VOTE on Election Day

I created this pin for KEPT Creations which was open for Election Day since the polls were just across the street from the store. Kim wanted a make & take for the occasion and I just knew exactly what I wanted to make for it. I used DeNami Design's Patriotic Chickie for the centerpiece. I just punched a 1 inch circle from some old DesignsbyReminisce paper and adhered it to a bottle cap, popped the chick with foam tape and stamp the 'I VOTED' using small letters by JustRite Stampers. Once the pin was assembled I adhered a pin back and it was all set to go.

It's a good thing I made these because when I went to vote there weren't any of those 'I Voted' stickers they usually handout. Hope everyone made it to the polls and the campaign season will be over soon.

DeNami Design Halloween Blog Hop

  

It's finally here, the DeNami Design Halloween Blog Hop. I'm so excited to participate in this blog hop. I've loved these stamps for so long and now I get a chance to show everyone how much I adore them.

The blog hop starts today October 14th at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until October 15, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize). Make sure you comment as you go along the blog hop because DeNami Design is giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to their website! They'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then they'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

If you are following along the blog hop you just came from Barbara Murphy's blog. There are loads of beautiful cards and whimsical cards in this blog hop. If you get lost along the way just go back to DeNami Design's blog to find the list of participants.

Here's the first card I created for Halloween. It's pretty simple and it utilizes the 'inchies' I so love.

DeNami Design keeps coming out with these cute chickie stamps and I just have to have them all! I stamped the new Franken-Chickie and Kitty-Chickie on the 'inchie' and colored them in with my copics and then ran a marker along the edges to give each one of them a border. Stamped the sentiment and colored it in with my copics too. I backed them with scalloped squares, mounted them on this diamond patterned paper and put it on a 3x6 inch card. Lastly, I added a small strip of black velvet ribbon.


This next card was something I wanted to do and this blog hop gave me the opportunity to try it out.

I had stamped all the chickie stamps on cardstock whenever I did a little make & take for my local stamp store. I picked the chickies that I thought would work well as costumes for Halloween. I stamped the three houses onto cardstock and colored it and the chickies with copics. I stamped the fence directly onto the card several times. I mounted the houses onto the card with foam tape. Then, I cut a few small pieces of gray cardstock and scored them to look like a sidewalk and adhered them along the bottom and also leading to the house. Next, if just randomly put the chickies along the sidewalk, some are popped up to give a little dimension. I punched out three circles from metallic cardstock, stamped the smallest with the 'Trick or tweet' stamp and popped each layer with foam tape.

My next project came as a brainstorm just before leaving for vacation last week. I bought a small 1x1 bag die by Memory Box a while ago thinking I would use it sometime in the future. I was trying to think of another idea for this blog hop that wasn't a card. As I was looking at the halloween petit four set and the friendly bat stamp, I thought it would be cute to create little 'trick or tweet' bags.

I cut out the bags from several different patterned paper and kraft cardstock. I stamped them in Brillance graphite black and sprinkled some clear embossing powder and heat set it to give the images a little pop.

I cut some leftover coils for binding in half, colored them with a black sharpie and bent them a little to create handles for some of the bags.

I also, stamped the spider and bat on cardstock and used atyouspica's to color them in and added 3mm googly eyes for a little character.

It was a little hard to find candy to fit in these little bags but the end result was cute and a great way to decorate a Halloween tree I picked up at Michaels.

I hope you enjoyed the cards and little bags. The next blog on you will hop to is Kristy Smith's. I know you'll enjoy all the creations along this blog hop.

Zutter Basics

Do you own a Zutter Bind-It-All?

Have you taken it out of the box?
Do you know how to use it?
Have you used it to make an album?
Have you used it to make a cute project?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to the first question but ‘No’ to any of the following questions then this is the class for you. Lots of people are afraid to use this tool for fear of messing up their project, but we’ll get to know our Zutter Bind-It-All in this class by learning some basic information about the tool and what additional items work with it, such as the extension paper guide bar and stop guide. We’ll create a sample book of materials that can be used with the zutter along with a 6×6 mini album with lots of pages. Some will fold out or have pockets, along with lots of other techniques to create a unique album.

