CARD DIVAS CARDS

Here are the cards we got to make at last Card Divas meeting:

Mel says the name of this die is

Butterfly Hearts by Memory Box.

Inside View:

The red centers of the flowers are actually paper!

This is a card made with my new mason jar

stamp from Paper Source. Here's another version:

Inside View:

The bee stamp is from a retired

Stampin' Up set called Botanicals.

Inside View:

Michele's wonderful card is made with

washi tape and nesties!

Christie wet embossed the flowers for us ahead of time

then we used daubers to rub on the color,

cut out the flower and popped it up

with dimensionals.

This card reminded me of my grandmother's

Singer sewing machine that she used to

make all of her quilts and clothes

for me and my sister!

Mel also sent along these cards for each of us that we had admired at a previous meeting:

What a nice surprise to get all three cards!

Here is Christie's awesome favor that she found on her last trip:

...and here are some food pics from Christie's kitchen:

  

 It was a fun fun day!

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVSfor the Week Ending 8/22/2014: New Toys from Stampin' Up!

Oh! Joy! New SU items have arrived and I just had to make my first Christmas card with them! The two new sets for me are White Christmas and Endless Wishes:

...and so I could justify my new stamp set purchase, I decided to try and make a Halloween card with the trees stamp from the White Christmas set:

The bats were made using a butterfly punch - the smaller of the two offered by SU. After punching out a small butterfly in black card stock, you go back in for a second punch over the top space left by the first punch. Just punch it again to make a bat! It's a similar idea to the one shown in the pin below, but I like to save a step and cut out one butterfly first (discard that butterfly), then go back and punch again at the top of the void left by the first punch --- so much easier than gluing the first butterfly to a piece of paper then going in to punch it again! Another multi-use idea for a punch I already have - SCORE! 

Original Pin HERE

I'm so happy that SU is starting to do some sets in the photopolymer/clear stamps! I did some searching on Pinterest for cards using their sets featured in the Holiday Mini Catalog. First up....here's what I found for their White Christmas set:

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

...and here are some samples using the Endless Wishes set:

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

I've found that these clear photopolymer sets work best with VersaFine inks...however, they do need quite a bit of drying time before handling.

TOOTHBRUSH CHECKLIST ANDTOOTHPASTE RECOMMENDATIONS

This post is provided for all of my patients who ask about my current guidelines for oral health care practices and products. Click HERE to return to my paper crafting posts.

TOOTH BRUSHING CHECKLIST

ü  Throw away toothbrushes once the bristles fan out

o   Bristles that fan out are only 50% effective

o   If fanning occurs within 4 months, decrease pressure when brushing

(Replace toothbrushes every 4 to 6 months)

ü  Use extra soft toothbrushes such as the new Colgate Slim Soft 17x toothbrush (at all drugstores) and the Philips Sonicare Standard Ultrasoft Sensitive brush heads (at Target and Amazon.com)

ü  Use very short back and forth strokes. Avoid up and down, circles or wide back and forth strokes as these motions clean ineffectively and can contribute to recession and exposed roots

ü  Brush at a 45 degree angle for all areas except the inside surfaces of the six upper and lower front teeth – for those teeth, increase the angle there and hold the toothbrush in a North/South direction --- for manual brushing, use very short back and forth strokes. If using an electric toothbrush, let the toothbrush do all of the work. Do not add additional motion with your hand. Move the brush to the next group of teeth about every 1 to 2 seconds. REMEMBER: YOU GET 2 WEEKS WORTH OF MANUAL BRUSHING IN ONE SESSION WITH AN ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH. That's why electric brushes clean so well and why they can also cause damage if not used correctly.

ü  Do not brush on top of the gums: It's very important to brush so that the bristles touch the gum line but do NOT brush on top of the gums.

ü  Avoid massaging the gums with toothbrushes, rubber tips and toothpicks

o   Toothpicks and rubber tips can be helpful for deeper pockets, but require instructions from us to avoid damage to the gums

TOOTHPASTES WITH FLUORIDE CHECKLIST

ü  Avoid Colgate Total and Sensodyne Pro Enamel toothpaste formulas

o   Colgate Total contains tryclosan - a strong antimicrobial that has been linked to antibiotic resistance as well as cellular malformations in animals UPDATE: Colgate Total Daily Repair is the newest version of this product and they have removed the tryclosan!

o   Sensodyne Pro Enamel contains very low abrasives and therefore lacks the ability to remove surface stains caused by tea, coffee, soda, wine, etc. This toothpaste is designed for use by patients who have significant recession, acid erosion and/or wear.

