Madame Theresa’s Handy Craft & Recycle Tips

I apologize for being a lazy blogateer.  Madame Theresa got caught up in the end of winter and beginning of spring, it seems…  it’s not like The Madame fell off the wagon and played RipVanWinkle someplace…LOL!!!! It’s more like a scene from Poltergeist:

“Carol Anne…. I’m in HERE, Carol Anne…”

None the less, I am here now.  And here’s what I have been busy working on.

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An update from the last post eons ago:

Georgie won the blog candy drawing; the 2 precious li’l peat pot buckets.   As I remember, we were going to post pictures on here, and never did learn how…..now that I have a couple new  websites, I’m sure I will be buying a camera and learning to post pics soon. 

 Georgie requested that we donate them to a nursing home or other good cause where they would be appreciated locally, so that’s what we did.  We discussed having a blog auction and donating the procedes to the animal shelter- maybe that’s what we’ll do next time!  Anyway, thanks Georgie, for your suggestion.

There are several new and exciting things to tell you about. I am now a dealer in paper art supplies- everything you could possibly want for your scrapbook, cardmaking, rubberatamping, or other paper hobbies is now available, by mail, through me!  I am an independant demonstrator for Stampin’ Up.  See our online catalog (through my link on the right hand sidebar.) Online ordering is coming soon, but meanwhile, look at the online catty and contact me if you’d like to order.  Or, if you’d like to order a real life catalog, they are $10.00 and come with a cardstock sample ring of all the 54+ colors we sell. 

I also have several paper art supply items not sold through Stampin’Up, that I sell when I teach bookmaking and 3D paper art projects. That list consists of:

Paper coasters, blank, ivory, 4″ square, in 3 thicknesses

Baker’s twine on tag cards,15 yards each of all 4 colors

Antique wooden bobbins from old textile mills, aprox. 10″long, 1/2″dia. with a 1″ head on them, to be used to creativly store ribbon odds and ends on. Looks cool in a basket.

Dusting brushes- similar to the ones Judikins sells, but these have green plastic handles.  Cheap enough to have 1 for each ink family.

Blank carnival tickets- these are COOL! Print up or rubberstamp your own carnival tickets, fortune cookie sayings or anything on these vintage treasures!  Colors: hot pink, denim blue, stenopad green, orange (think Halloween here) yellow, and white.  These are all single tickets, not double. Complete rolls of aprox 1,500-2,000 on a roll.

Blank white CD literature folders used to make 5″ X 5″ pocketed memory scrapbooks.

Soon we will be adding button jars- perfect to use in crafts or sewing projects, they are sweet little decorated jars of beautiful buttons in color families!

Call or email me for more info on the above misc. art items I sell privately, if you want more information. These are unique paper art supplies that I have on hand, ready for cash n carry 7 days a week.

My second independent demonstrator-ship is for Homemade Gourmet, a dry mix food company specializing in hosting gatherings where making 4 Meals in 4 Minutes is demonstrated.

The ability to make tasty appetizers, entrees and deserts , and make them FAST, is now possible with the aid of these wonderful food pantry staples. 

Gatherings where we make 4 Meals in 4 Minutes, and taste these fabulous dishes, is just a phone call away!  If the thought of HOMEMADE food appeals to you and having a “gathering” isn’t quite your style, I have workshops where 4-6 people come out, and using our food pantry products, make 8 family-sized main dish entrees for themselves to take home and keep in the freezer.  Most  entrees serve 6 or 8 people easily.  All pantry products and groceries and baking pans or cook-in bags are included in the low price.  This is the same concept that the “Gourmet to Go” stores in the larger city malls use-  “it’s their kitchen-their mess” …. LOL!    Come mess up MY kitchen.  Call me for details. 

  Or click on the link to the right.  You can browse the catalog and order from my website if you wish. There’s even a preferred customer feature where you can enroll for free in our home delivery subscription to get monthly bundles delivered to your door at 20% off retail,  and you pay by credit card! Or you can opt for just 4 times a year if you want. See the website for details.

That about wraps it up- now that it appears that I might have all the eggs in one basket, maybe updates won’t be so hard to keep up with.

Until later,  chow.

Shreaded paper looks darling in Easter baskets, gift baskets, or any container you want to use to present a fabulous gift in!
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Make your own shreaded paper, in multi colors that you can customize, with your paper shreader. Use gift tissue papers you may have leftover or saved from gifts you’ve unwrapped from the holidays, or go buy some colorful new packages at the famous over-rated box store!
My favorite colors are hot pink, lime green and turquoise- those wonderful colors from the Peter Max days of old.
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If you shread tissue paper you have recycled, smooth it out, fold it so it will go through the shreader, and feed it in! If you have a shreader that doesn’t want to turn itself on because it cant “sense” your paper, put a small stiffer paper scrap in the center and activate the shreader switch that way. Use a contrasting color so you can pick the bits out easily afterward.
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New gift tissue is already folded, but you might want to divide the pack into 2 batches and refold it so it is sized to a better width for the shreader. Length of your batch doesn’t really matter, as long as the batch you are feeding into the shreader is not too long, as to get all crooked and cock-eyed as it feeds into the machine.
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Recycled gift tissue shread has a more “crinkled up” look to it, and the new gift paper shread has a slicker, less-worn look to it. I like to reach into my bin of freshly shreaded new paper and grab handfulls to crinkle it somewhat, as this adds body to the shread and makes a nicer presentation in your gift container.
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Other papers look cool shreaded,too. Paper grocery bags make neat material. The handle-type paper bags that are printed with seasonal graphics, or just plain advertising, make interesting color combos. Be sure to cut off and discard the handles and the bottom of the sack. You may also want to trim the glued seam off and discard that too, so that all your kraft paper shread will have a uniform look to it.
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Experiment and have fun making your own shread. When your housemate, mate, or kids come in and look at you like you’re crazy, and ask what it is,exactly, that you are doing, get creative in your answer! Tell them you’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a hamster! Or tell them you’re stocking up on confetti for the next Macy’s parade. Or just tell them that lettuce is just too dang high at the store and you figured this would be an excellent way for them to get more fiber in their diet. LOL!
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Remember, till next time; “If you can’t craft it, cook it, eat it, or boink it, you may as well throw it away.”