Carmel Mission

My DD would probably not approve of these photos of her. She calls this her awkward phase. But I love them. They show what a sweet, sweet child she was. When we studied California history in 4th grade, I really loved the missions. Probably went a little overboard with the teaching there, but it's the whole "if I'm stuck on it, you're stuck with it" scenario. Since we lived in San Jose, it was just a hop, skip and a jump to several of the missions. And since we had family in Pacific Grove, well we made several trips to Monterey. One was to the Carmel Mission and another was to the Adobe Tour (layout coming up soon for that trip).

I wanted a quick, easy layout since it was a holiday and weekend and lots going on. This one was a perfect fit for the season and for the time. The layout features 11 photos. I used 2 12x12 Bo Bunny dots for the background and 2 dfferent 12x12 Heidi Grace Designs from the "Love Bug" collection. I've also used a sheet of mulberry paper for mats behind the journaling and the main photo on the left side. The title is mounted on a 2 x 12 piece of beige Bazzill. I used a 2-way glue pen and some chunky glitter for the first word in the title and some more Heidi Swapp "Invisibles" stickers for the second word. There's a little hardware, some Bo Bunny brads, ric-rak and a little ribbon. I colored some clear buttons with alcohol ink and then adhered them with Diamond Glaze to the Heidi Grace Designs paper.

I think my favorite part of this layout was the journaling. This was taken from a year-end report my daughter wrote about Father Serra. I just love her line, "He liked bells alot." And, of course, her concluding sentence, "Don't you wish everyone had faith like Father Serra?" Like a said, what a sweet, sweet child.

Heidi Swapp Invisibiles

Three cards I created last week for the weekly Thursday demo. This time the product was the new Heidi Swapp Invisibles and Versamagic Chalk Ink. I had already made a layout using the Invisibles (see Family Shower). This time we made some cards. A really fun product, and the creamy Versamagic inks were perfect for the ink application, although you could use just about anything you want - distress inks, acrylic paints - but these were easy and smooth to apply and rub off the white resist very nicely.

Family Shower

Last week I did a layout of the first of two bridal showers I was fortunate to attend down in LA the weekend of the 14/15th of March. Today's layout is the second one put on by Josh's family. I was a bit nervous about meeting "the fam" but they were all so nice. I was super glad to have had the chance and I feel so good about Allison's soon to be new family.

I was gone for a good part of the day, so I got started on this late. I seem to do my best work under pressure!! This week's layout features the new Heidi Swapp "Invisibles." Try them and find out for yourself what the excitement is all about. These are really fun to color and watch the invisible images pop out. For a complimentary page I used one of the new "Sew Cute" by Prima Marketing. The circles are cut from one 12x12 BoBunny Love Shack Shake, one 12x12 Heidi Grace Designs Sweetest Bug Charming Cottage, and one 12x12 solid Bazzill. Embellishments include BoBunny Swirls & Brackets Chipboard stikers, Prima Flowers, and an adorable wooden laser cut "Flutterby" by Scrap FX. Some ribbon and crystals finish off the pages. The title is some 7 Gypsies rub-ons and Heidi's "Invisible" alpha stickers. Don't you just love all the dots on this layout combined with all those circles?

Allie and Josh

When she said, "Mom, do you think you could make these for my cake topper?" I said, "Sure, no problem." Wow, what was I thinking? Hats off to you, Ann Wood. Your birds are so adorable and so wonderfully made. No one can copy you. But after months of trial and error (at least 4 in the trash I think), I did finally come up with what I would call "The Best Imitation Ann Wood Birds" I've seen. We actually ended up ordering one of her non-sweetheart birds just to be sure we were on the right track. And I would also recommend this hilarious article. It seemed like we'd never have a chance to order one of the cake topper pairs; they sell out almost immediately. So I am grateful I was able to make these. Allison would have been crushed if I had not been successful. Her cake lady is doubting their ability to remain upright on the sea of frosting but there is something wonderfully expressive about these little stuffed creatures. And yes, Josh does have a top hat now.

Here they are from the back:

Getting so excited for the wedding now. Only 2 1/2 weeks to go. Glad this one BIG task is done.

