Upcoming Classes

Happy Mother’s Day!

I hope all of the moms out there are having a nice day, today.

I wanted to share my latest heritage class … Home.

This page is perfect to highlight a family home, your grandparents’ house or you own house for future generations. It is simple, but filled with layers punched from pieces of paper, a Lifestyle Crafts’ die, a Cricut title and two different Crafter’s Workshop templates. It’s scheduled for Wednesday, June 6.

Don’t forget, I also have a Copic 101 class and my custom-made supply book class scheduled for May. Be sure to call Capture A Memory at 810-733-0716 to reserve your place.

Heritage Classes

I love working on heritage pages. It was, in fact, the thing that encouraged me to try scrapbooking in the first place.

In a scrapbook, you have room to go beyond the names and dates of your ancestors. You can share their stories, show the places they lived, their handwriting, what they looked like and more.

Heritage pages are also fun because you can used different styles of paper and embellishments from what you would normally put in a scrapbook. While I may not be willing to spend a lot of time or money on a page about yet another choir concert my daughter performed in, for example, I am willing to do whatever it takes to make a special heritage page — especially since I may have only one photo of that person.

So, I began teaching heritage classes. They are held on the third Friday of each month at Scrap Tales in Brighton. The cost of each class varies, depending on the supplies used, and I try to teach different techniques in each one.

Here are the ones we have done so far …

Baby — using the new birdcage die by Tim Holtz.

At the Beach — using these amazing papers from Graphic 45.

Grandfather — uses more papers from Graphic 45.

Military (this can be customized for any war or military service) is August’s class. It uses papers from Reminisce.

The folder opens so you can include additional journaling or memorabilia. I included a copy of my grandfather’s service record and copies of the ribbons he earned. (I found photos of each on Wikipedia)

And this is the page for September. I didn’t include journaling because I haven’t found much on this couple, YET. These are my great-great grandparents and I prefer to wait until I have more information before I finish it. But, I love this line from Graphic 45.

October’s class will be a Family Tree. I haven’t completed it yet, but if it turns out anything like what it is my head, it will be great. I am using the Heritage cartridge from Cricut to create it.

And, by the time November roles around, the new vintage Christmas line by Bo Bunny should be in the store so we can do a heritage holiday page.

I am also planning on holding a 5-hour crop/class on a Saturday, where we talk about creating pages for the family members without pictures and then have time to work on our individual pages. Perhaps I can find a date in September to hold that one …

It’s lots of fun … you should join us!

My Life in Pictures

This week’s challenge for Scrap Wars was to create a two-page 12×12 “then and now” layout showing yourself as a baby, at graduation and today.

I loved this idea and immediately thought of photos I wanted to include.  I printed a few and then over the next few days, until I had time to actually sit down and create, all sorts of ideas came to mind.

What I ended up with was a mosaic page (using techniques and papers from Tami Potter) that shows the important events in my life and the people and things that contributed to making me who I am today. I also included some of the things I love — like hot-air balloons, Winnie the Pooh, scrapbooking and chickens.

I used papers by My Mind’s Eye to frame the empty squares along the border and to fill in journaling blocks, the title and extra spaces. And used my Cricut to cut out the title.

When I finished, my daughter looked at it and declared she had never seen so many pictures of me in one place her entire life.

She’s right. Most layouts do not feature me at all. In fact,  I had trouble even finding pictures of her and I together. It seems I spend too much time on the other side of the camera. With a timer and a tripod, there is no reason for that, so my new goal is to make sure I am in some of the photos — with and without my family.

For now, stop by Scrap Tales in Brighton and vote for my layout. I can use all of the votes I can get!

Photo Block

Sometimes a vacation deserves more than to be hidden inside a scrapbook.

Or, perhaps you just want a little something extra for your desk.

Either way, this is a cute and inexpensive project to make.

It started life as a styrofoam block from the dollar store.

I then added tan velvet paper to the top (to give it a sandy feel) and covered each side with paper from Imaginisce.

It does require a bit of patience and a strong liquid glue, but it will, eventually, stay stuck.

I then attached photo frames, cut from the same paper,  from Dies Direct http://www.diesdirect.com on each side. I filled two with photos, but left the fourth for journaling.

I then added some stamped images that coordinate with the paper, colored with Copic markers, to the front.

For the top, I cut out the beach chair, umbrella and sea shells with dies from Dies Direct and used Memo Pins from Tim Holtz to attach them.

Another Memo Pin holds a final photo.

This one is simple, but imagine what you could do with lace and flowers and ribbon, oh my!

Just have fun!

Fun with Stickers

When I was young, I collected stickers. I had an old photo album that I filled with my finds and I looked forward to meeting and trading with other sticker collectors.

Even though I no longer put them in an album, I still enjoy playing with stickers and I love using them on my layouts. Besides reminding me of my youth, they are quick and easy and often provide just the right accent.

I have some friends who disagree. They never use stickers.

But, stickers do not have to be flat and, according to them, boring. With a few simple tricks, you can make your stickers fantastic.

On this page, using products by Basic Grey, I added dimension to the stickers by adding foam squares underneath the stickers.

The process is simple.

