Wednesday, November 19, 2008
How To Make a Paper Bag Calendar
What's New
I have been really busy lately...sorry I haven't been keeping up with the blog.
I did pretty well at the craft shows in Metamora and in Washington. It is always a lot of fun to see who it is that purchases the items I have made. (Of course, I probably spend a good portion of my profits buying items from other crafters, but that is part of the fun!)
I have been scrapbooking some of D's photos...from my sister's wedding in 2007, karate, and his birthday. I have made a football scrapbook and two Christmas albums for my booth at Holiday Presence. I was pleased that my autumn scrapbook and shades of winter scrapbooks sold last month. I hope whoever bought them is enjoying them.
I taught a paper bag calendar class and a Christmas tag class last week. Everyone had lots of fun. I enjoy teaching others. It is fun to see the expressions on their faces when they create something they thought perhaps they could not.
My gallery at Repeat Impressions has been updated now. Stamps are 20% off this month, so if you are making Christmas cards, order now!!
How to Make a Paper Bag Calendar
Paper bag calendars are a good way to write down the everyday kinds of things you and your family do, as well as a way to focus on a few special events each month. You can purchase 6" x 12" paper bags at Kmart (American Fare brand). You will need 7 paper bags to make a calendar for one year. Fold the paper bags in half, and glue a 6"x 6" piece of paper on top of each page of the paper bag. (One paper bag will yield 4 pages.) You will use two pages for each month of the year. You can print out a calendar for each month from a software program or even from a website. Make it small enough to fit on your page. Attach the calendar on the sides and bottom only. Leave the top portion unglued so you may slip a blank tag into the "pocket" the calendar makes. You can use the tag to journal about special events that happen each month. On the second page for each month, make another pocket with a piece of card stock and add a tag. You can make or add as many tags as you want or need for each month. When you get to December, you will find that there are still three pages available to be covered. You can either make a "notes" section, or just glue the second and third pages together, and then you will just have to glue paper on to the back cover of the calendar. Leave the tops of the paper bags unglued and you will have storage places for your pictures, event tickets, etc. It will be a great way to document your year and a joy to look back on in the years to come.
Friday, October 17, 2008
More Creations for Repeat Impressions
This is a home decor piece I made using Repeat Impressions stamps. The verse reads "Let Heaven and Nature Sing".
I was kind of stumped by how to make this lamp post the focal point of the card. It lacked dimension. Adding the ribbon for a bow gave it the oomph I was looking for.
Santa praying over the Christ child is one of my favorite images. I was so excited to find that Repeat Impressions has a stamp with this image!!
Gotta love those snow angels!!
I love the purple and turquoise color combos for this card!
This one took the most time (and the most glitter) of all the cards I made for the Repeat Impressions Design Team Challenges. I think the layers of vellum and glitter and the pastel colors make this a sweet take on the Christmas season. The verse reads "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air".
I know it's a little early, but I wish you all "Happy Holidays!" (works for everything from Halloween till New Year's!)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Using Watercolor Crayons on Stamps
I tried a technique I read about in Vamp Stamp News: using watercolor crayons from Stampin' Up! directly on the stamp, then misting the colored stamp with water and stamping the image. It took a few attempts to get the correct amount of mist on the colored stamp to get a good strong image, but I think I know what I am doing now! I think this is going to be one of my favorite techniques.
I used this technique to make this card for the fall Repeat Impressions Design Team Challenge:
I used this technique to make this card for the fall Repeat Impressions Design Team Challenge:
Monday, September 29, 2008
New Designs for Repeat Impressions
The Design Team for Repeat Impressions has been given four challenges to meet in the next few weeks. One of the challenges is to design Halloween cards using Repeat Impressions stamps. We were given a list from which we could select 3 stamps and then we could add up to 6 more stamps of our choice from the Repeat Impressions catalog. Here are the Halloween cards I created for the challenge.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Craft Shows
I will be participating in two craft shows in October.
On October 4, I will be at the Metamora Farmer's Market in Metamora, Illinois. Come see me in the American Legion building!!
On October 25, I will be set up at Crossroads United Methodist Church at the intersection of Route 24 and North Main Street, in Washington, Illinois.
There will be Halloween goodies, pre-made scrapbook albums, altered clipboards, altered tins, and hand-made cards for you to see.
These craft fairs are the perfect time to get out and start your holiday shopping. Buy local. Buy handmade. Buy one of "Kim's Keepsakes"!
On October 4, I will be at the Metamora Farmer's Market in Metamora, Illinois. Come see me in the American Legion building!!
On October 25, I will be set up at Crossroads United Methodist Church at the intersection of Route 24 and North Main Street, in Washington, Illinois.
There will be Halloween goodies, pre-made scrapbook albums, altered clipboards, altered tins, and hand-made cards for you to see.
These craft fairs are the perfect time to get out and start your holiday shopping. Buy local. Buy handmade. Buy one of "Kim's Keepsakes"!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Welcome To Kim's Keepsakes!!
Welcome to Kim's Keepsakes!!
The first real "keepsakes" I created were some keepsake boxes I made when my children were born. I saved the wrapping paper and gift bags from their baby showers and then cut out images I liked and decoupaged them onto paper mache boxes. The keepsake boxes were the perfect place to store the ultrasound videos, cards, baby hat from the hospital, etc. I made a few more as gifts for some friends and relatives.
