Sweet Sunny Smile | My Favourite Things 2015

29 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Sara in Classes, Mixed Media, My Favourite Things, ScrapBook

Tags

Dylusions Ink Spray, Little B, Mixed Media Layout, October Afternoon

edit: Ack! I forgot to hit post yesterday! Sorry!

You know how you have products you love but sometimes they get laid aside so you kind of forget about them until you’re looking for something new and/or different to use and suddenly hey! there they are and you fall in love all over again?

Yeah. That was me and Dylusions Ink Sprays this month. The colours. Seriously people, the colours. Yum.

Look at that face. First day of school and she (actually they) let me take pictures even though it was cold outside.

I added rub-ons, iridescent sequins, and those amazing gold feathers from Little B:

For the second LO – hello sweet little face –

I punched it up a notch with overspray, ghosting, and overheated molding paste.

I still added the same embellishments to tie both pages together:

And I love how the titles worked out on both! Those alphas are from October Afternoon’s new holiday line, Under the Tree, and I love how it can be totally Christmassy, or not.

As always, it was fabulous seeing how everyone used the exact techniques and products I did and yet they are all so different. Gorgeous and amazing pages were made, as usual! If you’re a regular who missed the class this month, you really did miss out! #sorrynotsorry Lol!

Cheers!

Seasonal Mini Album – Summer

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Sara in Classes, Mini Album

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Classes, Mini Album, October Afternoon, Summer, The Paperie

One of the new classes I”m teaching this year at The Paperie is a series of seasonal mini albums. They’re a great size – 6×8 – and although they can very easily stand alone, they can also fit into an album, like the October Afternoon Daily Flash albums or Simple Stories Snap binders. We’ll be making them with sturdy covers so they’re beautiful on their own!

The first album was to document the summer months – June, July, and August.

We made cover pages for each month, simple but focusing on one special picture from that month.

June was still pretty cold around here but it was nice enough to go hiking!

July was hot and beautiful and we spend loads of time at the beach.

August was up and down but we managed to get a great day to go sailing with my dad, one of the kids favourite things to do!

We also added lots of fun things to the album, like a couple of chevron envelopes for pics:

And then we misted the back with some stencils:

We also added a full size coloured envelope:

That holds a tiny mini of additional pictures:

I used my Wink of Stella Clear glitter pen to add shimmer and shine to all the foam Thickers:

There were also some acrylic pages and some pages we made into pockets, plus some cool monthly dividers. I didn’t get pics of everything but there are a few more photos you can see at Flickr.

We’ll be making the fall album the beginning of December and the papers I’ve picked out for that one are pretty awesome – if you’re around here, maybe you should think about joining us!

Cheers!

J is for….

08 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by Sara in Mixed Media

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Home Decor, Mixed media, October Afternoon

my sweet Julianne!

A few weeks ago I made a letter “R” for a young friend as part of my Scrapbook Steals design work and I promised I would make one for her sister as well. I finally got around to it!

I used all October Afternoon product – I hoard their stuff – and had fun adding flags and banners:

To make the name stand out, I traced the alphas with my White Sharpie Paint Pen and added a few dots as well:

I finished it all with doodling, of course!

Now, I just have to remember to deliver them…. 🙂

February | YLA2014

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Sara in Classes, ScrapBook, Yearlong Album

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October Afternoon, Ranger, Studio Calico Wanderlust, The Crafter's Workshop, YLA2014

This past weekend I taught the second Yearlong Album class for 2014. More fun times with sketches and I broke out the new Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer too!

Everyone was given a pack of new October Afternoon chipboard stars and hearts for this month’s class and I’m totally in love with them:

Aren’t they great?

We layered up some of the fabulous Wanderlust papers, along with some Simple Stories diecuts (stamped with my fave roller stamp):

And had fun playing with the aforementioned marker spritzer and my favourite The Crafter’s Workshop stencils to ground our photos. It all came together in a great double LO:

As always, people went their own way – used different papers, added extra photos, changed up the LO to suit them. I think that’s my favourite part of this class, everyone takes what I do and then bends it do it works for them – awesome!

