Where did our warm weather go?

Hello there, I am sorry that I have not been blogging for a couple of days, I have been busy! I participated in a hockey tournment on Saturday for Cancer, and had a blast. I do have to admit, today is the first day that I do not have any aches and pains.

So far this week, we have had appointment after appointment. With all that said, I ready to get papercrafting and for the warm weather to come back!

The card that I made above was inspired by a fellow consultant on our board. I recieve so much inspiration from my fellow consultants, my hope is that I am able to inspire you all just a bit too.

The receipe:

Colours: Black, Bamboo, Dessert Sand and White Daisy

Paper Pack: Silhouette

Accessories: Ribbon is from the Black Collection

P.D. Day Fun!!

Today started out with rain, so we decided to take advantage of the rainy weather and do a craft. Hannah and I made these post-it note clipboards for her teachers. Hannah loves scrapbooking and papercrafting, she is a natural. She choose all the paper from our scrap box, and pretty much did all the work.

Now the sun is out, and we are going for a walk! Everyone take care.

Receipe:

Paper- Let's Get Together, and Good Times

Stamp Set- Friendship Blessings

Accessories- Coasters, Big Paper Clips (Dollarama), Ribbon Scraps, Paper Flowers with silver brads.

Altering Basics

I came across this great info on altering by a fellow consultant and I wanted to pass it along. If you have any questions, you let me know. Thanks Mary V.!!

Usually, when you are altering an item, you don't have to be concerned about acid free/lignin free materials. In fact, a lot of alterable items are made of wood (the main source of lignin.) Altered art is usually just that- art. It is not meant to be a substitute for perserving your photos in an acid free/lignin free scrapbook.



TOOLS FOR ALTERING:



Adhesives

Whatever adhesive you choose, it's important to adhere the paper at the very edge. This helps prevent the paper curling up at the edges and makes fora more secure final project.



Liquid Adhesives:



Mod Podge- According to one definition it is a milky white liquid that dries transparent in less than 10 minutes. It seals and glues in one application. Most applications require two or three coats. It is available in both a gloss and a matte finish.



White Glue- this is typically a school glue. For a substitue for Mod Podge, mix white glue with a little water.



Scotch Quick- Dry Tacky Adhesive- Really a great all around adhesive. It's perfect for edges and corners you may have missed. The Scotch website has this to say about it: Ideal for paper, photos, metal and plastic. Acid-free adhesives to keep your memorabilia safe. Precision application, non-stringing. Adhesive technology insures your precious mementos stay where you put them.



Dry Adhesives:



Scotch ATG- With Scotch ATG Adhesive Applicators, a touch of the finger triggers quick, controlled application of a strip of Sctoch ATG pressure sensitive adhesive transfers tape. There is no mess or cleanup. Bond lines are thin and adhesive flows into surface irregularities. With 3M's advanced acrylic adhesive technology, you can bond, join, mount or laminate materials such as paper, plastics, metals, and wood and foam. I highly recommend this as an altered adhesive as well as scrapbook and papercraft adhesive.

Tombow Mono Adhesive Roller- Convenient, ergonomic dispenser precisely applies film of glue smoothly, quickly, cleanly. This is what CTMH sells and it will work as an altered art adhesive. I would recommend sealing with something as it may not have a long lasting hold, especially on wood.

A brayer or some smoothing tool:Old or fake credit cards work great too. You just need something to smooth out any air bubbles.

A variety of sanding tools:
This doesn't need to be anything fancy. I get a lot of my sanding tools from the local dollar store. You can use sandpaper, or even a paper bag will work as a very fine grit sandpaper. There are tools in the scrapbook market for this, they are nice, but definatley not a must have.

Our NEW Distressing tool kit, will solve all your distressing problems.

Items you can alter:
Anything that isn't moving! Some ideas are.....
*puzzles
*board books
*wood blocks- these make wonderful gifts for new parents. You can make these very simply by cutting a 4x4 piece of wood into 4 inch squares
*letters
*anything paper- boxes, books, notebooks, etc.
*metal containers- planters, recipe tins, band-aid tins, trays, muffin tins
*tiles- thses are easy to stamp in Staz-on and colour. They make wonderful and impressive gifts!
*office supplies- clips, clipboards, chalkboards, storage containers
*anything wood- tables, shleves, trays
*albums- it's fun to alter the covers and personlize them
*clocks

Basic altering.........
Begin by making sure your surface to be altered is smooth and ready to be altered. (This includes sanding any rough spots or priming with paint or gesso.)
Apply adhesive of your choice to both the paper and the item to be altered. THis is really a personal choice. Sometimes I use a dry adhesive. But sometimes I need that liquid adhesive to really *hold* the paper. I also use Mod Podge when I need to protect the surface.

When cutting your paper for the projects, I've found it's best to cut it larger than you need. Adhere it and allow it to dry. Then I sand off the extra paper from the edges. This makes for a perfect fit and also distresses at the same time.

Sand edges of your project to get rid of any imperfections- an emery board works well for corners and tight spots.

