Finding Therapy with Paper!

I just LOVE flowers on my projects. I especially have fun trying to come up with new techniques by just playing with paper and really enjoying the process. When I was starting my "Picture This" Convention scrapbook, I really wanted to try a few things I had never tried. I really wanted to find the Wow! Factor. I love the way scrappers have been layering different sized circles to make these cute flowers. They distress the edges to give these flowers more texture and dimension.

Since I was in the middle of Iraq, I didn't have very many tools, so I looked around trying to think of something I could do. My eyes kept coming back to the White Daisy Just Blooms. O love using them, but I wanted more dimension and something new. I dumped them out on the table and thought, "Well, these come in three sizes of three different flower shapes, so maybe I can layer them?".

As I started to layer them, I remembered I had brought a bulk White Daisy Just Blooms pack to do a Workshop with. I thought, "Wow! That's two mare sizes up!". My wheels started turning as I joyfully played with my flowers!

I took the biggest flower and layered it on the table. I took another flower the same size and used my thumb nail to turn each petal inside out, so it would curl up. Eeeeee! I did the same thing to two more flowers. This was looking good. Then I picked up the next smallest size and again using my thumb I curled the petals inward and layered them on top of the bigger flowers. I grabbed four of the biggest of the five petal flowers from my tube of White Daisy Just Blooms and turned the petals inside out using the sharp end of my Paper Piercer to really curl the petals in. I did the same thing to the next smaller size until I only had the really little ones to go.

I found a White Daisy Bitty Brad, punched a hole completely through all of the blooms and put the brad through. Then I took my Paper Piercer again and fluffed up each petal towards the middle. Beautiful! I was so excited how these flowers were turning out. I still thought they were missing something, when I remembered I had just received the new Glitter Gel Glue in my last Close To My Heart order! I dug it out and lightly and randomly touched the edges of most of the petals to give it a glittery look! Perfect!

I absolutely always have fun making these flowers. It is very therapeutic! Last Wednesday night, I got my flowers back out! I now had my Big Pinks and Summer Posies Just Blooms to use too. I the above picture, you can see my precious pink flower! I used an Olive corduroy brad from my Autumn Garden Accents Collection and I just LOVE how it turned out.

I would love to see your projects using thin technique! If you try it and find it as absolutely therapeutic as I did, drop a comment, or send me and email of your project and you just may see it on this blog later! I used the Cherry-O Workshop on the Go to make these cards. And wish me luck on the contest! Convention starts next week, and I so hope to make the top 10 so everyone can take a look at my artwork! Yippee!

Get Out Those Old Scraps!

When is the last time you cleaned out your crafting area? I want to send out a challenge to you. I challenge you to go through every embellishment, every sticker, all you chipboard, all of your card stock and pattered paper, all of your ribbon and embroidery floss, and yes all of your unfinished projects and organize them according to:

o Love, love, LOVE this and am inspired just seeing this

o I was so excited about this and just got to busy, but totally want to use/finish

o I really like this a lot, but someone else would get more use of this

What I like to do is dig out, or order 13" x 13" zip lock bags and make my own kits. I will put everything I want in that kit together in the bag if it isn't already organized into a jar, bin, or basket with a specific home in my craft space. Then I neatly place these kits away, keeping my most favorite things closest to my project table well within arms reach.

Now, it is SO MUCH EASIER to use your everyday items in new ways with those products that may have been sitting around for years. I am always so amazed how easily most of my stash coordinates with my Close To My Heart card stock, buttons, brads, and of course, STAMPS!! I was really inspired recently by a few pod casts of the Paperclipping Roundtable. The conversation turned to old products and if it is okay to mix the old stuff with the new stuff?

I never asked myself that, because I love to do that anyway. A girl cannot live on one scrapbook and stamping line alone, though I do come pretty close! I dug out this Basic Grey "Sugared" line and made a few fun cards using my "Wishes" Book. I used CTMH card stock, clear buttons, embroidery floss, brads, stamps, foam tape and Bonding Memories glue, Buttercup Ribbon Rounds, Ink Pads, and sponges from CTMH with my Basic Grey papers and fibers. I had so much fun and I encourage you to challenge yourself to see what fabulous creations you can make.

