Honored To Say Yes

Recently I was able to attend CHA and represent a company called Dies Direct. Months have passed since I traveled to Arizona to meet them and travel on to California to CHA. During the time that we were preparing for CHA I used some of their dies to make cards for the booth. I posted them previously here on the blog.

I was recently contacted by BJ, one of the owners, and invited to sit on their Design Team. I accepted the position and I have recent received a box of their new dies. Can I just say I am blown away by some of the new designs.

When I opened the box the first one that caught my attention wasn't a die at all, it was an embossing plate. The thing that is unique about their embossing plates is that they are two sided so you get a little more for your money.

I could not wait to play with this plate. First embossing with it and then sitting down and colorizing the image. This is what I came up with:



This will make a beautiful card for Mother's Day or a Get Well Card.

I hope that you will take time to go over to the Die Direct website and look around. They have a line of dies, grunge plates, double sided embossing plates, and accessories.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

A Baby Shower

My sister-in-law, Susie is expecting her first baby. We are very excited about a new family member coming into the world. She is due the first part of June and last weekend I attended her shower.

I got the gift ready and I had forgot to buy a card.... Oh My a scrapbooker by a card? Yes when in a hurry I still buy a card but I did not want to go back to the store to get just a card so the morning of the shower while the house was still quiet I got out a few dies and made a card.

I just started reaching for things like my Spellbinder Nesting Circles, a Go-Kreate Baby Die, and the QKs Banana Split Font. (All of those dies can be found at ScrapyLand.com.) Now I know that they used to carry the Go-Kreate dies and he still has a few of them there but if I am not mistaken that company is no longer in business so there are limited dies from them. I also used a Peachy Keen stamp for the baby's eyes which I purchased at a local scrapbook store called The Scrapbook Factory. I love that store as well and they just started selling on-line.

In any case this is the card that I whipped up in a matter of 15 minutes.



You may have guessed the baby is a girl and they have chosen the name Karen to honor my Mother-In-Law who recently passed away. I know that she is looking down from heaven admiring everything that Susie is doing.

I need to make more cards instead of buying them if for no other reason to put my investment to good use.

Use those dies and save the money you would have spent on a store bought card for more dies!

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

More Cards

As many of you have heard me say, "I am not a stamper." I have collected a few stamps and a few Copic Markers and I do play with them. I enjoyed it and I have to say it was like being in art class all over again. Learning how to blend colors and what colors blend best with others.... a real challenge.

A few weeks ago I made a card with the "Rock The Farm" Greeting Farm Stamp from ScrapyLand and since then I decided to do another one very similar to the first but then the little girl also looked lonely so I did one with her as well.

This time I used the new QKs Nesting Scalloped Rectangles. These dies are made for the Epic 6 machine and I purchased the dies at Archiver's. There is one in the package that is the perfect size for the A2 card.



The inside of that card is the same as the other card from a few weeks ago but I used the same nesting rectangle as on the front of the card.



Now for the other stamp in that package. She is a cutie and I used her in a similar manner that I did the boy a couple of weeks ago but added a few little heart accents to the front of my card to carry over the heart patterns in the stamp.



Then on the inside of the card, for a little contrast instead of using the Oval Spellbinder dies as I did on the front, I used the QKs nesting rectangle again.



I had a good time making these cards and experimenting a little more with the Copic Markers and using my new nesting QKs Rectangle dies.

If you are buying something new make sure is it versatile enough that you will use it for more than one project and that it will carry over from card making into scrapbooking.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Is It Really Time For Easter Already?

The weather is starting to warm, spring bulbs have came up and the frost nipped them, spring rains have started to fall, and then temperature is up and down. All of those things point to the fact that is Springtime outside and Easter is quickly approaching.

Many of you have heard me say that I teach a CCD/PSR class. This year I have six of the most wonderful Kindergartners. I love these children. They work hard, do what is asked of them, never complain, and if I give them a homework assignment they complete it without complaints. These children have also memorized all of the required prayers and now it is time to celebrate their accomplishments.

