Clearly The Most Creative Scrapbooker

February FUN!!

2012-02-01T02:21:00.000-08:00

HI! Thanks for stopping by today. It's the first of February and this month is full of all sorts of fun things like Valentine's Day and the Spring/Summer CTMH catalog is available starting today!! You have to get this catalog. Inside are over 30 new stamp sets, new embellishments, new paper packs and lots and lots of ideas. Contact me to get your own catalog for only $3.95 unless you would like to make a $25 purchase and then I will give you the catalog for FREE! If you would like more ideas, come back soon. I'm hosting a CTMH blog hop (date to be determined)and each blog will be showcasing creations using the new stamps and paper packets from the Spring/Summer Catalog. Check back soon to find out the date!

WIN A FREE CATALOG!!
Please leave me a comment during the month of February and at the end of the month I will randomly select a name and that person will win a FREE copy of the Spring/Summer CTMH catalog and the newest petite perk stamp set!
Leave a comment today!

Spring Purses!

2012-02-01T02:02:00.000-08:00

Hey, thanks for stopping by as the Winter weather is slowly dripping away. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of Spring! It's time to get rid of the dreary and lookout for the fresh, new, fun colors, sights and sounds of Spring. What better way to celebrate Spring, then with a colorful new purse. Today I'm going to show you how to create a cute little purse with some papers inside for a little notepad or to put some spring photos on! Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it would be great to put some LOVE coupons inside it, or poems expressing your feelings, the possibilities are endless. I've also used these purses and stapled a little bag of candy inside it for a party favor, and as a thank you gift for teachers and teachers aide's. See how many ideas you can come up with to use this idea for and then please write me a comment about it. I LOVE to hear from you!

Supplies:
Pencil
Cardstock
Stapler with staples
Scissors
Adhesive
Ribbon
Inside paper (cardstock or copy paper)
Velcro
Embellishments
Purse Template or Coluzzle Purse Pattern and coluzzle swivel knife

Instructions:

1.) Trace the purse pattern onto your cardstock (I fold at 12x12 piece in half so that I can cut 2 purses out at once)
2.) Cut out your purse

3.) Fold your purse up from the bottom and down from the top

4.) Cut the papers you will put inside the purse into 4x9" pieces
-these pages will be folded so that 2 4x9" pieces will make 4 pages
5.) Fold the inside pages you just cut, in half
6.) Open up your folded pages and place them on top of your opened purse
-the bottom fold of the purse will line up with the fold of your pages

7.) Staple the pages inside the purse

8.) Put adhesive along the fold (over the staples) and put a piece of ribbon over the staples. Turn the purse over and put adhesive over the same fold (over the staples) and put another piece of ribbon over it
**You may want to use a 1/4" strip of paper instead of ribbon to cover the staples. Sometimes I will use ribbon over the staples on the outside and paper over the staples on the inside. Do whatever you think looks better with the cardstock you chose to use.

9.) Lay your purse down so that the notepad papers are facing up. Place a piece of velcro onto the middle of the top flap on your purse.
10) Fold the bottom of your purse up, and place the other piece of velcro onto the middle of the bottom flap on your purse.
11) Cut ribbon 12" long and adhere it to each side of the top flap of your purse (this is the handle)
12) Embellish as desired!

Faux Suede Embossing Technique

Who wouldn't like a suede looking purse? Here are instructions on how to make your purse look like it's made of suede! It's super easy!

Supplies:
Versamark Ink Pad
Clear embossing powder
Heat gun
Stylus

Instructions:

1.)Cover the area you want to look like suede in versamark ink

2.) Cover the ink with clear embossing powder

3.) Use your stylus to make your design

4.) Heat the powder and watch your suede design appear!

(The above "suede" purse was made using the coluzzle purse template.)

Scrapbook Retreat in Fort Flagler

2012-01-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

Last October I went on a 4-day excursion to Fort Flagler, up past Edmonds, WA. It's called Eat, Nap, Scrap and is hosted by Lori Drouin and her mom Gayle (who looks just like my mom). She hosts two retreats a year, one in October and one in the Spring (March 2012). This last retreat had the theme Breast Cancer Awareness. We all got to decorate a shower curtain for a contest and then they had a dress up night with the same theme. There were some really cute shower curtains, but mine WON!! I was sooo excited.

It seems that I never win anything and this is the 2nd time I've won a contest this year! The first contest was at the Quick Quotes Private Reserve at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mounds, WA. Quick Quotes had a bra decorating contest for breast cancer awareness and I made some "C" turtles out of a little bra.

It can be a PAIN to pack up all of your stuff and travel Far, Far, Away to a retreat, but the fun and fellowship and the time to just concentrate in you and your hobby is priceless. Over the years I have made many close friends at these retreats and I look forward to seeing them, as much as I am excited to learn new techniques and scrap and make cards! Look around, and see what there is close to you. If you can't find anything, please contact me, and I will give you the information to sign up for one of the retreats I go to. I would love to see some of you again, and meet some of you in person for the first time! Please leave a comment and let me know where you have gone to scrap in the past and if it is worth it to go again.
Thanks for stopping by and please come back. Hope to see you again real soon! Have a great day! Shellie

Studio J! Join Today!

2012-01-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

January is free layout month for Studio J® members! For every 9 custom-printed Studio J layouts you buy, you’ll receive the 10th layout free. To receive the discount, just add 10 or more layouts to your cart. You’ll see a discount reflected in your order total. And you can totally take advantage of this promotion by ordering in multiples of 10. Buy 9, get 1 free. Buy 18, get 2 free. Buy 27, get 3 free. And so on! If you’re not a member yet, now’s a great time to join!

Rock the Block!

2012-01-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

When you place a minimum order of $25 from the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book, you can get two valuable new products for just $15: the My Creations® Collage Cubes (a Spring/Summer 2012 sneak-peek product!) and the exclusive My Acrylix® Rock the Block E-size stamp set (available only during this promotion). This Rock the Block promotion represents a retail savings of almost $30! You're going to love the collage cubes and the Rock the Block stamp set, which work together for interactive, fashionable fun!

Contact me today to place your order and get the NEW Spring/Summer 2012 catalog FREE!

WOTG Believe Card

2011-08-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the second card I made for the swap using all the new stamp sets in the NEW CTMH Fall/Winter 2011 Catalog. This card was made using the following items:

WOTG Stamp Set Believe (G1030)
WOTG Paper - Believe (G1030)
White Fun Flock
Stardust Glitz Glitter Glue (Z1313)
Scalloped Edge Round Punch (Z1392)
Green Buttons
Crystal Blue Ink Pad (Z2117)
Black Ink Pad (Z2105)
Pear Ink Pad (Z2197)

I absolutely love the gestures this Santa is making, with his arms open wide, welcoming everyone! The fun flock made a great textured fluffy beard, as white as the snow and the glitz added that sparkle that Santa carries everywhere. The bright colors completed the look of this cheery holiday card.

Happy Birthday Card (CTMH)

2011-08-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

I just made this card for a swap using all the new stamps in the new CTMH Fall/Winter Catalog 2011. This card was made with the following items:

Roxie Paper (X7140B)
Vanilla Cream Cardstock (X5646)
Celebration Stamp Set (from new Cricut Bundle Z1686)
Silver Glitz Glitter Glue (Z1482)
1/2" border from Roxie paper (excess)
Smoothie Ink Pad (Z2196)
Desert Sand Ink Pad (Z2118)

I love the way that the cupcake liner stamp looks so realistic and swirly. The excess 1/2" border had little silver dots on it and I embellished it further with the silver glitter glue, and added more silver to the cupcake frosting. It's amazing how that little bit of sparkle really jazzed up this card.

Happy Fall Y'all

2011-08-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine asked me to make her some Thanksgiving cards. This is what I created...

Both cards are similiar. The top card has a portion of a shaped paper in the lower right-hand corner, which reminds me of a piece of pumpkin pie...YUM!! The bottom card has the actual pumpkin that you would use to create that pumpkin pie! Which one do you like better? Please leave me a comment so that I know you have stopped by. Thanks for visiting today and come back soon!

Scrapbook Royalty aka Charity Wings

2011-08-09T23:39:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful group of people who are called Scrapbook Royalty or Charity Wings. You can see some of their incredible activities here...
http://tinyurl.com/3cjx76u

They have a Blog http://charitywingsnews.blogspot.com/
They have Ebay auctions http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=47718
and are on Facebook and Twitter, please check them out and support their cause today!

What is Charity Wings?

A couple of years ago they started Project 12 and would post one charitable idea a month for people to do to help their community. They encouraged us to scrapbook our progress throughout the year. It was a lot of fun and it made me feel really good to go out and try to do more for my community. Please leave me a comment about your favorite charity and I will give you a chance to win a 6x6 scrapbook. Drawing will be held at random on August 31. Be sure to leave a comment today for a chance to win tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by and please invite your friends to stop by too! Have a scrappy day!

FREE Stamps!!!

2011-08-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

If you like CTMH stamps, then you should definately order from CTMH this month! There are some incredible promotions from CTMH in August. The new catalog is available to purchase for $3.95

If you want to place an order I will give you the catalog for FREE!

The new cricut bundle is available for only $99 and includes the cricut cartridge, 3 new stamp sets and 3 new sets of dimensionals!

Can you believe the flowers that were made with the new cartridge? There are so many things you can create with it!

If you place an order of $75 or more after August 15th, then you qualify for this amazing Double D stamp set for FREE!!!

Once you spend $50 in August, then you qualify for the August Stamp of the Month for ONLY $5 (or purchase separately for only $17.95). This is the NEW stamp of the month program!

IN CELEBRATION OF OUR NEW STAMP OF the Month program, we’re throwing in a little something extra: a FREE* bonus stamp set! In August, when you place
an order of $50 or more in products and purchase the August Stamp of the Month set, Wicked, for just $5, you’ll receive the My Acrylix® A Typeface bonus A-size set FREE (retail value $6.95)! Think of it as two promotions in one—qualify for and purchase the discounted August Stamp of the Month set, and we’ll throw in a second stamp set FREE! It’s Extra! Extra!

Take advantage of these incredible August Specials! Oh, CTMH has also changed their hostess policy. Now you can have a party of ONE with just yourself and still qualify for FREE hostess rewards. The more you spend the more you can get for FREE or at reduced prices. Hostess Rewards begin once you have spent $150 (or more) on one order. Place your order today at http://www.shellies.myctmh.com OR contact me and sign up for the monthly Workshops on the Go. This month I am offering the Mischief WOTG. Contact me on my website for more information.