Normally, I only post exclusive Close To My Heart products, but I do want to demonstrate to you how fast, simple, and easy it can be to use your old items that have been hidden away for so long. In fact, I have decided to host a Scrap and Chat Scrapbook Party in July where everyone can bring in their very favorite products that have been hidden for weeks, months, or even years to just scrap and chat the day away! I will have more details very soon, so be looking for your invitation and check back for dates.

Handmade Cards Make the World a Happier Place!

Don't you just LOVE receiving a handmade card in the mail? I was sent this adorable card using Topstich Workshop on the Go by my friend Nicole! She and her adorable son, Coleman, came to my open house and had a blast meeting new crafters in the area. Nicole makes these amazing glazed tiles and is a talented card maker. I was so happy to see her.

So, if you have some downtime and are bored, pull out some of that old paper you have hidden away in some closet or some drawer and make a friend or a loved one a handmade card. I have a few templates right here on my blog, so there is really no excuse. If you are in the Manhattan, KS area and want to scrap with Andie and I Sunday, June 27 starting at 10 am, give me a call, or drop me a line!

The Crafter's Ultimate Cutting Tools Review...Two Thumbs Up!

Okay, it isn't very often that I use anything that isn't a Close To My Heart product. I decided to splurg a bit and try the We R Memory Keeper's Ultimate Cutting Tools to review of course. I gotta keep my scrappy sisters informed by suggesting the best products for the money! Like most of you, my tool holder is full of decorative scissors from who knows when. I just never seem to really keep the lines very straight when I do use them. Arggghhh!

So while sneaking a peek at Hobby Lobby, I noticed the paper trimmers were 30% off this week, so I cruised over for a look. I own a gullitine office paper cutter from Staples that used to be my go to paper trimmer until I realized I needed something more precise. Then I purchased a Memory Makers trimmer that is magnetic, but I could never find replacement blades and it is so bulky even though it does fold in half. When I purchased my first Euro Paper Trimmer made by Fiskars and sold by Close To My Heart, I was sold. It is sleek, precise, lightweight, and has an arm extension for larger measurements. Love it!

I really wanted a trimmer with cool decorative edges with one swift slice! There seemed to be a beacon of light cast on this fabulous purple cutting mat just drawing me in. This Magnetic Mat and Magnetic Ruler by We R Memory Keepers just seemed to good to be true, so I took it off the shelf to get a closer look. It's construction seemed very high quality and the mat measured 20" x 16"! Then I noticed to the right, a Magnetic Twist Trimmer Combo Pack! WHOA! They had packaged 8 decorative blades in one package! You know I love kits!

The best part about this trimmer is that by having a twisting mechanism to the blades, they are safer for crafters that have smaller children. I know from talking and crafting with mothers, that safety is always a concern when it comes to paper trimmers. Of course I love having straight, deckle,scoring, scallop, stamp, wavy, anf perforating edges in one easy paper trimming system! Yippee! This is truly a system that just takes a couple trial scraps to become an expert and I just love how easy and quickly it makes decorative edges for my projects! And I LOVE that I got it for 30% off!

MSRP: Magnetic Mat and Magnetic Ruler $29.99

MSRP: Magnetic Twist Trimmer Combo Pack $19.99

Another Cherry-O Card for the Operation Write Home Bloghop Challenge

Cherry-O Card for This Week's Challenge on Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps Bloghop!

Yippee! or should I say Yummy! Create your own and email me a copy to post your artwork!

Cherry-O Card for Operation Write Home Stars and Stripes Bloghop

Cherry-O Card for Operation Write Home Card Challenge!

Lovin' Ribbon Flower Technique

I have fallen in love with flower techniques! Okay, I have always loved stitching on my projects and finding cute flowers. BUT I have been playing with MANY Close To My Heart products to make unique one-of-a-kind flowers. I have been going through some deep emotional soul searching lately, and I realize more now than ever WHY I really love scrapbooking. I am actually using scrapbooking to heal some of these old and painful issues, so I can get through to the other side of healing and just move out of this state of depression.

