Here are the 4 pages available to make for the August 26th workshop:

 

There are so many changes in the new Close To My Heart idea book.  First there is the weight of the card stock.  It's heavy - perfect for all the three-projects  on the new CTMH Cricut cartridge.  Second - it's two-sided.  Each side has it's own beautiful and unique design.  And third - it's cheaper - only $9.95 per packet.  The packet sizes are perfect for making some layouts and a few projects without a bunch left over.  I think the new size and price is going to be perfect for most crafters and scrapbookers.


 Here are the optional projects for August's project:

 

Note: optional projects  require additional products.  To make projects identical to the ones above, you can add:

1 – Dark Neutral Cardstock Shade Pack (X5912)

1 – Wooden Designer Buttons (Z1387)

If you're in the Spokane area, send me an email to sign up for the workshop or join a hostess club.  Or go to my website and order your products when they go live on Aug. 1st.

Happy Crafting!

 

August Creative Club

 August's Creative Club will be held on Saturday, August 20th at 1:00.  The cost is $10, or free with a $25 order.  As always, this is a no commitment club.  You're welcome to join us and there is no obligation to purchase beyond the cost of the workshop for that month.  Creative club is an ideal opportunity to feed your paper crafting urge, learn some fun techniques and leave the mess at the studio!

You do not need to live in the Spokane area to participate.  Kits with pre-cut, and pre-stamped images will be mailed to you upon request. (Additional $2.50 shipping fee will be charged.)

 

We will be using the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut some fun shapes.   All supplies (except adhesive are provided)

When:  Saturday, August 20th, 1:00 - 3:00

Where:  Spokane Valley (I'll give you directions when you register)

Cost: $10 or free with $25 order

What to bring:  Adhesives (I recommend Tombow or something similar) Adhesives are available for purchase during the workshop.

Optional:  Your favorite coloring mediums (colored pencils, markers, etc.)  Some are provided, but sometimes its fun not having to share :)

To Register, Click the "Buy Now" button.  If you have questions, call or email me tlkaiser-1@msn.com

Happy Crafting!

Workshop Options

Attend Workshop $10.00 Mail Workshop Kit $12.50

She's the Queen of Her Castle

Everything about my oldest sister is overflowing with beautiful, abundant, and uncompromising love.  If people can be divided into givers and takers, she is a giver.  A giver of hospitality, a giver of love, a giver of confidence, a giver of praise and, sometimes, a giver of hope. 


To me, she has always embodied this idea that very ordinary things become special with a little extra care.  A pot of flowers on an old window sill, linens hanging in the sun on a breezy day, a bowl of fresh lemons.  Where ever  she is feels special because she attends to the details of comfort and beauty.  More importantly, she attends to the people in her life - especially her sisters, nieces, and nephews.  Beyond any shadow of a doubt, she has been my most ardent supporter.  From encouraging me to go to college (and helping me through the process) to impressing upon me the idea that I can do anything with a little hard work, she has made my very ordinary life feel special.


I saw a collage similar to this one in an issue of Stampington I saw a couple of years ago.  Unfortunately I don't have the magazine so I can't cite with specificity.  Anyway...  I knew I had to make something similar for my sister when she bought her new home.  I discovered that collage is a tremendously satisfying experience.

 

This was supposed to be a close up, but I'm not sure it looks any closer. I suppose if I want great pictures, I'll have to use something other than my phone.

Happy Crafting!

Baby Boy Paper Bag Album

I've never outgrown my love for paper bag albums.  I think it's the crunchy way they feel in my hands and all the unexpected pockets and tags that keep me lovin' em.  And they are make great gifts for an assortment of occasions.  In keeping with my "use it up" theme, this little album used up the last of a K&Company packet of baby papers and embellishments that I bought a couple of years ago.  Here is the cover and a couple of the inside pages:

Heritage pages

My sweet aunt turned 85 this year. These are some pages made for an album to honor the occasion. The paper is a retired CTMH collection, "Unforgettable." As so often happens, I didn't know that I loved, absolutely loved this paper pack until I started working with it. Now I wish it wasn't retired!

Happy crafting and scrapping!

Vision Board meets Paper Bag Album

I made this for someone very dear to me. There are plenty of pockets and tags for her to write inspirational quotes and affirmations and to place pictures she finds inspirational.

Most of the paper is CTMH "Notebook" - now retired. Most of the stamps are Tim Holtz and the embellishments are left-over bits and pieces.

The roses... I'm totally in love with paper roses.  They're super messy from the Mod Podge and  glitter gets everywhere.  Glitter and glue = fun day.  Experimentation with with various rose-making techniques continues. Here is the tutorial  for these roses. I like pictures better than the YouTube tutorials.  The videos just move too fast for me.

Happy crafting!

Spooky Banner

I've caught the banner bug! But, there's no place to put them.  My mantle is brick and they look too busy against the brick. This one is temporarily pinned on the cabinets in the studio so it would stand out against the white for the photo.

The paper is the new Hooligans by CTMH, the ghosts and Jack-O-lanterns are Sizzix cutouts and everything else is leftovers from past projects. As you can see, I continue with the use-up-the-stash theme.

Michael's has giant containers of Martha Stewart fine glitter. It would have been more wise to purchase the small container. There's enough black glitter left over to tag all the neighborhood fences with glittered greetings.

I suppose that's what happens when paper crafters go wrong - they tag with glitter.

Here: http://www.acherryontop.com/articles/Halloween-Spooky-Banner-7986 for directions to do the banner. Easy. Takes a while, but easy and fun.

Happy crafting!

Mistletoe

Here is a reasonable facsimile of one of the Make-n-Takes we did yesterday. The one we made wasn't sewn at the edges. This uses the new "Mistletoe" Workshop on the Go kit. The kit includes a paper packet, a super cute package of poinsettia brads (really, SUPER cool) and a stamp set perfect for holiday stamping and scrapping. The punch for the evergreen boughs was an aged and worn contraption that would not produce evergreens until we really threw our weight into it. Happily, I have plenty of weight to contribute so we ended up with enough boughs.

The ornaments were first stamped in black, then I stamped them again in different colors, cut them out and glued them over the black stamped image. That way I had black hooks. A dab of gold Stickles for the top of the ornament and the card was done.

Happy Crafting!

Creepy

Love this creepy image from CTMH's September stamp of the month, "Thriller." I don't usually like the "hash mark" distressed edges, but the look goes with Halloween.

I used CTMH, Hooligans and Olivia papers. I love making Halloween cards - and now I'm totally in the mood for autumn and inevitable cold weather.

Happy Crafting!

Thankful Banner

This took forever to make!

Next time I might include pictures on each of the squares. After the holiday, the squares could be dismantled and added to scrapbook pages. Each of the squares would serve as a frame for the picture on the page. Truthfully, if I spend an entire day on a project, I want it to last long enough for many generations of progeny to enjoy.

The banner took several hours to complete, but they were such happy hours. Sometimes I feel a little sad as summer winds down and this project helped me transition from summer nostalgia to enthusiasm for the next season.

The product list is far too long and I won't even bother to include everything. Most of the products are CTMH. I tried to use up bits and pieces of retired embellies that I've been hoarding.

Happy Crafting!

Passages 6 inch mini album

Here is another project inspired by the incredibly creative Lisa Stentz. This little book was an accordion transformed into a book. This technique allows you to make it with as many pages as you would like. This example has three inside pages with lots of pockets for journaling tags and additional pictures. This particular paper makes it a wonderful book for vintage photos or for vacation photos; however, with different paper it would also make a wonderful baby album, or a keepsake for a wedding or retirement.












Paper is CTMH "Passages" , Passages Stickease, and CTMH stamps. To order materials visit my website: http://paperescape.myctmh.com

If you want specific information to make your own mini album, send me an email:
tlkaiser-1@msn.com

Happy Crafting!

Acrylic cards and Irresistibles

The round card was inspired by Lisa Stentz who creates the most amazing things. I LOVE acrylic cards - so fun when you don't want to send/give the same 'ol thing. Learning to layer them takes a bit of practice - which makes the workshop a good thing. Also the Pizzazz Irresistibles are so cool! They're bits of chipboard that have a resist design on them, so when you ink them up, you get dots... and lines... and squiggles. Basically, they're cool.

For more information on the workshop go to http://paperescape.myctmh.com and click on calendar.

Happy Crafting!

August Stamp of the Month - it's Splendid!

This is probably my favorite ever Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart


August's Stamp of the Month is:
Something Splendid (Set of 13)
Recommended Blocks: 1" × 1 1/2" (Y1001), 1" × 3 1/2" (Y1002), 4" x 4" (Y1008)

Want to join an exclusive club? Every month Close To My Heart offers you an exclusive My Acrylix^® D-size stamp set FREE or at a large discount. The stamp set is available to qualifying customers for that month only. It’s our way of saying thank you, and your way of getting fantastic deals on our amazing stamps!

Here’s how to get a fabulous deal on your very own Stamp of the Month!

You spend	You save	You pay only
$25	25% off	$17.21
$50	50% off	$11.48
$75	75% off	$5.74
$10	100% off	FREE

[Go Shopping]

Baby Album

I put these pages together last week. I only had a couple of pictures of the new arrival and they were grainy because they were emailed to me, so I used removable adhesive on the photos. The parents can replace them with better photos later.

Using the supplies I already own continues to be a key component of my budget plan. For this project I used up paper from several different kits including K and Company and CTMH. I also had a beautiful pink suede album that was perfect for the project.





















This is the last page in the book. The pictures go on the tags. I wasn't sure if the parents would know that so I did one picture to get them started. Now that I'm looking at photos of the layouts, I see some improvements to make. This one needs three flowers on the ribbon. Off I go to make improvements before shipping this off.

Happy Crafting!