Quick Cards

I know I've been neglecting you all lately, so here are 2 quick cards to keep you looking.

This one uses Jillibean Soup papers, a Bazzill corduroy button, Fiskars scallop border punch, and Unity Stamp's Noteworthy Occasions. The flower was made using a scallop circle punch.

This one uses Pink Paislee Papers, Fiskars Apron Lace Punch, and a Pink Paislee Brad. The flower was made using quilling.
And remember, you can find all this stuff at A Walk Down Memory Lane for 15% off for the remainder of August!

Just a Peak

I've been so busy...but unfortunately I can't show you what I've been working on until next month. I've been having a blast playing around with some of the new product released at CHA. A Walk Down Memory Lane is showing off all the goodies they ordered for the store at the end of August, and after that party at the store, I'll show you here in blog land some of the yummy creations made for that party. Here's a sneak:and a Peak:of a few things I've been working on.

AWDML has ordered so much new stuff that Lisa has discounted the whole store 15% for the month of August to make room for all the new goodies coming in. Click here to head on over to the store to take advantage of the savings. Here's a card I made using some stuff I picked up on sale (you know, just doing my part to help make room for the new stuff).The circle background is adhesive backed fabric from American Craft. The "BABY" onesies were cut with my Silhouette. The scalloped trim was done with my Fiskars Apron Lace Punch, and the ric rac is truly vintage (it came from a friend of a friend's old sewing stash). Happy crafting!

Road Trip

I thought it would be fun to memorialize my oldest's first road trip. He's almost 4 now, but in the photo, he was just over 2 weeks old. Bella Blvd's Estate Sale papers were just the right feel for this early fall layout.


The decorative strips are Pink Paislee Artisan Tape, and the blue dots are Pebbles Inc Candy Dots.

Texture Card Class Sneak Peek

I'm teaching a Cards with texture class this weekend, Saturday, August 7, at A Walk Down Memory Lane. There's still time to sign up if you're interested in learning how to add texture to your cards by using cork, acrylic, Core'dinations Card Stock, and fabric on your cards. You'll make 4 cards during the class and you'll have the opportunity to learn lots of great tips and tricks for working with these mediums. Class starts at 10:15, but you can reserve your spot now by calling AWDML at (712)476-3443. Here's a little sneak peek of one of the cards you'll create:

If you're dying to have the stamp set from this card, you can get it for 25% off this month at A Walk Down Memory Lane. Unity Stamps is the featured manufacturer this month, so grab all the Unity Stamps you want for 25% off! You can also click here to find sheets of cork, or click here to get that lovely Crate Paper Brook patterned paper.

Blessed

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a linear scrapper. I've only been scrapping for about 1 1/2 years, so I scrap whatever photos strike my fancy and go with whatever papers I happen to have. It's always a treat when I get to scrap recent photos. These photos were taken just this past July when we were in Wisconsin visiting my parents. They have a great private zoo that we like to hit up every summer. The boys loved watching the fish in the little pond, and I got to click a few great pictures before they started to ham it up with cheesy smiles at the camera.
Everything here is from Bella Blvd's Man of the House Collection. This is a great line for man layouts of all ages, not just boys. The papers are Bits A Bella, Cuff Links, and Wide Tie. I also used the Man of the House Alpha Bits Sticker Sheet. A few detail notes. The original word sticker here said "Lucky To Have Each Other". I decided I wanted to substitute "Blessed" for "Lucky", so I used the alpha stickers on the Alpha Bits sheet to substitute blessed instead. I also used some foam dimensionals to pop the letters up to add a bit of interest. The circles on the paper matting the photos come with a stitched look printed onto them, but I decided to use that as a guide and do some real hand stitching. I did this just to add some more texture and color to the layout. One last trick, if you need a title to pop a bit more (when I added my title I found it blended into the background a bit too much), just take a dark marker and trace around your letters. It's a fast and easy way to make your title stand out!

Grunge Board Bracelets

I'm really excited to show you these bracelets today. I've seen bracelets like these pop up here and there around the Internet, but now I've finally had the chance to make some. I'm not sure who came up with this idea first, if anyone knows who did, let me know, I'd love to give them the credit here. They're relatively quick to make, and lots of fun. I made 6 to start out with, but you better believe I'll be making more. I think I'll try stamping on them the next go around. First I'll show you all 6 and give you a run down on how to make them yourself. Then I'll show each one individually and tell you the different items/techniques I used to embellish it. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

To make one of these:

1. Cut Tim Holtz Grunge Board to 1”, 1 ½” or 2” with. I used pre-embossed Grunge Board, but you can use the plain GB and emboss it yourself.

2. Paint the front side (the side with the bumps) of the GB with any kind of acrylic paint (I used Adriondack and Claudine Hellmuth). When the front side is dry, paint the back side. I painted all of my back sides a white, almost clear color so the color of the GB color could show through.
3. Sand the front side until the paint comes off the raised pattern, exposing the GB on the raised pattern.
4. Ink the front side of the bracelet. Then use a wet paper towel to wipe the ink off of the bracelet. The ink will wipe off of the painted areas, but not off the exposed GB (at this point you can add a clear, shimmery layer of paint or Glossy Accents if you like, but it is optional).
5. Add a way to fasten the bracelet. I set a snap into the bracelet for a fastener.
6. Add some embellishments to the bracelet. I sewed most of my accents on, I figured they would hold longer sewn than glued.

This one is one of my favorites. I painted it yellow, added orange ink, and embellished with flowers from Bo Bunny and a yellow button.

This one was done with purple paint and grey ink. I sealed over it with a pearl paint to give it a pearly sheen. I sewed on a pearl and crystal beads for the embellishment.

This one has green paint and brown ink. I traced and cut 2 flowers from the same Grunge Board I used to make the bracelet. I painted both flowers brown, then sanded them and inked them with a lighter brown ink. I sewed the button and both flowers onto the bracelet.

This one was painted red with grey ink. I set My Mind's Eye Red Lush Brads into the bracelet. I'm not sure how comfortable it will be having the brad ends on the inside of the bracelet, but I'm going to try it out.

This one was painted with blue paint and sponged with blue ink. I used a pearl paint on this one as well. The big metal flower is a decorative grommet from We R Memory Keepers. After setting the grommet, I sewed a button in the center.

This is my other favorite. It was painted with tan paint and inked with brown ink. The cork button is from Pink Paislee's Queen Bee line. I sewed it and the tan button onto the bracelet.

If you try these out, I'd love to see them. Just leave a link in the comments.

Sun Kissed Summer Book Class

Many of you know that I am on my local scrapbook store's in-store design team (A Walk Down Memory Lane). I created the above flip book with Bo Bunny Sun Kissed Papers (don't tell Lisa I spilled the beans early, but Bo Bunny will be AWDML's featured manufacturer for August, which means you can get all the Bo Bunny goodness you can handle for 25% off for the whole month of August) to be displayed at the store. So many people were asking about it that we've decided to turn it into a class. The class will be offered on Saturday, September 18. If you want to learn how to make this book, call AWDML at (712)476-3443 to register. If you can't attend the class ask about having a kit shipped to you, I'll be more than willing to make one up for you :-)