#steph ackerman

Hi everyone, Steph here today working with  a canvas tote.  I have had this tote for awhile, but just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. With a friend's birthday coming up, I thought it would be fun to decorate this tote and use it as the gift's wrap.  So, with that in mind, I die cut a birthday cake using SEI fabric paper and my Cricut Expression.  Using a bonding material, I was able to iron the fabric birthday cake to the tote bag.

 So now to decorate.  After thinking about how to "bling it up", I decided to use Dew Drops from The Robins Nest  and The Best Glue Ever is the perfect adhesive for these little guys.  I randomly scattered Dew Drops around the cake top just like sprinkles!  Since I was using a lot of Dew Drops, I found it was easier to place a drop of The Best Glue Ever on a piece of scrap paper then dip my Dew Drops into the adhesive.  For the flame of the candle, I put The Best Glue Ever directly on the flame, then used tweezers to place the Dew Drops.

The lace helped add a little dimension and definition to the cake and The Best Glue Ever holds the lace in place.  Since it dries clear you don't see any left over adhesive.

  For the tag, I stamped the floral print on scrap paper first to lighten it, then stamped it on my tag.  The birthday sentiment was inked with a darker pink and stamped on top.  I lightly inked around the tag with brown ink, then added a few Dew Drops  with The Best Glue Ever for a little more sparkle.

Hi everyone, Steph here with an exciting discovery.  I have vellum - tons and tons of vellum.  I rarely use it, however, because I hate when the adhesive shows through the project I've created.  I think I've tried every vellum adhesive on the market and I couldn't find one that I loved enough to use on vellum.   Late one night, I was playing around with Faber Castell's Gelatos and was wondering how they'd work on vellum.  At long last, this embossed butterfly vellum was about to be used.  I first colored the reverse side of the butterflies with Zig Scroll & Brush Markers.  Turning to the front side, I added color to the background with an assortment of Gelatos.  I love the result, but my quandry was how to adhere the vellum panels.

I grabbed a bottle of the Best Glue Ever.  This Glue is very sticky so I knew it would adhere very well, but I wasn't sure about using it with vellum.  So, very carefully, I added a little BGE around the edges of my vellum.  I then placed the vellum on white cardstock (so the beautiful butterflies would show up) and waited.  Within minutes the BGE dried and it dried clear!!!!!!  Wow, how impressive is that!  No adhesive was showing through my project.

I realized after it dried completely, that I should have used more adhesive on the vellum.  The orange panel did not completely stick to the cardstock!  But, I was being cautious and I wanted to see how the BGE dried before really commiting myself.

Now that I knew the BGE would not show through the vellum, I totally commited myself to this pink based card.  I added a line of BGE along the edges of the vellum and used my finger to rub the adhesive into the panel.  I again placed the panel on white cardstock.  Within minutes my panel was dry and the adhesive was not showing!!!  I also added a drop of BGE to the rhinestones to be sure they'd stay put!

Hi everyone, Steph  here today. Don't you hate it when you go to use a tool and you find it's broken?  My ink blender tool has gotten a lot of use over the years and the last time I went to use it, the handle fell off!!!  Definitely annoying especially when I was planning on using it!!!

So I pulled out the Best Glue Ever and added a little glue to the cavity.  I then put the handle in the cavity, picking up some of the glue.  I removed the handle, waited a few minutes for the glue to get tacky, then put the handle back in.

I held the handle in place for 2 minutes.

Hi everyone, Steph  here today. I've been using my Scor-pal a lot lately and I didn't realize how dirty and grungey it had become!!! I use my Scor-pal almost every day -  I ink on it, I paint on it, I assemble my projects on it.  Since it's one of my most used go-to items, I honestly didn't realize how much use (and abuse) my Scor-pal actually got!!!!  It was bound to need cleaning at some point and when I actually stopped to look at it recently, I realized that it was time to clean!!!! BEFORE:  Quite the mess isn't it!!!

