Just Can't Thank You Enough

Card group time again. This time we went to the new Olive Garden in town...yum! I had the Ravioli de Portabella which was FANTASTIC. Can you tell, I'm all about the food? Oh, yeah. The cards were FANTASTIC too! Such talent and creativity. It's so fun to see how someone else puts something together. My card uses the new scallop square punch from Stampin' Up and the stamp set that is made to go with it, can't remember what it's called. I picked a ribbon and based my card off of those colors....voila!

Halloween Card and Other Card Group

Ok, crazy I know! But I am in two card groups that meet monthly. They even happen to fall on the same week. But it is so much fun, I can't help myself. I mean, really, look at all the cute cards I am collecting!! This is from the evening "make and take" card group.

This is a Halloween card I made for the group. I used the technique of masking for the jack-o-lanterns. This is where you stamp an image. Then you stamp the same image on a sticky note, cut it out, and use it to "mask" the first image when you stamp the second (different) image to make it look like it is behind your main image. Worked for the faces as well. The inside of the card says "you make me smile"! Stamp set is from Stampin' Up.

Card Group

Here are the pictures I said I would post from our latest card group at Harley's!


What a cute group of ladies, don't you think!! They are most definitely some of my FAVORITE people (and what a collection of talent)!

World Card Making Day

Did you know that on Saturday, October 4, 2008 it is World Card Making Day! It is a time to celebrate handmade greeting cards, creativity and the bonds that paper crafting brings to those of us who do it! We are a unique group, you know! We have our own language (CASE, TFS, crop, acid free, mount, embellishments, etc.), we love to teach others what we know (especially what we have learned recently that is so COOL!), we are perfectionistic to a degree (keep on tweeking that scrapbook page or card until it is just right/has the right amount of embellishments or BLING)! So take the day off, get together with a few of your favorite crafty people and make cards to your hearts content!

This card made using Autumn Leaves "Winter Wonders" by Amy Grendell.

Card Group and Harley Davidson-what a combo!

It is my favorite time of the month again!! Card group time-12 of us meet at a local restaurant for lunch and a card swap. The cards are actually just an excuse to get together-it is a nice BONUS! We have such a great time. Today we ate at a new place called Marley's Gourmet Sliders in Lindon, Utah at the new Harley Davidson shop/restaurant. The food was so good. You choose your meat: beef burger, chicken, turkey or coney dog. Then you choose your toppings like cheese, grilled onions, avacado, bacon, cranberries, mushrooms, etc. I had 2 sliders (they are small burgers/sandwiches). One was beef with cheese, onions and spicy buffalo sauce. The other was turkey with avacado, cranberry sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and red onion. It came with a drink and fries for about $10. Everything was yummy! It is definitely a repeat! Will definitely have to take my DH as he is a burger fanatic. Will post pics of cards later!

Ikea is a haven for scrapbooking organization!

Ok, so over the long weekend (Labor Day) I decided that it was way beyond time to clean out and organize my office. Scrapbooking room is next. I did some googling because I remembered seeing the coolest bookcase that someone had used from IKEA to organize their scrapbooking supplies in. Well, I found it along with a lot of other very useful items. Here is the picture of the Expedit bookcase that I was looking for. The cubes are 13x13x15. Perfect for 12x12 storage, big totes, magazine file folders, and a multitude of other things. It comes in black-brown, white and birch. I love it! So, off I set with my list in hand to IKEA. I spent a good couple of hours there...by myself. It was grand! On my way out of the store, however, I found another bookcase in the center aisle that was the same design, only slightly smaller...only 3 cubes x 3 cubes instead of 4 x 4. I asked one of the employees about it and he told me it was a special purchase only available in birch, and that when they were gone....they were gone. I got two! They were $49 instead of the $159 that I was going to pay for the Expedit one. I saved so much money, I had to buy lots more stuff! Here are some things you may want to check out for your organizational needs. Lekman boxes fit expedit cube perfectly.

Burken jars for embellishments.

Motorp boxes (meant for dvd's) to keep stamp sets in.

Samla (1 gallon size) to keep envelopes nice and dust-free.

Antonius Unit with a work top is just the right size for a paper cutter. They have several desk top organizers to use for every day items like stamp cleaner, ruler, punches, scissors, etc.

Stripa shelving-for almost anything you could think of. Bygel rail system for hanging punches on (this is a favorite of mine!!!).

This is called a benno cd tower which can be used for stamp set storage.

MAKE YOUR OWN PATTERNED PAPER

Here is a page of patterned paper that I made out of white cardstock, Tangerine, Wisteria, and Chestnut Roan Clearsnap Chalk Box Inks, and a stamp set from Autumn Leaves called Spring by Sande Krieger. The Tangerine ink is linked to the Orange Crush Bazzill Cardstock on our site as a matchability set, so I pulled some of the cardstock and created this card. You will never have to worry about finding just the right patterned paper again....you just make it yourself!

Card is antiqued by using Antique Linen Distress Ink by Tim Holtz and the butterfly is from Romance of Spring Stamp Set, also by Sande Krieger.

MATCHABILITY

We have something on our website that we call "Matchability". That means simply that we have taken the guess work out of matching up items that you purchase from our site. We stamped all of the ink pads, both Clearsnap Chalk box and the Distress Ink by Tim Holtz, from Ranger. Then we took Bazzill Cardstock samples and matched them to the color of the ink. Next, we took all of our brads, ribbons, buttons, and other embellishments and found colors in the packages that match the paper and ink. When you click on any of those items, a flower icon pops up that is a link to other matching items. You can totally coordinate your scrapbook page using this system. Cardstock, ink and embellishments that you know are going to match, makes scrapbooking or card making that much easier!Have you ever made your own matching paper out of white cardstock, an ink pad or two, and a stamp set? Very fun, easy and guarantees a patterned paper that matches your solid color Bazzill. I love making my own matching patterned paper.

Clear Acrylic Stamps

I have used Stampin' Up and Hero Arts and other rubber stamps for years and loved them. They have a huge selection of different designs and words. However, if you have not used clear acrylic stamps, you don't know what you are missing! Clear stamps have been becoming more and more popular in recent years mostly due to two things; affordability and ease of placement.

You generally get more stamps for the money (I guess maybe because you don't have to have a wood block mounted on each stamp...? and maybe the process of manufacturing is just less...who knows). With clear acrylic stamps, like Autumn Leaves or Heidi Swapp, you buy an acrylic block that is reusable over and over again. And clean up is simple with soapy water or clear stamp cleaner. Look at this darling Autumn Leaves clear stamp set by Rhonna Farrer called Big Swirls.
But, the biggest difference is being able to see through the stamp and place it exactly where you want it. No more re-stamping because you stamped something too close or too far away. You can see exactly where the image will end up. This is sooo handy for adding words to your scrapbook pages or handmade cards or for putting one image on top of another image (like a candle on top of a cake!).

Card Group (make and take)

This last month was actually my turn to host the make and take card group. We did two projects; the water bottle tags and the magnetic bookmarks (both blogged about below!). There were 5 of the 12 who were not there, but everyone sent cards so it was a good month for us! One of the girls in the group (Ginay)had a great idea for a "Pass it Along" Card. You put different tags into a pocket, placing the appropriate one in the front, for instance: happy birthday, happy anniversary, thank you, etc. Then you write a personal note on a separate piece of paper and stick it inside the card. The main card has a little message about passing the card along by changing the tag and the personal note inside. And there you have a re-usable greeting card! Here is the one she made for us.

Isn't that way cute? The tags are stamped front and back with a different sentiment. She is mucho creative! Here are the rest of the darling cards from the group. We use everything from cricket, Stampin' Up, quickutz, cuttle bug and many other brands. It's always so fun to get new ideas and styles of cards.

I just realized I'm missing one card! My cute daughter-in-law Kelli made a really pretty one and I gave it away already! I'm gonna have to get it from someone else and add the picture so you can see it. Way cute!

This is an especially fun group for Gina and I because one of her daughters is in the group (Ginay-mentioned above) and two of mine, Stacy and Kelli (my aforementioned d-i-l).

Magnetic Bookmarks

I bought one of these magnetic bookmarks a while ago from a local store and used it for a while before it hit me! I just had to try to make my own using stamps! Duh! They are so fast and easy and sooooo useful! Everybody needs at least one bookmark, right? The cardstock is 2 1/4" x 7 and is scored and folded at 3 1/2". The "friendship quote" is colored with markers and then spritzed lightly with water before stamping. The dragonfly bookmark is stamped using a multi-colored pad (like a big and juicy).

Mount on coordinating cardstock/paper and staple ribbon on before attaching to bookmark. Round corners (make sure you do this BEFORE you attach magnet!), attach sticky back magnet strip about 1/3" from bottom on inside and Voila! Ready to use! Comes in handy when I am in the middle of two or three books at the same time...... ;) You slip it over the top of the page and the magnets hold it in place. GREAT idea, don't you think!

Website Card Gallery

Here is a link to our fun new card gallery. All of the cards are handmade by Gina, me, and our daughters Ginay and Stacy. They are created with stamps and other supplies that are sold at our online store Crop and Stick. Come and check it out!

Card Group

Just got back from one of my card groups that meets once a month for lunch and a card swap. We had a great lunch. We ate at one of the gals homes. She had made several different quiches, orange rolls and had fresh fruit and homemade ice cream! And just look at the darling cards! Such pretty colors and cute ideas. It is always so much fun. Can't wait for next months!

Water Bottle Tags

Ok, I said this was going to be a blog about paper crafting too and I haven't yet....so, here goes. I cased this idea from Nancy Riley a fellow blogger and stamper. Check out her blog for some really great cards, etc. I think it would be a fun gift to give the girls at camp, or maybe a visiting teacher gift. Anyways, I couldn't wait to try them. The cardstock is 2" x 7 3/4", and is scored at 2" and 6". I used the coordinating paper as a wrapper around the water bottle to cover the label. The hole is made with a 1 3/8" circle punch (which fits over the lid of the water bottle) and the pocket is made by folding up on the bottom score line and attaching with brads. The small crystal light packets fit perfectly! Now, I just need to buy some that match my paper, right? Like strawberry or something more along the lines of pink!? I have also seen these made larger and attached to a 2L bottle of pop with stick-like candies in the pocket (pixie stix or something similar!). (Cardstock, paper, brads, stamp and punches all from Stampin' Up.) *just a note: crystal light have shorter packages than Wyler's or some of the other brands. If you use another packet of drink mix, you may need to adjust the size of the cardstock to 2x9, scoring at 2 and 7 inches.