More Grungepaper

I really love this stuff. I will no longer buy chipboard and have to look through it only to find I'm missing one letter for my title, or that it's not the right size. I just keep packs of Grungepaper handy and I can cut whatever I want. I've been successful cutting it with my Cricut (max pressure, really sticky mat, multi cut), using my Tim Holtz dies, and recently, using my Spellbinders dies. I wasn't sure if it would work since they're thinner, but it was great. One pass; no problems.

I wanted to post a layout I did with Grungepaper. It's a picture of Eric with his Granny. I cut the title and hearts out of Grungepaper and made them the exact size I wanted. Then I inked them with black ink using my Ink Blending Tool. Finally, I stamped on them using the new Staz On Metallic Gold ink. There are 4 metallic colours in the new Staz On and they're awesome: Platinum, Gold, Silver & Copper. They're a bit of a pain in that you need to reink them each time, but they're so, well, metallic. And because they're Staz-On, they're permanent and can be stamped on anything. I used to love my Encore inks because they were so shimmery, but I was so limited in how I could use them since they wouldn't dry on anything glossy. The new Staz-On metallic inks fix that.

For Laura

I was texting with my friend, Laura, yesterday and I asked her what her favorite colour was. It's her birthday coming up on Sunday and I wanted to work on a project for her and didn't want to do it in a colour she hated. Well, Laura's favorite colour is purple, so I went to the scrapbook store today and bought some purple paper. More about this in a bit.

Another friend came over tonight to stamp for a bit. My big goal was to come up with a template for my Christmas card. I'm going to a retreat next weekend and I want to be able to work on my project for Laura and on my Christmas cards. I think I came up with something I can live with. It doesn't scream, I love it, but I don't hate it, so I'm going to let it sit for a couple of days and see what comes to me.

After that, I decided I wanted to make another card. I flipped through my "A Card A Day" book and found what I thought was the card for October 21. I made my own version and I kind of liked it. I was trying to pick a colour and naturally, reached for navy. I decided I needed to branch out a bit, since I've done a lot with blue lately (with working on Eric's scrapbook). So, I thought about my conversation with Laura yesterday and started looking through the purple paper. It was fun as the entire time I was stamping, I was thinking of her. I've never actually met her, but she makes me smile and laugh and so it was fun to create something with her in mind.


I decided to do a 4x4" card since the one I was copying was a square. I really like this size because it doesn't seem as daunting. I cut the light purple cardstock to 3.75" x 2.5" and I cut the dark purple to 4" across. Then I used my Tim Holtz Ornate Border Die and cut along the bottom. I trimmed it so it would fit and glued them down.

I made the flowers using white cardstock and my Tim Holtz Flower die. I stamped "French Script" (Hero Arts - I LOVE this stamp and use it all the time) in Victorian Velvet Distress ink. I really like the Distress Inks because they react so well with water and you can do so many things with them. After I stamped, I took my water brush and moved the ink just a bit. Then I took my brush and touched it to the ink pad and darkened the edges of each flower to give them some depth. I like the look of an inked edge, but on small intricate pieces, it's impossible to do directly with the ink pad. Which is what lead to my discovery tonight of just picking up colour directly from the pad and adding it wherever I wanted. I added a brad to each flower and then assembled the card. The saying (Penny Black) was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black in the top left corner.

The card doesn't really look like the one I was copying, but that's OK. I bought this book because there is a card dedicated to every day and I thought that when I was lacking motivation or creativity, I could just look at today's date and copy a card to get me started. Of course, when it was all said and done, I realized that I had copied the September 21st card and not the October 21st one, but oh well. (Did you know that apparently, September 19th is International Talk like a Pirate Day? Nope? Neither did I. I'm sad I missed that card as it would have been a fun one to make).

I dedicate this card to my friend, Laura and although I won't get her surprise to her by Sunday, I want to wish her a Happy Birthday anyway.

A Demo Night/Open House

We recently completely renovated our kitchen. Like gutted it to the walls and started over. It's pretty much completely done now and we love it! I was thinking of having a demo night/open house and I've decided to just do it!!

So, for those in the area, you are invited to a Demo Night/Open House at my house next Tuesday, October 26, 2010 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. I will have some new product out and I'll have a bunch of sale stuff as well. Come check out the new kitchen and we'll just visit and have fun. It will be Open House style, so come for as little or as long as you'd like.

I wanted to post a scrapbook layout I did a couple of years ago. It's a photo of Kayla with a ladybug on her eye. I used the Fragments by Tim Holtz and adhered them on top of some patterned paper with Glossy Accents. Then I just glued a little ladybug on top. It changes the look of the patterned paper and is a quick and easy embellishment.


