KaiserCrafts advent Calendar instructions...

The first sheet of instructions I saw for KaiserCraft's advent calendar were not the ones that are currently up on their website. The instructions that are up there now are far more involved and give very detailed instructions on how to assemble it. They probably make more sense than my ramblings. Go here http://www.kaisercraft.net/be-inspired.html to see the instructions. At least now I understand what that long skinny strip is for. Too funny, it makes perfect sense now. I guess I was having a senior moment. :-)

Now go get yours done and get it posted up in their forum. Tell them Brigit made me do it! LOL

Assembeling your Kaiser Craft Advent Calendars...

This is probably going to read far more complicated than it actually is. Hang tough, we will get through the project together. If you have questions, post a comment and I will try to answer it.

I found the instructions that KaiserCraft gives for the project too simplified. I am here to help fill in the blanks.

First of all you need to get your kit and sort it. You will see that there are strips of the dividers that come all connected and they need to be separated. Don't be tempted to just break them apart and start sanding. You will be sanding for much longer than you want to. I suggest you use a craft knife or utility scissor to cut the pieces apart as close to the edge as possible. This will minimize the sanding time.

I found that my little craft hammer like the Making Memories one I got with my eyelet setting kit came in handy to tap pieces in place. Just don't hammer directly on to your project. Use a scrap piece of wood to protect your project pieces when hammering.

Keep all like pieces together.

The piece I found most perplexing was the long skinny piece. When I made my first one, I didn't understand what is was for and assembled mine without it. Turns out that it is used to snug up the pieces together. Look at the bottom of the KC picture and notice there is a skinny strip on top of the bottom piece between it and the dividers.

My friend made hers with it and it turned out fine, I made mine without and it too turned out fine. You decide if it is needed or not.

So once you have all your pieces separated, sanded and organized it is time to paint. Now this is what I learned the hard way. I painted all of my pieces, assembled it and realized there were tons of gaps between the small divider pieces and the inside and outside walls. Turns out you need some craft glue suitable for wood to keep things all snuggly fit together. I then had to disassemble mine which was not fun as the notches from the dividers fit tightly into the back piece.

When you do get to the gluing stage, you will need to clamp the inside and outside wall together so that there are no gaps. I used painters tape for this as it is cheap, suitable for class purposes and easily does the job. The thing is, you don't want to apply tape to freshly painted pieces. I suggest you paint only those areas that are inside and hard to reach. This means all the little divider pieces and the insides of the walls and the portion of the back piece where all the drawers fit in. Make sense?

When your painted pieces have dried, grab your glue and a friend to help you hold the pieces together as you tape/clamp your project.

Tear off some strips of painters tape (low tack tape that is usually green in colour) and have it handy.

Put the small divider pieces in to the back. Pick one side to work on first and then apply glue to the edges of those dividers. Put in one inside wall piece and one outside wall piece. Place a piece of tape starting at the back and coming around over the front of the divider section and down the inside wall and on to the front. Make this as tight as you can. Repeat so that you have two pieces of tape clamping each side.

Now rotate your project and do the same for the next side. Repeat for each of the four sides.

Lastly, run the tape around the outside of the box to keep all your corners together.

So how complicated did that read?

When the glue has dried and you remove the tape, then you can finish painting. This way you don't ruin your paint job when you remove the tape. Now if you painted all your pieces a few days earlier, I think the paint should have dried well enough that you can use the tape on the painted surfaces.

What to do while the glue is drying and your project is setting up? The little boxes of course.

The wall of the boxes are 1-1/2" high but when you fold them up the bottom of the boxes makes the boxes just a wee bit taller. I cut strips of paper 1 -5/8" wide and I believe 7-1/2" long. You will need to cut 24 strips but cut one first and wrap it around the box. You should have about a 1/4" of overlap to adhere the paper together. If it is the right length, use this piece as your template piece. You will need to mark the placing of where you need to notch out that half circle for the front of the box. Lay down your strip of paper, place the front of the box over it, line it up with the top and then draw the half circle on to the strip of paper. Using a 3/4" punch and the drawn line as a guide, punch out the 1/2 circle. Check your fit. If it will wrap around your box nicely then use this piece to mark all your other pieces and then punch out the notch.

