Retirement Card

Hello!  Here's a quick post about a quick card I made for a co-worker who retired at the end of this school year.  I based the colors of this card from an envelope I made sometime ago:  I attached paper cut with Divinity Designs' Filgree Frames (formerly Our Daily Bread Designs).

So this is what I came up with:  

Stamp:  Unity Stamp Co.

Tools:  Divinity Designs, Crafter's Companion, Anna Griffin. Spellbinders, EK Success, Cuttlebug

Embellishments:  bling, sentiment sticker

Every time a co-worker retires, I find it bitter sweet.  I'm happy for the new chapter they're having in their lives, but at the same time sad because there's a possibility you won't see them again.  Retirement from work sure is a wonderful milestone.

'Til next blog!

Slimline Birthday Card

Hello crafty reader!  I hope you're having a blast this summer, now that things are sorta kinda going back to normal.  I have to say that it feels great not to be wearing a mask again, but it won't hurt to still be very cautious.  I still have a hand sanitizer dangling around my neck or my purse.  And we still make sure to wash our hands as soon as we get home from anywhere.

Anywho...  I have been into slimline cards lately.  This post is about a slimline birthday card I made for a co-worker.  Just like most cards I make, this one involves leftover materials from previous projects.  But I made sure to use the colors she likes to wear at work.

Stamps:  Unity Stamp Co., Crafter's Companion, 

Tools:  Anna Griffin dies, Spellbinders dies, embossing folders

DP:  washi paper, leftover cardstock

embellishments:  pearls

This is a bi-fold card, but there is enough space inside for co-workers to sign and greet her on her special day.  

For cards like this, I try not to use a stamp that says "Happy Birthday" to avoid redundancy since people like to write "Happy Birthday" in the card already.  That's why I try to avoid buying sentiment stamps that say "Happy Birthday".

Since my last blog post, I have been uploading video content in the Tinker Planet Youtube Channel.  If you are not busy, are just want to play something in the background while you're doing stuff, please tune in and click here.

Also, I have just uploaded a video about another Slimline Birthday Card:

While you're watching, please hit the SUBSCRIBE button so you get the latest updates and videos from Tinker Planet.

Stay safe everyone!

Special Easel Card

It's summer!!!!  Time sure flies...  I can't believe it's been 4 months since I've launched the Tinker Planet channel on Youtube.  It is a challenge to keep it updated as video editing eats a lot of time, not to mention how long it takes to upload the video given my current internet speed.  But with a regular job, a 2 year old toddler, 6 year old niece, a full house and Yankee Station Band, staying up to the wee hours of the morning to create these videos is something I enjoy doing because I get to practice and apply my college degree somehow.  We're looking at other options for a better internet, but for now this will do.  I have one week left at work before the summer break, and my goal is to upload way more videos that what I am currently able to do.  So many ideas lined up, but man, time sure gets more valuable as you get older.     

Anyhoo... I'd like to share with you this easel card I made using the  Anna Griffin Easel Frame Dies I got from HSN a while back.  This is my 2nd take on this tool, the first being for a dear Aunt's 100th birthday, which I featured in the Tinker Planet Youtube channel.  This card is for a co-worker's 50th birthday.  I just love how this die set can help you create such an elegant card.  But this look wouldn't be complete without Our Daily Bread Designs' Stitched Ovals die and Spellbinders' Fancy Tags 2 and Fancy Framed Tags 2 dies.

Materials used:

tools - Anna Griffin, Spellbinders, Our Daily Bread Designs
images:  Our Daily Bread Designs, Stampin' Up, Verve

embellishments:  Ranger, The Robin's Nest

For a video on how I made this card, check this out:

I am determined to reach 1000 subscribers, and I'm on a third of the way!  Please join me in this crafty journey and subscribe to the Tinker Planet channel.  I hope you like the videos too!  

Have a great start to your summer, crafty reader...  'Til next blog!

Celebrate You

Hello crafty friends!  I have been quite busy with the Tinker Planet channel on Youtube as I'm trying to reach 1,000 subscribers.  If you have some time, please check it out.

For today's post, I want to share a birthday card I made for a co-worker using die cuts made with the Gemini Double-Sided Papercraft Dies.  I got them from the Crafter's Companion Mystery Box I bought earlier this year. I finally got to play with them this month, and I sure was happy I now have them in my collection.  What I love about them is the time you get to save for making multiple cuts in one pass.  Kudos to Crafter's Companion for reinventing wafer thin dies.  I have been eyeing layering dies for quite sometime now, but they are pricey for me.  I'm glad that these dies are now added to what few options that are out there.

This card features Decadent Deco.  So cool how 1 die can make 2 designs that can be layered together.

