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Brandy Burke

Brandy is an avid planner and paper crafter who can be found in her modest craft room gluing her fingers together and spewing obscenities.

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Oh The Things I Want From Etsy

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

Makers, they make some really incredible things and I’ve been taking a good hard notice of them on Etsy lately. I’ve always been a big fan of shopping small, and I’ve mentioned Etsy in multiple blog posts, encouraging you to support small businesses, and creative ones at that, but now, a year into a pandemic, it’s more important than ever that we support these small creative businesses.

If you’re not already utilizing the favorites and lists feature of Etsy, it’s my new found way to organize the things I want (some for my pets, some for my house…and a LOT for me). 

*This post contains affiliate links. That means I may receive a small compensation for any purchase you make through any links on this post (or any other post on this website.

You can see my entire Etsy Favorites and Lists here.

Here are the top 3 things on my Etsy Wishlist RIGHT NOW

These Polymer Clay Earrings from Noemico Shop

These Vivid Colorful Mugs From Lizashopstoreart

These Sweet Collars for My Pups from Big Pup Pet Fashion

See all of the things I’m currently eyeing on Etsy here and share your Faves list with me in the comments below!

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Ephemera Storage in cases
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Ephemera Storage – Are you doing it wrong?

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

Ephemera storage — it plagues us crafters. A few Ephemera Die cuts tucked in this pocket, a couple of ephemera embellishments in this drawer — and if you’re anything like me, it’s all in it’s original packaging because it’s prettier that way.

Ephemera Definition: things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time

Well, not around here – they last forever and ever because I never use them because I cannot find them.

So, I researched a ton of ephemera storage ideas and landed on one that I really like (after I tweaked it to my own needs) and today, Im sharing that with you here.

How I Store Ephemera

I purchased my photo storage containers at Hobby Lobby and got a pretty good deal – with the 40% off I think they were $15? They have colored ones too, but it was important for me to be able to see through the case. I want to be inspired and I didn’t want to rifle through each container looking for ephemera for my projects.

I store mine by collection… mostly. But you could store ephemera by category (flowers, animals, tags), by color, etc.

I cut the name of the designer / brand and the name of the collection off and tape them at the front of the container using 1/8″ double sided tape. Then, I cut the image from the back (the one that shows all of the different ephemera in the collection) and I tape it to the inside bottom of the container, so I can see all of the stored ephemera within the container.

Now, when I get a new package of embellishments, I just grab an open container and plop them in.

These ephemera storage containers are about 12″ tall and 15″ long so it will fit in 15X15″ craft storage cubes, but they won’t fit into 12X12 ones. Because each container holds 16 ephemera storage cases, I don’t expect to run out of space in them very quickly. So, I can only imagine needing one or two of these containers – meaning it’s not going to take up a ton of space in the craft room.

As promised in the video, here’s a list of the supplies you see in the video:

Ephemera Storage Supplies

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OrganizationPapercrafting

The #1 Craft Tool You’re Missing

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

I’ve always wanted to put a utility sink in my craft room. It’s not a far walk from this room to the hall bathroom to rinse my paint brushes and pallet knives, but it is annoying to do so. I think a utility sink would come in more than just handy, and at the very, very least save me from having to scrape paint off my bathroom counter.

But this craft room is a bedroom. And there’s a chance we’ll want to sell this house in the next 3-5 years. And something tells us that “spacious bedroom with a utility sink” won’t cause buyers to flock to us from near and far.

So for Christmas, I asked my parents for the Rinse Well and they came through for me and it’s not a utility room sink (I know this because I can’t bathe my dog in it) but it has solved all of the problems I mentioned above.

Let me say that while my site has affiliate links, I am not a spokesperson for this product, I just truly love it, and – you don’t know what you don’t know so you may not even know this thing exists.

But it’s the #1 craft tool I was missing and I feel I have a responsibility to tell you. It’s made that much of a difference in my crafting.

The Rinse Well doesn’t take batteries, there’s nothing to plug in. You simply rinse your brush in the well and when the water is dirty, you press the blue button to drain the water into the reservoir below. Gravity takes hold and fresh clean water fills the well from the plastic bottle above it. When the bottle is empty, the reservoir is full. The well has texture in the bottom of it to help scrub your paintbrushes, and holes line the outside of the well to dry your brushes and pallet knives.

And it’s like, twenty bucks. So there’s truly no reason why every crafter doesn’t have one. They should pay me to say that but they aren’t. Instead, if you buy through the link above on Amazon I will get .03 (no kidding) but it’s not about the gobs of cash – it’s about the sanity.

I’ve never seen a Rinse Well in stores, but you can grab one here.

