Stacy Cohen

New Prima for Winter CHA

2012-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Prima has done it again! Just wait until you see all the gorgeous new paper collections, flowers and other goodies they are introducing at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) tomorrow. If you haven't checked out the Prima blog yet, be sure to pop over there to see the sneaks peaks and all the beautiful projects created by my fellow design team members.

Now I can start sharing some of the projects I've been working on for Prima's CHA booth. I created this layout with the new En Francais collection:

Prima products used:

843892 En Francais “Memoire”
843885 En Francais “Billettes”
556037 Lucerne En Francais
556020 Essentials Petals En Francais
558123 Cherise white
554767 Resist canvas
558338 Primmer’s Peanut
551360 SIIC
550097 Alphabet stickers

Have a wonderful weekend!

Queen & Co.

2012-01-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of designing some scrapbook pages for Queen & Co.'s booth at Winter CHA, which will run from Sunday, January 29th through Wednesday, February 1st. Queen & Co. has some fabulous new products coming out, including decorative tape (like washi tape), twine, and beautiful sparkly bling. I created some pages with the Queen, Girl, Soccer and Disney themed collections. Here are some of the layouts I created:

I'll be sharing more CHA projects in the coming days!

Shadow Box

2012-01-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a scrapbooking worldwind lately. I've been working on many, many fun projects for Creating Keepsakes and CHA. I think I set a new record for myself. In a 4 or 5 week period I completed 26 -- yes, 26 -- different projects, which included 16 layouts, 1 altered canvas, 2 necklaces, 1 bracelet, 1 altered teapot, 1 card, 1 ATC, 1 paper doll clothesline, 1 tag, and 1 pair of paper shoes using my shoe template. This has been quite a feat for a slow "turtle scrapper" like me. But sleep is overrated, right? Now I'm looking forward to a taking a little scrapping break.

Before I start posting some of these newly created projects, here's something I made a little while back for the Prima blog. It's a "shadow box" layout made with layers of cardstock. I love to create projects with a rainbow of color. Bright, vibrant ROYGBIV colors make me very happy!

I cut squares from a sheet of Prima's Screenprinted Canvas and then I colored them with Ranger alcohol inks. I used several sheets of white cardstock to create the dimensional shadow box effect. I simply cut out the center of each sheet in graduated steps, then I separated the layers with extra thick foam adhesive. Yep, this thick puppy is going on the wall rather than in a page protector.

Prima products:
920722 Screenprinted Canvas
890711 Shabby Chic Treasures
552718 Sherwood Rose Cottage flowers
548124 Floret Collection
544393 Arco Iris
552978 Gillian Lilac
536350 Clear Stamp
551407 Say it in Crystals
548193 Dollhouse Collection

Thanks for stopping by!

CK giveaway winner and Prima goodies

2012-01-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to announce the winner of last week's giveway for Creating Keepsakes' newest special issue: Scrapbooking Ideas for Every Season. The random number generator picked comment number 1, which was posted by Crie Artezzanato (Val Rodriques). Congrats Val!! I see you posted your email address (thank you!), so I'll contact you to get your mailing address.

Prima is introducing their new collections and flowers for Winter CHA, and WOW, they're gorgeous!! Check out the Prima blog for sneaks of the new products.

I've been busy, busy, busy working on projects for CHA and I'll be able to start showing them here shortly. But in the meantime, here are a couple Prima projects I did a little while back. This layout features my precious little kitty, Lucy. I took these pictures of her when she was just 8 weeks old. She's so much bigger now at 10 months old. Isn't she adorable??

I used Ranger alcohol ink to color the Prima Resist Canvas and also the Reflections antique mirrored pieces. I added tiny beads of Ranger Liquid Pearls to outline my stitched circles.

This is a card I made for my daughter for her last birthday. Every year on my daughters' birthdays I make them a special card and I write a very long note inside -- all about who they are at that age, how much I love them, etc.

I'll be sharing a lot more Prima projects in the coming weeks!

New Creating Keepsakes Special Issue and...of course...a giveaway!!

2012-01-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

Creating Keepsakes' newest special issue is out: Scrapbooking Ideas for Every Season. It's a great resource for your year-round scrapbooking.

Showcasing hundreds of scrapbooking ideas to inspire you throughout the seasons, this new special issue from Creating Keepsakes is a must-have resource for your year-round scrapbooking. With plenty of 2-page layout ideas to help you scrapbook more photos in less time, color combinations and patterns to refresh your creativity, season-specifictips for better photo taking, and more, you'll reach for Scrapbooking Ideas for Every Season again and again. You can purchase a copy of this issue here.

As usual, I have a copy of this special issue to give away to one lucky blog reader. Just leave a comment here before Sunday night and tell me your favorite season. Personally, I'm partial to summer. I'll announce the winner next week!

Favorite layouts from 2011

2012-01-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

2011 has come to an end and 2012 is off to a roaring start. Looking back, I have to say that 2011 was a very good year. My family was healthy and happy, my girls progressed in all areas of their lives (school, friends, mastering new skills, etc.), and we welcomed two loving kitties into our household (they've brought us so much joy!). Also, I made some wonderful new friends in 2011 -- some real life friends here in Southern California and some online scrapping friends from all over the world. I'm grateful that this hobby has brought these sweet new friends into my life. In 2012, I reduced my scrapbooking commitments down to a manageable load, so I was able to enjoy more free, non-scrapping time. I had the honor and privilege of designing for Creating Keepsakes Magazine and Prima throughout the year -- my two biggest scrapbooking "dream" teams. I'm filled with gratitude for all the gifts of 2011.

I'll jump on the bandwagon and post my favorite layouts and projects from 2011.

Thank you for indulging me! If you posted a list of your personal favorite projects from 2011, please include a note/link in the comments. I would love to check out your beautiful work!

I wish you all a very healthy and happy 2012!!

Hanukkah stories and a couple more layouts

2011-12-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah has come to an end. We had eight fun-filled nights of family dinners, present-opening, candle-lighting, latke-eating and dreidel-spinning. My girls said it was the "best Hanukkah ever." That makes a mom happy!

My husband and I have a fun tradition that we started years ago. Rather than buy each other big gifts for Hanukkah, we challenge each other to buy eight little gifts (one for each night of Hanukkah) -- and all of them have to be purchased at the 99¢ Only Store. It's always a fun challenge to find gifts for each other that cost under a dollar. Some of them are practical, some are meaningful, and others are just downright funny!

This year I bought Robert the following:
1. A picture frame. I put our family picture in it.
2. A set of mini screwdrivers. A guy can never have too many mini screwdrivers, right? Plus I needed them for one of my recent craft projects.
3. A box of Junior Mints (his favorite candy).
4. A multi-pack of his favorite chewing gum.
5. A book about science facts.
6. A Springer Spaniel puppy calendar. He had two beloved Springer Spaniels who have gone on to doggie heaven.
7. A nose hair trimmer (hehehehehe).
8. A combination flash light, level, and drill bits/screwdriver doo-hicky thingy (cool, huh?).

Robert bought me:
1. A kitten calendar. I love cats, so this was my favorite gift.
2. A book light for late night reading
3. A multi-pack of purse-size kleenex packs. My grandma always told me, a "lady" should always carry tissues in her purse.
4. A shower cap***
5. A pair of wine glasses. Surprisingly, they're very nice quality! I think I'll go back to the 99¢ Store and get more of these wine glasses to complete the set.
6. A jigsaw puzzle. It has 500 pieces. That should keep me busy for a while.
7. A fly swatter. Huh??? Because a girl can never have too many fly swatters??
8. A necklace. Actually, I bought this gift for myself at a local gift shop. Halfway through Hanukkah Robert realized that he only got me 7 instead of 8 presents at the 99 Cents Store, so I volunteered to go pick up a little sumpin' sumpin' for myself to open on the last night of Hanukkah. Very thoughtful of me, huh?

We always have a lot of laughs over our 99¢ Only Store gift exchange, and it doesn't break the bank!

***The shower cap was a reference to a laugh my family shared on our trip to Disneyland a few months ago. The four of us went on Splash Mountain our first day there, and we all got soaked. It was so much fun so I said I wanted to go on it again the next day. Robert and the girls said they would go on it again, but only if I would sit in front -- the seat that gets the wettest. I happily agreed . . . but I had planned ahead. When I sat down in the front of the log with my family behind me, I pulled out a plastic shower cap from the hotel and put it on. There were a couple dozen people looking on, so it totally embarrassed my daughters -- something that gives me a twisted pleasure {insert evil laughter}. I wore the shower cap the entire ride, but the rest of me still got completely soaked. If you've been on the ride, you know that no dinkie little shower cap isn't going to keep you dry. But I digress . . .

Here are a couple more Hanukkah layouts I created for Creating Keepsakes magazine. Here's a 2-pager featuring my girls opening their presents:

As seen in the December 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I made the little presents and gift bags out of chipboard pieces, paper scraps and trim:

I had the pleasure of playing with Faber-Castell products on this layout:

As seen in the December 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Winter Solstice and/or any other holiday you celebrated recently!!

Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, Come Light the Menorah...

2011-12-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown, so that means 8 fun nights of celebrating at our house. In honor of the holiday, I wrote a post for the Creating Keepsakes blog today. I'll also share my projects here.

Hanukkah is filled with many wonderful traditions: lighting the candles, playing dreidel, eating latkes, and opening presents. This means that there are a lot of photo opportunities. Check out these Hanukkah Photo Tips to make the most of these opportunities.

Taking pictures of the menorah indoors at night can be somewhat tricky. I often end up with some “clunkers” – photos with poor lighting, distracting backgrounds, or unattractive shadows on people’s faces. Sometimes photo editing software can provide the perfect fix. For example, I had a photo of my daughter gazing at the menorah, but the photo had a harsh yellow cast and unflattering shadows. My solution was to use a selective color technique. Using Photoshop Elements, I converted the photo to black and white and then colorized only the menorah. Problem solved! I used the color-selected photo on this layout:

As seen in the Scrapbooking Holidays and Celebrations 2011 special issue. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

Although there are many Christmas scrapbooking papers and embellishments on the market, there aren’t as many Hanukkah and Jewish scrapbooking products. This year I challenged myself to create a Hanukkah card with paper from a Christmas collection. I used papers from Prima’s North Country line (Christmas/winter themed) to create this Hanukkah card:

I couldn’t find any large Star of David scrapbook embellishments, so I made my own. I traced stars (printed from the internet) onto chipboard, cut them out, then covered them with silver glitter glue (Ranger’s Stickles).

Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays everyone!

Just breathe, just breathe . . .

2011-12-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

Just breathe, just breathe . . . it will all get done and everything will work out. That's what I told myself last night right after I almost worked myself into a anxiety attack. I don't think I've ever had a real panic or anxiety attack, but I think I came pretty close last night. I have waaaaaayyyy too much on my plate right now (and for the next month and a half) and too many stressful things being thrown at me at once. But I know I will get it all done, and everything will work out (as it always does). I just have to tackle one thing at a time. My mantra for the next month will be "just say no" . . . to any further social engagements, extra scrapbook pages, holiday parties, school volunteer duties, favors etc. That's what I need to do in order to maintain my sanity and also save time for my family, sleep and meals. Breathe in, breathe out.

To lighten this post, here's a Prima layout I made a little while back. The title is "Jeune Fille", which in french means "young girl" (to my French blog readers, please correct me if I'm wrong!).

I know the holidays are a busy time for everyone. Just don't forget to take of yourself! Eat well, get enough sleep, and say "no" if your plate gets too full!! It's okay to say no sometimes. :)

Just a quick share . . .

2011-12-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

I know I've been a bad blogger lately, but it's been a very busy couple of weeks. I was in Colorado earlier this week shooting a series of scrapbooking videos for Creating Keepsakes. It was freezing cold there -- a low of 3 degrees below zero, to be exact. It was quite a shock to the system for the Southern California girl!! But I had a lot of fun hanging out with some of the CK gals.

With the holidays and CHA approaching, I anticipate another extremely busy couple of months ahead of me. So I thought I should come and write a quick post so that my blog doesn't start to collect dust and cobwebs. I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, but here's a layout I did that appears in the current issue of Creating Keepsakes:

As seen in the November/December issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I used my Cricut (speaking of something that's been gathering dust!) to cut this little turkey, then I dressed the little fella up with feathers, Stickles and a jeweled eye. Isn't he purty?

Oh wait, I have another Thanksgiving layout to share. I created this for CK's "Holiday and Celebrations" special issue. This layout is definitely different from my normal style -- it's a two pager and it's very clean and simple.

As seen in Creating Keepsakes' 2011 Holidays and Celebrations special issue. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

It was for an assignment to use a scallop punch and buttons to create simple page accents. I made these easy peasy accents:

I guess I'm a little late posting these Thanksgiving layouts, but better late than never, right?? I promise to post my Hanukkah scrapbook pages and projects during Hanukkah.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Here kitty, kitty . . .

2011-11-29T11:57:00.000-08:00

If you haven't had a chance to pick up Creating Keepsakes' new special issue: Scrapbooking with Fabric & Notions, you really should! There are so many great ideas for using fabric, trim and notions on your scrapbook layouts. Here's a layout I created for the issue. I used premade appliques and fabric to create the butterfly accents. The layout features our sweet kitty, Smokey. He was a stray cat who walked into our house one day. We sent him on his way, but he kept coming back . . . and the rest is history (read this blog post for the full story). The journaling says: I remember the day in November 2010 when this precious little stray cat walked right into our house like he owned the place. We immediately named him Smokey. He soon become a beloved member of our family, and now he pretty much does own the place!

As seen in Creating Keepsakes' Fabric & Notions 2011 special issue. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Published with prior permission from the publisher. The papers are Studio Calico.

I bought two sizes of butterfly appliques from my local fabric shop, traced them onto fabric multiple times each, cut them out, then layered them to create dimensional fabric accents. I added hooks & eyes and rhinestones to the center of each butterfly. Here's a close-up:

I can use the appliques again and again as quick shape cutters, or I can use them "as is" on a future page.

Thanks for stopping by!

CK giveaway winner + a Prima layout

2011-11-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

First off, the winner of Creating Keepsakes' new Scrapbooking Holidays & Celebrations 2011 special issue is . . . . cvanholstein! Congrats Corina! I'll contact you for your address.

Here's another Prima layout I made for the CHA booth last summer. I used products from the beautiful Romantique collection.

That's my quick post for the day. Have a great one!

Happy CK News

2011-11-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to share this little bit of news . . .

