8x8 Bound Blank Calendar closed
Since I have a class scheduled in September for a wall calendar, I started to make my sample. Lo and behold! Karen Foster doesn’t have the 12″x12″ calendars anymore! Another company has 9″x9″, but that isn’t a good size to use in your scrapbook at year’s end. So, Ken developed a terrific 8″x8″ wall calendar that i think you will love. It’s blank, so you can start with any month you’d like. When the year is over, just cut the pages off and insert them into an 8″x8″ scrapbook. You will have a record of everything that happened during the year. And, I was thinking what a great baby gift this would make with baby’s first year!
Now is the time to start making gifts for the holidays. What a terrific gift this would make for family and friends. They can add their own photos and journaling, but you will have all the pages ready for them. Below are some samples I’ve been working on. And you can get your blank calendars from our on-line store. Order on line and we will include a list of birthstones, holidays for 2011, and
Sample Page for April 2011
a list of flowers of the month as a FREE extra. Then we can ship your order, or if you are local, just stop by and pick it up to save the postage. Enjoy!
Sample Page for November 2011
These are examples of pages that could be done using this calendar. Calendar is provided in blank form so you can embellish and decorate to make it a personal calendar with your family’s important dates or happenings included. It is designed so at the end of the year the bound strip can be trimmed off and the pages fitted into a page protector for an 8″x8″ scrapbook album.
When I watched a tutorial on Becca Feeken’s blog, amazingpapergrace.com, I got all inspired to try this technique with a corner punch. Of course, I can’t follow directions very well, so I had Ken figure it out for me. If you don’t know, Ken is my soulmate and husband. He is also a lot more analytical than I.
Here are some ideas we came up with using a Martha Stewart corner punch and turning it at right angles as we punched along. The scrapbook page is 8″x8″ and uses the corners as well as a border. The envelope card is the simplest, and the butterfly card has a long lacy embellishment. If you’d like personal instruction on these, come to Ken’s class at the store next Monday. If you can’t make that, check out Becca’s blog. It just gives you something new to try. We love new ideas!
Back To School
Apple Stamps: Hero Arts
Sticker Title: Karen Foster
Background Cardstock: Core’dinations
Matted Cardstock: Paper Cut
White Lacy Punchouts: Stamp Express Cardstock
Corner Punch: Martha Stewart
This is the Easy One
Designer Paper: Bo Bunny
Envelope: Stamp Express Cream
Cardstock Insert: Stamp Express
White Lacy Punchouts: Stamp Express Cardstock
Corner Punch: Martha Stewart
Decorative Flowers: Prima
Flower Stamp: unknown
Word Stamp: Hero Arts
A Little More Complicated
Embossed Cardstock: Core’dinations
Embossing Folder: Provo Craft for Cuttlebug
Background cardstock: Stamp Express White
White Lacy Cardstock: Stamp Express White
Corner Punch: Martha Stewart
Butterfly Stamp: Hero Arts
We all need to reduce the stress in our lives. This art form is an ideal way to work on that, plus it lowers your blood pressure! (so I am told) The repetitiveness of the doodling is the “zen” in the process, while the lines and doodles are the tangles. Try it and I think you’ll enjoy the way it makes you feel. The typical zentangle is done with black on white, but I also like the look of white gel pen on dark cardstock. Of course I had to try color, so I made backgrounds with the Copic refills on a felt applicator. Then I zentangled on top of the color. Sometimes I used a stamp as a base and doodled around the images. Other times I cut the pieces up or punched out shapes after I doodled. The possibilities are endless. Try some designs yourself and let me know what you think. The only tools you need are paper and markers. Have you Zentangled today?
My First Attempt
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Pen: Slickwriter from American Crafts
Flower: Prima
Love
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Pen: Jelly roll from Sakura
Autumn
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Pen: Slickwriter from American Crafts
Background: Copic reinkers on glossy cardstock
Butterfly
Glossy Cardstock: Paper Cut
Pen: Slickwriter from American Crafts
Background: Copic reinkers on glossy cardstock
Butterfly Die: Accu Cut
Rhinestones: Hero Arts
These stamps will be the “apple of your eye” for September cards and scrapbook pages. The House Mouse of the month this time is really “a-peeling”, especially if you like coloring and blending with the Copic markers. Below are 2 samples of the same stamp. We mounted one on a big apple and put the words inside. The second one is quite simple with a scored and sanded frame on Colorcore cardstock. Words that match this stamp are ” an apple a day keeps the mice at play”. How cute is that? Come to the store to see more examples. One is a t-slider card that was too complicated to show here, but very clever. If you LOVE these mice, sign up for the next Mouseketeers class and create some projects of your own. It’s always the last Tuesday of the month. And in addition to snacking on crackers and cheese, you also go home with the stamps
Stamp: Stampabilities
Markers: Copic
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Apple Pattern: Stamp Express
White Circle: Cut with Nestibilities
Stamp: Stampabilities
Markers: Copic
Plain Cardstock: Paper Cut
Green Core’dinations Cardstock: Scored with Scor-Pal and sanded
Designer Paper: Unknown
About a month ago, we gave out bags of our ugliest, most non-descript. awful buttons. The participants were to use at least 2 on a card or tag and then submit them to be judged. Our judges were owners and employees of other artsy type stores at our market. Below are their 3 favorites. Each of these winners will receive a prize consisting of a bag of buttons! And, the top prize winner, MaryAnn Mawhinney, will also get a pack of Glue Dots to use for attaching buttons! Please enjoy the creativity that went into these projects.
Grand Prize Winner - Are We There Yet?
Paper piecing done with Mary Ann’s own design.
