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Cut Loose Giveaway + New Pages
So first thing first. Happy Canada Day! :) Today is Canada's birthday - she's 141 years old. She looks pretty good for her age - no wrinkles, no grey hair.
This means a day with family and friends, cheezy parades and BBQs. Looks like it is going to be a great day. :)
Second - did you know that Memory Makers was giving away a copy of my book, Cut Loose, this week???? Oh ya! There is chance to win a copy here - all you need to do is leave an answer to their question in the comments. Pretty easy! Go. Enter. Win. Good luck everyone :)
So last night I wanted to scrap. I actually felt like I was counting down the minutes until the kidlets went to bed. You know the feeling. I mean, I love them but sometimes I want a little me time. Then they went to bed and I walked into my dining room/scrap space and....it was a mess. I mean a I don't want to take a photo and show you cause I am too embarassed kinda mess. It just sort of happened over the last week. I would try to squeeze in some scrapping and I started stacking things to the side and whamo - total disaster!
But I was tired and to be honest I didn't want to tidy it up. (*insert foot stomp here, lol) So I decided to abandon my plan and cozy up on the couch while my hubby played video games. Well, that got boring fast. So I grabbed the laptop and decided to digi scrap. That is the beauty of digital - when you already have one giant scrappy mess you can digi scrap cause it makes no mess!
So here is what I made.
(a lot of the embellishments for this page are from this free kit - paper is from here)
One of the things I like about digi scrapbooking (beside the lack of mess) is I can use digital papers in ways that I wouldn't with physical paper. For example, see the above paper background? I would never cut and layer it that way 'cause I would need probably 2-3 sheets to create that look. I am much too thrifty to do that. BUT with digital I can "cut" my papers and not "waste" a thing. Not sure what I mean - see the paper below. That is what it looked like originally. I cut sections from it, overlapping my cuts and then overlapped the pieces on my page.
And then I thought I was going to bed so that was going to be it but my hubby decided that he needed to finish just one more level so I made a really quick page in response to this challenge.
I am an adventurer. Not always in real life but definitely in my heart. :)
(paper from here - I so love this paper - and embellishments from here)
Now I am off to have a fun Canada Day and maybe tackle the mess in my scrappy room. :) Have a great one everyone out there.
7/1/2008 9:10:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Summer Album Started
So you might have seen that I am starting to work on a summer album for each of my kidlets, Harper and Magnus. I started the covers last week but hadn’t decided where I wanted the albums to go yet. All I knew was I wanted one for each of them and I wanted work on them throughout the summer.
This past weekend I put some more thought into them and came up with a plan. I decided I was not going to treat them like tradition mini albums that have a cohesive theme and use coordinating product throughout the album. I am going to treat each page like I treat a scrapbook page – individually. I have a very general theme that is based on each kidlet & our summer vacation but that is about it. I plan to add in anything that catches my interest about them throughout the summer break. It can be big or small, something we do, something that is said or even thought – theirs or mine. Pretty loose but it leaves a lot of opportunities open.
So I decided to title each album – Harper Was Here & Magnus Was Here. Very general but captures the idea of the album – a snapshot of our lives this summer.
I started to work on the covers but was really itching to start on some inside pages. So I put the covers aside to work on during a time when I don’t have a story to tell and worked on some inside pages. I plan to make a summary page at the beginning but again I will work on that later.
So here is the first page in Harper’s book. Something big.
I got Harper to add her own writing to make it personal.
And here is the first page in Magnus’ book. Something small.
Just a funny that Magnus said the other day.
(Ignore the spelling error in the journaling - it has since been corrected.)
6/30/2008 11:52:15 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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First Day of Summer Vacation - Scrapbook Page
This is how Harper feels....
This was her yesterday before she left for the last day of school. Oh ya, she was bouncing off the walls she was so happy. :)
So that made today our first day of summer vacation. Funny how summer doesn't feel like it has started until the kidlets are out of school. So this is how we celebrated...
(most digital items on this page are from freebie kits on the MM site).
Tomorrow is soon enough to follow the rules with getting dressed, limited video game playing and healthy eating. :)
(And I am proud to be THAT mom - I mean what is the harm??)
6/27/2008 6:09:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Want to Save 30% off Cut Loose???
Look what the MyCraftivity newletter says today...
This is just a screen shot of the newletter so the links won't work but to see the entire newletter click here.
Have to admit that I am kind of excited to think it is on sale for real now. :)
For the MyCraftivity shop click here.
***
Back with scrapbooking later today.
6/27/2008 9:31:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Covering a Shaped Album with Paper
I didn't get as much time as I wanted to start my new albums yesterday but I did get the covers started. I did take pictures in hopes that it might help someone who has never tackled one of these type of fun albums.
Remember, these are the albums I am working with.
So I decided to start in on Harper's album - the flower. I picked my paper and then got started.
