Sketchbook!

28 Friday Sep 2012

Tags

Ali Edwards, American Crafts, Amy Tangerine, Designer Digitals, The Paperie

I spent last night at The Paperie taking Cathie’s Starburst and Pinwheel Class with some scrappy friends. We had a blast and the LO’s were awesome! Equally awesome? The stuff I came home with!

How do you all feel about classes? Are you happy to simply do them and come home with your projects or do you like to get extra stuff too?

Me? I’m all about the add-ons! Love getting a little something to carry away, especially if I learn something new and get a product so I can recreate the projects in my own way. Last night, we all got a pack of Thickers (I already had the green so I exchanged them for the black) and a 6×6 Amy Tangerine Sketchbook paper pad – pretty sweet, my friends!

The starburst LO we completed was this one:

oh dear… (design credit: Cathie Reed)

Of course, I had to make things difficult and use different papers so that slowed me down a little, but I love the end result. Cathie also showed us how to make a stencil from our starburst and how to tone down the bright papers we were using.

I had to come home to finish this one since the picture I brought just didn’t work. I’m glad to get this photo on a LO though, because it was a pretty funny day – M & P chose to colour each other, but with non-washable red marker. They had streaks on their faces for days! 🙂

The second LO featured a pie chart and again, Cathie suggested a couple of ways of doing it and some other project ideas too.

for you, mama! (design credit: Cathie Reed)

Again, I made things hard on myself and used different papers which meant time sorting out what to put where but at least I got these photos scrapped, since they probably wouldn’t have been otherwise!

M & G love to pick me flowers and on this day, shortly after the dandelions came out in bloom, they insisted on keeping them in a “vase” of water. As you can tell, I’m also in love with the Ali Edwards photo overlays from Designer Digitals. I have to force myself not to drop them onto every picture – a battle I lost for this LO!

Hope you liked them – go over and tell Cathie what you think – maybe we can get her to teach some more classes! 🙂

It’s Friday! and a LO…

21 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by Sara in Family, ScrapBook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

American Crafts, Dear Lizzy, Dina Wakley, Kiddies, LO Tag, The Paperie

Friday! Yay! I have a crop to go to tonight and we have both adult and kiddie birthday parties this weekend – it’s going to be a fun one! Plus, the weather is still holding, knock on wood! 🙂

I don’t know why I haven’t posted this LO yet, it’s one I did for a LO tag back in August but since I didn’t post it then, it gives me some eye candy to post for you now!

Happy Together

This is one of my favourite pics from the trip M and I took to New Brunswick in July. She and P had the best time – I only wished we all lived a little closer to each other!

I used the August Paperie club kit for this – I loved the Dear Lizzy patterned papers and chipboard pieces, so fun! Of course, I had to add some wood veneer:

I love those little people. Really love them – I have 3 packs so that I never run out! 🙂

And I had to add some hidden journaling because, as per usual, I didn’t think about it until the LO was finished so it had to be tucked away!

A great Dina Wakley stencil and some Studio Calico Shine for the background and that was it. I love the neutral background and photo with the soft colours of the embellishments – not my norm but I think I’ll have to try it again!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and the weather is good wherever you may be!

Clean and Simple Stencils

10 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by Sara in Classes, ScrapBook

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Balzer Designs, Classes, Layouts, Stencils, The Crafter's Workshop

I love mist. I love the randomness of it and how it’s intense where you spray and then fades out – love it!

I also love molding paste – the dimension, the cool effect, the sharpness of the image yet it’s jagged on the top. Awesome!

But I know people who hate getting their hands dirty.

Yes, it’s true, there are crafters out there with clean hands, my friends! They’ll never understand the Julie Fei-Fan Balzer Dirty Girl apron…. Heck, they’ll never need one! 🙂

And so, for those people, and for those of you like me who can swing either way, I have a new class this Wednesday night!

Clean and Simple Stencils.

You can do it, you can stay clean, and I have two LO’s to prove it! Better yet, I incorporate at least 4 different techniques too!

If you haven’t signed up yet, this class is selling fast – call The Paperie ASAP to come join in the fun. If you can’t make it, we can get you a kit with instructions!

You know I love a big and crazy class so come on – what are you waiting for?

See you Wednesday! 🙂

Thrifting….

03 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by Sara in Family, ScrapBook, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Charles Dickens, Frozen yogurt, Kiddies, Wood Veneer

We finished dinner early a few nights ago and I dragged everyone out with me to the thrift store with the promise of ice cream after.

And it was a good trip! Here are my finds:

…an old book to cut up, a great kid’s book for colourful backgrounds, some sewing patterns, and a bonus silver serving dish.

I love the kid’s book – fun and colourful for collage backgrounds and small enough patterns to blend in. The patterns were a steal, $0.69 for two, I should have bought another package…

And this book:

…is awesome! It was printed in the 70’s so it’s got nice old yellowing pages with age and water spots and it has some fantastic pictures too. I apologize to anyone who loves Charles Dickens but I already have a collection of his works so I don’t feel bad at all. I could have gone with the copy of War and Peace but there were no pictures. I do, however, regret not buying the copy of Heidi – it had great color pictures in it. I think another trip is due to see if it’s still there!

