Graphic 45 Design Team 2013 Audition

Here are the scrapbook layouts using Graphic 45 products that I am entering in the audition for Graphic 45's Design Team for 2013:

Fashionista

Sugar and Spice

Glitter Time

A Ladies' Diary

Lavender and Lace

Peaches and Cream

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.

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!)

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:

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.