It's almost Friday and the weekend! I'm looking forward to getting this week over. Can't really go into much detail about it but it's been a stressful week. Since it's been so stressful I did what any paper crafter would do... I made a silly card. It's for my Mom (ssh don't tell). She hates doing laundry so I'm always on the look out for silly laundry themed things to make her laugh. She's had a tough week too. Hopefully this will get a giggle from her.
None of what I used was by Stampin' Up! *Gasp* I know, I know, I sell Stampin' Up!, but I have other company's products too and sometimes I like to bust out my other stuff and do something a little different.
The stamp is from a company called Viva Las Vegas.
Image was stamped on white from my scrap stash.
The words are computer generated using the font Remington Noiseless.
The image was stamped in Basic Black ink by Stampin' Up!, colored with pencils.
The inking/aging was done by sponging onto the paper with Tim Holtz ink in Vintage Photo.
I've been seeing these great cards all over the internet. I was so intrigued and I went in search of how to make one for myself. I watched a great video by Frenchie Stamps and figured out how. OH MY GOODNESS is this fun! I will admit to being a bit intimated at first, but once the first card was made ... the rest was history. Unfortunately I've needed too many sympathy cards this year and needed to make yet another one. Thankfully this method is wonderful for so many occasions that require cards. I'm looking forward to play around with this technique. Stay tuned for the results in the coming weeks. But for now ... here's the info.
To make a card that looks like
mine, you’ll need the following supplies. Remember, if you need any of these
supplies, just click on the name of the item and it will take you directly to
my shop.
Sentiment stamps are from various Stampin' Up! sets that are retired.
Cut paper sizes:
White paper -
4 x 5 1/4 (you need 2, one for inside and one for the outside)
3 x 4 1/4
2 x 3 1/4
Colored mats -
5 1/2 x 8 1/2 - fold in half ... this is your card base
3 1/4 x 4 1/2
2 1/4 x 3 1/2
For the how to - watch Frenchie's video.
I'll be making some videos of my own soon. Another reason to stay tuned.
Are you getting inspiration from this
blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up
products through me. ClickHEREto place
an order and have your order delivered directly to your door step from Stampin’
Up!
Our August stamp class focused on Autumn stamping. My lovely ladies in attendance learned several new techniques & tricks and we had a great time - as usual. If you haven't attended one of my classes, clear some time to try one. We always have fun and there's always plenty of laughter.
Hi Stampers & Scrappers ~
I've been MIA for a little bit and with good reason . I need to find my crafting space again. LOL I've been cleaning and organizing my space so that I can actually get some work done. It's so easy for it to get out of control and takes soooooo long to put back together once it looks like a my papers exploded all over my office.
Part of the reason for the "mass destruction" that is my office is that hubby & I have traveled quite a bit this summer. It was mostly for business, but we squeezed in a bit of fun since we usually had to travel on the weekends to get to our destination for the week day meetings hubby had. Here's a quick look at some of our stops this summer:
We started our "summer" by helping our son move.
We went on a little vacation down on the Gulf of Mexico! It was only a couple
of days but it was wonderful!
Stopped in San Antonio.
Then to College Station TX to visit the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.
We visited Hoover's Presidential Library.
We visited Eisenhower's Presidential Library.
We had a brief visit to Chicago.
A business conference/trade show in Las Vegas in August --- it was HOT!
Stopped for a quick tour of Mesa Verde long the way.
And just so you don't think it was all fun ... we hit this sand storm outside Shiprock, NM.
This is the approaching storm.
This is as we were driving through the storm.
This summer we've traveled from Iowa down to the boarder of Texas - not all in one trip, thank goodness! All of this travel was from May through August. While we have some great memories from our travels. I do feel that if I were assigned an essay "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" I would have to say ... I spent my summer vacation staring at the back of various semi-trucks!
In between all of this we managed to visit our son at his military base a few times and we spent some time with our daughter and her family. AND I managed to get a few cards made and posted. By August it all caught up with me. So now I'm digging out. Thanks for your patience and watch for some new fun stuff to show up here on the blog soon.
I received a handmade card from my Mom for my birthday. I LOVE getting handmade cards, especially from my family. It means something when I receive a card that someone took the time to make. What makes this card so special is that not only did my Mom make the card, but my Mom is 82 years old and still making things! That's important. Working on crafts is an important task for keeping your brain active and healthy. You need hand/eye coordination to make things and continuing to use your hand/eye coordination strengthens your ability. Continuing to make things as we mature into our Golden Years is just one more step along the road to Healthy Aging. Crafting keeps all those little neurons firing in your brain ... and you want that! Both sides of the brain are involved because you use one side for the math of figuring paper sizes and measuring. You use the other side to work through color choices and design ideas.