ü    If we see tissue sloughing, avoid toothpastes that contain a combination of sodium with phosphate (a harsh cleaner also used by painters to degrease walls). AIM and AQUAFRESH (that are NOT the tartar control formulas) plus Colgate Total Daily Repair are free of sodium combined with phosphate. Also, Colgate with Baking Soda and Peroxide does not contain sodium with phosphate and is an excellent choice to prevent surface stains. 

If you use a desensitizing formula of toothpaste, Sensodyne Fresh Impact is an excellent choice as it does not contain sodium phosphates. NOTE: The combination of SODIUM AND/OR PHOSPHATE WITH FLUORIDE is completely different and IS desired in toothpastes to prevent cavities. For example: Sodium monofluorophosphate

ü   If you have canker sores frequently, avoid toothpastes that contain sodium lauryl sulphate (a foaming agent). The entire Sensodyne line of toothpastes does not contain sodium lauryl sulphate.

....and here's ONE COMMON PRODUCT TO AVOID USING: CHAPSTICK because it contains phenol - a chemical and preservative that can remove the outer layer of cells on your lips causing them to be extremely dry all the time...HENCE, the addictive property of Chapstick! Find products without phenols such as L'Occitaine, Burt's Bees, EOS, and other natural types of lip balms.

My Favorite Manual Toothbrush:
NIMBUS

 
To order on Amazon, click HERE.

My Favorite Electric Toothbrush:

Philips SONICARE Electric Toothbrush

The basic model below is currently at

Bed Bath and Beyond for less than $100.

Use Your Coupons!

CLICK ON PICTURE

to go to site

My Favorite Sonicare Soft Brushes

Available at Target

Phillips Sonicare

ProResults

Sensitive

OR

Ultra Soft

Sensitive Brush Heads

(Check Amazon.com

and Target.com)

MY FAVORITE FLOSS:

Listerine Ultraclean or Healthy White Floss:

OR

Look for the "MICRO GROOVES" on the package.

NOTE: This floss used to be called

Reach Total Care which is no longer manufactured:

If you use floss picks, please buy "Y" ONLY shaped flossers. Buy "Y" is important! The handle part comes out of the middle of the floss head to form a "Y". Buy "Y" flossers such as these:

 

The flossers with a handle that comes out of one side will cut the gums of your back teeth! We see this all the time, so please avoid using the non-"Y" flossers! This is the type of floss pick to avoid using:

The information above will be updated periodically and can alway be found online at: 

tinyurl.com/ktlists

KT Hom, RDH, MEd

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: Up to Some Monkey Business!

Remember this cute little monkey card I found for a past PIN IT FRIDAY FAV?

Click HERE for the Original Pin

I needed a card to cheer someone up and let them know we were thinking about them --- this seemed like the perfect card! It took me about two hours to put it all together! I only wish I had taken the time to make a couple of them while I had everything out! Here's my version:

I found it easiest to cut the fence strips of textured card stock slightly wider than 1/4" then mount them on a piece of black card stock using Mono Multi-Glue - leaving a tiny bit of space in-between each piece:

Then I trimmed the top of the fence after I glued on the last piece of fence. I also used foam tape to adhere the monkey in the window piece and the "smile" sign. The "smile" is from Stampin' Up's Fabulous Phrases set.....and a few weeks back, I posted a get well purse pinned from Pinterest on my PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS:

Here's the purse I made thanks to that pin:

I modified the pattern provided on my purses post HERE.

CHRISTMAS CARDS FOUND

Recently, I found these saved Christmas card ideas from long ago when I backed up some picture files to my external hard drive:

 ...and this penguin card I designed for

my fabulous Card Chicks:

 
Inside View

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: For the Week Ending 8/8/2014

This card was a recent highlight of my pinning activity on Pinterest! Learn how to make this easy pop up card by watching a terrific how-to video HERE (or at the end of this post) made by FRENCHIE STAMPS.

Collapsed and ready for mailing.

Side View

This cards fits into a standard A2 envelope and doesn't require extra postage. The video shows all of the steps so you can make one, too. Here's my version for my friend, Anne, who is turning 90 next month:

SU STAMP SETS:

Create a Cupcake

Sweet Little Sentiments

NESTIES:

Labels 3

This is the paper stack from JoAnn's that I used:

MEASUREMENTS:

Base = 11" x 4 1/4" 

Score at 1, 2 3/4, 3 3/4, 5 1/2, 7 1/4, 8 1/4 and 10"

Pop Up Tag Background = 2 3/4" x 5 1/4"

Pop Up Tag Top Layer = 2 1/2" x 5"

FRENCHIE'S VIDEO

MANY THANKS

to the OH! so

TALENTED FRENCHIE!

I also made up a pdf to create a set of four instruction cards that can be cut into quarters to place over the top of this collapsed pop up card in the envelope so that the receiver knows how to open and display their card. Click HERE to print on card stock, then cut it into four 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" pieces.