Call the store to sign up for this class or go to this link and pay via paypal.

ATC and Inchie swap

I participate in an ATC swap at a local scrapbook store, The Crop Shop, and I run an inchie swap at the same store. We make a certain amount of inchies and then swap them out at our gathering. Here are some of the inchies from the July inchie swap. Each one of us usually comes up with different ideas and techniques to showcase the particular themes each time.

 Inchie Swap - 1920s, Food/Recipe and challenge - Hobbies

These are my ATC and inchies for the swap we had in September. I made little replica of an iPhone for the ATC and then I was stumped on the inchie but then I remembered that I had a stamp of an envelope and one of a snail which paired well with a DeNami Design stamp of a chickie with a computer. Snail mail to email. Then I used Elizabeth Crafts peel-offs and glitter to make these fall pumpkins and leaves for the fall theme. I used copics and a JustRite stamp set. For the challenge I used a collection from Reminisce that I picked up last year in while traveling through Tennessee. I incorporated my inchie into the ATC.

                      ATC/Inchie - Technology                   ATC/Inchie - Fall

ATC/Inchie Challenge - Halloween

                           Here are the ATCs made by those in the swap.

                            ATC swap - Technology                   ATC swap - Fall

ATC/Inchie challenge - Halloween

                              Here are the inchies made by those in the swap.

                  Inchies swap - Technology                Inchies swap - Fall

Our next ATC and inchie swap is Saturday, November 10th from 10a-noon and the themes are 'animal' and ' fairy tales' plus the challenge is 'veterans.' We'll also be making a 3x4 book with pockets to store the ATCs. If you would like to participate in our next please call the store and sign up. 

Celebrating the Holidays early with DeNami Design

Well that huge mess on my desk was what was left over from creating these 4 cards for an upcoming class at KEPT Creations.

Who knew such little 'chickie' stamps from DeNami Design could create that much chaos.

I'll be teaching this class on Sunday, October 21st from noon-2pm. There are a few seats left so you can sign up by calling the store 781-447-4010 or clicking this link to pay via paypal.

I love DeNami Design rubber stamps! Each time they come out with a new release, usually twice a year, I stalk their blog, facebook and website for sneak peeks of the new stamps. It takes me no time at all to get my list together and start adding them to my cart and getting them shipped promptly to me.

What makes my obsession with DeNami stamps even better is that my friend, Kim, opened up a new craft store on September 1st, 2012 and she will be stocking the shelves with these wonderful stamps. Not only will I get my stamps but also I will help a local small business. She's even enabling my other obsession with 'inchies' by carrying 'inchie' products in a whole array of colors and sizes by Inchie Arts.

I have lots of new product to test out and possibly use in upcoming classes, so check back and see what else I come up with while playing in my craft room.

What a mess!

Stop by tomorrow to see what I created that caused my craft area to look like this.....

BOO!!!!

Yes, it's that time of year again. Soon the kids will be on a sugar high and we adults will be desperately trying not to eat those bags of candy before the first trick or treater rings the doorbell.

As I have said before, I have an obsession with calendars of all kinds. Advent, countdown, monthly, yearly etc...

So for my first class at KEPT Creations I made a Halloween countdown calendar using the beautiful Graphic 45 Happy Haunting line.

Well, I always gripe that making my monthly calendars (6x6 or inchie) take everything out of me. I have to think up 12 different layouts/designs each time I do them. This time the store owner, Kim, said since I love calendars why not do a Halloween countdown. I figured why not, I already had the paper and embellishments. I mean how hard could it be.

Let me tell you this, 12 layouts is nothing compared to 31 pages and the cover, let's not forget about trying to come up with a cheap way to display it as so to keep the cost of the class down. After much sweat, tears and the OMG how the heck am I going to come up with the last 5 layouts! It was done.

I'll be teaching this class on Sunday, September 16th from noon-3pm at KEPT Creations in Whitman, MA. There are only three seats left as of today so if you still want to sign up call the store or click on this link and pay via paypal.