If you want to seal your project with Mod Podge or another sealer, this is the time to do so- before you embellish. It's much easier to apply the msealer before you place embellishments or pictures.

Embellish as desired.

Still Playing Catch Up

Colours: Garden Green, Sunflower, White Daisy and Pansy Purple. The paper is from the Enchanted Collection. Stamp sets: Happy Haunting and Tricker Treaters. The ribbon and the little tag came from my stash.

(I have no idea who they are by.)

I had a chance to complete a layout today instead of a card!! This makes me so happy, seeing is I am a little behind in Ashlyn's Album. The two bigger girls playing out on the back deck so nicely, I thought I would take advantage of the time!!

Enjoy.

~Amanda

Magic Moments

Here is the April and May Promo for National Scrapbooking Month. If anyone has any questions please do not hesitate. I am hoping to bring a kit in early in May!

~Amanda

Dream

So I can honestly say, that this card did not turn out how I dreamed it!!! I am not sure what I am not fussy about, but I thought I would post it any way!! The colours used where: Bamboo, Dessert Sand, Indian Corn Blue, Honey , White Daisy and Heavenly Blue. Stamp Sets: Alfresco and Solo "D".

I am loving this beautiful weather, I think my head is in the garden and not in my cards. I will try another card tomorrow, so don't forget to check back in.

Bye for now.

~Amanda

Birthday Wishes!!

My favourite card of the day, by my daughter Hannah (5 years old).

Yesterday, I celebrated my 27th birthday! I had a wonderful day and a lovely lunch with my mom, aunts, cousins and their daughters. They all made me birthday cards, and I was so touched. My family loves when I make them cards, and they always comment about how there cards would never measure up to mine. They could not be anymore wrong, I love the cards that they made me, and I thought that they did a wonderful job!!

Last night, I was fortunate enough to be choosen to play in my hockey leagues "R" Star Game. We were playing for a little boy, "Jesse" who is only 2 years old, and he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only has 7 months to live! Our hockey league had a silent auction and all the proceeds went to help support the family. It felt wonderful to be part of this evening, thanks BSHL!!!

I hope that everyone enjoys another beautiful day.

~Amanda

Cherish Friends

The colours are: Topiary, Dutch Blue, Citrus Leaf, Bubblegum. I coloured a white big pink flower with a bubblegum marker for the darker pink flower and finished off with a button from our collection. The rub-ons are from the Connection Rewards. Enjoy!!
I have been feeling guilty all day because I haven't added anything to my blog in a couple of days! So while the two little one's were sleeping, and in between loads of laundry, I managed to create a simple card! It took me all of two minutes.

The weather has been so nice the last few days, we have been spending a lot of time outside! I actually got a sun burn yesterday. I was wearing sunscreen that had expired, so I guess there is a reason for those dates!!! Remember to throw out those expired bottles, so you do not get a burn.
Happy Scrapping
Amanda

Cracked Glass

This is a really neat technique, the pictures are not true to colour. The chalked image does not pop like it does in real life, but you can get the idea of the technique. I used all CTMH products. The colours are: sweet leaf, petal,blush and honey cardstock. The stamp set is, Seed Packets. I used photo hangers and the ribbon is from the Colonial White Collection.

Here is what you need:

- white cardstock
- image to stamp
-ink pads
- versamark or any kind of embossing ink
- clear embossing powder
-heating tool
- tweezers (sometimes your fingers get a little burned)

Here is what you do:

1. Stamp your image with an embossing powder or pigment ink. (or do direct to paper technique using clear embossing ink). Pour on embossing powder all over. Remove excess powder.
2. Using your heat tool, heat up the powder until the powder changes from matte to shiny and raises.
3. Do not heat for to long or the powder will melt into the paper.
4. Repeat pouring on powder and heating at least 3-4 times..... layering clear embossing enamel all over your image.
5. At this point if all the layers are completed..... you can add embellishments (ie. brads) if you want to. This is optional.
6. Once the enamel has cooled off, bend it too crack it!

TIPS: By sticking your project in the freezer, this could speed up the cooling process.... and may add a few cracks.

Family Picture

I was going through my postings and realized that I have not added a family picture yet! This picture was taken Easter morning. Not bad, it is really hard to get everyone to look at the camera and smile. Actually, it is even harder to get the girls, I mean Delaney too stay still!!

A Touch Of White Daisy

When I was out surfing the web last night, I came across these really cool cards that a fellow CTMH consultant had posted on our bulletin board. She had stamped an image in white daisy pigment ink, and then stamped the same image over top the initial image in the colour of the cardstock. I thought it looked very neat! So I was inspired to create my own batch of cards. They are very simple, and I can make so many more cards with all the scraps, maybe tomorrow.
Sorry about the fuzzy pictures, I keep trying to find the problem with my camera. Unfortunately, I always get side tracked, I can't even blame the girls!!

