Friday, December 30, 2016

Really Cool Old Ladies

I just love the fact that each Club Scrap collection comes with ALSB instructions to help get the creative juices flowing. I generally choose two to three sets of layouts/sketches from each kit to ALSB (Assembly Line Scrapbook) leaving myself at least some paper to create cards and projects with. 

Here's the original page designs for layout 11& 12 as posted on Club Scrap.
 
 
Here's my finished version.  I changed some of the papers to coordinate and added a few extra photos. Remember that these designs are just a guide. You can do whatever you want with them. I usually take so many pictures that I need at least 6 spaces to tell my story.
 
 
 
 

Don't have this blue print in you collection? You can easily change the ivory raised print to any color by inking over the paper and wiping away the excess ink. The ink will adhere to the paper and not the raised embossed print.  Thanks Karen for that idea.
 
 
 Thank you for stopping by today.  May you have a very safe New Year!

Thursday, December 29, 2016

All Time Favorite Retreat Project

It is no secret that the Clipboard Collage workshop is my all-time favorite Retreat project EVER! The simplicity of this project allows any crafter to create works of beautiful art. I've shared other clipboards in the past and have one final one to share. Now that Christmas is over,  I don't have to hide the photo. I really love being able to use bulkier embellishments with the project.
 
 
The collage prints are back in the Club Scrap Pro Shop so run to order more before they're gone again!
 
 

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Shades of Winter Blog Hop

Welcome to the Club Scrap Shades of Winter Blog Hop. Join us on the hop to see what this gifted group of ladies have created using this gorgeous classy collection.  I am in love with the metallic papers in this stunning kit!  Of course the snowflakes and wintery feel puts this kit up on the list of my favorites for the year. If you've arrived here from the very talented Tina's blog you're in the right spot. If not, make sure you start at the beginning to see what Karen has created for you.

The December's Idea Deck Challenge is using the Ace of Hearts formulas. There are five decks total but only one still available in the Pro Shop. Each deck holds unique formulas including a materials list, recommended standard envelope sizes, cutting instructions, sketches and diagrams. Each project begins with 12x12 and/or 8-1/2x11 papers and will utilize materials that you already have on handI chose the double 12x12 layout sketch from Idea Deck II.
 
 
Here's my finished version.  I changed some of the papers shades to accommodate more photos. Remember that these designs are just a guide. You can do whatever you want with them. I usually take so many pictures that I need at least 6 spaces to tell my story.
Club Scrap papers, stamps, charms and ribbon. Heidi Swapp letters with chalk paint. Dazzles stickers. Stickles. Nuvo crystal drops.  
 
 
A few close ups for you. 
Stamp fir branch and emboss in silver. Circle punch "Let it snow" from cut-apart and add Dazzles snowflake.
 
Frosty Stickles applied over snowflakes on border strips. Nuvo Glitter Drops added to the centers.
 
The clear acrylic letters were perfect for the title but difficult to see. What to do? I painted them with chalk paint. It dries very quickly.
 

 Thank you for stopping by today.  Please continue on to see what amazing project Donna has created for you.
 
Happy New Year!




 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Canada Memento Holder

I had an amazing time on our latest road trip to Canada.  I got the chilly weather and snow that I was hoping for.  My husband...not as happy as I was ;-).  What a perfect opportunity to use my neglected Memento Holder from Retreat 2015. It's been sitting in my project bin just begging to be used. You can see Karen's version at Club Scrap.
 
This holder uses folded manila envelopes on the inside. The half with the clasp offers a secure place to stash loose items. This is where I stored all my receipts for fuel, food and RV parks. With a clever trimming trick, the other half of the manila envelopes become decorative pages with angled pockets, great for holding smaller items like tour maps. I tried to keep up on the journaling, ticket stubs and maps while on the road, leaving myself room for photos later.  
 

Word of advise...you start the vacation off wrong if you forget your clothes!

We try to do the Hop on Hop off bus in every city we go to! Great way to get see a city and discover where you want to return to.
 

A vacation isn't complete until a visit to a winery.
 

There are still a few of these projects available in the CS Pro Shop if interested.
 
Mark your calendars and make sure to return!
 


Monday, December 26, 2016

You're the Best

Need a quick thank you card?
 The Shades of Winter Greetings to Go kit has some wonderful sentiments included in their cut-aparts.
I love discovering new folds for cards.
Club Scrap papers, tags and ribbon. Darice embossing folder. Unknown snowflake jewels.

Thank you everyone for making my Christmas one to remember!

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas my crafty friends!
 