I've been asked back for another year on the Creating Keepsakes Dream Team. Being on this team has been such a wonderful experience. I absolutely love working with CK's fabulous editorial team, my fellow Dream Team members, and the contributing writers. Seriously, these women are the bestest! I've made some forever-friends, and for that I am most grateful.

Thank you CK for having me back for another year. I'll try and do you proud!

Winner of CK Fabric & Notions issue plus ANOTHER CK giveaway!

2011-11-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of CK's new special issue: Fabric & Notions. The random number generator picked #5, which is the comment left by Jamilie! Congrats Jamilie! I just left a comment on your blog with my email address. Thanks for playing along!

And the good news is that CK has another special issue out called Scrapbooking Holidays & Celebrations 2011. And yes, I have a copy to give away to one lucky blog reader! Don't be shy. You're all welcome to throw your name into the hat even if you don't regularly comment here. Come play along! Here's a peak at the cover:

Whether your holidays and celebrations are casual get-together or formal events, this special issue from Creating Keepsakes magazine is sure to be a trusted source of scrapbooking inspiration! The gallery of 50 outstanding ideas is a quick source of scrapliftable layouts, and you'll also discover ways to make your relationships shine on your scrapbook pages, photo-taking tips to catch meaningful moments and details of your celebrations, and journaling ideas to capture the points of view of your loved ones. Learn ways to create easy holiday accents and even ideas for storing your holiday-themed supplies. Pick up this issue today for non-stop scrapbooking inspiration for all your celebrations during the upcoming year!

Here's a little sneak of one of the layouts that I created for this special issue (the 2-pager on the bottom):

To be entered to win a copy of this special issue, just leave a comment here before the end of the day next Monday (November 21st) and tell me your favorite Thanksgiving dish or food. If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, just tell me about your favorite main dish at family meal time. Or better yet, email me the recipe! Heeheheeeeeee.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl!

2011-11-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet little daughter! Danielle turned 8 yesterday (where does the time go?!?). I'm still trying to recover from her slumber party last night. We had a bunch of VERY rambunctious little girls running all over the house. It kind of reminded of the frenzied antics of that old cartoon character, the Tasmanian Devil. Remember him? He did those tornado spins and left a path of destruction wherever he went.

I'm kidding. In actuality, all the girls who came to the party were very sweet and well-behaved. It was a nice group of girls. But wooooooooeeeeeee do they have a lot of energy! Even though it was a "sleepover" party, there wasn't a whole lot of sleeping going on. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all. Danielle was overjoyed and said it was one of the best birthdays she's ever had. Hearing that makes me a happy Mama!

Here's a Prima layout I made of my sweet Danielle. It's one I created for the Prima booth at CHA this past summer. I'm obviously still way behind on posting. I used puffy paint (the kind you heat with a heat gun) with Prima's cool brick stencil.

I just adore the white resin pieces and the beautiful rose vines from Prima's Summer release!

To go along with the window theme of the page, I created a recessed window using several layers of paper separated by 3D adhesive . . . kind of like a shadow box.

Happy Birthday, my darling girl!!

Now I'm going to go finish getting ready for the workshop I'm teaching at CRAFT Beach Retreat tomorrow. Are any of you blog readers attending? If so, I'll see ya then!!

Creating Keepsakes Special Issue and a Giveaway!

2011-11-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

Creating Keepsakes has a great new special issue out, Scrapbooking with Fabric & Notions, and it's starting to hit stores this week!

Discover how to enhance your scrapbook layouts using buttons, fabric, thread, and other materials from the sewing world. From using quick, pre-made accent options to creating beautifully sewn backgrounds, we'll help you learn the ins and outs of adding homespun textures to your layouts with patterns, step-by-step instructions, and more. You won't want to miss this "sew" special issue from Creating Keepsakes.

Here's a sneak peak of a layout I created for this special issue:

My layout focuses on cross-stitching with ribbon, yarn and embroidery thread. I'll share more details in the coming weeks.

As usual, the generous folks at Creating Keepsakes are allowing me to give away a copy of this special issue to one lucky blog winner. For a chance to win, simply leave a comment here before the end of the day on Sunday. I'll announce the winner next week, at which time I might just have another special issue to share and giveaway!

CRAFT Beach Retreat -- single class and day passes now available!

2011-11-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

The CRAFT Beach Retreat is only 8 days away, and now you join us for just a single class or one day! This is perfect for people who are local to Los Angeles and can't get away for the entire three-day event which runs from November 11 - 13. Here are the options:

Single class passes include a fabulous 4 hour deep and meaningful emotion-focused workshop, an eco-friendly tote filled with CRAFTy gifts, a delectable meal catered by Urth Caffe, treats and snacks and a chance to win fun giveaways. $80

A full day pass includes all of the above plus an additional 4 hour workshop, an additional meal, an even bigger gift tote, more chances to win giveaways and a bonus 'message in a bottle' craft project kit - plus a discount for buying the full day pass. $150

For the entire glorious pampering weekend, you'll get six 4 hour workshops, a supersized gift tote, 6 delicious meals and 4 bonus art and soul experiences - a guided meditation, the 'message in a bottle' project kit, a henna painting workshop and our exclusive nametag project with collectible and tradeable meaning-filled charms. $450

Click here to register for any of these options.

I will be teaching my workshop on Sunday morning, November 13th. The focus will be bridging the gap between a past dream/accomplishment you've already achieved and one that you hope to achieve in the future. We will be creating two layouts using beautiful Prima products and some other shabby chic "accoutrements" from my vintage stash. There will be lots of layering and texture, and you'll have several options for altering the embellishments to make them your own. We'll be playing with mists, ink, chalk and glitter (plan to get a little messy!). Here are the layouts we'll be working on in class:

Hidden journaling:

Thank you Prima and Creating Keepsakes Magazine for your sponsorship! Other products we'll be using in my workshop include Fancy Pants, EK Success, American Crafts and Clearsnap.

It costs only $80 for my four-hour workshop, which includes over $45 in product, plus a gift bag and a delectable breakfast. Here's the link to the registration page. I hope you'll join me at this amazing event!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! There was a Halloween festival at my girls' school this past Friday. The kids all had fun dressing up and showing off their costumes. One thing I found interesting is how the costumes evolve as the girls get older. In Danielle's 2nd grade class, it was all about looking pretty. There were some angels, fancy devils (Danielle), rock stars, brides, a couple princesses, etc. But in Rebecca's 4th grade class, it was all about being spooky, macabre and bloody. Rebecca was a bloody vampire. Among the other girls in her class, there was "zombie" everything -- zombie bride, zombie waitress, zombie prom queen, zombie skeleton, zombie clown . . . you get the picture. Times have changed since the days of the Cinderella and Tinkerbell costumes they loved in Kindergarten. Sigh.

I have a couple Halloween projects to share. First up is a mask I made using some of Prima’s new Halloween goodies. A black glitter-coated mask will provide for the perfect disguise when the ghosts and goblins come a-calling.

Prima supplies used:

553760 Bat Vine

553296 Coventry Rose

551360 Say it in Crystals

552800 Carlotta Royale

538620 Fairtytale Roses (colored with purple mist and glitter)

No witch would be properly dressed without a pair of shoes like these:

I made these using a paper shoe template I created a while back. You can find the tutorial and link to the template on my blog here: paper shoe template. I altered the template slightly to make these shoes a bit pointier . . . perfectly fit for a witch!

Prima supplies used:

841713 Paisley Road “Assam”

551360 Say it in Crystals

553548 Autumn leaves

553777 Night Flight bats

Have a safe and fun Halloween!!

Prima projects

2011-10-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! Today I have a couple Prima layouts to share. If you follow the Prima blog, these might look familiar since I posted them there when I was featured last month. I'm way behind on posting my projects here on my own blog. In fact, I still have Summer CHA projects that I haven't shared yet. Soon, soon.

This layout features papers from the lovely Pixie Glen collection.

I love that there is a paper in each collection with journaling spots. I used one of the journaling spots and the mini alpha stickers to create a hidden journaling pull tab.

I decided to play around with something a little different on this layout: candle wax! I lit a sea-blue candle and let the hot wax drip onto my paper. I added some droplets of spray ink to compliment the wax color. If you try this at home, be careful with the flame and hot wax!

Products used:

843229 Pixie Glen "Cornwall"

843212 Pixie Glen "Devon"

843168 Pixie Glen "Window View"

843205 Pixie Glen "Rose Arbor"

550172 Alphabets - Pixie Glen

550073 Alphabet Stickers

551360 Say it in Crystals

551841 Crystal Palace - Starburst

This next layout features a picture of me and brother when we were little. The Romantique line is perfect for these vintage looking layouts. Eeeks . . . I think I just called myself vintage.

I cut out the image of the lady and flowers from one corner of the Romantique "Hilary" paper, then I flipped the remaining piece of paper over, cropped it, and adhered the lady with 3D pop dots to the reverse side (covering the missing spot).

I painted the edge of the Romantique paper with gold paint, then I mounted the paper on cardstock and crocheted a delicate border around the outer edge.

Products used:

843427 Romantique "Hillary"

551223 Romantique Chipboard

550097 Romantique Alphabets

553470 Medley Copper

551704 Fleur De Lys - Almond

552503 Avon Rose - Romantique

552695 Sherwood Rose - partridge

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Budget-friendly flowers

2011-10-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a two-page layout that I created for a Creating Keepsakes "Budget Tips" article about using everyday items to create page accents.

As seen in the Creating Keepsakes' Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Fabulous Flowers, 2011. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I created the flowers using ink-colored cupcake liners for the petals, a glittered metal washer for a glammed up center, and alcohol ink-stained leaves that I cut from a coffee can lid.

Take a look around your house and see what items you can find to create some fun accents!

Just 5 more weeks . . .

2011-10-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

Just 5 more weeks until the CRAFT Beach Retreat on November 11 - 13!   I'll be teaching at the event along with these very talented ladies: Amy Tan, Ly T. Le, Linda Barber, Paige Evans and Rachel Kaufman. I have all the lovely Prima products in my hands and I'm in the process of creating the layouts for my workshop.

The title of my two-layout workshop is "Bridging the Gap". The first layout will be about a past accomplishment and the second layout will be about a dream or a goal you have for the future. It will prompt you to see how the skills you developed in reaching your past goal can be used to reach your future goal.   We'll be working with Prima's Romantique and Printery lines to create layouts full of texture, dimension, and lots of feminine touches. You'll get to play with a variety of mists, inks, chalks and glitter. There are still a few spots left at the event, so I hope you'll join me!

This unique event follows the approach of Scrapbooking from the Inside Out ("SFTIO"). It's the idea of using scrapbooking as a form of self exploration, self expression, and self discovery. The result is meaningful pages and projects that reflect who you are, both inside and out.

I recently got to play with one of SFTIO's gorgeous monthly kits: the "Growth" kit.   I created a layout that will give you an idea of the concept behind SFTIO and the CRAFT Beach Retreat.

The "Growth" prompt got me thinking about growing older. The journaling talks about how I'm not as concerned about getting more wrinkles or grey hair (thankfully there's Botox and hair dye to the rescue!), but rather the fact that as time marches, life as I know it right now will inevitably change. My kids will get older, my parents will age, people will move on, etc. But that reminds me that I need to sit back and enjoy the "now" and appreciate all the gifts I have today. Living in the present and not fretting about the future is what I consider growing old with grace.

Enjoy your day!!

Scrap for Help - Guest Designer

2011-10-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was so honored when my sweet friend Cynthia Llorens emailed me earlier in the year and asked me to be a Guest Designer for a new site she had just started called Scrap for Help. Scrap for Help is all about bringing people together from around the world through art and crafting. This month they are celebrating Children's Day, which is celebrated on October 12th in Brazil. It's a day to honor children. So the challenge for this month is to create a project about . . . you guessed it . . . children! The other component of the monthly challenges is to use recycled materials on your project. This month we're using scrapbook packaging.

I created a layout using the packaging from three different packs of Prima flowers. I used one of them as the photo mat, and I cut scalloped strips from the other ones. Of course the layout is filled with lots of Prima goodies.

I crocheted along the edge of one of the border strips:

Those look like real pearls along the edge of the scallop edge, don't they? Well, they're not! I created them with my new favorite art medium: Viva Decor Pearl Pens:

I've tried many different pearl mediums, and this one works the best!

Be sure and check out Scrap for Help to see all the gorgeous projects created by their talented Design Team. Everyone is welcome to play along! Thanks for having me as your guest, Cynthia!!!

World Card Making Day

2011-10-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

Today is World Card Making Day, so it's a great day to share handmade cards. Here are a couple of cards I made in the the not-so-distant past.

I made this one with Prima products:

I made this one with Queen & Company papers, pearls and gems.

The cute little cake stand stamp is Lawn Fawn.

A few of my fellow CK Dream Teamers are also sharing cards on their blogs today. Check out the blogs of these talented ladies . . .

Mou Saha
Piradee Talvanna
Laura Vegas
Kim Watson

A PSA then on to our regularly scheduled programming . . .

2011-09-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I was rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver who had been drinking. Thank goodness my girls weren't in the car with me and thankfully nobody was injured. But I was totally flabbergasted when she immediately drove off without stopping . . . and this with the front of her car completely bashed in and smoke billowing out from under her hood!!! At that point it didn't even occur to me that she might have been drinking because it was during the day on a Sunday. But I didn't want her to get away with it, so I followed her for almost two miles as she made left and right turns down different streets (which I assume was her panicked attempt to flee). My husband likes to embellish the story and say that I engaged in a "low speed chase" through the streets of Los Angeles, but it was easy to safely keep up with her because she wasn't driving at a super high speed. She was an older woman and her car clearly sustained a lot of damage, so I'm sure those two factors slowed her down a bit.

I called 911, at which point she finally pulled over and got out of her car. I immediately smelled the alcohol on her breath and could tell she was a bit impaired. I did everything I could to stall her until the police got there, which wasn't for another 30-40 minutes. There's more to the story, but I won't bore you with all the details. I'm just so relieved that my girls weren't in the car with me at the time and that she didn't harm anyone. To the lady who rear-ended me: Please get some help so that you don't do this again and possibly cause serious harm to someone or yourself. As I somberly told you at the scene: Luckily nobody was injured this time, but the next person you hit might not be so lucky. My PSA for the day: don't drink and drive!

Now back to our regulary scheduled programming . . .

Here's a Prima layout I made based on the September BAP:

I used Prima's bright and colorful Alla Prima line and mixed in a few bits of lace and other goodies from the last release.

