Happy Belated Valentine's Day

Here is the Valentine's Day layout I just finished for Adalyn's scrapbook. I used sewed on a red scalloped heart from Bazzil. I cut a heart using my Cricut and sewed on it as well. All the paper and embellishments are from My Minds Eye. I used my new Tim Holts paper shredder or distresser on all the edges. Distressing adds texture and definition to the edges of the papers.

Many of you have asked me how I keep up and get all my pictures scrapbooked having two little girls. Well this is my secret. First of all, Adalyn sleeps from 1 pm - 4 pm in the afternoon. I use this time to get my layouts done. While I am working on a layout Hailey is usually right beside me. She has her own kit with glue, scissors, ink, and stickers. We share the paper trimmer, border punches as well as her new favourite tool; the distresser. As I cut my paper I pass over the scraps to her. I also let her choose a few embellishments, ribbon or whatever she needs. I also give her duplicates or extra pictures to use. It is a great way for us to spend time together. I get my stuff done. She improves cutting, glueing, writing and best of all creative expression. She also learns confidence, independence and to share her side of the story. She gets to choose the titles of her layouts. Most of the time I write down her journaling as she tells it.


I am afraid she might appreaciate her layouts more than mine when she is older!

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Clear Display Trays

A great way to display your 12x12 papers for easy viewing. These acrylic trays are sturdy and stackable.

Do you ever find yourself looking for paper you know you have but you can't find it? Well then these are the trays for you.

They come 10 in a package and they are priced just over $110.

Use them to organize your paper collection today!

New Frames in Stock

We just got in a large selection of frames store. Two different shadow boxes sized 5x7 with either an orange or teal insert, 12x18, 16x20, 24x36. Prices range from $16.99 - $45.49. The great thing about the 12x18 frames is that they are a true size so you won't loose any of your image.

So now you can get your prints and frames in one location. Stop by and check them out!

Magnetic Discs

From Basic Grey comes these handy magnetic discs.

"Self-adhesive, super slim and seriously strong. Magnetic discs are not only super slim and seriously strong they are extremely versatile. Perfect for any craft or utility project. Use anywhere you wish to add a closure or an attachment. Consider for use in paper crafting, general crafts, home repair, school projects, presentations and more."

These are really handy and lots of fun to use. Check them out today!

Using up the scraps

Here's another 'using up my scraps' layout.  I hate to waste paper when it's as fun as this Little Yellow Bicycle line. 
The circles are a 12" acrylic 'clear cut frames'. It was  a little tricky finding photos that would work with the wing pattern coming in from both sides, but I think I managed it.

I made my title with some foam alpha stamps and that same orange Making Memories paint I used on my last layout.  'museum' is some old Chatterbox alpha stickers I had in my stash.
I was checking back through the blog and found this post about eyelets.  I haven't used eyelets in ages.  I have tonnes, but I keep them in a container on a top shelf in my scraproom. It's a case of  'out of sight, out of mind'.  So I pulled them down and randomly applied a few eyelets to the bottom right and top left corners of my layout.  I think they add the perfect touch. 
The white star ones pictured here in the same post would look great with this LYB line, don't you think?

Great Deal!

Check out your newsletter this week for an amazing deal in the coupon. Remember to use your coupon you have to either print it off or mention it at the time of purchase!

If you don't receive the email newsletter than contact us today by email today!

Making Red Icing!

OK so every time I go to make Red Buttercream icing for cakes, cookies or cupcakes it's such a challenge to get the red red color.
Found a neat tip on the Wilton Website though about how to get it Red, Red so I thought I would share....

A Piece of Cake - Ideas from Wilton

How to Make Red Icing Red
October 27th, 2009 by Mary Gavenda
Do you ever have any problems getting red icing red? I know I do. It can happen for a couple of reasons: didn’t add enough icing color or used shortening with a high yellow dye content, such as butter flavored shortening. Do you have a lot of minerals in your water that could make a difference (like well water)?

In the Wilton Decorating Room, we get the best results for a brighter red color using a combination of Red-Red Icing Color with Christmas Red Icing Color, equal parts. It will take a large amount of the icing  Click here to read more.......