I look forward to hearing from you today and helping you preserve your memories for tomorrow.

CHECK OUT this ENVELOBOX!!!

2011-08-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Holley Barnhart is on the Design Team for Crafter's Companion USA. They have wonderful stamps and great products; one of the newest tools is the Envelobox board. With this tool, you can make envelopes any size and any depth. This addition is so perfect for bulky or specialty cards, with the deep embellishments that we all love to add to our projects. She has done projects on her blog to highlight this project and there have been wonderful projects shown on the Crafter's Companion USA blog and the Challenger's blog!

Not only are their products lots of fun AND cool, but they have given each design team member an Envelobox to give away to one lucky U.S. resident! Here's how you can own this amazing tool... Simply become a follower of Crafter's Companion USA challenge blog and leave a comment. You must do this to win. If you'd like a couple more chances to win, then post about this giveaway on your blog/sidebar and become a fan of Crafter Companion USA's Facebook page(i.e. one entry credit per item completed). This contest will run for one week from August 1st through August 7th.

.

CTMH NEWS!!!

2011-07-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

I learned so many new and exciting things at the CTMH convention this month, I don't know where to start! The new catalog is realeased August 1 and you don't want to miss the exciting new things that are in it! My favorite thing is our new Cricut Cartridge designed for CTMH! It has 700 new images to use and comes with 3 new stamp sets and 3 new sets of chipboard dimensionals! All for only $99!!! That is a bargain considering you get the cartridge AND the stamps AND the dimensionals, usually it would be around $66 alone for the 3 stamp sets! I just got my cartridge and can't wait to get creative! Come back soon to see what I have created! Please leave me a comment and let me know how you feel about this exciting new addition to the CTMH scrapbooking items.

Disney Fireworks and World of Color Extravaganza

2011-07-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

Every night at Disney was just as magical as the day! We were able to see the fireworks everynight from our hotel, the Alamo. The photos are a bit blurry because they were taken with my phone, but you can still imagine the excitement of each explosion! They also had two shows each night for the World of Color Spectacular light and water show. It was set along the California Pier in California Adventureland. I didn't capture every amazing moment, but I am sure you can enjoy the show by watching my short video of the event. It was a wonderful show and I thank you for taking the time to enjoy it today! Please leave me a comment and let me know how you like my video and share any of your favorite Disney experiences too!

Ariel's Undersea Adventure

2011-07-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ariel is my most favorite Disney princess, I think because she is a merbabe! I have always loved the ocean, and try to go there at least once a year and share that love with my family. I was appalled at how the mermaids were portrayed in the last Pirate's of the Carribean movie. I can't imagine mermaids being so cunning and evil! So I choose to imagine them like Ariel. This was the first ride we went on when we got to California Adventure! It was also the last ride I went on before we left. It was absolutely amazing! I wish I could add the songs Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl to my video, I'm not that experienced with the movie making process to add my own sound bytes yet...but imagine those songs as you watch my video. Thanks for taking the time to share in my adventure...please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked my video and feel free to share your favorite Disney moment too! ENJOY!!

Our Trip to Disneyland

2011-07-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

We recently got back from a wonderful vacation at Disneyland. It was both business and pleasure! The pleasure was Disneyland! The business was my first CTMH convention! It was awesome, and I made some new friends and got lots of new ideas! Enjoy a little bit of Disney with me by watching my video! Please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked my video and feel free to share your favorite Disney moment too! ENJOY!!

New Cards!

2011-06-27T05:04:00.000-07:00

Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I am a consultant with Close To My Heart and will be attending my FIRST convention next month at DISNEYLAND!! I am soo excited. I have been told that consultants bring handmade cards to trade at the convention. My fantastic upline, Shannon Buck, suggested I make between 50 - 200 cards to trade! What a task! So far I have made 50 cards to trade. I wanted them to be bright and use the theme park as my focal of attention. This is what I came up with....

My first card was done with Cranberry cardstock (1272) and the Zipidee Level 2 patterned paper pack (X7125B). I used stamps from the set Thrill Ride (D1425)and the sentiment was stamped with Curly Sentiments (C1056). I embellished the card with Sparkles Z1327 Blue and Green Assortment and Z1326 Red, Pink & Purple Assortment. I cut the circles out with my coluzzle and then punched out the heart with a heart shaped punch. I think it turned out pretty cute.

My second set of cards were made with Tulip cardstock (X5753) and the Fanfare Level 2 Paper packet (7138B). I used stamps from the Theme Park set (D1430) and the sentiment from the For Every Occasion set (D1187). I stamped each of the four images from the Theme Park set to make these cards. These turned out adorable!

I am so thankful that you read my post today! Please leave me a comment, and let me know you stopped by! Have a scraptastic day!! Shellie

S is for Shaving Cream Technique

2011-06-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

I am in a scrapbooking group called ScrapbookPlace. This month there is a contest where everyday a task is listed and if you complete the task, and upload a photo of it you can earn points. One of the tasks was to create a title using shaving cream, plastic and metal. I created the above title using the shaving cream technique. It is a LOT of FUN so I thought I would share it with you for my Tuesday Technique (although it is really Thursday). This is how you do the Shaving Cream Technique...

Materials Needed:
Shaving Cream (not gel)
cookie sheet or shallow pan
spatula
Reinkers (2-3 work best)
Glossy Paper (cardstock works too, but glossy paper turns out more vibrant)

Instructions:
1.) Squirt the shaving cream all over your cookie sheet (or shallow pan)

2.) Spread the shaving cream evenly over your cookie sheet (or pan)

3.) Drop the reinkers all over the shaving cream.

4.) Use the spatula to spread the reinkers over the shaving cream. Swipe it up and down the length of the cookie sheet (or pan), swirling the colors together.

5.) Place your paper over the swirly shaving cream and carefully pat it down into the shaving cream.

6.) Lift your paper off of the shaving cream.

7.) Use the spatula to scrape the shaving cream off of the paper. It will leave a swirly image created from the colored shaving cream.

8.) Let your paper dry and then use it to create a layout, card, tag or title! Have fun and be creative! This is a GREAT project for kids too and it makes your kitchen smell FRESH!

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this technique; if you have tried it before; or just that you stopped by. I love to hear from you! Thanks for stopping by and come back soon! Have a scrappy day! Shellie

Greeting Farm Card Winner(s)

2011-06-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to my followers who posted a comment to my Greeting Farm card posts. I got four comments! I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and comment on it, so I am going to send a card to each of you! The winner of all three cards is Chris P. Way to go Chris!! Her name was drawn randomly by my daughter, Brittney. Please email me with your addresses (ssauve7@aol.com) so that I can mail your card out to you! I will send you the card that you wrote about in your comment. If you prefer a different card, please let me know in your email! Thanks again for participating in my blog. Check back soon for another chance to win! Have a wonderful day!

ABC of techniques - P is for Paper Roses

2011-06-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today you get a real treat...I am posting two techniques this Tuesday! I just posted how to emboss paprclips, so if you missed that, scroll down and check it out. This post is how to create a paper rose. I thought this would be very difficult, because roses are so intricate, but they are actually very easy to make and they look beautiful!

Materials:
Piece of paper (cardstock or patterned paper will work)
Small scalloped decorative scissors
Pencil
Paper cutter
Toothpick or Paperclip
Glue

Instructions:
1.) Cut your paper into a square. I made my first rose out of a 4x4 square. It made about an inch wide and tall rose. Make your square smaller or bigger, depending on the size you want to make.
2.) Draw a circle onto your square. Try to keep the circle as close to the original size paper as you can.
3.) Draw a spiral inside your circle, keeping about 1/8" between each line of the spiral. Take the spiral all the way into the center of your paper.

4.) Using your small scalloped scissors, begin on the outside of your circle and cut around the circle and continue cutting around the lines of your spiral, until you reach the center.

5.) Take the outside edge of your spiral circle and wind it around the end of a toothpick (I couldn't find a toothpick, so I straightened a paperclip and it worked just fine). Continue to wrap your spiral around the toothpick (or paperclip) until you reach the end of your paper.

6.) Put a dab of glue at the bottom of your rose and attach the end of your paper to the bottom with the glue.

7.) Decorate your rose if you want to. You can spritz it with smooches, or dab stickles around the edges and spread it around the edges with your finger. Get creative and have fun!

Please leave me a comment and let me know how you like this technique and/or to share any other tips or techniques you may have! Thanks for stopping by and have a scrappy day!

ABC of Techniques --E is for embossing

2011-06-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is the day I will try to post a new technique, each week. I am making an ABC of techniques book, so I will also feature a letter each week. This week I am working on E for embossing, and I will show you how to emboss paperclips. Try it out, and see how you like it.

Materials to emboss paperclips:
paperclips
versamark ink
embossing powder
embossing gun or blow dryer
wax paper
tweezers

Instructions:
1.) "Wet" your paperclip with versamark ink, I did each side of the paperclip

2.) Cover your paperclip with embossing powder

3.) Place the powdered paperclip onto the wax paper and heat it up with your embossing gun (or blow dryer) until the powder melts. Use the tweezers to pick up the paperclip and turn it over, then heat it up again.
Repeat two or three times until you achieve the desired effect. Then you can take it a step further and add a cute embellishment to your paperclip! This is a great way to create embellishments to match your layouts! Happy Scrapping! Be sure to come back next week to see another technique! Please leave me a comment, so I know how you liked this technique and /or to provide me with any tips you might have about this or any other technique.

You and Me Stronger Together

2011-06-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

During June, CTMH is also offering an incredible set of materials to create a 2 page layout. Part of the proceeds from each purchase will go to the Red Cross to help victims of the floods. The Together You and Me set includes papers, ribbon and other embellishments and a D-size stamp for only $15! What an incredible deal! A D-size stamps set alone, is more than $15! Go to my website http://shellies.myctmh.com
and order it today! Thanks for visiting me again! Please leave a comment, so that I know you stopped by! Have a scrappy day!

FREE Studio J layout per customer!!!

2011-06-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hi, and thanks for returning to my blog! Be sure to leave me a comment, so that I know you stopped by. Feel free to offer any suggestions about what you might want to see on my blog.

I am so excited to tell you about this incredible promotion that Close To My Heart (CTMH) is offering this month. Every customer can get their j.peg of a two page layout that they create using Studio J. If you are interested in trying out digital scrapbooking, here is your chance. It is easy to make and it is guaranteed not to leave you covered in glue and glitter! Check it out on my website http://shellies.myctmh.com Have some fun and get creative!

