Blogoversary

It's my five-year blogoversary!!!  Whether you have been with me for all five years or started reading my blog more recently, I want to say thank you. 

Outside of card: all paper from Basic Grey, stickers from Lily Bee, ink from Clearsnap, household mini stapler.

In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd share a design for a thank you card.  This design, which I call "interrupted grid," is great for using up scraps.

Inside of card: all paper from Basic Grey, ink from Clearsnap, household mini stapler.

Hope you find this card design useful.  I look forward to continuing to share many more crafting ideas with you in the future.  :)

"Vintage" Recipe Page

Hello, everyone!  I'm joining Elizabeth & Bleubeard's T is for Tuesday link party again this week.  Last week I was inspired by T-Tuesday participant Mo, who shared pages from an old Betty Crocker cookbook.  I realized that I have a similar cook book, and I want to share a bit of it today.

This is Betty Crocker's New Dinner for Two cookbook.  Well, it was new in 1964.  :)  I like it and still use it from time to time.  Most of the recipes are quick and simple.  That's my favorite kind of recipe! 

I checked to see whether there were any tea-related recipes in my cookbook.  Though I didn't find and mention of tea, there is a whole page of advice on how to prepare and serve coffee.  And the illustration is adorable, don't you think so?

Supplies: album page from Hallmark; red alphabet stickers, woodgrain alphabet stickers, patterned paper, buttons, & die cuts from October Afternoon; all other stickers from Cosmo Cricket; stamp from PSX; mini envelope from Colorbok; ink from Hero Arts; punch from Creative Memories; thread from Singer; pens from Zig.

Seeing the recipes in my old cookbook reminded me of this scrapbook page that I've had in my draft file for ages.  I'm glad that I'm getting around to sharing it at last.  I created this page at a free class put on jointly by my local library and the Minnesota Historical Society.  It was a class about documenting cherished family recipes on scrapbook pages.  The class was great, with a friendly, knowledgeable teacher.  Lots of materials were available for use in class, including that darling cow cut-out, which is reproduced from a vintage Minnesota cookbook.  If the library ever offers a similar class, I'll definitely sign up again.

I hope that you've enjoyed this vintage-vibe post today.  It's freezing cold here in Minnesota today, so I'll definitely be curling up with a hot cup of tea soon.  Happy T Day!

WCMD Follow-Up

Hello, dear readers!  It's great to catch up with you again.  Today I want to rewind to the beginning of the month, to show you what I made on World Card Making Day (WCMD).

Now, I did share a card back on WCMD, but that was one that I'd made in advance, so that I could post it right away on the morning of October 4.  Later that day, I did get a little time to create, and I made two cards.  They're both very feminine cards; I guess I was feeling girly that day.  Both cards are also made with scraps.  Here's a closer look...

Supplies: kraft cardstock from Neenah Paper; green cardstock from Bazzill; striped/label paper from Pink Paislee; Russian doll paper from Kaisercraft; ribbon from Scrapbook Fantasies; sequin from Natalie May etsy; sentiment stickers from October Afternoon.

I had recently been working with the Kaisercraft "Hidden Treasures" collection for my CPC design team work, and I had some scraps left over.  "Hidden Treasures" includes a lot of Russian dolls images, which I love, since I collect Russian dolls.  I hadn't been able to work any Russian dolls into my CPC layout, so I decided to make a card with a doll as the focal image.  Now that cute Kaisercraft doll graces a card that wishes someone a "perfect day." 

Supplies: stickers & rub ons from My Mind's Eye; papers from Graphic 45; cardstock from Bazzill; ink from Tsukineko; tulle from Wyla; sequins from my stash.

I had also been working recently with some My Mind's Eye and Graphic 45 papers for my Color Room palette 172 entry, and I used the scraps from that project to make another card.  This new card is a Thank You card with an interesting shape and a cute fairy focal image.

The idea of using up scraps to make cards is certainly nothing new, but it's something that I don't always have time to do.  It was very gratifying to finally have the chance on WCMD.  It was also fun to play around with feminine focal images.  Which one do you like best--the doll or the fairy?

Happy World Card Making Day!

Supplies: all paper, die cuts, & stickers from October Afternoon; ink from Tskukineko; kraft envelope from Canvas Corp.