I decided to clean my Scor-pal with the Best Cleaner Ever.  I spritzed some Best Cleaner Ever onto a paper towel and then rubbed it over my Scor-pal.   It worked like a charm - removing  all the adhesive, ink and paint that had accumulated on, as well as in, the grooves of my Scor-pal.   

AFTER:  My Scor-pal looks like new again. 

To remove any remaining residue from the Best Cleaner Ever, I spritzed water on my Scor-pal and then dried it off.

This 3D window pane set from Globecraft Memories is awesome.  2 layers of window panes can be added together to create an amazing effect.

I used Mardi Gras Embossing Powder on the bottom frame and Poodle Skirt Embossing Powder on the top frame, coating each piece twice. 

I adhered the two pieces together with The Best Glue Ever and used alligator clips to hold the pieces together while they set.

While waiting for the pieces to adhere, I die cut two sizes of a candle scene using my Cricut Expression and A Quilted Christmas Cartridge.  Placing the windows atop my candles, I was able to determine exactly where I wanted the window panes to sit.

    After creating my card, I stamped a sweet sentiment on cardstock and place it on the card before adding the window.  I used The Best Glue Ever  to adhere the window to the card.   I added some Gold Stickles on the tops of the candles so they appear to glow through the window panes.

Good morning, it's Steph again with some additional cards I've created using products from The Robin's Nest .   I honestly hate to waste supplies and that includes my left over scraps of pattern paper.   Rather than leaving the left over scraps of Robins Nest papers till next Christmas, I decided to see what I could create. Using the reverse side of the  Glitter Black and White Pinetree cardstock from the North Pole Christmas Collection, I create the base for my card.  I then fussy cut one of the pinetrees and inked the edges with black ink before adhering it to the card base.   I also used a left over scrap from the same paper and stamped my sentiment on it.

A close up of the card.  I added some white dew drops from the Crimson Mini Dew Drops collection to the center of the pinetree with The Best Glue Ever.

On the next card, Santa and the sentiment were stamped on the same Glitter Black and White Pinetree cardstock from the North Pole Christmas Collection.   Now you have a totally different effect - more like swirling snow than pinetrees!  Matting both with black, red and black cardstock makes them pop off the page.  The striped paper is the reverse side of the Classic Roses cardstock.

Black Dew Drops were added to offset the sentiment and again, The Best Glue Ever was the perfect adhesive to use. Here's a close up of Santa - doesn't he look great stamped on this paper?

Good morning, Steph here and I'm thrilled to be working with products from The Robin's Nest this week. If you haven't had a chance to check our their website, click the link above because they have some gorgeous papers and embellishments. I loved the look and texture of the Olive Fleur paper and knew it would help create an awesome Christmas card.

Good morning, Steph here and I'm thrilled to be working with products from The Robin's Nest this week. If you haven't had a chance to check our their website, click the link above because they have some gorgeous papers and embellishments. Using the Glitter Black and White Pinetree cardstock from the North Pole Christmas Collection, I cut it to fit the base of my card focusing on one of the pinecones.   This paper is truly elegant.  I selected some white dew drops from the Crimson Mini Dew Drops collection and adhered them as a cluster to the center of the tree with The Best Glue Ever.  Since the dew drops are flat on one side, this was the perfect glue to use. 

Although the dew drops are a light weight embellishment, I knew that most adhesives would not hold them in place for long.  From experimenting with The Best Glue Ever I knew it would hold the dew drops in place permanently. Just a little dab of glue is all it takes.

I stamped my sentiment and created a die cut tag using the a strip of the remaining cardstock.  To help the sentiment stand out, I die cut a larger element from black cardstock and placed it directly on the card.  Adding some ribbon to the ends of the tag, I then added foam adhesives to raise the sentiment.  As a finishing touch, I added a dew drop was added over the "i" in the sentiment.