1. Take the sticker off its backing and turn it upside down.

2. Place foam squares on the back, but leave the paper covering the top layer of adhesive on.

3. With a small paint brush, or your finger, apply baby powder to the back of the sticker. This will render the adhesive useless, so your sticker will no longer be sticky.

4. Then, remove the backing off your foam adhesive and stick it to the page.

I used this technique on both the title and the owl to add dimension.

Stickers can also be layered, trimmed off the edges and accented with glitter, Stickles, brads and other things.

Or, you could buy already embellished felt stickers, like the butterfly on this page.

My cat, Winnifred, certainly loved this page. She came by when I was trying to photograph the page.

Every time I tried to take the page, she grabbed hold of that butterfly. Silly, kitty!

We’re at war

We’re at war at my local scrapbook store, Scrap Tales in Brighton.

Scrap Wars began Sunday with a draft party to determine teams. The competition will include challenges throughout the summer, with customers, friends and family members voting for their favorite pages.  The women in this war are both fierce and talented, so I am sure the designs will be amazing.

Our first order was to create a 12×12 page using papers and embellishments from the new So Sophie line by My Mind’s Eye. The colors — blue, green and brown in floral and geometric prints — make it so easy to apply to almost any page. Personally, I was inspired by the “Simple Things” embellishment and the circle/floral print. I decided to show some of the things that bring me so much enjoyment in life.

Here is my entry:

I covered the photo of me with a printed transparency that matches the line.

I wanted to include one of Tim Holtz’s watch faces to help support the 24/7 theme of the page. It was my husband’s idea to set the time to 5:00, because it’s “always 5 o’clock somewhere.”

Obviously I am still amused by his sense of humor!

Time-Saving Die Cut Tip

I am a lazy scrapbooker.

I like complex pages, but I don’t like to spend a lot of time on them. If there is a way to shorten drying time, cut out a step or do it quicker, I am likely to discover it.

As I was creating a page for Dies Direct, I thought of two ways to save a bit of time on the die.

I was using the luggage tag die from Dies Direct. The die has a tiny border that adds dimension. But, lazy cropper that I am, I never want to take the time to cut out the die twice with two different colors of paper. I suppose I could have trimmed my paper and run two different colors through at the same time, but I came up with two other options.

For the first one, I ran each of the little pieces through my Xyron. Then, while still attached to the backing, I colored them with Distress Ink and then attached to my tag.

In the second option, I used the paper left over after cutting out the die as a stencil and, using Distress Ink, stenciled the pattern onto the tag.

After journaling, I covered both with Diamond Glaze and added a brad.

In the end, I liked the first option best, but because I wasn’t thinking when I did the journaling, I used the second option on my page. Here’s the finished page …

I met him!

I got to meet Tim Holtz!

Meeting Tim Holtz at the Great Lakes Mega Meet

I felt like a groupie … I was even shaking … but I don’t think I embarrassed myself — I hope not, anyhow.

I made him a card and thanked him for bringing us such wonderful, innovative products.

Later, I hung around for demos and he made me a tag! Some of my friends claim he gave it to me so I would leave, but I think they’re just jealous … lol

Tami Potter, mosaic goddess, wasn’t there, but I got to meet her husband and daughter, and got a great deal on mosaic paper, so it was a very good day.

I’ll be back at the Mega Meet tomorrow to help out in the Scrap Tales booth. Stop by and say, “hi.”

Tim Holtz Day

Tomorrow is Tim Holtz Day.

I feel like a child who is anticipating a trip to Disney World. “I’m too excited to sleep!” or eat or do much else.

It doesn’t matter that my big toe has been causing me  immense pain for the past two days. I will stand in line for hours until I get the opportunity to meet Tim Holtz. I even have a few back-up plans in place, just in case. And, I’ve already packed my bag, complete with extra batteries for my camera.

So, you may be wondering, what is the big deal?

Well, Tim Holtz has been a huge part of my life for the past few years. Granted, he has no clue of my existence — unless he read my column in last week’s paper, but I seriously doubt that. No, I am pretty sure he has no idea I am alive, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t made a difference in my life.

Tim Holtz has given me the tools, inspiration and knowledge that has taken my scrapbooking to a whole new level. My pages are no longer just pictures decorated with stickers and pre-made embellishments. Many of them have become original works of art, thanks to Tim Holtz. He has challenged me to think outside of the box and to make more than just scrapbooks.

Since being introduced to Tim Holtz, via his products, I have learned how to make things exactly how I want them. I color ribbon, add ink to alter the color of paper, paint metal, add sparkle to flowers, … you name it, I change it.

Tim Holtz has also provided me with invaluable tools. He thinks of unique ways to improve the products we use every day. His ruler has tiny holes so you can place brads in a straight line. Grungeboard can handle water, paint, ink and more without falling apart like chipboard does. His sander is balanced so you can apply even pressure on your page. Every detail has been thought through to make my life easier, and for that, I am thankful.

Yesterday, I discovered his tiny attacher, with the smallest staples on the market, can easily staple through cardstock, Velcro, padding and a thin board that were used to make a shadow box I was covering. Not only did it go through it all, it did with ease — something a person with a bad elbow really appreciates.

So, tomorrow I will meet my hero and have the opportunity to thank him for the impact he has made on my life.

Perhaps I’ll go make him a card … if I can sit still long enough to do it. I can’t wait!