Artist trading cards (ATCs)

I made these for a swap. Each heart is hand drawn, and the cards are collages with a plain Kraft paper, and two text pattern papers, the darker is 7 gypsies.

I am excited to see what the other artists created. The challenge in making ATCs is adapting a technique to a 2.5x 3.5 in size. Many patterned papers are too large for the format, creating a unique way to share talent in a compact size.

Have you tried ATCs?

Boulder Innovations

I loved making this magnet board. I wanted to have something to post notes to my husband. First, I used glass pieces and used Aleene's Collage Pauge to adhere paper to the back. Once the collage glue dried, I attached a magnet with a low temperature glue gun, and trimmed any excess papter. The wood magnet was painted with Daniel Smith acrylic paint, then I used collage glue to attach the paper to the front. I added rhinestones for fun. I painted the board and then collaged the paper onto the main board, and once dry, affixed the metal which already had adhesive. I used a rotary tool to slightly distress the edges. The ribbon is attached with wood staples, and hot glue to keep the ribbon flat. A prima flower added the final accent.


I love how this fun project turned out. Collage is a great way to expand your papercrafting repertoire!

Supplies:
Paper- Authentique Free Bird: Comfort Multi Color Dot, Blush Rose Floral, Warmth Blue Vine
Ribbon- May Arts (Leopard) and American Crafts (Green)
Flower- Prima
Magnet Board- Boulder Innovations
Rhinestones- Createology
Decoupage Glue- Aleene's Collage Pauge

Free as a bird

Check out this amazing LO of Budge I did using Authentique. The papers are from the Gathering and Free Bird collections.

Free Bird papers
Warmth Cream Quit Wreath: FBS130
Familiar Multicolor paisley: FBS121
Comfort Multicolor Dot: FBS108

Gathering papers
Grow
Foundation
Harmony

I had the amazing opportunity to meet Bret, Samantha, and Melodee from the Authentique team. We were able to convince Melodee to drive us to their warehouse for a tour after her awesome paper bag album class this weekend. Everyone from the Authentique team is so incredibly warm and nice. We drove out well after 7pm and were greeted enthusiastically by Samantha and Bret. I kept waiting for the "polite" to wear off, as I could not imagine anyone being that nice for real. However, after quite a while, I realized that they are truly kind people passionate about their work.

The Authentique team works out of a warehouse space that is in two fronts that are split by a parking lot. The office front looks like any industrial area, nondescript and rectangular. Their offices are marked simply with the logo on the glass door. The plain exterior does not prepare a visitor for the warm interior of their office. The walls are a rich mocha, and it is decorated simply with dark wooden furniture and comfy chairs in a seating area. The walls display framed printer's proofs of recent paper lines, and several displays are loaded with newest collections. Samantha and Melodee recounted admiringly how Bret hand makes and paints each display.

Behind the office is a workroom, above which is the "man cave" where Bret and the team sneak away for naps when long hours catch up with them.
Through a small door put in so the team could avoid walking outside in the rain to get to the other side, pallets of Authentiqe boxes sit waiting for delivery. The next room holds stacks of paper packs organized by collection. This room smells incredible from the aroma of new paper There is a design room, behind which is a workroom with racks on the wall which are hand filled by the team and wrapped for delivery to your local scrapbook store. Melodee jokes about how the fun wears off filling them late nights during busy times. Across the lot, a meeting space and offices are being decorated and set up.

Samantha and Bret spoke glowingly about Tara, the designer. They also detailed how their products are printed locally, and that the weight of the paper is largely due to their choice to use USA printers. In a world where so much is outsourced, it was flooring to see a company using local companies
Bret showed us a flyer printed for distributors with authentic excitement.

I have never felt more welcomed or appreciated by a company. Thank you so much for sharing your life's work with me, it was one of the best experiences of the weekend.

Hurried.

What to do when you have to wrap a gift on the fly with no paper? Punch two holes in a brown bag an tie with twine. Works great for male recipients. Simple is sometimes best.

I am Topaz!

