27 Friday Apr 2012
Posted in Classes, Family, Week in the Life 2012, Yearlong Album
More than halfway through the week and it’s still going well, though I may be driving people crazy with all the photo taking! It was G’s birthday yesterday so super busy with lots going on. Lots of pics too, here are a few that cover our day:
S.
29 Wednesday Feb 2012
Posted in Cards, Classes, ScrapBook, Uncategorized, Yearlong Album
First off, this is for all of you:
thanks!
Thanks so much for the wonderful birthday greetings and love for the stitched tag tutorial – it’s ones of my faves now and I know I’ll be using that technique a lot. And it was so nice to get happy messages in my comments all day! Also, Lawn Fawn stamps and Sakura pens? Perfect pairing!
Second, let’s talk about Sunday and the first 2012 Yearlong Album Class at The Paperie!
(As an aside, I believe – but I could be wrong – there are a few slightly modified Yearlong Album kits if you want to join in but can’t make the time commitment or live too far away or just want the paper and album to play with! Just contact Meghan at The Paperie if you’re interested and we’ll see what we can do.)
We were an almost full house – 20 people are registered for the 11 classes and 18 were able to make it on Sunday. It was a tight fit but we all got cozy with each other – I know some new friends were made pretty quickly in those close quarters!
Close Quarters!
We got a lot done – the cover page,
Cover Page
the January spread,
January
and the February spread.
February
It was fun and productive though I’m sure for a couple of the newbies it was a bit overwhelming – these classes can get loud and they’re pretty fast paced! Everyone got through it though, and we got a start on all of the calendar pages too – I call that a successful class!
Working away...
Finally, I got a couple of surprise birthday cakes near the end – my friend Lori and my mom both had the same idea and brought in the chocolate, which was definitely well received by all!
Chocolate Cake!
I hope you all have a wonderful Leap Day!
S.
16 Thursday Feb 2012
Posted in Cards, Family, ScrapBook, Things on Thursday..., Yearlong Album
Tags
Distress Ink, Embossing, Family, Hero Arts, kids, Paperie, Papertrey Ink, Ranger, Scor Bug, Scor Pal, Simple Stories, Stamps, Year Long Album
1. We have a bunch of tired kiddies here this morning. P & C, the two I take care of, are having a sleepover for “3 sleeps” while their parents are in New Brunswick house hunting. That boils down to mean M & G are losing their buddies mid-March – we’re sad. 😦 Last night was the first “sleep” night here and we’re all dragging a little today!
2. I’m looking forward to Crop Night at The Paperie tomorrow – it’s fun to be with friends and there’s always a midnight snack afterwards! Call and sign up by this afternoon if you want in on the fun too – come on, you know you want to! 🙂
3. I started on the March LO for the 2012 Yearlong Album last night using the amazing Year-o-graphy line…
March sneak peek
4. And that leads me into… I love having my Scrap Cave (which it will now be officially know as) almost cleaned and organized! I’m actually getting work done and not messing up the kitchen! And that means I don’t have to pack everything up and drag it back to the Cave all the time! Yay! When I get the bags of donations out of there and the final bits tidied away, I’ll post an updated picture. Oh, and it really is a cave as I share it with the storage room and the freezer, but it has a door. A real door! That keeps little children out! Can you tell how exciting that is to me?!?!
5. I made this quick card the other day – super simple but I love how it turned out. More clear embossed resist (told you it was a good and effective one!) but without the trapped stamping underneath. Of all the types of the cards there are, I really hate making sympathy ones at the time I need them. Those, I like to have a stockpile of and I’m all out. This one was a prototype that I liked so I think I’ll churn out a few this evening, or tomorrow at the crop night.
With Heartfelt Sympathy
Scor Bug Detail
I used Papertrey Ink stamps, Hero Arts embossing powder and heat gun, Ranger Distress Inks, and a Scor-Bug.
6. As I was typing this up just now, my computer rebooted for “necessary updates.” Really computer? In the middle of my blog post before I saved it? Hmmmm…
Hope you all have an interesting thing-filled day – tell me some of your good things!
S.
01 Wednesday Feb 2012
Posted in Classes, Family, ScrapBook, Yearlong Album
Tags
Amy Tan, Family, Home, kids, ScrapBook, Studio Calico, Year Long Album
…I am cold. We all bundled up and went out to slide and play in the snow that was dropped on us yesterday. Unfortunately, the wind is bitter cold and now I can’t warm up again. Brrrrrr.
…I can’t type very well and am making lots of spelling errors. That just may have something to do with the two-year-old who is determined to sit on my lap today.
