Creating Keepsakes: Simple Scrapbooks giveaway!

Creating Keepsakes' newest special issue is out!  Check out Simple Scrapbooks:

Make scrapbooking faster and easier than ever with the hundreds of ideas in this new special issue from Creating Keepsakes, dedicated to scrapbooking simply. Discover quick tips for simplifying your layout designs as well as ideas for scrapbooking with limited products. Plus, with plenty of 2-page layout options, you'll get more photos scrapbooked in less time. It's all in Simple Scrapbooks from Creating Keepsakes.

I don't normally scrap "clean and simple", but it was fun to step outside of my box for this issue and create some pages that were more minimalistic. Here's one of the simple layouts I made for this issue.

As seen in Creating Keepsakes special Simple Scrapbooks issue. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

You can find a copy of this special issue at your local newsstand/bookstore, or you can purchase a copy  from CK's online store:  Simple Scrapbooks.  Here's a link to the online extras where you can find the  downloads, sketches, techniques, etc. that compliment this issue: Simple Scrapbooks Extras.

As usual, the generous people at Creating Keepsakes are allowing me to give away a copy of this special issue.  To be entered to win, simply leave a comment here before Sunday night, May 5th, and tell me what your scrapping style is.  Clean and simple? Shabby Chic? Artsy? Fun and playful? Or something else?  I'll announce the winner next week.

Check out these blogs for more chances to win!

Piradee Talvanna
Patty Cieri 
Megan Hoeppner

Fun with stitching

I love to stitch on my scrapbook pages -- both by hand and by sewing machine.  Unfortunately, my sewing machine and I have been having a few little tiffs lately and there's been a lot of "tension" (or lack thereof).  I blame it on that darn bobbin!  She's a little troublemaker.  Thankfully, I think I figured out the problem and my sewing machine has been working fine lately, knock on wood. 

My sewing machine is actually one of my best bargain finds.  It's a heavy duty Singer sewing machine that I bought at a garage sale about 6 years ago for only $10.  And it worked perfectly from the get-go!  I've used it to sew on many scrapbook pages over the years.  That Singer sewing machine of mine is a great old workhorse!

When I have the time, I like to handstitch on my layouts.  Here's a layout I created for Creating Keepsakes' Fabric and Notions special issue. 

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

I did a basic cross stitch, which is a decorative stitch made by two bisecting diagonal stitches.  I cross-stitched using three different materials: yarn, embroidery thread and ribbon. 

Thanks for stopping by!

CHA trends and a giveaway on Creating Keepsakes' blog

In my last post I wrote about some of the product trends I noticed at CHA (Craft and Hobby Assocation tradeshow).  You can see examples of five hot new trends on Creating Keepsakes' blog:  CHA Trends.  Best of all, CK is doing a GIVEAWAY of an assortment of prizes from each of their five "trends" categories.  Leave a comment on Creating Keepsakes' Creating Keepsakes' "CHA Trends and Giveaway" post (not on my blog) before this Thursday, February 9th for a chance to win. 

Some of the hot trends are flags, tickets and wood.  These adorable new embellishments by Prima combine all three of these trends:

Also, be sure and check out Creating Keepsake's "Cute Booth Tour" videos where you can get a little peak at some of the creatively-decorated booths at CHA.  I had the pleasure of doing a quick little video tour of Prima's CHA booth.

Have a great week!

Creating Keepsakes giveaway

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).

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!