Wishing Well Ya'll

I've been quiet but busy of late. Lots of stuff going on in my life and it's been hard keeping everything straight but I vow to try to be more up to date in the future. Maybe?

I have a class featuring the Kaisercraft wishing well coming up this Saturday, August 11th from 10am to 12pm at The Crop Shop in Rockland, MA. It's a great project and functional too. I love projects that have an actual purpose. This wishing well is wonderful for kids and it'll keep their money safe and in one place. I could also see this being done for Christmas too. It could be decorated with some of the new lines coming out this fall and the kids could write down things they want for Christmas and put them in it so mom and dad can get idea of what the kids want and they can relay that information to 'Santa.'

I have a couple of projects I'm working on for the fall and will show some sneak peeks here as I complete them.

ATCs and Inchies

About a year ago I joined the ATC (artist trading card) group at my local scrapbook store, The Crop Shop. The group meets on Saturday mornings which is great for me because I work the second shift and this early morning meeting fits right into my schedule. I've know about other groups but they meet in the evening; yes, I could turn them into swap and pick them up later but I like to see everyone and hear how they came up with their ideas and techniques they used on the cards. Below are just a few of the recent swaps that were done at the store.

 Books

 

Guilty Pleasures

National Parks

Automotive

Wizard of Oz

Recipes

 1920s

I'm pretty precise with my ATCs. I don't do too much collage on them. The 'Wizard of Oz' ATC is about the only one that I did that fits the technique category and that I'm really proud of myself for stepping outside my comfort zone with this one.

Not sure how it happens but almost all my ATCs end up having some element on them that I cut out with my Silhouette Cameo. I love that no matter what I might want to cut out or design myself I can usually do it with the Cameo. I think I'm most proud the 'Automotive' one because I downloaded the 'DQ' logo and then separated to elements and was able to cut them out on the Cameo and it looks great.

I run the 'Inchie' swap at the store and we meet right after the ATC group, so it's convenient for those who are in both swaps. We've recently opted to use the same themes as the ATC group. I won't be able to make this weekends meeting, I'm heading down to Texas for a long weekend to celebrate my 40th birthday with my family, but Ann who runs the ATC group is going to fill in for me. Ann is a great ATC instructor and I know she'll do just fine helping the 'inchie' group in my absence. Here are my 'inchies' for the 'food' and '1920s' themes.

Food

Food

1920s

I couldn't decide on what to do for the 'food' theme so I did two. I'm a huge sweets person but also thought the watermelon was a good one for summer. I'm not a huge vintage/retro person and I had a hard time with the 1920s theme for the ATCs and 'inchies.' As I researched I came up with the 19th amendment, the right to vote for women. I love this stamp that came out in the late 1990s and thought it would be good to use for both swaps. I was able to adapt it and put the amendment on the inside of the inchie. I use Inchie Arts 'inchie' squares to back most of my 'inchies,' not only do they have white and black squares but also have them in neutral shades like the one in the photo above.

Challenge 'Hobbies'

And of course, I cannot forget about the 'challenge' for the next 'inchie' swap. The theme was 'Hobbies' and it couldn't relate to scrapbooking or crafting. I own a motorcycle and was just overjoyed when DeNami Design came out with this cute motorcycle chickie stamp in their latest release. I received it last Friday just in time to use it for the challenge.

These groups meet this Saturday, July 14th from 10am-12pm at The Crop Shop in Rockland, MA. Drop by and check it out.

YUMMI DENAMI!

Yes, I know two posts in less than 24 hours, it's unheard of from me. But I just couldn't contain myself when I opened my door to see this....

Then I opened it and saw this...

Just a little of what was in the box; you'll see these featured in classes to come this fall...

Thank you DeNami Design for creating new chickies and plenty of more fantastic stamps for me to play with in my studio. Also, the turn around on my order was phenomenal. Ordered on Monday received today, Friday, don't forget there was a holiday in the middle of the week. Plus, there was a little sample of their twine! This company is great and cannot wait to create more classes using their stamps. In the future, look for classes featuring these stamps at KEPT Creations in Whitman, MA, which will be opening on September 1st, 2012.

