Mini Album for upcoming crop I'm hosting.

I realized today that I haven't posted in FOREVER!!! I've been so busy with work, some inside painting, grad dress shopping,blah,blah,blah. I have done a little scrapping but the last few days I've been busy designing a toilet paper roll mini for my first ever crop that I'm hosting at the Bay of Islands Yachet club on June 12 th! I'm so excited! There's been a huge void left in the scrapping scene here in Corner Brook since our only LSS closed last June and I really miss getting together with other scrappers. So I've taken the bull by the horns so to speak { with only a small amt of pushing form Tracey, Kris, DH Rob and Kelly LOL} and have organized a crop. Hopefully it is just the start ! So I thought I'd share with you the mini I designed to do with the ladies at the crop. I've used all Basic Grey Capella pps for this mini and Stampin' Up "chocolate chip" ink and cardstock. It's the perfect brown for the Capella pps!

Here's a quick tutorial on how I created this mini.
Supplies: spare chipboard sheet , three flattened toilet paper rolls, 12x 12 pp of your choice, crop-a-dile, two eyelets, book rings, ticket corner punch, embellies,ribbon, journaling spots{ I cut mine with Cricut} and ink colour of choice, embossing machine and patterned folder of choice { I used Cuttle bug "Textile"], punches of choice

1. Flatten TP rolls , use bone folder to sharpen the edges { I stored mine under heavy books while collecting}. Don't worry about scraps of paper left on rolls as you'll be covering them anyways. HINT: try to use the same brand of TP so all the rolls are uniform or you may have to trim them.

2.Cut 12 x12 pp into 4 6x6 pieces and then further trim them down to 6x4 3/4 pieces. Keep your trimmed off scraps to make your tags later.

Apply adhesive of choice to center of wrong side of 6x4 3/4 piece of pp and lay flattened TP roll on top. Cut small "v' s to each corner as shown in picture below.This helps to avoid tearing when tucking in your end pieces. Then adhere the pp along length first and then tuck end pieces inside the roll, gluing down all edges as you go.Repeat for other two rolls and set aside.

3: Now let's tackle the covers. Cut two pieces of chipboard 3 x 4.5 inches each. Using a brayer , add ink to the raised side of your embossing folder. Insert chipboard into inked folder and run through your embossing machine. The debossed side will now have ink down in the pattern.Flip over the chipboard and using a sponge /inking tool...gently add ink to the plain embossed side and also ink all edges of the chipboard covers inside and out. Holding the two pieces of chipboard together, punch two holes where you want your book rings to go and then set eyelets in the front cover holes to strenghthen. Proceed to place first TP roll under the front cover lining up the edges on the eyelet end, and use pencil to mark where you need to punch hole and punch with your crop-a-dile. This first TP roll becomes your template to punch the other two rolls. When all are punched, stack together and thread onto the two book rings. Your basic album is now complete. Proceed to decorate with whatever embellies you choose.

4. Now let's whip up those tags for inside your TP rolls. Remember those 6x2 1/2" scraps that were left over at the start? These can now be trimmed down to make tags to fit inside the paper rolls. I left mine sticking out about 1/2" longer than the roll itself. I used a Stampin" up ticket corner punch on the two outside corners of the tag and a hole punch on the center of the outside edge and thread a little ribbon through it to make it easier to pull out of the rolls. Add quotes, small pics or whatever you choose to your tags. And that's it!!
As you can see from the first pictures , I entitled mine "Time Flies" and I used all the wallet size photos of my DD Chelsea from Kindergarten to Grade 12.I can't believe she's graduating next month! This mini album would also be nice as an inspiration book filled with your fav quotes or Bible verses, a grandma's brag book etc. The sky's the limit! Thanks for popping by and an early Happy Mother's Day to all my mom friends out there! HUGS!

Thank God I'm a Pack Rat!!