I’m a busy bee again at the moment, trying to get some LO’s and canvases done for May classes so keep and eye on my Instagram and Twitter feeds for peeks of all that!

I’m planning to post some Art Journal pages tomorrow that I started in Cathie’s class last week – it was another excellent one and I love what I did! Check back tomorrow and hopefully I’ll have that ready for you.

Oh, it was a fun evening!

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Sara in This & That

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Amy Tangerine, Dina Wakley Media, Dylusions, October Afternoon, Ranger, The Paperie

I know I promised the last of my Card Kit projects today but I went shopping last night and I’m going to share my spoils, along with some entertaining pictures showing why I needed to shop!

So this:

is my brand new bag. Isn’t it pretty? I had to have the new bag because something (aka my cats) happened to my old one and it looks like this:

See the scratches and cat hair? It also looks like this:

See, there’s one of the guilty parties in the background. Evil.

But wait. It gets better. I can also now do this:

Yup. Entertaining for you; hard for me and my plans to actually keep my supplies inside!

So I took my birthday money and off I went. But since it seemed all big and lonely, I needed to fill it! Truly, the bag was asking… 🙂

So I got some alpha stickers:

and flair:

and more flair:

and shiny washi:

Excuse the dry hands – I hate winter… 😡

I also picked up lovely new stamps:

and gorgeous new Ink Sprays:

Sigh. Big happy sigh. It was fun. And the best part? All of it came from The Paperie, my local scrapbook store! Love shopping small and local and I’m lucky we have such a great shop here.

Now, I need to go play…. because I also picked up new product for my Yearlong Album Class and I’m itching to scrap!

And to really close off this post, here’s a sneak of a picture I’m working on now!

Cutest boy ever. Don’t even try to argue with me. 🙂

Well, Hello There…

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Sara in Family, ScrapBook

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Family, Midway, October Afternoon

A while back I took part in another tag LO – love those! – and since I was number 1 on a long list of people, I kind of forgot about posting it here once the tag part was done.

This actually turned out to be one of my fave LO’s ever. The picture cracks me up, the kit from The Paperie is my favourite one from them since they started, and the way it all came together worked better than I envisioned. A rare, rare occurrence!

The picture of Gabe was taken at the cabin last year and as soon as I saw the expression on his face all I could think of was my grandfather, Edgar Case – he had the same look many times! The thing is, Pop had glasses and a moustache and well, Gabe is only 3, the moustache is not something happening on his face right now!

Enter the kit. It had some October Afternoon Midway paper, including strips that had glasses with moustaches. And by some fluke of the universe, they were the right size for the picture that had been printed for months. It was just all meant to be!

How seriously funny are those glasses?!?! Can you even believe how perfect they are?

I added a bunch of banners and some flair at the top:

And cut out one of the “LOVE” words on the bottom to make it stand out more:

When I finished this one, I showed my dad and the first thing he said was, “You really need to show this to my siblings.” Yes, he actually said siblings, it’s just his way! But really, it’s uncanny how much Gabe looks like his great-grandfather here – I wish they could have met.

Back tomorrow with an awesome blog hop full of projects to get you in the spring mood – I know I’m ready for a warmer season!

Bash Your Stash aka Use-it-or-Lose-it Blog Hop

11 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Bash your Stash, October Afternoon, Scenic Route, Scrapbook Layout

A couple of days ago, Krista decided to join Cathie on her regular Monday post about using up her stash. Since I was working on a LO using super old product I asked if I could crash the party too and Cathie’s first Bash Your Stash blog hop was born!

I had this hilarious picture of Mr.G from Halloween, with an equally hilarious story to go along with it and had to scrap it, even though holidays are my most hated scrapbooking events. Unfortunately, this hatred does not extend to paper and so I have quite the collection of Halloween paper that is wasting away in the Scrap Cave. Time to put it to use!