Hi, everyone!  It's a cold, cold, cold autumn morning here.  The furnace is on, and I'm snuggled under some blankets with my laptop and a cup of hot coffee.  As we say good bye to summer, I thought I'd share this card, which I made for a child's birthday.  The card has all my favorite summer colors--the serene blues of Minnesota lakes and skies, plus the gem-like greens of grass and trees and lily pads.  But the golds and browns of autumn are there too.  At this time of changing seasons, it just seems like the perfect day to share this card.  Happy World Card Making Day!

What are you Doing this Summer?

It's already June, and the end of the school year is in sight...are you ready for the summer?  Summer is a time for FUN, and I thought I'd let you know of a couple of ways that you can have fun in online artistic communities this summer.

The image you see above is a sneak peek for my June Child's Play Challenges design team work.  My term on the design team has been extended for the rest of the calendar year, so you'll see lots of playful scrapbooking prompts from me this summer (and beyond).  Our June challenge goes live tomorrow, so you'll soon find out what happens when "AUS Meets USA."



The other fun summer community that I'm planning to spend time in this summer is Summer of Color Four.  This is a weekly color prompt community for all kinds of artists.  Last year I participated in Summer of Color Three, and I made several scrapbook pages as well as a beaded necklace.  This year I'm thinking of doing more beadwork, as well as making my own patterned paper, or perhaps doing some art journaling...we'll see where the color prompts lead me.

You can find out more about Child's Play Challenges on the group's blog. 

And you can learn more about Summer of Color Four on the blog of SOC hostess Kristin.  

Hope to see you all this summer!  Let's have fun.  :)

Bonjour, Bead Bazaar!

Hello, friendly readers!

Are there any special craft-related events that you try to attend?  A favorite of mine is the twice-yearly Twin Cities Bead Bazaar.  The fall bazaar just took place this past weekend in suburban Minneapolis, and I was able to find a little time to stop by and hunt for new treasures.  That's what the bead bazaar feels like to me: a treasure hunt!  At the event you'll find stall after stall of vendors, each selling different kinds of beads, buttons, and charms.  The three photos below, which are from the spring 2011 bazaar, should give you and idea of the fabulous crowds, colors, and delights that you find at these events.

 

I have not yet had a chance to "play" with my newest purchases, but I thought I'd show you a card I made with a charm from a previous bead bazaar.  It's a "hello" card with an elegant French vibe.

Supplies: all papers and rub ons by My Mind's Eye; alphabet stickers by Echo Park; tulle ribbon by Wyla; roses by Marianne Design; rhinestones by Petaloo; jump rings by Vintaj; charm by Trinket Foundry.

The fleur-de-lis pendant on this card comes from a Minnesota company called Trinket Foundry.  I try to buy a few items from Trinket Foundry (sold via the Glass Garden Beads booth) at each bead bazaar.  Cathy Collison, the force behind Trinket Foundry, is the ultimate green artist.  All her beads and charms are made from recycled materials.  This fleur-de-lis charm, for example, is punched from an old metal file cabinet!

Trinket Foundry baubles are a bit pricey, but to me they are worth every penny.  For the price of one charm, I could probably buy a whole pack of charms at a scrapbooking store.  But the mass-produced charms at big box stores are made overseas in factories.  Trinket Foundry goods, on the other hand, are made right here in Minnesota, so I know that the shipping costs involved are minimal, and the artist is earning a fair wage.  So, this fleur-de-lis is truly a treasure, and I'm so glad that I found it at the Bead Bazaar.

World Card Making Day

Happy World Card Making Day!  I think that cards for males are the most challenging to make, so today I'm sharing an idea for a "little boy" card.

Supplies: cardstock by Yours Truly for Archivers; papers by Bella Blvd; chipboard by October Afternoon; stickers by Crate Paper; rickrack by Wrights; punch by Creative Memories; pen by Zig.

This square card has a fun size and shape.

Additional supplies for inside of card: graph paper by Bella Blvd; stickers by Echo Park; buttons by October Afternoon; pen by Zig; thread by DMC.

You've seen this quote before on coffee mugs and tee shirts.  But have you ever seen it spelled out in mini alphas before?  :)  This card was really fun to make.  I hope you've enjoyed looking at it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Small Business Saturday

Today, November 26, is a day to support small businesses.  But really, shouldn't we support small businesses all the time, not just on one special day of the year?  Small businesses are great because they foster creativity, provide employment opportunities, and create a sense of community.  In honor of the day, I'm highlighting three of my favorite, local small businesses in this blog post.

First up is Scrapbooks Too, an independently-owned papercrafting supply shop in the Minneapolis area.  Now, Minneapolis is home to several Archivers stores (as well as Archivers corporate headquarters), but Scrapbooks Too still manages to thrive in this market.  I think there are two reasons for this.  First, Scrapbooks Too provides that personal touch--you feel welcome there from the moment you walk in the door.  Second, Scrapbooks Too has an amazing assortment of products, both new and old.  Check out the layout below, which I made mostly with products purchased at Scrapbooks Too.  On the layout you'll see some items from "Sidewalks," one of the newest OA collections, but you will also see lots of items from "Weathervane," and other older OA lines.  I love shopping at Scrapbooks Too, looking for treasures both new and old.

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau Paper); patterned papers, chipboard, die cuts, stickers, buttons, and journaling card (October Afternoon); border punch (EK Success); pens (Zig); thread (DMC).

More about small businesses after the detail shots...

The next business I'd like to highlight is Dee's Place, one of my favorite sources for beading supplies.  Besides having all the basics, Dee also carries unusual items.  In other words, Dee's Place is another great spot for crafty treasure-hunting.  The owl below is a Christmas ornament I created from a pattern (Sew Simple magazine volume 11), but I "made it my own" by adding the felt flowers under the eyes and the vintage Czech sequins for the spots on the body.  Both the flowers and the sequins are treasures I purchased from Dee; without Dee, my owl would not have quite so much personality!

The final business I'd like to highlight, Glass Garden, is also a beading supply merchant.    The Glass Garden recycled bottle cap charm on my "Urban Beauty" layout below adds a vintage vibe to the page.  I love that so many of the products at Glass Garden are made with recycled materials.

Supplies: Grain Belt charm (Glass Garden Beads), cardstock (American Crafts), cityscape patterned paper (Basic Grey), all other patterned papers (Authentique), border stickers (Bo Bunny), black bottle caps (Bottle Cap Inc.), alphabet stickers (Authentique), rub-ons (October Afternoon--used on bottle cap), pens (Zig), thread (DMC).

I hope that I've encouraged you to check out and support some local businesses.  Even if you don't have any scrapbooking shops in your area, I'll bet you can still find a way to use items from local small businesses in your scrapbooking and other crafts...after all, we crafters are nothing if not creative.  Happy shopping!

ScrapFest 2011: Top 10

It's been a week since I attended ScrapFest 2011, a mega-event for papercrafters at the Mall of America.  To describe such an enormous event is a challenge, so I'm going to sum things up with a "Top Ten" list.  I'm also going to share a few projects I've completed with the goodies that I got at Scrap Fest.

Top Ten Memories from ScrapFest 2011

1. Last year I had to miss ScrapFest, and I was especially bummed that I missed out on the free Beadniks make-n-take.  I was hoping that Beadniks would do another make-n-take this year, so the first thing my friend and I did when we met up at MOA (the Mall of America) was to head up to the third floor and check out Beadniks, a bead/jewelry store.  My wish came true--they had a new make-n-take this year!  In the photo below, you can see the metal pendant that I stamped with the word "Love."  I do not have much hand strength, so I was a bit nervous about whether I'd be able to stamp the words and punch the jump ring hole in the metal disk.  But I need not have worried--these tasks were both easy to complete with the tools provided by Beadniks.  For just three dollars (plus the cost of supplies) anyone can rent the tools and make more pendants, and that's what my friend chose to do.  I, on the other hand, did just a bit of shopping at Beadniks and then decided to head back down to the first floor of MOA and start doing ScrapFest make-n-takes.

2.  The main activity at ScrapFest is doing make-n-takes at various manufacturer booths.  Unlike the pendant make-n-take at Beadniks, the ScrapFest make-n-takes are not free.  However, for the twenty dollar cost of an admission badge, you can do as many make-n-takes as you wish.  The manufacturer booths are scattered around the first floor of the mall, and most have long lines.  I recommend wearing comfortable shoes and bringing a book or magazine to pass the time.

3.  That said, I did not have to pull out my magazine at all, because I ended up standing next to friendly, chatty people in all the lines.  It was particularly interesting to find out where everyone was from.  I had thought that most attendees would be locals, like me, but most of the people I met were from out of town.  I even met people from Illinois, Michigan, and Nevada!  Most people said that they don't have scrapbooking stores in their areas.  That made me feel really grateful to live in the Twin Cities, where we have several Archivers stores, and a few independent scrapbook stores as well.