On another happy note, today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. A few weeks ago I received a lovely email from Dafi Barilan, a sweet scrapper from Israel. Dafi and her colleague, Rachel, have created a new line of Hebrew alpha stickers and sticker phrases that say "Shana Tova" for Rosh Hashanah. You can find them here: http://mastikim.co.il/. She was kind enough to send me some of these stickers to try out. Here are a couple Rosh Hashanah cards I made:

The phrase sticker packages are great because you get the individual alphas on one sheet and the negative on the other side. Great idea! I don't know how to read Hebrew so I needed a little help with the stickers. I'm embarrassed to admit that I initially put the Hebrew phrase upside down on both cards, but they are fixed now. Oopsie. Thank you, Dafi! And Happy New Year!

Have a wonderful day!

CKU Blog Hop

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi and welcome to the CKU Blog Hop! We’re sharing some projects that we hope will get you excited about CKU Reunion, whether you’ve already registered, are planning to come, or wishing you were coming. The blog hop is from Friday, Sept. 23 at 10:00 am MT until Saturday, Sept. 24 at 10:00 am MT. If you get lost during the hop, come back here for the hop order (below). Have fun hopping!

Mou Saha http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com
Teresa Collins http://www.teresacollins.typepad.com
Stacy Cohen (you are here!) http://www.stacycohen.blogspot.com/
Piradee Talvanna http://www.piradee.blogspot.com/
Laura Vegas http://www.lauravegas.typepad.com
Stacy Croninger http://lifestacycstyle.blogspot.com/
Michelle Hill http://www.polkadotwhimsy.typepad.com/

Megan Hoeppner http://meganhoeppner.blogspot.com/

Kim Watson http://kj-starre.blogspot.com/

If you’re following the CKU Blog Hop, you should have come from Teresa Collin's blog. If you stumbled upon this blog post and want to see all the CKU Blog Hop participants, make sure to go to Mou Saha’s blog to start from the beginning.

Join us at CKU Reunion in San Diego, CA October 27-29 for a weekend of creating, connecting, and inspiration. You’ll spend one day completing an album that will be ready for photos when you get home and another day creating in four 90 minute classes including mixed media canvas art, fabric creations, jewelry, and more. Plus, there are evening crops, bonus classes, goodie bags, a commemorative tote, and so much more all for only $295! And you’ll be learning from some of the industry’s finest such as Lisa Bearnson, Teresa Collins, Stacy Julian, Michelle Hill, Megan Hoeppner, and other inspiring teachers.

This is one of the awesome classes that will be offered:

Album Track: Got Your Number - taught by Megan Hoeppner
We've got your number in this incredible 11 page 12" x 12" album class. Join us as we count the ways numbers impact your everyday life. You'll look back on important numeric events in your life, such as memorable milestones (marriage, graduation, etc.), and significant (and playful) quantities (the number of children you have, the amount of times you indulge in your favorite vice every day, etc.). And you'll have a blast personalizing your album with numbers unique to you-your home address, your lucky number, etc. Plus, as you add up the numbers of your life, you'll learn innovative techniques such as coloring with Twinkling H20s, stitching, and misting all while using Pink Paislee's NEW Daily Junque line. Top it off with clever ideas for using unexpected supplies, such as cupcake liners, washi tape, bakers twine, and more, and you've got one fresh album. Whatever your digit, this album is rated a 10.0 for fun and creativity!

To give you an idea of one way you can use numbers on your project, here's a layout I created a while back using photos of my daughter at ages 4, 5, 6, and 7. I added the age number next to each picture.

Now head on over to Piradee Talvana's blog!

Once Upon a Sketch Mid-Month Challenge

2011-09-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

This week has just flown by! I spent a good portion the last few days editing, re-sizing, uploading and ordering pictures. Why does the process take me so long?? There must be a faster way. Lately I've been printing my photos on my home printer on an 'as needed basis', but with the high cost of printer ink, it's much more economical to have them printed by a photo lab. I like to use Snapfish, Costco, Winkflash or Scrapbook Pictures. So off went my order for 200 pictures yesterday. That should tide me over for a while.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm honored to be a Guest Designer at Once Upon a Sketch this month. Here is the layout I created for the September 15th challenge:

All of the products on this page are Prima except for the gauze. I love using gauze on my pages. I think it creates an ethereal feeling.

Journaling Criteria: "Journal 2 lines directly on your photo. You can write on your photo, you can print your writing on your photo, you can use journaling strips on your photo etc. There is no theme this time, just a journaling technique criteria."

Here's the sketch:

Head on over to Once Upon a Sketch and play along!

CRAFT Blog Hop and Giveaway

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the CRAFT: Creating Reflective Art for Transformation Blog Hop! This event is brought to you by the team at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, the premier source for inspiration to explore your inner world. I’ll be leading a creative and meaningful workshop, using some of the latest and greatest products from our generous sponsors, at this intimate, boutique event right on the beach in beautiful Santa Monica, CA, November 11-13, 2011. You’ll spend a magical weekend focused on embracing who you truly are and gaining the skills, techniques and tools to use our craft to understand yourself more deeply on an ongoing basis.

I'll be sharing my style of layering, dimension and texture with you in this workshop where you'll explore an accomplishment in your past, and a dream for your future in two detailed layouts. How will you bridge the gap between who you were and who you want to be, and what will you take with you? Sponsored by Prima, you'll love the elegant colors, shapes and of course, FLOWERS that we'll be using along with trim, Thickers, glitter and more. Here's a sneak of some of the products we'll be using in my class:

CRAFT:

Three full days of crafting, creativity and camaraderie for only $450

(three consecutive monthly payments of $150 each.)

Spots are still available for this unique, pampering and heart-expanding getaway.

Register now at the event blog HERE.

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

• 6 emotion-focused, technique-teaching personal workshops ~ All CRAFTers participate in every class. No need to choose ~ they're ALL yours in
CRAFT’s ocean-view, beautifully styled, creative space
• 4 special Art & Soul experiences
• Scrumptious breakfasts & lunches from Hollywood hot spot Urth Caffe
~ Friday, Saturday & Sunday
• Sweets, treats & beverages all day long
• Transportation from The Ambrose to and from the Annenberg Beach House for all workshops and activities via the CRAFTy Cab
• Oodles of workshop supplies

(you’ll just need to bring your basic tool kit – checklist to be provided later)
• A fabulous welcome gift, a CRAFTy tote filled with goodies,

valuable giveaways and fun prizes!

*Lots more details on girls’ night out dinners, airport transportation, location, hotel and event venue and more are available HERE.

For questions, comments and special requests, please email event coordinator Paige Ramos at craftbeachretreat@gmail.com

The Dates: November 11-13, 2011
The Times: Workshops from 9-5 each day, broken into two sessions.

SPONSORS:

WHY SHOULD YOU COME TO CRAFT?

What really sets CRAFT apart is the unique mission of Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, kit club, inspiration source and online community. Thousands of participants all over the world have used SFTIO’s resources to explore their deepest emotions. They’ve lifted themselves and each other exploring Freedom, Gratitude, Anticipation and Wonder. They’ve faced their inner doubts and fears delving into Regret, Yearning, Loss and Vulnerability.

SFTIO’s trademarked and industry-exclusive approach to artistic motivation is the heart and soul of what makes them unique. Their monthly inspiration page with hand-selected music, stock photography, quotations and deep journaling prompts elevates scrapbooking to an expressive art form where members are guided to truly explore their inner worlds. Click here for links to past Inspiration Pages to see more.

SFTIO raises the bar even more by providing challenges using the prompts that add a design twist, teaching members to use ‘visual journaling’ – powerful symbolism – to combine right and left brain expression. The result? Meaningful, rich, pages and projects that reflect all of who you are, Inside and Out.

CRAFT workshops will incorporate a variety of tested, proven multimedia inspiration tools combined with the special talents and techniques of a stellar teaching staff, supported by Art Therapist Rita Coufal, PhD and Artist/Therapist Joy Mauldin.

Growth is a journey…not a destination. And it’s a most personal one…only you know what you need out of this experience. In the intimate, supportive setting SFTIO has created for you, you’ll have the opportunity to practice being more and more yourself. Their take on scrapbooking and creativity isn’t about a quick fix, or a set of ‘positive thinking’ reminders. It’s about a deeper approach, telling your truth – pretty or not, looking at both sides of the coin, and leaving the weekend together with the creative skills and tools to be more fully expressed in your life.

THE INSTRUCTORS:

While you’ll be learning amazing techniques, styles, tips and techniques in every workshop, these are not cookie-cutter sessions – you’ll be challenged to dig deep, learn about yourself and tailor your project to reflect who you are and who you want to be.

American Crafts Design Team and Product Designer
Hambly Screen Prints Design Team

Mixed Media Designer
Copic Certified Designer

Creating Keepsakes Dream Team 2011
Lily Bee Design Team
Jillibean Soup Design Team

Copy/Creative Editor for Northridge Publishing
American Crafts Blog Hostess/Design Team

Founder and President, Scrapbooking from the Inside Out

And yours truly . . .

Creating Keepsakes Dream Team 2011
Prima Design Team

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
REGISTER NOW.

And now for a giveaway! SFTIO is giving away FIVE kits to FIVE lucky readers…make sure to leave a comment (before Noon Pacific Time on 9-15) on each blog you visit in the hop to increase your chance of winning. Tell us please, in your comment, what emotion you’d love to explore in your scrapbooking! Winners will be chosen from all blog comment entries and will be announced on 9-16 on the SFTIO blog.

Are you just beginning at this blog? Make sure you begin at the SFTIO blog so you don't miss all sneaky peeks and your chance to win one of six kits! If you get lost, here's a list of all the stops on the hop:

SFTIO: http://scrapbookingfromtheinsideout.blogspot.com

Stacy Cohen: http://stacycohen.blogspot.com/

Linda Barber: http://milesofpaper.blogspot.com/

Paige Ramos: http://thebumpyride.blogspot.com

Amy Tan: http://amytangerine.blogspot.com/

Paige Evans: http://chrisandpaige.blogspot.com/

Tammy Onderdonk Klass: http://createdreamlive.blogspot.com/
Seven Gypsies: http://www.sevengypsies.blogspot.com/

Ly T. Le: http://www.lytlescrapper.com/

Melissa Elsner: http://theprofoundbrunette.blogspot.com
Jillibean Soup: http://www.jillibeansoup.typepad.com/

Rita Barakat: http://letsembellish.blogspot.com/

Kai Baldwin: http://www.enjoytheridetoday.blogspot.com/

CRAFT Blog: http://craftbeachretreat.blogspot.com/

For your next stop, make sure to check out Linda Barber’s blog.

Good luck and we hope to see you at CRAFT!

Back to school and CK Budget Issue Giveaway winner

2011-09-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

Shhhhhhhhhhhh . . . can you hear it? Yep, that's the sound of QUIET, something I haven't heard in my house for the past couple of months. My girls started back at school yesterday (2nd and 4th grade . . . where does the time go??). As much as I enjoyed having my girls home with me during the summer, I'm happy to be back on our regular school schedule and have some much needed time to myself.

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the Creating Keepsakes Special Budget-Friendly issue. The Random Number Generator picked #2, which is Romy! Congrats Romy! I'll contact you to get your address.

Here's a closer look at a layout I did for the budget issue. The article shows how you can stretch your scrap supplies further by sharing them with friends. In this case, several of us used papers and stickers from a single Basic Grey collection, along with a circle punch. We all came up with very different layouts. Here's mine:

Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Published with prior permission from the publisher.

I cut the flowers out of the patterned paper and used them as my main page accent, and I used a circle punch to create a layered page border (accented with Shimmerz paint on the edges for a little sparkle).

I hope you're getting a nice dose of YOU time today!!

Once Upon a Sketch Guest Designer

2011-09-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

I'm honored to be the Guest Designer at Once Upon a Sketch this month! If you haven't heard of this fabulous sketch challenge site, you should definitely check it out! There's a sketch and a journaling prompt twice a month. This is the layout I created for the September 1st challenge:

Journaling Criteria: A memorable year - Your title must be a year, and you must journal at least 2 lines on why this year is memorable for you. Examples: the year you got married, the year you graduated, the year you moved to a new house/country, the year you started a new job, the year your child was born, the year you lost someone dear. Your journaling can be in any language and any format (written, typed etc).

Here is the sketch:

Head on over to Once Upon a Sketch and play along!

Creating Keepsakes Budget-Friendly Scrapbooking and a GIVEAWAY!

2011-08-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Creating Keepsakes newest special issue is out! It's called Budget-Friendly Scrapbooking:

"Prepare to make your stickers, papers, die cuts, and more go further than you ever imagined possible. With the tips and tricks in this special issue from Creating Keepsakes, you'll learn how to create beautiful scrapbook layouts using your scrapbooking leftovers and minimal supplies. Whether you're a new scrapbooker or have been creating for years, we'll show you how to stretch your scrapbooking budget to its fullest."

Here's a little sneak peak of a layout I created for this issue (I'll share a close-up in the coming weeks):

As usual, Creating Keepsakes is graciously allowing me to give away a copy of this special issue to one lucky blog reader. To be entered to win, simply leave a comment here before Sunday evening and tell something you do to stretch your scrapbook supplies and/or make the most of leftovers. (One thing I do is save all my scraps of patterened paper and cardstock. I keep them in drawers in arms' reach of my scrap table. Whenever I need smaller pieces for cards, page accents, stamping, journaling, etc., I reach into my drawers of scraps.) I'll draw a random winner and announce it here next week!

Altered embroidery hoops + Prima blog feature

2011-08-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet because I have a very long post on the Prima blog today where I'm the featured Design Team member. I've shared some little tidbits about myself along with a couple projects and a tutorial. Here is one of the projects you'll see there. It's a set of altered embroidery hoops that I made for Prima's CHA booth.

I cut three circles out of white fabric and misted them with a rainbow of colors. I then added a plethora of color-coordinated flowers, leaves, a butterfly and a bird from the beautiful new collections. I plan to hang these on my scraproom wall.

I also shared a quick and easy tutorial on the Prima blog showing a fun way to use Prima's new cotton Writer's tape. Go check it out!! Here's the link to my post: Prima's Writer's Tape tutorial.

An owl, a fox, a bear and a hedgehog . . . OH MY!!

2011-08-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

I created some little woodland critters and printable paper piecing templates for Club CK's Summer Camp event. Here is my owl, fox, bear and hedgehog:

I also created a PDF pattern for each of these animals that you can print and cut out, and Creating Keepsakes took it a step further and turned these into SVG files that you can download and cut with your SVG compatible die-cutting machines! You can find the printable PDF files and SVG files here at Club CK: Stacy Cohen's owl, fox, bear and hedgehog.