REMINDER: Scroll down and find the post with cards I recently made using stamps from The Greeting Farm. Leave me a comment and you will be entered into a drawing to recieve those card for FREE! You have until June 10th to leave a comment. The clock is ticking...

Tropical Butterfly House

2011-06-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the Pacific Science Center with my daughters sixth grade class. My favorite part was the Tropical Butterfly House, and I took some amazing photos. I used the pictures to make this movie. I hope you enjoy it! Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think about it!

xlEp

Greeting Farm Cards

2011-05-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

Someone sent me a link to the Greeting Farm Company thegreetingfarm.com/rubber-stamps.html
and I immediately fell in love with the adorable characters created by their artists. I bought three stamps from them. I bought Princess Anya, Geisha Anya and Edward. As soon as they arrived I was struck with inspiration and went to work creating some cards. I used paper from Little Yellow Bicycle to make the card with Princess Anya and the other cards were created using paper from Close To My Heart. Please leave me a comment about which card is your favorite and be entered into a drawing for a set of these cards. Leave your comment by June 10th to be entered into the drawing. Thanks for stopping by, come back soon to see some more creations!!

Sympathy Card

2011-02-27T04:49:00.000-08:00

The latest Close To My Heart Catalog, Spring/Summer 2011,
just came out, and it has some gorgeous new stamp sets!
I made this sympathy card using the set D1452 Find Your Style $22.95
I embellished it with Mocha colored opaque adhesive gems Z1333 $2.95

I am going to be using the new stamps found in this catalog in my upcoming projects. If you would like to win a FREE Spring/Summer 2011 Close To My Heart Catalog, leave me a comment. I love to hear from you! I will choose a winner randomly from the list of participants from today until March 15. I will announce the winner and mail the catalog before March 17, when I will be having a total knee replacement! Thanks for stopping by and check back often, you never know what you may find! Happy Scrapping!!!

ABC of Techniques P is for Penny Roll

2010-07-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

Penny Roll

Supplies:
two pennies
one small round pop dot
scissors
word opening punch (long oval)
stamps
ink
ruler
foam mounting tape
pencil

Directions:1.) Design your layout
2.) Cut. stamp. create the layout
3.) Sketch a line (straight or wavy) where you want your image to roll
examples: a butterfly over a row of flowers
a single snowflake amidst a flurry of snowflakes
a surfer or boat across the ocean
a bird or kite across the sky
4.) Cut the area you want the image to roll through: it should be about 1/4" wide
**the word opening punch (long oval)is the perfect width
**a wavy opening is really fun to see, but a bit more difficult to cut out, a sharp exacto knife does the trick
**if you are making several pages of the same image, you should make one and then use it as a pattern for the rest of your pages
5.) Stamp two of the same images that you want to roll through your design
6.) Cut the images out
7.) Place one of the cut images face down on your desk
8.) Glue a penny to the back of the image
9.) Place a small round pop dot in the center of that penny
10.) Glue the other penny to the backside of the second image you cut out
11.) Let the glue holding the pennies dry for a few minutes
12.) Remove the backing from the pop dot already adhered to the back of one penny
13.) Place the second image onto that pop dot...penny side down, image facing up
****you should have a pop dot sandwich: image/penny/pop dot/penny/image
(at least one of the images should have the image facing out, so that the image can be seen)
14.) Put the penny sandwich into the opening you created earlier
****one penny should be behind the paper, the pop dot should be in the middle and the other penny should be on the front side of the paper - image facing up
15.) Turn your paper over and put foam tape around the perimeter
16.) Place another piece of cardstock behind your creation (the foam tape will keep the two pieces of cardstock from touching and allow your penny image to roll easily)
17.) Tilt your page left and right and watch your image spin as it rolls back and forth

B is for Beautiful Batik & Embossed Resist Techniques

2010-07-07T01:21:00.000-07:00

I have used the batik technique before, with mulberry paper. This time I used cardstock and was very impressed with the result. It resembles a watercolor, but with clear, sharp images of your favorite stamps embedded amongst the colors for a very dramatic and beautiful effect. Please try this technique on your own and share your own creations and comments with me! I love comments!

Beautiful Batik Technique

Supplies:
Iron
Misting Water Bottle
Plain paper (to cover your project) - copy paper works well
Ink Pads
Sponges (one per color of ink)
Versamark ink pad
Embossing buddy
Stamps
Heat gun
Clear Embossing Powder

Instructions:
The first part of creating the Batik look, is to create an embossed resist

To Create an Embossed Resist you need to...
1.) Cover your paper with the embossing buddy
2.) Stamp your image(s) into the versamark ink and then onto your paper
3.) Sprinkle clear embossing powder over your inked images
4.) Use the heat gun to set the clear embossed image(s)
5.) Use your sponge(s) to add color over your paper (the clear embossed images will resist the ink leaving the embossed areas the color of your paper)

That is how to create a resisted image onto your paper. This looks amazing itself! To create the Batik Looking project you need to take the emboss resisted paper and then continue with the following steps....

Batik Technique: Follow the steps 1-5 as described above
6.) Using your mini mister, spray water all over your paper (this will make the colors bleed a little into each other)
7.) Cover your misted paper with another piece of paper (copy paper or another thin paper works best)
8.) Iron over your paper. You will begin to see the embossed image appear onto the cover paper. You are finished ironing when you can easily pull the cover paper off of your design. If the paper does not come off easily, iron a little more. The iron melts the embossed area, leaving the design completely flat and dull.
9.) Embellish your paper and enjoy!

F is for Faux Leather Technique

2010-07-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

I just learned this technique and absolutely love it! It is so simple, and it looks so real! It makes wonderful purses and I'm sure it would make equally impressive shoes, clothes and other accessories too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, please share your own creations and comments! I love comments!

Supplies Needed
Textured Paper
Versamark Ink
Embossing Buddy
Clear Embossing Powder
Bone Folder
Heat Gun

Instructions
1.) Rub over your paper with the embossing buddy
2.) Rub Versamark pad all over your paper
3.) Cover your paper with the clear embossing powder
4.) Carefully rub the powder into the paper without rubbing the powder off
5.) Use the bone folder to score lines into the paper
6.) Tap off any excess embossing powder
7.) Use the heat gun to melt the embossing powder
8.) Embellish your design

Stickle Storage

2010-04-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

As soon as I used stickles the first time, I knew they were fabulous! I loved the way it sparkled, and added another dimension to my projects. I started to colect them, and I used them on almost every project. I put them in a little box for awhile, but soon I had too many for the box. One afternoon I was surfing ebay for stickles and I found this really cool stickle storage holder that someone had made. It was shaped kinda like an octogon, and there were holes drilled into the top of it to hold the stickles. The stickles were to be stored upside down, so that they would always be ready to use. I loved it, bid on it and WON! The seller even asked me what colors I wanted and she painted it pink with blue polka dots. It was wonderful! I put this organizer on top of my Close To My Heart ink and marker turnaround so that I could grab the color I wanted to use easily. It worked great, and I was in a group that did buy-ins and on one of the buy ins they did stickles and I got a whole bunch more, including the new ones from Tim Holtz and Suze Weinberg! I couldn't fit all of them into my stickle holder, and tried to think of another way to store them, upside down, to keep them easily ready to use.

I found a cardboard box with a hinged lid, and I started to put the bottles of stickles into it. Each bottle is about an inch wide, and I was able to fit 18 bottles in each row. I didn't have enough to fill the entire box, so I added some crumpled paper towels to help hold them into place, and then taped up a piece of styrofoam and put it over the top of the bottles (at this point they were sitting upright in the box) and closed the lid. I turned the entire box upside down so that the stickles could drain towards the lid of each bottle. I opened it back up after a while and checked on them, a few of them had moved, but for the most part it worked really well and I could easily store over 70+ bottles in this one box.

I decorated the outside of the box with some colored paper and then I covered the paper with clear tape to reinforce the box and keep it strong.

Handmade Clip-It Up System

2010-04-20T22:23:00.001-07:00

I was so thrilled to see the comments left about my ribbon organization, especially about the rain gutters! When I was teaching, I used the rain gutters to store children's books, and loved it, so now that I'm on disability (because of my foot) I just recycled them for my ribbon. I love to reuse stuff in new ways!

A few years ago, the Clip It Up system came out, which was a round, three-tiered rotating embellishment organizer. The idea was to clip up your embellishments and make them easier to access. It looked really cool, but it was soooo expensive! I never got one. My embellishments seem to be multiplying like rabbits and I am finding that Out of Sight is NEVER USED, at my house. So I was desperate to find a way to display some of my embellishments, so that I could see them, but also keep them out of the way.

One afternoon I was at Craft Warehouse and I saw the clip it up clips on clearance! I bought a bag to try them out. I did NOT have the clip it up organizer and I was stumped about how to use them. I thought and thought and finally decided to hang a ribbon under one of my shelves and hang the clips off of that. It worked! I could see and access my embellishments so easily! Unfortunately there were drawbacks to my creation....
1.) I had more embellishments than clips
2.) The embellishments were heavier than the ribbon and the ribbon started to sag.
3.) Craft Warehouse had sold out of the clips, so I couldn't get anymore

What to do? I left it as it was for a while, and thought and thought some more. One afternoon, I went to meet a friend of mine from one of my online scrapbooking groups. I went to see her scrapbooking room and found a solution to my problem! My clever friend had bought a wall shelf about 2 feet wide and her husband had drilled a hole in each end underneath the shelf and bolted an all-thread wire through it. She used paperclips and metal washers to create hooks where she hung up her embellishments. Immediately my mind started reeling and I took a picture and then hollered at my husband to come and see what my friend had made. I am very blessed to have a husband who can make and/or fix ANYTHING!
He looked at the system and said he could easily make one for me.

The next day I went to the Goodwill to look for a shelf. I am a NINJA SHOPPER according to my kids, and I found not one, but TWO shelves for a total of $3.95!! I was so excited, I called my husband to tell him the good news. He praised my frugal shopping and then told me that he found something at his work that he was going to rig up to hold my all-thread and embellishments. He is very creative when making stuff to help me out, so I knew it would be awesome. I couldn't let the shelves go to waste, so I put them up on the wall and put some of my Disney toys on them. My scrapboom is decorated with Disney toys which keeps it kid and scrapbooker friendly! I have 5 kids + 1 more who is living with us right now and so I need things as kid friendly as possible!

Later that week my wonderful husband came home with this stand-up frame that had 3 rows of the all thread on it! WOW! It was incredible! It also had room to add at least one more strip of the all-thread! I was so excited that I started working on adding my embellishments to it!