I used this template to punch holes in my cards to create these ribbon flowers, and isn't this card just adorable!!??!! I used paper from my Veranda paper pack and grabbed some Creme Brulee Ribbon Rounds and my trusty Distressing Kit to get started. If you haven't added a Paper Piercing Tool Kit, you should really get these invaluable tools for under $6 bucks!

This is the template I like to use.This picture is a bit bigger than the actual template I use just so you can see it a little bit closer. As you can see, there are three different sizes, but you could easily create your own template. Below, I punch holes using my Paper Piercer to make it a bit easier to thread my Embroidery Floss through the five point star. Use thread that closely matches the ribbon you are using, (I used bright colors in this example to make it a bit easier to demonstrate). I also like to punch the middle hole with the Soft Set Eyelet Tool  to make a bit bigger hole to pull the ribbon through the back of my paper.

Below is my five point star threaded directly on the template so you can really see how it is done.

Now, once you have your five point star threaded on your project, you thread your ribbon through a needle with a large eye. If you rip the paper a bit when you are pulling the ribbon up from the back, don't panic! When you start weaving the ribbon under the floss in an over and under fashion, the rip won't even show. Don't worry so much!

So, like I was saying, you just weave the ribbon over one of the five point star's points, then under the next one, and over the next one, and keep following this over and under threading in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. Keep going either clockwise or counter-clockwise until you are satisfied with your flower. Then you can add leaves if you would like.

To end each flower, I like to lift the ribbon a bit and secure the end with a small sticky dot. I just LOVE how these cute little flowers turn out! I think it is a much easier technique then cutting a circle, covering it with adhesive and rolling ribbon over it in a circle. No stickiness with this technique, and you really don't even know how to sew per say. Let me know what you think. I will be posting many more projects using this technique for sure! Yippee!

Having Fun with Studio J

Have you had a chance to try Studio J? While I still LOVE paper, glue, scissors, and all things glittery and sparkly, I can't help but enjoy making studio scrapbooking pages using the Studio J Tab on my website! Before I left Iraq, I took a ton of pictures at the Battalion Aid Station. I will always cherish the memories made on this deployment and all the Soldiers in particular. And that is honestly what scrapbooking is all about!

Looking at these two pages, I am reminded of the tenacity of CPL Chase and how much I cherish our kinship. I see PFC Beck and I am flooded with so many memories, but I am always reminded of how tough and spunky she is. Oh Foster, the medic that almost gave up on herself, but I will never give up on her. Then there is SPC Goot the quiet and mighty medic who I KNOW will make a great officer someday. JeanLouie as SGT Parnell fondly nicknamed JeanLouis. I am reminded of his positive, can-do attitude and smile that seems to make the day go better. Of course, there is SPC Bryant who is the newest medic added to our crew. He continues to fight physical struggles to serve our country we love so much.

There are just so many memories in these two layouts! Did you know you don't have to scrapbook each and every picture in an elaborate layout that takes hours to create. I am always amazed at how many friends, family members, mothers, daughters, and fellow paper crafters say they don't have time to scrapbook. I just think it is such a shame! Sure, all those digital pictures would take a hundred years to scrap, but honestly, you just need a few favorites and some sentiment words to remind you of all the memories from the subject you are celebrating. Trust me, all of those happy and not so happy memories will come flooding back in a flash!

So find your most comfortable place and settle in with your laptop, your favorite treat and the beverage of your choice and CLICK HERE to register. Don't be afraid! You can play with Studio J without spending a cent! Upload some pictures, pick a template and a kit and just play with Studio J. It is so much fun! Of course, you may not have perfect layouts the very first time, but I bet they come pretty close and with a bit of practice, you may even be ordering your layouts! They make great gifts and I love to just slide them in with my traditional scrapbook pages. Yes, this is what they call hybrid scrapbooking. No rules! No boundaries! Just fun!