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DIYPapercrafting

Watercolor Polaroid Art Project

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

It snowed 14″ this week so I had only one plan — create! Today I’m sharing with you one craft that has unlimited possibilities – making it IMPOSSIBLE to get bored with it.

https://youtu.be/gaVYHURjmZw

Supplies Used:

Rinse Well
Ranger Distress Oxide
Ranger Distress Ink
Artify Nylon Hair Paintbrush
Versafine Black Ink Pad
Medium Acrylic Block

To see the CREATE polaroid shown in this video (and see some other ideas click here for the original Polaroid Paper Craft Blog Post.

PLEASE be sure to head to my youtube channel and click SUBSCRIBE and thumbs up this video – see you next time!

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DIY Yarn Bowl Finished and Sitting Next to a Chair
Needle ArtsRecycle Crafts

DIY Yarn Bowl

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

Who doesn’t love a beautiful, unique yarn bowl? But sometimes, something fancy just isn’t in the cards and you need an immediate fix to your yarn loaf flopping on the floor during your project.

This DIY Yarn Bowl couldn’t be simpler to make – and I credit my former husband’s mawmaw for the tip.

DIY Yarn Bowl in 4 Easy Steps

Yarn Bowl Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Prepare the bottle

Take any 2 liter bottle and remove the label. Rinse it out and dry it completely

Step 2: Cut the bottle

Using an Xacto knife, cut the bottle evenly around the bottom 1/3 of the bottle.

Step 3: Notch it

Cut a small triangle at the bottom of one side of the top of the bottle. I’ve placed a piece of pink paper behind this so that you can better see it. This is not required, I’ve just found that it helps with the next step.

Step 4: Stuff it to transform to a yarn bowl

Place your yarn ball into the bottom of the 2 liter bottle. Take the end string and run it through the top of the bottle and out the spout. Finally, stuff the top part inside the bottom.

Reuse the DIY Yarn Bowl

This yarn bowl will last indefinite uses, just pull the two parts together to change out the yarn. Use multiple yarn bowls at a time for multi-colored projects — this is one cool bonus you just don’t get with the typical yarn bowl.

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Healthy Planner Printable
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Grab a Health Printable – FREE

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

I’ve created this health tracker planner printable to offer to you for free. These to print two per page and there are some gentle cut lines for you to make life easier – that’s what the planner is supposed to do, right?

Click Subscribe Below to Grab Yours

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Needle Arts

Unique Yarn Bowls – 10 You Must See!

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

I love these unique yarn bowls that creative humans brought together for our use — not only can you avoid your yarn ball rolling onto the floor and under the couch, picking up gobs of things that look like yarn but they’re not, you can also look cute while holding your crap together. I can almost guarantee grandma wishes bowls like this were around when she was crocheting all the time!

Treat yourself for Heaven’s sake.

The bonus (as if this really needs a bonus) is that you also support small businesses too, and mercy do we all need a little support right now 🙂

10 Unique Yarn Bows to Explore (and buy!)

A list of 10 unique yarn bowls in a grid

Click your fave unique yarn bowls below to shop

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10

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DIYPapercraftingScrapbooking

Envelope Mini Album

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

I love mini albums – theme specific or just as a random place to tuck images, journaling and a few gifts for someone I love – and when I find one that is super simple to put together, like envelope mini album, it often becomes a staple in my creativity.

This isn’t my original design, you’ll find a jillion of other crafters sharing similar designs — so why do I share it? Because what if you never run across it on another channel – you’re here, and I want you to have this idea in your back pocket for the next time you set out to create a mini album.

Envelope Mini Album Supply List

For this envelope mini album, I wanted 3 1/2 X 3 1/2 square envelopes – and so I’ll share the tips and sizes used to get that result, but you can scale up or down to your liking.

Create an Envelope Mini Album

Step 1: Prepare your supplies

I used Maggie Holmes Carousel paper – I have the 12X12 pad but she also has a 6X8 on in this collection. I trimmed several pages into 6X6 squares. I also gathered my envelope punch board, some Bo Bunny brads, colorful twine, a bone folder, 1/8″ doublesided tape, a tape runner and a binder clip.

Step 2: Create Envelopes for your Envelope Mini Album

I used the guide on my envelope punch board to create a basic 3 1/2X square envelope. For this one, I didn’t round the corners, but you could if you wanted to, it won’t change how you assemble it but would give a slightly different look.

Step 3: Add a brad to your first envelope

Choose a brad and poke it through about 1/8 – 1/4″ away from any crease. Assemble the envelope being sure to cover the brad (that should be the bottom of your envelope.

Step 4: Assemble the remaining envelopes

Assemble the remaining envelopes, place a strip of 1/8″ double sided tape at the top of each envelope, inside, just below the flap.

