Gab about Cross Stitch

Well hello there! Today I am sharing a project that is close to my heart! I draw when I have the time and I am always imagining things to do with those drawings. This time, I made my drawing into a cross stitch pattern and then stitched the image!

Hey girl!

Let me start by saying one thing. So. Many. French knots. I spent a lot of time finishing her hair, but the extra effort was totally worth the time. Her hair has so much texture and it looks so full, plus I really like patterns that have French knots, so I made this pattern with all the French knots. Let’s get a close look at those.

I spent a weekend making this, but it was a joy. One thing I would like to do next time is to make a pattern for the full body. This image measures about 4” x 3” and it’s shown in a 7” hoop. If you would like to stitch this diva up, you can purchase the pattern here. That’s all for today and until next time, stay safe in these crafting streets.

Happy crafting!

-Gaby

Gab about COPIC Ciao Markers Refills

Hello and welcome to another crafty chat on my blog. Today I’m talking about ways to get more life out of your Copic Markers; my Copic of choice is usually a Ciao marker. I chose Ciaos because the come in 180 colors at a lower price point than the Sketch version. Quite frankly, those are enough colors for me and it allowed me to buy more colors when I was starting out. Ink refills are available for all of the Ciao colors as well as replacement Super Brush Nibs. But how to refill them?

You will need:

-Your dried out markers

-Matching refills

-A gram scale

-Some patience  

To check all of my markers (approximately 105) and refill the ones in need (approximately 10) it took me about 1.5 hours.

I found many videos on the Sketch markers, but not much on Ciaos. The technique is the same, but the amount of ink needed varies. For a new Ciao, I weighed it with the caps on and found it to be between 10-11 grams. 

I then weighed a marker I knew was drying out and got a weight of 8-9g. I put those to the side and then weighed my refill with the cap off, a full refill weighs about 26g with no cap.

Next, I removed my chisel nib from my marker and added 10-15 drops and the reweighed my refill, as the value decreased, I knew how many grams were transferred to my marker. I continued until I had added 2g to each dried out marker or brought the weight back up to 10g. A word of caution, 11g proved to be too much ink for my markers and I had to do some coloring on a scratch pad to run off the excess, I would stay as close to 10g as possible so you do not waste ink.

I also noted the markers that weighed in at 9g so I would know which refills I need to pick up soon! 

I hope this tutorial was helpful for any other Ciao artists out there, until next time, stay safe in these crafting streets! 

Happy crafting,

Gaby

Gab about Lawnfawnatics - Wonderful Winter

Hi everyone! Anyone who reads my blog knows I’m a longtime Lawn Fawn fan. I finally decided to try one of the challenges. This time it’s Wonderful Winter, so I used the Winter Skies set, my Copic Ciaos, and some tips from Sandy Allnock in this amazing video.  I might try this again with a pastel winter sky or maybe a fall sky/background.  Take a look at Sandy’s channel for a ton of coloring tips for Copics, Watercolor, and Colored Pencils. 

I have linked* to the stamps and dies below below and until next time, be safe in these crafting streets.

Lawn Fawn Stamp Sets

Lawn Fawn Die Sets

Copic Markers

Happy Crafting,

Gaby

*Affiliate links

Cricut Maker Unboxing

Hi there everyone! I am back with a review and unboxing of the Cricut Maker.  What can I say? I absolutely love it and I have not even had as much time to use it as I would like.  However, I was able to get one a day or two after launch, but due to a packed schedule, I was not able to get this video done until just recently.  In this video I am doing the unboxing, but I am also showing an overview of the Maker and cutting some cotton fabric.  This is a simple but in-depth review, check it out below.

I hope the video offers some clarity on the product and helps anyone who might be on the fence. I forgot to mention it in the video, but I did not use the USB cable because my internet at home is wireless and my computer I used for this is a laptop, so for anyone wondering, it does have a USB port and cord.  That's all for today, but my next few videos will cover the Brightpad and the Easy Press because I was fortunate enough to get them all and I wanted to share any info with you all.  Until next time, happy crafting!

-Gaby