Kim's Keepsakes

Day 28: Pens, pens, and more pens

2012-01-28T23:08:00.002-06:00

My son's Cub Scout troop had their pinewood derby today, and my daughter's Girl Scout troop ran the concession stand for the event. That means we were up at 6:30 AM and at the event by 7:30 AM to set up, and didn't leave until everything was cleaned up at 2:00 PM. We came home, took naps, and went to our church at 5:00 PM for Family Fun Night, where we played Minute to Win It. So, needless to say, I am tired. I did make pens and put the ribbons for pens on some notepads I made last night. A few more sets done for the Walk to Emmaus.

Day 27: Trust in the Lord

2012-01-27T23:16:00.002-06:00

Still working on Walk to Emmaus notepads and pens. Here's a new pattern.

Day 26: The Cross

2012-01-26T22:19:00.004-06:00

Tonight I worked on more notepads and pens for the Walk to Emmaus coming up. I changed to a cross pattern of paper, (The Paper Studio) to change things up a bit. Also, I am finding that the best double-sided tape for attaching the covers to the notepads is Terrifically Tacky Tape by Provo Craft.

Day 25: Agape Love

2012-01-25T22:26:00.004-06:00

One of the things you learn about at Walk to Emmaus is Agape Love. People show agape love through kindnesses such as scripture cards, Christian bookmarks, etc. My agape love is expressed through my love of paper-crafting by the pen and notepad sets I have been making. I made another 6 notepads tonight, with paper that has words about Jesus on it. It was hard finding religious paper other than for a baptism or wedding at my local scrapbook stores. I finally found some at Hobby Lobby, by The Paper Studio. I guess I will have to spend some time searching the internet to find more paper to show my agape love for the pilgrims of future walks.

Day 24: Card Club

2012-01-24T23:10:00.008-06:00

For Christmas, my husband gave me a gift certificate for Stampin' Up! products from a local representative, Carolyn Black. She hosts a card club at her house once a month, so I attended tonight, made some great cards (designed by Carolyn) with new products from the mini catalog, and even earned something free from the Sale-a-Bration catalog. It was a fun evening of trying out new products and visiting with old friends.

Day 23: "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts

2012-01-23T22:50:00.005-06:00

I love the lyrics to Rascal Flatt's song, "My Wish", and decided I wanted to use them on a scrapbook page for each of my kids. I had found the lyrics online and copied them into a file of scrapbook ideas, so that I could have them ready when I wanted to use them. Tonight I worked on my daughter's page. She was wearing a turquoise blouse in the photo, and I had a beautiful blue paper with flocked butterflies by Anna Griffin that matched perfectly, so I used that as my background paper. From another sheet of the paper, I cut out some of the butterflies and used turquoise pearls by Jolee's to make the bodies of the butterflies. I also cut out photo corners from the Anna Griffin paper with my Paper Shaper punch. I used Pioneer clear photo corners to adhere the picture to the right side of the background paper. I printed out the lyrics to "My Wish" onto Stampin' Up! Soft Sky paper and used my Fiskars paper trimmer to separate the lines from each other. Then I used my Herma adhesive runner (EK Success) on the back of each line of the lyrics and attached them on the left side of my 12" x 12" page. I placed a photo corner in the lower left and upper right corners of the photo, put a small butterfly in the upper left corner, and placed a large butterfly and a smaller butterfly at the bottom right of the photo. I used a couple of pop dots to lift up the larger butterfly's wings to add dimension to the page.

Day 22: Fast Butterfly Cards

2012-01-22T21:20:00.004-06:00

I wanted to make a dozen cards in a short amount of time, so I used one butterfly punch, four different patterned papers, white cardstock, glue dots, and pearls, and had my cards made in about an hour!! A lot done in a little bit of time.

Day 21: How to Make Notepad and Pen Sets

2012-01-21T23:10:00.008-06:00

Like yesterday, I continued to make notepad and pen sets for the Walk to Emmaus spiritual renewal program. I will tell you how I made them.