My friend had shown me how to take pliers and open up the paperclip, hang the washer on the paperclip and then wind it around itself using the pliers to hold it together. Then she took a mini clothespin and wound the other end of the paperclip around the threading on the paperclip. Then she slid the washer onto the all-thread and clipped her embellishment on the clothespin. Time consuming, but incredible! I am so blessed to have such clever family and friends!

I started to open up paperclips and hook the washers on them. It was a lot of work and if the paperclip was old, it would break, which started to make me frustrated. I found that by opening up the paperclip slightly, I could slide the washer onto it without opening the paperclip completely. This saved me a lot of time and frustration! I didn't have mini clothespins, but I did have the clip it up clips, so I just hung the clips onto the closed paperclip and WALLAH, I had my own clip it up hangar! It didn't take long to run out of the clips, so I started looking around for something else to use. I found those plastic clips that you use to hold reports and other thick documents together. I had a bunch, so I tried them...without much effort I slid each clip onto the other end of the paperclip! I slid the washers onto the all-thread and hung my embellishments on them! I LOVE IT! My wonderful husband is going to add some wheels to the bottom of it so that I can wheel it around which will make it even more perfect! I can see my embellishments a lot easier and am using them more frequently now! Another organizational idea discovered and implemented!

Please leave me a comment (I love comments), and let me know what you think about this idea~ Thanks for stopping by and come back soon! You never know what you might discover! Have a scrappy day!

Thanks for coming to the BLOG HOP!!

2010-04-20T22:17:00.001-07:00

WOW! The blog hop was fantastic! I LOVED all the comments! Keep 'em coming! I will be choosing one commenter on April 30th, to receive new ribbon!

I have to apologize to Ramona because I couldn't get her link to upload to my blog yesterday. So sorry Ramona. I did add it to my Ribbon Organization Blog Post and here it is again.....http://create-with-joy.blogspot.com

Be sure to check it out! Thanks to all the participants in the Blog Hop too! So much new information! Off to keep organizing! I went to a fabulous scrap retreat April 8 and my Scraproom is still a mess! I have had trouble with my left big toe for 5 years and yesterday my doc said that my bone is collapsing again! So I HAVE TO clean up, or I could break it! Have a scrappy day! Come back again soon, you never know what you might find!

Organizational Blog Hop!! TODAY!

2010-04-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hi and welcome to the organizational blog hop! I am so excited that you took the time to stop by and see how I have organized my ribbons and fibers. Please take a minute and leave me a comment so that I know you stopped by. I am going to send some new ribbon to one of the reader's drawn at random, on April 30, 2010 from one of the comments left between now and then on my section of the blog hop. If you would like to check out some other SCRAPTASTIC ideas for organizing your scrapbooking supplies, please hop to the all of the other blogs and be sure to leave a comment for them too!

Organizational Blog Hop April 19, 2010

Photograph Storage by Leanne - http://scrappingamma.blogspot.com/

Embellishment Storage by Jo - http://buckeyejo.blogspot.com/

YOU ARE HERE!! Ribbon & Fiber Storage by Shellie: http://clearlythemostcreativescrapbookers.blogspot.com/

Stamp Storage by Wendy - http://www.myscrapbookingblog.com/

Ink Pad Storage by Ramona - http://create-with-joy.blogspot.com

Pen & Pencil Storage by Jeanne Marie - http://missjeannemania.blogspot.com/

Sticker, Die Cuts and Rub-On Storage by Amanda - http://notimecrafting.wordpress.com/

Tools Storage and Paper Storage by Mary - http://mbryt1.blogspot.com/

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Ribbon and Fiber Storage

When I began scapbooking I was very limited on money and supplies (hey, I'm still limited on money and supplies) and stickers were my main embellishments. Slowly my embellishments grew the more I scrapped and the more I became involved in Close To My Heart, card making, and scrapbooking. I bought those tiny ribbon rolls first and then moved on to the bigger rolls as my skills grew. I joined the Personal Scrapper and went to some card workshops and slowly I started accumulating several different random varying lenghts of ribbon. I just stuck them into a ziploc bag. Soon my ribbon scraps outgrew the bag and I started to put them in a huge glass jar. It looks pretty, with all the ribbon swirling around the glass like a delicious lollipop! The ribbons and fibers mingled and soon tangled and it was very frustrating to find that Just Right piece of ribbon. My arm was swallowed up by the rainbow of ribbon when I began a new project. I had to do something, so I took one of the free priority mail boxes from the post office and I started to cut. I cut dozens and dozen of little cardboard strips about 2" x 3". Before long I was surrounded by a thin brown sea of cardboard. I called my girls up to help me start the daunting task of organizing that rainbow! We sat for a few hours, pulling one ribbon from the jar at a time and winding it around it's placard. Finally I took each ribbon, sorted them according to their color and placed them into clear shoe boxes from the Dollar Tree. Now I could clearly see each color and easily match it to the project I was working on. I grew frustrated with this whenever I would reach for the ribbon box and go to pull out a ribbon, several others would tag along and I was constantly straightening up my boxes.

Take Two on Ribbon and Fiber Organization....
One day I was at Craft Warehouse and I found some 3x3 plastic ribbon organizers. These were 3x3 pieces of plastic that you could wind your ribbon around on them. Ok, but that is what I was already doing with cardboard, so that wasn't much progress. Then, my sister, who has tons and tons and oodles upon oodles of scrapping embellishments, told be about her idea to use the 3x3 cards, cut them in half and then cut slits in each side to hold several ribbons at once. Sounds great! Unfortunately I am a very visual learner and I could not for the life of me, figure7e out what she was talking about. Then I went over to her house and saw what she meant. That helped a lot! She has an entire wall of ribbon and has each roll carefully placed on rows upon rows of dowels. She then showed me her ribbon scraps, beautifully organized onto the plastic, now 1 1/2" x 3" piece of ribbon card. She cut the ribbon csrd in half along the zig zagged line that runs up the middle of the card. Next she cut lines on each side of the card diagonally opposite each other, to hold each individual piece of ribbon. Finally she punched a hole into the top of each card so that she could put them together on a hinged ring! Genius! So I went to work making my own ribbon cards. I cut 4 slits in my cards whereas my sister only cut 3. Personal preference. Once my ribbons were put onto the cards, I slid each card onto a hinged ring, according to colors. I have 3 rings right now, full of varying lengths of ribbon. Recently I went to a crop and I took a paper towel tube and punched out six holes (3 on each side of the tube). I took my rings off of my storage unit and slid them onto the paper towel tube and took them to the crop! At the crop I noticed other people had taken those pants hangars and slid their ribbons onto the hangars and then hung them up on the wall. Super Cool!!!

I still use my other methods too...as much as I love the card method, it does not work well with fibers,they snag too much. I still organize my fibers on the cardboard according to color.

I keep a much smaller ribbon jar on top of my desk and when I finish with my ribbon, if I have some leftover, I put it in the jar and then once a week I hang the loose ribbons onto my hanging ribbon cards.

I store my little ribbon spools in a Close To My Heart Ribbon Organizer. My medium ribbon spools are kept on a spice rack that I found at the Goodwill and painted to match my scraproom. I store my larger ribbon spools on a rain gutter! It is awesome! We bought a small section of a plastic rain gutter and I put it on my shelf. It holds the spools and you can easily pull the ribbon off of the spool because the gutter is wide enough to let the spool turn around so you can pull off as much as you need.

Well, that's how I store my ribbons and fibers (sorry there is not too much on fibers, I don't use them very much). Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog! Be sure to leave a comment so that you can have a chance to win some new ribbons from me! Please leave your contact information so that I can contact you if you win! Have a scrappy day and come back soon!

Time to Blog Hop!!!

2010-04-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

I am so excited!!! Monday, April 19th I am participating in my very first Blog Hop! What is a blog hop? It is when a group of bloggers get together and each one chooses a theme or scheme to blog about. When you visit her blog, you will get new and exciting information and then a list of the rest of the blogs in the hop. You can take as little or as much time as you want hopping around from blog to blog on the list. By the time you finish the hop you will have plethora of new information!

My first blog hop is on organization of scrapbook supplies. My part is on organizing ribbons and fibers. I am really excited to see how the other gals creatively organize their materials. The blog hop on April 19th will include, paper storage, paint storage, ribbon and fiber storage, embellishment storage and many more. Please come back on Monday to check out how I organize my ribbons and fibers and then hop on through the list to find other creative ideas. If you stop by before Monday, please leave a comment so that I know you were here! I love to hear from you guys! Have you ever participated in a blog hop as a blogger OR as a reader? Come back soon for more ideas! Thanks for stopping by and have a scrappy day!

CTMH True Fit Folio Accordian Album

2010-03-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

I am in several scrapbooking groups online and in one group we are playing a game where you can earn points for completing different tasks. I've been working really hard to get the most points (I am in 2nd place right now). This weeks challenge was to make an Easter accordion album that had the following elements...
1. Is Stamped 2. Has Ribbon 3. Is Embossed
4. Is Distressed 5. Is Chalked 6. Is Painted
7. Has Eyelets 8. Has Brads 9. Has Clips
10. Has Pockets 11. Has Bling 12. Is Your work
When we got the challenge (in my group Queen of the Crop), I immediately thought of using the CTMH true fit folio as my base. I am so pleased with how it turned out! It forced me to use some elements that I might not have normally used, like paint, eyelets and chalk. I use these items, but not all the time. I really enjoyed using the paint with the CTMH distressing sponge to add dimension to my clouds! They look great!
If you would like to make your own folio accordion album you will need the following items... CTMH true fit folio, 12 pieces of printed paper cut 3 7/8" x 6", 5 pieces of cardstock cut 2 1/2" x 3 7/8", 5 pieces of cardstock cut 3 1/4" x 6", 24" of ribbon to tie the book closed, 1 1" x 6" piece of patterned paper to cover the opposite side of the tab, brads, buttons, stickles, ink, chalk, stamps and whatever else you want to use to embellish your album.
Tools used: paper cutter, scoring tool, coluzzle knife and mat and oval template, liquid glass or another liquid glue