Materials used:
Stamps - Studio G, Stampin' Up

Tools - Gemini double sided die, Martha Stewart edge punch, heat gun

Embellishments - American Crafts Zing white embossing powder, K&Co. flowers  

I had so much fun playing with my new dies.  To see how they work, check out the video I made about them here:  Tool Test:  GEMINI DOUBLE SIDED DIES.

Stay safe, everyone... 'til next blog!

Boss Birthday

It's always a challenge to make a masculine card, especially for your boss.  Good thing I have a catalog of my stamps, so it's easy to look for the right image and sentiment.  I'm thankful for brands like Stampers Anonymous who have masculine-themed stamp sets.  Of what few stamps I have of now defunct River City Rubber Works, this sentiment is one of my favorites.  The image inside is from the Cricut Artiste Collection Birthday by Close To My Heart.

Hope you're all staying healthy and safe.  When you get the chance, please visit the Tinker Planet channel on Youtube.  I just posted there my first card making video.  It will brighten my day if you watch, like, subscribe and share.

'Til next blog!!!

Tinker Planet Channel

Let me begin with a little history of Tinker Planet.  It all started in a double door guest room closet in our apartment in a US Navy base in Japan.  That was about 16-17 years ago.  Then, in addition to the closet was a computer desk I converted into a craft desk.  My first craft website was called "Butingting and Everything" through the now defunct Multiply.  When we were moving to the US, I told my husband that by hook or by crook, I'm going to have a craft room.  And so I did.  Then I changed my website name to Tinker Planet.  I still remember that eureka moment while driving home from town.  When Multiply was closing down, I moved to Blogger.  At this time, I created the Tinker Planet channel on Youtube just to keep the name.  It was empty for fourteen years, but I decided to activate the Tinker Planet channel this 2021. 

And what better way to launch the Tinker Planet Channel with a video tour of my craft space.  I split the presentation into three parts.  I hope you enjoy it!

I'd love to know what you think!  Please don't forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE!

Stay safe everyone....

FIRST CARDS

Happy New Year, crafty reader!  I made sure the last couple of weeks before 2021 were productive, and I have to say they were.  There was a lot of improvement in my craft space, and I can't wait to show them to you.  

But for now, I want to share with you some cards I made for a co-worker.  We swapped, actually.  She's a quilter, and I'm a card maker.  I made cards for her in exchange for two quilted Christmas stockings she made for the kids.      

The image you see here is from a swap I joined in an online stamping community many years ago, which I colored with Copics.  The background stamp is from a swap too.  I sure love swaps!  The sentiment is a leftover from the Anna Griffin card kit I got from HSN.

For this card, the owl is actually from an actual packaging.  The image is so cute, so might as well use it.  

This card didn't involve any images, so I used more ornate designs like the edge punch by Martha Stewart and dies by Spellbinders.  The bird is part of the designer paper.

I enjoyed making a good number of cards for my co-worker.  It gave me a chance to use up leftover supplies and materials.

Stay safe everyone!

New and Improved A2 Rack

Happy New Year, crafty reader!  Here's to everything fresh.  2020 was challenging, but let that experience make 2021 much much better.  

Before going back to work, I made it a point to accomplish this task from my To Do List.  I love this rotating fixture I bought from a yard sale or second hand shop.  It's perfect for my A2 card bases and envelopes.  However, it's not rotating smoothly, hard to maneuver and is standing at an angle - which really bothers my OCD brain.  It's located in the corner where the door to our sump pump is.  My handheld Dyson vacuum is also in there, so I need to be able to move this fixture easily each time I need to open this door.

I've been trying to figure out how to make it work the way I want, and was searching online for a good rolling base for it.  One day at Walmart, I found this metal base by Better Homes and Gardens at the garden section, originally for big and heavy plant pots.  Not sure if it's big enough for my fixture, I closed my eyes and bought it.  Back home, I set my rotating fixture on it, and I found the diameter to be just right.

My rotating fixture actually has 2 pieces:  the main rack, and the base where the rack rests and "supposedly" spins on.  But it doesn't rotate smoothly, and it annoys me every time I do so.

I separated the two pieces and got rid of the base.  Then I positioned the main rack on the rolling base, and secured it with zip ties.

I was so mad at myself because it didn't even take 15 minutes to finish this project, which has been in my To Do List for a long time.  Now, my A2 rack is very maneuverable and easily rotates.  I am a very happy crafter!

I started the year right for my craft space.  That means more projects and goals to be accomplished.  My number one goal this year is to start my Tinker Planet Channel on Youtube.  I have videos here and there, which you can see in the Tinky Tutorials section of this website. But first things first.  I have to clean and organize my craft space, and do some tech upgrades.  I am very excited... it's all a matter of time management.  I got this!

Until then... stay safe, everyone!