Club Scrap papers, fibers and jewels. Fiddle Dee Dee Designs template and snowflakes.
 
The gift of love.
The gift of peace.
The gift of happiness.
May all these be
yours at Christmas.
 


Saturday, December 24, 2016

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah!
I didn't forget you this year, my friends!
 
Club Scrap papers, ribbon and stamps. Dazzles stickers. Darice and Cuttlebug embossing folders.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

From Our Family To Yours

Have you lost your crafting mojo in all the holiday rush? Don't forget that the Club Scrap forum has many challenges to help kick start some creativity.  This card was created with the December sketch in mind. I wanted to use up some borders and tags from the Shades of Winter Greetings to Go kit. OK...I'll be honest...I wanted to use my new iridescent Nuvo glitter drops too :)

Club Scrap papers, tags, stamps, ribbon and snowflakes. Nuvo glitter drop. Carta Bella embossing folder.
 
 

Monday, December 19, 2016

Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle

Welcome to the Club Scrap's Artist Team Blog Hop. If you've arrived here from the very talented Donna's blog you're in the right spot. If not, make sure you start at the beginning to see what Karen has created for you.

Do you wonder where I get many of my ideas for cards, layouts and projects? Well wonder no more...it's the Club Scrap Forums!  It is filled  with amazingly talented crafters. We have monthly challenges that push me to think outside the box, try new techniques or just plain use up my stash (so I can buy more.)
 
Today I've chosen to show you how much fun the Tools and Stash challenge can be.  This challenge is designed for you dust off those long forgotten tools or embellishments. This month we're challenged to use a liquid form of sparkle.  Stickles being the most obvious, but I wanted to push myself a bit. Don't get me wrong...I have nearly two dozen Stickles colors.
 
This first creation I used Stickles on the berries just to warm myself up and get going ;-)


Club Scrap papers, tags and ribbon. K&Co. snowflake. Darice embossing folder.
 
This second beauty's sparkle is created by using a little bit of water on a paint brush and painting on silver PanPastel. A little trick we learned in Retreat from Jac several years ago.


 
Club Scrap papers, tags, stamps and ribbon. Dazzles stickers.
 
The next card has liquid sparkle I concocted by mixing several drops of the the metallic silver re-inker with water in a mini-mister, creating my own metallic "glimmer mist". I spritzed the background panel allowing several large drops to form for character.




Club Scrap papers, ribbon, ink and tags. Sequins.

And last but not least my new favorite...Wink of Stella pen!

 
Club Scrap papers, ribbon, stamps and snowflakes. Wink of Stella pen.
 
Thank you for taking time out of your day this busy holiday season to join us! We would love for you to join us for some challenges. While you're on the forum, check out the gallery for some great inspiration.

 Please continue to the amazing Tina's blog to see what she's crafted for you.

Happy Holidays!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Freshly Made Sketch 267

I'm just loving this Carta Bella embossing folder I recently purchased. It's slightly bigger than the average folder at 5"x5.8" which is a perfect fit for the mat on this Shades of Winter Greeting to Go panel. I love the shimmer of the metallic papers which plays off the Stickles on the branches of the cut-apart.
 
This weeks #267 sketch at Freshly Made Sketches allows the embossing folder pattern to stand out.
 
 Club Scrap papers, fibers, tags and snowflakes. Carta Bella embossing folder. Stickles.
 
FMS267


Friday, December 16, 2016

Unconventional Holiday Colors

December's Technique Challenge over at Club Scrap is to create a holiday project using unconventional holiday colors and a little sparkle. I LOVE this idea! I found this freeing to make some Christmas cards in colors other than red and green. So I went with pink!  Love me some pink!
 
I stamped three Shades of Winter snowflake stamps in bright colors on a raised panel. Added sparkle by using some iridescent snowflakes topped with Nuvo glitter drops. I felt it needed just a little bit more sparkle to tone down the colors and the Dazzles snowflake stickers were just the thing.
 
 
I couldn't just stop at one card. When I was thumbing through my binder of holiday stamps I came across this tree stamp from Watercolor Christmas.  Adding pearls just seemed like the right embellishment. In pink, of course. The glitz is a little more subtle on this card. The embossed background paper is metallic and a gold sequin star was used to top the tree. (I've been anxiously waiting to use this recently purchased embossing folder.)
 
Club Scrap papers, ribbon and stamp. Queen&Co. pearls. Carta Bella embossing folder. 
 