I made Easter Baskets for them this year. These were made with the Cricut and the Easter 2010 Cartridge. (Even the little eggs on the side of the baskets are on the cartridge. )

I made 6 of them (4 bright lime green for the boys and 2 hot pink for the girls.) Each basket has a large clear character egg filled with Sixlets, Smarties, a wired movable bunny, a tube of bubbles, a Lg. Reese's Peanut Butter Egg, a flipper frog, and a Ring pop. (That is a lot of stuff layered and packed into that small little cardstock basket! There is also a small handful of the colorful shredded paper.

I took these pictures before I wrapped them with the clear cello plastic. I thought it would be easier for the kids to them home if they were covered. It worked really well. I also took pics first because I thought that the camera would "glare" after wrapping them with the plastic.







These are small baskets each made with one sheet 12 x 12 piece of AC Textured cardstock. I thought they would be perfect (just a little something for each student to let them know that I thought about them at this very special time of year.)

I was always taught that it is not the size or price of the gift that matters it is the thought. I put a lot of thought, but very little time into these baskets. They were inexpensive to make and something that I am very proud to give as a gift. I know they will not last long because after all I am giving a paper gift to 6- 6 year olds.

I sure hope they like them and I hope that I've inspired you to make one or two of these to give to children you know.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Missing Friends

I have been lax about keeping up with a couple of my friends lately and decided to mail them a card to let them know I miss visiting with them.

What better way than to pull out the new Greeting Farm Stamps and a few Copic Markers that I just got from ScrapyLand!

I love the red rubber stamps from Greeting Farm. I am not a stamper but I love the crisp lines that you get from the red rubber stamps. I also love the ability to blend with the Copic Markers. I am able to use the blender pen to lift some color off or lighten a color, and then apply another color over the top. Shading is so easy with these markers.

I think I did pretty good with this since I am just a beginner!

Here is the front of the card:



And then to tie in the fisherman with "catch" I used the following for the inside of the card:



I was a little outside my "comfort zone" with the stamping and markers but practice makes perfect and it is my belief that it will brighten someones day that I thought of them and made the card myself. They won't even notice my beginner flaws!

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Bless You!

That is what I find myself saying as cold and flu season hits hard here in the mid-west. Everywhere you look there is someone who is sick.

I came up with a little something for those close to me as a little get well gift. This could also be used as a "welcome" gift left on the night stand for a visitor in your home. I even thought the little tissue box could be made in child prints/colors for a child that you did not want to give a full sized box of tissues (because let's face it, children will waste tissue like there is no tomorrow.)

This is a couple of pictures of the little get well "set."






This is a purse size package of tissues that I made the box for. Below you will also find a template for the box. You will need to start with a 8" x 8 1/2" piece of cardstock. Score as shown on the template, cut the corners away, cut on the score lines where indicated and then use the small Spellbinder die to cut the hole in the cardstock before you start folding it. I nestled the same oval Spellbinder die with one of the scalloped Spellbinder dies to make the little scalloped edging for the hole. Added a couple of ribbon bows and stopped with that but you could add a few 3d flowers to it or some writing on the side if you like.





I know that my template is a little crude. I did not go back and redo it after I complete the project. I think it is pretty easy to follow.

Then I added, in the same papers, a lip balm cover. This idea did appear in the Scrapbook Etc. Magazine this month.



Finally, because I do not want people who are sick spreading germs I decided to round my get well gift with a purse size hand sanitizer. I removed the label from the bottle and made my own little decorative label using those same Spellbinder dies that I used on the tissue box.




I think there are a lot of possibilities using these ideas for a little gift for someone without offending and let's face it small so they don't cost a lot of money and it is the thought that counts (the thought that you don't want to be sick!)

So for that neighbor who has been sick with a cold or the flu, make their day with a little gift.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

With A Little Luck

Later this month we will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day! Wow where does time go?

A little trivia about St. Patrick. He used the clover to teach people about the Holy Trinity. We, in the USA, wear green because the clovers are green and because Ireland is called the Emerald Isle. But did you know that St. Patrick was not from Ireland? Did you know that in America we think that the 4 leaf clover is lucky but in other parts of the world it is considered a curse to find one.

