Storing My Glue Bottle – No More Clogs!

I love the fine metal tips available for many of the glue bottles on the market today, but I hate that mine always seems to be clogged when I start a project even when a pin is used to seal the bottle when not in use. I even tried using an airtight glass jar in which to store it with no luck. (I use Art Institute Dries Clear Glue in a small refillable squeeze bottle.) I noticed that the glue bottle in the My Sweet Petunia Precision Glue Press is stored uncapped and upside down on a piece of silicone. I also saw Karen Burniston’s video (1:49) where she suggests to store glue bottles with the precision tips upside down in a jar with a damp paper towel on the bottom. The challenge with this (for me) is making sure the paper towel is always wet. But I used the 2 ideas which seems to have solved my clogging (and sealing) problem! My glue bottle now sits in a small glass cup with a piece of silicone on the bottom. It is always ready to use (not clogged), and I don’t have to stick a pin in it when I am not using it. Game changer!!

As long as the metal applicator is sitting directly on the silicone (and not at an angle), my glue is not oozing out and is always ready to go without clogging or waiting for the glue to flow to the tip. I initially tried it in a small flower pot which was too wide for my small glue bottle causing the bottle to lean on an angle when placed inside. Because the tip wasn’t completely resting on the silicone, I had leakage. Then I tried a small paper cup, and while the bottle was upright, the cup was too light and tipped over. So the container needs to be close in size (across) to the glue bottle you are using and heavy enough that it doesn’t tip over when glue bottle is placed inside. I ended up using a small votive candle holder, and it was perfect for the glue bottle I was using. I used a circle die to trim a piece of silicone to fit flat on the bottom, but scissors would have worked also as the silicone is super easy to cut. If die cutting, I found it easiest to place the silicone between a folded scrap of copy paper before cutting as the silicone wanted to squeeze out from under the die. (I actually used 2 circles; not sure if that’s necessary!)

I may never have to clean a clogged tip or put a pin in my glue bottle again!! Woohoo!!

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11Apr2025

Split Diagonal Easter Card

Posted in Cards, Easter, Holiday Cards by lisababitz

Split Diagonal Easter Card

(inside: Wishing you an egg-cellent Easter filled with joy)

This card features “Watercolor Stripe” paper from The Paper Studio, the “Happy Easter” greeting from Purple Daisy Design, and a cute Easter die I found on Amazon.

Recollections Navy and White and Gina K Designs Powder Blue card stock was also used. The inside greeting was computer generated.

This layout was inspired by Lisa Curcio’s video, but my measurements are different. I actually used one of my Mosaic Moments scrapbooking dies from the “30 Degrees” set (not available at this time?) to cut my patterned paper piece, but I included (my) measurements below to cut without the die if interested….

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1Apr2025

Split Panel Card and Others from a One Sheet Wonder

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards by lisababitz

Split Panel Card and Others from a One Sheet Wonder

Inspiration for this card came from two places. I found a 12×12 “One Sheet Wonder” template that I used to create 6 different card sketches (10 cards in all), and this was one of them – sort of. In Mary Knabe’s video, one of her sketches had the focal panel (flowers) attached to the flap at the top, but there was nothing attached to the bottom so the card did not stand up/display very well. I had also recently seen her Split Front Card video and thought I could “fix” the card here by adding the bottom panel (as shown in the second video).

The focal paper I used for all the “One Sheet Wonder” cards is called “Floral Clusters & Leaves” by The Paper Studio. This OSW template works best with double sided paper as a few of the sketches call for flipping some of the pieces over after the sheet is all cut up, but this paper is one sided so I had to “cheat” and use a second coordinating pattern I had in my stash. (The peach strip above should have been the back of one of the pieces cut from my patterned paper.)

If you care to see the other cards I created with this One Sheet Wonder Template or a list of the supplies I used, keep reading…

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26Mar2025

Panoramic Botanicals

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards by lisababitz

Panoramic Botanicals

This card features the “Botanicals” paper (#1434406) from The Paper Studio and a technique I saw in this video on creating a Panoramic Panel card.

Lorraine positioned her panels directly on the card base, but I wanted to try it with a thin border around the whole card, so I changed the measurements slightly so mine fit on a 5 3/8 x 4 1/8 inch panel which I embossed with the Stampin’ Up “Subtle” embossing folder.

This is how it looks with no border (using her measurements/instructions):

And here is a version where I cut the patterned paper incorrectly (there wasn’t enough paper to create a wider middle panel) so I left the panels all the same height and created this card. We will call it another variation instead of a mistake – lol!

The mats were from the “Green” card stock pack from The Paper Studio. (Yes, they are dark green and not black as they appear in the photos!) The greetings were computer generated.

Another good layout for using pretty patterned paper that you don’t want to cover up!

If you care to see the measurements for the panels, keep reading.

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20Mar2025

Collection of Cards from One Sheet of Patterned Paper

Posted in Cards, Get Well/Sympathy, Thank You Cards by lisababitz

Collection of Cards from One Sheet of Patterned Paper

Odd (to me) that I have never done a “One Sheet Wonder” before now! I used Mary Knabe’s template and made 11 cards (using her 5 different sketches) from 1 sheet of 12 x 12 paper.

For those of you not familiar with a “One Sheet Wonder” project, the template tells you how to cut the sheet of patterned paper and gives suggestions for how to use the pieces on cards. You choose the other paper, die cuts, stamped images and/or embellishments to complete the cards. You can follow the suggestions/sketches exactly, or you can use them as starting points and do as you wish. (I followed all of her sketches for my cards.)

This is the sheet of patterned paper (that I’ve had forever!) that I used on all of my cards.

This is how the paper was cut:

Mary charges for the PDF of her template and instructions which is why I did not post the measurements here, but if you watch her YouTube video, you can see them (for free).

Here is the first card design. I was able to make 2 of these.

I was able to make 3 of the second card design. (I used one less mat layer than what the sketch suggested.)

I was able to make 3 of the third card design.

I was only able to make 1 of the fourth card design.

And I was able to make 2 of the final card design. (I added an extra layer than what the sketch suggested for the background.)

This was a fun project! There was not a drop of the patterned paper left over, and the simple sketches can be used on their own or with the template. And I have 11 cards ready to go!

If you care to see the supplies I used on these cards, keep reading…

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