Directions:
1.) With the folder closed and the crease at the bottom and the folder tab at the top, score at 6". I used a stylus to score it so that the paper would not tear.
2.) Turn the folder sideways so that folded side of the folder and the tab are to the left. Score at 4" and then at 8"
3.) Open the folder and fold along the 6" score line. Then fold along each 4" score mark. Re-fold each fold in the opposite direction, to make it easier to fold the folder from any direction.
4.) Open the folder and lay it flat with the folder tab in the upper left hand corner. This is front and back of your book. Glue your 12 pieces of patterned paper (3 7/8" x 6") inside each of the previously scored boxes. Be sure to glue them in between the mountains and valleys created by the folds, so that it bends easily when completed.
**when gluing the paper to the tabbed section, be sure to put the adhesive on the folder and not the paper. Otherwise the extra paper will get glued to your work surface**
5.) Trim off any excess paper around the tab
6.) Get your coluzzle, and turn your folder so that the tabbed section is on the bottom. You will be cutting a semi-oval about 1 1/4" deep in 5 of the 6 sections next to the tab. Line up the outside oval with the edges of each section. Cut the second line in on the template. Repeat with the other 4 remaining squares (DO NOT cut a semi-oval in the tabbed section)
7.) Turn your folder over, still opened and flat. The folder should be all white now. Glue the 2" x 3 7/8" pieces of patterned paper along the top of the five sections opposite the side with the semi-ovals cut out. Glue down the 1" x 6" piece of paper to the tab and trim it.
8.) Using chalk or an ink pad, distress the white edges between each section and around the edges of your album.
9.) Now you can embellish the inside of your book. The inside of your book will be the top row of your folder with the tab in your upper left hand corner. This is also the side where your semi-circles have been cut out.
10.) Once you have embellished your book, you are ready to glue it together and make it a BOOK! Using liquid glass or another liquid adhesive, place a sparse amount of glue along each of the 4" scored seams and all over the back of the tabbed section. Fold your book up along the 6" score, pressing each of the 4" scored lines to ensure a good bond. You will also need to place a sparse line along the edge of the last square of your book, to form the pocket. Let your book dry.
11.) While your book is drying, decorate the 5 cardstock tags for journaling or pictures.
12.) Now you can finish off your book by accordion folding it back and forth, starting with the front page. It may pucker a bit, but that is normal. Once you have it all folded, crease each edge again and manipulate the book in areas that may not be folding together "just right." Work the folds back and forth a bit so that they will move easier.
13.) Attach a ribbon around the closed book making sure that it ties to the right or tabbed part of the book.

Salish Lodge, Snoqualamie Falls, WA

2010-03-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

DH and I decided to get away from it all, and went towards Seattle on Thursday Night so that we would be that much closer to my appointments on Friday. We were alone, no kids, no TV, just us...and the breathtaking view of Snoqualamie Falls from our destination Salish Lodge, where we stayed, alone, without any kids (or did I already say that?). We had a wonderful, marvelous, relaxing time. My only regret is that we could only stay one night. It is quite expensive, but well worth it (once in a blue moon). If you can't stay the night, at least park and walk over to see Snoqualamie Falls. It is gorgeous! Take a peek at our little vacation by watching my video...

Pirates Plunder!!!

2010-03-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

Avast ye maties! We went to Seattle yesterday, for 2 doctor appointments! It was a gorgeous day, sunny, warm and flowers blooming everywhere! In between my appointments we ate down on the Waterfront at Red Robin, with a view of the bay. We parked 3 blocks away (parking is awful, especially on beautiful days). As we were walking towards the car my dh asked, "What was that neat shop that we used to go to that had all sorts of weird stuff in it?" "Oh, ye old curiosity shop?" I asked. It appeared to have disappeared, but in it's place we found this incredible new shop called Pirates Plunder Imports! I thought I had died and gone to Heaven, being a Pirate Princess myself! It was absolutely fantastic and it had all things pirate and then some! I hope you enjoy your little visit to this shop as much as I did. If you can't make it to Seattle, check them out online at www.piratesplunder.com

Reuse/Recycle a clip it up system

2010-03-19T00:31:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to try the clip it up system, but can't afford it. I found some of the clips at Craft Warehouse and bought them on clearance, but they don't sell them anymore. I took some ribbon, and strung it underneath one of my shelves in my scrapbook room. Then I hung up some embellishmnents on it using the clips I bought. Of course, stuff was too heavy to put on the ribbon, and I ran out of clips. I bought colored clothespins at the Dollar Tree and planned on separating my items by color...red metal, blue rhinestones, green rub ons...and so on. Until.....

We were coming home from Spokane last weekend and stopped in Quincy to meet my friend Chris. She had the cutest house and the most wonderful family! She shared her scraproom with me that was in her garage. It was awesome and very organized (not like my space with stuff all over the floor), On one of her walls she had made her own version of the clip it up system, out of a wooden shelf, a length of all thread, washers and paperclips and closthespins! It was awesome! The picture above, is of her system. I was so excited that I came home and found 2 shelves at the Goodwill for $2.99 each! DH has the all thread, nuts and washers that he will bring home. Then he can drill holes in the end of each side of the shelves to hold the all thread. DH told me tonight that he carries all thread that will come out of the wall and can be as long as 6 feet! So I could put up a LOT of stuff (if I can find a place to put that). So, I will go to the dollar tree an stock up on colored paperclips to separate my categories and then put my system together! I'll post new pics later, once we are done!

To make your own system here is what you need to do....

Materials: shelf,acrylic paint (if desired), drill, pliers, mini clothespins, paperclips, 2 nuts, length of all thread (a round metal cylinder with threading along the entire length of it)

Instructions:
1. Paint your shelf to match your scrapbook room decor (or leave it the color it is)
2. Drill a hole in each end of the shelf, about 2 inches below the shelf itself
3. Open up all of the paperclips you will use, so that they are shaped like an S
4. Place one end of the paperclip through the eye of the washer and then twist the end back around, securing it to the paperclip. You should have a washer secured by the paperclip, with the lower portion of the paperclip still open.
5. Take the open end of the paperclip and hook it underneath the wire spring of the clothespin. Use your pliers to twist the open end around to secure it back to the other end of the paperclip.
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until you have as many clip it ups as you want
7. Put one end of the all thread through one of the holes you drilled earlier and secure it in place with a nut
8. Slip the washers over the all thread, until all of them have been put on (or you run out of room).
9. Put the other end of the all thread though the other drilled hole and secure that with another nut.
10. Hang up your shelf and then hang your embellishments on each paperclip. Enjoy!

Happy St. Patty's Day from me and my Shadow

2010-03-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

Top O' the Morning to ya! Today, my Shadow, my puppy, got his first "poodle cut" at the dog parlor. Isn't he cute? We call him Shadow because he is black and he follows me everywhere. Even when I go downstairs and have to stop because I'm so tired, he stops right behind me and waits for me. I just adore him! He is the best dog EVER! I say that because it is true, he is gentle, kind, a good listener and quite the gentleman. Even when I scrapbook, he jumps up and lays right behind me (which makes it hard for me to work). He is so good with the kids too. They can pick him up, dress him up, carry him around, and he just them. So have a wonderful day from me and my shadow! May you find a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow today! Hugs, Shellie

Studio J by Close TO My Heart

2010-03-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jeanette Lynton, the founder of Close to My Heart has just created the most wonderful digital scrapbooking program called Studio J. Do you do any digital scrapbooking? Would you like to learn?

Digital Scrapbooking is a way to scrapbook using your computer. You do not need glue, embellishments, paper or any other consumable materials. Everything is done on the computer, from uploading your pictures, to uploading different papers and embellishments. Studio J gives you everything you need in one convenient location, http://www.studioj.com/ If you like CTMH papers and embellishments, you will LOVE Studio J. Your favorite papers, designs, inks and fonts are at your disposal. You can even distress your papers! I was really surprised at how easy it was to create a layout using Studio J. I was very impressed when I received my first sample layout for studio J, the paper your layout is printed on is thick, archivel and it looks 3-D with the virtual embellishments you add, and the coloring is fabulous! You can find studio J at your favorite consultants website. You can creste your layout and when you purchase it, CTMH will print it and send you your 12x12 two-page layout for $12.95 You will also recieve 5 memory sheet protectors for every 5-9 layouts you want printed AND you will recieve Free Shipping AND 5 memory sheet protectors for every 10-20 layouts you order (5 sheet protectors per 5 layouts). You do not need a special printer! CTMH will print them and send them to you in a timely manner as soon as you purchase your layout. Simple, fun, easy...just the way Close To My Heart provides for every scrapbooker! Try it out today!

If you are interested in seeing Studio J in person, please consider coming to a class that I am offering...the first class will be Friday, March 26 at 7:00. The next class will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday, March 27. Sign up soon, space is limited. Cost is $10 (that's $2.95 less than if you do studio J layout on your own - what a bargain)! You will receive one complete 2-page 12x12 layout and have a wonderful time scrapbooking, making new friends and learning something new! Contact me at ssauve7@aol.com for more details. I look forward to hearing from you!

Making Faces

2010-03-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love to draw. I was blessed with a gift (I guess). If I can see it in my minds' eye, then I can make/draw/create it. Many people think that they absolutely CAN NOT DRAW! I'm here to tell you that is not true! You can make anything, using simple shapes, a pencil and an eraser. Today I will walk you through drawing a cute face. It is really pretty easy, so give it a try!

1) Draw 3 frowny smiles on your face - 2 beside each other and one a little below and between the 2 frowns you just drew.

2) Draw 2 more frowns...left to right and above the first 2 frowns you made (that are beside each other)(eyes) Then draw a sideways V coming out of the outside corner of each eye

3) Draw a V underneath the lower frown, connecting the left and right side of the frown(nose)

4) Draw a W underneath the nose, connecting it with the point of the V you just drew(mouth)

5) Draw a rectangle underneath the W, connecting the spots to the left and right of the middle
section of the mouth (teeth)

6) Draw an odd number of dots to the left and right of the nose (whiskers)

7) Color in the nose and draw a circle inside each eye and color those too

8) Take a white uniball gel pen, or some white paint and place one dot in each eye and a tiny line across the nose, to create dimension

9) Draw 2 more frowns above each eye for eyebrows

Wallah! A cute face! Follow the pictures for an easy tutorial. If this is difficult to understand, please let me know. I can just "do" stuff, but I have a hard time explaining how to do it, so I'm working on that skill now, with your help. Thanks for looking! Tell your friends about my blog and come back soon!

Making Easter Bunnies from Toilet Paper Tubes

2010-03-10T08:46:00.001-08:00

I am in several online scrapbooking groups where we trade supplies and play some fun games. In one group we are playing a game called Easter Rak Splat. You create some fun containers and fill them with candy, ribbon, buttons, or whatever else you can think of and mail them to another member of the group. Yesterday I spent the afternoon making some bunnies out of empty toilet paper tubes (it's amazing how fast we go through a roll of toilet paper with 7-9 people here everyday). I also decorated some coffee cups to go, and altered a little tin. Fun, quick, easy and a great way to use up some scrap paper.
I got to thinking, you can make almost anything out of a toilet paper tube! I may work on some leprechauns today! Come back soon, to see what else I've made!