As you can see, I’ve also been playing with layers. I love the look of them but it’s never been the way I scrapbook and so I struggle with it. But I think I’m starting to get the hang of it!

I really bashed the stash on this one – the papers are from Scenic Route, Carolee’s Creations for AdornIt, Scrapworks, and Making Memories. I also threw on some Scenic Route chipboard, word stickers, and rub-on arrows. I really want to use this stuff up!

There are some new things – a bit of washi tape, a flair badge, and those “so awesome I have them in every colour” October Afternoon letter stickers:

But overall, it’s old, old stuff. I mean, I know Scenic Route is long gone but I couldn’t even find paper for AdornIt or Scrapworks when I searched. Are they still around? Anyone?

If you want to check out some more amazing LO’s, make sure you go see what Cathie and Krista did with this challenge today. All of our styles are so different that it’s fun to see our work together!

Cathie – with Coffee in Hand

Krista – Confessions of a Twenty Something Artist

Are you a scrapbook hoarder (aren’t we all!)? I challenge you to Bash Your Stash and link up your projects in the comments – we’d all love to see how you make your old product new again!

Simple Scrapper Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY! | February 2013

05 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by Sara in Giveaway, ScrapBook, Simple Scrapper

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Giveaway, October Afternoon, Simple Scrapper, stickles, Studio Calico, Wood Veneer

It’s time for another Simple Scrapper blog hop with the Design Team and we’re showcasing the new February templates and/or Story Starters – as usual, Jennifer has outdone herself!

I used one of the Story Starters for my first LO. I had this picture of M during the first snowfall this year and it was perfect for this one:

Inspired by a Simple Scrapper Premium Member Story Starter; Template – Simple Scrapper Premium Member Template (April 2011); Patterned Paper – American Crafts, Fancy Pants, Vintage Book Paper; Transparency – Fancy Pants; Vellum, Wood Veneer – Studio Calico; Tag – Elle’s Studio; Metal Word Bands – Ranger; Stamp – American Crafts; Glitter Glue – Ranger; Stain – Ranger; Ink – Staz-on; Adhesive – Ranger, Glue Arts; Sewing Machine – Singer

Instead of writing my own list of things for her to remember as she grows, I used the Tim Holtz Idea.ology Word Bands – the sentiments were perfect for this!

I rubbed a little bit of white paint over the words to make them stand out better and then handstitched them to the LO – they’re so heavy I wanted to make sure they would stay put!

I also used some October Afternoon chipboard to make custom purple glasses just like hers:

I then coated those and the wood veneer words with Glossy Accents to make them pop.

Finally, I really wanted the snow to shine, so out came the Stickles and I added small dots to the flakes falling around her, as well as the wood veneer snowflakes:

Love the extra sparkle it gives the photo!

For my template LO this month, I pulled out a couple of photos of Mr. G that made me laugh. He’s beginning to hate getting his picture taken and his face in these is priceless!

Template – Simple Scrapper Premium Member Template (February 2013, Letter #1); Patterned Paper – Crate Paper, Studio Calico; Card Stock – American Crafts; Fabric Stars, Wood Veneer – Studio Calico; Letter Stickers – American Crafts; Washi Tape – Freckled Fawn, American Crafts; Mist – Studio Calico; Punch – Jenni Bowlin for Fiskars; Stain, Ink – Ranger; Stamp – American Crafts; Adhesive – Glue Arts; Thread – Coats; Sewing Machine – Singer; Kits – Studio Calico (Handmade, Story Hour)

I used one of my all time favourite alpha sets, which I misted and then sewed to the page – they’re not going anywhere!

And I finished it all off with lots of stars – if Studio Calico ever discontinues those wood veneer stars I may cry!

If you want some more great inspiration, I recommend you check out the other Design Team Members, they did some really awesome LO’s this month!

Simple Scrapper (Jennifer Wilson)

Margrethe Aas Johnsen

Van Nguyen

Sara Case Strickland (this is me!)