I began creating scrapbook pages in 2001. My sister and my mother walked and talked me through making the first few pages, and then I just went wild. I began taking classes, and spending lots of money at local scrapbook stores. I also learned a lot by reading magazines and looking at pre-made scrapbooks on ebay. I got some good ideas and inspiration for my scrapbook pages. One thing I discovered on ebay was the paper bag scrapbook album. It is one of my favorite types of scrapbook albums to make. It is relatively cheap because you just use paper bags, and one sheet of 12'x12" paper gives you 4 scrapbook pages!
I began making hand-stamped cards in 2005 after a lady at church mailed me a card and I discovered she was a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I had seen ads for SU in the scrapbook magazines I was reading, and was looking for a demonstrator. How lucky for me that she lives right up the street! I have learned a lot about stamping from the Stampin' Up group Carolyn teaches, as well as from reading Vamp Stamp News. VSN is a neat magazine that focuses on a different technique each month. Check out their website at http://www.vampstampnews.comI have also dabbled a little with altered art. I like to make collages on notebook covers using up leftovers from my scrapbooking and stamping projects. I also like to alter clipboards and decorate them for use as photo frames.
I entered the Making Memories Magazine Masters Competition for 2009 this summer, but was not selected. I don't think I journal enough on my scrapbook pages. It was still fun to try.
I was selected to join a rubber stamp design team on July 16, 2008. Repeat Impressions of Freeport, Maine, put out a call for designers to their customers. I mailed them a CD of my card designs, and they selected me to be on their team. I am having lots of fun making cards using their stamps. Check out their website and see my gallery at http://www.repeatimpressions.com. If you purchase anything from them, please let them know Kim from Design Team sent you.
I received so many compliments about my scrapbook pages, my cards, and my keepsake boxes, and heard so many people say, "You should sell that", I decided to venture out into the small business world. I am teaching some classes for my town's park district. I have some items in a local shop, so if you ever get to Washington, Illinois, please stop by Holiday Presence on the historic square and see what I have to offer. Won't be coming to Illinois any time soon? I also sell some things in my etsy store on the internet. Visit my shop at http://www.kimskeepsakes.etsy.com and tell me what you think.
If you haven't been there yet, etsy is a site where everything is handmade. If you are a crafter, there are also materials available for sale on etsy. It is a neat site. I shop there a lot, myself. I like to support artists who are using their vision and talent to create something unique and one of a kind, instead of buying one of thousands of the same thing that has been mass-produced. Jewelry is what I mainly purchase from etsy, but that's another blog entirely!!
The first real "keepsakes" I created were some keepsake boxes I made when my children were born. I saved the wrapping paper and gift bags from their baby showers and then cut out images I liked and decoupaged them onto paper mache boxes. The keepsake boxes were the perfect place to store the ultrasound videos, cards, baby hat from the hospital, etc. I made a few more as gifts for some friends and relatives.
I began creating scrapbook pages in 2001. My sister and my mother walked and talked me through making the first few pages, and then I just went wild. I began taking classes, and spending lots of money at local scrapbook stores. I also learned a lot by reading magazines and looking at pre-made scrapbooks on ebay. I got some good ideas and inspiration for my scrapbook pages. One thing I discovered on ebay was the paper bag scrapbook album. It is one of my favorite types of scrapbook albums to make. It is relatively cheap because you just use paper bags, and one sheet of 12'x12" paper gives you 4 scrapbook pages!
I began making hand-stamped cards in 2005 after a lady at church mailed me a card and I discovered she was a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I had seen ads for SU in the scrapbook magazines I was reading, and was looking for a demonstrator. How lucky for me that she lives right up the street! I have learned a lot about stamping from the Stampin' Up group Carolyn teaches, as well as from reading Vamp Stamp News. VSN is a neat magazine that focuses on a different technique each month. Check out their website at http://www.vampstampnews.comI have also dabbled a little with altered art. I like to make collages on notebook covers using up leftovers from my scrapbooking and stamping projects. I also like to alter clipboards and decorate them for use as photo frames.
I entered the Making Memories Magazine Masters Competition for 2009 this summer, but was not selected. I don't think I journal enough on my scrapbook pages. It was still fun to try.
I was selected to join a rubber stamp design team on July 16, 2008. Repeat Impressions of Freeport, Maine, put out a call for designers to their customers. I mailed them a CD of my card designs, and they selected me to be on their team. I am having lots of fun making cards using their stamps. Check out their website and see my gallery at http://www.repeatimpressions.com. If you purchase anything from them, please let them know Kim from Design Team sent you.
I received so many compliments about my scrapbook pages, my cards, and my keepsake boxes, and heard so many people say, "You should sell that", I decided to venture out into the small business world. I am teaching some classes for my town's park district. I have some items in a local shop, so if you ever get to Washington, Illinois, please stop by Holiday Presence on the historic square and see what I have to offer. Won't be coming to Illinois any time soon? I also sell some things in my etsy store on the internet. Visit my shop at http://www.kimskeepsakes.etsy.com and tell me what you think.
If you haven't been there yet, etsy is a site where everything is handmade. If you are a crafter, there are also materials available for sale on etsy. It is a neat site. I shop there a lot, myself. I like to support artists who are using their vision and talent to create something unique and one of a kind, instead of buying one of thousands of the same thing that has been mass-produced. Jewelry is what I mainly purchase from etsy, but that's another blog entirely!!
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