For many years I have been saying I wanted to create a nice backyard garden area that was fun and functional. As I have looked at magazines, online and just chatted with people, I realized I had the ability to not only have a nice garden, but with my Pazzles, some garage sale finds, spray paint and some vinyl, I was able to get a good start on my creation.
I like to browse my local Hardware store and find great bargains to use with my Pazzles Inspiration Creative Cutter. The other day I found these glass hurricane lamps including the candles, on sale! There were only two left, at a great discounted price, so I snapped them up. The lamps were lovely but rather plain, and I thought I could make them look more special with a touch of vinyl using my Pazzles.
We can all agree that a staple in almost any home is the infamous junk drawer. It's the place where we throw batteries, loose change, small light bulbs, buttons, tacks and rubber bands. I’m always intrigued by what I find floating around in mine. When I started to rummage around this morning I found two drawer pulls from a dresser and two old handles from the outside faucets and a ton of matching brass tacks. Paired together with this cute frame I had here at work I thought hey, I could make something really cute with these!
I love to give personalized or handmade gifts, but the time factor is always my downfall. I usually have good intentions but end up running around the store in a panic the night before an event looking for something I can give as a gift.
I've been pinching my pennies lately as I've just bought my first home. Ouch! My wallet still hurts. As I've discovered, homes come with their own set of issues, one of mine being decorating. My new home is quite a bit bigger than my old apartment and I've got bare walls and empty shelves. It's lacking that homey feel.
Have you discovered the many used of washi? Here in the Pazzles office we are wild for washi! It is such a fun addition to almost any project and comes in a variety of designs. My favorite part is the fact that you can tear it to different lengths and the messy edge is OK. (I like permission to be a bit messy- it validates my penchant for making clutter when I create.) It can also be layered and because most washi is transparent you get an hombre look by adding layers.
Normally, we like to write about all the ways your Pazzles die cutter saves you money. Today, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the ways to make money! Particularly, for fundraising. We've heard from a lot of our customers who take their Inspirations to school, scouting, sports, and charities, with crafty ways to serve a good cause!
Natural materials are all the rage right now. Cork, canvas, and wooden accents and embellishments are popping up all over. One of the best things about the Inspiration electronic die cutter is that you can cut a lot of these thicker materials yourself!
No one wants to admit it, but I'm sure we all have drawers that look like the one on the left. This is my Tsukineko Dew Drops drawer. I bravely brought this ugly mess from home to the office—not to show off my love of tiny ink pads (good for distressing!), but to show you how to save money with your Inspiration electronic die cutter by making your own custom drawer dividers out of chipboard.
One of the most frustrating things for me is not having the exact right color or size of embellishment for my project. The most frequent offender is buttons. The one with the perfect color will be too big. The right-sized ones will be just off-color enough to be off-putting.
One of the things I love about the Inspiration is that it's powerful enough to emboss and cut through soft metals, like art foils. It can be a bit tricky to master, but once you have it down, you'll be impressed with the range of possibilities! For today's Money-Saving Tip, I'll show you why you never need to buy another pack of metal embellishments, foil letters or sentiments—because you'll be making your own!
How many of us have scraps of paper that we keep to 'use someday?' With your Pazzles Inspiration, you can use your scraps up easily, saving money in the process. Using up your scraps is simple with the Inspiration Studio Software. The placement of the image on the screen coincides with the placement on your mat. This wonderful video on line guides will help you place your paper precisely on the page.
Ever buy glitter letter stickers and discover they were the wrong color? Or did you use all of the letter E and now you're stuck with extra Zs and Qs that can't be used? You can find and cut glitter-covered paper, like Chris did recently, or you can make your own glitter alphabets and embellishments! Instead of sticker alphabets, I like to get double-sided adhesive sheets, cut only the letters and shapes I want on my Pazzles Inspiration, and then cover with glitter to match my project. It's a lot cheaper than buying individual sticker sets to match my projects, plus I get custom shapes that I don't get with sticker packs! Here's how to do it.
Plastic spray stencils are everywhere. They come in basic shapes and trendy patterns, like chevrons and hexagons. And as cool and trendy as some of them are, I always put them back on the shelf, thinking, "why buy it, when I can cut it with my Pazzles Inspiration?" Time to put that idea to work!
Those little flagged paper clips are adorable but way over-priced! Save money and make your own at home, they are super quick and easy!