Craftastic Monday Link Party

Hello Crafties!  Another week and lots of places to find new seasonal project ideas and a fun new party to link up yours up to below.

Last week I shared my latest Craft Nightmare experience and why I will never use glitter vinyl again:

And it's the last day to enter my double giveaway for a $20 GC to my new Heavenly Fabric Shop + $20 GC to Sugar Pink Boutique.  Enough for a crafty shopping spree!!  Enter HERE: 

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Now let's see the new Craftastic Picks!!

Our Clover House shared this quick & easy Halloween accent wall idea:

Simply Darrling offered up this tasty sparkling apple cider sangria recipe:

Annemarie's Haakblog offered this free crochet cowl pattern:

Sew Historically had this unique recipe for rose petal jelly (aka jell-o):

Sparkle Living created this cute candy corn headband:

Kiku Corner showed this beautiful DIY crochet top:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

On Twitter: Follow @sewcandoblog

On Pinterest: Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

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Craft Nightmares: Why You Should Never Buy Glitter Vinyl

Despite all the wonderful projects you can make, there are some that just make you want to give up.  Or set them on fire.  Or curse the moment you thought they were a good idea.  My latest experience was all of the above and it was mainly because of a horrible product: glitter vinyl.

I've used glitter cardstock, glitter heat transfer material & glitter adhesive paper in the past and they've all been fine, so it never occurred to me I'd literally be wrestling with the vinyl version.  If I can help someone else avoid experiencing the same nightmare with this post, then I've done my job!

Backstory: I've been doing a lot of cutting projects lately.  My husband is doing his first craft show this weekend, a geek crafts/comic con kind of deal called Oddmall.  We're trying to keep show expenses down so it seemed obvious for me to just make his signage stuff myself.  A heat transfer of his logo turned out great on a t-shirt, so I moved onto his booth sign.     

I thought doing it in glitter black vinyl instead of plain black would make it more interesting, so I grabbed a couple rolls of the new Cricut Glitter Vinyl and a new roll of transfer tape and a foam core board. It looks so simple to do, right?  

Cutting it out was a breeze.  My Cricut Explore machine is the original version from a few years back. I buy my craft gear (I don't get free one from the company to rave about every time a new one comes out), hence the "keepin' it real" post on products here.  I used my big 12x24 mat to make it big enough for our sign & to easily lift it in two sections. Weeding was pretty simple too.  It took minutes.  So far, so good.    

Then I applied the transfer tape.  It wouldn't stick.  At all.  It didn't matter what I did - the vinyl practically repelled it.  I tried some stronger paper transfer tape I had in my stash and the vinyl laughed at that too.  Its sandy surface refused to stick.   

The backside of the paper insert of the vinyl roll mentioned using Strong Grip Transfer Tape.  That was totally unhelpful to find out after I'd already gotten home from the store and opened everything.  Why that key detail isn't mentioned on the outside of the glitter vinyl package is beyond me.  It wouldn't have mattered though, since the store I bought it from didn't even have any Strong Grip rolls available.  Inside the vinyl roll there was a small 12x12 piece of Strong Grip Transfer Tape, but since I was using the entire 4ft vinyl roll, it wasn't going to work on my lettering, just the character smaller shape.



I had to wait until the next morning when another store opened at 10am to try to buy a roll of the Strong Grip.  I applied it and sure enough, it was deja vu - the vinyl wouldn't stick.  I rubbed it on really hard and then bits of it stuck, but for every letter that did, the next wouldn't.  I had to pry them off by hand and stick them onto the tape.  It was madness. Several times they started to stick only to begin ripping the vinyl as I pulled the backing away.  A 30 second job took 30 minutes in reality.

And once I finally got everything onto the tape and was close enough to line it up on my surface it static stuck on fast and firm so there was no way to straighten or reposition it like I normally do.

Pulling the tape off took some serious muscle and once off the tape was all distorted and stretched out.  No way to reuse it for the next line like I'd done time & time again with my usual paper backed transfer tape.  Kind of pricey for such brief use.

Eventually I got the sign done.  The tears aren't super noticeable and my husband is happy he's got a sign, but I can safely say I'd rather cut my entire lawn with a pair of nail scissors than work with glitter vinyl again.  