G & Mama
Don’t you just love his new “smile for the camera” face? Cracks me up every time! Does not amuse his photographer father as much, especially since I think it’s so funny that I keep asking for it! Ha! 🙂
…we’re having mac & cheese for lunch, with peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Comfort food for a cold day and something that is always devoured by the kiddies. That being said, they do just as well with broccoli and spinach too. But I digress…
…M is having a bad day. Enough said. Sigh.
…it’s very loud. Well, that’s par for the course so I don’t know why I’m even mentioning it. Moving along….
…I started this class. It’s good so far and I’m looking forward to more inspiration!
…I’m plugging away at the 2012 Album and getting frustrated. Luckily, I can turn to my graphic designer husband to do cover pages for me!
Cover Page Sneak Peek
…the playroom has had cow and dog races (the cow always wins and apologizes to the dog), monsters eating trophies, storms destroying the train tracks (“Really, Mama, it wasn’t me, it was the storm!), and pirates making little boys walk the plank. Never a dull moment.
Wishing you all a day that is warmer but just as entertaining as mine!
S.
30 Monday Jan 2012
Posted in Classes, ScrapBook, Yearlong Album
Tags
Cosmo Cricket, Kraft Glassine, October Afternoon, Paperie, Perfect Pearls, Sticky Back Canvas, Technique Tuesday, We R Memory Keepers, Year Long Album
Yesterday was the last class for the 2011 Year Long Album at The Paperie. And as much as I loved the project and the papers, I’m glad it’s finally over and I can say goodbye to it and hello to the 2012 Year Long Album. As I told the girls yesterday, by the end of the year, I am so done with looking at the same papers! That being said, what we used was perfect and looked amazing – October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket Collection Packs (these looked like they were designed to go together!), October Afternoon Label Stickers, American Crafts 12×12 Modern Album in Cardinal, and We R Memory Keepers page protectors. Then we added to the base kit as we went along – some of the extras were Perfect Pearls Pigment Kits, Technique Tuesday stamp sets, and Sticky Back Canvas.
Here’s a quick look at what we accomplished over the past year:
Album Cover
Inside Cover
The October Afternoon Collection Pack came with two of these die cut houses showing the outside and inside of the house. They may have been my favourite part of the kit! We added some gingerbread trim, cut open the door and added a dog on a rug. For the back cover, we flipped the house over and added our own family pictures to the living room!
October
This is one of a favourite spreads – I love the canvas pumpkins and ghosts! The Distress Inks over the canvas gave an amazing texture. The leaves are Kraft Glassine and Perfects Pearls and have a great shine and colour in real life. As you can see, I haven’t quite finished putting all my pictures in the album. With the exception of December, they’re all printed and ready to go, I’m just a month or two behind!
Getting fat!
Between each double spread, I inserted an 8.5 x 11 page protector to hold the kiddies art pieces, birthday cards, loot bags and party invitations I made, and all sorts of bits and bobs that normally get stuffed into a cupboard somewhere! The album is a great place to store them and keep them organized but it leads to a very fat book – and I don’t have the November or December stuff in there yet, yikes!
However, apart from another hour’s work inserting pictures, it’s finished! Now, onto the next one, I have big things planned for the basic kit! 😉
2012 Year Long Album Peek
Have a great one – the weather is beautiful for sliding here today!
S.
25 Wednesday Jan 2012
Posted in Family, ScrapBook, Yearlong Album
Tags
As I write this, it is raining (again) and the snow is being washed away (again). This winter has been bitter cold, or snow storming, or raining. In other words, impossible to get outside and play! So, we’re all feeling a little housebound. To try to combat that this morning, the kiddies and I made these. They’re just about ready to come out of the oven and boy, do they ever smell good! My mouth is watering to think of a cold glass of milk and all that chocolatey goodness! I think this may have to be an after nap snack as I’m pretty sure all that sugar is not good for sleepy time!
On a completely different note, Ella’s newest favourite napping spot is my misting box. Since I do the majority of my crafting on the kitchen table (sorry, D!), I try to contain the mess by misting in a box. Normally, I would just spray away – colour makes everything better! – but others in this household simply don’t agree with me, for some odd reason.
Anyway, this hasn’t been an issue until lately – I’ve been using a lot of red and let’s just say that it’s not totally permanent, hence the fancy pink paws that Ella now sports! It doesn’t seem to bother her but it does bother Rosie who is reluctantly cleaning Ella for the first time ever. I did double-check though and the mist, thankfully, is non-toxic.
Ella in the pre-red box
Finally, I’m hoping to get some more work done on the 2012 Yearlong Album tonight. As a treat, here’s a look at the album cover, with a curious visitor included! 😉
2012 Album Cover (& Ella!)
I’m loving Simple Stories (oh, the new CHA-W goodies!) and American Crafts Modern Albums!
Hope you are all having a good, if rainy, day!
S.
sarathings 