Scrapbooking, I do that too!

I've been working on little 8x8 scrapbooks for my kids and my nieces and nephews... it's slow going! The books are titled, "People Who Love Me", and are meant to be looked at and loved by little hands. Each two page spread is another person (or couple, Auntie and Uncle together for example) with a photo of that person or people (preferably with the child the book is for) and a paragraph or two message from that person.

Here's one of the Grandpa pages I did, minus photos. (Sorry for the glare on the "Pride&Joy" sticker). I'm having a harder time doing the more manly pages and an even worse time making "gender neutral" pages for Auntie/Uncle combos!

Maybe soon I can actually start putting pictures into the books!! Thankfully I have a monthly crop night (bring your own project and just hang out) that allows me time to dedicate to this bohemoth!!

Three kits, three choices

A while back I posted about Teresa Collin's Stampmaker machine, really cool! Since then I've done some research and found that this machine is already on the market (I'm the last to know these things far, far, too often heh). Not only that but there's three different levels of stamp making kits.

First up is the $39.95 US kit from Photocentric called StampIt which is designed for people only intending to make a few stamps. The quality is not as high as the premade stamps you'd buy at the store or from a stamping company. It's perfect for creating a family project. The process takes about 25 minutes per stamp and it uses a regular 60 watt bulb from a standard lamp.

Next up is the same machine as the TC Stampmaker, you can either get the Stampmaker Essential forr $139.99 US or the Stampmaker Complete, which comes with an inkjet printer, for $189.99 US. The printer is important since the images you print have to be super, super, dark to prevent light from going through in certain spots. These two kits are great for folks who want to make a few more stamps and want to speed up the process (5 minutes per stamp). From what I understand the quality of the stamps produced are a bit better than the StampIt kit. This option is probably best for the avid crafter planning on making stamps for personal use.

After that is the kit you'd use if you were planning on going into production for your own stamp line. The Imagebox kit goes for $379.00 US and the time to make a stamp goes back up to 25 minutes, however the quality is much higher and you can do a full sheet (8.5x11) of stamps at the same time.

Very exciting! When do I get to win the lottery?!

Love Bug

Well, I like the idea but I'm not sure I'm happy with the result. My son (who thinks I'm Mister Maker's apprentice or something) asked if I could make him a worm. So I started playing around with some left over circles and thought it would be neat if they could still move when on the card.

The base is SU Barely Banana, the other colors are Certainly Celery, and I think Old Olive and Always Artichoke (I was using scraps). The images are stamped in Chocolatel Chip.

As you can see, the worm DOES move... that's a heart for a mouth, Koen's suggestion. I used itty bitty brads to link the circles and only glued it down by it's "butt". I think it's something I'll revisit... but this one gets tossed in the "Samples" box. Heh.

Onsie Cards by Lauren

I don't know why I'm making so many baby cards!! Maybe because Elora is still only an itty bitty thing. Well tonight I decided to use "Event Full" before I give it away and when I saw the Onsie card by Lauren Meader I just knew that was what I would make.

I used Sahara Sand and Certainly Celery for the paper colors, mostly because I have way too much Sahara Sand and need to use some up! I restamped and cut out the peas to give them a little bit of pop.

For the girl onsie I used Very Vanilla and Regal Rose (with a touch of Blush Blossom for accents on the Ewe). The Stamp Set is from Stampin' Up as well, it's call "Pun Fun".

These were super easy to make once I got it down. I didn't use the same size circles as Lauren simply because I don't have as many punches (yet!) as others... but I think it worked out in the end. If I make these again I'll have to get some teeny buttons like Lauren did for the snaps at the bottom! Thank you for a great card idea Lauren!

Another Give-Away!

Time for another draw!

Congratulations to Theresa, Jenny and Ann!!

Theresa said...
Thanks for the chance to win such great blog candy. I have become a follower and have liked you on Facebook.
Theresa in Kitimat

Jenny said...
Fun giveaway!! I'm a follower and I will like you on FB!

Ann Crowe said...
I'm dancin on yur comments page! /dance

Commented, posted, liked and followed! We're on a roll!

Theresa, once you let me know which three cards you'd like I'll whip em up and mail em out!
Jenny, I'll be in touch with the details on how to claim your gift certificate from Leisa!
Ann, I'm sure we can arrange a speedy delivery of your new stamp sets!

We only reached 30 followers this go around so my super secret prize carries over to next month's draw. Spread the word!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my give-away!! Check back again next month to see what else I'm willing to part with!

Prizes include:
- 3 cards of your choice. If I've posted it on my blog and you want it, you got it!
- $20 Gift Certificate for Close to My Heart from my very own dealer (and soon to be upline) Leisa Hubley!
- The "gently used" stamp sets from Stampin' Up called "So Many Sayings" and "Event Full". Both of these stamp sets were hostess gifts, so you couldn't get them without hosting a party and now are no longer offered as options! (Scroll down to see pictures of both stamp sets)

Here's how to enter...

Edit to add: Don't forget to comment if you "follow" the blog or "like" the Facebook page!

1. Comment in reply to this blog entry.

2. Followers of my blog who reply to say they wish to be entered are actually entered twice! (make sure to tell me in your reply that you're in my "Follow" list so I don't miss it!)

3. "Like" my page on Facebook (there's a "Find us on Facebook" link on the right hand side of my blog) and comment here to let me know and you're entered again!

4. "Share" my blog on your blog or on Facebook and comment here to let me know you've done that (if you have a blog AND Facebook that's two more entries in the draw!) make sure to leave a link in your comment!!

That's four OR MORE ways to enter!!

The draw will be on July 24th, so entries up until July 23rd 9pm mountain time will be accepted!

