Tag Archives: Simple Stories

12 on Fourteen & a mini…

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by in 12 on Twelve, Mini Album, ScrapBook, Week in the Life 2012

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(note: This is a long one, with lots of pics – you might want a coffee, or wine, or…. whatever, to get you through!)

So…. You all know how much I love the 12 on Twelve photo taking adventure each month, right? I love that little collage of one ordinary day in pictures – no journaling, just snapshots of our life.

And this month I forgot all about it. Sucks. I was bummed. And then that little person in my head went, “knock, knock, knock. Hey dummy! You can take 12 pictures any old day!” Ummm, yeah. Duh!

So today is the day! Anyone want to join in? There’s still lots of time! And my camera battery is dead so I’m crossing my fingers and hoping against hope that absolutely nothing happens for half an hour! 🙂

I’ll have today’s twelve ready for Wednesday.

The other thing that occurred to me was that I haven’t shared any retreat projects with you yet – sorry!

My Week in the Life album is almost done, just a couple of papers left to toss in there and then I’ll photograph and share it. Still love that project and I’m so happy I stuck with the album and finished it (almost!).

The thing is, when that album was done, I had a handful of pics not in there. Either they were cute, but didn’t really tell a story, or I had better ones to tell the story of the day, so they got cut. But, as I said, there were some cute pics – what to do, what to do?

I made G a mini album with the extras and some more of the fabulous Clever Handmade Embroidery Board!

Out for Publication

Tuesday Techniques – Finishing Touches: Dimension

27 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Classes, Tuesday Techniques

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Dimension on a project or LO immediately takes it to the next level. It goes from “nice” to “wow,” from boring to interesting,  from “I guess I like it” to “Love that!”

And it’s probably the easiest thing in the world to add.

After I finish something, I look at it, then start pulling pieces off to add foam adhesive. I learned a long time ago to never permanently adhere anything right away!

There are many ways to add dimension, but I’ll show my two favourites today. All you need is:

Supplies

Sticker Paper, foam adhesive, and scissors.

To give you a good look at how dimension adds to a project, here’s a tag with everything adhered straight to the surface:

Cute, right?

But kind of dull – no oomph to it!

After I added another layer of grass, popped it up, cut out the clouds and popped them up, then fanned out my balloons by using circles punched from the sticker paper, this is what I got:

Better, right?

Way more pizzazz! All the elements are exactly the same, I only added foam adhesive and a twine ribbon – that’s it. As I said, easiest thing in the world so go try it!

Tomorrow, I’m teaching the revamped 7 Gypsies and Simple Stories ATC Tray class – I love how it turned out! I’m cutting kits tonight so there’s still time to sign up at The Paperie!

We’ll be heat embossing, distressing, cutting, stickling, and more! And if you can’t make it tomorrow, call and ask for a kit – everything you need is included!

Leave me a link if you try the technique – I’d love to see your projects!

S.

Friday Randomness…

23 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Classes, ScrapBook

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Anyone have exciting weekend plans?

Big, long weekend for me. Tomorrow I’m doing an Emergency Child First Aid course, which starts at 8:30. 😦 And goes all, I mean *all* day. I know I need to do it but I can think of a zillion other ways I’d rather spend my Saturday. Like being at gymnastics with the kiddies, and picking up my groceries, and some actual fun stuff too! Oh well, it’s just one day, right?

Sunday is more fun – it’s the Year Long Album class at The Paperie! We’re going to be doing March and April this time, to get ahead of the game. Hopefully next month we’ll get the covers done and then it’s easy, laid back classes for the rest of the year (I can hear some class members laughing at me now!)

Finally, I’m working away at the revamped Artist Printer Tray class – here’s a sneak of it:

Sneak Peek!

The Paperie should have a different sneak peek up on their blog sometime today too if you want a bit more eye candy! Remember, we still have some space available so contact The Paperie to sign up – this is a fun project, and a great keeper or gift!

Hope you all have a great weekend, and that it’s more fun than parts of mine will be!

S.

Monday Blahs

12 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Classes

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Anyone else have these?

It was a busy weekend, fun, but busy, and with the time change and the non stop action, I feel like I haven’t had a break. Yawning this morning.

That being said, I’m looking forward to joining Krista (and many others!) in this today – I already have a pic or two of Miss M and so far it looks like it will be fun! I’ll post my 12 pictures tomorrow.

The Inspiration Showcase Canvas Class yesterday was a hit and went smoothly, although it’s been proved that I can’t count stars very well! 🙂

I have another class coming up later this month, and so more die cutting is in my future. I should really plan these things better….