4.  I know that some people are really hard core about ScrapFest and manage to do 20+ make-n-takes.  As for me, though, I would go crazy from standing in line so much.  So, I just picked a few make-n-takes to do.  Do I think it's worth the price of admission?  Absolutely!  I got to try materials and techniques that I might not normally use, and many of the manufacturers gave away "extras" with their projects--see photos below.

5.  I also took some time to shop at Archivers while I was at the mall.  They had lots of new products in, just in time for ScrapFest.  I bought a lot of Christmas papers, quite a bit of the "Sidewalks" collection from October Afternoon, and also a nice selection of Lily Bee Design and Reminisce products.

6.  Since I was already at the biggest shopping mall in the country, I took some time to visit some other shops.  I satisfied my girly-girl side with some stationery from Sanrio.  And, being me, I also paid a visit to Izba, a Russian gift shop.  Whatever your tastes, the ginormous Mall of America probably has a store to suit you.

7.  To save time and money, I brought my own food.  I sat down to a bag lunch with my friend, and I brought a batch of homemade cookies to snack on while I was standing in line.  Mall food can get kind of pricey, and I'm on a budget, so I chose to put my "fun money" toward craft supplies, not food.

8.  In addition to bringing my own food, I also brought my own adhesive.  I rarely use glue sticks, but they are pretty popular at the manufacturer make-n-take booths.  So, I tucked a pack of dry adhesive in my shoulder bag.  I only needed to use it a couple times, but I was glad I had it.

9.  To me, the most exciting part of a make-n-take is being able to incorporate it into a layout.  So, during the week following ScrapFest, I made sure to spend my free time using my new goodies.  I used my supplies from the Authentique make-n-take in the layout "Yuriev Monastery" (first photo below), and I used my Beadniks make-n-take pendant in the layout "Cute as a Button" (second photo below).  I was also able to use a lot of the fun, cheerful "Sidewalks" products that I'd bought on my second layout.

Supplies: 6x6" patterned papers (Authentique), 12x12" patterned papers (Lily Bee Design), floral die cut (My Mind's Eye), all other die cuts (Authentique), alphabet stickers (Lily Bee Design), ink (Stampology/Autumn Leaves), pens (Zig), rhinestones (Petaloo).

Supplies: cardstock (Bazzill); patterned papers, stickers, die cuts, ribbon, button, metal "Play" accent (all from October Afternoon); ink (Autumn Leaves/Stampology); pens (Zig); thread (DMC); stamped metal tag (Beadniks free project).

The journaling on the first layout ("Yuriev Monastery") reads: "Novgorod is magical!  One moment you're walking through a cold, drab landscape, but the next minute you turn the corner and beautiful onion-domed churches and towers rise before your eyes.  Though dilapidated after decades of Soviet neglect, the buildings are still breathtakingly gorgeous.  Restoration work is underway both inside and outside, and soon the monastery will gleam as it once did.  I hope I can return here someday, to see Yuriev as it was meant to be seen.  But even as it is in these photos, its careworn grandeur speaks to my soul."

The journaling on the second layout ("Cute as a Button") is much simpler and reads: "Cute, playful, and very loving...that's our Tina!" 

10.  I was also eager to use the supplies I'd bought, so I devoted some of my free time to them as well.  I used a recycled bottle cap bead purchased at Beadniks to make a keychain (first photo below), and I used some of my new Reminisce products to make a Christmas ornament (second & third photos below).

Supplies: recycled bottle cap bead (Glass Garden), fancy headpin (C-Koop Beads), small glass bead (manufacturer unknown).

Supplies: chipboard rocket (October Afternoon), space monkey paper & stickers (Reminisce), aqua stickers (October Afternoon), orange stickers (Lily Bee Design), ink (Autumn Leaves/Stampology), pen (Zig), fiber (extra shoelace).

I've enjoyed the week of fun that ScrapFest and my new craft goodies provided me.  I'm still itching to try out some of the new holiday papers that I bought, so you can expect to see several Christmas layouts on this blog in the near future.  Hope you've had some time for crafting this past week, too.  I'm off to check out everyone's blogs now.  See you soon!