My Mom has arthritis in her hands. Some days she can work the punches just fine and other days my sister punches things out for her. It's nice that they are a team like that. LOVE that they craft together. I miss that living so far away, but it gives me a warm feeling to think of them sitting around the kitchen table working, chatting and laughing ... there's always laughter!
So THANKS MOM for making me such a sweet card. I wanted to highlight it here to show off how MYMOM still crafts! You're the best!
Take a moment and create a one of a kinds treasure for someone that you TREASURE. These are the kinds of things we keep and hold dear. Give someone that pleasure today.
This card is smaller than the traditional size, but is still big enough to go through the US mail. It's a fun non-traditional kinda card that a nice change of pace.
To make a card that looks like
mine, you’ll need the following supplies. Remember, if you need any of these
supplies, just click on the name of the item and it will take you directly to
my shop.
Attach half circle to the top and bottom of the card with the ribbon running in between.
Attach punched out stamped image to center of the ribbon area with dimensional.
Are you getting inspiration from this
blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up
products through me. ClickHEREto place
an order and have your order delivered directly to your door step from Stampin’
Up!
The ribbon is ribbon that I had. If I were making this today I'd use Scallop Dots Ribbon.
I stamped her on Whisper White and colored her with colored pencils. (I LOVE to use colored pencils.)
In the first card I punched out the image with the 2 1/2" Circle Punch. Then cut a 3" circle out of Basic Black card stock. After mounting the image I used the Paper Piercer and the Paper-Piercing Pack to pierce around the circle. I liked the rougher look of the backside and used that.
Are you getting inspiration from this
blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up
products through me. ClickHEREto place
an order and have your order delivered directly to your door step from Stampin’
Up!
I'm making my Monday post on Tuesday. :( I live in Oklahoma and it's hot here ... no not just hot ... really hot ... like melt the rubber of your flip-flops hot. We're the hottest place in the nation today - probably all week. This heat just zaps all your energy ... which is why your Monday post is on Tuesday.
Despite the heat, we had our Birthday Bash class last week. I must say, we had a lovely time creating and visiting. It was a sweet cool spot in the midst of all this heat! Such lovely ladies I have to craft with, they just brighten your day.
We made 3 cards this time. Aren't they just darling? Everyone did a great job and had fun in the process.
Birthday Bash Card Class
Fun cards that were pretty quick. The best part is that the design for 2 of the 3 cards can be used almost any occasion by just changing the sentiment.
Watch for our August class dates. We'll be embarking on a scrapbook class entitled "The Story of Us".
To make a card that looks like
mine, you’ll need the following supplies. Remember, if you need any of these
supplies, just click on the name of the item and it will take you directly to
my shop.
Crumb Cake card base is standard size.
Soft Suede mat is 1 3/4 x 3 3/4
Comfort Care mat is 1 1/2 x 3 5/8
Adhere Comfort Care mat to Soft Suede mat.
Attach mats to card using photo as guide for placement.
Stamp Happy Birthday from Perfectly Penned stamp set on Naturals Ivory card stock using Crumb Cake ink.
Cut out sentiment and mount on mats using dimensionals.
Using thread for your choice, tie thread through holes in button and trim off excess.
Attach button to card using dimensional.
Are you getting inspiration from this
blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up
products through me. ClickHEREto place
an order and have your order delivered directly to your door step from Stampin’
Up!
Hi All!
As you may have noticed ... if you look at the dates of my posts, I was gone last week. I ended up traveling with my hubby on business. It was a much needed break and I was able to clear my head a bit. There are a few changes coming to the blog also. New posts will be added on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'll be able to keep up much better and the hubby will be happier since he'll get actual food cooked for him more regularly!
Today let's talk about scapbooking. I've been a scrapbooking for over 15 years. I've seen all the fads come and go. I've tried my hand at a lot of different styles and techniques over the years too. All-in-all I'd have to say that my personal style is pretty clean and simple. I like a simple elegant look to my pages and want the focus on the photos, not all the extra "stuff" that can be stuck on a page.
When I'm planning pages I first look at my photos. More often than not I plan to tell a story to go with the photos. The story doesn't have to be exactly the who/what/when/where of the photo. Often it's the story behind the photo - why I took it, what it reminds me of, where I was in my life journey when I took the photo - the deeper stuff. I do also note somewhere on the page the who/what/when/where of the photo but it isn't always the main point.
Next I start looking at color. This is my favorite part. I like to pick colors from the photos that work well together and enhance the photo to make it pop off the page. This step is important and should not be over looked. This is a HUGE reason why I love Stampin' Up! products. All the papers go with the inks. Matching colors is so much easier and so much less time consuming.
The next step - placement. I often work from sketches to help with placement. They're nice and easy and make that step move just a bit faster. Most of the time I end up with something that differs from the sketch - but that's ok. I need it to work for my photos not some imagined "scrapbook judge & jury". Stop the negative talk in your head. If you like your page that's all that is important. Don't strive to have your pages look like someone else's - your style and expression are important - make it look like your work. Your style is just as important as anyone else's - that's what is important to your family.
There are ALL kinds of ways to scrapbook and no way is more "correct" than another. This is a very personal hobby. At the risk of repeating myself ... you need to work in a way that is comfortable for YOU!
Digital scrapbooking - there are all kinds of digital layouts. That is a totally different post.
Traditional Scrapbooking - pieces of paper, adhesive and photos. Sizes for traditional scrapbooking vary greatly. I lean toward 12 x 12 pages simply because that works the best for me. It allows me the best space for photos, story telling and some artistic embellishments.
Project Life - Project Life or PL is the brain child of Becky Higgins. You may remember her from Creative Memories magazine and her sketches. She's a busy mom and traditional ways of scrapbooking just weren't working for her any more. So she developed this new way of scapping. It's faster, uniform and really allows for the story to come forth in an easy way. Here's a video by Beck that shows it much better than I could explain. I've found that for me, PL helps keep me focused. I'm better able to tell the story of life at my house now that we're empty-nesters. It also gave me a place for all those bits and pieces that I want to keep but have trouble getting into a Traditional scrapbook page - like
movie tickets and programs from plays or performances that the grandkids are in. Those bits find a home in PL quickly. I know they are safe as part of our family history not stuffed in a box or lost.
I was able to quickly document some serious rainfall, my son's Going Away party & move, along with seeing a movie and had a place to keep the ticket.
Here I had a place to keep the invitation to my 50th birthday party and one of my cards. They're not shoved in a box waiting for me to "get around to it someday". It's safe and out to enjoy - along with photos from that event.
A trip to Washington DC was documented quickly and easily. I added a photo sleeve page for some extra photos. Not hiding in a box or sitting on my hard drive but out to enjoy.
With this system I have a place for things like my cool ticket to a college football game. It wont' get lost now because it is in the book.
I also do traditional 12 x 12 layouts that go in my family albums. I've posted many of those on my blog for you to use as ideas for your work. I use photo pocket pages for extra photos to go with layouts. Honestly, do you realllllllly think that you're going to have enough time, energy, inspiration or money to scrap every single photo? Use the various products out there to get your photos out of those boxes and into a format that can be enjoyed. Be realistic. Do what you enjoy and move on.
Stampin' Up! has page projectors for all of your various scapbooking styles. Whether you work digitally and need to put your printed work in a page protector, a traditional scrapper, if you need pocket style pages for extra photos to go with a layout or if you are doing a variation of Project Life - Stampin' Up! has what you need.
Everyone has had experiences that need to be shared with others. Scrapbooking needn't be time consuming or expensive. Everyone has a story to tell. What's your's?
To make a card that looks like
mine, you’ll need the following supplies. Remember, if you need any of these
supplies, just click on the name of the item and it will take you directly to
my shop.
The card base on this card is tent style - which means the fold is at the top.
Card base measures 4 1/4 x 11 - fold at 5 1/2.
Strip grouping measures 1 1/2.
Attach strips with Snail adhesive.
Strips are from the striped piece of DSP from the Patio Party set. You could use any grouping of strips that works for you.
The heart is hand drawn and cut out of Comfort Card DSP and the mat is from Midnight Muse.
Mount heart & mat with Snail Adhesive.
Stamp sentiment in Midnight Muse ink. Tie ribbon with knot in center.
Attach ribbon with glue dot.
Punch flowers from Boho Blossom and centers of flowers from Owl Punch.
Arrange flowers and attach with Snail.
Round corners of card.
Are you getting inspiration from this
blog? One way you can help support it is to order your Stampin’ Up
products through me. ClickHEREto place
an order and have your order delivered directly to your door step from Stampin’
Up!
I think I mentioned earlier this week that today is my darling daughter's birthday. I thought I'd showcase a few scrapbook pages I've made about her. I hope they bring you some inspiration for you next pages.
The tag to the right contains hidden journaling. I had changed the color of the photo to sepia to work better.
I cut the shape out of the pattern paper and adhered it to the black paper so the page would be more stable and have a bit of heft to it. Yep that's my girl - full of spunk!
