Merry Christmas!

Just dropping in to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

I Keep Chugging Along…

Last weekend I was able to actually take a class at The Crop Shop, where I teach classes. It was a great change of pace to see how another teacher approaches instructing students in a class. The project was wonderful and the instructor, Jean, was very patient. I cannot wait to show my mom how to do it too when I visit her next month.

I’ve been up to a few things this past week and they are mainly swap driven. I completed my 12x12 ‘June’ layout for a calendar swap I’m running at The Crop Shop. 

I also, finished two sets of ATC’s (artist trading cards) for the ATC club at the store too. One theme was ‘Retro’ for last month’s swap, which I couldn’t attend since I was on vacation.

The other is ‘Wild Card - Designers Choice’ for this weekend’s swap. I figured out I do better when given a theme. It took me awhile to figure out what to do for it. I wanted to definitely use paper and embellishments I already had on hand. I started digging through some old scrapbook paper from K and Company and was able to come up with something. It’s simple but I think it works and looks nice.

I also finished assembling the kits the 2012 ‘Inchie' Calendar class I’m doing Saturday, December 3^rd from 10a-12p. I only have four spots left in the class so if you would like to take the class or a kit please call the store at 781-792-2767 or go to the website and signup via PayPal.

 

Last but definitely not least my new Silhouette Cameo arrived this week. Yes, I’ve had it since Monday but have yet to take it out of its box. I hope to tackle that next week after the holiday weekend. I’ve been just salivating over this machine since I saw it at CHA in July. I bought my original Silhouette just as the Silhouette SD was about to come out, so I was able to get it pretty cheap. The one feature I always wanted was for it to cut 12x12 and now the new Silhouette Cameo does just that. I’ve already started making room for it in my craft room.

I’ve several more projects I have to complete over the weekend so I hope everyone has a wonderful Black Friday weekend.

Moxxie mini album and more Inchies

Here’s the class that I taught today at The Crop Shop. I saw this paper by Moxxie and just had to have it. I knew I wanted to create a mini album with this line and that it would be perfect to showcase photos of kids and family at Christmas. When my mom came to visit in September I was looking through her stuff and saw an example of a circle exploding book. As soon as I saw it I knew that it would be perfect to use with the Moxxie Party at the Pole collection. I also wanted to use the character die cuts as pop ups in the album. After a little bit of trial and error I was able to figure out how to make it work with this type of album.  We had a great time in class this morning and the ladies enjoyed making the album too.

Between teaching the Doodlebug Advent Calendar and the Moxxie Exploding circle album I held my first Inchie swap at The Crop Shop. The ladies from the swap at the other agreed to transfer over to the new store and continue swapping inchies. We had a good time swapping and meeting a couple of new swappers to join the group. We swapped our ‘Thanksgiving/Fall’ and ‘Wild Card’ inchies along with the ‘Black Friday’ challenge inchies.

'Thanksgiving'

'Wild Card - Cat's Meow'

'Black Friday'

We decided our next meeting would be Sunday, January 8^th 2012 from 1-2 pm.  The two themes we decided on are ‘Elvis’ and ‘New Years Resolutions’ and the challenge is ‘Asian.’

I also put the finishing touches on my next class at The Crop Shop, which is a 2012 inchie calendar. Here’s a sneak peek of January.

 

The class is Saturday, December 3^rd from 10a-12p. You can call the store to sign up or go to the website and pay via PayPal.

I'm Back and Ready to Go!

It’s tough to get back into the swing of things when you’ve been on vacation. It was nice to spend time with my parents even though we were always on the move. 

Plus, I had the opportunity to watch my nephew play football under the Tuesday Night Lights. 

Which is a big deal when you grow up in Texas. (He's the one in red/white jersey #88 tackling the kid from other team)

Now, I’m back and it’s been slow getting back into the Crafty State of Mind. I put the finishing touches on the advent calendar I showed ya’ll in my last post and here it is….

This calendar can be hung on the wall for a cute holiday display. Each day can be attached and removed easily and the calendar comes with a small drawstring bag to keep all the ‘inchies’ safe for storage until the next year. Now you can tell your children or grandchildren that once the tree is decorated and the presents are under the tree that it’s Christmas. The class is being held at The Crop Shop on Saturday,
November 5^th from 10am - 12pm. Please call the store (781-792-CROP) to sign up or you can visit the website and pay via PayPal the cost is only $20.

