments and forgive me for not commenting on your blog. I'm busy, ok?

Secondly, if you're new to this blog try not to take me too seriously. I'm just typing whatever pops into my head and usually while enjoying a cocktail. I'm not Hero Arts or [fill in your favorite big stamp company here]. I don't have to follow the same rules as companies that have employees and reputations and who care what other people think. I'm just trying to sell some stamps and have a little fun in the process. Hopefully you'll get some ideas and realize that you can make stuff that's just as good if not better than some of the crap you see here! However, I make a damn good product that sells like crazy so if you don't like it, there might be something wrong with you!

But seriously, a monkey could do my job.

Hope to post more next week if I'm not dealing with the whole 'judgment day' thing. I'm going to be pissed if Oprah's last few shows get preempted...

Texas Tuesday State Of Mind

Happy Texas Tuesday! I think it's also Tina's birthday (or was it yesterday?) so be sure and drop by and wish the 'old' girl well! Now on with the cards....

First, the new Texas State of Mind is embossed with bronze powder. Then I masked off the area for the grass and masked again to stipple a darker green for the shadow. This also focuses your attention toward the center of the card. I stamped the Cartoon Clouds and then the new Texas Balloon which is colored with pencils and cut out and popped up with foam tape. I masked the clouds and stippled some light blue and a little lavender for the sky and went back with a little colored pencil to shade.

Then I had this brilliant idea - perfect to spread a little Texas around! Marvy Markers for the Multiple Texas stamp. See the red one on the far left? Guess I slobbered a little when I 'huffed' - Oh well, spit happens!

 

And lastly, now you can fill your Tree For All Reasons with mini Texas shapes! Apparently Texas A & M doesn't have enough to do so they've genetically altered the bluebonnet to be in their school color of maroon so I wonder why they haven't yet developed a tree with Texas-shaped leaves? Come on people - get busy! I used red, blue and silver for the Texas leaves and the cut out the base of the Texas State of Mind. Actually, you could have varying states of mind by cutting out the 'TEXAS' part. I'm not sure what an Idaho or Rhode Island state of mind would look like so I'll leave that to someone else.

Yes, these are NEW images and are so new they are not available yet. I was badgered and brow-beaten by Stamp Asylum and Googly Eyes to make some new stuff for The Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington in a few weeks. They will both be there with all of the new stuff so be sure and stop by and say "HI!" - I'll be playing tennis or taking a nap or trimming my toenails that weekend and won't be able to attend. All the new stuff will eventually get around to the other Texas stores as well as my website which is being rebuilt and will debut soon! 

And finally, thanks to all who weighed in with their backsplash ideas. I still haven't completely made up my mind so until then, this is my $20 solution. I bought a 10' roll of galvanized metal from Home Depot and some cheap trim. It was pretty easy to cut to size and even the hole for the outlet wasn't too difficult - if you want to give this a try, be sure to have band-aids on hand because there are sharp edges everywhere! I didn't like the cheap galvanized surface so I sanded the whole thing which gives it a brushed look. Tack it up, trim it out and voila - a $20 backsplash in under 2 hours! And if I get bored, I may break out the alcohol inks and see what happens!

I know this isn't going to be the most popular choice but I've just about decided to mirror the backsplash. I know it may look dated, but I rather liked the late seventies/early eighties and as for reflecting only torsos... well, my torso might be my best feature! And maybe a strategically placed mirror will keep it that way!

Kitchen Opinion

Well, since I don't have anything else to post today I thought I'd throw in some pics of my new kitchen. First, some old pics. I'm sorry that I didn't take any of how it looked when I moved in. Imagine everything covered in contact paper - EVERYTHING! Fruit prints... very large. And I bought it anyway!

First I took off the nasty cabinet doors and peeled all of the contact paper off every surface. Disgusting.

I eventually added some orange paint and a corrugated metal backsplash... including the tinsnips the whole thing cost $20. It turned out well enough - fun, funky and relatively cheap. But what you can't see in the photo is the uneven counter, disgusting sink and rotting lower cabinets.

So I had it gutted and replaced everything - even had the sink moved and added a dishwasher. Took up the cheap old laminate and put in a dark engineered wood floor which will eventually go throughout the whole house. I did a lot of the work myself but paid (dearly) for the plumbing and electrical work and decided to save my knees and let someone else do the floor.

The random objets d'art are not necessarily permanent but the 'm' provides a nice orange glow at night. It may eventually hang on the wall.

Cabinets from Ikea.

White Corian countertop with integrated sink.