Using Sketches

2010-02-28T07:01:00.000-08:00

Some people love to use sketches and other people absolutely think they are taboo. I'm a middle of the road-er. I LOVE to create my own designs, around my photos, but sometimes I need some inspiration. I turn to sketches from other scrapbookers when I need that little boost. My favorite sketches are from Jeanette in the books she created for Close To My Heart. Her books (Reflections, Cherish and Imagine) are laid out according to the number of photos you can use. For example, if you have 3 photos, you can look in the front of the book for layouts that use 3 photos. Towards the back of the books, are sketches that use up to 15 photos! Of course, these are just sketches and you can take what you like and tweak them to make them YOUR OWN. You may use a photo spot for journaling or an embellishment, the possibilities are endless. I find that when I use a sketch, I can scrapbook a lot faster, and still use my creativity through the use of paper and other embellishments. I do not think that there is a right way or a wrong way to scrap or scraplift an idea from another scrapbooker (as long as you give proper credit to the original designer). We all take a little from here and there and add some of our own jeux ne seis quoix, to create our own masterpieces!

If you have never tried using a sketch, try it out, you might like it! Maybe by looking at a sketch it will spark some inspiration and you will design something completely different, with undertones of the original sketch from which you drew your inspiration. You can find sketches everywhere....magazines, scrapbooking companies (CTMH and Creative Memories), websites (scrapbookcardsandpapers, creating keepsakes). Maybe you already have a favorite place that you get sketches from. If you don't, start a list, and maybe even a journal to keep your sketches in for future reference. Sketches are springboards for creativity and I hope you find some inspiration from them.

I'm the owner/moderator of Disney PST, a piffing and snagging group, where scrappers who have a little more than they need of one thing can list it for another scrapper to snag it. Then the piffer can snag something surplus from another scrapper. It is a lot of fun! If you are interested in such a group, please let me know, ssauve7@aol.com (I have an "IN" with the owner - LOL). Anyway, one member, Tracy has become our inspirational source for the year. She has been listing one new sketch each month. I had a lot of fun creating new layouts with her sketches I can't wait to see what the next sketch will be. I will post her sketches and my layouts from the sketches here. Enjoy, and keep on scrapping!

Project 12 for March

2010-02-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the newest sketch for the Project 12 layouts. This program is designed to help you complete at least ONE album by the end of the year! Each month a new sketch will be revealed and you can use that sketch or your own creation to develop you layout for the month. Snap those pictures and work on those layouts! I'll be posting mine soon! Happy Scrapping!

Twilight Frames

2010-02-28T00:11:00.000-08:00

My daughter has the Twilight bug! She absolutely loves Twilight and is an active member on the Team Jasper. She has read all of the books and is anxiously awaiting the release of Eclipse this summer.

There seems to be Edward, Bella, Jacob and Cullens' merchandise everywhere. There does not seem to be much with Jasper and Alice. I absolutely love to alter things, and so I thought I'd make her a frame with Jasper and Alice on it. Another good friend of mine is a HUGE fan of Edward. She asked me to make her an Edward frame. So I sat down and started making some Twilight/New Moon frames. I've listed them on my webstore if you really like them! Or you can contact me directly, if you would like me to make you one (ssauve7@aol.com) I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them!

Project 12 for February

2010-02-16T04:17:00.001-08:00

Ok, here is the next layout for Project 12. This is a way to end up with a complete album by the end of a year. You can make one layout a month, to make it easy, and sample sketches are available to use, or create your onw. Please share your project 12 layouts here!

Have fun, I can't wait to see what you create!

Layouts for Project 12 - January 2010

2010-02-16T04:08:00.000-08:00

I made up several January Project 12 layouts using a Disney theme. I make extra layouts for friends who like premade layouts. If you would like a premade layout, please contact me at ssauve7@aol.com and we can work something out! Did you make a layout for January yet? If so, please submit it to this blog! I'd love to see your work! Happy Scrapping, Shellie

New Year Resolutions - Do You Have Any?

2010-01-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

We are already 3 days in to the new year and I have already had to adjust my goals for this year. I am so ambitious (at least in my head) and I set these huge, unrealistic goals. For example, one goal was to post a new technique on this blog each day. Wow! That would be awesome, I do want to create an ABC of techniques in scrapbooking, and this would definitely help me meet that goal. Realistically, I have 5 kids and several health issues that often prevent me from even checking my emails each day. If I kept that goal, I would eventually fail, and then give up, like almost everyone else who makes New Year Resolutions. Last year was way too hard, and if I learned anything, it was that I always try to do too much, thinking that I can still be wonder woman and supermom, but I can't. I can hardly believe I'm actually admitting it, but I am, I just can't do it all anymore. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, among many other things (check out my other blog: http://fivekidsandfibromyalgia.blogspot.com/). That diagnosis really set me back. A good friend of mine, who also has fibromyalgia, told me that now, I can expect to do half of what I used to do, and that I will finish only half of what I expect to do. Snap! That is 1/4 of what I used t do! I was a real go-getter and did a lot! Like having a 2 year old, being pregnant, teaching full time and getting my master's degree. I have always just ran myself ragged, but last year it really hit me, that I just can't do it anymore. Luckily, with the help of God, my husband and my kids, they help out a lot more, to lessen my load. Anyway, I had to sit down and rewrite my goals, to make them more manageable. I made each goal specific to the goal and added a time frame in which I wanted to complete this goal. Now it is much easier to see if I am meeting my goals, because they are so specific.

Do you set new goals each year? Or, do you just have expectations of yourself that you will do your best to meet? I used to just keep them in my head, but I just turned 40 and my mind is not as sharp as it used to be, making it easier to forget, and not complete what I had planned in my head. Writing my goals down, and crossing them off, also makes me feel better about myself, since I can see exactly what I have done, and still need to do.

Here are my goals for 2010....

Goals for 2010: Shellie
1) List 5 new items on my Webstore
4 days a week.

2) List a new technique on my scrapbooking blog
4 days a week.

3) Get my BA in scrapbooking from CTMH
by June 1, 2010

4) Get my MA in scrapbooking from CTMH
by Dec. 1, 2010

5) Read 3 books on money management
by April 30, 2010

6) Get 30 followers on my scrapbooking blog
by June 15, 2010

7) Send in work for a contest or to be published
3 times every 3 months

8) Finish my ABC of Disney scrapbook by July, 2010

9) Organize my scraproom, with labels by my next foot surgery

10) Scrapbook a new layout 3 days a week

11) Have family game night once a week

Well, that is my start. I really hope that by setting myself a timeline, it will motivate me to get more done!

Project 12

2010-01-03T05:36:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for a way to document an entire year and feel overwhelmed at the thought of it? Join me in Project 12: http://scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/scrapbook_cards_today_blo/2009/12/project-12-launch.html

Make a year long album, quickly and easily by doing the Project 12 challenge, which is simple. The idea is to create a layout on a monthly basis which recaps what you've been doing. Whether you took 31 photos, no photos, or 100 photos, simply choose your favorites that best described what you were doing that month, and create a layout.

If you join me in this scrapbooking adventure, please sign up as a follower to my blog and send me a picture of your layout each month. I will add your photo(s) to my gallery giving you the credit for your masterpiece, and then I will enter your name into a drawing for a prize from me,each month you send in your completed layout. The deadline for January 2010 entries will be midnight January 31st.

**The prize for January will be 9 jars of glitter from Martha Stewart's scrapbooking line.

January Photo Ideas:
January 1 - what were you doing New Years Day?
Resolutions - did you start that new workout regime?
Break out that spandex and set up the tripod.
Winter/Snow photos
12 random photos on the 12th of the month

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2009-12-23T00:10:00.001-08:00

I may not have been able to talk to you recently, but that does not mean that you have not been in my thoughts or prayers.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Please take a minute and enjoy this Christmas card, as I have enjoyed your friendship...may God continue to bless you and your family today and always. Holiday Hugs, Shellie

Another gift idea....

2009-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a wonderful idea that I scraplifted from Jessica Spragues blog! I used a drink carrier from Burger King, and another one from a wine cooler holder (not shown).

I chose pop themes because the recipients love these particular soft drinks! The one shown on Jessica's blog was made with polka dotted paper and would go with any favorite beverage!

I measured the height and width of the base and then cut my paper accordingly. I attached it with glue sticks. Then I laid it on it's side and traced the shape of each of the sides, cut my paper and glued that down. I used ribbon and stickles and sticker letters to embellish this fun gift! I'm filling one side with a 2liter bottle and the other side with a movie and some microwave popcorn. You could fill both sides with drinks, or anything else you think the recipient will enjoy! Easy and adorable! Oh, on one side of the Mountain Dew one, I handcut each little mountain and colored it to look 3-D. On the other side I cut out the logo from a drinking cup that I got at Taco Bell. I also taped the bottom inside and the bottom outside for more stability! Easy peasy! Enjoy and thanks for visiting my website! Have a scrappy day!

Holiday House Gift Bag

2009-12-04T06:23:00.000-08:00

Oh what fun a cricut is! Last night I made these adorable gift bags/or decoration! Here are the directions, if you would like to make one yourself....

Supplies needed:
paper bag
liquid applique
cardstock: red, blue, brown, black, green
heat gun
adhesives
ribbon
scalloped scissors
prisma glitter
hole punch
Cricut cartridges:
Jubilee Celebration (mailbox)
Wild Card (window and door)
Plantin Schoolbook (grass)
stickers

Directions:
*Cut brown paper for the roof 5 1/2 x 6" and trim the bottom with scalloped scissors
*Use your cricut to make the following cuts:
Jubilee Celebration -- 2 mailboxes, one brown and one black 2 1/2" tall
**Cut the top off of the black mailbox and glue it over the brown mailbox
Wild Card - **1 blue window 4 1/2"; put clear tape onto the back of the window
and then sprinkle prisma glitter on top of it
**one red door 3"
Plantin Schoolbook - 1 green grass 1 1/2"
*Glue the red door 1" up from the bottom right hand side of the paper bag
*Glue the blue window 1 1/2" from the left side of the paper bag and a little
above and to the left of the red door
*Fold the roof over, leaving about 1" overhang, on the scalloped edge
*Fold the top of the paper bag back (opposite of the decorated side) down 3" and put the roof over this folded edge, so that the creases are on top of each other
*Punch two holes about 1 1/2" apart and 1 1/2" down from the top fold

***embellish with liquid applique and prisma glitter (for snow) and let it dry overnight
***Use your heat gun to make the liquid applique puff up
***Embellish some more with stickers, stickles and/or anything else that you desird
****Put your gift inside, refold the roof back down and tie it closed with a bow

Check out my Creative Creations....