I had to laugh at that because if it were a curse to find one would one really look for a 4-leaf clovers.

I guess I think too much.

I am sharing a St. Patrick's Day Card with a How-To Video today. Shhhhh most of my friends are all getting one of these this year.





Do you remember the card I did at Christmas time with this same technique.... ?




Not just for one holiday, it can be altered for any holiday or event. I am making one for my son right now for his new home and that little QKs house from a few months ago is perfect. Or use the birthday cake a for party coming up.

Here is the video how I made them:



I hope you will try one of these and make it your own!

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

For The Love Of Nature

My husband loves to fish. He already has Spring Fever! He can't wait to get out on the water to fish this year. Looking at these pictures from 2 years ago isn't helping him focus on chores around the house. I had to scrap this LO and put it away before I became a fishing widow again. (When he gets the itch he must go.)

I am loving using some of the older QKs fonts and things that I have in my stash. For this LO is used Diesel Font in both Grand and Classic sizes and then I also used the Studio Skinni Mini Font for his name and date lines. For the embellishments on the page I dug into my Deluxe Cuts and found some fishing related items. I inked those up and put a few eyelets them to update the style of a really old product. (Deluxe Cuts/Deluxe Designs are no longer in business.)



I am loving scrapbooking once again. Each LO that I complete is one step closer to being caught up.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Music Was In The Air

I am a full 2 years behind in my scrapbooking and I am trying to get caught up but as I look at the boxes of pictures I think that I am doomed to always be 2 years behind because every time that I complete a LO I have taken enough pictures to do 10 more.

I didn't even take the picture in the LO. I forgot my camera and one of the other mothers took this picture with her cell phone and then emailed it to me. The quality is not great but I got to document the event.

I used QKs Storybook font to do the title around the picture, some ribbon and bows for accents, and since I only had a 14 inch piece of the music ribbon I used white ribbon on the side and used a couple of music note brads to pull it all together.

It is busy but it turned out just he way I wanted it to and my daughter loves it (which is all that really matters, right?)



Once again I am using things that I've had in my scrap stash for a while now and that is great so now I can go buy more.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Getting Back To My Albums

It has been a long time since I've scrap-booked in my personal albums. There are several reasons for this 1) I've been so busy doing things for Design Teams (DT) and meeting deadlines that I didn't really have time and the pictures that I had didn't really match what I needed to be using for those DTs, 2) I am also a little obsessive/compulsive and I have to scrapbook in order, there are very few exceptions to that rule for me and 3) when I wasn't scrap-booking for the DTs I was busy taking care of my family's needs (2008 and 2009 were very busy years and I am glad they are over) 4) the lay-out (LO) that I am posting today was very difficult for me to scrapbook.

This LO is of a day that I spent with my dad. He was so giddy about going to the grand opening of the Cabela's store. My husband and him talked about it from the day they found out that Cabela's was coming to a mall near us. We planned for months to go. My dad passed away this past May (2009) and the first set of pictures on my desk to scrapbook after my DT duties were finished was these pictures. It was very hard for me to do these pictures. Every time I say down I cried.

I finally managed to finish the LO and used 3 fonts, 3 methods, and then some of the stuff in my arsenal of supplies to finish it. I didn't want to leave any of the pictures out so it is cram packed with photos.

First off I used Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) to create the "Cabela's" writing. I have to give a shout out to Heather Mills for helping with that. I am not good with the SCAL unless it is with just TT Fonts in my computer.

Second I used the QuicKutz Diesel Grand for the word "Grand" and some mini CC leaf dies for the leaves.

Third I used my Cricut with Cricut Design Studio and cartridge Opposites Attract to do the word "opening."

The rest of the embellishments were items I had like the Karen Foster metal charms.

I am glad this LO is finished and I like the way it turned out.









I am glad to be back working in my albums and I am looking forward to doing more very soon. I am also looking forward to using things that I want to use instead of "having" to use certain dies, fonts, or scrapbooking items. This will also allow me to use up my stash which I am very much looking forward to doing.

My challenge today to you is to use something that you've had for a while.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda