Disney Classes

Recently I stared teaching classes at Scrap N' Yap, one set of monthly classes I am doing are Disney layouts. These classes use various cuts from my Cricut or Cameo to make TWO - 2 page layouts. In January of 2013 I will be doing a repeat class for those who want to do the classes I have created to date. Here is a peak at the classes I have taught so far

CLASS 1: Disney Cars

CLASS 2: Disney Halloween Time

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Join me at the Yap

Just one week until my class at Scrap N Yap! 


Join me,the Deconstructed Scrapper, as I take you on a scrapping journey! During this month's class I will show you how to mix and match patterns, textures, and colors on your scrapbook pages. You will leave class with 7 - 12 x 12 pages completedready to add photos at home! You will also receive extra paper and embellishments to complete several additional pages on your own.

The papers in this class are gender neutral and are great to document all those summer activities!

This less stress, less guilt, skill building class will take you from overwhelmed to a confident scrapper.

I will guide you through scrapbooking from the foundation of whole sheets of paper, piles of embellishments, and various tools and help you scrapbook a chapter in your life using traditional 1 and 2 page spreads as well as using photo pocket pages.

Each month this class will have a different theme as well as lessons on using new tools and techniques.

Can't attend class? Class kits with instructions are available for pre-order and can be picked up after the scheduled class date.

Designed for ALL SKILL LEVELS - including beginner!

Contact the store today to reserve your space.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Scrap N Yap

830 South Myrtle Avenue  Monrovia, CA 91016
(626) 357-2727

12:30 - 3:30 

$35

Tools to bring: Paper Trimmer, Scissors, Favorite adhesive (tape runner), pop up dots, favorite distress ink (black or brown), scallop paper punch (optional).

Box Swap... time to reveal!

It's been quite some time since I participated in a swap, but I took the leap recently to join in a swap on the Cricut Circle Message Board. The idea of the swap was we each purchased the same box, fill it with $25 of goodies, and decorate it to coordinate with your secret partners wishes. I had so much fun with the box I made, I was having a hard time waiting to hear from secret partner to find out of she liked it... while I'm still waiting to hear from her, its very late on the east coast so I expect to hear something in the morning... I opened my box.

I received a packaged in the mail and it was GIGANTIC... these boxes we had to fill were about 6"x6"x3"... but the box I got in the mail was probably 12" x12" x 17" or more... so what could it be!

My secret sister was Gina P, from Oceanside NY. She sent me a gigantic hot air balloon! Too cool. She literally thought outside of the box! Without further ado, my big boy Oscar will now show you my box and all it's glorious goodies!

A closeup of the balloon. Look at all the beautiful texture and dimension on it. And it's all blinged out too. I can't believe that Gina is "only" a card maker! 

Oscar is admiring all the lovely goodies. I think he is eyeing up the green stripe queen and company washi tape for a layout with him on it. 

Hand made goodies: 2 lovely necklaces in my favorite color purple. And a little mini album with tags that slide out of the pages with beautiful hot air balloons and my favorite purple color as well.

I had so much fun with this swap. I'm looking forward to another one soon!

Spectrum Noir Color Swatch Book

I am in love with my Spectrum Noir Markers! After watching the videos on the DVD which is available for the marker and playing with a lot of the colors,  I decided I need to see all my colors on paper. Since the marker system is so easy to use with a few simple color categories, and a simple number system I thought a color swatch book would be a great way to see all the colors in a compact format. Each color category has it's own page. At the end of the book there are a few pages of hair color and skin color combinations that were suggested by Crafter's Companion. Also are a few extra blank pages to add some of my other favorite color combos that I discover as I continue to work with my markers. You too can have this template. I have made it available for purchase fir $5 for instant download. Simply click here to make your purchase. If you don't want to do all the work the book is available assembled waiting for you to ad your colors and is available for purchase from my store for $12. I have found this to be very useful to mix and match colors across color spectrum!

Happy Crafting!

Creating a Portfolio

While I should be working on my final paper for school that is due next Wednesday, I figured getting a crafting portfolio together would be a much better use of my time! I decided it's time to try out for some design teams because I'm looking to use my skills, share my ideas, and get my crafting on. And with this new venture I'm tired of not having my work in one central place that I can send people to. It seems like I take photos of so many of my projects, but they get scattered here and there on my computer.

There is nothing like the procrastination of one thing, to spur organization of another! I now have my images organized on my computer. I made my self a watermark to place on all m projects. And I now have a live portfolio that I can easily add and update!

You are wondering how did I make my portfolio? I decided I wanted to use an album format that was easily accessible for uploads, edits, and reorganization. I decided on Photobucket for this, since it met all my criteria! I simply created an album for each type of item I wanted to showcase. For now I have four albums, including my scrapbook layouts, cards, invitations, and other paper crafting items. I then went through and edited my photos, cropped them, and re-sized them all. I kept the width of everything but my banner images to 500 pixels so anyone can view my images from tablets to computers. One thing I'm still not certain on is the watermarks. I tried to place them so they were over lapping my work some, in a place not to distracting from the work, but also  hard enough for someone to erase to try to take the work as their own.

To store my albums I created in Photobucket, I had them all made into slide shows. Photobucket does this with a click of a button. And then I simply pasted the HTML code for the slide show into a new page in Blogger. I'm so excited blogger offers the addition of pages to their blogs. It allows me to add so much more content to my site... with more content coming soon.

You can check out my current portfolio here. If you are interested in having me on your design team or as a guest designer please contact me, and I'm sure we can work something out!

Thank you for looking.

A little Peter Pan

It all started with some bookmarks I am making for my God Daughter's 6th birthday... while those are not quite finished, I decided while I was waiting on the 6 year old's "decisions" on the bookmarks for her party favors that I would make a banner as a surprise for her with her favorite character right now Peter Pan! So what started out as going to be perhaps a simple banner, turned into a full day of assembling cuts from the Cricut to make this. I used the Disney Classic's Cartridge for all the shapes except Tinkerbell who I chose one from the Tinkerbell Cartridge instead and the letters are from the Blackletter Cartridge.



I used my alcohol based markers to add some extra shading to the characters. I also distressed the edges of everything with either brown or black ink. I added color scraps to the map behind the openings to add more dimension to it, and added scribbles with pens and markers to add more depth to them as well. I also used lots of foam pop dots to layer things at different levels to really add dimension. And what really makes everything pop is the Sakura Gelly Roller Clear Star pen that makes a lot of the accents glisten in real life. The banner spans about 4-5 feet when finished.

Thank you for looking!

Spectrum Noir Markers

I have discovered these markers at the Winter CHA 2012 show. They are a wonderful introduction into the world of Alcohol based markers. These are perfect for the crafter who wants the flexibility and look of alcohol markers, with a diverse range of colors, with out the expense or the guessing of what colors to buy and match.

As an introduction to these markers I'm offering these special prices through Friday, February 10, 2012. Be sure to check out the ULTIMATE DEAL it's almost too good to be true!

Visit my store to make your purchase. If you have any questions please email me.

CHA continued...

Moving beyond my love for all things Cricut... my next love is storage containers. I don't know makes me so happy to see containers, but it's a bit of an addiction I must say. Art Bin has come out with some wonderful magnetic inserts for the various metal dies that are on the market to cling to for nice slim storage.














Another great item I spied was the new basic grey Plumeria collection. This collection has hints of the most beautiful shades of purple. I can't wait to get my hands on this yummy collection to scrap some photos of ME.









I stopped by the Plaid booth to see what they were making. I took some time out of my day to decorate a canvas tote using the Martha Stewart paints, stencils, and brushes. I have been stalking these items at my local Michael's for some time now. I really loved how everything worked. She has even come up with her signiture blue painters tape! Now I can probably skip that, but it was fun to use everything that matched!


You can check out all of my favorites and fun finds on my Pinterest board.






Thank you for looking!

Winter CHA 2012 In review...

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Craft and Hobby Association trade show and explore what is up and coming in the crafting world. This years show there were sever come backs to the industry that have been lying low for the past few years. Heidi Swap is back with new papers and embellishments following her classic patterns but with new twists. One "twist" was her line of mistable papers and embellishments that can be misted, inked, chalked, etc to make fun multi-color custom papers and embellishments. These items were a standout for me from her collection. I'm always looking for multipurpose scrapbook supplies that are versatile... and being able to pick my own colors is fantastic.

Something near and dear to me with my love of my Cricut, was Provo Crafts releases... they had 3 major things that were notable to me: 1. A new cartridge "tags, bags, boxes and more #2", 2. A scoring blade/tool 3. Gel pens with holder. These three items may not seem like anything too special, but it's the combination of them that make them spectacular! The TBBM2 cartridge has been designed to work with the scoring blade and gel pens! The cartridge will ask for the scoring blade/tool thing to be installed during the cut, it will then scoring the folding lines into the images, instead of those silly slits that had been previous included on cartridges where the item was to be folded. This will allow us to make far superior boxes and bags. Additionally they have added some fonts or perhaps they are just sayings... I didn't get this clarified, but either way you can have hand written looking messages on your products right from the cartridge! It certainly adds a personal touch.