I have completed all 10 sketches for Topaz on ScrapbookSteals

The mundane

The glaziers are chatting about appropriate labor estimates and the low murmur of a country station twangs in the background. Sitting bored on a Monday morning, I sip my Starbucks and listen to the cars drive by the waiting room window. The damp grey day causes a mist to follow the passing cars. Meanwhile, The angry thoughts of paying for a new windshield are interrupted by the shatter of glass in the shop. I see a garbage truck go by and internally curse, because this particular crack was courtesy of the city waste department. I tried to have it repaired in summer, and I bought myself time until the weather cooled and I needed to defog my window. I sat an watched the crack climb upward, then race across the windshield.

I don't know if I am grateful for the lazy start to Monday, as I am now pointedly late to work, or if I am irritated at the inconvenience. I think I'm settling into appreciation of the loud quiet, and the fact that no one here wants anything from me but a credit card.

What mundane story can you tell?

Awesome

Went to event today. Look at the keynote. They were hilarious and gracious. Good guys.

Mid Week Mojo #7

I love doing scrapbooksteals.com Mid Week Mojo Challenges. It is a great way to stay accountable and see many talented interpretations of a sketch. I went very loosely on this one.

Authentique Splendid

Authentique's 1st Sketch Challenge. All the papers are theirs, and most are from their "Splendid" line.  The sketch is on their blog, and I decided to turn it upside down because my pictures needed the anchoring from the top.  Don't you just love the little cherry blossom accents?  They are from K and Company.  I picked them up at Scarlett Empress, the best scrapbook store in Olymipa.  I love that place, mostly because it is a block from work!  But the owner is so sweet, and she can do amazing things with glitter. I should probably take a class. 

Check out Authentique, their papers definitely stand out!

Twine!!

 Scrapbook Steals is featuring twine as its steal today! YAY!  I was lucky enough to get to share my storage and projects as part of their blog with a bunch of other amazing and talented scrappers to share great ideas with twine.

I love this storage idea that I saw in a few places online.  The clothespins keep the twine neat and make the end easily useable!  I toss mine in a mason jar, because I love mason jars, and use them to store pretty much everything.

 Don't they all look happy playing together in the jar? I love how the colors together look like sherbert!  Twine reminds me of my roots, simple and handmade.  I am doing some canning, and can't wait to use some twine to attach a label with the preserve name to the jar.  The blog post has some other awsome storage hints, and some beautiful cards and layouts to inspire you to use your steal.  While you're at it, check out the archives to see if there are any other great steals to check out.  I have ordered from them before, and they have awesome customer service and quick shipping.  I cannot say enough wonderful things about Scrapbook Steals. 

 While you visit, check out their Mid Week Mojo posts, and try your hand at their sketch.  Post a public link to your layout to the blog, and you will be entered to win a prize.  I won with the layout I did with Addie and Basic Grey last week, and I got some Thickers, and some Cosmo Cricket Chipboard Embellishments. 

Hope you have fun looking at twine, get some great ideas, and enter to win!

Barettes

 Cakes and Busge volunteered to model the barettes I made them today.  I used Ribbon, Baisc Grey Buttons, and Twine!  Look at how unintersted Budge was in modeling.  She preferred to eat her Sonic fries, and was disturbed by interruption of her eating.

Winner!

Wow! I won for a Mid-week mojo at scrapbooksteals.com. I am so excited to have my page featuring my daughter and Basic Grey pictures on their blog. You can check out their link below, it was totally random, but still fun! Thank you Scrapbook Steals.

look at my page on scrapbook steals!,

Lay it out

Back to School

I made this tag to label Cake's backpack with all the information her school requires.  I used the Indie Bloom collection from Basic Grey, which fits her personality perfectly.  I sealed the card with acrylic medium, and used heavy duty eyelets so it wouldn't fall apart. 

When a coffee is more than a coffee

I think the beauty in a gift or a RAK is the thought, and then the delivery.  An altered sleeve and a card make a cup of coffee for a friend a lot more special.  I like the altered sleeve because it isn't too lumpy and still easy to grab.

I used Basic Grey Sweet Threads collection for these items.

Pumpkin

The pumpkin patch we go to is small, cute and fun.  There is a corn maze, and a slingshot.  Going in a corn maze with a preschooler is an adventure.  For Cakes, the cleared path was meaningless, she wanted to wander through the stalks of corn, which of course were muddy.

