Always & Forever...Isn't that SWEET !

Well, I have been layed low the past few days by a nasty headcold I have been nursing for a week or more. I just can't seem to shake this thing. I have resorted to even taking the ColdEze tablets to see if I can kick this thing once and for all. Wish me luck in feeling better soon! I can't take much more of this sniffling and feeling lousy - I have scrapping to do ! LOL

Speaking of scrapping, I wanted to post a few pics from the Always & Forever album class that I took at CKC that was taught by Scrapbooks N Stickers very own Kim Hodges. This was a great class done using acrylic and chipboard circles and loads of primas products. We did a lot of fun techiniques with the paper to create this amazing layered album. There are big and medium sized acrylic and chipboard circles and little mini tags all mixed in to make this a really interesting and charming project.

Here is a peak of what the album looks like when I finished it. You are really gonna love this!












Isn't this just gorgeous! I can't wait to add my pictures and journaling. I am working on another really fun project kit that I bought from SNS that is a Texas Acrylic Album and will be posting pics of that project later this week. Until the next posting...

Happy Scrapping!

CB Storage Challenges Solved !

I bashfully admit that I am called the CHIPBOARD QUEEN by my scrap buddies so I have found a solution for my chipboard alphas in an unlikely place. I bought a plastic stanley tool box thingy at Lowe's. It is hard to describe but I will give it a try.... imagine a big plastic case with a handle on top and two fold out cases on each side. Each side of the case opens up to reveal a bunch of deep bins perfect for storing my cb alphas by letter...half in one side, half on the other side. In the center where the handle is there are 3 pull out bins on each side that are perfect for my smaller shapes of plain chipboard. This works great for my alphas and is perfect to store in my room and also take to a crop. Plus it was only $20 ! I love cheap, functional storage.

My biggest organizational challenge is the very large chipboard pieces from diff manufacturers. Those I have stored in the 2.5 gallon size ziplock bags and labeled with mfg name. Then stored in a large basket. Works okay but I would like to find a better solution. Let me know if you have any ideas for larger chipboard storage.

Loving the New Basic Grey Rub On Tool

I just had to have the latest tool from Basic Grey - The Rub On Roller. It is fantastic...I just love the roller ball tip that just seems to glide over the rub-ons with such ease. And the burnisher on the end is great for making sure you didn't miss anything. In my opinion, this is so much better than a popsicle stick ever could be and also all those other rub on tools out there. Once again, Basic Grey has made a wonderful product - I just love all of their tools. And for only $7.00 it is certainly worth adding to your tool kit.

Here are some pictures of the tool. Be sure and note the roller ball tip in one of the photos.

The tool is actually 6 inches long, it has a nice soft grip area near the tip and the burnisher end is a semi-hard rubber. The middle section is metal as well as the tip. This tool is very light weight and feels great in your hand, imo.

Clearly - All the Rage !

Anything clear seems to be making a huge impact on Scrapbooking in the recent months. I too have fallen for this new medium that is so versatile and fun to design. At the recent CKC in Houston I was so impressed with one project that I signed up for the class immediately upon seeing the class sample.

The Looking Thru Clearly home decor project offered by Paper Elements is yet another great take on how to use clear elements. Thought you might want to see this unique picture frame designed and taught by Jolene Graning. Jolene is an amazing teacher and had us zip through this wonderful project quickly and efficiently while we chatted and had fun! Jolene shared with us that the frame design came after a late night at an IHOP - the frame is inspired by their tri-fold menu of all things. Gotta love that!

The frame is made of three hard boards linked with ribbons to create a tri-fold frame that you fit transparencies in the cut out part of two of the boards and mount photos on the back part. When standing, you see the picture through the transparancies for a cool effect. Great thing is that you can display two pictures , one on the front side and one on the back side so you can rotate the frame around to display the picture of your choice.

I would encourage those of you considering this class at upcoming CKC's to take it -- it is a very wonderful project and if Jolene is teaching it, you will have a great time as well.

CKC Houston Part 2

As promised in my CKC Houston Part 1 post, here is my review of the classes I took at CKC Houston.

Always & Forever (Scrapbooks 'N Stickers): AWESOME CLASS!!!! Project is fabulous with lots of prima paper and flowers, etc. Some great techniques were used too on this adorable chipboard and acrylic circle album. The teacher was fantastic and did a wonderful job keeping us all working together. Note: this class is only 1 hour long and really needs to be 1 1/2 to 2 hours...we didn't finish the project but she did tell us what to do for the rest of the pages we didn't get too. This is fast paced and not for someone just starting imo. In fact, all the Scrapbook & Sticker classes seemed to be great from what I heard and saw.

You Hold the Key (Lickety Split): Great CLASS !!!!!! Project is fabulous heart shaped chipboard mini album...loads of cute papers and great layout. The teacher was great and made sure we got the most done we could in 1 hour time frame. I heard from many others that any of the Lickety Split Classes they took were great too. This class had a nice pace and I think most scrappers could keep up with it imo.

Here are some pics of You Hold the Key album I made in class. As you can see, it is an unusually cut album where the pages flip over each other. I just posted a few pages to give you an idea.