Step 5: Create the Envelope Mini Album

Take your cover envelope (the one with the brad in it) and another envelope. Slide the lip of the second envelope into the first envelope and fold it down. Make sure it is in alignment with the cover and clip it together with the binder clip. Remove the backing from the double sided tape and press the pieces flat. Continue until all of your envelopes are together, creating a book.

Step 6: Create the spine

Wrap the lip from the cover around to the back of the booklet, tape it down.

Step 7: Tie it up

Take a piece of twine long enough to wrap around the book several times and tie one end around the brad, wrap the other end around the booklet.

Step 8: Embellish your Envelope Mini Album

If you’re ready, you can begin to fill your envelope mini album with photos, journaling, and other embellishments.

I know once you create one of these, you’ll find yourself making them over and over again – they become second nature and pull together really quickly. I’m anxious to try to make one with used envelopes that I’ve collected from various mailed cards for a really scrappy look.

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Planners

PLANNER 2021: Top Planner Trends This Year

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

Let’s talk planner trends for 2021!

If you bought a planner in 2020 only to have it sit somewhere collecting dust and listening to you binge watch Netflix, you’re not alone.

2020 brought surprises no one could have planned for. Just ask my daughter who invested a nice lump sum in a plum paper planner at my urging right before pandemonium hit.

Now that 2021 has graced us with its presence, people have been a little less inclined to purchase a typical paper planner. I know when browsing Michaels, the typically picked over planner aisle was fully stocked and in pristine condition well into January – but we continue to see unconventional planning and planner uses climb higher in popularity and for good reason.

Planner Trends for 2021

Digital Planning – Gaining Popularity

Who doesn’t want a planner that you can select the lasso tool on and delete all your plans in one fell-swoop?
That’s not the only thing that digital planning has going for it – it’s also a sustainable (hey hey, no paper!) option, and the digital planners and digital planning stickers are reusable, so sustainable, and affordable. This year, people are looking to plan in more creative ways and digital planning provides it.

Wellness Planning – A Necessary Planner Trends

One of the handful of lessons 2020 smacked down on us was the importance of our health. As the saying goes, health is wealth and we all know that to be true now. Wellness planning allows for the opportunity to track our movement (which is hard to get with everyone working from home), our food intake (when is the last time you took a healthy lunch break) and our supplements (hello Vitamin C and Zinc).

Memory Keeping / Journaling in the planner

I jumped on this fad super fast – time to keep track of the glimpses of normal life, the things we took for granted, the thoughts and total bullshit we worked through – photos in the planner bring back the memories for later when we reflect on 2021. I’m personally using the Heidi Swapp Storyline Chapters system.

Productivity Focused – Planner Trends to get us up!

If you had to guess, how many hours did you spend sitting aimlessly scrolling on your phone or streaming back to back episodes of your favorite shows from yesteryear? These topics trend on social media and we’re all looking to climb out of the timesucks. Productivity (nothing fancy, give me a checklist) is raging in popularity right now as we begin to write down the things that used to seem nonsensical like taking a dadgum shower — raise your hands if you like to check things off? Goal charting will also be big in 2021.

Don’t let the squashing of 2020 keep you from the hope of 2021. Grab a planner, pick a planning style (or pick several) and start orchestrating and documenting a year that isn’t controlled by what’s going on in the world.

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About Me Journal Page Header
DIYPapercraftingScrapbooking

About Me – Storyline Chapters

by Brandy Burke
written by Brandy Burke

Today I’m sharing a quick 10 minute process video around my main About Me page in my Heidi Swapp Storyline Chapters Notebook.

My About Me Page in my Heidi Swapp Storyline Chapters Video

About Me – Storyline Chapters Supplies

Here are some of the supplies you see me use in this video:
(Some affiliate links)

As a mom, most of the creative scrapbooking and journaling I do revolves around my kids — and yes, though they are 25 and 21, I still call them kids. Actually, sometimes, I still call them my babies.

So it’s a little uncomfortable to do an ENTIRE book around me – who I am, what I enjoy doing… but as moms when we look back, what documented history will we be leaving behind for our kids? The one way I’m getting around feeling full of myself doing this book is by telling myself that the end result is that the kids will have something of me and that makes me feel a little less uncomfortable. I hope that when I’m finished I’ll no longer feel out of my element sharing all of the bits and pieces about who I am.

I’m using my Heidi Swapp Storyline Chapters Notebook set for various things but I have reserved one entire notebook for this subject. There are various challenges and prompts going on so I’ve grabbed little snippets from each one to create something really personal to myself.

I hope you’ll subscribe to my youtube channel and like my Facebook page so that you can follow along!

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