Good Dog
2nd Place winner - Nancy Low
Rudolf
3rd Place winner - Brenda Trimmer
I wanted to make a card that looked like a quilt, but I didn’t want to really sew. I noticed on several blogs that people were actually stitching on paper. Since I gave my sewing machine to my daughter-in-law, I figured that I would never sew again. I got one of those little cheapy jobs that were advertised for sewing on paper, but couldn’t make it work. So here is my representation of “faux” quilting. I used two stamps. One is from Magenta, the other from Outlines. I stamped and colored several squares, then cut them out and glued them to black cardstock. I topped them off with Spellbinder’s fleur de lis pendant in white and then two circle Nesties layered and elevated with foam tape. The message is from a Hero Arts clear set. I think my grand-daughter will enjoy this creation for her birthday card this month. Then I had an extra square and an extra piece to the fleur de lis. So I made a little 3″x3″ love note with these parts. A green gem finished it off nicely. I hope you get inspired by these little quilts.
Faux Quilting
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Quilt Stamps: Magenta & Outlines
Word Stamps: Hero Arts
Nesty Circles & Pendant Diecuts: Spellbinder
Markers: Copic
Quilt Love Note
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Quilt Stamp: Magenta
Pendant Diecut: Spellbinder
Markers: Copic
Gemstone: Hero Arts
For the Stamp Express birthday celebration on Saturday, June 26, I will be doing 4 demos of various techniques for cards. Below are two of the planned ideas. They were cased from Gina K on her Stamp TV site. The first is my version of cropped circles. Use layered die cuts from circle Nesties and after adhereing them to a layer, crop the edges. Of course you could try the same technique with ovals and other shapes. The second card has curly-Q hinges at the sides of an oval Nestie. The hinges are created with 4 swirly diecuts from Sizzix. I will also include two projects not pictured here. One is a paper lace flower using a Martha Stewart punch. The other is a distressed background made from an old book page. Come to the store Saturday and see these in person. If you are interested, but can’t make it, just e-mail me for further directions.
Cropped Circles
Flower stamp: Just Rite Stamps
Word stamp: Unknown
Prismacolor pencils: Sanford
Circle Die cuts: Nestabilities from Spellbinder
Cardstock: Paper Cut & Core’dinations
Sponged ink: Marvy Matchable inkpads
Curly-Q Hinges
Stamp: Just Rite Stamps
Oval Diecuts: Nesties from Spellbinder
Flourish Diecut: Sizzix
Swiss Dots Embossing Folder: Provo Craft
Cardstock: Paper Cut & Core’dinations
Markers: Copic
Special Copic Paper: Stamp Express
So many cards, so little time. If you have needed to make a multitude of cards recently, you know there just isn’t time to spend an hour on each creation. Here are two uncomplicated cards I made for Father’s Day and our son and daughter-in-law’s anniversary. The Dad’s Day card is simply strips of designer paper, matted, and a greeting embellished with a matching button. The anniversary card is a window cut out with Nesties, some stamping with a little coloring, tag with ribbon and some glitzy gems. I hope you and they enjoy them.
Fathers Day
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Designer Paper: Bo Bunny
Stamp: Hero Arts
Button: From my stash
All Things Grow With Love
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Nesties & Tag: Spellbinders
Stamps: Hero Arts
Markers: Copic
Gems: Hero Arts
Ribbon: May Arts
Amanda is the House Mouse of the month for June. Everyone in the Mouseketeer class loved these samples of cards using a varity of techniques. First we used the Cuttlebug embossing folder to make a music background on ColorCore cardstock which was sanded to show the design. The vintage music layer was sprayed with GlimmerMist and the colored mouse image was placed on top with foam tape for dimension. The blue card features pleated twill and a button for embellishment. And, the lavender sample has Nesties with the design cut beyond the border. All these images were colored with Copic markers, but look good done in watercolor pencil and blender pen also. Have a micey nice day!
Musical Amanda
Stamp: Stampabilities
Color Core Cardstock: Core’dinations
Vintage Music: Stamp Express
Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels
Markers: Copic
Other Cardstock: Paper Cut
Amanda's Band
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Designer Paper: Karen Foster
Stamp: Stampabilities
Twill: Creative Impressions
Markers: Copic
Button: Stamp Express Stash
One Man Band
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Swirl Stamp: Hero Arts
Mouse Stamp: Stampabilities
Markers: Copic
Nestabilities: Spellbinder
Right now butterflies are very popular. Stickers, stamps, digis, die cuts, and papers are fluttering around at high speed. Below are the winners in the Stamp Express butterfly challenge. The Grand prize was awarded to Brenda Trimmer for her unusual butterfly shaped book. It features quotes about butterflies on one page with pictures and scientific facts about each species on the following page. Very cool!
The #1 card was designed by Pat Knecht. She used Outlines stamps and a discontinued butterfly stamp from Stampin’ Up for her project. Tracy Myers took 2nd place with teabag folding surrounded by various butterflies on vellum. Sheila Roos has a photo card with her new grand-daughter’s picture. So clever for the 3rd place winner. Then Betsy Gibney punched and layered the 4th place card. And Jan Vick submitted the 5th place card with a vellum butterfly and scalloped Nestie. Enjoy these cards. They’re like a breath of Spring!
Butterfly Mini Book - Grand Prize in Butterfly Contest
All Those Butterflies - 1st Place Card in Butterfly Contest
Teabag Butterflies - 2nd Place card in Butterfly Contest
Butterfly Kisses - 3rd Place card in Butterfly Contest
Embossed Butterfly - 4th Place card in Butterfly Contest
Best WayTo the Future - 5th Place card in Butterfly Contest