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Prima layout

2011-08-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I run out today with my girlies. Here's a layout I did for Prima's CHA booth using the new Londonerry line:

Gotta love pop dots! I use them on every layout.

This layout is actually a scraplift of one of my earlier layouts . . . this page that I created back in March:

I like working with this little grid format, so I think I'll try some other variations.

Thanks for stopping by!

A 2-page layout

2011-08-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I'm officially in a very relaxed summer mode . . . sleeping in, hanging out by the pool, staying up late and watching my favorite reality TV shows, etc. I haven't been scrapping much at all over the past couple of weeks and I've just been enjoying time with my family and friends. Ahhhhhhhhh . . . so nice.

I'm often asked to do 2-page scrapbook layouts for my Creating Keepsakes assignments. For me, making 2-page spreads is very different from making 1-page layouts. But they're fun to do because they challenge my creativity. My 2-pagers always come out looking more "clean & simple" and linear than my single page layouts. Here's one I did a while back:

As seen in Creating Keepsakes Magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Published with prior permission from the publisher.

I made the tree by hand-cutting fabric and coloring it with Shimmerz Spritz. I cut the trunk from some specialty corrugated cardboard. I made the apples by coloring plain rhinestones with alcohol ink.

I created a quick little video for Creating Keepsakes showing how to do this simple technique: Coloring Rhinestones Video

Another close-up:

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

CRAFT Beach Retreat

2011-08-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

First of all, we have the winner of Creating Keepsakes' new special issue, Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Summer Fun & Travel. The random number generator I used picked commenter number 4, and it is . . . da da da da da da da da da da da (that's my impression of a drumroll) . . . Caroline Hackney! Congrats, Caroline! I'll contact you to get your info.

I want to give you more details about the upcoming CRAFT Beach Retreat, where I'll be teaching a class chock full of beautiful Prima goodies. This is going to be an amazing and unique event that you won't want to miss!!!

The Dates: November 11-13, 2011
The Times: 9-5 each day, broken into two workshops.
The Workshops: Six emotion-based scrapbook and mixed media/home décor sessions.
Plus four bonus ‘art and soul experiences’ will be right before and after classes, and a few in the evening at the hotel. Some secret…but including a henna painting workshop, sand art/message in a bottle and more...

The Instructors: Linda Barber, Paige Evans, Ly T. Le, Amy Tan and yours truly!

The Location: Beautiful, sunny Santa Monica.

The Venue: The classes will be held at the beautiful Annenberg Beach House, right on the sand off Pacific Coast Highway (also known as HWY 1).

The space we'll be in is an intimate room, the Terrace Lounge, with floor to ceiling windows...every seat has a view of the ocean. Right outside the door is a lovely seating area with a fountain where you'll be enjoying your lunch breaks.

The Sponsors: Creating Keepsakes, Prima, American Crafts, Lily Bee and Jillibean Soup.

You can get more of the details and sign up here: CRAFT Beach Retreat. This will be a scrapbooking retreat like no other!

Creating Keepsakes Special Issue and a Giveaway!

2011-07-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

Creating Keepsakes has a great new special issue out: Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Summer Fun & Travel:

Summer is the perfect time for adventure, fun, and travel. In Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Summer Fun & Travel you'll learn the best ways to capture all those memories in your scrapbooks. You'll see ways to take and use scenic photos, learn colorful ways to enhance your summer and vacation layouts, and discover money-saving ideas for using found objects, maps, and travel memorabilia on your layouts. In addition, you'll be inspired by a gallery filled with 94 ideas for scrapbooking your summertime adventures.

Here's a little sneak at one of the layouts I created for this special issue (I'll share more about it in the coming weeks):

You can get a copy of this issue from Creating Keepsakes' online store. Use the discount code CKFUN10 for free shipping in the US on all orders of $25 or more (Expires 8/8/11).

As usual, Creating Keepsakes is graciously allowing me to give away a copy to one lucky blog reader. To be entered to win, simply leave a comment here telling me about your favorite summer activity. You have until the end of the day on Sunday. I'll announce the winner next week!

Just a quick post . . .

2011-07-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share one of the layouts that I created with the new Prima products that will be showcased at CHA in a few days. Prima has done it again . . . so many fabulous new goodies!! This was made with the new Printery line:

I printed the journaling on Prima's new Writer's Tape:

Gotta run . . . I have a sick kitty who needs my attention.

Funny Girl

2011-07-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who celebrate the 4th of July, I hope you had a great one!! While I'm busy working on CHA products, I thought I'd share a layout I made for the last CHA (I never got around to posting it here). My little Danielle is a total comedienne and she makes us laugh every single day. Funny girl . . .

I'm so grateful for the all the laughter and joy she brings into our lives.

On another note, The CRAFT Beach Retreat event is almost sold out. So if you want a spot, you better hurry scurry over there and register! This amazing scrapbooking retreat will happen here in Los Angeles (Santa Monica, to be specific) from November 11-13th. Check out the site for all the details.

Monday, Monday . . .

2011-06-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially started for us today. The girls are out of school, and so begins the summer-o-fun! For the next couple of weeks I'll be juggling kids' activities, work (the kind that I actually get paid for), and CHA projects.

I have many CHA projects to complete in the next couple of weeks, so I'll have to find a way to speed up my normal SLOW scrapping process that involves dilly-dallying and spending 3-4 nights on one page. No time for that now! I'm reminded of the old I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel get a job at a chocolate factory wrapping chocolates. Here's a YouTube clip: I Love Lucy - Candy Wrapping Job. When the chocolates began coming down the conveyer belt faster than they could wrap them, Lucy and Ethel started stashing the extra chocolates in their aprons, hats, down their shirts and even in their mouths (I like their thinking on that last one!). When the supervisor came to check on Lucy and Ethel, she mistakenly believed that they were keeping up with the pace, so she yelled to the person at the beginning of the conveyer belt: "SPEED IT UP A LITTLE!!!!" So that's what I'll be hearing in my mind while I'm working on CHA projects for the next couple of weeks . . . speeeeeeeeeeeeed it up . . . no time for dilly dallying!

Here's a canvas I made using gesso, paints, gauze and lots of Prima goodies:

Happy summer to you all!!

A couple of cards to share . . .

2011-06-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

My current assignments are done, my scrap table has been cleaned off, and now I'm awaiting delivery of new scrapbooking products so I can start creating for CHA in July. I'm ready!! Today I have a couple of cards to share.

Lots of Prima goodies on this one. . .

I recently had the pleasure of playing around with some fun Lawn Fawn stamps. Their stamps are absolutely adorable!! Here's a card I made using the Bake Me a Cake set:

I love this set because there are different options for making birthday cakes, wedding cakes and even cupcakes. Did someone say cupcakes?? Yum!

Thanks for stopping by!

A couple things to share . . .

2011-06-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have lots of Prima and Creating Keepsakes projects I haven't yet shared here. I'll be playing catch up over the next few weeks while I'm busy working on some upcoming projects and CHA booth work. I'm very excited to see what new goodies Prima will be introducing for CHA this summer. They never disappoint!

Here's a Prima layout I made based on this month's BAP.

Everything on this page is Prima except for this little mini bookplate. I decided that I LOVE the size of the this tiny bookplate, but sadly it's made my Li'l Davis, which is no longer in business. I have tons of larger bookplates, but this small size (about an 1.5 inches long and .5 of an inch tall) is perfect for small dates/ages and such. If anyone knows of other manufacturers who make these teeny tiny metal bookplates, please let me know!

I also want to tell you about an amazing event that I'm going to be teaching at here in Santa Monica, California in November, 2011:

Wouldn't it be wonderful to create projects while overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean? This new event features a great line-up of introspective scrapbooking classes, talented teachers and wonderful sponsors (including Creating Keepsakes, Prima and American Crafts!). Check out the CRAFT Beach Retreat site for more details. Registration opens this Saturday, June 18th at 9am PST. Space is very limited, so be sure and sign up early before it sells out!

Another year with Prima!

2011-06-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share the news . . . I've been asked back for another year with Prima!!

Y'all know how much I love, love, love Prima, so being able to work with their gorgeous products for another term makes me very happy. You can see the full Design Team announcement on the Prima blog. Prima has chosen an amazingly talented international team for 2011-2012:

Sharon Laakkonen (DT Coordinator): http://sharonlaakkonen.blogspot.com/
Anna Dabrowski: http://tworzysko.blogspot.com
AnnaMarie Mondro: http://annamarie-mondro.blogspot.com/
Anna-Marie Wolniak: http://www.princi-made.blogspot.com/
Anne Jo Lexander: http://www.aniia.blogspot.com
Emeline Seet: http://www.scrapvilla.blogspot.com
Hege Lundquist: http://www.hegeal.blogspot.com/
Heidi Kelley: http://seesterk.blogspot.com/
Jamie Dougherty: http://www.jaylynnscraps.com/
Karola Witczak: http://www.karolakraftuje.blogspot.com/
Leslie Ashe: http://www.leslieashe.blogspot.com
Maiko Kosugi: http://maimaipiano.blogspot.com/
Marie-Nicolas Alliot: http://www.ma-ni.creation.over-blog.com
Stacey Young: http://www.staceyeyoung.blogspot.com
Steph Devlin: http://www.stephdevlin.typepad.com
Trina McClune:: http://www.trinamcclune.typepad.com
Trudi Harrison: http://www.scrappinwitht.blogspot.com/

Now please excuse me while I go finish doing my happy dance.

Altered Clipboard

2011-06-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have a short but sweet post for today. Here's a simple little project I made for Creating Keepsakes' "Creative Spaces" special issue. It's an altered clipboard that I made into a photo display to hang on the wall in my scrap room.

As seen in Creating Keepsakes' Creative Spaces special issue, 2011. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Published with prior permission from the publisher.

I altered the clipboard with ledger and fussy-cut flowery papers, Prima flowers, lace, tulle, rhinestones and pearls (all my favorite things!). Then I clipped on two 4 x 6 photo sleeves. The clipped-on photo sleeves allow me to easily slip different photos in and out and change them up from time to time.

I also wanted to tell you about a wonderful new challenge blog started by the very sweet Cynthia Llorens called Scrap for Help. I will be a Guest Designer there later this year!

Scrap for Help is all about bringing people together from around the world through art and crafting. Scrap for Help also has a charitable component. Through their solidarity campaigns they will work to get donations for people and institutions in need. Please go check it out!

I'm convinced . . .

2011-05-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

. . . that's there's a little monster in our washing machine or dryer that eats socks.

Exhibit A:

These are all my girls' single socks that are left over from the laundry over the past few months. Believe it or not, none of them match each other. I've tried to "sneak" mismatched socks together (I mean, why can't the white Strawberry Shortcake sock be worn with a pink Strawberry Shortcake sock??), but my girls always call me on it. WHERE in the world do all those missing socks go? There's probably some secret land of single socks, remote controls and lost sticky notes. And don't even get me started on my sunglasses. I swear they grow feet and walk away. Sigh.

Since I've cut back on my DT commitments, I've been able to take some nights off from scrapping (a much-needed break!). Now I'm going back through my files and sharing things I never got around to posting here before. Here's a Prima layout I made using the adorable new foam dress form stamp.

I do try and journal on almost every layout these days (even if it's just who, where and when), but sometimes I just feel like creating a page with pretty things and leaving it at that. That's okay, right? My girls certainly have PLENTY of layouts that tell a story.

I used Prima's new stencils as a mask with mist, then I outlined it with a Sakura Stardust pen:

I'm off to go fold a couple loads of laundry. Hopefully every sock will have a little friend. Have a great week!!

Shimmerz

2011-05-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

I love playing around with Shimmerz' mists and gauze. Just take some regular household gauze and color it with Shimmerz (Spritz, Vibez, etc.), and you can create a variety of beautiful page accents. You can use the sprayed gauze as a dreamy-looking page background, or twist it and use it like you would ribbon or trim. I used the Shimmerz'd gauze to make the rolled flowers on this page for Creating Keepsakes' new Fabulous Flowers special issue:

As seen in Creating Keepsakes' 2011 Tips & Tricks: Fabulous Flowers. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Published with prior permission from the publisher.

I used Cotton Candy Spritz and Razzle Dazzle Berry Vibez to color the gauze:

On another note, in a continued attempt to re-focus things in my life and make more time for my family, I'm stepping down from the Shimmerz design team at the end of this month. I've been fortunate to have been on the Shimmerz DT for over two years now, and it's been an absolute pleasure!! I got to play with all the fabulous Shimmerz products AND I made some great friends along the way. I'm very grateful to Stacey and Dave (the creative masterminds behind Shimmerz) for this wonderful opportunity!!

Creating Keepsakes Giveway Winner and Miss Art's LIVE CHAT tonight

2011-05-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

We have a winner for Creating Keepsakes' Tips and Tricks: Fabulous Flowers special issue. The random number generator picked number 3, which is Arjanne!! Congrats!! Please email me your full name and mailing address so that Creating Keepsakes can send you this fabulous issue.

I want to remind everyone about my online class at Miss Art's Papercrafting School. In case you missed my posts about it last month, it's called The Secret Garden Layout Class. In the class I take you step-by-step through three different layouts and I share lots of techniques along the way, including crocheting on layouts. Here's a peak at the layouts I created for the class:

I'm told that there are only a few more class kits left, so if you want to get one of the gorgeous Madeline's Song kits, don't wait too long.

Alternatively you can make my class layouts with products from your own stash. It's up to you!

I made some crocheted flowers with rhinestone centers that are available for sale in sets of two in the Miss Art's store under class supplies, add-ons:

Be sure and check out all the other great classes and offerings at Miss Art's!

And one last bit of Miss Art's news . . . I'm doing a LIVE CHAT for my class subscribers on Ustream TONIGHT!! The time is: 6pm PST, 8pm CST, 9pm EST, or check Miss Art's site for a time conversion chart. All 201 and Extra Credit subscribers should have already received their Ustream password via email. I hope you'll come chat with me tonight!!!

Prima layout + a new kitten is in da house!!

2011-05-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little post for Friday. Here's a Prima share for the day. This was based on Prima's April BAP. Lately I've been finding that I'm drawn to bright, happy colors, though I still love soft, girly colors too. Luckily Prima offers beautiful collections in every color range.

On another note, there's a kitten in da house!!! This is our newest fuzzy addition to the family:

Her name is Lucy, but we nicknamed her "Tinkerbell" because she flits around the place from person to person spreading love and magic wherever she goes! The nickname was especially fitting the other night when she fell asleep on my lap while I was scrapbooking. I was using some loose glitter on a project, and somehow Lucy's aka Tinkerbell's fur got a little glittery too. This is where she is right now, and this is where she prefers to be most of the time . . . in my lap:

She's a TOTAL love bug! Smokey (see the post below) is slowly accepting her into our family, and of course the girls are thrilled to have little Miss Lucy with us.

Creative Spaces Giveaway WINNER + Another CK Giveaway!!

2011-05-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you for playing along with the CK "Creative Spaces" special issue giveaway! I used a random number generator, and the winner is . . . Juanna Hope Sia!! Congrats, Juanna! Please email me your mailing address.

If you didn't win, don't fret because Creating Keepsakes has another new special issue and I get to give away a copy of that one too! This special issue is all about my favorite scrapbooking accent: FLOWERS!!! It's the new Tips & Tricks: Fabulous Flowers.

You’ll learn how to use pre-made flowers in a creative fashion, easily make different flower accents, and learn lovely ways to photograph flowers for your layouts. And to top it off you’ll even find ways to display and organize all of the beautiful flowers in your stash.

Here's a peak at one of my layouts in this issue:

You know the drill -- if you would like to be entered to win a copy of this special issue, simply leave a comment here before Sunday night (May 21st) and tell me your favorite kind of flower to use on your projects. I'll draw a random winner and announce it next week. You can buy this gorgeous issue online here. Enter the code FLOWERBB for free shipping in the USA for orders over $25 (expires June 3).

The power of the mind or pure coincidence??

2011-05-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

I'm diverting from my normal scrapbook-related post and I'm going to share a little story that happened last November. It still amazes me every time I think about it. The background story is that I've always been a cat lover. I'm drawn to them. I adore them. But having a cat of my own was out of the question because my husband developed cat allergies years ago (even though he had a cherished cat as a child). For some reason I started thinking and talking about cats quite a bit last year, and my girls and I even jokingly asked my husband a couple of times if we could get a cat and he could get allergy shots. Ummmmmm . . . . no.

One afternoon last November my girls and I were sitting at the table looking at magazines. I was going through an old Creating Keepsakes magazine, and I came upon this page:

At this point I don't even remember what the article was about because I immediately ripped out the page from the magazine and showed my girls. I squealed "Ooooooooooohhhhhhh, look at this sweet kitty!! I want him!" My girls oohed and ahhed over the pictures of the kitten too. I cooed over the picture a bit more and then I stuck the magazine page up on our china cabinet (I sometimes display the girls' artwork, holiday cards, etc. there) so that I could admire the photos of that sweet kitten for a while longer.

Now here comes the weird -- and wonderful -- part of the story. That same day, no more than an hour after I found the pictures of this sweet kitty in my CK magazine and declared that I wanted him -- my husband arrived home and my girls opened the front door to greet him, then Danielle yelled, "Mommy, there's a cat on our porch!!!!" I immediately came to see what she was talking about, and sure enough a sweet little cat was sitting right there at our front door. Now mind you, we live on a very busy street in a busy neighborhood, and we rarely see cats wandering around. In the 10+ years I've lived in this house, we've never had a cat actually come up to our door. This is the cat that showed up on our porch that day:

The girls and I immediately thought, 'WOW! He looks just like the kitty in the photo!' Sure he's older (he's estimated to be between 1 and 2 years old), but the coloring is the same as the kitten in the magazine photos. It was actually my sweet husband who gave the cat the okay to come into our house for a bit -- despite his 'alleged' allergies. So this friendly little cat walked right into our house and the girls and I immediately fell in love with him. I expected my husband to start sneezing and watering up, but he didn't have much of an allergic reaction at all. We decided to name the cat "Smokey".

To make a long story short (yeah, too late, I know), Smokey kept coming back to our house. He even brought us a mouse one day, which is a sign of true love from a cat. We attempted to find his owner with no success. Smokey could come and go as he pleased, but he was at our house pretty much all the time. We finally determined that he was most likely a stray, and we officially took him in. Thankfully my husband doesn't seem to have significant allergies to Smokey, and he's grown quite attached to our furry addition to the family. As long as he washes his hands after he plays with Smokey (which he does often!), he's totally fine.

Smokey has now become a beloved member of our family.

Here's hubby and Smokey taking a little catnap together on the couch:

The other interesting thing is that my beloved stepfather passed away a few weeks before Smokey showed up. We were very close to my stepfather ("Papa"), so his loss left a void. I said at the time that Papa must have sent Smokey to us because he knew how much joy he would bring to our family.

So tell me, do you think it was the power of the mind that brought Smokey to us? Serendipity? A Premonition? Or pure coincidence?

Stay tuned for Chapter 2 . . . we're adopting a kitten so Smokey will have a companion. Fingers crossed that they get along!

Time for Another Giveaway -- CK's Creative Spaces Special Issue

2011-05-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

Creating Keepsakes has a fabulous new special issue out called Creative Spaces!

This special issue is all about craft rooms and organization. You'll get an incredible tour of the scrapbook rooms of many well known ladies in the industry. This issue is also filled with many great storage ideas for all budgets.

I was honored to have my lil'ol' scrap room included in this issue. One thing I love about the issue is that it's organized into 'small', 'medium' and 'large' scrap spaces. At only 8 x 9 feet, my scrap room is definitely considered small. It was fun to see how other crafters with small spaces organize their stuff. Here are some snippets of my scrap room (you can see the rest of it in the special issue -- tease, tease).

Here's a little bit of my lace collection:

And some of of my ribbon storage:

No, Smokey, these spools of ribbon are not for you to play with (nosy kitty):

I admit it . . . I have a little bit of a hoarding problem with lace and ribbon (what you see above is only a very small portion of my massive collection).

Creating Keepsakes is allowing me to give away a copy of this issue to one lucky blog reader. To be eligible to win, simply leave a comment here before Sunday night and tell me what scrapbooking product(s) you tend to hoard. If you'd like to purchase a copy, you can find it HERE in the CK store. Use coupon code SPACESBB for free shipping in the USA (good through May 27th).

Prima Blog Hop!!

2011-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Prima's NSD Blog Hop!!

If you arrived here via Prima's blog and you came for the secret word, you're in the right place! If you didn't, then be sure to go back and start on Prima's blog and read the instructions for a chance to win a great prize! The blog hop order is also posted there.

If you already follow my blog, then you probably recognize the first photo in the group above. It's the "Madeline's Song" kit that goes along with my Miss Art's Papercrafting School class. Yes, that's one of the fabulous prizes you can win as part of Prima's blog hop! I helped design this gorgeous kit, so it has a lot of my very favorite Prima products from the newest collections. It's a BEAUT!!!

My little share for the day is a Prima layout that I created for Creating Keepsakes Magazine.

I made a pull-out tab for hidden journaling. It's a little love note to my hubby.

As seen in Creating Keepsakes Magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

Ready for the secret word? It's a scrapbooking tool I can't live without and it's a necessity for fussy cutting (something I do a lot of). The secret word is . . . SCISSORS

Now mosey on over to the blog of the very talented Nic Howard to get your next secret word. Good luck!!

Celebrate National Scrapbook Day all week with Creating Keepsakes

2011-05-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

There's lots of fun stuff happening for NSD (National Scrapbooking Day), which is this Saturday, May 7th. The fun has already begun over at Club CK.

There are different challenges posted every day with many of chances to win a subscription to Creating Keepsakes Magazine and other great prizes. If you missed any of the weeks' events, you can see the schedule on the CK Blog. I'll have a challenge posted on Club CK on Friday (with prizes!), so be sure and check back then!

Come join the fun!!!

Miss Art's is officially open!

2011-05-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Miss Art's Papercrafting School is officially open!! The winner of Thursday's giveaway of a month's pass to Miss Art's is . . . Michelle!! Michelle, please email me with your contact info and preferred username.

You can now register for my "Secret Garden" Layout class (see the peaks from the post below). Some people have asked me about the pricing structure. You can find all the details on the Miss Art's new site, but here's a quick breakdown of what the 101 and 201 designations mean:

101 subscriptions are $10 per month, and include 3 classes. 101 classes are a bit smaller then 201 classes, and cover a wide array of subjects, from how-to's for specific projects to classes about using specific products and tools, to technique classes. 201 subscriptions are $5, and while you only get one class, it's a whopper of a class. 201 classes walk you through 1 or more projects, and you learn EVERYTHING you need to know about EVERY technique that goes into those projects. These classes are detailed, in depth, and utterly inspiring and they all have a coordinating kit available for purchase!

My class is a 201 class, so the cost is only $5 for all 12 of my video lessons (such a deal!!). Although registration opens today for my class, the class is self-paced so you can register at anytime during the next three months and watch the videos at your leisure. Students who subscribe to my 201 class will have 30 days access for the $5 monthly fee. The class will be available for 90 days at this level, but you will need to renew twice ($5) to view it for the full 90 days. After that, you can subscribe at the $15 level to view the class in the library/archives. Basically, all subscriptions purchase 30-day access. There's also a GORGEOUS Prima-filled kit to go along with the class called Madeline's Song. But you can buy the kit without taking the class and vice verse. If you sign up for the class, I'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments!

Before I sign off, I'll share another one of my Creating Keepsakes layouts. My girls love to play "Red Light, Green Light" on our front lawn.

As seen in the January 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Published with prior permission from the publisher.

We're off to go visit an adorable little kitten we're adopting (more about that soon!)

Just a few more days . . .

2011-04-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

Just a few more days until the Grand Opening of Miss Art's Papercrafting School! Woot, woot!! And because it's the week of April, this is the last Thursday that I'll be giving away a free month's subscription to Miss Art's. Please leave a comment to be entered in this week's drawing. I'd really love for you ALL to join me at Miss Art's in May, so even if you don't win (unfortunately I can only draw one name each week), please come check out the new site on May 1st! The winner of last week's giveaway is . . . Jocelyn!!!!! Please send me your email address and desired username for log in.

To recap, I am honored to be Miss Art's first "201" teacher when the new site launches in May. In my "The Secret Garden" Layout class we will create three layouts. Along the way I will show a variety techniques for adding texture and dimension to your pages, layering, clustering and - YES -- CROCHETING!! My grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was a little girl. Since then I've crocheted many blankets, funny looking booties and misshapen hats. I first got the idea to crochet on my scrapbook pages when I saw it done by the very talented Wendela Lam a couple years ago (thank you for the inspiration, Wendela!). I've been addicted to crocheting on my pages ever since. My Miss Art's lesson on crocheting will be geared towards people who have never crocheted before, though all levels are welcome!

Here are sneak peaks of the three layouts we'll be doing in my class:

I hope you'll join me in May at Miss Art's Papercrafting School!

Monday, Monday . . .

2011-04-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, everyone! After one of my busiest months ever, I'm finally coming up for air. Phew!!

I scrapped most of the weekend, but I took a little break yesterday to help my girls with a lemonade and cookie stand to raise money for their school. Their school is in dire financial straights and at risk of having many crucial programs cut and the class sizes increased next year (thanks to the huge budget deficit in our state and legislators who don't realize the importance of public education . . . but I digress).

Business was pretty slow under my supervision. During the first 45 minutes we only had two customers, and one of those was my mom who made a special trip to our house to support the girls' charitable and entrepreneurial endeavor (thanks Mom!).

The girls started to get bored and discouraged, and soon they began eating and drinking the profits (and I admit that I had a cookie or two). It was not going as planned. But then my husband came outside and, being the business "go-getter" he is, he shook things up a bit. Before I knew it, the signs were off the table and the girls were up on their feet, waving their signs and shouting "Lemonade and cookies! Support our school!"

That did the trick! People were smiling, honking, waving and . . . finally . . . stopping to buy lemonade and cookies. We had a constant flow of business for the next hour, and the girls raised $60 for their school! It's only a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed, but every little bit counts, right? Most importantly, the girls felt good about raising the money and they had a ball doing it. They're already planning their next sale!

Since Easter was yesterday, I thought I would share a page I created for Creating Keepsakes. My stepmother celebrates Easter, so every year the girls get to have an Easter egg hunt at her house. The journaling says: Every year you girls look forward to going Easter egg hunting at Grandpa and Mumsie's house. We've learned from past experience to count the eggs before we hide them so that we know when all the eggs have been found. A couple of times we've stumbled upon a treat-filled egg that we hid the previous year. Yuck! April 2010.

As seen in the March/April 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Published with prior permission from the publisher.

Have a great week!

Miss Art's Papercrafting School giveaway and another sneak peak

2011-04-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

The winner of last week's Miss Art's Papercrafting School month's subscription is: Lynette! Lynette, please email me with your full name, email and preferred username for the log in.

Don't forget to leave a comment here and post the Miss Art's countdown blinkie on your blog for another chance to win a free month's subscription to Miss Art's Papercrafting School. You can get the countdown code HERE. It will appear at the very top of your screen. Copy the entire code and paste it into the "Add HTML" section under "Design" in Blogger.

As I mentioned, I will be teaching Miss Art's 201 Level class for the month of May. It's called "The Secret Garden Layout Class," and I'll be leading you through three different layouts. The class will consist of 12 different videos full of techniques -- including crocheting on paper!! You get access to ALL of these videos for only $5 (such a deal!!). It's self-paced so you can watch the videos whenever you want and as often as you want during the term. Here's the description of my class:

There once was a girl who found her escape in a secret garden. While she worked to bring the flowers to bloom and the garden to life her soul was refreshed, and her creativity was sparked. In “The Secret Garden” Layout Class, teacher Stacy Cohen brings you layouts and techniques inspired by both flower gardens and by the “Madeline’s Song” Miss Art’s Papercrafting School kit.

Join Stacy in this 201 class to learn techniques for creating a shadowbox effect on your layouts, adding dimension through layering, and creating beautiful floral clusters. You will also have the chance to see a step-by-step demonstration on how Stacy creates her crocheted pages. Join Stacy in “The Secret Garden” on May 1, 2011.

Here's a sneak peak of one of the layouts I'll be teaching you in my class:

It's based on the amazing monthly kit for May entitled "Madeline's Song" which will be for sale on the Miss Art's website starting May 1st for only $28.50 (a $34.76 retail value, not including some extra goodies).

It's chock full of beautiful Prima papers, flowers, chipboard, crystals, and more. And the kit also includes some special surprise additions from my own special stash of trims.

Miss Art's will also be offering several great "101 Level Classes" next month (including a great class on customizing chipboard taught by Alyssa McGrew), so be sure and check those out too!

Creative Therapy Guest Artist

2011-04-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to be the Guest Artist at Creative Therapy this week! The catalyst is:

Tell us about a favorite or special piece of clothing.

I chose to do a layout about my favorite pair of Dearfoams slippers.

I used all Prima goodies on this page. The papers are from the beautiful Melody collection.

The journaling says: Nothing signifies comfort to me more than my soft and cozy Dearfoams slippers. I wear them at all times when I’m at home. The first thing I do when I walk in the house is take off my shoes and put on my slippers. They are the last thing I take off when I go to bed at night and the first thing I put on when I wake up in the morning. I’ve been wearing this same style and color of Dearfoams slippers for almost a decade, and I’ve worn out quite a few pairs over the years. I usually buy two pairs at a time so that I’ll always have an extra pair should one pair wear out. Combined with a thick pair of white socks, my feet are very happy inside these cushiony slippers, even in the hot summer months. They are on me all the time — while preparing meals for my family, while talking to clients on the phone, while cleaning the house, and of course while I’m scrapbooking. I never thought about it until now, but they are like a trusty old friend, always providing me comfort. I’d wear them everywhere if I could, even out to public places (and I’ve actually done that a couple times by accident). If you’re listening, Dearfoams Corporation, thank you for making such comfortable slippers. Please don’t ever stop making style number DF672, color black. They are my hands down favorite thing to wear.

Of course I'm wearing my beloved slippers right now as I type this blog post. Ahhhhhhh, pure comfort. I hope you're feeling comfortable and cozy today too!!

A little more about Miss Art's Papercrafting School . . .

2011-04-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a little bit more about Miss Art's Papercrafting School and the online class series I will be teaching in May (see my post below). The online classes are a total bargain! Here's the price breakdown:

$5 - 201 Subscription: Miss Art's 201 classes are composed of 10-12 videos, and are perfect for the crafter seeking to learn new moderate to advanced skills and detailed techniques. In these monthly classes, our industry-leading teachers bring you 8-12 videos taking you through a detailed project, and teaching you every technique they use along the way. As a 201 student, you will have the unique opportunity to participate in a live online chat and receive personal email responses from the teacher.

$10 - 101 Subscription: Miss Art's 101 classes are posted every 10 days, and are designed for the crafter who loves having a constant flow of new ideas, fun tips, and techniques. These classes are video based, and range in length from 2-6 videos. As a 101 student, you will have access to live online chats with some of your favorite designers and teachers, as well as personal email responses every time you have a question.

$15 - Extra Credit Subscription Miss Art's Extra Credit subscription includes access to all of our classes, at the 101 and 201 levels, providing you with a total of 4 new classes every month. As an Extra Credit student, you will also receive a Library Pass, which will enable you to see classes that have been posted for 90 days and archived in the library.

I will be teaching the 201 classes in May, during which time we will put together three . . . count 'em THREE . . . layouts filled with texture, flowers, bling and a touch of shabby chic, and I'll share lots of tips and techniques along the way. I will even be doing a video lesson teaching you how to crochet on your pages!

Here's a sneak peak of one of the layouts I created for the class:

Sign-ups will begin on May 1st on the Miss Art's Papercrafting School website. But in the meantime be sure to check out Miss Art's Facebook page for a chance to win some prizes!

And don't forget about all the blog giveaways this month (see my Miss Art's post below). I'll be giving away one free monthly all access Extra Credit subscription every Thursday to a lucky winner who leaves a comment on my Miss Art's blog post AND posts the count down blinkie in their sidebar! So leave a comment here before next Thursday. You can get the countdown code HERE. It will appear at the very top of your screen. Copy the entire code, and paste it into the "Add HTML" section under "Design" in Blogger.

Miss Art's Papercrafting School winner

2011-04-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all the encouraging comments on my last post about Miss Art's Papercrafting School. The winner of the all access Extra Credit subscription for a month is Creatingme! I will contact you to get your info. Congrats!!

I've been busy working on lots of projects I can't share just yet, so in the meantime here's one of my recent Prima projects. It's based on the March BAP and features papers from the Sweet Fairy collection.

Check back here this Thursday for some sneak peaks of my Miss Art's class projects and another chance to win a month's subscription!

Come join me at Miss Art's Papercrafting School!! And did I mention a giveaway or two?

2011-04-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

I have something very fun and exciting to share with you all today . . .

Have you ever wished there was a school which only taught your favorite classes, that had the best teachers and where tuition was so affordable it left you plenty to buy the most stylish school supplies?

Miss Art's Papercrafting School is a virtual academy for every student who wants to learn the latest techniques from the paper crafting industry's leading experts and it is opening its doors for the first time in 23 days. In the meantime, you can check out the current classes on stash-to-treasure.net where Bethany Kartchner is currently teaching an "All About Me" album.

Subscriptions to the monthly classes start at only $5.00 (such a bargain!) and include live online chats and personal email responses from your favorite designers. Consisting of 2 - 12 videos with unlimited monthly access, each class is the perfect blend of individualized crafting and supportive learning. You may purchase Miss Art's reasonable kits to compliment your course or pull items from your own stash using the detailed supply lists.

To countdown to the grand opening, select teachers and staff will be participating in a month long blog celebration. Be sure to check back each Thursday as I will be sharing information about Miss Art’s with you.

And I'm very excited to announce that I will be Miss Art's first teacher when it opens in May!! My class will be entitled "The Secret Garden," and I will be showing you how to create three different layouts that I created just for this class and available only to subscribers. Through a series of 12 video lessons, you'll see how to put together the three layouts from start to finish and you'll learn a variety of techniques, including how to crochet on your pages!!

The first Miss Art's exclusive kit is a BEAUTY! "Madeline's Song" (available May 1st) is loaded with gorgeous Prima papers, flowers and embellishments, as well as some vintage goodies and trims. Here's a peak at the gorgeous kit (there are a few other items that aren't shown):

Nervous about trying something new? Most new students have a few first day jitters, so we want to give you the chance to get to know us better. Each business day (Monday-Friday) in the month of April we will be giving away one free monthly all access Extra Credit subscription to a lucky winner who leaves a comment on the staff member of the day’s post and posts our count down blinkie in their sidebar! Just leave a comment here and post the blinkie on your blog before Saturday night at Midnight, PST and I'll draw one lucky winner. You can get the countdown code HERE. It will appear at the very top of your screen. Copy the entire code, and paste it into the "Add HTML" section under "Design" in Blogger.

Miss Art’s Papercrafting School Blog Celebration Schedule for the month of April:

Monday: Bethany Kartchner
Tuesday: Heidi Kelley
Wednesday: CarrieAnne Deloach

Thursday: Me!! Be sure and check back every week!
Friday: Alyssa McGrew

Please come join us on Facebook for a chance to win this great prize package:

Thanks for celebrating with Miss Art’s as we count down to the best first day of school ever! Don't forget to leave a comment here and post the count down blinkie on your blog for a chance to win a free monthly subscription to Miss Art's.

A few more Fancy Pants projects to share

2011-04-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have a few more projects to share that I made as the Guest Designer this month for Fancy Pants. I had a BALL playing with all these beautiful products! Here's a layout featuring pictures of Rebecca in Hawaii a few years ago.

I used papers, ribbon, die-cuts and chipboard from the Beach Babe collection, and I added a glitter cut flower from the It's the Little Things line for good measure. I made the little droplets using Shimmerz' new Pink Stiletto Coloringz.

One of my favorite new Fancy Pants products are the new Filter Papers. I used them to make the large blue flower and the small rolled rosettes (I colored them with Shimmerz).

I made the paper roses using a petal punch made by Punch Bunch.

I also made a couple pairs of shoes using my Shoe Template. The papers are from the elegant It's the Little Things line.

I made the big flowers here using the Filter Papers. I colored them with Shimmerz and added some glitter to the alternating layers.

One more pair . . .

Thank you Jodi and Fancy Pants for having me as your Guest Designer this month! It's been a true honor and pleasure!

Fancy Pants Guest Designer!

2011-04-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled and honored to be the Guest Designer for Fancy Pants this month! I fell in love with the new collections when I saw them at CHA, especially the It's the Little Things and Beach Babe lines. Here are a couple of the projects I created . . .

The new Beach Babe line is so fun and colorful! It's perfect for these Hawaii pictures that I never got around to scrapping.

This line comes with lots of adorable chipboard and die-cut pieces. I had a ball dressing them up with rhinestones and Shimmerz paint. I also added some real sand to the paper.

Another close-up:

This page was made with the beautiful new It's the Little Things line. I just love the color combo and patterns!

I used lots of different Fancy Pants goodies on this page -- paper, chipboard pieces, die-cuts, a rub-on (the journaling circle), a metal piece, flowers (yep! these are Fancy Pants too), and the great new chipboard alphas (I love these!). Here's a close-up of the crocheted, curled and machine-stitched curvy border:

I was giddy with delight when I first opened my box of Fancy Pants products. My sweet kitty, Smokey, was too:

(Luckily I had already removed all the goodies before he decided that the box would be a fun play toy for him.)

I'll be back in the next couple of days to post my other Fancy Pants projects!!

P.S. Did you notice the new blinkie on the left sidebar? Stay tuned for the deets!

Where does the time go?

2011-03-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Lily Bee has a great new line called Stationery. The subtle patterns and colors are perfect for mixing and matching with the bolder patterns of the other Lily Bee collections, and they also look great on their own. Here's a page I created using a couple of the Stationery papers and the adorable banner stickers from the Happily Lost line. The cute little 3-year-old girl of mine in these photos just turned 9 years old a couple weeks ago! Where does the time go???

I recently purged a bunch of my old scrapbook supplies and I came across several packs of Chatterbox wood frames that I bought about 5 years ago in my early days of scrapping. I challenged myself to use an entire pack of them on this page.

I added droplets of Sea Foam Spritz to the paper and then typed my journaling on a transparency. The beauty of printing the journaling on a transparency is that the words blend in nicely with the background and don't completely cover up the beautiful paper.

A fond farewell . . . my design team term with Lily Bee is coming to an end this month, and after much vacillation I've decided not to continue on for another term. I want to slow down a bit over the coming months and not scrap quite as much as I have been over the past year (which has pretty much been ALL the time). It's been a wonderful experience being on the Lily Bee design team, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity (thank you, Kristen!). I can't wait to see who makes the new Lily Design Team!

10 Year Anniversary

2011-03-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today my husband and I are celebrating our 10-year anniversary. He proposed to me in a very special way. The background story is that we used to go out for Chinese food every Sunday night when we were dating, and we topped off every meal with fortune cookies. One Sunday night our waitress placed the usual plate of fortune cookies on our table. I reached for one, unwrapped the plastic wrapper, and broke open the cookie to get my fortune. I discovered that it was no ordinary fortune cookie. Inside was a handmade fortune written by hubby (then boyfriend-soon-to-be-fiance). In tiny letters he had written some beautiful sentiments, followed by the words, "will you marry me?" Of course I said yes!!

I later found out that my husband had gone to the restaurant a few days before to get one of our regular fortune cookies. He carefully cut open the plastic, then he used hot steam from boiling water to open the fortune cookie without breaking it. After replacing the fortune with his own message, he steamed the cookie shut, then placed it back in the plastic wrapper and glued the wrapper closed with a dab of crazy glue. He snuck it in his jacket pocket that Sunday night and secretly slipped it to our waitress. Thank goodness she didn't accidentally deliver it to the wrong table!

The table favors at our wedding were beautifully embellished cellophane bags containing white and dark chocolate-dipped fortune cookies to commemorate the sweet proposal. One of the messages tucked inside some of the fortune cookies was this lovely quote: "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be." I used the quote as the title for this page:

I made this page with Prima products, including one of the new canvas sheets that I used as the base for the page. The canvas comes painted with these colorful butterflies. I added clusters of colorful embellishments to match the colors on the canvas underneath.

To highlight the photos and give the rest of the page some subtle sparkle, I coated the area outside of my stitched circle with Mod Podge, then I sprinkled glitter over it while it was still wet.

Thanks for stopping by!!

New Shimmerz Products!

2011-03-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've been busy the last few days planning for my daughter's 9th birthday party yesterday. We had planned to have the celebration at a local miniature golf place, but when I found out last week that heavy rains were predicted for the day, I had to scramble and plan a party indoors at our house. So we had ten very energetic and sometimes bickering 8 and 9 year old girls here yesterday for 4 hours straight. Music blasting, girls jumping on the furniture and running throughout the house . . . EEEsh! Our poor cat didn't know what to make of all the ruckus and decided to seek refuge in a quiet place under my desk. What is it about this age? They seem to have a lot of disagreements with each other. The tears! The drama! The conflict! And that was just me!!! But seriously, they all seemed to have a good time for the most part. And I don't have to think about planning another birthday party for a while, so all is well.

I want to tell you a little bit more about two great new product lines that Shimmerz has added to it's line-up of gorgeous sprays . . .

Coloringz were created with bright, vibrant crayons in mind. They are super opaque, highly saturated colors without shimmer. I love them because they are great for saturating lace and other items with rich, solid color. Yet they are still water-based and clean up with soap and water like the other Shimmerz products. My favorites are Mama Sings the Blues and Pink Stiletto.

Shimmeringz are non-pigmented, highly iridescent sprays that can be used on their own or layered with any of the other Shimmerz products. We're talking serious "bling" here!

And the good news is that Scrapbook.com now sells Shimmerz products. My new favorite color is Mama Sings the Blues. So when you're doing your scrappy shopping there, you can throw some new Coloringz and Shimmeringz into your cart!

Happy Birthday my Sweet Rebecca

2011-03-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

My not-so-little girl is turning 9 today! Happy Birthday, sweet Rebecca! Here's a Prima layout I made with pictures of her from a couple years ago. She's still my little fairy princess!

Every year I make handmade cards for my girls on their birthdays. Inside the cards I write a long letter to them sharing my warm feelings about them, about who they are, who they have become, and I tell them how wonderful I think they are at their new age. After they look at the birthday card and I read the note to them, I tuck it safely away in a box to be saved for them when they are older. Someday -- maybe when they are 18 and going off to college -- I will hand them the box full of these cards that I've made for them every year since they were babies. Here's the card I made for Rebecca this year:

*SIGH* I just wish she would slow down with this whole growing up thing!

Headbands

2011-03-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

My daughters love to wear headbands. Danielle, especially, is enamored with them. There was a period of time when she would not leave the house without a headband on her head. So before she outgrows the headband phase (which hopefully won't happen for a few more years), I've been having fun making some flowery headbands.

Here's Danielle modeling them for me. I made these first three headbands with Prima's gorgeous flowers and trim. Prima now makes plain headbands that you can embellish yourself.

Here's a headband I made using paper's from Lily Bee's Lovely line.

I made the flowers using various punches, then I coated them with Mod Podge to protect the paper.

The only problem now is that my girls fight over who gets to wear which headband. *sigh* Next time I'll make duplicates.

By the way, I widened my blog columns to (hopefully) make my blog look less cluttered and easier to read. It looks fine on my screen, but please let me know if it looks wonky on any of your screens! And pursuant to a request, I added FeedBurner "subscribe by email" to the sidebar.

Have a great day!

Prima happenings

2011-03-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Have you seen all the beautiful new Prima products trickling into stores? There's so much great stuff! I have lots of Prima projects I haven't posted yet. Here are a couple:

Here's a layout using some of the brand new goodies. The new flowers and rub-ons are heavenly!

Here's a calendar I made using two acrylic sheets and some of the products from Prima's beautiful Sparkling Spring Collection:

Want to win some goodies? Prima has a fabulous giveaway on their Facebook Page right now. Be sure and "like" them and follow the instructions for a chance to win a great prize!

Creating Keepsakes February cover layout plus a downloadable dog template . . .

2011-03-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

I was honored to be asked to create the cover layout for the February 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes:

Here's a close-up of the layout:

As seen on the cover of the February 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

Some people have asked me about the boy on the cover. No, that's not my son (nor my puppy). But they sure are cute, aren't they?! I've also been asked about the paper pieced dog peaking over the title strip. I made it myself by simply sketching the shapes on cardstock and cutting them out. Then I added ink, chalk and pen for the highlights and markings. And since some people have expressed an interest, I created a template that you can download and print. You can find my downloadable pattern on the Club CK blog: Doggie Die-Cut Template.

Tootles!!

A girl and her shoes . . .

2011-02-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

You might have seen the paper shoes that I posted on my blog a little while back. In case you missed it, here's the shoe post that includes a link to the template I created. I made some of these shoes for the Lily Bee booth at CHA . . . one pair for each new paper collection: This & That, Happily Lost, and Picket Fence. After all, a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes, right?

This & That:

Picket Fence:

I used the fabulous new Shimmerz Coloringz and Shimmeringz to color the red lace and the blue flowers on this one.

And last but not least, Happily Lost:

In case you missed the last time, here's the downloadable, printable shoe template I created:

Shoe Template

Now if only these were my size . . .

Have a great day!!

Catchin' Up . . .

2011-02-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhhhh . . . sweet Friday.

Here's a Prima layout I did a while back. The picture of my girls was taken at Claire's boutique. For those of you who don't have a Claire's in your city, it's a chain of stores that sells thrinkets geared towards young girls -- costume jewelry, headbands, lip gloss, nail polish, hair clips, little stuffed animals, etc. My girls LOVE Claire's and whenever we go to the mall they beg to go there. When my parents are with us, they always give the girls a little spending money and let them pick out a thing or two. Because Claire's is a big favorite of their's, I really wanted to take pictures of my girls shopping and do a layout. But I quickly found out that Claires does NOT allow photography in their store, even if I'm only taking pictures of my children and not close-ups of their products. I've actually been busted twice! Shame on me. I guess they are afraid that people might try and copy their products. I did manage to get a couple pictures of my girls before I was told "no photos please," and I scrapped this page of them. Hey, I figure it's good advertising for the store, right?

I altered the Prima felt strip by first painting it with acrylic paint, then I coated it with Doodlebug's Lily White glitter (my "go to" glitter these days).

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I decided to lighten and brighten up my blog a bit and go with a subtle background. Even though I loved my previous turquoise damask patterned background, I think a plain background is less distracting and it's easier on the eyes. What do you think? I also widened the margins and added another column so that everything isn't so cluttered. Simple is sometimes better when it comes to blog design, right? I think it's also about time I update my blog header, so I'll be playing around with that soon.

For Valentine's Day, I made a little project for the Lily Bee blog. I used papers from Lily Bee's new This & That line to alter a Valentine candy box.

I made the paper ruffle and painted the edges with Fire Engine Red Shimmerz. I sprinkled red glitter over the Shimmerz paint for good measure. I added black Stickles to the beautiful damask pattern on the black and white Lily Bee paper.

Hungry? How about a little peak inside . . .

They look good enough to eat, don't they? Not so fast! I made these scrumptious looking chocolates out of Fimo polymer clay (the beads are the giveaway).

But here's the BEST part. My jester husband saw the finished project and decided to play a little joke. When I was in the other room, he snuck into my scrap room and found my Fimo clay. He made his own little piece of "chocolate", complete with a "bite" taken out of it (he used the handle of a fork to make the teeth marks). Then he replaced one of the the chocolates in my candy box with the one he made. So imagine my surprise when I opened up the box to photograph it and saw a half eaten chocolate!!

Funny man, that hubby of mine! I think I'll keep it this way.

I hope you have a wonderful, chocolate-filled Valentine's Day!!

Mess, Mess, Mess . . . plus the CK Special Issue winner

2011-02-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

Mess, mess, mess . . . the last couple of days have been all about cleaning up messes:

1. My daughter, Danielle, got a frozen chocolate custard cup at school yesterday. She didn't have time to eat it at lunchtime, so she decided to put it in her backpack and save it for later. Say whaaaaaat?? I don't think she thought that one through. You can only imagine the mess it made when the top came off and the chocolate custard spilled all over the inside of her backpack. And since she had a playdate after school, I didn't find her little mess until the evening, by which time the chocolate had solidified in every nook and cranny. Eesh.

2. Our sweet cat had an upset tummy yesterday. (Hairballs?? I'm not sure. I'm new to this whole cat thing, so I'd appreciate any words of wisdom from any of you experienced cat mommies). I'll spare you the gory details, but one of the spots was on my very cluttered desk. He likes to sleep on top of the printer while I'm working on the computer, and it's right near a stack of papers, stapler, remote control, etc. Not fun cleaning all that up, noooooooooo.

3 A container of Italian dressing jumped out of the refrigerator and spilled all over the floor. Salad, anyone?

I'm hoping today is a mess-free day. And I'm hoping that my sweet cat who's sitting here next to me on top of the computer isn't planning on leaving me any more "presents".

Sorry for the delay in announcing the WINNER of the Creating Keepsake's new special issue, Scrapbooking Tips &; Tricks, Texture. Without further ado, the random number generator site chose number 10, which is . . . .drumroll . . . .

Renee!! Congrats! Renee, please email your address.

Turning to scrappy stuff, here are the results of a fun little page swap the Prima Design Team members did a little while back (but I never got around to posting it). We swapped pictures of ourselves and scrapped each other. I scrapped pictures of the very talented Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Julie has a beautiful and colorful artsy style, so I created this page of her "Julie style":

Here is the fabulous layout that Julie created with pictures of me:

I love it, Julie! It was so much fun participating in this little swap. Give it a try with one of your scrappy friends!

Back From CHA

2011-02-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

I'm back from CHA and I had a blast! It was fun to connect with so many wonderful friends and to make some new ones too. I tell ya, the scrapbooking community is such a warm and wonderful group of people. I'm thrilled to be part of it! And of course there were LOTS of fabulous new scrapbooking products to see. Trends I noticed: circus themed papers and embellishments (I'm using some of them right now!), mustaches (huh??), more flowers and vintage-themed papers (love it all!), trinkets galore, banners (yep, they're still very in apparently), and lots of altered dress forms. I saw many "must haves" that I can't wait to get my hands on. Though I don't think I can see myself adding mustaches to my scrapbook pages. Unless I can get my hubby to grow a mustache. Hmmmmmmm.

Here is one of the layouts I made for the Prima booth. This is from the new Celebrate line. I crocheted around the edge and added some Prima lace, then I created a little patchwork background.

As I mentioned above, altered dress forms were very popular at CHA. I spotted them in several different booths. Prima had several life-sized dress forms adorned with all the beautiful new papers and flowers. GORGEOUS!! I didn't know that altered dress forms were going to be so popular when I made this one for the Prima booth:

I used the new Prima laces to make the skirt. I ADORE the new Prima flowers, lace and trinkets:

I have a lot more to share in the coming weeks!

It's giveaway time again . . .

2011-02-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Creating Keepsake's newest special issue is out, and it's a definite "must have" . . . Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks, Texture:

This special issue is full of ideas for adding texture to your pages to make them really stand out. Ideas include faux stitching, layering, things to do with trims, and adding texture to your titles. Here's a little peak at a layout I did for the magazine. I made a 3D-shadow box pages using layers of paper popped up with dimensional adhesive:

You can purchase a copy of the issue HERE. Use coupon code TEXTDT and you can get free shipping on orders of $25 or more (expires on March 31, 2011).

And once again the wonderful people at Creating Keepsakes are allowing me to giveaway a copy of this issue to one blog reader. If you'd like to throw your hat into the ring, just leave a comment here before Sunday at Midnight, and I'll draw a random name next week.

CHA starts today!

2011-01-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

CHA starts today, and I'm so happy it's right here in LA this time. I'm going with the wonderful ladies from Creating Keepsakes magazine and some of my fellow CK Dream Members. I can't wait!

Here's one of the projects I made for the Prima booth. I used Prima's new Madeline line, which is one of my all time favorite collections.

I used some of Prima's beautiful new flowers and leaves, and I made the little starfish and shell out of polymer clay.

Tootles for now!

Creating Keepsakes Style Swap

2011-01-27T10:56:00.000-08:00

I'm a lean, mean, blogging machine this week! That's another old TV show reference -- from the Gong Show. Remember that one? I must have old TV shows on my brain this week. Anyhow, I've been blogging a lot because I'm trying to catch up on posting my older projects so that I can post some of the new stuff I've been creating for CHA. I have a whole bunch of Prima projects to share. The new Prima products are gorg-e-o-us!!! There are too many sneaks to post here, but you can see some of the new flowers and other goodies on the Prima blog. Make sure you scroll down to see all the sneaks that have been posted over the past couple of weeks.

Creating Keepsakes has a fun challenge in this month's issue. A bunch of the Dream Team members were asked to swap styles with another Dream Team member. My style is described as "Shabby Chic." This layout is more typical of my normal shabby chic style, with lots of layers, flowers, lace, stitching or crocheting, etc.:

As seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I was asked to switch styles with CK Dream Team member Linda Barber, who is the queen of "Clean and Simple" pages. All of her pages are eye-catching, well-designed and include heartfelt journaling. I find "Clean and Simple" a lot more challenging than doing detailed pages, and they take me just as long. That's because to achieve a really good "minimalistic" page, all of the basic elements -- design, photos and journaling -- really need to stand out. Here was my attempt at a Clean and Simple page:

As seen in the January 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

The journaling on this layout says: My sweet Rebecca, there’s something you should know. I will always be there for you. As you get older and experience life’s ups and downs, you can come to me for encouragement and support. I hope more than anything that your life is full of happiness, love, and success in whatever you do. But in times when you falter or you’re feeling down, I will be there to lift you up.

I had a lot of fun stepping outside of my box on this one. Can you believe, there's not a single Prima flower in sight on this page?? That was the hardest part for me about going Clean and Simple. So I challenge you to try stepping out of your box and scrapping in a style that's different for you. Give it a try!!

I'm off to the LA Convention Center to drop off my projects for CHA. I'll be there when the show opens in a couple days, so if you're going, I hope to see you!

Lily Bee CHA Sneak Peaks

2011-01-26T10:21:00.000-08:00

Wait until you see the new Lily Bee collections! The papers are fresh off the press just in time for CHA this weekend. Here are the sneak peaks of the fabulous new lines:

I just received all the new papers, and let me tell you, they are gorgeous! I started working on a couple things for the Lily Bee booth at CHA, but I can't show them just yet. In the meantime, I'll share a couple projects I made with past Lily Bee lines.

This is a layout that I made quite a while ago. It was just published in the "Make It Yours" column of the February 2011 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. (it was supposed to appear in an issue last year, but it got bumped a couple times).

Here's a little card I made with papers from the last release:

Thanks for stopping by!

Snaggletooth

2011-01-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

The tooth fairy has been very busy at our house recently. There's been a mass exodus of teeth from Danielle's mouth during the last couple of weeks. I . . . ahem . . . I mean the tooth fairy . . . can barely keep up! Every time Danielle looses a tooth, she gets a handwritten and decorated note from the tooth fairy, some fairy dust sprinkled around her pillow, and of course, some money. The poor tooth fairy is going to go broke! Danielle still has one more loose tooth in the center of her mouth. I affectionately call her "Snaggletooth." Ugh . . . there I go again dating myself with old cartoon references. Here's a picture of my sweet little Snaggletooth:

And let me tell you what my sweet Danielle wanted to do with all her money. One day at school they showed the kids a video about the devastation in Haiti and the stagnate relief efforts. Seeing all the homeless children really struck a cord with Danielle. So the other night she came to me with all the money she had been saving in her piggy bank (around $40+), and she said she wanted to give it to the children in Haiti because they need it more than she does. I was so proud of her!! I praised her for her generosity and caring heart. I could see that while she was happy to be helping out those in need, she was also a little sad about giving up her entire savings. So I suggested that rather than donate all her money, she could give a small amount and Daddy and I would kick in some money to supplement the donation. That made her happy. I'm a proud mama!

Here's another little project I made for the Prima booth at CHA last summer. I bought this little evening bag for $1.00 at my local flea market. It was missing a couple rhinestones on the front, but otherwise it was in excellent condition.

Here it is after I embellished it with lovely Prima flowers, leaves, rhinestones and pearls:

Soon I'll be posting some of the projects I made for Winter CHA coming up this weekend.

Last but not least, it's time to announce the winner of the most recent blog giveaway. The winner of Creating Keepsakes new special issue: The Organized & Inspired Scrapper, is MELISSA! Congrats Melissa! I'll contact you to get your address, or feel free to email me with it. Thanks for playing along, everyone!

Prima - Wearable Art

2011-01-21T11:42:00.000-08:00

I've been busy working on Prima projects for CHA next weekend. Wait until you see all the gorgeous new goodies they're coming out with! Prima never ceases to disappoint. Before I start posting my newly made projects, I want to post some Prima projects I made for the last CHA that I never got around to posting here. Wait, let me go into Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine. Okay, I realize that I'm totally dating myself. Does anybody else remember that cartoon? All I really remember is the Wayback machine. But I digress.

Prima makes so many wonderful embellishments that you can use not just on your scrapbook pages, but also on clothing and other items. Here are some "wearable art" projects I made.