Happy Decorating,
Lynette

Individual Sponge Daubers

Back in store are individual Sponge Daubers. These little tools are great for inking edges of paper and for adding ink to specific areas. They are also for very effective for adding shading.

Sponge Daubers fit right on the tip of your finger that allow easier handling and finer control of placement.

Come by and pick up one today. The possibilities are endless!

Freestyle layout

I've been doing a lot of challenges lately.  And using sketches as a starting point for my layouts. 
This layout is just for fun.  I started with the background patterned paper by Little Yellow Bicycle and just started putting stuff down. 
I grabbed a bottle of dark orange Making Memories paint that went perfectly with this line and dropped splatters from the end of a paint brush.  The yellow splotches are made by dipping a big straw (frosty sized) in to yellow paint, putting it close to the paper surface and blowing. I was just experimenting here.  I think I like the yellow splotches better than the orange splatters.
I didn't want to use the entire 12" of the Acrylic 'clear cut frame' so I tore one third of it off.  I had to start the tear with a small scissor cut.

I placed some torn pieces of LYB pp under my photos and a length of pleated ribbon.  

Then I started scrounging through my stash to find odds and ends that would go with my photos.  There's a Chatterbox 'card' and a leftover epoxy sticker from a pet sheet that was half used, a couple of Prima printed leaves(love these), some Prima blooms and a Prima glass pebble, a Rusty Pickle scroll rub-on and a couple of MM flag pins from the Expore line.  And what layout would be complete without some punches?  Out came my favourite butterflies.

I used up lots of bits and pieces from my stash on this layout, and had a lot of fun doing it.  I hope you try a freestyle layout today. 

Funny Stamps!

We have some really fun new stamps in store from American Art Stamp. Lynette just brought in these hilarious stamps from when she was at CHA.

Some of these stamps have funny sayings. There is a lady lying on a beach, talking on a cell phone and the saying is "I'm in a meeting". Another one of my favourites is a lady sitting at a table saying "Inside This Old Body is a young voice asking me 'What Happened?'"

Come by and check out these stamps today and have a chuckle!

Now in Store: Bind-It-All!

The Bind-It-All is an exciting tool that allows you to make your own books and bindings in the comfort of your own home. It's the only dual action machine that will punch and bind Chipboard, Zutter Acrylic, Clipboard Wood, Zutter Canvas Artboard and more! The BIA allows endless applications and creativity.

This is a must have if you like making your own books and calendars. Pick up your Bind-It-All in store today for $120.99 plus taxes.

Great Coupon!

Are you needing a new album? Maybe you don't need a new album but there is one that you've been eyeing? Well now is the time to come and get it. This week's coupon is buy an album and get a free package of refills!

So check your email for this week's newsletter and get your coupon and come and get your album and free refills today!

Little Yellow Bicycle

There are two new lines by Little Yellow Bicycle in the store.  They are both awesome.  The 'Lucky' line is in hues of wonderful greens and blues. To coordinate there are loads of stickers and rub-ons.

I chose the 'Generation Z' line to play with first.

I really like the acrylic clear cut frames.  There are five of them in the package. I used two of them on my double page layout below.

I used this weeks sketch from Sketchy Thursdays to get me going on this layout.

I had fun with my snowflake punches.  Next to my butterfly punches I think the snowflakes are my favourite and most used. Oh, I also love my leaf punches and use them often.
For this layout I pulled out two large snowflakes and a med snowflake, as well as my 1/2" circle punch.  I punched everything out of patterned paper then layered a circle on top of the one style of large snowflake punch and held it all together with a clear bling brad.

Make sure you check out the new Little Yellow Bicycle designs the next time you're in the store.

One piece of paper and some scraps

I completed this layout with just one sheet of paper and a strip of scrap paper. I also used a snowflake rub on, spiral journal page, bling and some sticker letters. This Fancy Pants snowflake paper is so pretty and goes great with any wintery photos. If you "need" this paper hurry down to Unforgettable Memories. There is only a few sheets left!

In the last few years, I have made my mum and dad little Valentine's Day projects from the kids. They have been "scrapbooky" and photo-oriented - cute little felt books or tiny tins with quotes from the kids. I received a big hint from my mum that she can't wait to see what this year brings...! and voila! A minibook in an evening! (sorry about the nasty light on these. Horrible fluorescent light.)