2009-11-29T19:01:00.001-08:00

Here is a video I've compiled of my scrapbooking creations and cards. If you are looking for something to give that hard to buy for person, think about getting them something I've made. I can almost guarantee that they do not have something I've made...yet! Feel free to contact me if you see something you would like to get for yourself or someone else! Thanks for looking! Happy Holidays ssauve7@aol.com

Make a Smilebox slideshow

In loving memory of my brother, Steve

2009-11-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Thomas homes...

2009-11-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Desktop Calendar 2010

2009-11-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

A friend asked me to make her some 2010 calendars. Looking through my stuff, I found some spiral stand-up photo albums that had 12 pages! Perfect! I found a 2010 daily planner that had a tiny calendar for each month. I copied it onto my printer and then enlarged it 200%, then cut out each month. I made up 12 different 4 x 6 pages to insert into each sleeve, using the calendars I printed. Finally, I unscrewed the spiral ring holding it together and removed the cover. I decorated the cover, re punched new holes and then screwed the spiral ring back onto the calendar, holding all of the pages together. I really liked how they turned out. Easy project that allows lots of room for creativity! Enjoy!

Pinkalicious Plaques

2009-11-04T16:01:00.001-08:00

Another friend of mine, has two little girls. One of them loves pink as much as I do. I offered to make her a name plaque to put in her room. I called it Pinkalicous! Her other daughter wanted a clock with puppies on it. I started decorating the pink plaque, and then realized that I put the wrong name on it! It was too cute and I couldn't bear thinking of taking it apart, so I left it and made another one with the right name on it. I made the puppy clock a little later. The papers I used in both projects were from DCWV. The pink one was from a kitchen collection and the puppy one was from the dog collection. I used stickles to add some extra bling to each project. I absolutely love stickles. I've made a special box to hold all of my stickles and on the inside of the lid I have a sample of each color of stickle I have. Now I need to make an inventory sheet, so I know which ones I need to buy! I seem to use pink, black diamond and icicle the most. I also love Sakura glaze pens! They give the illusion of embossing, without the effort! I usually use the black and clear glaze pens the most. What is your favorite embellishment?

Altered Clock

2009-11-03T17:17:00.001-08:00

I love to change my decorations with each season or holiday. I enjoy altering clocks to go along with my decor. A friend of mine asked me to make her a Rooster Clock. I had plenty of clocks, but I was stumped as to what to do for the Rooster. My parents recently sold the house I grew up in (sniff-sniff) to my dismay. They bought a new house that they absolutely love. I'm happy for them (sigh). The kitchen had a rooster decor when they bought the house. We went over there on Halloween, and I took some pictures of their wallpaper and framed pictures. I came home and printed them out on my printer, but they color was way off and the pics didn't look right. I consider myself an artist, and took about an hour to color and detail one of the photos. It turned out pretty good! I wanted to copy my new "art," but my printer was out of ink! The colors must have been low, that's why the pictures were so off in the coloring. I carefully cut out the rooster and the grass he stood in, and mounted him on top of a checkered tablecloth paper I had. I really liked how it turned out. When I get some time, I will remake the other poor copies of the rooster that I made. Enjoy!

Altered Tins

2009-11-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love to recycle something old and turn it into something new and fun. I have taken old spice racks, painted them, added some BLING, and used them to store stickles or mini ribbon rounds.

Many moons ago, my son came home from Kindergarten and was just dying to get a Pikachu Pokemon card. That started an elaborate collection at our house. We had to "Catch Them All!" I learned the names of the pokemon and their evolutions, we have boxes of cards in English and Japanese. We've collected books, magnets, Burger King Toys, games, watches. We have had the Pokemon craze for a long time. I really enjoyed playing Pokemon with them too. As my son grew, so did his thirst for another game, so we learned how to play Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic, and World of Warcraft trading card games. We would spend a Saturday afternoon at the mall, or at Ron's to play in tournaments and we even travelled to Seattle to play in tournaments. Pokemon is still my favorite though. Now he and his brothers are into the online game of World of Warcraft. They spend hours a day playing online. They now have land parties in the basement. Their friends come over and bring their computers. We link up all the computers downstairs and they just play and play. I sure miss playing pokemon, I'm afraid to start WOW online. It is too easy to become addicted. This past weekend they were taking on another WOW team online and I kinda felt left out, I wanted to play too, but I don't know how...yet....

So, what does that have to do with scrapbooking? EVERYTHING! Of course I've painted Pokemon on their bedroom walls, scrapped their Pokemon parties, collected tons of Pokemon cards, decorated a giant jar to "catch" all their pokemon toys, and altered tins to hold their precious decks. I'm on a few scrapbooking groups online, and have found some other scrappers with kids into Pokemon. This last week I worked on making tins for their kids. I hope that they enjoy this activity with their kids as much as I have.

Supplies: Red, white and black paper; Black and yellow stickles; a tin (I prefer round ones, shaped like the poke balls); paper cutter; modge podge and foam brush; round punches 1" and 1 3/4"; red, black and white ribbon (optional); pokemon stickers (optional); black alphabets (optional)

Directions:
1) Lay your tin on top of a red or white piece of paper. I line it up halfway up the front of the tin and then fold it up (so I can cut 2 at once). Repeat for the other color. Cut them out.
2) Cut 1" strips of black paper (one for each side of the tin)
3) Punch out 2 different sized circles from white paper. Layer the white circles on top of each other.
4) Lay the red semi-circle on the top of the front of the tin and glue into place. Repeat on the back side of the tin.
5) Lay the white semi-circle on the bottom of the front of the tin and glue into place. Repeat on the back of the tin.
6) Lay the black 1" strip across the seam, joining the red and white semi-cirlces. Glue into place. Repeat on the back of the tin.
7) Lay the layered circles in the middle of the black strip and glue down. Repeat on the back of the tin.
8) Measure the width of the tin, and cut more black paper in that width. Glue around the outside of the tin. If you are using a tin with a latch, before gluing, gently press the paper around the handles, to make yourself a cutting guide, so that the paper will go around the handles easily.
9) Use ribbon, stickles, stickers, and/or alphabet letters to embellish your tin.
10) Fill it with Pokemon toys or cards, to give to a pokemon fan!

It's a Studio Splurge Special! From CTMH

2009-10-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

This October 1-31, 2009, when you join Close To My Heart as a new Consultant and successfully complete both levels in the Straight to the Top (STTT) program per policy, you will receive 10 FREE Studio J™ scrapbook layouts!

ALSO...

When you join Close To My Heart on my Clearly the Most Creative Scrapbook Team you will receive, as a special perk from Me, an acrylics organizer kit!

Cute Flip Flop Mini Album

2009-09-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last year, I went to the Quick Quotes convention at Grand Mounds Washington, at the Great Wolf Lodge. It was incredible, and exhausting. They had several sample books displayed, to entice you to buy more products. I fell in love with 2 projects. One was an altered canvas, which I made up for my husband for Christmas. The other was a mini album made out of a pair of flip flops. I have been buying flip flops on clearance after holidays, with the intention of making this adorable album. Currently Quick Quotes has their mini album on clearance for $10. I just signed up for their next convention at Grand Mounds, which is only a few weeks away. I am SO EXCITED! My family is too, while I scrap, they get to go on magical adventures, enjoy the indoor swimming pool, wave pool and slides. They can also play arcade games to their hearts content, because one entire floor is dedicated to arcades! Well, when I signed up for the convention, I also bought a flip flop book. Last night I made up this really cute book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I'll be making more soon, now that I've made one I have to make more...it's just a weird habit, I can never make just one of anything.

Supplies: one pair of flip flops
brads, ribbon, flowers, chipboard, strong wet glue (I love Beacon's 3 in 1, which you can buy at the Quick Quotes webstore, or at JoAnn Fabrics).

Instructions:
1. Cut out the flip flops in one continuous piece (6 flip flops in all)
2. Cut out 6 flip flops out of patterned paper (I used 2 different papers, so I cut out 3 of each pattern)
3. Add brads, pictures, vellum and other embellishments to each paper flip flop
4. Fold the chipboard flip flops...pages 1 and 2 in a valley, pages 3 and 4 in a hill, pages 5 and 6 in a valley
5. Fold up the chipboard, so that it makes one flip flop
6. I glued ribbon along the inside of the continuous chipboard flip flops, to add a little decoration when the book is opened up
7. Glue each paper flip flop onto the continuous chipboard flip flops
8. Glue the back of the first chipboard flip flop onto the back of the real flip flop
9. I removed the plastic from the top of the second real flip flop, so it would lie flat
10. Glue the back of the last chipboard flip flop onto the front of the second real flip flop
11. Cut and glue one more patterned piece of paper onto the bottom of the last flip flop
12. Fold up the flip flops and share with your friends!

Check out this scrapbook room...

2009-09-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1472102

To dream the seemingly impossible dream! Oh, scrapbooking is expensive enough! I would love to buy all matching furniture and accessories to keep it all neat and organized! I get several of my acrylic stamp holders at the Dollar Tree, and my
12x12 papers are kept in giant boxes or file boxes depending on how much paper I have. I do like to organize my paper by company and then by color. It is neat and organized, just not in matching boxes.

How do you organize your papers?

Time Management

2009-09-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Finding an extra ten, twenty, or even thirty-minutes of scrapping time in your day may seem impossible.

Here are a few ideas to help you use little tidbits of time throughout your day ---

• Keep a small notebook and a pen in your purse or pocket to make notes and capture ideas before they get away.

• Browse an idea book while waiting to pick up the children from school, defrosting dinner in the microwave, or waiting at the doctor’s office. Make notes in your notebook as ideas come.

• Flip through magazines in the grocery checkout line to study basic design concepts and colors that you can work into your layouts. Quickly sketch out layout ideas that you like and think you might use for future scrapbook pages.

• Practice your lettering on a scratch piece of paper as you help your children with homework or as you talk on the phone.

• Practice your lettering as you write a thank-you notes.

• As you listen to radio or watch TV listen for interesting phrases, poems or sayings that could be used as layout titles. Take note of catchy phrases from your favorite television programs, or in social settings (grocery store, office, gym...).