SURPRISE! If my "Followers" reaches 100 people there will be a fourth surprise draw! So tell your friends!!

Oh my goodness!!

Well I may be a few days short, but oh my goodness...

Teresa Collins posted on her site a few days back about her soon-to-be-released (drat I missed the draw!) Stamp Making Machine. That's right... a machine that makes your own stamps from your own images, acrylic stamps at that!

From what I'm hearing the machine will retail at $169.99 (it was unclear which dollar that was in) with consumables potentially being as low as $1. I've also heard that you do not need to hook this machine up to your computer... however you'll still want to have a way to print your images (unless you're hand drawing them of course). What I can see if the picture it looks like one of those salon nail drying machines. Funky! Teresa has said she'll include a few of her own images to get you started right "out of the box". Creating a stamp only takes about 5 minutes. Wow!

And the Winner is...

Today is the day I announce the winner of this draw, my first ever give-away!! I thought it would be clever to take photos of my children drawing the names from the bucket. First up is Koen. Have you ever tried to explain to a three year old to take ONE piece of paper from a bucket? After he got the "just one" part down, he didn't understand what the big deal was about a piece of paper, so he promptly dropped it on the floor.

So... sorry Celtica while you won the stamp set, my son showed a blatant disregard for your victory! Congratulations! I will make sure you get this stamp set ASAP, which I think will be next Tuesday since you're coming over. You can have a chat with Koen about his lack of respect then.

Next up was Kerowyn... cause anything her big brother does she has to do too. Explaining to a two year old the concept of "just one" turned out to be easier, but she felt the piece of paper would be better served shoved in the gap in my cabinet behind her (while Koen looked on the floor for Celitca). Ah well, I did manage to rescue your piece of paper, Leslie, so congratulations! You've won three cards of your choice!

This has been a lot of fun and I hope to do another give-away soon. Thank you so much for everyone who showed their support and entered. I've learned a great deal... like don't put your draw date too far away, and have your husband do the draw not your kids.

Once again, congratulations to Celtica and Leslie, our winners!

Casket Treat Box

I found this Marth Stewart Template for a Casket Treat Box a while back and told myself I'd wait until closer to Hallowe'en to make it. Partly because I don't have any Hallowe'en related stamp sets other than one "Happy Halloween" from the All Holidays stamp set from Stampin' Up. The top caption reads, "Life. Make it Count."

I used Sahara Sand paper because I have far, FAR, too much of it and need to use it up. Besides, doing three dimentional projects is easier with proper cardstock instead of patterned paper! Aside from "All Holidays" I used "Make it Count" also from Stampin' Up. The other colors are Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Bravo Burgundy (text), and Creamy Caramel (sponging). I'm so happy to find a use for Creamy Caramel, it's one of the few colors I've never used before! The project measures 6 inches long by 3 inches wide (at the wide point) by just under 2 inches tall. It's big enough to be used for pencils or small toys.

This one is for you Colleen G. I know how much you like Hallowe'en stuff and it was your recent birthday that inspired me to make this early!

On a totally related note, my 3.5 year old son was watching Mister Maker (what? T.V. is how I can make a craft during the day, don't judge me! hehe) while I was making this project. He said, "Mommy, what you doin'?". I replied, "I'm making a box, honey". He pondered this a moment and nodded, "mommy, you misser maker," and returned to watching his program. I am excited to know I have reached such heights of esteem in my son's mind. *snerk*

Information on Commissioning a Custom Piece

Recently I've had the pleasure of getting several requests for custom work! (I'll be able to post the results after the people who commissioned me give the project to the people it's intended for, don't want to risk folks seeing their presents early!)

Since this might be a recurring situation I wanted to post with details on what happens during the commission process.

Step One: you contact me and make a request. You can be as specific or as vague as you like. "I want something with flowers on it," or "I want a card orange flowers, purple polka dots on the flowers and a green background, it has to have 3 pearl accents somewhere too".

Step Two: we communicate. I tell you if your request is reasonably something I can complete or I offer suggestions on how it can be modified. We keep up this communication until either you are happy with the idea or we realize that I cannot meet your expectations.

Step Three: Assuming we've come to an agreement instead of parting ways, we discuss price. Price is based on the materials I use and the time it takes to make the craft. The more "stuff" you want on your project, the longer it will take to complete and the higher the price. A card costs less than a two page 12x12 scrapbook page. Because it's a custom commission the price is something you can control, it may mean going back to step two. That is up to you.

Step Four: With the idea and price now set I begin work on the craft. I'm happy to take photos during the process and send them along so you can see where I am... but the more often I do that the longer it takes to make the project!

Step Five: The project is complete, payment needs to be made (you are paying for shipping so I can't send it without payment!)

Step Six: Payment is made so I send the project. I will make every reasonable effort to ensure it is not damaged (for example packing a scrapbook page with a piece of cardboard to prevent accidental bending of the page, and writing "please do not bed" on the packaging) but if the mail service causes damage I cannot be held responsible.

And that's that! I always ask that I be given permission to post a picture of the finished commission on my blog to showcase my skills, but I don't do so until you've told me it's okay just in case your commission is a gift.

Gate card

After seeing this post I decided to make one of these cards. It was really easy to make! Instead of using Whisper White I used Very Vanilla because the vanilla cardstock is a bit thicker/sturdier. I sponged the edges with Creamy Caramel classic ink from Stampin' Up.

The little snail is from a now-retired stamp set called Garden Whimsey, also from Stampin' Up. The vines are hand drawn with Garden Green and Old Olive markers.

The inside of the card reads, "Thanks... not just for the BIG things you do, but all the wonderful little things too!" and is from the stamp set "Full of Life" from Stampin' Up.

Super easy to make, and looks fabulous!