Maybe not all glitter vinyl is this evil.  I'm sure any kind that is smooth and plastic-y on the surface is probably great, but this stuff and it's textured, hard to grab surface....ugh.  I'm not alone, as I went online for guidance and found countless forums and comments where others bemoaned having the same issue and begging for a solution that actually worked. Apart from not using glitter vinyl, there wasn't any. 

Moral of the story?  If you want to do any easy vinyl project, AVOID the glitter variety.  And if you're in the Toledo area this weekend, you can stop by our booth at the free Oddmall event and see the project that nearly bested me in person;)  

Craftastic Monday Link Party

Happy Monday Crafty Friends!  So many lovely seasonal projects to see and share.  Find inspiration and link up yours below:)

Last week I shared a new double giveaway for a $20 GC to my new Heavenly Fabric Shop + $20 GC to Sugar Pink Boutique.  So many crafty goodies to choose from.  Enter HERE: 

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Now let's see the new Craftastic Picks!!

Frau Tschi-Tschi shared her adorable free pattern for a crochet unicorn pumpkin.  LOVE this!

Living La Vida Holoka put a new spin on pumpkin decorating with this cute cactus pumpkin:

Sum of Their Stories upcycled an old sweater into these sweet little house lavender sachets:

The Kittchen had this seasonal recipe for pumpkin pasta:

Sadie Seasongoods created a jolly pumpkin planter out of a straw tote bag:

Happier Than A Pig In Mud showed how to make these fun Halloween colored deviled eggs:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

On Twitter: Follow @sewcandoblog

On Pinterest: Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Double Goody Giveaway: Sugar Pink Boutique & Heavenly Fabric Shop

A new season has started and why not celebrate it with a big giveaway for crafty goodies? I've teamed up my new shop, Heavenly Fabric Shop, with my longtime friend & sponsor, Jennifer, from Sugar Pink Boutique to bring a double giveaway of craft & sewing fun: TWO gift certificates to TWO shops!

Sugar Pink Boutique is the perfect source for both seasonal and beautiful anytime crafting supplies.  Ribbons, decorative trims, beads, shabby chic fabric & more.

Like these satin cut-out ribbons:

and these classic ribbon styles in festive fall designs:

Delectable and versatile berry beads for jewelry, napkin & wine glass rings, decor and more:

Shabby chic fabrics, laces and embellishments:

And an amazing selection of pom pom trim in every color and size imaginable:

Heavenly Fabric Shop, offers spiritual and inspirational fabrics, notions & unique crafting supplies.

There are colorful fall fabrics like this pumpkin greetings panel and harvest angels print:

Spiritual fabric prints and panels:

Prints with popular inspirational phrases:

Whimsical buttons like these fairy-themed sets, plus seasonal and holiday styles. Perfect for hair clips, decorating and more:

as well as fun craft supplies like these silicone goodies that are durable, cute and handy:

We're giving away a $20 gift certificate to Sugar Pink Boutique + a $20 gift certificate to Heavenly Fabric Shop.

So much crafty shopping for one lucky winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

October's Here for the Craftastic Monday Link Party

Welcome to the first Craftastic Monday Link Party of October!  So many great seasonal features to share this week thanks to loads of you sharing your talents last week!  Got new projects to display or looking for ideas?  Then head to the link-up below!

Last week I shared my recent multi-faceted project - our Woodland Fairy Garden Birthday Party: 

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Now let's see the new Craftastic Picks!!

KBB Crafts & Stitches shared how to make this pretty appliquéd fall felt vase:

Penny's Vintage Home set-up this breathtaking pastel pumpkin & sheep themed home decor tableau for fall:

Clever Chameleon made this beautiful jewel tone diamond quilt top:

Vintage Paint and More shared how to make these twine wrapped acorns:

Marilyn's Treats had this unique recipe for licorice ice cream.  Just perfect for Halloween!

The Scrap Shoppe created this spooktacular glow-in-the-dark wicked sign:

Life So Savory showed how to make some easy refrigerator pickled beets:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

On Twitter: Follow @sewcandoblog

On Pinterest: Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up