“I love scrapbooks. They are one of the finest ways of dejunking life and abode... A good scrapbook is interesting and inspiring even to the stranger...Well put together scrapbooks and photo albums have warmed more hearts than any bound book... Without a good scrapbook, much that's memorable in life is forgotten or damaged or lost...."

~ Don Aslett

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring the stamp set D1423 Happy Forever.  Hopefully you have seen lots of wonderful artwork to inspire you this month!


This is just my second time participating in this blog hop and I am still very excited to show you what I have created this month with our little "hedgie"!

If you have come from Nancy's Blog then you are on the right track!

The card that I made was inspired by Vicki Wizniuk.  She made a card that I wanted to try out for myself, so I did with a few changes.  First, I was on a roll with our new Clear Cards so I wanted to play with those and also our new Chipboard Irresistibles Pizzaz.  So with her idea in my head and these new products in front of me, this is what I came up with.  I think this little guy is adorable and sure to make anyone's day a little brighter!


Stamping on the clear cards requires the use of an ink that won't run or smear, so scared as I was to use Staz-on, I gave it a try.  I am happy to report, my sentiment isn't going anywhere!  I also used Staz-on to stamp the Hedgehog so that when I colored him in, I wouldn't lose the outline.


Materials used:
CTMH Square clear card
Splendor Level 2 Paper Packet
Colonial White Cardstock
D1423 Happy Forever stamp set
Irresistibles Pizzaz chipboard shapes
CTMH Inks: Topiary, Goldrush, Staz-on Brown
CTMH Markers: Brown Bag, Chocolate, Moonstruck, Creme Brulee


Now it's time to head on over to Melissa's Blog and see what she has created!

If you lose your way or just want to check out the list of participants, Helen's blog has a complete list.

If you like what you see here and would like to get your own stamp set or other supplies, email me at GrigsterN@yahoo.com.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

H2H12 Color challenge

This week, the Heart 2 Heart Challenge is a color challenge.


I have been using a lot of Zippidee paper lately but these colors weren't exactly the same so I had to come up with something else.  After putting solid colors together, I knew I needed a patterned paper to bring it all together.  I remembered checking out what the design team had created and liked what Helen had done with the Argyle Background stamp set to create her "patterned" paper.  It worked well for what I was doing as well, so thank you Helen!  This layout officially concludes the game night series for me!



Supplies:
Jingle Creative Basics, Let's Get Together Paper Pack, That's Amore Paper Pack, Tulip, Black and White Daisy Cardstock
Tulip Mini Medley Accents
Irresistables Pizzaz chipboard shapes
Argyle Backgrounds Stamp
Tulip, Black and Buttercup Inks
Reflections How to Book

I invite you to check out all the other entries this week for the Heart 2 Heart challenge!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

9 x 9 Accordion Album workshop

I have had so much fun working on some great projects and I am super excited to show you how to make your own!

The 9 x 9 inch Accordion Album from Close to my Heart makes a great gift for new baby, graduation, Father's Day, Mother's Day, birthday, anniversary, wedding, just about anything you can think of!   Here are  pictures of the one I made using Cherry-O and I can't wait to make another one to give as a gift!

 Front Cover

First 2 inside pages

Second 2 inside pages

Back Cover

Last 2 inside pages



Come to my house in Hamilton, NJ on either of the following dates to make your own book:

Friday, July 16th from 6:30-9pm      OR        Sunday, July 18th from 1-3:30pm

If I usually see you at ScrapThat - I will be offering this on Sat., July 17th from 2-4:30pm


Here are the supplies you'll need to pre-pay/order from me:
(1) 9 x 9 Accordion Album
(1) Level 2 Paper Packet of your choice
(1) Coordinating My Stickease
Total with shipping and handling: $28

**When you are done with this project you will still have half of your paper left over for other projects.**


If you want to partner up with a friend and share a paper pack you can do that as well.
Then you'll need the following:
(2) 9 x 9 Accordion Albums
(1) Level 2 Paper Packet of your choice
(2) Coordinating My Stickease
Total with shipping and handling: $40 (split - $20 each person)

** I will be supplying the use of my inks and a cutting guide to follow, please bring the following supplies with you:
~paper trimmer
~adhesive
~scissors
~sponge (if you have one)

Be sure to check out all the paper packs to choose from.   If you don't see something that works, email me and I can help you with that!

Payment may be in the form of cash, credit card, or check/money order and must be to me by Thursday, July 1st in order to ensure the supplies arrive in time.

Please feel free to email me or give me a call if you have any questions or if you want to come!

Don't miss out - a limited number of spots are available for each session, they will fill up fast!!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

H2H11 Get Scrappy Challenge!

The challenge for this week at Heart 2 Heart is a fun one - get scrappy!  Use your scraps to create something for Dad.  Well, I've been working a lot with Zippidee recently to scrapbook my recent trip to the Circus and I've got a bunch of scraps going.  So I pulled out those scraps to see what I could come up with. 




I had enough Cranberry CS to create a base for a 4.5" by 4.5" card, so I went from there.  I chose to use the Wishes How to book pattern Fancy Four.  I wanted to give it a more roughed up feel so I used some sanding and distressing to do just that.  It's nice to use up scraps sometimes - goodness knows I have enough!!




Materials:
Scraps from a Zippidee Level 2 paper pack
Inks: Black, Dutch Blue, Colonial White
Stamp Sets:  A Little Everything, June Word Puzzle, It's Your Day, and Wonderful Friend
Other: Edge Distressor, Sanding Kit, Embossing Stylus, Paper Piercer, and various black and cranberry embellishments.

Have fun playing with your scraps this week and be sure to play along with the Heart 2 Heart challenges!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

H2H Scrapbook Challenge!

Well, I have to say, this weeks Heart 2 Heart challenge wasn't really that at all for me.  Scrapbooking is 95% of what I do!  But I did challenge myself in a different way.  I have been thinking more about how I can more effectively market CTMH's Level 1 scrapbooking kits, so I purchased a few to play.  After going to the circus, Zippidee seemed like a fitting paper choice for those photos. After looking at some artwork and going through my pictures this is what I was able to put together in about 1 hour, and I still have 2 full sheets of paper and some scraps left!   I think they turned out pretty nice!



 

Materials:
Zippidee Level 1 Scrapbook kit, black marker

Now stop on over to the Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog to see all the great artwork this week!
Oh, and be on the look out for some fabulous upcoming workshops for the summer!!