And finally, check out Colleen’s blog today. I think her mantra philosophy works for most occasions, not just running!

Sara

Classes and some stamp tips…

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Classes

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A little while ago, I taught a class where we made a LO and a card using the Lawn Fawn Cruising Through Life stamp set. The best part? Everyone got a stamp set to take home!

This is a seriously cute set – a bicycle, pinwheels, flowers. Really, what’s not to like?

For the life of me, I can’t find the card, but here’s the LO:

Cruising Through Life

There’s some extreme paper piecing happening here – every individual flower, the bike basket, the clouds, all the bike parts: handles, pedal, frame. I don’t think I was very popular at first but luckily, everyone loved the results! 🙂

It’s one of those LO’s that at first glance looks easier than it really is. It’s the final details that make it pop, like the glossy accents over the bike frame, the popped up basket and clouds, the button sun.

Here’s a little stamp tip – make the stamps do what you want, not what you think they were meant to do. For example, I made the butterflies from the heart and exclamation point that are in the set and I cut the sentiment in half so it fit the space I had.

All in all, worth the time, I think!

I also have another new class coming up at The Paperie at the end of the month – a 7 Gypsies Artist Printer’s Tray filled with Simple Stories Year.o.graphy paper:

Lots of die cuts and stickles on this one – a great Spring piece to display!

Looking forward to the Canvas class on Sunday – only 1 or 2 spots left in that one. I also have another few class ideas up my sleeves, unfortunately, more ideas than time!

Have a great weekend and hopefully, you get a chance to be creative in whatever way you prefer!

S.

Thank You and a New Class

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Cards, Classes, ScrapBook, Uncategorized, Yearlong Album

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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.

Friday…

24 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Classes, Family, ScrapBook

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Oh yes, it’s Friday….

Thank goodness!

I’m sleepy today, up until about 2am working on a little something:

Then M had kinderstart this morning. And when I say she’s like cold molasses in the morning, I mean she’s like it’s frozen – she ain’t movin’!

Then lunch took forever, so it was late…

Should I continue?

Here’s hoping this evening is less…. Just less.

Sunday is the first 2012 Yearlong Class! The paper is a.maz.ing. Really. And the kit is chock full. And it has a great surprise! I left a hint about what it is somewhere today, can anyone guess? 😉

S.

Things on Thursday

16 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Cards, Family, ScrapBook, Things on Thursday..., Yearlong Album

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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.

Things on Thursday – CHA Edition!

02 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in ScrapBook, Things on Thursday...

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The Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) just finished up their big show in Florida where manufacturers released their new product for the year. I thought I would give you a run down of my needs!

As an aside, I had an entertaining email chat with a friend (Hi Cathie!) about the difference between wants and needs and she agrees with my reasonings for the needs list. Now I’m fully justified in buying!

1. Distress Markers. Yes, I own a zillion Stampin’ Up markers, but these are different, really and truly. They match all my Distress Ink pads! And there’s a white one too!

2. Studio Calico wood veneer shapes. I love these, they take mist and ink beautifully and look great just left plain. They’re the perfect embellishment. And they’re releasing people and cameras – perfect for my Yearlong Album!

3. October Afternoon SprINKlers. I admit to a slight problem – when I love something, I must have it in every colour (case in point, Distress Ink). And I really love the chalk finish and quick drying time of SprINKlers. Plus the new colours are amazing!

4. Heidi Swapp Memory File. I was shocked by this one, shocked. Love the system and think it’s brilliant, though I know I’ll never do it (but it really is genius). What I really want are the FotoStacks – again, perfect for the Yearlong Album.

5. Simple Stories/Unity Stamp Company. I love Simple Stories – we’re using the Year.o.graphy line for the 2012 Yearlong album – and Unity makes really great rubber stamps, so to get both in one product? Awesome! Especially when they make these, maybe my favourite release of CHA.

6. BoBunny Vintage Double Dot Cardstock. The DoubleDot has been my favourite go to cardstock – great weight, great colours, great tone on tone patterns. And now, just when I thought it couldn’t get better, it’s vintage!

7. Now, that’s not my full list, there’s still Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Chitchat Word Stickers, and washi tape galore, Basically Bare albums, Simple Stories everything (especially the pockets), stamps….. it’s all bad people, it’s all bad!

Let me know what’s on your want/need list, I may have to add it to my own! 🙂

S.

Randomness…

25 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Family, ScrapBook, Yearlong Album

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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.