I just used my tape runner to adhere the paper to the boxes. You may chose to use a paper glue instead.

That is it for assembling. All you need to do now is your layout and all the fun decorating bits.

One last tip for painting the chipboard numbers that come with the kit.

If you are going to have them all the same colour, paint them while they are still on the sheet. You can always do touch ups after the numbers have dried and you have removed them from the backing. I used a Rangers Paint dauber in Pearl to paint mine.

Once you have your project finished, I suggest you post a picture of your advent calendar on the Kaiser Craft forum in the Beyond the Page section. Lets flood their forum with our projects and tell them that Brigit made me do it! LOL

Don't forget to post any questions you have here, I will look at my blog daily and provide what answers I can.

Have fun!

Saturday October 17th Halloween Layout class

One of these days I will master uploading images. LOL

Here is Saturdays class. Like I said, a little stamping, inking and stitching. Add a few Quickutz dies and a SpellBinder die and you have a layout ready for this years little Trick or treaters.

Upcoming Classes

Two classes next weekend at Scrapalicious.

On Saturday October 17th there is a two page layout using MME Halloween papers and a few Quickutz, a SpellBinder die or two, a few stamps and some ink. Might even be a stitch or two on it. I know you gals love to stitch on your layouts. LOL

Don't worry, there isn't that much stitching.

On Sunday October 18th I am offering a class where we will be making the message board as seen in an earlier post. It is the KaiserCraft Message Board with butterfly painted with Tim Holtz's crackle paint and with a mini cork board. I have a second one almost completed that I will post on Monday along with Saturdays layout.

Call the store to book your spots.

905-614-0085

Small delay...

Looks like the advent calendars will be slightly delayed. Hang tough, be patient. I have my fingers crossed that they will be available around the 23rd of October. They are definitely worth the wait!

Count down to calendars.

While at CHA this summer I fell in love with the advent calendar from KaiserCraft. As soon as I saw it I knew it was going to be the HOT product of the season. One of the advantages of working in the industry is that I sometimes have access to the products before they are available for sale. Mick from KaiserCraft sent me two samples to play with and this is the first of them. I used their new Wish Upon papers to decorate it with a little Prima pearls and Rangers Pearl Paint Dabber to colour my numbers. Now this is a little girlie and not my usual colour palette but I like to push myself occasional to try something new. Now to find just the right photo for this project, that may be the ultimate challenge! LOL

This calendar is currently on display at The Workshop in Stouffvile who will be doing this as a workshop come November. Originally I had all the small boxes randomly placed but a young visitor to the store just had to line them up in order. Too funny. I should have my Halloween one up soon so come back and have a look. I will also have some tips for you for assembling.

KaiserCraft Advent Calendar

I believe this is going to be the hot product this season so I am reposting the show picture along with the ad that will be appearing in the Oct/Nov. issue of Scrapbooks etc. Order yours now from your local scrapbook store and check back here to see the two that I have made.

Oh so Sweet!

Looks like I am going to be doing a version of the message board (see post below) as a class at Scrapalicious. Those wishing to attend in October should let me know as I am planning materials etc. now. Watch my blog for class info.
Soon to come is my September layout and yes, I have a Wednesday night class as well as a Saturday afternoon class. I should be posting pics in the days to come.

For those of you who are in love with the KaiserCraft advent calendar as featured in an earlier post, let me and/or your lss know. I suspect that these will be in high demand once they start shipping in October. Place an order with your lss now to be sure to get them. Product code is SB-2066. I am lucky enough to have two that I will be making up soon so check back for pics. I think this is definitely going to be the hot item this holiday season.

Message Board by Kaiser Craft

I know, I know, too long between posts but what can I say. I needed time out and I haven't done too much. Here is the one project I have made recently. Stay tuned for upcoming class projects and more Beyond the Page goodies by Kaiser Craft.

News from CHA...

Sorry gang, Long time no Blog.