ATCs and more

Well June was a busy month for me created three different classes for The Crop Shop in Rockland. I created a seasonal calendar set with 7 Gypsies shadowboxes along with stamps, embellishments and die cuts.

Also, this Teacher thank you gift using the Kaisercraft drawer set.

Finally, I ended the month by teaching this napkin decoupage technique using the Viva Decor Ultra Licht and their napkin decoupage. Two cards and one journal were given a three dimensional look using this technique.

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are 3.5 x 2.5 inch cards that are decorated with a theme and/or technique. People can swap these in groups to exchange ideas and techniques. Since this can be daunting to some at first I created this class to help new comers create their own ATCs using the new ATC line by Creative Imaginations. This company has made it convenient to create ATCs by packaging cooridinating frames, diecuts and paper. This class shows that you can do more than just swap the ATCs but you can also use them to adorn cards. This class is Saturday, July 7th from 10am-12pm at The Crop Shop in Rockland, MA.

I'm currently working on classes for August and September along with more class for the fall. Come by and take a class.

How a blank canvas picked me up out of my creative slump!

Yes, it’s been about 5 months since I had a blog post. Between the holidays, vacations, super bowl (work related) and a death in the family, I haven’t been in a crafty state of mind. My craft room was a disaster and I didn’t want to enter it let alone craft in it. I finally committed and after 3 hours I could see the floor again. You can see below before and after photos.  

Now that the room was in order the next step was to create some projects for classes. I had completed three projects before the holidays and those classes were submitted and taught at The Crop Shop. They can be seen below.

BoBunny Snowfall Album

Double-Z Fold Album card

Bird Arch album

But as I thought back I couldn’t remember the last time I created something for just the heck of it. I get together with some friends each month and we craft. The last couple of gatherings I haven’t really been in the creating mood, more of an organizing mood (figure out a way to organize and store, embossing folders, metal die cuts, and of course the ever expanding pile of ribbon).

Well, today after helping out some close friends at a great craft event, I met up with some other crafty friends. We were gathering to share and explore the world of art journaling. We had bought some Dylusions stamps a few months back and we thought getting together for some inspirational time would do us all some good. I had bought the Dylusions sprays also and brought along some stencils and masks and some old ledger books I bought on eBay. I started out playing with the sprays and inking up the pages of the ledger book to get a good base for the pages along with seeing how the colors looked when applied to the pages. This was a great way to get my feet wet again. 

Once I finished the pages one of the ladies gave us some canvases she had laying around her house and thought maybe we could do something with them. I first started to spritz my favorite color palette (red, oranges and yellows). On the coated canvas they dried a little muted but were okay. I started trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the canvas and since I had been working on a napkin decoupage technique I had seen at one of the craft trade shows, I thought it would be a good idea for the canvas my friend had given me. As I started looking through the many decorative napkins I had procured over the last week, I picked out a couple and then realized the sprays I was working with were a little bright for the color palette of the napkins. But I was not about to be deterred, so I just started spraying layer upon layer and blotting the pools of color over and over until the right blend of colors appeared on the canvas. I will say this I don’t think I could recreate the background to save my life. It was a happy accident so to speak that this particular color scheme came together.


Next, I selected the napkin I wanted to be the main focal point and then some additional elements from another napkin. I applied the Viva Décor decoupage to the napkin. Then I added some Viva Décor ultra licht clay to the areas I wanted to become three dimensional and then added the final layer of napkin by applying the decoupage again. The next element was adding some accent to the butterflies to make them pop and I did that by applying some Viva Décor Crystal Gel to them. My final touch was to stamp a saying from one of the Dylusion sets. When all was said and done,  I had a completed piece of art that I did JUST FOR ME! I felt so happy, excited, elated, gleeful, energized and of course a sense of satisfaction. It took a blank canvas to raise me up from the creative rut I was in to a Crafty State of Mind! Thank you Jacki!