Lynette often has great sales at the store, and I picked up these Making Memories chipboard hearts a few months ago, and also got some really awesome My Minds Eye paper at a crazy discount last week! Make sure you watch all the newsletters and check this blog all the time - great deals to be had.
Anyway! The chipboard was white, so i put some crackle medium on it and let it dry, then painted over it with pink paint on some of the hearts and red on the others. It DID NOT WORK. I think the crackle medium soaked into the chipboard. I do believe it's very important to NOT BE LAZY and make sure you put the medium on a layer of dried paint. I should have painted them white first, but time was of the essence! And then there was the aforementioned laziness. Anyway! They turned out looking sort of distressed, which was fine.
I covered the word openings with "script" patterned paper so that words were peeking through, and then covered the backs of the hearts with more patterned paper. I added photos of the boys (here are two of them...)

and on the middle page, I wrote down things we love about our Nana and Papa on little journal labels.
A fun little keepsake for my lovely parents! That reminds me, I have to stick the year on this somewhere. Have a LOVEly weekend :)

It's OK to scraplift

Last Friday I got together with some fellow paper crafters for a night of scrapbooking. When I go away to a crop night I like to leave prepared. I try to have my sketch, pictures, paper, and embellishments all ready to go so I can get down to business and not have to fret too much!

This is a layout from the January edition of Canadian Scrapbooker. I loved all the white around the outside edges

This is my version of the layout in the magazine. Remember a sketch or layout is often just a starting point. It may be all you need to get started. Look for some inspiration and get those photos scrapbooked!

CHA Orders Have Started Arriving!

The first order from CHA has arrived! Lynette has ordered lots of fun and exciting stuff.

There are punches, stickers, the new Little Yellow Bicycle Lucky Me line and lots of flowers and sparkles from Prima to name just a few.






There will still be more stuff arriving in the next while so keep watching the website and blog for details as they arrive.

Don't miss out on these new and exciting products. Stop by the store and check them out today!

Don't be afraid to mix lines. The paper on this layout is Bo Bunny. The embellishments are from the new Basic Grey Origins line. I don't do one pagers very often but sometimes there is no choice. I love this picture of Hailey and it will go at the beginning of her 4 year book.

Free Match Book Project!

Check your weekly newsletter for this week's coupon.

Buy One Little Yellow Bicycle Project and receive a Match Book Project for Free!*

This is an adorable little booklet that fits 2x3 photos and journalling and then folds up neatly into a little book. You can get your 2x3 photos printed right in store!

*Limit one per customer.

Click on the image to see the booklet Crystal did!

Eyelets Abound!

Did you know that we currently have over 50 different types of eyelets in stock at just 75 cents a bag?!

We have just about anything you could think of, from ice cream cones to flowers, gifts to stars and Christmas lights to traditional circles.

Eyelets are great if you want to loop a ribbon through your project or if you just want to add some character. Come check our large collection out today!

Prima's February sketch is up

It's perfect for a Valentines layout.

Check out Prima's blog to see how their fabulous Design Team interpreted this sketch. Remember to upload your layout when it's done.

Go Googly!

Googly Eyes are a fun way to add some fun character to your creations!

We have many varieties in store. Options include the traditional black & white, coloured backs and coloured irises.

We even have some that are self-adhesive so you don't need glue!

If you are making a project that has characters with
eyes, consider using googly eyes to add some fun!

Add some dazzle!

We have these really fun Dazzler flowers by Petaloo in the store. A perfect way to add some Dazzle to your project.

We have some colour packs as well as some themed packs. In the themed packs we have Winter Wonderland, Celeb, Traditional Christmas, and Brites.

These make a fun addition to any project. Stop by and get some Dazzle today!

Talking about Tim Holtz' grunge board.

I just finished a layout using grunge board numbers.  BIG ones!  Last summer my boys were 14 years old.  I did this layout of Duncan in/at/on the Moberly River; right where it comes in to the Peace.

Grungeboard is a lot of fun to play with.  You can ink it, paint it, rough it up, glue stuff to it...
The numbers I had were already embossed with the swirl pattern.  I rubbed black distress ink over them both to bring out the swirls and then coated each number with black distress stickles so they are a little rough and sparkly.

PS: did you notice I used 4 different 2" x 3" photos on this layout.  If you want to know how to get all 4 printed onto one 4x6 photo check out my tutorial a couple posts below.

Get a little Grungy!

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Grunge Board. Grunge board from Tim Holtz is a compressed, flexible sheet of dingy material with a debossed texture that can be painted, inked, sanded, hammered, or grunged.

Grunge board can be used to add dimension and decoration to your project. It can be decorated in any way that you want to enhance your already beautiful designs.

Add some bling to your projects

Have you checked out Making Memories Gem Collections? They are the perfect way to add bling to your projects.

Each package contains 278 pieces in various shapes! There are 7 colour packs to choose from: Brown, Bright, Green, Pink, Red, Blue and Black.

Come by and check them out today!

Creating a collage of 2" x 3" photos on a 4" x 6"

I’ve been having fun scrapping the smaller 2” x 3” size photos lately.

You can get them developed through Unforgettable Memories BUT when you order each mini photo it comes on its own 4” x 6” photo with three other identical photos. I don’t mind scrapping the same photo 4 times once in a while ~ I’ve even used all four photos on the same layout like I did here...

But if you want to have 4 different mini photos on that 4” x 6” it’s easy to do using the free collages at Picnik.com. Breanna showed me how to do it ~ she’s eleven. You don’t even need to sign up to create them. Just go to www.picnik.com and click on the ‘start picnicking’ link in the top right hand corner of your screen.
On the next screen you will see the collage tab right above the yellow balloon. Click on it.

You will make selections on the left hand side of the screen. The default collage is the 4 photo collage which is what we want so move on down to the ‘spacing’ section. I like to drag the bar to the far left so there is no space between my photos. I’ll matte them later with white cardstock.
Below the spacing section is the ‘proportions’ section. The default is 50:50, but we want 40:60 if we’re working with 4 vertical photos or 60:40 with horizontal photos. You can’t mix  up horizontal and vertical on the same 4x6 without losing some of your picture. The picture below shows you what your screen will look like with 4 vertical photos and no spacing between them.

Now we can start uploading our photos. On the green strip at the bottom of the page you can see the ‘upload a photo’ button. Click on it and then scroll to your first photo in the window that pops up. When the photo has finished loading (it may take a few seconds if it’s a large file) it will appear in a box in the very bottom left hand corner of your screen. Simply drag it onto your collage. Now upload another photo. Drag it onto the collage when it is ready. Repeat 2 more times and your collage will be full.

Your collage is complete. Now you need to save it back to your computer so you can upload it to Unforgettable Memories for developing. Click on the ‘Done’ button located towards the top on the right hand side of your screen. You will be taken to the Create tab which is a really fun place to play, but today we just want to save, so click on the ‘Save & Share’ tab on the top right of your screen.

It saves as a .jpg by default so all you need to do is put in a File Name in place of ‘Picnik Collage’. Click the ‘Save Photo’ button and tell it where to save on your computer.
Now you’re ready to upload that photo of 4 images to Unforgettable Memories. An hour later you can pick up your pictures, as well as any supplies you might need to scrap them and you’re all set.

If you have any questions on this 'how to' please leave a comment.

What a great deal!

The coupon in this week's newsletter is an astounding deal! Spend $10 before taxes in store and get Penny Lane papers for 25 cents a sheet! What a savings!

Check your email for other great savings and come in and take advantage of this coupon today!

Bo Bunny scraps

I'm anxiously awaiting all the new product to come in after CHA. 

I dug through my Bo Bunny 'Abbey Road' scraps to put this layout together. I love the colours! And the patterned burlap by Prima goes wonderfully with these photos taken in the Victoria museum in one of their displays.  My daughter is standing on a pier by an old ship.

The pirate word paper is Creative Imaginations. 
I used my 'threading water' punch to make a scalloped border around my matte. 

The big and little scrolls as well as the wave border are all from the 'Abbey Road' sticker sheet.
The scalloped circle around the journaling is from the Bo Bunny sheet of cutouts.