Stamp Sets: Treasures from the Heart, Every Occassion
Colours: Pink Carnation, Kiwi, Spring Iris and Black Cardstock
Accessories: Black Big Brads and White Gel Pen , Paper Piercer

Saturday Card Sketch

I have come up with a new sketch for you ladies to try out! As you can see, I still haven't gotten Doug to show me how to draw these sketches on the computer, so I apologize for the hand drawn sketches.

To throw a twist into this sketch challenge, I am going to offer a prize to the top three cards that people send me! Just take a picture of your card and attach it to an e-mail. I am going to leave this challenge open until April 16th, that is next Wednesday! Take advantage of the rainy weekend, and get scrapping!

Good Luck

~Amanda

Paper Pleating

Good morning everyone, here is my card for today! I have seen paper pleating everywhere these days and I thought I would give it a try! I am really happy with how my card turned out!

Of course, all the products are CTMH. The paper is from the Creative Basics Silhouette Collection. The cardstock is breeze. I used the Dimensional Elements Classic Alphabet and painted them with reinkers and I added glitter while the paint was still wet. The paper flowers are the Summer Poises. The stamp set is, Card Commentary.

Paper Pleating:

1. Cut a strip of paper, twice the size you want the finished length to be.

2. Use a scoring blade to mark the folds. I used 1", 1/2", 1", for the entire paper. (the size of your pleats will be determined by the measurements you choose)

3. Accordion-fold the paper along the scored measurements.

4. To keep the pleats in place, glue or stitch the pleated paper to your project.

* There are so many variations to these instructions and each will give you a different look. These are the simplest instructions that I found!* These instructions are from Papercrafts April/May 2008.

Card Swap Winners!

1. Birthday Candles - Cindy Vandenberghe 2. Pink Paper Flowers- Tammy VanGrinsven 3. Bear - Lizz Vanderkant 4. Paper Flowers with Stripped Paper- Joanne Bongers

Birthday Card Results

5. Ice Cream Iris Fold- Lisa Vaughan 6. Clock (Amanda's) 7. Happy Birthday with Red Ribbon- Angie Verbeek

Anything Goes Card Results

1. Spring Tulips - Anne Morris 2. I Love You (Amanda's) 3. Frog "Hoppy For You" - Cindy Vandenberghe

4. Diamond Trio- Tammy VanGrinsven 5. Freinds- Lizz Vanderkant 6. Thanks A Bunch- Lisa Vaughan

Drum roll please............... Joanne Bongers won in the Birthday Card Swap with 66% of the votes and Lizz Vanderkant won in the Anything Goes Card Swap with 53% of the votes!! Way to go ladies, I will get you your prizes the next time I see you!!!

I have heard so many positive comments about the card swap, and I even heard people say that they wished they would have particiated! I will defiantely be hosting another swap in the fall, and I hope that we can fill it up. So start designing those cards...

Take care.

Amanda

I'm Back!!

Sorry my camera is acting funny, the colours are not coming out true. All products are CTMH, except for the Metal Letters they are from Memory Keepers. Colours: Petal, Sweet Leaf, Butter Cup. I used the Big Pinks and our buttons. The paper is from the Paper Garden Collection. I stamped on top of the Big Flower with Playful Petals.

I am sorry for not posting in a couple of days, the weather as been calling my name! We have been spending so much time outside, I actually am getting a tan.

I had a great time at the Arkona Scrapbooking Day, the ladies did a great job organizing it. I met a lot of new people and had time catching up with some ladies that I haven`t seen since High School!!

Hannah had her skating carnival on Saturday as well! She did so well, I am very proud of her! I am actually getting tears in my eyes, LOL. She has improved to much this year, actually, she has improved to so much in the last six weeks. Way to go Hannah! I will try to post pictures soon, my camera was acting up, and I had my Dad taking pictures.

The scrapbook layout above is of Ashlyn. I finished it this morning, and thought I should post something new! I have so many idea, not enough time.

Take care

Amanda

Arkona's Crop Make n' Take

This is a coaster frame. I used all CTMH products. Silhouette Paper pack, with silver hinges and red sparkles. The stamp set is the March Stamp Of the Month "Simple Beauty".

This is turning out to be a super busy weekend! I have run out of time, and I did not come up with a card sketch! So check back next week for the card sketch, I will make sure it is a good one!!

Take Care

~Amanda

Don't Forget To Vote

I have figured out how to post a poll on my blog, however, I can not fit all the cards in one poll. I have seperated them into groups with NO particular order.
Please vote your favourite in each category, ie. Birthday and Anything Goes and help your favourite card creator win a prize!! I will announce the winners in 7 days and post the results, so don't forget to check back in.

Take care.
~Amanda

It's Here

I am so excited, I just jumped my man in brown (UPS)!!! I have had this Idea Book in my hot little hands for a total of 43 minutes!! Oh Boy, where do I start......
New Items:
Dimensional Elements Monogram Letters
Racras Ribbon (Wavy)
Scallop Scissors by Provo Craft
Clear Inspiration Tags
5 New Paper Packs
Way to many NEW Stamp Sets
O.k. so now I need to go through it again, and see all the things and ideas I missed.

*If you would like to reserve your copy today, send me a quick e-mail**