And finally, I got this lovely piece:

…which I think is going to house my wood veneer shapes so I can easily rummage through them when needed.

As you can see from this picture:

…it’s time for some organization and cleaning in my scrap cave again which is why I picked up the dish when I saw it!

After my great luck, we headed out to Menchies for frozen yogurt and, if you follow me on Twitter, you would have already seen this tweet. Let’s just say that M was not impressed with mixing different yogurts, toppings, and sauces. Apparently, “It doesn’t look tasty anymore!” Let’s just say that we were very close to a total meltdown and I swore I’d never go back again. With the kiddies, that is!

All in all, it was an entertaining and productive night and I’ve already had a chance to use some of my goodies on a canvas. I’ll show that off later this week!

Hope you’re all enjoying the last long weekend of the summer – I know I’m not ready for it to be over yet!

Layouts!

21 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Kiddies, Layouts, Scrapbooking, Studio Calico

It seems like this summer has been very uncrafty for me – who has the time? Especially since it’s actually been summer-like here this year and I’m taking full advantage!

That being said, I have a couple of LO’s to show you that were made before summer started!

Don’t you love his face? That was his “smile” expression for a while – cracks me up!

And just so she’s not left out:

Love that pic of her, wish I knew what was going through her head!

And don’t you love those flowers? The LO was done with a Studio Calico kit and those were made from the included stamp and Amy Tangerine Border stickers – love them!

Something I’ve noticed lately is that I almost always have hidden journalling. Don’t ask me why it took me this long to figure that out, I’m sure some of my friends are shaking their heads right now and thinking, “Umm, yeah!”

Not the swiftest here sometimes people!

So I guess my “signature design element” would be a toss-up between sanding the heck out of everything and hiding my writing. I don’t do it on purpose, it’s just that I don’t think about it until everything else is done and then I don’t want to add anything else. On the occasion I don’t do hidden journalling, my other trick is to write around the borders of the LO or pictures – it gives them a neat design element and gets the writing in there at the same time!

What are your signature design elements? Take a look back over your most recent LO’s and see if something pops out. I love to hear what you do all the time!

Exciting news…..x2!

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by Sara in Classes, ScrapBook

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Create: For the Home, Northridge Publishing, The Collins Rep Group

Lots of fun news for me in the past couple of days and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Have you seen this magazine yet? I love it – getting my print subscription every month makes for a great mail day!

For a long time, friends have been encouraging (aka badgering and harassing) me to submit some work to publications. I actually did submit one piece years ago but that was it. When I started this blog I thought that maybe I should finally heed their advice. And the first time I tried I had a piece accepted!

The exciting news? It’s finally in print and….. it’s a double pager!!!! And I will just say that seeing it in print and photographed professionally made it worth the small fortune it cost me to ship it in! 🙂

So, call The Paperie, they have a bunch coming in, reserve a copy and then check out page 118!

Second, many of you will remember that last year The Paperie took me to Houston for 4 days worth of classes and workshops from the industries best – Tim Holtz, Jennifer McGuire, Shari Carroll, Mitra Friant, Cheryl Mezzetti, Candy Rosenberg, and so many more! I was like a kid in the world’s largest candy store – it was kind of ridiculous actually. 🙂

This year, I am lucky enough that they have asked me to go to the same Education and Trade Show with them but in Orlando this time. And although I don’t know yet what classes I will be taking, the line-up of instructors is amazing – Ranger – Tim Holtz, Dyan Reaveley, The Crafter’s Workshop – Jamie Echt, Creative Imaginations – Cheryl Mezzetti, Basically Bare – Angela Pruitt, Lawn Fawn – Kelly Marie Alvarez, Impression Obsession – Mitra Friant, and so many more, like Hero Arts, Queen & Co, 7 Gypsies, and My Favourite Things!

You all know what this means right? Lots and lots of fabulous inspiration and amazing classes when I return! Who wants another weekend full of awesomeness like last year? 🙂

Yeah, me too!

So there’s all my news, hope you’re excited for it all too!

The Simplest Mini Album Ever

16 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by Sara in Mini Album, ScrapBook, Techniques

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

American Crafts, Dear Lizzy, Mini Album, Neapolitan, Washi Tape

I needed a super quick and easy mini a while back and this sheet a paper was in a Paperie kit I had open in front of me. I don’t know about you, but to me it looked like a mini book kit waiting to happen!

Let the fun begin…

I literally printed my 12 on Twelve pics from June, pulled out my washi tape and a black pen and that was it. At the very end I added some baker’s twine but there were no other embellishments or adhesive. In other words, if you want an on-the-road kit for a vacation project, this is what you’ve been waiting for! 🙂

I cut all the elements from the patterned paper apart and trimmed out my pictures.

I then took the two largest patterned pieces, laid them side by side and adhered washi tape to the seam on the outside.

After that I just washi taped in the other pieces, paper and pictures, as needed.