Supplies:

*tape runner or other adhesive

*3" x 5" scratch pads (no front cover)

*.25 inch wide double-sided tape ( I recommend Terrifically Tacky Tape by Provo Craft)

*.50 inch wide double-sided tape ( I recommend Terrifically Tacky Tape by Provo Craft)

*scrapbooking paper of your choice

*ribbon that matches your scrapbooking paper, about .5 inch wide

*Pentel R.S.V.P. pens

*white cardstock (by Georgia Pacific, available packaged at Wal-mart for about $5 for 15o sheets, so don't pay by the sheet at the scrapbook stores).

Directions:

Notepad:

I purchased blank scratch pads (no front cover) from an office store that measure 5" long x 3" wide. I used a 3-inch long piece of half-inch wide double-sided tape along the top edge of the pad, and folded the excess onto the cardboard backing. Then I cut a 3" wide strip from an 8.5" x 11" piece of white cardstock. The length of the white cardstock strip will cover the front and back covers of the notepad and help to strengthen it. Remove the liner of the double-sided tape from the top edge of the notepad. Place the bottom of the white cardstock strip at the bottom of the notepad, creasing it and pressing the creased portion onto the double-sided tap when you get to the top edge of the pad. Cut a 3" wide strip from your scrapbook paper. Cut it to 5.5" or 6" in length. Use another piece of the double-sided tape on the edge of the white cardstock cover and remove the liner. Line your scrapbooking paper up at the bottom of the notepad, and fold the excess over the top of the notepad onto the back side. (I did this so I could make covers for two notepads from one 3" strip of scrapbook paper.) Cut a 3.5" piece of ribbon to make the loop that holds your pen. Put a small piece of double-sided tape (about .5 inch") on each end of the ribbon (one side only). Take the liners off the double-sided tape. Wrap the ribbon around the pen to gauge how big of a space is needed for the pen. Leave that amount of ribbon visible on the right side of the notepad and hide the rest in between the white cardstock and the brown cardboard backing. (The double-sided tape should be facing the white cardstock on one side of the ribbon and facing the cardboard backing on the other side. I also put a small piece of the double-sided tape in between the two ends of the ribbon to create a tighter hold.) Use your adhesive to attach the white cardstock to the cardboard back and to attach the white cardstock to your scrapbook paper cover. Trim the excess cardstock and scrapbook paper from the bottom of the notepad.

Pen Insert:

Cut a strip of scrapbook paper that is .75 inches wide and 3 and 5/16 inches long. On the back side of your scrapbook paper, attach a piece of the .25 inch wide double-sided tape to one long side of the strip. Leave the liner on. Fold the scrapbook paper over the double-side tape, and then repeat, so you have three sections of the paper. Remove the liner from the double sided tape, and attach the 3rd section of scrapbook paper (design side out) to the double-sided tape, creating a small tube of your scrapbook paper. Remove the black end of the pen by unscrewing it. Take out the pen insert and slide it into your scrapbook paper tube. (This will help open it if it folded flat.) Then slide the pen insert and paper tube back into the pen and replace the black end of the pen. Voila...a matching pen and pad set!

Day 20: Girls' Night Out

2012-01-20T22:15:00.003-06:00

Our church offers Girls' Night Out once a month, so my friend Michelle and I attended together. She worked on her son's tae kwan do album while I worked on notepad and pen sets. I used scrapbook paper that had the lyrics to Amazing Grace (paper by Flair Designs) and the "There is a time for everything" scripture from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (paper by It Takes Two) to make the covers for the notepads and the inserts for the pens. I am making the notepad and pen sets to give to people who attend the local Walk to Emmaus spiritual renewal program. I attended Walk to Emmaus last summer and Jesus really put it on my heart to make some different choices in my life. As a way of giving back for all the love, grace, and prayers that were given to me, I decided I would make notebook and pen sets for the new pilgrims who attend Walks after mine.

