Moving to a New Site

If you've been following my blog recently, I mentioned that I am now a product designer for Sizzix, the paper crafting company. It is really the perfect job for me because I'm a designer AND a paper crafter which makes me my own target audience.

We are now getting very close to the big Craft and Hobby Association trade show in Anaheim, California next month so I've been extremely busy doing both the catalog and packaging for Tim Holtz plus my own product designs. Our social media person mentioned that it would be good if I had a blog. Oh, wait! I have one!!! But I wanted one that was more about my crafting, where I could offer sneak peeks at my new designs and share different ideas on how to use my designs.

So off I went and built a new website dedicated to {mostly} crafting but I am, and always will be, a thrifter so you may find upcycled thrifted pieces in some projects.

Since my product hasn't officially launched yet, I cannot share the designs on my new site at this time. So I have been reposting some projects from this original site but adding more instructions or updating the project itself when possible.

I have also been busy creating new projects that I can share so please click over to my new website; LyndaCreates.com and Follow me there. Soon you will see lots of new projects plus you can join me in my new adventure as a Sizzix Product Designer.

Thanks and I hope to hear from you at LyndaCreates.com!

The Lost Halloween Post

I decorated for Halloween. I spent time creating a fun banner and then totally forgot to post. Or maybe it just got lost in my head somewhere. I didn't want it to be lost forever so here it is.

I created this using Tim Holtz's three mask dies and the Banner #2 die set by Sizzix. 

I made three each of the Vampire, Monster and Zombie using different color combinations. This was an easy project once I had an "assembly line" of masks going. The hardest part was selecting the colors.

Here are some closer views.

I have so much fun doing projects so I will try and share them more often. The holidays are coming up and I have so many projects I want to create. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Scrapbook Expo Debut

As a "crafty" consumer, I have been to many Scrapbook Expo events over the years. Up to this point my favorite experience was in San Diego many years ago with a great group of scrapping friends. But this recent event in Ontario, California has to be THE BEST because I was finally introduced as a "Designer for Sizzix".

Okay, so maybe no one actually caught the intro but I heard it and it was thrilling. I was there to observe Jen Long demonstrate her Sizzix product at the It's Cheaper Than Therapy booth. This was my introduction to the fine art of demonstrating our product to the public. It was exciting because I love the product and I love the people who love the product. I AM one of those people who uses and loves our product and my enthusiasm is authentic.

You can see my enthusiasm while waiting to get into the Expo.

I had to take a selfie from the show. I was too excited and forgot to ask someone to take a picture of me helping with the demo.

The It's Cheaper Than Therapy booth had a wall of Sizzix product. I created much of the packaging prior to becoming a product designer so I was excited to see that.

Stephanie Barnard from The Stamps of Life had a booth at the show. She is such an inspiration to me. Her enthusiasm is contagious.

And because I am an avid crafter, I could not resist shopping. I know I said that I wouldn't buy more paper but I've been scrapbooking quite a bit so I allowed myself a bit of a splurge at a discounted price. Here is my Haul.

It was an amazing day. I can't wait until I can share some of my own product designs with everyone. All I can say is that I am busy designing everyday and it is so much fun!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Craft Room Studio Reveal

It is finally time to reveal my studio space. The room is small but it is the perfect size for me since I have a little bit of a lot of Stuff. The room is just off of my kitchen with French doors that lead out to the garden. My computer is off to the left. On the opposite wall are my 49 Junk Drawers which you can see a little part of here and here.

The image above is the right side of the room. The chair is a $5 thrifted treasure. The tilt bins along the walls were from a scrapbooking store that was closing many years ago. These hold ribbons and dimensional embellishments. There are 170 tilt bins.

This photo shows how small my space really is. Luckily, almost* everything fit. On the left of the desk is a vintage biscuit tin that hold my Grunge Paper and Grunge Board, larger stencils and thicker chipboard pieces. On the walls above my desk are my Elfa shelves from the Container Store. I installed these myself before I met Dear Handyman. They haven't fallen down yet! I realize that I have three types of projects that I usually work on; Scrapbooking, Upcycling and Altered Art. The bins on these shelves are labeled with these categories. I usually work with the French doors open so the bins keep out the dust.

The thing that finally made everything come together was when I moved my vintage cart into the room as a mobile work surface. On top is my paper cutter. My thin dies are organized on the middle shelf. My Sizzix, Fabi die cutter and autographed Vagabond are on the bottom shelf. FYI: I love the colors of the Fabi machine... aqua and soft grey, sweet! And it works exactly like a Big Shot or BIGkick machine but prettier.

Big News Plus My Studio Remodel

I have been missing from my blog for a while now. I apologize but some wonderful, big things are happening in my career and life.

Besides continuing as the Senior Graphic Designer and Brand Packaging Specialist at Sizzix / Ellison, I have been promoted to Senior Product Designer as well. What this means is that I will now design my own line of dies and stamps. I am so excited! I have crafted my entire life so this makes me feel so complete.

But what this also means is that I am busier than ever at work. I am still creating all of Tim Holtz's packaging plus his catalog for the upcoming Summer trade show. I am so thankful that the company and Tim wanted me to continue working on his lines.

Designing my own product also means that I want to stay very close to the crafting industry trends and eventually share my vision of how my designs can be used. This gave me the incentive to reorganize my tiny studio at home. To begin, I have been spending a lot of time pouring over images of craft studios.

Here is a sneak peek of the first stage of my studio remodel: