Gift tags

I wanted to show you some gift tags I finally put together last week.  I had cut them out last fall and then they waited until I could find time to put them together.  I'll have to do some close-up photos as you can not see the Prisma glitter or stickles that I've used.  Each snowflake card has a different Stickle on it!

Craft show set-up

What started out in 3 boxes/storages totes and 2 smaller boxes all ended up on this one table and the latticework display behind it.  I probably should have had 2 tables but it worked out all right.  I'll be at the Fluvanna Craft show next weekend on 12/4.  Besides the handcrafted items I will have products for sale including new Close To My Heart stamp sets, lots of paper and a variety of gently used tools. 

Christmas cards

Tonight I've been working on finishing up some odds & ends that were needed on a few items - I noticed a few things that were needed as I packed everything up. I also had some time tonight to make some Christmas cards that I had started making parts of several weeks ago.  The candy cane and "HoHoHo" were all made with Cricut cartridge Very Merry Tags.  I think this is one of my very favorite cartridges so far - these are so easy to make and can be used in so many ways!  On these cards I added them to the front of the card with a brad so they can be removed and hung on the tree or used on a gift.  A few have "To" & "From " on the backs for use as gift tags.  The front of the cards are embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder.  Hope this is a quick & easy idea for your Christmas cards

Pumpkin lamps

These are the easiest Fall decorations to put together - 2 baby pumpkins, 2 Hurricane lamps (from AC Moore), 2 candles and 4-6 floral hooks (not sure what they are called but they are shaped like a U).  Its important to look your little pumpkins over carefully as they need to have an even base and top so they or the candles don't tip over.  I'll also try to find ones that don't have their "handle" as those are harder to break off then you would think!  My husband pushes the hooks in for me while I hold the hurricane lamp where I want it on the pumpkin.  I think you can see the top of the hook in the 2nd photo. 

Craft Show

Though I've not been posting - it doesn't mean I haven't been creating - I've been working on items for an Employee Craft Show at the hospital I work at.  Its the first time I've participated and I wanted the items to be varied and to have a good quality and quantity.  I'll try to get some photos posted for you to see.  Some of the items that you've seen in previous posts will be at the sale.  Have lots of errands to run - looking for some supplies to finish up the last few items along with the usual weekend stuff to do.  

Scraps and Strings & Paper Things store closing!

As we have seen too often over the last few years another scrapbook store is closing.  The following is the owner, Kris' announcement released today regarding her store in Northeast:


I want to let you know that beginning Wednesday, September 8, I am having a semi-retirement sale at the North East store (sorry, no sale at Cross Roads), I will be giving 25% off your entire purchase of in-stock items. The less I have to move, the better!
I am continuing my booth at Cross Roads, while Lesley, at Pillowcasegram is totally retiring. Both stores at 3 West Main, North East, will close on September 30.
I am looking forward to more time with my family and friends, and lots of road trips to scrapbook stores and quilt shops! And, of course, I will still see my friends each Saturday at Cross Roads until December 18!
Store hours until September 30 are as follows:
Monday-Thursday 10 am - 4 pm
Friday 10 am - 6 pm
Saturday 10 am - 5 pm
Don't forget to check out my website for the latest news!
Thanks so much!

Kris

Win some blog candy!

Go to the following link, follow his easy instructions for a chance to win some blog candy!  Look at the great stuff he is giving away in celebration of his Blog's Birthday!


http://bearcrazyman.blogspot.com/2010/09/bearcrazymans-blog-birthday-giveaway.html

In Celebration of my blog turning 1 year old I am having a blog candy giveaway. I have included some of my favorite things and hope they will become favorites of yours too. In order to be eligible to win I need you to:

1. Become a follower of my blog.

2. Leave a comment.

3. Post a link about my giveaway on your blog.

When I have reached 100 followers I will randomly select a winner from all participants.

Sound like a plan?

This whole blog thing has been a great experience and continues to help me make friends and grow artistically. This is just a small way of saying thank you :)

The goodies you will receive are as follows.

1 Travel Page Scrapbook kit by Colorbox. Over 100 pieces including card stock, tags, stickers, chipboard, frames and vellum words
3- White Bird Stickers by Heidi Swapp
1 pkg of Hinge clips by Tim Holtz
2 pkgs of Grunge Board also by Time Holtz. One plain Elements and the other Stripe Shapes
2 Mask by Tim Holtz 1 being the Large Time Pieces the other being the Mini Regal
A teaser leaflet with 3 of Tim's Techniques from The Compendium of Curiosities Book
Last but not least Tim's most incredible paper stash pad, Lost and Found

Thanks again to you all, Good Luck and Happy Birthday!!!

Doraline on a Pumpkin

I finally finished this card.  I have had her colored for awhile but only just recently did the finishing touches and made her into a card.  Doraline is from a company called Motivet and I purchased several stamp sets at CKC - Buffalo last spring.  You'll get to meet Doraline's friends in future posts.  Doraline is colored with my Copic markers.  The pumpkin on the right has Stickles covering it as well.  The card is from American Crafts. I used Spellbinders Nestabilites - Labels Eight to cut the frame around Doraline  The frame is made with K & Company paper.  The background around Doraline was done with a stippling brush as I do not have an airbrushing system.  I'm not sure where I got the little leaves but they seemed to go well with the stamp and I added some Stickles to them as well.

What I've been up to

It may seem like I've not been creating or into crafting for a period of time, however, I have been doing a lot of things related to creating.  The photos on the left were taken at Scrap Stamp Art Tour at the Fairgrounds in Hamburg, NY.  From top to bottom are the following booths - Scrap Dazzle (online store), Buffalo Stamps and my friend Amber's online store Amber's Attic.  Links to their stores and/or blogs are below.  I was one of the first through the door so the booths haven't gotten busy yet - it was nice I could get up close and see all the goodies very well.  I've also been to JoAnn's, Michaels and AC Moore using their coupons to save on my purchases along with visiting Buffalo Stamps the day before the Scrap Stamp Art Tour.  I'm stocking up on supplies for the holidays and for creating through the winter months. I've also been been watching quite a few videos - Suzanne Dean's, Marianne Walker's, Tim Holtz's - to name a few.  I've been using my Cricut a lot cutting stuff for Christmas cards & tags - nothing is put together yet but once I get going I'll show you what I've come up with.  I've also colored several images with my Copic markers - I just have to put those together as well.  Hope everyone has had a nice Labor Day weekend.

Cricut Demonstrators Needed -fyi

Hi Lynn,

Thank you for your interest in the Cricut Demonstrator positions. I am listing a brief job description and current available stores below for your convenience. If any of the store locations are near you please answer the questions as well. If not, please feel free to share the position with all of your family, friends and blogs, all referrals are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much and I look forward to speaking with you.

CRICUT DEMONSTRATORS NEEDED IN YOUR AREA – GET PAID FOR YOUR HOBBY

Experienced Scrapbook lovers that have a passion for their Cricut machines, get paid to do something that you consider a hobby. We are seeking Cricut Demonstrators / Sales Specialist for retail stores in several states to demonstrate various models of the Cricut machine on the weekends at major craft store. Great Pay!

Store Locations:

Michaels US

8571 Old Seward Hwy
Anchorage
AK

4154 Commonwealth Ave
Eau Claire
WI

1500 E Empire St
Bloomington
IL

6601 S Westnedge Ave
Portage
MI

416 N Marketplace Blvd
Lansing
MI

41904 Ford Rd
Canton
MI

5125 Jonestown Rd Ste 445
Harrisburg
PA

6212 E Lloyd Expy
Evansville
IN

BRIEF JOB DESCRIPTION
· Retail Stores: Michaels and JoAnne’s Craft Stores
· Great Hourly Rate and Administrative Pay Provided (Call or email for details)
· Dress Code: long sleeve white shirt and black slacks, apron provided
· Schedule: 1 day a week on the weekends, possibly through the end of the year
· Work JoAnne’s – Saturdays (1-5) or Michael’s – Sundays (1-5pm)
· Materials will be provided for all demonstrations, no out of pocket expenses
· Must be able to submit to drug screen and background check

· This is a sales driven position, although you are demonstrating your favorite product, the main priority is to sell the product and heavy customer interaction

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
· Do you own a Cricut machine and if so, what model?
· How many cartridges do you own?
· What types of projects do you make?
· Are you available weekends:
· Your name:
· City and state:
· Telephone number:
· Email:
· Store locations convenient for you:

Darlene Scott

Talent Acquisition Department

Campaigners, a Division of Advantage Sales & Marketing

Toll Free: 888-882-2025 Ext 16783 / Direct: 310-321-6783
909 N. Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 200, El Segundo, CA 90245

darlene.scott@campaigners.com / www.campaigners.com

Craft time

I know its been awhile since I've posted a new project however I have been busy crafting. I borrowed my friend & fellow crafter, Linda's Cricut cartridge Christmas/Noel and have been cutting out Christmas trees, houses, wreaths and more like crazy!  They aren't put together yet - I'm saving that project for evenings when I'm sitting watching TV.  Once I finished that I pulled out 3 cartridges I got last Christmas and haven't done very much with.  I've been cutting snowmen out along with their outfit from the Cricut cartridge Snow Friends.  Those too will get put together some evening. 

how do you fix mistakes?

These are the last 2 card designs that we created last Saturday at Kathy's Stamp Camp.  As I mentioned most of the products used were Stampin' Up products.  I love the polar bears but I messed up on both cards when I stamped Celebrate the Season on the front of the "snow" so I've done 2 different fixes on the cards at left - neither of which I like.  How do you fix stamping errors or artwork that doesn't meet your expectations?  In this case on the top cards I'm probably going to try and redo the snow bank completely and reattach the polar bears - not sure if I'll be able to do that without ripping the paper.  The middle card I'll probably leave as is.  The polar bears are made with different size circles for the bodies, an oval for the adult bear's head and circle for the baby bear's head.  The snouts are made by cutting an oval in half (appropriately sized).  The ears were made by 2 different size hole punchs as are the noses.  Eyes & eyebrows were colored by a black pen.

More cards from Stamp Camp

Here are 2 more of the cards we made yesterday.  Both are very simple to make.  Two more designs tomorrow!

Stamp Camp cards

Here are 2 of the six cards we made this morning at Kathy Atherton's Stamp Camp.  We made 2 of each style.  Three hours flew by in a flash!  Kathy is a Stampin' Up rep so most of the materials used are Stampin' Up products.  I love going to classes because I always learn something new, use color combinations I would not have tried, use tools in new ways and have a lot of fun.  Since this was my first time to Kathy's Stamp Camp I also got to meet a lot of new people!  Kathy's next stamp camp is Fri & Sat Sept 10 & 11.  I'm hoping to go on the 11th.  Wild Wind Folk Art & Craft Show is that weekend but I'll plan to do that on the 12th.  Two more cards tomorrow.

Free gift from Just Rite Stampers

Can't believe how fast the days got away from me!  First, I flew out to Seattle for 5 days visiting my youngest son and his fiancee in Seattle.  My oldest son flew in from California to make it a mini family reunion.  After that I came home and we spent a furious week cleaning the house for their visit this week.  Anyways, I just pulled this info from Sharon Harnists' blog Paper Perfections and wanted to share it with you. 

"Also, JustRite has a free gift for you ... their 2010 Catalog & Idea Book!

Simply visit their website and place an order for their catalog. During checkout, use this coupon code: IDEAS811 in the box marked promotional code and the catalog is yours absolutely free -- they will even pay the shipping for the catalog (shipping offer applies to USA only)! Coupon code expires on August 31st!"

Their website is http://www.justritestampers.com/ and it took just minutes to enter the information needed.  Their catalog is normally $6.95 plus shipping!  Good deal!

Display board

Here is the last item that I made from the 9,000 piece Cosmo Cricket kit.  The display board on the left is another easy project.  It's just a piece of chipboard with openings for photos that I covered on the back with a coordinating piece of patterned paper - I left it open at the top to add photos, mats (if needed) or journaling.  I added a piece of ribbon to hang it and a chipboard title and embellishments. 

I hope you are checking out some of the links I have listed below - everyone is getting really excited about CHA next week.  Some including Tim Holtz are showing sneak peaks of the new items that are being released next week.  Tim Holtz has some amazing items that he's bringing along with Heartfelt Creations.  Guard your wallet!

Christmas cards

So here is a closer look at the eight Christmas cards I made with the 9,000 piece kit from Cosmo Cricket.  I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo but the kit included liners for the envelopes that matched the cards - quite a nice touch!

Chipboard Album

Here's another item made from the 9,000 piece Cosmo Cricket kit.  The front of this page actually was scraps that I had left but I love the way the little snowman is showcased in the red rectangle.  Photos and journaling will need to be added as well as any further personalization that is wanted. 

Accordion album

I'm so happy I figured out how to get the photos facing in the right directions - looks so much better.  Amazing how the small things can make us so happy!  Here is the accordion album that was part of the 9,000 piece kit from Cosmo Cricket.  All the edges are distressed with a Close To My Heart brown ink pad.  Most of the papers did not need a lot of distressing as they already had a "distressed" look to them.  I did not use adhesive on the top of the photo frames and was careful to put the adhesive on the very outside edge of the frames so that a photo could be slid in.  Photos can also be placed on the tags with journaling placed on the back of the tags. 

More projects

When I posted the pictures on July 11th I kept looking at the grouping and thought boy, this doesn't seem like much for all the time and work it took!  Well, that's because I forgot to include the 2 album set (see photo at right) that was part of this Cosmo Cricket 9,000 piece kit!  I've also included photos from one 2 page layout from each album.  Like the other projects they are intended for Christmas photos.  All of the items just need photos and personalization/journaling although there is room for more embellishment if wanted.