Please let me know if you can come on Tuesday by either emailing me or posting a comment.

An Order

I received an order on Friday and unpacked it today. It's always exciting to see what is in the box. I know that I should know what is in it since I ordered it, but it's still fun to see new product up close and personal. It's hard, sometimes, to see what something is really like from a small picture online.

I thought I'd give a small peek of a few things that were in my box.

Here it is all laid out. It wasn't a terribly big order, so not a lot of stuff.

I have a bunch of new Shimmer Sheets in stock now. I love the new iridescent colours (purple, dark and light pink, blue and light green). I also have red and green metallic.


I love these new embellishments by 7 Gypsies and Making Memories. I really like the Tim Holtz embellishements and 7 Gypsies has similar gears, except theirs have little gems on them for some extra bling. Then the Making Memories brads are just so sparkly. They're very cool.

I've started making my own glimmer mists. Tim Holtz posted directions on his blog. You put a dropperful of Distress Ink refill in a mini mister, fill it most of the way (leaving some room at the top though) with water and then put some Perfect Pearls in it. Put the top on and shake it up. I have tons of Tattered Angels and Smooch Spritzes, but I like these homemade ones too because they match the Distress Inks. I decided that I would bring in the mini misters in bulk so people could buy however many they wanted. I also got myself a couple more of the Mini Mister blocks so I can house all my new Glimmer Mists.


The new Spellbinders dies are out now too. I had some customers order the Half Moon Circles and Squares and the Beaded Ovals. They're very pretty.


Lastly, I ordered one of the new Tim Holtz Texture Fade sets. It looks like they've changed the packaging which I quite like. The old packaging had a long, tall package which was hard to fit in a box to transport. I like the new pillow pack.
I have some more stuff, but I'll leave it at that for now. I'll be putting a new order in soon and if there is anything you want, just let me know. Hopefully, I can get back to creating tomorrow after I do some invoicing and order stuff. I'm almost caught up to Eric's 4th birthday and I'm feeling motivated. I can see the end of his book in the near distance and I'm gearing up to reach it.

A new baby

My brother and his wife had a new baby boy this morning. I used it as an excuse to go to my craft room and stamp instead of cleaning the kitchen and working. I thought it was a valid excuse.

While I've been scrapbooking a bit lately, I haven't felt overly creative. I've been copying layouts and pulling ideas from magazines. It always takes me a little while to be able to just create something on my own. I jumped that hurdle today though. It wasn't the most brilliant card, but I worked through the issues I had as I was making it and not quite liking "something."

I started with the white paper and stamped "Samuel" across the bottom with a Fancy Pants alphabet set I have using Blue Iris chalk ink. Then I stamped the baby stamp (Inkadinkado) on white cardstock with Blue Iris ink. I embossed some blue Core'dinations paper with big dots and then sanded it. But when I put it together, it was still missing something. I used my little Tim Holtz distressing tool and it helped, but it wasn't enough. So, I pulled out my Distress-It-All tool and went hard distressing the edges and then I loved it. Well, maybe not loved it, but liked it well enough to give it away.

If you haven't played with the Distress-It-All, it's quite cool. I love that distressed look, but it takes forever with the little mini tool. My friend, Jacqueline, told me to get the DIA and so I added it to one of my orders. It's so quick and easy and does a fantastic job. I don't know that I would have splurged on it, but I'm so glad that I have it now. I used it on my calendar pages (I'll post my page after I get the calendars all bound and distributed). It was so quick and easy and I found that I'm really liking that look right now.

I was lucky today because my sister came over and we scrapbooked for a bit too. I even created a layout without looking for inspiration in a magazine. I'll possibly post pictures of that tomorrow.

So, Happy Birthday to my new nephew, Samuel Louis (Louis was my grandfather's name). And here is the card I made for him.

Core'dinations

I didn't get a chance to stamp or scrapbook today. Sadly, work took over and I had to actually get some things done. I'm really hoping my sister comes over tomorrow and scrapbooks so that I can keep my motivation going.

I did want to post though. I found a scrapbook page I did a couple of months ago. It's another one of Eric (I have been working on his album and trying to get it caught up since I'm not as far behind in his as I am in Kayla's). We were at my parent's acreage when one of the mares foaled. The kids got to see a baby horse less than an hour old. Although Eric was a bit young, I still thought it was an incredible experience.

I did a simple page with some patterned paper and then layered some core'dinations brown paper on top. I sanded the edges and distressed it a bit to make it fit in with the theme. Then I just needed to mat the photos and stick it all down.

I do want to thank everyone who has visited and posted. I really enjoy reading the comments. I'm going to run my contest for another day or two and then do a draw. I'll post the winner this weekend. Good luck!