I "try" to curb my pack rat tendencies most of the time. I'm pretty good about everyday junk around the house { tho my hubby may beg to differ LOL}, but when it comes to sweet sentimental things by the kids ...well my good intentions go right out the door. When Chelsea was only 9 years old she wrote this sweet little poem about pussywillows on a scrap of paper...and I've held on to it ever since! When I saw these K and Co pps full of pussywillow images , I knew I had the perfect match! The photo of her was taken that same summer. Lots of punchwork on this one. MS "garden lattice" across the bottom , and a couple of EK Success punches also. The small daisy was used for the center of my flowers and a 1" scallop circle punch was used to decorate the edges of my red circle. The flowers were made using a pattern on Accent Essential cartridge. I fussy cut the butterfly and bees from coordinating K and Co paper { which is a Tim Coffey collection called Blossomwood BTW} . I painted all the wings with Stickles Star Dust for a little sparkle and curved the wings to give a little dimension. When I saw "paint with Stickles" I do actually mean paint. I don't always want a heavy layer with the stickles so I squirt a little Stickles on a scrap and then literally paint it on with a small artist's brush. Sometimes I'll add 2-3 layers depending on how much sparkle I want . This method also dries very quickly compared to squeezing on a thick layer. Good for me because I'm FAMOUS for forgetting I've added Stickles and then keep brushing my arm against it making a mess. I think I've discovered my new "favorite "font. I love the fancy handwritten look of these EK Success foam stickers that I used for the title. They are called " Alpha Mod script Black' and I'm pretty sure I had them at my local Walmart { sure hope so cuz I want to go get more!] Thanks for dropping by . Happy scrapping !

Overdosing on Graphic 45

Well after a couple of clean and simple Los last week , I'm back in the shabby chic mode again and seem to be OD'ing on Graphic 45 ! I really enjoyed playing with two of the newer lines over the last few days...Once Upon a Springtime and Hollywood Vogue.The hardest part with Grahic 45 is getting up the nerve to cut things apart..the papers are always so beautiful in their own right and it almost seems like sacrilege to cut them up! LOL . Wouldn't you agree? Does anybody else have "issues" cutting up patterned papers? I've even been guilty of buying 2 of the same papers ...just so I can leave one uncut....sigh. That may be part of the reason why I have more paper stashed away then I will ever use in this lifetime!!! Two little things I'm kinda proud of on these LOs. On the "Once Upon a Springtime" Lo , I was really pleased with the three large flowers that I made..I feel the colours matched really well. You might also notice that when I did the fussy cutting on the peach flower vine, i cut out a few extra flowers and added them here and there with popdots to give it a little extra dimension.
On my Graceful Girl Lo , I looooove the Dusty Attic dress form. I inked it first with Dusty Concord distress ink, then spritzed it with a mix of white Perfect Pearls powder and a little water. The skirt was made from a little piece of mauve tulle and the silver belt is from the gorgeous pack of matching Hollywood vogue trims. Thanks for popping by ! Hope you are all off to a great start in the New Year!

Merry Almost Christmas: A Lock and Keynote Scholarship Fundraiser

Just wanted to share this cute promotional video that my daughter Chelsea is in for an upcoming Christmas show...it's all lip synced but very cute. In case ya don't recognize her from all my scrap pages , she's the cutie with all the long red curly hair. Merry Christmas!

simple open face stamp flowers

I really like these little flowers that I used on both my Grandparents Lo and on the leftover cards that I made yesterday. They're super easy to make and I like them because they have a bit of a 3D effect to them yet aren't as bulky as some of the flowers we've all been making lately...speaking of bulky flowers, has anyone come up with a good way to store these LOs??? but I digress... These little guys are super easy to make! You'll need:
1}an open style flower design stamp{ mine is Autumn leaves brand but any open one will do}
2) ink of choice
3} emboss powder { I used clear as I wanted my brown ink to show}
4} heat gun
5} scissors, small hole punch, a bamboo skewer/sm paint brush
6} stickles in your choice of colour

Ok , stamp flower on scraps of pp in ink of choice , sprinkle with emboss powder and heat set . Allow to cool and then cut out close to edge of stamped pattern . You could omit the emboss /heat step if you want but I like the raised image and the little bit of sparkle that the emboss powder gives it.
Next cup the flower in the palm of your hand and using something round { I used my Basic Grey rub on tool }rub in the center of the flower to create a cupped shape.
Now using your skewer/paint brush handle or similiar round stick , gently roll back the individual flower peatals.
Next I punched a small circle in a corresponding paper pattern with a regular office hole punch and glued this in the center of the flower down in the cup portion. I then applied a thin bead of stickles around the edge of this small center circle . Set aside to dry . Use a pop dot to attach to your project so that it lifts to accomodate the petal curls ...and that's it . You could, of course , also decorate the flower center with just stickles or a gem of your choice. Thanks so much for popping by!

A Fortunate Mistake

Hi everyone! Have you ever noticed that sometimes a "mistake" turns out to be the best thing that ever happened? Ok ...it's not like I won the lottery or anything because of a mistake but I did end up with some pretty good looking flowers! I was playing with some distress mists when I was trying to decide what colour to mist my flowers for this LO. I was spraying on a discarded piece of cardstock and I had first tried a blue mist which I discarded as too dark. I then decided to spritz my flowers with a vintage photo/bronze Perfect pearls mix { I'm cheap and mix my own colours!] ...but I wasn't very careful and the wet edge of my vintage photo flower touched against the still wet puddle of sapphire chip mist.At first I was dismayed but then I really liked the effect as the blue spread across the vintage photo ...so ended up doing all the tips of my flowers like it...a FORTUNATE mistake! These pics were taken last week when Rob and I went for a romantic night for our 20 th Anniversary.We had rented a suite at the beautiful Candlelite Bay Inn in nearby York Hrb. After a fantastic supper we decided to go for a stroll on the beach. As we sat on a couple of large rocks admiring the view of the ocean I happened to glance down and saw this grey rock with the shape of a heart in quartz running through it ! I couldn't believe it ...definitely a sign to us ...a sign of love ! I thought it was a pretty wonderful omen to find on a romantic stroll on your twentieth anniversary ...don't you? Everything except for the blue flowers , the blue string pearls and the TH inks are from SCRATHAT's July kit www.scrapthat.ca . Thanks for popping by!
PS. The rock now resides in my garden!

Handmade blooms tutorial /wedding Lo #2

Good sunny day fellow scrap addicts! Well I felt it wasn't "fair" to have done a wedding LO of Hubby's parents and not one of mine {plus I had ALOT of BG Capella left to use up! } ...so last night I created this LO of my parents on their wedding day almost 44 years ago! Mom had just turned 19 and Dad was 27. Mom is sitting in Dad's lap in this pic...my dad is NOT abnormally short haha ! I LOVE the little branch and pair of birds across the bottom of the photo. This was actually a cheap stencil that I found at Dollarama a few weeks ago ...I just thought it was adorable. I simply traced it out on chocolate chip cs from Stampin' Up , fussy cut it , painted it with 'Vintage Photo'Stickles and then added a glossy layer using the same medium from my last epoxy letter tutorial. I thought the two little birds was so appropriate for a wedding Lo..love birds maybe? But what I really wanted to show you was how I made those cute little flowers that are on the branch. Here's what you'll need : Martha Stewart Hydrangea punch
Ek Success 5 petal punch { it's about 3/4"}
Scraps of printed paper{I used both sides of BG 'Bravo' from Capella}
1/2 pearl sticky gems
Choc. chip Stampin'Up ink
White glue of choice
1}Punch hydrangea from the peach side of PP 2 times as you will need 2 of the larger size flowers.
2}Punch one of the 5 petal flower. I tried to make sure I punched a spot on the paper with dark areas in it for contrast.
3}Ink the edges of JUST the two larger hydrangea pieces . Fold the petals of 5 petal flower and the small hydrangea piece in toward the center to create a small bowl shape with these two layers.
4} glue the 2 larger hydrangea pieces together with a 1/2 turn so that all 8 petals are now showing
5] glue in first, the 5 petal flower and then add the smallest hydrangea piece on top of the 5 petal layer. Finish off with a 1/2 pearl in the center.
I found it helpful to 'fluff up' the layers of the top 2 flower pieces with the tip of my craft knife to help maintain a more 3D look to the flower. Allow to dry and use as desired. I thought they were the perfect little blossom to add to my love birds branch. Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!