Here is a look at the scoring "blade" as I call it, though it doesn't cut it only scoring...

A quick peek at the gel pens... these look strikingly similar to products that have been on the market from 3rd party companies for quite some time.

Thank you for taking a look. I have lots more to come, but it has been a long day!

Less is best

This year I have chosen to incorporate the word LESS into my life. This can lead to lots of things... less stress, less over sleeping, less late nights and not getting enough sleep, less clutter... I think you get the idea of what LESS means to me. I have fallen off the LESS wagon a bit with some sho

pping on ebay... I have purchased an excessive number of cartridges this month... but I have paid way LESS then retail price on them!

One focus I have for this year is to have LESS clutter in my scrapbook room and keep every thing tidy so I can spend more time scrapbooking and being creative. I have lost the passion in the past 6 months and am looking forward to getting back. As you can see in my previous post I have my scrapbook room pretty organized. Everything basically has a place... so now I am fine tuning all the storage and organizational methods to make me more efficient and to keep the clutter at bay.

I started with a small project organizing a bag of cut ribbons and trims I have. I had seen some expensive hangers for the ribbon and though I could make my own. With some cheap chip board, a paper trimmer, and my trusty crop-a-dile whole punch. I cut some 2.5" x 3" pieces punched a variety of holes some small and some larger, being sure to leave enough border so the chipboard didn't tear. I also punched a hole at the top so I could hold them together with some binder rings or metal shower curtain hooks.

Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year

In with the new and out with the old. With 2012 here, it was time to get my scrap room back in order. It's been a long process that has consumed most of my free time in 2011... but I'm finally happy with the outcome. Despite needing to go through my stuff and purging everything has a place!

Let's take a tour of my space.



Thanks for looking! Now it's time to get back to creating!

Cricut Case Covers

As requested through some members of the cricut circle... covers/inserts for solutions and seasonal cartridges to place into the new cricut plastic storage boxes. Below are PDF files of the cartridges I have completed so far. Please feel free to download them and print them out. The original images were taken from the cricut.com website information library, and shall only be used for personal use.




DOWNLOADS:
Blackletter
Christmas
Father's Day
Happy Graduation
Home Accents
Home Decor
Indie Art
Love Struck
Mother's Day 2010
Mother's Day Bouquet
Serenade
Stamping
Wedding

Download them all HERE.

Let's give this a try...again...

Well I fell off the blogging wagon once this year... let's give this a try again. Hopefully posting here will help me keep inspired and to keep creating. With winter approaching (though here in Southern California its not much of a winter) the nights come sooner and staying inside where it's warm and cozy is so appealing. It's time to get my studio organized and cleaned once and for all, which is this weekends project while its raining outside... and get back to crafting and exploring my cricut and all of my recent cartridge purchases that I have not had a chance to really play with! Here's to finishing off 2011 with lots of crafting and creative energy!

Valentine's Love

With Valentine's day tomorrow, I found a challenge on the My Mind's Eye blog that was perfect to get my mojo going on the perfect Valentine's Card. The best part was I had the perfect paper from MME I could use to get the job done!
This was the sketch they provided as the challenge:
With this sketch as my starting point here is the beautiful card I made for my Valentine.


I couldn't stop using this paper on just this card... so I decorated this little white mailbox from the $1 spot at target. I colored portions of the mailbox using Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks.


Thank you for looking! And have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Cricut Circle February Banner Challenge

I think it's time to bring back the good old scrappy blog... take a peak at all of my scrappy creations and scrappy happenings!This month the Cricut Circle is having a challenge for making a banner. As luck has it, I designed this wonderful banner that was a make and take at the Urban Escapes Retreat January 21-23, 2011 in Las Vegas. The banner was created using papers from Creative Imaginations, Prima, and American Crafts. It was embellished with flowers from Prima, and from the LA Garment District. The pink glitter ribbon was from Michael's Christmas ribbons, and the pearl bling from Want2Scrap. I used a variety of cartridges to cut the butter flies, bicycle, dress form, scallop circle, and letters.

Design Star Search & Challenge‬‪

Come check out what we are doing over at www.urban-anthology.com/form.‬‪

Are you ready to be Urban Anthology’s Next Design Star? Or are you just looking to be challenged and win a few prizes?‬‪

Join us in our “Design Start Challenge” Starting Friday March 27th on our blog at www.urban-anthology.com/blog‬‪Starting Friday March 27th we will be posting challenges and would like YOU to participate.

