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.

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.

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.