Light Alcohol demo

For the demo, we played with Ranger's new "light" alcohol inks. I also wanted to show how to use the new smaller masks from Tim Holtz and his wonderful hardware. It's not quite super apparent in the photo, but those daffodils (stamp set by Hero Arts) stamped with Brilliance yellow look fanastic. They shimmer and shine just like spring coming into our lives after a long winter. The Happy Spring is an old Stampa Rosa stamp. Sorry, they are no longer in business. Just one more reminder that when you see a stamp you like, you should get it then, because they won't be making them forever.

I really did not like this background at all when I first made it, but after putting it together as a card, well I love it now. The "Amen" verse is a stamp by Limited Edition and the cool metal frame is one of Tim's.
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This last card is just another example of how with alittle something extra these polished stone backgrounds really make a nice collagey card.

Happy spring!

True Friends

I'm loving tomorrow's layout with some fun new Tim Holtz products that just arrived at Creating Lasting Memories including sprockets, spinners, journaling tickets and salvage stickers. The fun has just begun because I also picked up his corners, foliage, long fasteners, trinket pins and ornate plates. You can be sure I will be using them on some of my upcoming layouts. I asked Marti to wait and not put this stuff out for sale until after my class tomorrow so you guys can be first to purchase. After tomorrow, it will be out in the shop for sale. The background paper I used is 2 12x12 of some real elegant glittter and embossed designs by Best Creation Inc. I also used 2 different colors of solid Bazzill one of which is bling. I have used rubons by Kaiser Craft and 7 Gypsies, tiny alphas by Making Memories, a glasine envelope, a metal edged vellum tag and a small amount of fiber. As you can see, it takes quite a few photos. The large one is appromiately 5x8. Wouldn't you love to come play with me tomorrow? If you live near Brookings, Oregon, stop by and create this layout. Class begins at 10:30am.

New fun with chalk

My demo this Thursday is showing some of the many uses of chalk. This first card was all about using chalk to color a solid image. I glammed it up a bit with lots of little crystals at the end of the flower petals. The ribbon was colored with chalk to match the background paper.




This second card shows how easy it is to color inchies using chalk. Soft and effective. It is best to try and use the same 3-4 colors.

Light of Love

I am back from a wonderful time attending bridal showers for my DD. The layout is more engagement photos. I found this 7 Gypsies paper 2 weeks ago that was perfect for these pictures taken at a Pasadena park in the setting sun. Layout uses 2 matching 12x12 pattern papers plus 2 12x12 coordinating patterns or solid for the mat behind the photos and the journaling block inside the frame. Since this paper was not card stock weight, I also mounted mine on some solid Bazzill. The angel was cut out from one sheet then mounted dimensionally on the other side. My favorite part is the Bo Bunny swirls; mine are clear but they also come in colors. I LOVE the clear!!. The title is some shimmer stickers by Making Memories. I stamped and embossed with holigraphic powder underneath that title. There is also a nice clear metal edged tag which I stamped and added a flower and glitter heart button. A couple of pieces of ribbon finishes off the page. The photo on the left is 6x10; the two are the right are 4x6 and 5x7.

Thursday Demo - Rubber Stamp Tapestry

Here is a card I made for a demo at Creating Lasting Memories on Thursday.

And here is another card. I really like the way this one came out

These cards were made using Rubber Stamp Tapestry stamp sets. They have a great website with tons of samples and quite a few how-to videos.

Best Friends

This week's layout uses some beautiful flocked paper from 7 Gypsies. I've been wanting to do a black/white page of my daughter's black and white engagement photos for awhile now. You, of course, can make this page your own by using any colors you want! But I love the classic look of these colors. Anyway, I used one 12x12 of the flocked paper, 2 different patterns of 12x12 by Graphics 45 that Marti also just got in, and 2 solid Bazzill for the background. I also used 5 shades of black to grey for the circles. Note that you do not necessarily have to have large photos for these circles. Mine are mounted on circles. So you can mount one or several on each of the three circles. The swirls are a new package of Bazzill chips; these are sprayed with Memories Mist for easy coloring. I also sprayed some white flowers by KaiserCraft. If you have chipboard swirls by someone else you could use those. These sprays come in several colors, so check out how fun this technique is. I used a variety of brads, jewels and buttons for the flower centers: jewels by Heidi Swapp, buttons by Foof-a-la, and brads by KaiserCraft. The title letters were from a sticker sheet by Creative Imaginations that I've had for quite some time. Bring some smallish letter stickers or cut some with the Cricket. They need to fit on 1" (or there about) punched circles. A happy scrapbooking morning to all of you!