There are two ways:‬‪

1-      You want to play along for fun… each week join us for our challenges, submit your work according the rules and be entered to win a weekly prize. Complete ALL the challenges, and you will be entered to win a grand prize basket of goodies.‬‪‪‬‬‪

2-      You want to be Urban Anthology’s next Design stars…and be apart of our Design team? Join us on our blog at www.urban-anthology.com/blog on Friday March 27th for your first challenge. Complete the challenge and submit it according to the directions. The current Urban Anthology design team will then choose the winners to move on to the next round of the competition. Did I mention you will be entered to win prizes too. ☺‬‪‬‪

All the details will be posted on our blog shortly… until then… please join us in our [url=www.urban-anthology.com/forum] forum [/url] for fun challenges, tips, and conversation.‬

Time to walk...

It's time to get walking... enough sitting, enough procrastinating, its time to simply walk. Today was day #2 this week for going for a 1.4 mile walk around Glendora. It's a nice route through the neighborhood and half the route is up hill making for a good leg workout. I take Spyder with me, he enjoys the walk as much as I do. I truly appreciate our new house in a real neighborhood... with sidewalks (ok on some streets), nice people, and great scenry. I took my walk a bit late today, so the sun was setting, it was so pretty to watch, and to see the full moon rise... was awesome. My legs are still sore from day 1 of walking, so i can only think what they will feel like tomorrow... but no pain, no gain they say... Spyder is much calmer too, he was napping for the past 2 hours... and now he finally has decided to play with his toys.. off to relax a bit more, and then to bed for an early night... with exercise we must get ample sleep as well... it's time to build a new routine...so here I go, and watch me on my journey to become fit and lean.

Where has time gone!

This year sure has started out quick, I realized last night I had been nearly two monthsa since I updated my blog... I am now wondering where those two months went... But between home rennovations, CHA, scrapbook expo, my dad visiting, and numerous government holidays things sure start happening fast! The outlook for the next few months is busy as well, but this years busy life is fun... And not the ordinary!

So the other day I saw the sweetest thing, and wanted to share... This elderly couple comes into applebee's, sits in a booth, both sharing one side... Then the Mr. Pulls out his iPod!!! And puts on some classic 1920's or 1930's music... And they listened, talked and dinned on their lunch... Which they split the lunch combo with the 2 cheeseburger sliders and a side salad! It was too cute to see... I can only hope that Chris and I are like that when we are old!

A very Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year... I can say that this year has been one spectacular year for me... and Christmas has ended the year well. I was able to spend Christmas eve with my husbands mom's side of the family, and Christmas Day with his dad's side of the family. His family from all around California was able to gather for a great celebration. Besides having a great time with family, and WAY to much food, I was spoiled with too many gifts as usual... but I got a few things I really was hoping for! My dad got me the Ott-lite I had been wanting for a very long time. So now when I go scrapbooking, I have a portable light to take with. My hubby got me a new cell phone, so I don't need to curse my old one out, that was on the fritz. And it has a camera on it, which I truly missed when I had switched over to a BlackBerry. And one gift that has been on my wish list for years, finally came true... I got a doggy! His name is Spyder... he was rescued from a home where the owners had to move into an apartment. The origional owners had rescued him from the pound... he is the sweetest border collie. Here is a photo of him playing with one of his many toy's. He loves balls! And will never stop playing catch (especially with my hubby, LOL)

Home sweet home!

Well, its been a hectic month, of painting, fixing, packing, and moving to our new house! We are officially living in our first home... Though it is furnished with not much more than stacks of boxes! Our move went pretty easy, othwer than the fact that the moving truck was a tad small... We had our kingsize mattress strapped to the back of tyhe truck, and we still have a bit of stuff to get from our rental! Our goal is to have things fixed up in the next month so it is ready for our first set of visitors... My dad and brother.

Last night we hoked up our new washer and dryer... Who knew that we would sit and watch it was our clothes for 10 minutes! We were so impressed with how quiet our new Electolux appliances are! It was very easy to figure out as well. There are so many options for washing clothes...

Besides moving I've been busy with holiday preparations, as we'll as releasing a sneak peak of the next kit over at www.urbanianthology.com/forum ... Its going to be a fantastic kit once again... :)

I hope every has a very merry Christmas, or a happy holiday for those that have other celebrations this time of year!

Take Care and be safe!