And now, the giveaway! Use this link to enter a giveaway for a one-month trial subscription to Simple Scrapper. Entries will be pooled and one winner selected at 11:59pm CST on Wednesday, February 6. You may enter from multiple blogs so go check them all out!

The Premium Membership at Simple Scrapper provides skills and shortcuts to help you simplify and find more meaning in your memory keeping. Each month members receive a new collection of sketch templates and Story Starters, story-focused prompts for pages and projects.

Party Cards!

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by Sara in Cards

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

cards, Christmas card, October Afternoon, Stampin' Up

I went to a great party last night with an awesome group of friends and laughed until I hurt. We crafty types, we know how to have a good time!

This was the party I mentioned a couple of days ago that I made cards for. Almost half the cards I made in total this year actually!

Again, I went super simple (and check out the cute photo bomber):

Kraft paper, naturally, with snowflakes stamped in Colorbox Pigment ink in Frost White (the best white ink) and then tied up with baker’s twine. A strip of October Afternoon washi, a mist of Blizzard Mr.Huey’s and done.

Inside I added a sentiment from the My Mind’s Eye Winter Wonderland stamp set and more mist, plus the twine gave me the perfect spot to stick the family photo:

And the shimmer from the Blizzard is awe-some! Love the iridescence of it!

Unfortunately, I thought of misting after writing names on all the washi in non-permanent ink and so some of them were blurred and smudgy. Going with my “taking Christmas off” vibe this year, I shrugged and said, “Meh.”

And I didn’t feel guilty at all. 🙂

Remember, you have until Sunday night to comment on this post and maybe win a spot in the Home Blessings Big Picture Classes workshop with Courtney Walsh! Don’t miss out!

Pumpkins and some news…

16 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

October Afternoon, Scrapbook Layout, The Paperie

For the Paperie Fall Retreat last weekend, the Creative Team all made page LO’s and then put together page kits to sell – and they were a hit!

We all had a budget and needed to keep them pretty clean and simple, while staying true to our own styles and that was way harder than it sounds. However, the pages the other girls did were amazing and all six kits and LO’s were very different – there was definitely a style and colour scheme for everyone.

I chose to do a Hallowe’en LO since the Retreat fell right after that event and many people scrap those pics during the weekend. Also, the October Afternoon Witch Hazel line was in the store and I totally fell in love with the Star Thistle paper! 🙂

Here’s my LO:

But of course, I’m never happy to stop where I’m supposed to and I turned it into a double for anyone who wanted more pictures or was a 2-pager scrapper. So for the additional price of a single sheet of paper, here’s what Retreat participants could make, if they wanted:

My favourite part are the letters that spell “pumpkins.” They are plain leftover chipboard, die cut with the Block 1″ Lowercase alpha using the AccuCut machine, and then I coloured them with my favourite Sakura Clear Stardust pen (the Stardust colours are amazing too). The shimmer is out of this world!

Even with all the things I’ve used this pen on in the past, I was still floored by how it worked on the chipboard! I had more people asking me what stickers those were and saying that they never saw them in store – most were shocked to discover it was chipboard and then thrilled that their kit included the pen!

Have a great weekend everyone, and hopefully, you’ll get to enjoy some crafty time! I’m swamped with upcoming classes to prepare for and excited to get them all together.

Another piece of news I’m both excited and sad about is the change happening at The Paperie. One of the co-owners, Chris, is retiring (sad) and a friend, Wendy, has bought her share of the company (happy and exciting). I couldn’t be more thrilled for Wendy and know that she’ll be amazing in her new role – I’m so excited for what is to come! That being said, I’m sad to see Chris go – she was a regular at the shop I used to work in downtown and after that, I saw her at the Paperie. Plus, she was my travelling companion to Houston last year. I’ve gotten to know and appreciate her more than I ever thought possible so it’s very bittersweet for me to see her go. But she has another new grandchild on the way, and 3 already living here, so I’m sure she’ll still be a Paperie regular to scrap all those kiddies in her life! Have fun Chris, we’ll all miss you so, so much!