Floor by Lumber LIquidators.

Carpet tiles from Flor.com.

Black appliances - I considered stainless but couldn't get beyond the smudges and I saved a ton of money on the black.

Every woman I asked said to avoid the side by side refrigerator. Apparently there is an issue with fitting large trays or other larger items inside. However, this one cost significantly less and I've never in my life had the burden of refrigerating a large tray of anything! I like the idea of a pull out drawer but I'm 6'3" and the idea of bending over to reach the vodka isn't very appealing!

There's an awkward corner which I'll get around to soon, probably with open shelves. Right now it's perfect for the cat's food and water. 

 

It's just about finished but there are a few details to deal with. At the risk of adding more choices to the mix, I'm going to ask your opinion... but don't be surprised if I don't take it! I sort of think I know what I'm going to do but if I hear a better idea, maybe I'll change my mind.

The issue is the backsplash. As you can see, the back wall needs something. I wanted a solid piece of colored glass but the price is ridiculous so it made me think twice and I don't want to do it myself. I'm not really interested in the typical solutions but on the other hand, I'm hoping NOT to die in this house so it can't be too crazy if I ever expect to sell it. Ideally, whatever I use for the backsplash could be used on the bar but it's not imperative that they match. I want the bar to be different from the counters but again, not too wild.

Another addition will be under cabinet lights which will be motion activated. When I was in Germany, I went into a restroom where the lights automatically came on. Everything was automated which was sort of creepy but also really inventive so I think it will be the perfect solution for those late night trips to the kitchen.

So that's it for now. I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to think about any sort of kitchen issue - not sure that will ever happen!

Friday Foolishness

Happy Friday! I know for most of you, Friday's are sort of a big deal. But there's one every week after all! And you're probably just going to waste the weekend anyway, right? Or maybe that's just me...

Here are a few new old cards I worked on while filling in for Sandy at Stamp Salado this week. She's recovering nicely with the help of her sister and her good friends, Captain Morgan and Jose Cuervo. Hopefully she'll be back at the store soon because working 3 days a week is just about to kill me!

Another So Glad You're My Friend card, this time with Butterfly #3 and Swirl stamps. The swirls are stamped with Memento's Pear Tart and Summer Sky. That's colored pencil on the butterfly and Stickles on top. 

Same idea with the Dragonfly Swirl. More colored pencil for the wings (which are cut out and popped up) and more Stickles on top. The background is made up of the Dragonfly Trio stamp and several Memento pads used directly to paper and a little pink dragged across.

And here they are on the wall - please disregard the stamps from other companies. They are just there to make mine stand out. If your local stamp store doesn't look like this, it just ain't hap'nin'!

I had some of the card stock left over from the dragonfly card, so I used it here. The Dancin' Fools were stamped in Memento's Tuxedo Black and I added a blue floor so they wouldn't look like they were floating. The Large Birthday stamp was colored with pencils and Stickles them cut out and popped up.

And here they are on the shelf.
 

Well that's it. Hope everyone has a nice Mother's Day. I get my mom the same thing every year....

a phone call.

I like to remind her about the time she went missing after a few too many margaritas and how we found her the next morning in the backyard - a deer licking the salt off her lips.

Texas Tuesday Flag

Today's Texas Tuesday post was inspired by one of Deadbeat Designs biggest fans, Phyllis, who sent me this clever card. I love the idea and hate that I didn't think of it first! The Molly Ivins quote fits perfectly both in size and in sentiment and the Texas, Our Texas is the perfect scale for the blue part of the flag. That's black embossing powder and paper piecing on the left and silver ink for the quote which doesn't photograph very well, but it looks good in person. Anyway, I think the concept is terrific and now I'm thinking about what else I can make into a flag!

All good ideas should be copied and in the process, you'll probably end up changing them here and there to make them your own. For instance, I had silver embossing powder on my cluttered desk so rather than look for the black, I just used a darker blue card stock and went with silver. I was too lazy to piece the Texas shape so I just colored it with a darker blue Tombow Marker and added some white watercolor for the star. I thought that blue ink would photograph better for the quote and I just couldn't stop myself from adding the red Texas shapes to the red section. I also edged the flag with a silver paint pen. Each section is it's own piece of card stock so if you screw one up, you haven't screwed up the whole card. But that silver edging is a risk! Nothing is more irritating that having an accident on the final touch! So I did mine on a separate piece cut slightly larger than the flag and layered it.

If you aren't familiar with Molly Ivins, you should be! Here's a good place to start. And thanks to Phyllis for the great idea!