SOCC Class

Ira Tozer with Butch the dog, teacher extraordinaire of the internet sales class in Brookings, OR.

Hope

I LOVE this layout. I am using one of my favorite companies, Basic Grey, and their "Granola" line of papers with a sheet of the matching element stickers. In my class Saturday, we will be making some polished stone for two of the grid squares; one is stamped. There is also a "tile" for the title. And I love the little squares under the title - so cute. Underneath, I used a song quote printed on velum, but you could put a one or two photos here.

Blankie

My daughter says I'm stuck in 1987. Actually, it's October, 1987, to be precise. I've had these photos and been wanting to scrap them for quite some time. I also had my DD tattered yet beloved blankie that I wanted to incorporate into the page. In honor of Valentine's Day I scrapped these pictures finally. The blanket was very loved. And I love the way this came out because now she can actually feel the blanket in all its softness. The touch may bring back some memories. I even put a bit of the satin binding on there. The paper is Graphics 45 (love their stuff). The mat behind the left page photo is a Fancy Felt Mattie from KaiserCraft (those Aussies are doing some amazing things with scrapbooks). The right side opens to reveal the journaling and some photos of the blanket in all its shredded wonder. Yes, I did actually cut the blanket up but when you see the photos you will know why. It was literally hanging together by a thread. Funny though, even now I am stressed to toss it. Can't really read the journaling in the photo because I wrote it by hand with a light pink marker. But how precious to remember those days and those feelings.

Always Singing, Loving Life

This layout was so precious to create. I have had these photos laying around for awhile. They are some that I took out of my old magnetic albums. When I first started scrapbooking there were not any scrapbooking stores, and no one new about "archival safe." I used to cut out embellishments from ads, magazines, whatever I could find. A while ago I removed all these photos and have been scrapbooking them. That's where these came from. The paper is Basic Grey "Sugared." I used 3 different pattern papers, plus their die cut sticker letters. I absolute love their papers for backgrounds. I also used the matching fibers and found some brads by Kaiser Craft that matched real well. The layout was inpsired by Allie Edwards. There will be journaling under the right hand photos later. It was wonderful to remember those special days when I was a mother of a two year 0ld.

Perfect Beach Weather

I really loved working with these old photos. And the snow paper was great for a winter beach layout. I had someone request that I do a layout using "inchies" so this was my offering. I thought maybe the class would find it tiresome but everyone really enjoyed the process of creating these miniature works of art. Kind of unusual for a scrapbook page, as we usually think BIG. But it works, I think.

Chetco River

It's a "guy" page for this week's class. The paper is Stamping Station. The circles are tranparencies that were colored using alcohol inks. This techinque is very adaptable to any color scheme. The title is a very cool laser cut from a a company called Northwest Memories located in Lynnwood, WA. And I've wanted to use one of these license plates from Karen Foster for a while now. They are just so cute. I've stuck with my resolution to do more journaling. This time, I interviewed my husband about this fishing experience. I think he was pretty pleased to be able to tell his story.

Cousins

Couldn't believe I could finally take a picture outside Saturday. No rain and even sunshine so photo is in natural light (the best!). This layout was designed for a demo using Copic markers for my LSS. I used a Prima Marketing printables transparency. These are perfect if you have some photos with colors that are difficult to match to any scrapbooking papers. The markers can be blended to create just about any color you need. I then made a matching page for a 2-page layout using a transparency sheet that I stamped and colored and then attached to a tag kind of ala Tim Holtz. He shows you on his blog that the alcohol inks will also color glitter stickers. In keeping with one of my new year's resolution, this layout has a significant amount of journaling. And the "JOY" on the tag, well that is my one little word for 2009.

Precious Nativity

One thing I want to do more of this year is journaling. I decided to make my first class layout for 2009 a little different. It's a Christmas layout, but this time it is about a Christmas item that means something special to me so I could write about it. All the swirls were fun to do and I really like the tree (or half a tree as the case may be). I even included the words to a song I wrote back in December 2002. The supplies were from all over the place, including Little Yellow Bicycle, Bo Bunny, KaiserScrapbook, and Prima Marketing. It felt good to use up some of the many extras I had laying around. The chipboard was from last year's Cosmo Cricket's JOY collection.