There is very little journalling as the pictures were simply an overview of one day so I felt they only needed quick captions.

There are also no embellishments because I felt the assortment of washi tape and the interest of different sized papers added enough.

Also, I made some extra little flaps and tags with the smaller pieces of patterned paper to add to it all!

Obviously, you can use any paper for something like this, and you can add many more embellishments, journalling, extras, etc. but this is a great starting point for those of you always asking, “What do I take with me as a small kit on the go?” It doesn’t get any smaller than this, my friends!

I may go back and add some stickles here and there (I have just a small obsession with Rock Candy!) just to bling it up a little but…. we’ll see!

I hope you try out a quick mini and leave me a comment so I can see what you make. Or, if you want more detailed instructions, let me know, I can always do a tutorial for you!

Back tomorrow with some exciting news….. times 2! 😉

G in Salmon Cove

03 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook, Yearlong Album

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

7 Gypsies, beach, Ranger, Salmon Cove, Simple Stories

A few weekends ago my oldest friend and I took our kiddies to the beach. Of course, it rained the whole time so there was no beach and water play, but we managed to have fun and get in one stroll along the sand.

When I went to make the project for the latest Yearlong Class at The Paperie, I knew I had to use a picture of G from the walk.

Instead of a regular LO this past month (we’re a little ahead of the game!) I decided to do a shadowbox project instead. It’s super simple, so easy to replicate for gifts and it looks great!

The large opening is 4×6 and the smaller ones are not quite 2×2. The size and depth of the openings are perfect for things like a vial of sand, which I have (but need to fill the next time we go!), or baby bands from the hospital for a birth present. Loads of options, and these trays come in black or white.

We jazzed up the white ones a little with some tissue tape around the full exterior and the interior of each opening.

I love how it turned out, and the ones from class were amazing! Just changing up the tissue tape made a huge difference to the final look.

I’m hoping to get my hands on a couple more – I’m thinking Christmas gifts already!

I’m back and a Layout!

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

35mm, Studio Calico

I’m back from an awesome vacation with M and although it’s nice to be back and the weather is amazing, I kind of wish we were still there! A week of doing just about nothing was fabulous! 🙂

I have just a short post for you today but it has some crafty eye candy so enjoy!

A few weeks ago I started a LO tag with a group of friends and now that it’s finished, I can show you my LO! And, for those of you who are wondering, LO tag is where an initial person (me, in this case) gets inspiration from another person’s work, then passes their take on it along to the next person on the list and so on until everyone is done. It’s super fun to see how much it all changes over the list of people. It’s kind of like the whisper game we played as kids, but in a crafty way instead!

I used the Studio Calico 35mm kit for the bulk of this, along with a roller date stamp and some flair. The picture I used is an all time favourite.

A little while ago my friend Cathie blogged and asked if anyone else reused favourite pics. I had to laugh because this one came to mind immediately! This is the second time (I think) that I’ve used it and I know it won’t be the last – so glad there are others who “recycle” their pictures too!

I’ll be back with the few ICAD’s I managed to get done on vacation – I’m waaaaay behind now! I’ll also do a vacation recap sometime this week when I get a chance to edit some photos!

Things on Thursday (except it’s Friday…)

22 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by Sara in Classes, ScrapBook, Things on Thursday...

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Dylusions Ink Sprays, Flickr, ICAD, Online Card Classes, Paperie, Ranger, Tim Holtz

… oh well, that’s just how it goes sometimes, right? 🙂

1. I just signed up for this. Love the idea of a cute finished sampler and for $10 it’s a steal! I believe this discounted price (regular cost is $20) expires today so jump on it if you want to join in!

2. Looking forward to this online class as well – Online Card Classes have the best instructors, videos, and samples so I know it’s going to be a good one!

3. I am still really, really loving Index Card A Day (ICAD). 21 days in and I’ve done a card everyday – no catchup needed….yet! I love just getting to play and try new things and I love the size of the canvas. If you haven’t played along you can start anytime, no pressure. And the Flickr group is full of inspiration and amazing cards. I have to say thanks to Tammy for all the work she does organizing this and keeping everyone motivated – she rocks!

P.S. You can see all my ICAD posts here and all my cards (and M’s cards) here.

4. Saw this quote on the Big Picture Classes homepage today and thought it was perfect for those friends of mine doing Project Life. Most of them are at the point of playing catchup and figuring out how to stay caught up during the summer. Here you go ladies! 😉

“The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.” – Anonymous

5. Tim Holtz and Ranger just released the Summer Seasonal Distress Inks and I’m a happy camper! They are super bright and when you blend the Salty Ocean and Picked Raspberry together, they make the best purple ever! Check out my ICAD from yesterday to see…

6. I have another 2012 Yearlong Album Class this weekend and we’ll being doing the next two months. Here’s a sneak of July!

For the 20 ladies joining me, no extra supplies are needed but bring a snack! 🙂

7. I have a blog post going live on The Paperie website today; my pick are Dylusions Ink Sprays! Here’s a snippet of the finished LO you’ll see over there!