Luckily, she loved the pumpkins and wanted to buy them all.  We talked her down to a more reasonable five, which she happily loaded into the wheelbarrow herself.  Double R Farms will open again in a month, and I can't wait for this year's trip. 

This layout uses Basic Grey Out of Print paper as the background, and their halloween embellishment as the pumpin. The letters and buttons are also Basic Grey.

One six year old, one iPhone, 87 photos later...

This layout is a celebration of Cake's obsession with my iPhone.  When I first got it, many a conversation was had that began "Mommy, can I have your phone?" as I was in the middle of reading email, calling the United Nations, or curing cancer.  Or Facebook.  Probably Facebook. 

In the car, she would ask for the phone, and we would hear the "click click" of the camera.  Of course, a six year old's answer to "What are you taking pictures of" ends with the inevitable "Nothing."

It was common for me to find her random photos on my phone.  It was even more common for her to sneak it away from me if I wasn't paying attention, usually getting caught by the theme to "Angry Birds"

This particular photo, is one of a series of 87 that she took of herself in one sitting using the front-facing camera on the phone. Like a flipbook, these photos show the transition of her moving from one funny face to the next.  I want to scrap all 87, but I settled on this one, because it captured her, the stolen phone, and her faces so well.  So the photo credit on this one goes to Cakes.

Goomba- AKA the cakes!

I swear that Cakes was put on this green earth to knock me down a peg.

Here is a layout I did with Basic Grey papers.  This is of Cakes, my oldest, in her "tiggerpooh" costume.  Little lady lived in this costume every day, and loved to run in the yard with it.  Everybody thought it was so cute, except mommy!

It was August, and 90 degrees outside, and my goomba daughter wants to wear this hot costume.  So, I looked like a bad mother, letting her swelter in the heat, and she, well she looked like a tiggerpooh. We would go to the grocery store, and people would look at her, laugh and then look at me and glare, as if I was some freakazoid that thought that trick or treat was in August, and that the costume was normal clothing to be worn everywhere.  She continued to wear the costume for months, and slept in it most nights, by Halloween, it looked like a hand-me down.  That year, she was too sick to trick or treat, she had her first fever ever.  I spent Halloween with a little tiggerpooh curled up on the recliner sleeping.  The neighbors felt bad and brought her candy.  I'm glad she wore it out everywhere that summer, because she didn't get the chance on Halloweeen.

Paper Flowers

It seems like 20's style headbands are everywhere, and paper flowers are everywhere in scrapbooking. Look at my beautiful girl sitting there so pretty.  She was kind enough to model the paper flower headband I made her.  There is a little iridesence to the flower, which compliments the Basic Grey paper very nicely.  The back of this paper was white (boo!) but their new collections are all two-sided! Yay! 

Trying to get a sweet picutre with Cakes is nearly impossible.  She started out upside down on the steps in her dress.  I had a lovely view of her new panties.  "Cakes! Sit on your bottom!"
"I AM mommy!"
"I meant the right way, not upside down with your underwear showing"
"They aren't showing, I can't see them." as her dress covers her head.  Then we commence with the goofy smiles, and begging to see every picture immediately after taking it. What would she have done in the 80's when you had to wait till it developed?
To make the flower I used a circle template and cut five different size circles.  Then, I cut 1/3 of the way into the circles six times, creating 7 petals.  I rounded the edges of the "corners" of the petals, and then used some watered-down acrylic paint to add some color to the backs, and iridescence to the fronts.  Stack the cirles, adhere, add a beautiful button, and you have a headband!

You can put it on a bag too, but I think that my daughter is cuter!  The first picture was after many goofy faces and me begging her to look the other way!

Wine Tags

Fun wine tags to mark a favorite beverage. I made these with Basic Grey paper and embellishments except for the twine and the black paper.  It was a scrap out of a friend's stash.

These were not difficult to make, and I love how they have very different personalities to them.  They stay on the stem well.  I stole the idea from ones that were at the Wine S store by my house, but they were ugly, and you could write on them.  It would be easy to pen names or use letters to label them, but I liked a simpler look.