It has been a while. You know how it goes, life gets busy and before you know it weeks have passed and you haven't created anything even though new products have accumulated on your work surface (and every other surface of your/my house!) LOL

I am just back from CHA which was held in Orlando Florida this year. Too hot and humid but that is Florida in the middle of summer. Good thing I was at the show for the better part of the day checking out all the latest and greatest products and meeting up with many of the vendors. It was such a blast and I came home with tons of ideas all using the new products. This certainly is the year for exceptional Halloween product but my favourite just might be Basic Grey's new Eerie line. Of course, Halloween is my favourite holiday so I am biased in that regard.

Here is a small list of a few of my show favourites, excluding Halloween. These are what I think may be the HOT new products this season.

• Kaiser Crafts new advent calendar/frame. Not the best picture sorry but good enough hopefully for you to get the idea. Remember last years Karen Foster advent calendar? Well if you liked that one you will LOVE this one. If you are not familiar with Kaiser Craft's Beyond the Page products well it is definitely time to check them out. They are made out of a thin MDF not chipboard and sell for a very reasonable price. This particular piece does have chipboard drawers though. The rest is all wood. Their new Christmas papers and embellishments are excellent too. They are so new and hot off the press that they are not up on their website yet but watch for them soon.

• 
  I must say that I love many of the Kaiser Craft products. While you are searching out the Christmas goodies, go to the Craft section of their website and check out their new storage system. ALL of their new embellishments, rub-ons, stamps etc are packaged in reusable zip lock storage pockets that go in to their binder. This is the best idea for packaging as not only does it make storage of your bits and pieces super easy, they are all reusable! There is even storage for your 12x12 paper. Best yet, they can all fit into the same binder as these storage pockets all have a two hole system. http://www.kaisercraft.net/general-craft I must say that the gang from Kaiser Craft are all exceptional as well. See me here with Mick having some fun at their booth. Crazy Canadian gal meets crazy Australian guy.

• 
  Next on my list is the Sizzix Big Shot Pro. This tool will cut every die out on the market pretty much. All the old Sizzix dies, all the new ones and pretty much all the competitors dies as well. Even Accucut dies. Best yet, it is the first tool with a 13" opening! I highly recommend this great tool for retailers and serious scrappers alike to have in their studios. It is far more affordable than the commercial systems so easy for stores to add to their collection of studio tools. Not too out there for those of us who must have all the latest and greatest tools either. At $350.00 USD it is a bit of an investment but one well worth making. There are 17 new extra big dies that are being released with this tool and many more to come. My favourite is the tabbed album, partly because I requested it and the awesome Julianna (Sizzix Goddess) made my wish come true. There are so many ways I want to use this die. I can't wait to get my hands on it and therefore the new machine as well. Like all their previous tools, this is not just a paper crafting tool. You can use it to cut fabric and so much more as well.

For those of you who are not interested in a manual machine because you have one of the many electronic machines but would like an affordable embossing machine, Sizzix has you covered there as well. It will accept all embossing folders out there including all the great Sizzix ones and those made by CuttleBug and Quickutz too. This is a must have for card makers!

• I must mention stamps. My latest weakness. Some gals can't help themselves when it comes to shoes, for me it is stamps. It is definitely hard to say which company is my top pick since there are many that I absolutely must have. Yes that is MUST HAVE. Inkadinkado just released a ton of Halloween and Holiday stamps although they were not at the show. Hero Arts as usual has another great release and so does Penny Black. If you are liking Tim Holtz and Stamper's Anonymous then you must check out his new stamps. I think I need 7 of the 13 new sets! (It is my attempt at being conservative). Don't ask me how many Inkadinkado stamps I have picked up and/or have on order. I am telling you is is a sickness of which I believe some of you have as well. Now for those of you who are not really card makers or mini album creators and want BIG stamps for your layouts, then you must check out Tattered Angels. These stamps are super cool and have these companion stencil things that take stamping to a whole new level. You will need to check out their websites for images.

I think this is all for now. I have goofed off most of the day and need to do something. Probably housework but well, it can wait. Maybe I will go and move some of my sCrap so I can play with some of those new goodies I mentioned earlier.

