Friday 8 July 2011

summer vacation time!

we have had a good start to our summer. i am doing what i can to get us to enjoy the outdoors when the weather is cooperating. i had heard that rain was on its way, so we enjoyed as much of the hot weather at the start of the week as we could. even though we had to endure the mosquitos to do so. my poor kids! their skin is glowing....and bumpy!! with the rain, the mosquitos have vanished. but i am sure they will return again when the sun is shining. what happened to enjoying mosquito-free sunlight, and enduring they pests when the sun starts to set? yeesh!!

that last week of June was crazy! i feel like i am still on "work-work-work" mode. since i am feeling it...i am going with that motivation. no breaks. i prepped stuff for my class this month. have you counted the number of gears on that layout?!! 15 gears, cut from 4 different types of paper. i prepped for 20 kits....so that makes 300 gears piled on my kitchen table. i had to also cut out a hanging sign, two of them...40 in total. then the clock...times 20. then the word "IMAGINE"...20 times. then "DREAM" and a border die from the same paper....no, not confusing at all!!! know what that adds up to? 420 passes through my Vagabond machine. i thought i was done...but i just realized i have to get that border die out again and cut out 20 envelopes. 20 seems like nothing compared to 420. ha! did i mention i kissed my Vagabond when we were done? oh, that machine is so amazing. AND it looks so awesome on my table when it is on a break. sigh.

i'll share photos soon....but i also finished up my tag challenge. early. i probably mentioned that before. it's just that i am so happy to be done BEFORE the deadline. i hate to be late, so it bugged me to be the last tag finished the first 2 rounds.

i can't remember when i started the project....maybe around March? i wanted to use a configuration box
for Kiara. i can't remember if i came up with the idea myself, or if it was after i saw Laura Denisons' Fairy Box. that is how long it has been! regardless, once i saw Laura's box, i was super inspired. i used a different set of boxes, but i used the same paper....Graphic45 Once Upon a Springtime. i loved how her boxes were arranged, and took the same idea for mine. well....i finished it....FINALLY!! it feels good to be done, and have the mess cleaned up.

i have one outstanding project to finish....but it has been 3 years in the process. a mini-album to summarize Kiara's second year. i made one for Aidan, and bought a similar album and paper for Kiara. in fact all the paper has been cut to size. my hold-up? choosing my photos. i should add that it is a simple mini-album....nothing elaborate at all. here is Aidan's. and here are the plans for Kiaras'. at the time i felt bad because it took me 2 months to finish the one for Aidan. hmmmm..... if i wait long enough, Kiara can do it herself!

i'll be sure to share the photos of the completed projects soon.


in all my eagerness to get ahead of the game....i realized i hadn't shared my recent design team layout....

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the papers were from the new Simple Stories company. they have an interesting design behind their business. the papers work well on their own, but they are also designed to simplify scrapbooking. although there are companies that make products for simple scrapbookers...i believe this is the first (besides Becky Higgins) to create products specifically for people who want to document everything. you can read about that vision here. however, i don't fit that style. i love to make it as detailed and time consuming as possible! ha! that said, i have used a few of their papers already....and i LOVE them. i found the cut apart blocks worked perfectly for cards. good design.

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our challenge was to use embossing on the layout. i like how the one folder makes the bingo cards look wet. for the dots, i inserted the entire page into my Vagabond. all you have to do is fold your paper under the thicker shim.

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and used my new rosette die. and the banner die. it felt like i was cheating to make them this way! i was in a time crunch, so it was all good.

we also had the Melissa Frances crepe paper. it. is. amazing! i cut it in half (lengthwise), misted one piece then sewed them together.

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love the Bakers' Twine.

we also had some Kraft Glassine paper in our kits. i wanted to use more of it...but couldn't make it work with the style i had chosen. i have the un-used pieces still on my desk to prove it! instead i punched mine with a butterfly punch 3 times. added perfect pearls in blue and heat set it. then wrapped the bakers' twine around them.

i had to laugh when i pulled out my Fiskars  Deckle edged scissors. they were one of the first tools i bought back in 1996.


in my spare time i have been checking out the sneak peaks for the CHA Summer show. Graphic 45 still continues to impress me. Pink Paislee has a Mistables Collection that should be popular. My Mind's Eye has a Lost and Found Christmas line that i want. Bo Bunny has another cool line called Et Cetera that looks incredible. of course Tim Holtz has more stuff i want already. and he hasn't even shown any alterations dies yet. Little Yellow Bicycle is bring Twig back....in a winter collection. from the sneak peaks, it also looks like a best seller. Glitz. wow. enough said. i am curious what Crate and Cosmo Cricket will have. i haven't checked the others yet.


in the meantime....Aidan helped me pick out some sewing heads for the WRMK Sew Easy tool. actually he used it today, successfully! which means i should be able to use it too. i was thrilled to grab one of the "doily dies" from Cheery Lynn.  yup! it works great. Jan made a beautiful layout using one of the doilies with some metal paper. i'm looking forward to testing it out on some layouts too.


i came across this video on Elizabeth Kartchners' Twitter update over a month ago. she posted it on her blog as well. watch it and try NOT to laugh. i dare you! even my non-scrapbooking husband thought it was funny.... Cleetus' price of his handmade flower, $1200...took him 14 days straight to make it! or his items that he has collected to make scrapbook pages...


enjoy your weekend!

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