Now it’s your turn . . . pull out a kit at random and make an unconventional, non-traditional holiday card . . . and don’t forget to add a bit of glitz. Be sure to link your creation to the Linky Party for a chance to receive a Club Scrap gift certificate!

Monday, December 12, 2016

We Are All Like Snowflakes

Happy Monday!
 
Have you tried any of the Club Scrap digital collections?  Have you gone digital and gave up the "analog" scrapbooking because of limited space or time?  You can still join us for the monthly challenges over on the Club Scrap forum.
 
As I type this blog post, our road trip vacation is coming to an end.  In our RV, the only crafting supplies I have is my laptop. I want to show you how easy it is to still join in the fun.
 
I'm creating this layout for December's Monthly Layout Challenge. Every Club Scrap paper collection comes with a double page layout sketch and cutting instructions. I create a similar 24x12 template in Photoshop by using my marque tool and creating the exact sizes posted in the sketch and color code the template according to paper A, B and C.
 
 

Here's where I looked through the Shades of Winter digital collection to find elements that matched my template.  I was lucky enough to find a triple mat element for the left side and a photo sized cut out for the right side. (Some call this cheating...I call it proficiency.) Now just add your papers, photos and journaling.
 
 
Just because you're digital only doesn't mean you can't join us in many of the  forum challenges!


Friday, December 9, 2016

Go Play Outside

I'm writing up this blog post from inside our toasty RV while waiting for the next storm to arrive. It's a balmy 29 degrees outside here in Seattle  and they are forecasting more snow today.  You know that just makes me grin ear to ear! My husband...not so much.

Here's a quick digital layout I did using the new Shades of Winter collection with an oldie but goodie, Aurora Borealis.
 
 
 This layout started when I was trying my digital skills with creating a snowy overlay with edging using watercolor brushes and snowflakes. I love trying new techniques and expanding my digital collections.
 


 I should have more snowy photos soon for this awesome kit!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The Cold Doesn't Bother Me

I am having a blast here in Vancouver, Canada! It's cold and snowy...just the way I like it!  It snowed like crazy while we were out seeing the sights of this beautiful city.  So what a better way to show case some awesome photos than with the new Shade of Winter digital collection by Club Scrap.  They had me at "winter" :)
 
Club Scrap digital papers, stamps, ribbons. Kimla Designs branch. NBK designs word strips. Fiddle Dee Dee templates. Gennifer Bursett glitter style.
 
 

Monday, December 5, 2016

Wedding Clipboard

I have been having so much fun creating these collage art pieces!  I first learned about these collage clipboards at the Club Scrap Retreat and now I'm an addict. I love being able to use up all my little embellishments and more importantly the bulky ones. I bought several of the pre-lined pages and created Christmas calendar gifts with them.
 
This clipboard collage is the one straight out of retreat. I used our wedding photo on this one. This one is for me :)

Club Scrap papers, ribbon, tags, leaf and charms, washi tape. 7 Gypsies word strips.
 
I'll share more with you but keep in mind I placed a digital tag over the photo to keep it a surprise from the lucky recipients.
 
Club Scrap papers, ribbon tags, charms, leaf, flower and bottle caps. Buttons from clothing. Docrafts calendars. 7 Gypsies word strips.
Club Scrap Hops & Barley collection. (No longer available)
Little clothes pins added to hang notes or other photos.
 
 
Club Scrap paper, wood embellishments, shells, stamps, vials and charms. Hobby Lobby driftwood. Memory Box flower die. Docrafts calendars.
Club Scrap Beaches Collection. (Paper no longer available)
I'm going to fill the little vials with sand.
Wooden oars stamped.
 
I've got several more to complete on the horizon that I would love to share with you.
But for now, I'm enjoying the cold, snowy weather of Canada!
 
 

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Christmas Wreath Shaker

Happy December!

I had one last challenge to fulfill for November and finally did it with a day or two to spare. I just couldn't find the right NBUS (Never Been Used Stamp) to create a wreath. I finally found a sprig from Aromatherapy that I wanted to work with. However, after stamping it, I really wasn't happy with the inside so I used a circle punch for the center.  Then I had the wild idea to create a shaker box using Christmas colored sequins. I've never created a shaker box card before and this will probably be my one and only. I had those little sequins everywhere before I got them contained.  

 Club Scrap papers and stamp. Queen&Co. Washi tape.
Challenges: NBUS
 
As you read this posting, I'm hoping to be on the road heading somewhere. Not sure where, no plans written in concrete. We're heading north and see how far we get. ROAD TRIP!  You might catch a few glimpses of our travels or some digital artwork here.  I'm leaving the paper behind!