Dream...

In Colour! Here are some pictures of my class on Saturday July 18Th at 1PM at Scrapalicious.






You can reserve your spot by calling: 905-614-0085
Hope to see you there.
You will need to bring a few extra things. See the post below.

Next Class - More Techniques!

If you missed my class this Saturday then you missed a whole lot of messy fun. I had lots of new techniques I picked up from Ranger U to share and those who did attend did a great job on their layouts and then as an added bonus, made some fantastic tags with the inky mess left on their craft mats. Don't worry as July 18Th's class has many more techniques and you will get to have fun making another big mess. LOL
I have actually finished the layout today for July's class but I won't have pics up until Monday.
Those wishing to attend should have a craft mat and your ink blending tools as part of your basic tools as you will certainly need them. We will be using quite a few of Ranger Ink products including: Colour Wash, Distress Re-inkers, Perfect Pearls, Distress Ink, Distress Stickles. Archival Ink and a few stamps and Quickutz. Sounds like a lot going on? Plan on the class running overtime and we may just make another few tags at the end if we don't run out of time.
Be prepared to work hard to get through it all and wear you craft clothes for this one.
Hope to see you on Saturday July 18Th, 1-3PM at Scrapalicious.

Earth Watch

Here are a few pics for my upcoming class at Scrapalicious.
Lots of Ink and distressing going on here.

You will definitely need to bring your Ink Blending tool for this one.

You probably can't see it in the pictures but there is a bit of added umph from using a mixture of water, Distress Ink and Perfect Pearls. Join me Saturday June 27Th at 1pm to see find out how it is done.

Remember, store is closed Monday's and I believe they have started their summer hours so they are only open until 6PM on weekdays instead of until 7PM. Call the store at 905-614-0085 to reserve your spot.

Ranger U is better than Ice Cream!

Tim and I, the mandatory pic because my friends would never let me hear the end of it if I didn't ask him for this shot. Sorry Tim, a gal has to do some things for her friends.



Attending Ranger U this year was one of my best creative experiences. We learned so much in the three days while playing with most of the Ranger Ink line of products.



I hung out with my friend Ludmila who is the owner of Scrapbook Quebec. It is nice to know someone is as wild and wacky as myself.

The classroom was filed with product samples and display boards which you can see a small sampling of here. All this creativity is by Tim Holtz and the designers at Ranger Ink.

There was lots of packing up to do after class on the Sunday. We all had a big box of product to take home to continue practicing all the cool techniques we learned. Over the three days we made 50 tags with Tim Holtz, played with Beeswax and Utee with Suze Weinberg and painted up more tags with Caudine Hellmuth and then altered a Cosmo Cricket box.

I still need to take some pictures of my tags

and get them posted but getting this much up

has been enough of a challenge for me.

Stay tuned, more pictures to come.

Colour me Happy!

I am back from Ranger U and let me tell you this was the best creative experience! The 24 students who attended played with Ranger Inks complete line of products and got our heads filled with information, techniques and inspiration. When I got home yesterday I was so exhausted I had myself a big nap and still I was in bed early.
Give me some time to upload pictures from the three days in the classroom and then take some of the 50+ technique tags we made. In the meantime, check out some of the pics from the event on Tim Holtz's blog, I am the grey haired gal on the left.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Can't believe it. I managed to sleep through the night. I am now very excited and can hardly wait to get there and meet everybody and dive in to all that product. For those of you who take my classes, I hope to have a ton of new techniques to share with you.

Check back later for updates.

All my bags are packed...

and I am ready to go. Thursday morning I leave for Ranger U. Just a wee be excited. Ok, more than a wee bit but I am trying desperately not to seem so crazy they won't let me on the plane.

I will be joining 24 other women at this event to learn from some of the best in the industry. Tim Holtz should be posting some pics on his BLOG this weekend, I will have to wait until I get back. You never know, Heidi Swapp and Donna Downey might post on their BLOGS as well. ( Was that a bit of name dropping? Hmm.)