• Match your photos to your patterned paper, trim your mats, or complete your journaling while you watch TV or a movie.

• Take scrapbook magazines or information books and Post-it Notes™ with you to appointments or on a trip. Tag pages or articles that have ideas you’d like to use for references in future scrapping. If you don’t like to save old magazines, remove those pages and store them in a binder.

• While waiting for a download or for something to print out on your computer, finish your journaling, write a poem, or order the scrapbook supplies you need online.

• Make a list of scrapbooking tasks you want to complete. Note the approximate time needed to finish them. When extra minutes come your way, look at your list, pick one you can complete or make substantial progress on and get to work.

Summarizing...
Managing time is a challenge for each of us. When we prioritize, organize, and maximize our time, we can include scrapbooking in our lives in ways that are rewarding, productive and enjoyable.

Just a tiny little minute,

only sixty seconds in it.

Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.

Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.

But it’s up to me to use it.

I must suffer if I lose it.

Give account if I abuse it.

Just a tiny little minute,

but eternity is in it.

Anonymous

Time to Organize my space...

2009-09-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

It is so easy to dream up big exciting projects to make, or get that desire to use a new embellishment on a layout, but I can't always start what I want to do when I get that urge, because I can't find something I need, or a clean space to work. I used to be soo organized, but then I had 5 kids and keeping everything clean just wasn't my top priority anymore.

So, amidst my abc project, I am also going to work on cleaning up and organizing my scrap area. This is going to be extra challenging because my "REAL SCRAP ROOM" is downstairs, and I am stuck upstairs with a broken foot. Or maybe not, after my 9th surgery 3 weeks ago, I hope it is finally healing...again. Unfortunately, I can't go downstairs for another 6-9 weeks, so I will work on what I have had my kids bring upstairs for me to work with and lay a foundation that should make things easier for me to use when I can go back downstairs to my REAL SCRAP ROOM!

I started to get organized before my surgery, and I labeled a lot of my stuff, so that I could send the kids downstairs to easily find something for me, if I needed it. So I will be able to share some pictures with you of my attempt to clean sweep my scrapbook room...

Please Check Out the Ties that Bind Book...

2009-08-20T11:09:00.001-07:00

http://projecttiesthatbind.blogspot.com/

ABC of scrapbooking techniques

2009-07-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love ABC books. I love to read them, write them, collect them and scrapbook them. They are fun to create and absolutely fantastic to share! I have made an ABC book for dad, mom, Christmas, the beach, being a close to my heart consultant, and a general ABC book that has a variety of things for each letter of the alphabet.

As a scrapbooker, and a consultant for Close To My Heart, I am constantly looking for new technique to use on cards and layouts. I like to use some techniques over and over and as I'm getting older, my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. Each time I was pregnant, I became quite forgetful (no, I'm not pregnant again - 5 is enough) and I blamed it on the growing baby inside me. It seemed that the baby sucked my memory right out of me along with other nutrients.

I started jotting down techniques so that I would remember them. I figured that some people might have the same memory loss that I do, and that others, even with great memories, might just want to learn some new techniques. So I've decided to add them to my blog! I am trying to do these techniques in alphabetical order, but I may forget...so check back frequently to see what is new! I look forward to sharing these with you, and I hope you enjoy trying them out! Keep scrapping my friends!

Jacob's Ladder Book

2009-07-27T15:30:00.001-07:00

Jacob's Ladder Book

by: Shellie Sauve

Supplies:

3 pieces 12 x 12 patterned paper

2 pieces 12x12 cardstock

**2 pieces 12x12 chipboard (or 12 4x4 coasters) each piece should be the same thickness

3 pieces 4 foot long riboon (these can be the same or different ribbon, but should be the same weight and width)

Embellishments:

stamps, ink pads, metal rims, additional ribbon, buttons....

Required Tools:

Trimmer, scissors, wet glue and super strong dry adhesive like red super tape, pencil, corner rounder, sandpaper or distresser

Directions:

If you are not using 4x4 coasters, then cut your chipboard into 12 4x4 squares.

**If you do not have coasters or chipboard, you can cut up a cereal box or

use the cover from a spiral notebook

Use a corner rounder to round each corner

On the front side of 6 squares, draw 3 lines:

Two lines should be drawn lengthwise down at 3/4" from each edge

The third line should be in the center 2"

You should now have 6 squares with lines on the front and 6 squares without any lines

Cut 2 pieces of patterned paper into 4 x 12 strips.

(Set 2 of the 4x12 strips aside for embellishment later)

Cut the remaining 4 x 12 strips into 4x4 squares and round the corners.

Adhere the papers to one side of the chipboard squares (NOT on the sides with lines)

If you want to make a pattern, adhere one patterned paper style onto the 6 coasters with lines (do NOT put the paper over the lines, glue the paper to the other side)

Use a different patterned paper to glue onto the other 6 coasters (one side only)

Trim and sand the edges if needed

To Create the Ladder:

Take one square with lines on one side and place it face down, with the lines horizontal

Apply adhesive along the lines, going all the way to the edge.

Line up one end of the ribbon with the edge of the coaster -

Middle ribbon runs right to left

Top and bottom ribbons run left to right

Press them tightly into the adhesive so they are firmly attached

Take another coaster without lines, apply adhesive all around the edges and into the center (onto the unpapered side) adhere it to the first coaster, wrong sides together

**(you should have a patterned paper facing up at you now)

Lift each ribbon and run it across the coaster, to the opposite side

Take another coaster with lines, apply adhesive along the lines and place that coaster, paper side down on top of the ribbons

Pull the ribbons underneath so they are taught and make sure they are not twisted.

Bring the ribbons across the coaster to the opposite side, pressing into the adhesive

Apply adhesive to the wrong side of an unlined square, and put the wrong sides together

Repeat the steps above until you get to the last square and cut the excess ribbons off at the end. You should end up with a patterned paper square facing you to complete the book.

IMPORTANT!!! When adding photos or photo mats to the pages of this book, make sure that ALL OF THE ELEMENTS ARE UNDERNEATH the ribbons, otherwise the ladder will not work.

C is for Chalk Popping

2009-07-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

C is for chalk Popping

Supplies:

chalk
versamark ink
cardstock

cotton swabs

Instructions:

1. Ink up your stamp with versamark ink

2. Stamp it onto your cardstock (it will be a little difficult to see because the ink is so clear)

3. Color the stamped image with different colors of chalk

*the result is a soft, subtle pastel image, great for flowers or butterflies

B is for Bubble Wrap

2009-07-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

B is for Bubble Wrap

Supplies:

bubble wrap (large or small bubbles work)

ink pad

cardstock

embellishments for desired effect (water or beehive, or some other background)

Instructions:

1. Lay your bubblewrap with the bubbles facing upwards

2. Use your desired ink pad and rub it all over the bubble wrap, rub or pat the ink pad to ensure coverage of all the bubbles

3. Lay down a piece of cardstock and then lay the inked side of the bubblewrap face side down onto the cardstock

4. Carefully pat and rub the bubblewrap to transfer the ink from the wrap to the cardstock

5. Remove the bubblewrap (it is ok if every bubble did not transfer perfectly, it adds more texture to the project)

6. If you are using this technique on several pieces of cardstock you may reink the bubbles and reuse the same sheet

*if you are not reusing the bubblewrap at this time or if you want to use it for another color, rinse it off with water and pat it dry

*** this technique makes great water, grass and beehives....see what else you can use it for possibilities are endless

Mary Vogels Card Sketch SS04

2009-06-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Mary Vogel is a very talented stamper and CTMH consultant. I have been very fortunate to have worked with her on the CTMH virtual convention for the past 3 years. She has recently created a new website http://mbryt1.blogspot.com/ and she posts new sketches to inspire you each week. Here are my cards inspired by her sketch #ssso4. Enjoy!

Virtual Convention 2009

2009-06-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

Are you a Close to My Heart Consultant who loves to keep in touch with other CTMH consultants? Unable to go to convention? Bring the convention to your house! Join the virtual convention! I've been to VC for the past 3 years and every experience has been absolutely fantastic and memorable. Click on the link and join today! See ya at convention.....

Yahoo does not deserve it's name!

2009-03-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

Yahoo does not deserve it's name today. It deserves a big BOO! Definitely not Yahoo! I am a scrapbooker and I have a lot of "stuff" like most scrapbookers. Sometimes I end up with wayyyy too much stuff and being in Yakima, WA with 4 seasons, I can't just have a yard sale any old time. So, I have joined a few scrapbookers groups where I can pif and snag my unused items, because you know one woman's unused scrapbooking supplies are another woman's treasure!

What is a pif? It means Pay It Forward. I list the items that I no longer use or need, and then I get a point for each item I list. Once I have accumulated a few points, I get to SNAG, which means that I get to choose someone else's items that I do want or need. This is a wonderful way to try something new or get more of your favorite embellishments, papers and adhesives! This weekend in particular is really special, not only is it the first weekend of Spring, but it is also a piffing party! All weekend the members of the group PST can list and snag as many items as they want (usually there is a limit of10 items). I snagged a Quick Kutz machine, which quickly and easily cuts out the shape of the template you put in it. I also snagged some BLING, my favorite embellishment and some ATG gun tape! I'm getting rid of several premade layouts, paper piecings, tombow refills and other things I'm not using. I have found several items that I still want to snag, but I can't. Yahoo won't let me. Yahoo has been crazy, off and on all day. Most of the items I've piffed and snagged were done last night. Today, I've been negotiating pifs and snags via email, but I can't get onto the PST database to see if I have enough points to get everything I desire. It's been VERY frustrating!

During the pif party, we are playing BINGO, and there are several scrapbook sketches that have been shown, for us to use as a guide to make our own layouts. We can get prizes for making the most layouts from the 21 samples given to us. Unfortunately, I haven't made ONE layout! My scrap room is downstairs and I'm upstairs with my laptop, desperately going from screen to screen, trying to get into my group and do more piffing and snagging! If I was feeling better (I have a sore foot and allergies are making me feel exhausted) I would take the computer downstairs and check it in between my layouts, but I just don't feel good enough to go downstairs. So, it has been a very unproductive and frustrating day!

I'll be posting my finished layouts as I finish them, once I feel a little better, and once I can pif and snag to my hearts content again. Wherever YOU are, you may hear me scream YAHOO!! once it starts to work consistently again. Until then, they should be called YaBOO!

Smilebox Christmas Card 2008

2008-12-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting