Creating Keepsakes Special Issue and a Giveaway!

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 . . .

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

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 . . .

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 . . .

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 . . .

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!

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

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 . . .

 . . . 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

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

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!!

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!!

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??

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

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).