I do have my camera packed and I hope to take as many pictures as possible over the 3 days. Expect a few pics of us gals with a bit of ink on our hands and probably my clothes. There is going to be so much to do and I hope to make lots of fun projects with the new techniques I learn. There may be a bit of partying going in the evenings as well as my pal Ludmila from Scrapbook Quebec will be there along with some of her pals from France and California. If I get the chance and IF there is a computer available at the Hotel, I will try to at least post about my days classroom adventures.

There is also this. I can't wait to get my brand new, first ever passport stamped. Now just maybe I will have something to put in all the travel mini albums I keep making! Yup, a project that may just get pictures in it! LOL

While I am gone, I hope you go work on your contribution to the Piece/Peace Movement and get it posted somewhere. I am anxious to see what you create. I am creating my first piece in my head and will get it made once I am back.

Have fun, I know I will be~

Piece/Peace Movement

This may be a weird idea or it may be something good. Don't know unless I give it a try. I want to start a Piece/Peace Movement. Wait, don't go running down to the basement to see if you still have that pair of bell bottom pants or that string of beads you (or your parents) wore back in the 60's unless of course you are going to use it as artist material. I don't want to stage "Love Ins" unless scrapbooking or crafting is involved. No artificial mood enhancers required. What I do want to do is share a little piece/peace with others through a piece of art that I and hopefully you create. Here is what I have in mind. Create a piece of art. It could be a scrapbook page, a card, an altered object that you have put a little piece/peace of yourself into. Think about what Peace means to you and how you achieve it in your life. Create a piece of art. Not a paper artist? Doesn't matter. Use whatever medium you want and then post it so others can share your peace/piece. The idea is to spread peace around. Do something that makes you feel good and share it with others. The key here is to share your peace/piece with as many people as possible.
You never know, maybe this whole Peace thing will catch on.

Remember to post a link to your artistic endeavors in the comment section. We all want to participate in your Peace Work.

A random selection of pics...

from the "25 Random things about me" album.

I must say that posting pics is not always the joy I wish it would be. Once they are up, I am happy for the most part.

As you can see I have used a variety of Quickutz, Sizzix and SpellBinder dies. A few stamps, some stitching, colouring pencils, masks, ink and a wee bit of bling. Attend the class and you can use these on your pages too.

You need to bring to class your list of random things about you and some imagination. Don't forget your tools and some of those embellishments you have been hoarding!

Again, it is this Saturday May 30Th at 1pm.

Scrapalicious 905-614-0085

25 Random Things about Me...

Is an album class I am doing this upcoming weekend at Scrapalicious. It was inspired by a BLOG post of Kelly Goree's and I just ran with the idea. I am a wee bit behind which should be one of the 25 things about me, that I often run short of time but that I work well under pressure.
I should have pics up on Monday, a preview of what is in store. Those wanting to attend should get together some of there embellishment stash. I have been rummaging around in my goodies to decorate my pages and it feels good to use some of my older stash. It is amazing just how much stuff I/we have.
There will be lots of stamps, Quickutz and even some new Sizzix dies available for use in the class. Bring your basic tools and your die cutting machine if you have one.
Remember, the store is closed on Monday so call Tuesday to reserve your spot. 905-614-0085

Rushin Poulet

I have a bit of a twisted sense of humour and I like word play. Thus this comic strip.

A few years ago when I first started scrapping and got in to Quickutz in a big way, I added the Funky Chicken die shape to just about everything. I soon became known as the "Funky Chicken lady". I came across this picture of a comic strip I did and thought it would be fun to share again. I have ideas for many more Funky Chicken Strips but they will just have to wait. There are more pressing projects these day. As usually I am behind in getting my class stuff done and pictures up loaded. :-)

My Sizzix Album dies have arrived!

**** UPDATE***
It Works!!! I know, no good without pictures but I am trying to pack up my crap so I can go and scrap with my girlfriends today. I cut a pair of covers out of my brightly coloured placemats and it was just like cutting through paper. Now I am thinking about what else I may try. I may even go back to the Dollarama to see what other brightly coloured placemats they have. I see mini album madness settling in. LOL


Yeah!!!
Now I need to cut up those placemats and chipboard and grungeboard and show you all why I had to have them. First things first, I need to pack up for today's class at Scrapalicious if only to find a spot on my table so I can do all this die cutting. When I get back from my class, I will post some pics of the pieces. Then I just may tackle the challenge I posted on NSD to do a layout with my older stash. Anyone else playing along?

I have also posted info about the Warehouse sale - Look to the right.
I am lucky enough to work here but even I am excited about this sale. Now ladies, there is tons of stuff for sale here, it is a BLOWOUT sale so expect to find some older stuff but there is lots of relatively new stuff available as well. Just not the latest stuff, that you need to go to your LSS for.

What a Hoot

Finally I have mastered the highly technical skill of uploading images. I managed to take the picture, upload it on to my computer, save it to a place where I can actually find it and get it all posted right here on my BLOG. I am slowly acquiring the skills required to participate in this millennium. LOL

So "What a Hoot" is also my May 16th class at Scrapalicious in Mississauga, ON. Those of you interested in attending my class can call the store at 905-614-0085. (Link to the store can be found on my Blog under Stores) I believe it is at 1pm-3pm.

I have used Prima's "Mommy & Me" papers along with Bazzil cardstock, Quickutz dies and cork paper, punches and Tim's Distress Ink and some Glossy Accents.

Rainy days are good for creating...

It is raining and so I cannot get distracted from what I need to accomplish today by doing yard work or going on an adventure. I must get working on class projects, I am soooooo behind! First a couple of small chores, food is a necessity after all. I must pick up a little something for Mom and then make her a card at some point in the afternoon. My projects must get done today as tomorrow Mom and I are doing my favourite tradition, it is our Mother's Day lunch at the Globe Inn. Just me and her and it is a nice enjoyable day for the two of us. We are not rushed, lots of time to talk and then window shop afterwards. Hopefully we will be done with the rain today and have a nice spring day on Sunday.

Watch for my class posting later this weekend. It will get done!

Totally Tools.

A conversation with another scrap artist today has made me stop and think about my tools. I guess there is an assumption that most of us have the same "basics". Well, maybe that just isn't so. For instance, since I have Quickutz and I use them on practically every layout, I have the Xyron Sticker makers. In 3 sizes I might add. Now I would have thought that if you used die cuts then you must be using the sticker makers. Apparently not so. So my question is, What is in your "must have" tool box? What tools could you not scrap without?
For me, my tool box includes: Quickutz and both the Squeeze and the Revolution. I own other die cutting tools but those have not become staples yet. Of course the Xyrons, my Fiskars Micro Tipped scissors, STAMPS and therefore acrylic blocks and therefore VersaFine, Archival ink and most assuredly Tim's Distress Inks. It goes without saying that if you have Distress Inks then you must have Tim's ink blending tool. You just can't have one without the other. Certainly not last or least is my trimmer. I have tried several and have decided that Tonic's large base guillotine trimmer suits me just fine. It is big and bulky and not always a joy to take to crops but it cuts a true 90 degree angle when most others do not. When I have all my bits and pieces cut and ready to stick down, there is only one tape runner. Kokuyo. I LOVE the red one best but the blue one runs a close second. I like that it sticks and sticks well and permanently. It doesn't get all gummed up or roll back in on itself.
I have other tools, lots of them in fact but they are not my constant companions, at least not yet. Tell me what is in your tool box, maybe I will find something new to play with.

Brightly coloured placemats...

and future scrapbooking material.
I have a Dollerama that I frequent when I meet up with my Mother for coffee. She is a true addict that goes there for everything from hand soap to CD's. I tag along as I can usually find something even if it is only a chocolate bar (which I don't need) or baseball card sheets to store my small stamps in (which I do need, and lots of them).
Today I found some brightly coloured place mats made out of vinyl or acrylic which I plan to die cut into album covers with the new Sizzix album dies I am expecting to get sometime this week.
I hope they work for this purpose otherwise I have an assortment of brightly coloured place mats that will live their lives as brightly coloured place mats a nice and functional existence but hardly the exciting and socially superior life they could live if they were mini album covers.
Cross your fingers the album dies come in as I have been anxiously awaiting these since CHAW09 in January. As soon as I have them home I promise to die cut my brightly coloured place mats and post a picture of my successful results. (Note optimism)

It's National Scrapbook Day!

It's Just Paper but I feel compelled to collect it. I will admit it, I have NO willpower when it comes to paper. I see it, I want it, it drives me crazy until I get it and then eventually it finds its way home and occasionally some of it gets used. Certainly if I scrapped every day (which I don't) it would take me several lifetimes to use what I have. The rational side of my brain knows this and yet, I see more paper shopping in the near future. LOL
So I am posting a challenge for myself and for those of you with a similar affliction. Make something, anything but you must use paper and other products from your stash that is at least 2 years old. If you have a BLOG post your creation and then let me know you have accepted the challenge. No Blog? I am sure there must be a way to post it here with your comments but don't ask me how. It is all I can do to get my own stuff on here. Together we will figure it out. Points go to the person who is able to use the most items from their "old" stash. I will post mine sometime this week. I am thinking I have some very bright and funky Junkitz papers and a tonnage of chipboard I may use. Have fun and enjoy creating this weekend.

Ranger U...

How lucky am I?
Well, very lucky as a matter of fact. Just recently I applied to Ranger U so I can learn all about all the amazing products Ranger Inks has to offer. I understood that I might not get accepted right away as there are only so many spots and quite a few applicants. I guess it must have helped that I am an instructor and the product manager for this line of products for the company I work for. All I can say is I am very thrilled to be getting this opportunity.
Now what does this mean for all my lucky students? New techniques and new product for us to explore. The event is in June so it may be July before I have a class with something new I have learned. That is if I can squeeze it in before heading off to CHA in July. Busy busy busy!
I may just have to wear this silly grin for most of Spring and Summer!
:-)

Who all went to Scrapfest?

Looks like many of us scrappers descended on Kitchener this weekend to participate in some classes and do some serious shopping. I was there Friday night and Saturday morning demoing Copic markers for The Scrapping Bug, a Kitchener based store. I talked and talked markers and paper and ink so I think many of you now have a good introduction to this medium. I must admit I am not the best colourer yet but I am practicing.

The best part about this show (other than the awesome shopping) is that I got to meet up with people I have not seen in a while. There were tons of ladies from my old Cherished Scrapbooks days that I haven't seen since that store closed almost a year ago. Fortunately we were able to share email addresses so we can get back in touch. Hopefully they will also find me here so we can get back to talking scrapping and sharing ideas.

Lost, the stamp or my mind?

I am pretty sure I bought this stamp.I have looked everywhere and can't find it. I seem to recall John and I at Mike's with a coupon and he helped me choose between this and another stamp. Is it possible that I have misplaced it or that I had a mature responsible moment and said to myself "nope, don't need it"?

*****Update*****

Do Black Holes multiply? Only the ones in my head I think. I found the stamp after searching high and low for it. It was hiding in my other purse that was sitting on my hall bench. Now why wouldn't I think of looking for it there when it was the last purse I had in use? I did look in all my other purses even though I know I hadn't used them for months. Go figure.

What I learned again from this experience is that I am turning in to my mother. Her thing is keys and I do not recall her ever being able to locate her keys immediately. It is always a huge search and they are almost always in the purse she is using. Hmm, maybe it isn't us afterall but has it is something to do with evil purses.

Quintessentially Me!

Materials: paper - Bazzil cardstock; flower stamps -Autumn Leaves; brads - American Craft; flowers - Doodle Bug, Making Memories & Prima Marketing; chipboard and ribbon - unknown.

This is the cover page of a black and white album I started a few years ago. Each layout is black and white with one other colour. The idea I had at the time was to see just what I could do using the stuff I have in my stash. It was also the beginning of my stamping on layouts phase (of which I don't think I have gotten out of). Some day I hope to get back to this project as I am interested in seeing how my style has changed since I first began. I know the challenge of just using my stash isn't really a challenge anymore as I do have a fair bit in my stash these days.