Tis the season to be  jolly and cold for that matter if you live in the Cincinnati aarea. My latest -n- greatest creation for the holidays (so far)... a couple of peace cards. I absolutely LOVE one of Ashley's layout ideas in her book    Scraptastic! The layout uses ribbon loops to add dimension and interest to the page. How innovative! I love it. I stole the idea to create a cross look on a peace card for my mom :) What do you think? This book is Fabulous! You'll be missing out if you don't pick up a copy! So many great ideas...

Happy Holidays,
Kelly

 
 

As I mentioned in a previous post, two North Light Craft editors have been holding a Knit-along for F+W employees interested in learning how to knit. Every Thursday a group of us gather in the lunchroom and these two talented knitters sit patiently, teaching the rest of us how to untangle our yarn in hopes of creating a finished piece. I've made scarves in the past. Very simple, straight stitch, no pearling, one color scarves. So, my knitting skills were pretty minimal. However, I dove right into the suggested hat project and it quickly consumed my life. Every day I felt an excited urgency to rush home from work so I could continue working on my hat! It took a few weeks, but when it was done, I was SO excited. That is, until I put it on my head and realized I had made it about 4 sizes too big!! Total bummer!

The hat itself turned out really nice though...so I knew I couldn't just throw it away. Jenny, one of our fabulous knitting gurus, suggested I donate the hat to a good cause. The Dulaan Project (Dulaan = warm) seeks to inspire the generous spirit of the knitting community to help meet the urgent needs of Mongolia's impoverished people. The project, based in Arizona, collects donated knitted items year round, then makes a once a year shipment to Mongolia with all the warm goods. It was the perfect place for my hat to go.

So today, before my hat heads west to Arizona, I thought I'd share it's story with you. Now, I'm onto the next one - this time paying a bit more attention to my measurements!

Have you ever had a project you were so excited about not turn out quite as you expected? Where did that project end up?

Eileen

I'll just start right off by saying I love the techniques in Scraptastic! As a former (and now current, once again) member of the North Light Craft team, I was familiar with many of the supplies Ashley Calder uses on her pages—things like gel medium, modeling paste, gold leafing. But I loved learning Ashley's techniques for these materials and for incorporating them into scrapbook pages.

And I love, too, how Ashley breathes new life into so many techniques I already knew how to do. Including something as simple as paper or ribbon weaving. I've made a woven placemat or two in my day, but I never thought to incorporate this skill onto my scrapbook page.

Here's Ashley's layout that inspired me to give it a try:

And mine, that oddly enough even uses the same color palette:


Don't forget to go here for your chance to win a copy of Scraptastic! And here to learn more about Ashley and the book.

Until next time,
Christine

I’ve been wanting to make a digital page for a quite a while. Last night, I got the urge to make a Thanksgiving layout, so I thought I’d try my hand at digital and use our free digital kit by Corina Nielsen. And since Eileen already shared about gratitude, I thought I’d make a light-hearted Thanksgiving page.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve looked forward to Thanksgiving for one reason: Nana’s (my grandma) stuffing. Sure, I fill my plate with tons of Thanksgiving treats, but the helping of stuffing far outweighs all the rest. Nana passed away several years ago, but my mom took over her stuffing-making duties (and my sister had the pleasure last year).  Sadly, I will be at my in-laws this year so I won’t be able to partake of Nana’s yummy stuffing goodness. But dreaming about the herbs and spices Mom promised to make me for Christmas instead inspired this quick layout.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving treats?  Let us know in the comments section! And from all of us at Memory Makers Books—Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s one week until Thanksgiving, and my stomach is starting to grumble for all the awesome side dishes it’ll soon encounter. (That’s my favorite part about Thanksgiving dinner…all the sides!)

The upcoming holiday has had me thinking…what am I thankful for this year (other than delicious side dishes)? And for me, this year has been all about the people in my life.

I made this layout about a month ago, in response to a challenge posted on the MM Magazine blog asking the very same question. I kept the layout light hearted with the fun patterned paper, because that’s how all of these people make me feel - happy, playful, light hearted and loved - and for THAT I am so thankful.

What is it that you’re thankful for this year?

- Eileen

I've been in the book-making business for 15 years now (yikes!), but I never quite get over the thrill of seeing the books I had a hand in creating on the shelves of a store. I know how much work goes into each one of the books. The hours the author spends creating the art and writing the text. The hours put in by the editor and designer to create a package that fits the author's work. The hours spent by production and the printer to get the book actually made. So to see it all come together and actually make it all the way to the customer is pretty cool.

When I walked into my local Archivers this past weekend, I was so happy to see so many new Memory Makers books front and center on the shelves. It warmed my heart, indeed. (So forgive me for being petty and blurring out the covers of the non-MM Books :)



Until next time,
Christine