Smile

I wanted to do another quick layout today, but all of a sudden it was 8:00 and I hadn't gotten into my craft room. But I did it.

One of the reasons I wanted to start blogging was to showcase different ways to use product. I love reading about what others do and so I wanted to share too. And I didn't want to inundate my customers with a ton of emails, so those who are interested can read at their leisure. I'm going to be ramping it up a bit and starting some contests and giving away some prizes. Stay tuned!

I have done most of my major layouts for Eric's 4th year. I have a few single layouts left, then his birthday layout and a couple miscellaneous ones with extra photos I haven't yet used. I found this picture and knew this is the page I wanted to do. Although the photo is just a year and a half old, I can't believe that's him. He's changed so much! We have a big rock in front of our house and the kids love to sit on it and pose for photos. This one was taken Easter 2009. I knew I wanted a simple layout and so I basically just matted the photo and added a title. The title is made from Grungepaper which I love! You can cut it with a die cut or I cut it with my Cricut. Then you can make whatever shape or letter, in whatever size you want. Then you can colour, spritz, ink, stamp on it. It is just about impossible to wreck it. Even if you soak it with liquid, it doesn't peel or get all fuzzy.

Grungepaper has a right and wrong side. The right side is soft, kind of like suede. The back side isn't soft and has a criss-cross type pattern. I cut my Grungepaper with my Cricut. I got a new mat out because my old one wasn't very sticky and you want lots of stick. I typed in my title and then cut it on multicut with high pressure. It was fine. I just used my regular (not deep) blade. Then I inked my letters with Blue Iris chalk ink and I put my layout together.

For those interested in Grungepaper, it now comes in 6x12 pack (6 sheets to a package). I have several packs in stock. You can email me or post if you'd like one (they're $6).

The colours don't show exceptionally well (they're navy blue and tan) as it's late and there isn't a lot of light. I wanted to post tonight so I couldn't wait to take the picture tomorrow. Sorry!

I'm going to have a draw from comments and send out a little prize to a random poster, so please let me know what you think.

A Wedding Card

I needed two wedding cards. Glenn's cousin is getting married this weekend in BC and I want to send the card with his parents who are attending. One of his friends also recently got married and so I needed another card. I sat down last night, high from Thanksgiving turkey and excited since it's been awhile since I stamped. I was optimistic since I had some recent success with scrapbooking, however, it was a struggle.

I had a kind of idea in my head, but I couldn't see it clearly and I definitely couldn't get it down on paper. I find it frustrating when I struggle and often, I walk away, however, I needed to get these cards done as I was under time constraints. I think that likely contributed to my creative issues.

I pushed through and in the end, I finished with a card that is OK. I long ago gave myself permission to not like everything I make. Sometimes OK is good enough. And just because I don't love it, doesn't mean someone else will feel the same way. I discovered that a few years ago when I was submitting cards to magazines on a regular basis. They always seemed to publish the cards I didn't like nearly as much and seemed to ignore the ones I loved.

So, yesterday, OK was good enough.


I used the Spellbinders Labels 4 to cut out a teal panel. I stamped Love (Art Impressions) with Dark Brown chalk ink. Then I embossed the panel with the Cuttlebug Victorian folder. I stamped two hearts (Clearly in Love set by Penny Black) with Dark Brown ink on white cardstock. It's hard to see, but I coloured and traced various portions with a Stardust pen to add some glitter. I cut the hearts out and mounted them on the panel with foam dots.

Now comes the hard part. Writing the sentiment inside. But seeing as it's Glenn's cousin and his friend, I think I'll leave that part up to him.

Happy Thanksgiving

While technically today is Thanksgiving, we celebrated yesterday. Both yesterday and today, though, I reflected on how thankful I am.

There are the obvious things for which to be thankful: my wonderful husband, my beautiful children, my close-knit family. We are lucky in so many ways and I try to acknowledge these throughout the year.

I am truly thankful for my hobby though. I am so lucky to involved in stamping and scrapbooking. This hobby has afforded me so many wonderful opportunities and friends. I have a ton of friends with whom I share this interest. It's fun to be able to get together and to stamp and chat. I am part of two wonderful stamping groups in real life (Pretty Mean Stampers and Wye Not) and an incredible online group (Canadian Stamp Talk). Through both groups, I have met and chatted with people who share my desire to get our fingers dirty and see what we can create.

I'm also very thankful that stamping has given me opportunities I would not have otherwise had. I have been very blessed to have been able to teach at one of our local stores, "Stamp-A-Doodle" and through the encouragement of others, I have submitted my cards and have been honoured enough to be published. I also gave thanks yesterday and today for my business. Through it, I have been able to get a lot of the new product and have been able to play with it. It's always exciting when a box arrives and I can open it and rip through it like a child at Christmas.

Yesterday, Kayla wanted to make a Thanksgiving card, so we spent some time together in my craft room. I was flipping through a "Scrapbook and Cards Today" magazine and a layout caught my eye, so I just copied it. I'm so far behind, that I often flip through magazines to get an idea and then take it from there.

Again, I used one of my Basic Grey packs (this time it was "Oliver"). I needed 6 coordinating patterned papers and it would have taken me forever to look through my stash of papers to find 6 that I liked together (and that colours matched). So instead, I just flipped through my pack and picked out 6 pieces. I then cut everything, sewed the squares and stuck it all down. Then to finish it off, I just added some of the die cut stickers and used the letters to create the title. It was so quick and it took the stress out of having to get everything to match. Here are the photos.

Oliver Paper pack by Basic Grey.

Layout

A 10 minute layout

I haven't scrapbooked in months. I am so far behind and it's overwhelming. Seriously overwhelmed. How am I ever going to catch up?

I have all my photos organized, but the sheer volume makes my head spin. I love taking photos and so, I have entirely too many to begin with. The other day, the kids and I played in the leaves for a couple of hours. I was talking to Glenn that night and told him I took 200 photos and needed to go through them. His reply? Sadly, I don't think that's an exaggeration.

The hardest part is to start though. I always hate starting to stamp or scrap after not having done it for awhile. I have to find my creativity which often takes awhile and the first few poor cards and layouts seem to pay the price. I know that once I get into the groove, I actually look forward to going into my room and creating though, so the journey is worth it.

My sister was over the other day, and we keep talking about getting back into the groove. It's hard with 6 kids between us, but I told her we were just going to start. I opened up a "Creating Keepsakes" magazine and on the last page, there is always a 10 minute layout complete with instructions, so we grabbed our pictures and started.

I've started ordering Basic Grey paper packages lately. I love that all the papers in the package go together and they also include a page of die cut stickers and another page of die cut letters (all self-adhesive). I know I can just grab a few things, put them together and it will work. So, that's what I did. I used the "Pyrus" paper package this time.

Once we got started, it truly was a 10 minute layout. It's very simple, but that's OK. I quite like it and what really matters is I did it.

Here is the finished layout. It's just a picture of Eric and I wrote on the little journalling card: "I love your big brown eyes." Nothing earth-shattering, but that's fine too!




I actually have one more of these kits in stock if anyone is interested. As a note, I always keep my collections together in the plastic in which they came. Then, I know when I'm doing a project, I can just grab the pack and everything in it will match.

I see on other people's blogs that their pictures all look very pretty. I will get there. I'm not sure how to do that for 12x12" layouts. I do eventually get them scanned and can post them then, but I'd rather post them when I actually do them. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has some!

For those having turkey today, have a wonderful day. I'll do a Thanksgiving post tomorrow.

Jacquie

Published

OK, now that I've gotten the intro done, I wanted to post that I've had two cards published in the last month.

First, a card I actually quite like that was published in "Take Ten." I love that magazine as my style is very quick and simple. I am not very good at collage and while I admire the gorgeous, intricate cards others can create, I just can't seem to find time or skill to do that. So, I stick to what I can do for now.



Here is a link to the layout with my card on it. My creation was the brown Eiffel Tower one.

The other day, I got a copy of "The Stamper's Sampler" and there was one of my old Christmas cards in it. It was exciting. They sent me a general link to the magazine, but my card wasn't on any of the pages that they featured.



I used to submit more often, but somehow life got in the way. It's going to be a goal for me to submit on a more regular basis now though.

I'm new to this.

I've never blogged before and am hoping that I can keep this up. I've been told I should blog before, but I always laughed and wondered who would follow it. Now, I'm hoping that I can keep it updated and that it will motivate me to stamp and scrapbook.

I'm a stamper first and then a scrapbooker. I love ink and I love putting stamps on paper. I started scrapbooking as a way to help justify all of my supplies and since having children, I have tried to scrapbook more. I hope that it is a wonderful gift and legacy that I can leave them. I know that they love to look through the books and "remember" what has happened. But that's OK. It will hopefully help them fill in the blanks as they get older.

I've debated starting a blog for awhile and finally decided to just take the plunge. I know NOTHING about blogging and so my blog is fairly simple, but hopefully I'll learn and will one day be able to make it more mine. In the meantime, it will be what it will be.

I do some stamping and scrapbooking supply resale. It's not a huge part of my business, but it gives me the opportunity to play with new stuff and so I love it. I am hoping, in part, to use my blog to show off new product and ideas for how to use it. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or post.

I really hope that I can keep up with this and that others will find it fun and interesting to read.