Also, on the agenda that weekend is the ‘Inchie’ Swap. Come in and explore the wide world of  ‘inchies.’ What is an ‘Inchie,’ you ask? Well, it’s a 1x1 inch piece of art. As a group we choose the themes, usually two themes and a challenge, that interest us to create for the ‘inchies.’ Then at the next meeting we swap all our ‘inchies’ to see what everyone came up with pertaining to the themes. The class is being held at The Crop Shop on Sunday, November 6^th from 1pm - 2pm. Please call the store (781-792-CROP) to sign up your first swap is free and then each additional swap is only $5.

I have another class at The Crop Shop and here’s a sneak peek.

It’s a mini book that you can showcase some holiday photos. The class is being held at The Crop Shop on Saturday, November 12^th from 10am - 1pm. Please call the store (781-792-CROP) to sign up or you can visit the website and pay via PayPal the cost is only $25. I’ll show more of it next week.

I’m almost finished with another class; which is an ‘inchie’ desktop calendar that you’ll be seeing soon.

I’m ready for the storm so I’ll be hunkered down in my craft room making many more projects that you’ll get to see in the coming year. Yes, I have to work that far ahead to keep my head above water and not drown in all my craft supplies.

Slow Going but Committed!!!

Yes, it’s been three weeks since my first post but I’ve been busy. My first post was done in rush so I could get something up so students from Scrapbook Cupboard could keep tabs on what I’ll be doing and where.

The store has since closed and I’ve been busy getting my next projects for classes at The Crop Shop, in Rockland, MA completed before I go on vacation tonight. I completed two projects so you can look forward to seeing those on the store website/calendar. Make sure you sign up if you are interested in taking either of these classes.

I’ve always loved advent calendars ever since I was a little girl. I couldn’t wait to open the little doors on the paper ones and see what saying or picture was behind it. The joy was even more when I had a chocolate candy advent calendar. These calendars come in all shapes and size these days, plus they can contain candy or even toys for kids. This obsession continues to this very day. So much so, that my friend Kim Parkinson gave me a big wooden advent calendar in the shape of a tree for my birthday this year. I cannot wait to get out all my supplies and start decorating it.

For my class on Saturday, November 5^th from 10am-12pm, I was able to combine two of my favorite things ‘inchies’ and my love for advent calendars. Some of the supplies are seen in this photo. Check back for a sneak peek to how these supplies were used to make a cute advent calendar for the holiday season. These will be a joy for kids to count down the days until Christmas.

Have a great holiday weekend. 

Goodbye and Hello!

Well, I’m teaching my last class at my local stamp store, Scrapbook Cupboard, today. It’s the above DeNami Holidays and Heroes card class. Due to the downturn in the economy the last couple of years the owner, Bev, has to close her doors at the end of September.

It has been a great 7-8 years at the store. I remember walking in the doors back in the fall of 2004. It was a small scrapbook store but it grew to have some much more than square footage. I would go often to check out what new product was on the shelves and the new classes. I began going to crops and taking classes as often as my schedule would allow back then. I met so many great people at those crops and classes that would turn into ‘true blue’ friends. The teachers at the store, Kim Parkinson and Donna Maligno, taught me so much over the years. I cannot thank them enough for all their hard work they put into each and every one of their classes and swaps. Check out what they'll be doing in the future here KD's Crafty Concepts.

I was lucky enough to join their design team a few years ago and was able to explore the world of paper crafting even more. The store grew and shrunk with economy and also switched from a scrapbook store to a stamping store. With that I became enamored with the world of stamping. My favorites are DeNami Design, Lockhart, Penny Black, Art Gone Wild, Magenta, Hero Arts and the list goes on forever.

I would show the cards I made to Bev and she soon asked me if I would do a class with them. Each time a new stamp catalogue came in from DeNami Design I would jump right to it and start creating for my next class. I taught these card classes for over two years and loved every minute of it. I met so many new people through these classes and the inchie swap that I ran there too. It’s great to see the student’s enjoyment once they have completed their projects. It’s a sad ending but there is still a little hope left.

I joined the design team at a local scrapbook store, The Crop Shop, almost a year ago to continue my joy of scrapbooking. This venture soon gave way to an opportunity to teach classes there too. I teach classes there that range from mini scrapbooks to explosion boxes. The store has been expanding into the stamping world too. Dee, the owner, along with her staff has helped make my transition to teaching classes at the new store easier.

I hope my students and friends from Scrapbook Cupboard will keep an eye out on this blog for future classes that I’ll be teaching at The Crop Shop in Rockland, MA. Like this one on Saturday, October 1^st from 10am-12pm featuring Halloween Inchie Monsters.