Pinterest Primer (with lots of cool links)

Hi everyone, sorry I missed posting last week, things were a little hectic and just couldn't find time to sit down and put something together.

Am going to San Francisco this morning to pick up my Mom who will stay with us for a week, we are trying to have her stay with us for a week each month.  She lives alone and though my brother (who also lives in SF) and his family visit her all the time, she still feels lonely.  Given that I am not working at an outside job this is a great way for us to spend quality time with her, and for her to have company full time for a week : )

I spent Saturday at the Scrapbook Expo in Pleasanton, and OH MY!  Spent WAYYY too much money (thankfully my hubby never reads my blog lol), especially on stamps from "Stamps by Judith."  Here are a few cards I made with the new stamps:

From Card Stamps By Judith

From Card Stamps By Judith

From Card Stamps By Judith

Close up of the card above:

From Card Stamps By Judith

From Card Stamps By Judith

Love that so many of her stamps are "interactive," which means you can use them various ways, I used the same stamp to make the wreath and the arrangement in the pot!  Lots more to do with her stamps, just need to find the time : )  All of the images were colored with Tombow markers, some images were stamped and colored on copy paper, and some were on card stock.  (Judith only uses the copy paper, I am still trying to get used to that).  I also added Clear Crystal Lacquer to the card images for added pop.

Also got a chance to color with the new Spectrum Noir Pens, alcohol based pens that are far cheaper than the Copic markers.  I have to say that from my test at the show these pens seemed to be every bit as good as Copic markers.  At some point I will get a set and test them further, but would love to hear from any of you if you have the markers already, what do you think?

So, today is all about Pinterest, what it is and why people are pinning away.   And if you have been using Pinterest for a while I will also show you how one pin can lead you to all sorts of other things to pin.

First things first:  Pinterest is basically an online way of saving things you find on the internet.  You can have many "boards," such as cooking, DIY, home, garden, papercrafting and so on.  You download an icon for your  browser's tool bar and when you see something you like click the "pin it" button on the tool bar and you will add the item to one of your boards.

You can follow what other people are pinning and other people can follow what you are pinning.  You can also "like:" something without placing it on any of your boards, or you can "re-pin" something you see Pinterest to your own board.

Here is a link if you would like to follow my pins on Pinterest:



In other words, this is a way to visually store all the things you find online!  Pinterest etiquette requires that you make sure to attribute where you found your pin, ie, if there is a blog post or article make sure that you pin back to the original source rather than just a picture.

What I LOVE about Pinterest is how many amazing blogs/website I have been finding!  For instance, I found this card online:



and than found the Pals Paper Arts blog!  (A GREAT resource by the way).  Many times I will find cards, click through to the blog/website, and than click on even more links to find hidden treasures online.

Here are a few things that I have "pinned" on my "Paper Crafting' board and how I found other sites/blogs:

I found this card on SCS:

And went to her blog:  Stamping With a Passion where I found all sorts of fantastic inspiration!

Here is a great idea I found (and repinned) on Pinterest:

                                                                  
The project was on Oh Crafts, where I found all sorts of other GREAT ideas!  Here is a link to their "Paper" ideas, lots of things to try (make sure to click on the other ideas as well, ie, parties and so on)

As you can see there are many ways to use Pinterest, and many of the recent sites/blogs I have listed here have been found either directly (or indirectly) through Pinterest!

Of course I have other links for you today : )  Here are a few of the things from my bookmarks bar (which is getting pretty full and it is only March!)

FREE Art Journal Stencil Class:  Check this out!  GREAT artist who is offering one of her online classes for free, and make sure to visit her other classes as well:  Balzer Designs.  I am linking to many Art Journal related items so that you can expand your creativity and use your supplies stash : )

And here is a video by Balzer Designs "How to stamp with your stencils" What a GREAT idea!


 Copic Marker Storage:  Loved this idea, especially because your markers are spread out by color!

Ok, that is it for this week, need to go shower and get going to pick up my Mom!  See you all next week, until then, a most crafty of weeks : )