Think Big Canvas Class (Quick Quotes) FABULOUS CLASS!!! This is an adorable accordian style display piece using some gorgeous black, red and creme quick quotes paper. As usual Michelle Granger did a wonderful job of "not leaving anyone behind" in her class. You don't get to finish in the 1 hour but you are very close to being finished when you get out of there. As usual, I can't say enough about how wonderful all the quick quote classes have been. Definitely a "not to miss" class vendor. Oh - don't forget the Beacon's 3-in-1 Glue for this class...it was wonderful and very useful for this class.

Looking Through Clearly (Paper Elements): FANTASTIC CLASS !!! All I can say is that the photo on the CKC registration does not do this project justice. You will love this adorable unique tri-fold frame to display photos of your family or loved ones in. The papers are gorgeous and the results are wonderful when you add all the embellishments to this project. If you want a home decor type of project, you won't be disappointed in this one!! Plus the teacher Jolene is a doll and really was a wonderful teacher !!!

Clearly Visible Album (Awesome Albums) : DUD!!!! Very disappointed in this class. Teacher un-prepared and started late, plus had us stamp paint on acrylic sheets at begining of class that prevented us from doing much else the rest of the class. She seemed more worried about her recent move from one city to another than actually teaching during this class. The project itself was just so, so...

A Family Thing (Devine Memories): SKIP THIS ONE !! The project was a huge disappointment when I saw it in person. It is advertised as a tri-fold frame worthy of displaying on your mantle. All I can say is that if you want to display something made out of shirt box cardboard on your mantle, then maybe you would enjoy this class...but not me. I ended up picking up my kit for this class and will hopefully be able to use the materials to make something else.

Note: CKC has a policy of no refunds on their classes so be warned, whatever you sign up for whether you like the project once you see the samples at the booth, you can't switch or get your money back so be careful about what you sign up for in advance if you are not sure.

My Recap: I had loads of FUN! Met a bunch of scrappers from in and around Houston. Caught up with old scrapping buddies I hadn't seen in a while . Enjoyed most of the classes I took and would certainly do CKC again.

Check back later this week because I will have more pics of some of the class projects as I finish them up.

CKC Houston Review Part 1

My friends and I recently had a blast at CKC Houston. Just getting together with your scrap buddies is always fun but we all took some classes that we loved and will share reviews with you later. There were about 6,000 scrappers at the Houston show ...between the 3 days so the show size was good and you got to meet lots of other scrappers which is always interesting !

The Vendor Faire was pretty good with lots of stuff to buy...I probably spent more than I should have but that is half the fun, right? LOL My favorite "not to miss booths" were : Embellish It!, Quick Quotes, Scrapbooks 'N Stickers, Lickety Split Scrapbooks and Rusty Pickle.

My Biggest Areas of Concern about this show:

1) The Vendor Faire, Food, CK area and where the class areas were held were really too far from each other and we had to walk through another convention event to get between the two areas.
2) A lot of these classes are only 1 hour and really need to be 1 1/2 hr to 2 hrs to complete....even when the teachers were speeding through. Just know in advance that you are not going to finish the project in class.

My Recommendations to Anyone Attending:
1) Wear your best comfy walking shoes !!
2) Bring a jacket/sweater - some rooms in convention center were cool
3) Don't forget your camera - you will want to take pics of the projects and of just being at the event to scrap later
4) Bring some handiwipes - lots of these classes were "messy" with inks, glues, etc.
5) Bring two shoulder tote bags - one for your class stuff and one for all your purchases --- makes it lots easier
6) Bring more money than you think you will spend or a friend to keep you friend buying everything in site
7) If you are unfamilar with a teaching vendor, then go to their website and see the quality of their projects, etc. before signing up OR if in doubt, wait until you are at CKC to add that class sample after you see the project at the CK booth.

See Part 2 to read reviews of some classes and a few pics

Holiday Madness is Over -- YEAH!! Let the Scrapping Begin !!

I am so glad that the holidays are finally over, aren't you? Now I can have more time to focus on my scrapbooking! I have been busy purging and re-organizing my scrap space since the first of the year. I will post pics of my results later this week hopefully.

Oh, I finally ordered a kit from a Kit Club and actually received it last week. Why didn't anyone ever tell me how much fun kit clubs were ?!?!?!?! I ordered a January kit from Zany Zinnia - don't you just love their name! I promise to post some pics of the project I have in mind using this kit. Now I am stalking a few of these clubs to what their February kits will be like...shopping from the comfort of my own scrap oasis is just too fun and easy!

I wanted to share a project I did over the holidays. It's a mini album made using a little wooden sleigh I found at the Dollar Store -- so fun to make and really cute. I gave several scrapbook friends these for holiday gifts and everyone loved them. This one used some cool Scenic Route paper I had in my stash. Here are some pics to show you:

Pic 1: Inside of the album

Pic 2: Front cover

I am getting together with some friends at the end of the week to go to the Creating Keepsakes Convention here in Houston. We are all taking classes, shopping and doing the crop on Friday night. The timing is perfect since we all so needed this scrap break.