Did you notice that photos are all oriented in the right direction?  Yay!!  I figured out how to get them rotated finally.  Thanks for your patience!

Finally finished!!

So here are the projects I've been working on since June 26th!  I opened up the 2 boxes that the materials (9000 pieces!!) came in on my first day of vacation.  I've been working on them or fussing with them on & off since then.  I did not make all the projects that were possible as they did not appeal to me.  The hardest part of working with this kit was working with prints that I probably would not have picked myself.  Some of them I liked and some I didn't.  So I found that a challenge.  I'll have photos of the individual items posted over the next few days.  If you are starting on your Christmas cards or other holiday projects hopefully they will provide some inspiration!

The Artist's Way

I know many scrapbookers, stampers, cardmakers & papercrafters who have said in the past "I couldn't do that - I'm not creative!"  And even experienced crafters sometimes feel "blocked" and at a a loss of how to compose a card or page.  For anyone who wants to discover their creativity or recover it, check out The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  While I've not managed to get through the whole 12 week program, I love the book and it has helped me get over some hurdles.  In looking back over my blog and the projects I've gotten done in the last 3 months its certainly got me working again!  You can find the "Basic Tools"on http://www.theartistsway.com/ under the tab at the top of the home page. 

Cards

I posted the other cards to this set back awhile and forgot about these until I was reviewing what was on my memory card.  So I thought I would post these and be done with them. You can see the original post on June 4, 2010.  The set is called Blissful Blossoms.   As you can see it the kit was pretty basic and they were easy to do.  As usual I had problems getting the photos going in the right direction but at least this time they are all facing the same way!

Alan Alda at Chautauqua Institution

Vacation is great!  While I haven't spent any time "creating" today I had the chance to hear Roger Rosenblatt & Alan Alda discuss his life & career at Chautauqua Institution's Amphitheater.  And we all know what a gifted and creative actor Alan Alda is.  It was the largest crowd in the amphitheater that I've ever seen!  And we were not disappointed.  It was inspiring to hear him talk about the creative process in acting and the things he is passionate about.  At times I closed my eyes and it was like listening to "Hawkeye" though!  What an amazing sense of humor and such quick wit.

This afternoon there was a book signing and I got a chance to speak with Alan Alda briefly while he signed our copies of his books.  What a humble man!  He thanked me for waiting & standing in line!   

Milestones & Moments Album

Another item that I have finished this week while I'm on vacation!  As usual the photo of the cover is not correctly positioned so I hope you can seet it all right in spite of that.I really like the saying on the little green file folder (I'm a sucker for  quotes - how do people think these up and how do they become part of our culture?!)
"Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments."

Home Sweet Home layout

Here's one of the items I finished today.  This kit is from Heartstring Designs - I got it a few years ago at CKC-Buffalo.  If you haven't been reading since the beginning of my blog you may not know that my goal this year (and probably next year -LOL) is to finish all the projects that I have started and not completed for various reasons as well as using all the items I've bought to do a variety of projects.  This one did not get completed when I first started it because I messed it up in the beginning and wasn't sure what to do with it.  Fortunately, I seem to be in a happy place creatively and am getting things finished up!  Hopefully I can keep it up.  Stay tuned for more finished projects!

Busy creating!

Hope to have some photos for you the next time I post as I've been busy creating all morning!  I got a lot done despite the heat & humidity today & on Sat. in Erie, PA at the Crop & Swap as well so I'll have a couple of things to show over the next few days. 

Why do you blog?

For those of you who do not yet have a blog or those of you wondering if a blog is worth the work, head over to http://www.mystoryart.com/ and read Sharon House's (from British Columbia, Canada) thoughts about why she blogs.  It can be found in her June 18, 2010 post and it is very interesting and fun!

Quick Quotes Canvas Kit

FIrst off, I'd like to apologize for the photos - one of these days I have to figure out how to get them posted so that they are in the correct position!!  I hope that you are still able to see the canvas panels well enough.  I finally finished these a couple of weeks ago.  I had started them at a CKC class a couple of years ago.  If you've been following my blog for awhile you may remember a post with pictures showing a box full of projects to finish and/or start - there are only a few things left in the box I'm happy to say.  Of course, what's left are things that I started and then didn't like where the project was headed.  Now I need to come up with new ideas.  Sounds simple but sometimes it's hard to get the original idea out of your head!  Anyways, these panels are finished except for some photos.  I haven't decided if I'm keeping this project or giving it away yet.  I look forward to doing another Quick Quotes project - I like working with the canvas.  If you haven't yet, check out http://www.shopquickquotes.com/