A bracelet using Prima's pebbles:

A tank top adorned with Prima flowers and leaves:

Have a wonderful weekend!!

New Shimmerz and yet another Creating Keepsakes Giveaway

2011-01-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Shimmerz is releasing two brand new products, and they're gorgeous! Coloringz is a brand new product line in the Shimmerz family. They are super opague with highly saturated colors without any shimmer.

There will be ten colors in this release for Coloringz:
Mama Sings The Blues – a bright turquoise
Mandrin My Tie – an orange/yellow
My Bleeding Heart – deep, bright red
Anchors Away – deep navy blue
Valentino – a beautiful salmon/pink
Ivy League – an olive green
Lime In Da Coconut – a bright lime green
Mon-Shari – a vibrant blue/purple
No Yolking – a super bright yellow
Pink Stiletto – a hot, hot pink
Tropical Tan Line – a vintage tan

Shimmerzingz is another brand new product line in the Shimmerz family. They are super shimmery sprays with only shimmer and no color! There will be five Shimmeringz debuting in this line:
Heavy Metal - a combo of 3 different metallics
Goldie Lox - gold shimmer
Concrete - silver shimmer
Baby's Breath - white shimmer
Bronze Bomshell - bronze shimmer

You'll be able to see some beautiful samples tomorrow on the Shimmerz blog. These new products will be on sale in the Shimmerz store tomorrow. If you place an order, type my name in the comment section and tell them I sent you!

Winner, winner chicken dinner. My girls helped me draw a number for the winner of CK's new special issue: The Best of Digital Scrapbooking, and the winner is . . .Jocelyn!! Congrats, Jocelyn! I'll contact you to get your address.

And how about another CK giveaway?? Creating Keepsakes has another fabulous new special issue out: The Organized & Inspired Scrapper.

This book is filled with great ideas and tools for organizing your scrap space. You'll find storage solutions that fit your own personal needs, and you'll be inspired by all the gorgeous workspaces! You can order a copy of this book in the CK Store (enter coupon code DS25DT for free shipping on orders of $25 or more, expires 2/11/11). For a chance to win a copy of this special issue, just leave a comment here by Sunday at Midnight. You can also find great organizational tips on the CK blog this week!

I've been busy working on projects for CHA. I'll have a lot to share in the coming weeks (including some past projects that I never got around to posting).

Monkey See, Monkey Do . . . Lily Bee

2011-01-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I have a Lily Bee layout to share today . . .

The papers are from Lily Bee's Christmas Town and Domestic Bliss lines. I used Pop Art Pink Vibez and Caribbean Sunset and Mango Madness Spritz on white Prima flowers. I used Coal Shimmerz on a vintage crocheted doily.

These pictures are near and dear to my heart. They are photos of my stepfather with my daughter when she was two-years old (she's now 8). They liked to play "Monkey See, Monkey Do." My stepfather would walk with his arms folded and then my daughter would copy him and walk with her arms folded. He'd move his hands behind his back and she'd move her arms behind her back, and so on and so on (you get the picture). My daughter always kept a straight face, but the rest of us would crack up every time she copied his actions.

My mom and stepfather loved these two pictures, so they framed them and proudly hung them on their living room wall where they've been displayed for the past 6+ years.

Sadly, my stepfather passed away a couple months ago. We all miss him terribly. As a gift to my mom, I made this layout for her and put it in a shadow box frame to go on the wall.

Another Creating Keepsakes Special Issue Giveaway!

2011-01-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

If you’ve been wanting to give digital scrapbooking a try, you should check out Creating Keepsake's newest special issue, The Best of Digital Scrapbooking.

You’ll find easy-to-follow tips, easy template tricks, brush basics, photo-enhancing secrets, and more! I personally loved some of the great Photoshop tips and tutorials included in this issue. The wonderful folks at CK are letting me give away a copy of this special issue to one lucky blog reader. If you'd like to win a copy, please leave a comment here on this post before the end of the day on Sunday, January 16th. Also, here's a free shipping code to use on your next order in the CK store: DS25DT (free shipping on orders of $25 or more).

And while we're on the topic of Creating Keepsakes, let me share a layout that appears in the January issue of CK. I got to play with the beautiful papers from Making Memories' Reverie line:

As seen in the January 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

This is a picture of my mom and dad sitting in front of the fireplace with my grandparents (my mom's parents) in 1962, the year after my parents got married. Yep . . . hanging out with the in-laws. I wonder what they were talking about that day . . .

I used Shimmerz' Gold Glimmer Blingz on the chipboard alphas:

I'm honored that this layout was chosen as the featured Project of the Day at 2peas today:

Thank you, 2Peas!

Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of CK's new special digital issue!

Favorite Projects of 2010

2011-01-06T01:30:00.000-08:00

I've enjoyed blog hopping around the internet and seeing other scrappers' personal "Favorite Layouts of 2010", so I thought I'd follow suit. I had a fun and productive year last year, and I'm so very grateful for all the wonderful scrapbooking opportunities that came my way. Here are some of my favorite projects from 2010 (in no particular order):

Thank you for indulging me! And thank you so much for visiting my blog last year and for all your lovely comments. I really appreciate it! I hope you will stop by frequently again this year. I promise to start blogging more often again!

Back to the blogging world . . .

2010-12-27T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Hanukkah, Christmas, or whatever you celebrate at this time of year.

I know I've been neglecting my blog lately and I've been bad about blog hopping and visiting you gals. I hope to get back to all that soon! We went out of town last week and now I'm still working hard every day to get my house and scraproom back in order. Before I put all my scrap supplies back in my scraproom, I'm sorting through everything and trying to purge all my excess "scrap crap" (as my husband calls it). How do we scrappers end up accumulating so much *stuff*???

I'm way behind on posting projects here. These are some gift card holders I made for Hanukkah using packaging and other recycled items. I made this first gift card holder using a long piece of printed cardboard packaging from Prima Vines. I cut the stars from Prima cardboard packaging and covered them with glitter.

The piece of cardboard packaging was about 12 x 3 inches long. You could just as easily use a long scrap of heavy cardstock or patterned paper. I simply folded over a little piece for the flap and then folded the remainder in half. I put Velcro dots on the flap so that it stays closed. I added a pocket on the inside to hold the gift card.

I made this next gift card holder using the clear packaging from Prima flowers. I hand stitched two of them together, leaving the top side open so that the gift card can be inserted.

If you’re like me and you save all your scraps of paper, why not use them to make gift card holders? There are so many printable templates to be found online. I found this great little pillow box template on JersGirl's website. It's the perfect size for holding gift cards. Just print, trace onto paper, cut, fold and embellish. I tied mine up with ribbon and added a little Hanukkah embellishment.

Altoid anyone? Altoid tins are just big enough to hold a gift card. I took an empty Altoid tin and covered it with Mod Podge, then I poured glitter over it. Mod Podge works very well with glitter on metal!

Sorry I'm posting these after the fact. Better late than never, I guess.

I'm hoping to get back to blogging and blog hopping on a regular basis very soon!

Winners of the Creating Keepsakes giveaway and a Prima layout.

2010-12-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

It's done, it's done!! Our kitchen is finally finished and I absolutely love it! I've been busy over the past week putting things away and trying to clean up, but it's been a very slow process. As soon as I get everything back in place I will take pictures and post them. Today was going to be "the" day that I finally put away the last of the kitchen stuff, but then I broke/sprained/severely bruised (not sure which it is) my pinky toe last night. Ouch!!! I banged it HARD into the corner of the shower tile edge while walking by, and it hurt like the dickens! It still does. So I'm out of commission for a while . . . no heavy duty cleaning for me today. You know what they say about the best laid plans. I guess it's a sign that I need to take it easy today.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!! I had my daughters help me pick random numbers for the winners of the Creating Keepsakes Special Issues. Without further ado . . .
The winner of Scrapbooking Everyday Memories is Anabelle.
The winner of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Stamps & Ink is Liana Suwandi

Congrats ladies! Please email me your mailing addresses.

I'm behind again on posting projects. Here's a Prima layout I made based on the December Build-a-Page:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Paper Shoe Template

2010-12-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

I finally finished the shoe template and tutorial, and I'm thrilled to share them with all of you! In case you missed the previous post, I made these little shoes:

I knew I wanted to make a high heeled slip-on mule style of shoe, so I played around with scraps of paper until I got each piece just right. It took quite a bit of trial and error, but then it finally came together. If you'd like to try and make a pair yourself, here's the template and instructions:

Download here:

Shoe Template

Here is a step-by-step tutorial with pictures:

1. Cut out the template pieces: Trace the template pieces onto your paper and cut them out. You can also print the template directly onto the backside of the paper you want to use, since you’ll be able to make sure that the side with words and cut/fold lines doesn’t show on the finished shoe.

2. Upper: Make little cuts where indicated on the shoe upper. The cuts allow you to bend and mold the edges to fit around the edge of the sole.

3. Adhere the shoe upper to the sole: Fold over the little cut edges of the shoe upper and adhere them along the edges of sole - top layer (the larger one). A strong, quick-dry glue like Beacon’s Fabri-tac or Zip Dry glue works well. This step is a little bit tricky because the edges of the upper don’t fit perfectly onto the sole, so you have to play with the paper a bit until you get all the edges glued down evenly along the edge of the sole.

Tip: Rather than place the pieces on a flat surface while you glue these pieces together, it’s better to hold them in your hand while you glue so that you don’t crush the shoe. The underside of the shoe will look like this:

4. Bottom sole: Glue the sole - bottom layer (the smaller one) underneath the shoe to cover up the cut edges and to give the shoe more stability.

When you turn it over it will look like this (a flat mule):

5. The heel: Make the folds where indicated on the heel and fold them inward. First glue the side flaps together, then glue the top flap over onto the heel. Glue the heel onto the bottom of the shoe.

6. Finishing the shoe: Make the folds in the shoe where indicated by the dashed lines on the template. Your shoe is done and ready to embellish! I used Prima papers, flowers, felt and crystals on these:

If you make a pair of these shoes, I'd love to see them! Please come back and post a link or email me. Have fun!!

Hanukkah Layouts

2010-12-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah is in full swing! With so much going on and our house in complete shambles, Hanukkah has been a bit different for us this year. Normally I do all my gift shopping ahead of time and place all the wrapped gifts in front of the fireplace and put up Hanukkah decorations so our house looks very festive. This year I've had to wing it and buy and wrap gifts as I go each day. Luckily the girls haven't minded. And I normally make a couple nice Hanukkah dinners, but with all the kitchen stuff going on, I haven't been able to cook much. But it's okay . . . we're together as a family, and that's all that matters. And we've all been enjoying our Hanukkah . . . clutter, dust, and all!

Here are a few Hanukkah layouts that I made for Creating Keepsakes. The journaling on this first reads: Every year we follow the established traditions of Hanukkah, like lighting the menorah, saying the prayers, playing dreidel, and opening presents on each of the eight nights. But in our family we have a very special Hanukkah tradition. Every night after we light the menorah, we turn up the volume on our favorite Hanukkah music, then Daddy, the girls and I all dance around the living room together. I’m not talking about mellow dancing. I’m talking about anything-goes-build-up-a-sweat-crazy-chicken dancing. This is definitely one of our favorite family traditions – one that we will hopefully continue for years to come. It’s usually just our little family of four, but if you happen to be invited to our house for Hanukkah dinner, you’d better bring your dancing shoes!!!

I used Shimmerz paints on the alphas and the flourish:

As seen in the November/December issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.
There, now you know our goofy little family secret. ;-)

Lighting the menorah:

As seen in the November/December issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.
All the papers are Lily Bee, and I used shimmery, Shimmerz paints on the chipboard.

Playing dreidel (with more beautiful Lily Bee papers):

As seen in the November/December issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

As for the shoe template, I'm still working on it! I thought it would be easy to just trace the cut-outs onto paper, but the perfectionist in me wants it to look pretty and perfect for you all. So I spent hours yesterday trying to fix the template in Photoshop. For the life of me I couldn't get the margins right. It kept cutting off parts of my drawing. But I *think* I finally got it! Now I'm working on a tutorial and step-by-step photos. Hopefully I'll have it all done soon!

And one final little tidbit: Shimmerz has extended their 30% off sale through December 20th!

No coupon code is necessary. Go take advantage of this great deal!!

Creating Keepsakes giveaway, plus an update on the shoe template . . .

2010-12-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

Creating Keepsakes has two new special issues out, and I have one of each to give away! The first one is Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Stamps & Ink, which is filled with lots of creative ideas for using stamps. This issue is perfect for experienced stampers and also for novice stampers like me who own a gazillion stamps but never know what to do with them.

Next up is Scrapbooking Everyday Memories. It's brimming with beautiful and inspiring layouts.

And I just happen to have a couple of my own layouts in this issue! Here's a sneak peak at my pages:

"Red Light, Green Light," a game my girls and I like to play in our front yard:

Creating a mosaic tile counter in our bathroom (all by my very own self!!):

If you want to be entered to win a copy of one of these issues, just leave a comment in this post before midnight PST on Friday, December 10th, and I'll draw two lucky winners (one for each issue)! I also have a coupon code to share for the CK Store: CKDT15 (this is good for 15% off all items in the store, and it expires 12/20/2010).

Did somebody say SHOE TEMPLATE? Thank you for all the nice comments! And because so many people have expressed an interest in getting a template, I'm working on transferring my shoe "parts" (heel, sole, upper and insert) to a pdf template that you'll be able to download and print. I'm more than happy to share it with everyone! I'll be posting it here on my blog when it's done. The tricky part is that while creating the shoe, I kept tweaking the design and shape of the different shoe parts, so I have lots of different scraps and now I'm not quite sure which one I used on the final version. But don't worry . . . I'll figure it out! I'm also going to create a little tutorial with pictures so that you can see the steps. I'm hoping to post the template and tutorial here on my blog in the coming week, so check back!! And since a lot of you came here via CK's Facebook page, we'll also link it up there when it's posted on my blog.

Lastly, my life has still been consumed with this remodeling project, but we are 90% finished and I'm so HAPPY with how it looks!! Here's a look at what my kitchen looked like about a week ago (the first picture shows the empty kitchen with the new floors, and the second pictures show the cabinets and the countertop):

Thankfully we've had a functional kitchen now for almost a week, and there are only a few little details to finish up (they're coming tomorrow to finish the molding and a small countertop). Then Monday they start painting. I get my scraproom painted too. . . yay! I will definitely post the "after" pictures when it's all done.

Don't forget to leave a comment here if you want to win a copy of one of the Creating Keepsakes issues!