The first thing to do is to open the binding a bit so you can slip some pages off to decorate. Just carefully pull to open. (If you don't want to do this you can just decorate around the binding.)
They opened easy enough so I slipped off the cover and got ready to cover it in paper. There are two ways to cover the chipboard.
First way - just adhere down the cover to the paper. Do not cut it out first.
You then use your fingertip craft knife and "draw" around the edges and get a perfect cut. This is what I would normally do since I love this little knife so much but I left my knife in my boxes for the GASC and they are somewhere between Chantilly, VA and Grand Rapids, MI right now, lol. I was trying to be efficent and make sure I wasn't bringing so many supplies back and forth! ugg!
No big deal though 'cause there are more than one way to do things!
So I traced out the design onto the back of my paper including the markings for the binding holes.
I then cut out the design making sure to cut just inside the lines. (When you trace something it gets a little bigger so you want to cut it a little smaller than the lines so that it fits.) I don't worry about perfection - you will see why later.
Now the holes for the binding are square and I do not have a tiny square punch to fit. Of course I could have run out and tried to find such a punch but instead I work with what I have on hand.
I used a small circular punch and punched along all the marked squares. I will later make these into squares but for right now they offer the perfect starting spot.
Now it is time to adhere the paper. I always get asked what type of adhesive I use for this...
Yup. The humble glue stick. The adhesive we start with and quickly leave behind as we get more "experience". Well, it is time to revisit this great adhesive.
There are two reasons I love it for covering chipboard surfaces. One - it is cheap & holds well - got to love that!. Two - really important -I can get really good edge to edge coverage. This is what I really love about it. I can just rub away not worrying about using too much cause it is expensive and I can get every little bit of the surface covered in adhesive. With mini albums that are to be handled without protective covers it is important to make sure all the edges are secure so they don't start to lift and eventually tear.
I always apply it directly to the chipboard cause it is stiff & sturdy and I don't have to worry about accidently bending or tearing my paper. (have fun!! LOL)
So slap that paper down and rub with your fingers (or a brayer if you have one - I don't) to make sure the paper gets adhered everywhere. Now you may find this has happened...
Remember how I said don't worry about being super precise when cutting? Well, unless you spend forever cutting (and who wants to do that???? LOL) you will get some "wobbles". It's ok. This is why sand paper was invented! (and ink too) It is the miracle tool for hiding wobbles!
You can use a regular piece of sand paper, a sanding block (found at the hardware store), a nail file (check out the dollar store) or if you really want luxury (at a decent price, lol) go for the Basic Grey Precision file set. Love, love, love this tool. BUT of course my set is in the same box as my Finger Tip Craft knife (see above!) so of course a new plan was needed. If I had my file set I would use it to get in an around all the edges of the shape as well as all the little binding holes (this is what makes this tool so great - you can get into small, tight places).
You want to sand the edges to remove any paper that overhangs as well as tidy up any uneven "wobbles".
No special tecnique involved - just sand the edges! You will get a white edge as the printed part is sanded off. You can leave this as is or if you want to disquise your "wobbles" even more you can ink or paint the edges. This will hid everything!
But I don't have my BG tool and I am feeling a bit lazy so I grab this...
Yup - found this in my hubby's tools. Attached the sanding bit and went to town (have used it for this before so I knew it works). Talk about getting the job done quickly! Just a tip - use the LO setting so you have better control. The downside? You can't get into tight places like the "V" of the flower petals or the small binding holes. So in about 2 minutes I had all the major areas sanded and then I had to stop scrapping as life needed me :). So today I need to figure out how I am going to sand the small holes and then get to decorating the cover.
Have a great day everyone. :)
6/26/2008 9:08:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Modern Memory Keeper + New Projects
So I realized that I never mentioned that the lovely Ronee Parsons new book, Modern Memory Keeper, was available. It is probably because my copy hasn't arrived and I haven't seen it page by page. I always need visual cues for my memory to kick in, lol.
Anyway, if you plan on attacking that stack of heritage photos you have and making a scrapbook this book is a great place to start. It is all about heritage scrapbooking but it encourages you to have a fresh take on it and this includes the colors you use (no browns here!) to the stories you pick to tell. I had the wonderful opportunity to contribute some art to this book and I definitely learned a few things along the way. First, I learn that I actually like to scrapbook heritage photos. I know, weird, but I never had an urge to do it before. I got some stories down that I would never have tackled before. Second, I learned how to "mend" a photo. I had a very old photo that had some damage and was torn in half but I learned how to "fix" it digitally and you know what? It wasn't nearly as hard as I imagined it would be. Shockingly not hard. I was able to mend the photo and reprint it for family members and they couldn't believe it was the same photo. It still had all its heritage charm but the tear was gone! There were other things I loved but those were the most important things I took away from working on this book. I cannot wait to get the book so I can learn some of the other things that are included.
This is one of the stories I would have never got down if I hadn't worked on the book.
 
 
It is filled with funny stories about how all our Grandparents got their nicknames. It seems nobody in our family is content with calling them Grandma and Grandpa!
I made the ablum completely from scratch using cardboard, patterned paper (mostly A2Z and Bo Bunny) , transparencies (handcut and edges painted) and zipper ties for bindings.
This is also another page I created for the book which uses memoribilia.
I copied a love letter from my Grandfather to my Grandmother and included it on the page. I needed to scan it and print it because the letter now belongs to my Aunt but she lent it to me so I could copy it. I stapled the copied letter at the top so you can lift it and read all the pages. It is kind of nice to have this personal item in my scrapbooks now.
I can't wait to see the whole book. :) Congrats Ronee!
And guess what? My missing luggage has arrived! So I thought I might show you what I am up to today (fingers crossed).
Remember I told you I went on the shopping floor at the GASC this past weekend? Well this is one of the things I got in my mad dash. These albums are by Melissa Frances and measure I would guess about 8-9" high. The half shapes fold out to a full shape which looks really great as a finished album. The best part? They were 3 for $5! Yup, I had to ask again 'cause I couldn't believe it. They had tiny ones too but I went right for the biggies! In my mind I planned the star for a "Magnus" album and the flower for a "Harper" album. I thought we could fill them together over this summer break (last day tomorrow!). The third album - no plans yet but something will come to me. :) So today I plan to get the albums started - you can see I have already started to pull papers (under the albums) for the covers. I can't wait to get scrappy!
I also picked up this from the same Melissa Frances booth. Made of wood and painted cream, about 12" long.
Not my usual thing but as soon as I saw it I thought - jewellry box. I am going to cover it in bits of papers and maybe some photos and use it as a jewellry box. It was on sale for $9 which was a steal I think but they knocked it down to $5 because one of the latches was broken. Woohoo! I love deals!
Especially deals that I don't have to search for! I mean, it took me all of 5 seconds to find this super deal. Can't wait for the next GASC to see what I will find there! Grand Rapids here I come!
6/25/2008 9:54:03 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Great American Scrapbook Convention - Day 2 (Sat)
First, I have recovered from this.
My loooong day/night at the airport and the tiredness. I think I probably waited all of 5 minutes (out of politeness of course) after my husband got home from work yesterday before I went for a nap. I told Austin to wake me in an hour and well, he tried but apparently I wouldn't wake. 3 hours later I finally dragged myself from bed. Slept through dinner, slept through everything. 2 hours later I was back in bed after tucking in the kidlets and slept for another 12 hours. Definitely feeling better this morning!
So back to the GASC.
On Saturday my schedule was this...
Book signing in the middle of all that. All the advance copies of Cut Loose sold out but will be available soon online and at local stores soon.
But this schedule might also account for some of the tiredness! I had a crazy schedule but it was my own choice. I love to teach scrapbooking so I jam my days with as many classes as possible. I never feel the tiredness until after the show. Looking at this photo I realize I was listed as a 2008 MMM on my class sign - guess I must have graduated ;) a year later, lol.
So the day was great. Lots of really full classes, full of really wonderful scrappers.
A few highlights...
There were these three....
Trouble, with a capitol "T" I tell ya! Trouble! These lovelies were in a few of my classes and were having a great time and I loved laughing with them. I was pretty sure I was going to have to call security ;) to kick them out they were having "too much" fun, lol. Just kidding of course. I love to seeing people at these events just really enjoying themselves with friends and enjoying the hobby they love. Plus the woman on the left...she was being converted to scrapping by the other two. Being brought over to the scrappy side! And she rocked the craft knife like a pro I tell ya. I would have never know she was a "newbie".
And of course on Saturday I had my Cut Loose class which is modelled after my new book. There were lots of ladies cutting loose that day! Might have frightened a few ;) but we took a deep breath and dove right in. :)
The above two ladies were the sweetest things. And when they asked to take a photo of us all together this is what they got....
Yup, had a really great time!
Oh and I did get to do about 5 seconds of shopping on the show floor. Bought some amazing deals but of course they are in my missing luggage. :( Good thing I didn't have lots of time to shop cause I might have had to buy a second suitcase (which I am sure would have gone missing too...!)
Hopefully it will arrive today and I can start getting scrappy with them. Of course my paper cutter and all my basic tools are in the missing luggage so kind of hard to scrap without them. :)
Hope everyone is having a great day out there, where ever you are!
6/24/2008 9:04:24 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Not My Day
It was so NOT my day yesterday! What was supposed to be a quick 1.5 hour commuter flight home from the GASC turned into over a 13 hour travel nightmare. See all the yellow on the above sign? Those were delayed flights. (I was not the ONLY one have a bad travel day!) Storms elsewhere in the country caused airplanes to be late arriving to get us weary travellers and take us to our destinations.
Let's just say I know the inside of that airport like the back of my hand now!
OH and I must mention that apparently I have invisible metal somewhere on my body that set off the metal detectors when I went through security. Who knew? Apparently it was so invisible that I didn't even know it existed, lol. Lets just say I had to let a security officer get mightly personal with me! That was a first. Apparently this invisible metal has never decided to make trouble for me before and if I ever find it on me I am going to give it some trouble, lol!
OH and the lighting storm we flew through made me fear flying just a little - had a bit of a queasy stomach after all the air "bumps".
And to top it all off after I finally was on my home turf - no luggage. Yup, in the very wee hours of last night (or technically very early this morning) I had the wonderful surpise of having no luggage arrive. To be honest, at that point I didn't care and just wanted to be home and snoring away! :)
So I am zonked today and doing my best to stay slightly moving around so as to not fall asleep. I don't think Magnus would care for a snoring Momma today as he is full of his usual spunk and energy.
No worries though, I don't feel sorry for myself. You sometimes got to just roll with life and take what comes and try to smile. :) :) :) Afterall it makes a great travel story. ;)
Will try to answer all the emails you have been sending but might be a bit slow getting caught up with those. You know I love y'all but sleep might win out right now. :)
6/23/2008 9:28:55 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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TIRED but having oh so much FUN!
This is the reason for being tired...
Lots and lots of classes I am teaching but I am having so much FUN because of this...
...the PEOPLE! I love getting a chance to connect with fellow scrapbookers and seeing them learning and trying new things. Classes have been great and I am loving it all.
AND if I could have an award for student of the day it would be this woman...
She had never attended a class before and she signed up for three of my classes yesterday - all in a row! I mean she was a trooper! She was willing to try and experiment and learn and dive right in. She is fairly new to scrapbooking but she got loads of inspiration at this show. I've got to love this.
This is why I love to teach. The people.
Now I am off again for another full day of teaching and hopefully (fingers crossed) some shopping on the show floor! I mean, I know I don't NEED any scrap supplies but who can resist a floor full of goodies just waiting there calling my name.... :)
6/21/2008 7:06:42 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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A Great TV Commercial Quote
When watching TV last night I heard this quote - loved it so much I wrote it down.
(Got to love staying in a hotel 'cause nice little note pads are everywhere!)
I am off to start my day at the Great American Scrapbook Convention - can't wait to meet everyone and catch up with some familiar faces. :)
6/20/2008 6:55:58 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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I {heart} my CROP*A*DILE
I have arrived in Chantilly, VA for the GASC and after a long day of travel I was in desparate need of a beer that could not be opened so I searched and searched my room and there was my crop-a-dile....ta da...apparently it is good for more than punching holes in really thick objects and setting eyelets! I need to write We Are Memory Keepers a thank-you letter....
Seriously, don't leave home without one!
I really, really, really, really {heart} my crop-a-dile right now! :)
**
(oh, I changed my mind and brought the laptop - so hopefully will be blogging all about the show)
6/19/2008 9:56:51 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Let's Talk About the Weather... + GASC
When you need to pass some time with some small talk you always revert to the weather right? Everyone around here does. Well, I've got nothing to share today due to my back being out so I thought I would small talk you with the weather.
Of course I have visuals...
Yes, that is hail! Hard balls of ice that fell from the sky a day or so ago. It lasted less than 2 minutes. Magnus was quite facinated with it since it was still hot out when it happened. Talk about confusing to a four year old who is trying to understand seasons!
The weather has been seriously wacky lately and even today it went from boiling hot to freezing cold about 6 or 7 times. Magnus and I were constantly putting on and pulling off sweaters and we weren't sure if we should be in shorts or pants. No wonder we have had tornado watches recently. (Not common around here.)
Enough weather small talk? Yah, me too!
So I leave for Chantilly, VA tomorrow for the next Great American Scrapbook Convention. I am pretty excited to see everyone and since I have been resting so much my back is feeling better. Still sore but no more yelps of pain if I move. :) I guess I won`t be needing to teaching from a cot in the back of the room after all! I don`t think I will be bringing my laptop since I don`t want to wack my back again so no blogging while I`m there.
I am going to be in classroom 5 and 10 (not both at the same time obviously, lol) if you are going and want to pop in to say hello. I would love to see you. :)
There will be advance copies of Cut Loose at the show (they have awesome deals on books at the Memory Makers booth if you are going) and I have a book signing on Saturday from 1-2pm if you are interested (at the MM booth).
That`s all for today. I am sad I didn`t get to finish my project to share this week as this blog has been sadly lacking any actual scrapbooking but I hope to remedy that upon my return. :)
6/18/2008 4:37:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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