Day 19: It's A Pirate Card For Me!

2012-01-19T22:10:00.011-06:00

I needed some boy birthday cards, so I made half a dozen cute pirate cards today. I used Nearly Navy cardstock from Stampin' Up! as my card base, and a striped print from The Paper Studio as a layer on top of the navy. Using a pirate stamp from Great Impressions, I stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin' Up!) and then colored in the stamped image. I used Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth Colour Pencils (woodless) and Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits to color the pirate and his treasure chest. This was based on a technique I learned while at a stamp show from Inky Antics Rubber Stamps. The sentiment on the inside of the card reads: "Cheers to ye birthday boy! Now, draw ye sword and cut ye cake." I found the sentiment on the e-how.com website. I now have some cute cards for the boy birthdays coming up.

Day18: Grandparent's Day Page

2012-01-18T23:15:00.006-06:00

Tonight I worked on a page of my daughter and her grandmother that was taken at school on Grandparents' Day. After going through my paper stash, I had 22 different papers I thought would work with the Make a Wish page. (I rarely do a "matching" two-page layout; I usually coordinate my papers. I guess I get bored with matchy-matchy!) I knew having an obsession with buying paper would pay off!! The perfect paper was among those 22!! This paper has a green background that looks really good with the green letters I used on the facing page. It has pink, gold, and white flowers, which play off the colors I used on the the Make a Wish page. The paper is from the White Out Collection by We R Memory Keepers and is called Hoopla-Merry. It looks like somebody spilled a bottle of "white out" all over the outside edges. I used pink (Heidi Grace Designs) and white letters (American Craft) to spell out Grandparents Day and the date. I also used a foam brush and spread some Mod Podge over the stickers so they wouldn't curl up (a hazard of being moved around several times). I really didn't embellish this page very much. I added a couple of flower brads and 2 small corners (Thickers). It seemed like it needed to be a little calmer because the opposite page has a lot going on.

Day 17: Make A Wish

2012-01-17T11:32:00.007-06:00

I finished my page of my daughter blowing the dandelion flower. I have this pom pom trim that put me in mind of the white dandelions going to seed, so I used that, some lace, a pink ribbon from Stampin' Up!, some pearl daisy buttons (Buttons Galore) with the shanks removed, and some cardstock letters from Provo Craft to make a title of "Make A Wish" on rose red cardstock from Stampin' Up!. The title block was inspired by Trudy Sigurdson's book Embellished Emotions for Scrapbookers. My background paper was designed by Susan Winget for K & Company. While you can't see a lot of the paper, the sandy tan color, and rose and green in the background helps to pull all the elements together.

Day 16: Embossing a Background

2012-01-16T23:59:00.001-06:00

From the time the kids were little, they have always blown the fluffy white dandelions off their stems and made a wish. I took photos of them doing that and tonight I was working on my daughter's scrapbook page. Using VersaMark ink, I stamped several of Penny Black's "lace flower" stamp on white vellum. I poured white embossing powder (Stampin' Up!) on the blooms, shook off the excess, and then poured green embossing powder (Stampin' Up!) on the stems, shook off the excess, and then heated with my heat tool (Stampin' Up!). I really like the effect. It looks like the dandelions are blowing around in the wind, and the vellum adds a softness to the page I like. I still have more to do on this page, but it is late, so I will get back to it tomorrow.

Day 15: Bits and Pieces

2012-01-15T23:51:00.007-06:00

Tonight I finished up the last two pages I'd been working on. I stamped "This scrapbook page completed by" (Stampin' Up!) onto some scrap cardstock and attached it to the back of each page, signed my name and dated it. I also listed the products used and the makers on the back of the page. If I ever need that information to enter a contest, etc., it is handy. I have a notebook I started, but I think this will actually work better as the information is right there on the page itself.

I always flip back through my kids' scrapbooks as I add pages, to get a feeling for how the book is flowing. I don't work in themes; I work chronologically. The first page in this scrapbook starts with a photo of Christmas 2008. However, when you turn that page, the next two are photos from March 2009. I kept thinking every time I flipped through that I really needed to find a way to make the 2009 date more evident, especially on those two pages. So, tonight, I took the time to add year stickers to both those pages. Luckily, I still have the same style stickers I'd used for the titles.

I also selected the papers for the next two pages of my daughter's scrapbook, and found a stamp that I want to use for one of the pages.

So, just bits and pieces tonight. No real project completed. A little finishing up. A little revamp. And a little planning ahead. But that's okay. My goal is to get in the scrapbook room each day this year and I have been doing that. It feels good.

Day 14: Spring Recital Scrapbook Page

2012-01-14T22:25:00.007-06:00

Tonight (while running into the other room to watch parts of the Miss America Pageant), I made the companion page to my daughter's dance page. In this photo, she and my son are pictured. He had a tumbling routine to perform and this photo was one taken of the two of them together. Since they both had yellow in their costumes, I chose three papers in So Saffron from the Tea Party Designer Paper Series by Stampin' Up! The base page had a large airy white floral print. On top of that I layered a paper with pale purple and saffron flowers. This helped to tie in the purple tones on my daughter's page completed yesterday. The mat for the photo had white polka dots, which echoed the polka dots on my daughter's outfit. I placed the photo on top, adhering it with clear photo corners by Pioneer. In the upper left and lower right corners, I placed purple metal photo corners from The Paper Studio. Since this photo is horizontal, I left a space at the bottom of the page for a title. I used a hodge podge of pale letters to create my title. I added a flower I made from green, purple, and pink silk flowers and secured with a pink glitter brad to the center of the title. The flower tied in to the one my daughter was wearing in her hair and also carried over the colors from the facing page.

Day 13: Beautiful Dancer Scrapbook Page

2012-01-13T22:30:00.008-06:00

My daughter was in a dance recital and her costume was a pale green sheer material. To match it, I chose papers from Tea Party Designer Paper Collection by Stampin' Up! I used patterns of varying sizes so the eye would not be overwhelmed by all the variety of papers. I selected a paper with a green background with a small pink and yellow flower design for the base of the page. Using a die-cut paper I had, I traced around it and cut out a die-cut shape from a pink paper with white flowers. I layered the pink die-cut on top of the green base. Then I cut a rectangle from a pale purple paper with purple, yellow, and pink flowers as the mat for my daughter's photo, and layered that atop the pink die-cut. I attached the photo with clear photo corners by Pioneer. I used two pink metal photo corners by The Paper Studio in the bottom left and upper right corners of the photo. I cut two pink flowers from another of the coordinating papers, then layered a silk green and a silk pink flower on top of each, and secured the layers with a pink glimmer brad. I liked how the silk flowers carried on the light and airy feeling of my daughter's dress. I attached one flower in the upper left corner of the photo and the other flower in the bottom right corner of the photo. And that is how I created a scrapbook page for my beautiful dancer.

Day 12: Getting Organized

2012-01-12T22:09:00.005-06:00

Today I spent a couple of hours just organizing my craft area. It seems like my desk is always buried! I have bought baskets, etc., with the best of intentions to corral my tools while I am crafting, but I never seem to use them when in the process. I just pile stuff. So, I got busy and put things back where they belong. I also sorted through some of my embellishments and found things I did not even know I had! I know I can be more satisfied with my crafting if I know what items I have to use.

I also planned out two more pages for my daughter's scrapbook album. I selected papers that match the clothes/setting, found flowers to embellish the pages with, and selected coordinating ribbons. I am using the Tea Party Designer Paper from Stampin' Up! and the matching ribbon. It will be fun to put it all together tomorrow!

Day 11: Anna Griffin Card Kit is Finished!

2012-01-11T22:10:00.009-06:00

I spent a couple of hours today finishing up the Anna Griffin cards, and then photographing them. I now have 30 cards ready to give to friends and family. Here are a few photos:

Day 10: Embellishing Anna Griffin Cards

2012-01-10T19:58:00.008-06:00

Today I embellished some of the Anna Griffin card bases I made yesterday. Anna gives you everything you need (except adhesives) to put the cards together. The hard part was trying to decide which 3-D flowers to use on each card. I think I would have gotten a lot more done if I wasn't so particular! However, I am pleased with the results so far.

Day 9: Anna Griffin Cards

2012-01-10T09:26:00.005-06:00

I had some computer issues yesterday, so while I did manage to build bases for 27 more cards from my Anna Griffin kit, I couldn't blog about it until today.

Anna's system for making her cards is simple. You start with one of her prints in the heavy cardstock as the card base, add a second design cut just a little smaller than the card base and layer that atop of the base, and then embellish using her wonderful 3-D stickers.

Day 8: Anna Griffin Birthday Card

2012-01-08T22:47:00.008-06:00

It was a busy day today. We went to church and stayed for lunch and fellowship, then home to take down the Christmas decorations. We were also trying to get laundry done. Ate a light supper and then off to a Cub Scout Committee Meeting. So, not too much time today to craft. I managed to straighten up two storage drawers in the scrapbook room. And, dah tah dah! I made my mom a birthday card using the Anna Griffin Birthday Card Kit I bought from HSN. I love how quickly her cards go together, yet they are so elegant. An easy way to end this rather busy day.

Day 7: Stampin' Up! On Board Bitty Book Completed!

2012-01-07T23:30:00.011-06:00

Today I decorated the slide-in case that the On Board Bitty Book album is kept in. I titled it "About a Boy". On the back side of the storage box, I used a hodge-podge sticker alphabet to declare: "no one knows the joys of a boy like his mother". I am glad I have such a great little boy who brings me great joy, and I am pleased to have this project done for him.

Slide-in Case Front Cover

Slide-in Case Back Cover

Today I decorated the slide-in case that the On Board Bitty Book album is kept in. I titled it "About a Boy". I used a ribbon that says " a boy is a joy" along the spine of the album, and on the back side of the storage box, I used a hodge-podge sticker alphabet to declare: "no one knows the joys of a boy like his mother". I am glad I have such a great little boy who brings me great joy, and I am pleased to have this project done for him.

Day 6: Stampin' Up! On Board Bitty Book

2012-01-06T23:57:00.008-06:00

I waited until the last hour of the day, but I was able to get 20 pages cut to make a mini photo album for my son's wallet-size photos. I used the On Board Bitty Book (now retired) and the Pawsitively II Prints designer paper from Stampin' Up! (It goes with their Build-A-Bear® stamp sets). It is really cute primary stripes, plaids, dots, and even argyle. It is going to be adorable when I get it all done!

Day 5: Desk Sets

2012-01-05T21:00:00.013-06:00

Today, I worked on making desk sets. I covered wooden "gift bags" with scrapbook paper, and made a coordinating notepad and pen set that fit in each "gift bag". These would look great on a desk, bedside table, or telephone stand and would be so handy when you need to make a quick note about something.

Day 4: Layer Upon Layer

2012-01-04T22:51:00.009-06:00

Tonight I worked on another photo of my daughter. I started with a 12" x 12"green rose floral paper from Stampin' Up! I cut a square approximately 3" x 3" out of the center of the paper so I could punch out matching photo corners. I used double sided tape to adhere matching green ribbon down the left side of the page, about an inch from the edge. Then I put an 8.5" x 10.5" soft floral with cream background on top of the ribbon and the green rose floral paper (covering up the hole I made). Then I placed my daughter's 8"x 10" photo on top of the cream floral paper. I placed the four photo corners halfway on the cream paper and halfway on the corners of the photo. In the upper left hand corner of the photo, I used a pale pink swirl embellishment by Prima and three Prima silk flowers in various shades of pink (effectively covering up that photo corner). Starting approximately 1/3 of the way from the bottom left hand side of the matted photo, I used epoxy letters in shades of green, pink, and cream to spell out the word "Beautiful". I love to layer papers and embellishments and I think this was a gorgeous way to scrapbook my beautiful girl.

Day 3: Ruffles and Trims, Oh My!

2012-01-03T21:12:00.010-06:00

Today I scrapped a photo of my daughter on her birthday. She was wearing a pink and cream dress that was layers and layers of ruffles, so I used light pink and dark pink ruffled trim down the right side of the 8 x 10 photo, a little bit of white daisy lace (with pink flower centers) diagonally across the top left corner of the photo. This was all atop a pretty piece of pink floral designer paper from Stampin' Up! Voila, a wonderful page in a little bit of time.

Day 2: Playing with Plastic

2012-01-02T21:01:00.008-06:00

I just love all the clear little embellishments that are on the market place for scrapbookers or stampers to use. But, I don't want to have to pay the price. So, whenever one of the kids gets a toy, I take all the clear acetate plastic out of the box and save it. Today, I finally took the time to see what I could make with this free-to-me material.

I got out my Sizzix Big Shot machine and tried out sizzlits, embosslits, Bigz dies, and my embossing folders. I also got out some punches to see what I could to do with those.

I tried the sizzlits first because I have some snowflakes that I thought would be pretty on a card or scrapbook page. The snowflakes embossed well, but they didn't cut out. I tried running them through the Big Shot, then backing them out, running them through, and backing them out again, but that still didn't work. I ended up cutting them out by hand. It was a little time consuming, but I still like the look.

The embosslits embossed and cut out nicely, so that was a winner! The Bigz dies also cut out well; another winner! I tried a snowflake embossing folder; I think this will make for a nice layering piece on a card. I also dug through my punch drawer and tried out some punches. Also a success!

I had fun playing with plastic today, and if you haven't tried it yet, you should. I think it will really expand your range of embellishments for cards and scrapbook pages.

Day 1: UFO Finished: Super Hero Paper Bag Album

2012-01-01T23:12:00.020-06:00

I spent a lot of 2011 wishing I took more time to work in my scrapbook and stamp room. However, I did nothing to ensure that I did that. This year, I have decided to challenge myself to work on a scrapbook or stamp project every day of 2012!! We all have those UFOs (unfinished objects) that we keep meaning to get done. And there are all sorts of techniques that we would all like to try. To that end, I will be working and blogging each and every day this year! I have been working on a super hero paper bag album for my son since August or September of 2011. I worked on it here and there, but never really set about finishing it. My goal for today was to get that UFO finished! And I did. A great way to start off the new year!

Album Cover

Spider Man Pages

Power Ranger Pages

Back Cover

Storage Box

Instructions: LOCKEbiliTy Victorian Fan for Repeat Impressions

2011-02-09T23:49:00.021-06:00

There has been a request for instructions on how to make the Victorian fan I posted on April 1, 2009.

The LOCKEbiliTy stamp has 4 panels, 3 with places for photos, and 1 that flips up to make the locket cover (see diagram below). Using the middle photo panel and the locket cover panel (which is directly underneath the middle photo panel), I made one long strip for each blade of the fan. Using a brush tip marker, I inked the scroll design and the edges of the middle photo panel and the locket cover panel. I did not ink the dividing lines between the photo panel and the locket cover panel in order to achieve the long blade shape I wanted.

LOCKEbiliTy stamp panels

I sponged some brown ink onto the blades to give them an aged look. I added my photos and then stamped the quotes from Repeat Impressions Legacy Text series. I added a coordinating patterned paper to lengthen the fan blades, and covered the seam on each blade with lace. I stacked the fan blades one on top of the other, and made a hole with a paper piercer, and inserted a brad in the hole. I then spread the fan blades out into an arc shape. When I liked the effect, I carefully turned the fan over. Using the size of my lace as a guide, I used double sided tape on the back of each fan blade to attach two rows of lace to the back of the fan. You do want to leave a little give in the lace so that it will close if you choose to fold it up.

I am sorry I cannot be more specific with lengths of the fan blades or the lace. I am writing these directions on memory alone. I made this fan almost two years ago and I no longer have it. I sent it to Wendy when I was on her design team. If you attend Stamp Scrap Art Tour, she may have it on display and you can see it up close. See Repeat Impressions website http://www.repeatimpressions.com/ and look under conventions to see when they will be in a city near you.

My Article was Published in Vamp Stamp News!!!

2009-04-22T13:28:00.005-05:00

I am so thrilled!!! My review of the Stamp Scrap Art Tour was published in the May 2009 issue of Vamp Stamp News!!!

(See my March 22 post to read it!)

New Designs for Spring for Repeat Impressions

2009-04-01T13:19:00.006-05:00

I had a great time creating new items with the stamps Wendy challenged us to use this month.

This fan was created using Wendy's LOCKEbility (TM) stamp and stamps from her Legacy Text series. I thought a fan would be a unique and romantic way to create a keepsake for old family photos.

I had lots of fun making alcohol ink backgrounds prior to making this card. I used lots of color combinations, but this one seemed like it was the most spring-like for the "fairy's lantern" stamp.

I like the dimension of this card. It was fun to create the layers of seaweed and water to make it look as if the sea horses and sea turtle are swimming in the ocean.

This card looks a little pale compared to how it really looks. I think the faint peaches did not scan well. I used sandpaper for the sand portion of the card and popped the images to add dimension to the card.

Wendy challenged us to use her "underpants frog" stamp. I thought it would be a fun card if the frogs were jumping out of a package. All the stamps used are from Repeat Impressions.

Wendy challenged us to use a paper she sent to us and to combine it with a stamp we already had from Repeat Impressions. I liked this Christmas paper and combined it with this Christmas verse stamp.

Please vote in my newest poll about which design(s) you like best. And thanks for visiting my blog!!

Review of the Stamp Scrap Art Tour

2009-03-22T19:34:00.012-05:00

I attended the Stamp Scrap Art Tour (http://www.stampscraparttour.com/) in Rockford, Illinois on March 14, 2009. There were 20 different vendors of stamping, scrapbooking, and card-making supplies. This was the first large show I have attended, and I was greatly pleased. I spent about 4 hours at the tour, and could have easily spent the entire day. There were many make-n-take projects as well as technique demonstrations. The vendors were highly knowledgeable and very friendly.

My main purpose in attending was to meet Wendy Wyman, who owns and is the artist for Repeat Impressions (http://www.repeatimpressions.com/), which is based in Freeport, Maine, and for whom I design cards as a member of her design team. She was busy demonstrating how her "flip stamps" could be used to make really fun interactive cards when I arrived at her booth. She took a few minutes to talk to me and tell me how rubber stamps are made. I was pleased to see several of the cards I had designed on the display boards. It was a pleasure to meet the lady behind all the great stamps.

The booth for Rubber Cottage (http://www.rubbercottage.com/) was very busy. They have beautiful animal and scenic stamps. I bought stamps of a fawn and a bird's nest. There were some other stamps I wanted, but I only had a limited amount of money to spend, and most of it was spent at the Just for Fun booth.

At the Just for Fun (http://www.jffstamps.com/) booth, I watched a demonstration of how to use their faux postage stamp and template to create cards that looked like postage. The demonstrator also explained how to use the same technique to recycle old greeting cards or to add a twist to a photograph. This concept really appealed to me, and I had to buy a faux postage stamp, template, and the decorative postage stamp scissors. I made cards using the stamp and template for my card club and everyone was wild about them. I also bought several unmounted stamps. I have visited their website since my return home, and I have a very long wish list!!

Several people were crowded around the demonstration area at the Stamp On It (http://www.stamponit.net/) booth. The demonstrator there was showing shoppers how to use the Cuttlebug die cut machine. The great thing is, a lot of the dies she was using will work in other die cut machines. She used embossing folders, Spellbinders, and even a brass template for dry embossing. She explained all the various layers you need to build to create a good embossed image when using each of these various methods. She certainly made it look easy and I will be pulling out all those dry embossing templates to try!

The folks at Tessler Stamps/Stencils Co. (http://www.tesslerstamps.com/) were also demonstrating dry embossing using a light box. I really enjoyed seeing the demonstration on using embossing paste. A good tip is to tape your template on the sides and on the top when putting your paste on. To remove the embossing template after you have applied the paste, remove the tape from the sides, and use the piece of tape on the top like a hinge, so you don't have to worry about smearing the embossing paste.

Darcie's Country Folk (http://www.darcie.com/) have some very cute stamps. I sat down to do a make-n-take using shrinky dinks printed with a clip art image from one of Darcie's CDs. This was a really fun technique and I will have to visit the web site to order some shrinky dinks paper.

Sweet Impressions (http://www.sweetstamps.com/) stamps are very romantic and pretty. The demonstration at this booth was embossing on vellum. The stamps on display were mainly unmounted, but I ordered some mounted ones from their website. The stamps are very nice quality.

Stamp La Jolla (http://www.stamplajolla.com/) had a fun make-n-take using twinkling H2Os and sugar dust. They had several beautiful floral designs, and I really like their Christian bookmark stamps.

There were several drawings for $100 throughout the day. It was exciting to hear the cheers when someone's number was drawn. Two huge baskets filled with products were also raffled off.

I had a terrific time at the Stamp Scrap Art Tour and would highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity to attend should plan to spend the day...and lots of money!! Be sure to check out their website (http://www.stampscraparttour.com/) to see where their tour will be taking them next.

A Crafter's Life!

2009-02-13T16:46:00.005-06:00

I haven't been blogging too much...or stamping...or scrapping. I have been quilting!! I made my hubby a quilt for Valentine's Day, so I have been working on it every free minute that I have. I bought the pattern for the quilt at a local shop and I really think it turned out nice. I'll post a photo sometime soon.

I did decorate some wooden gift bags for my booth in Holiday Presence. Two of them would work for Valentine's Day. but they would also work for a love theme. The others are just prettily decorated bags that could be used for a small gift bag or as a pen and notepad holder on a desk.

I will be participating at a craft show to benefit Alzheimer's Disease on March 7 from 10 AM to 3PM at the VFW in Washington, IL. There will be lots of great vendors and a raffle, so come see me!

A New Year Means New Designs for Repeat Impessions

2009-01-09T09:35:00.010-06:00

Happy 2009!!

Believe it or not, I was busy making Valentine's Day and Easter cards for Repeat Impressions before Christmas arrived!!

Our cards were due to RI by January 16, and since we went home to northern NY for two weeks over Christmas, I wanted to have my cards ready to put in the mail.

Here are the cards. Vote in my poll and tell me which one you like best!!

It is hard to believe that Valentine's Day will be here in about a month!! I have to get busy making some valentines for the special people in my life.

I am teaching a paper bag scrapbook class, an explosion box scrapbook class, and a family record album class at the Washington Park District this winter. If you live in or near Washington, Illinois, come take a scrapbook class with me!!

November News

2008-11-19T00:39:00.006-06:00

What's New

I have been really busy lately...sorry I haven't been keeping up with the blog.

I did pretty well at the craft shows in Metamora and in Washington. It is always a lot of fun to see who it is that purchases the items I have made. (Of course, I probably spend a good portion of my profits buying items from other crafters, but that is part of the fun!)

I have been scrapbooking some of D's photos...from my sister's wedding in 2007, karate, and his birthday. I have made a football scrapbook and two Christmas albums for my booth at Holiday Presence. I was pleased that my autumn scrapbook and shades of winter scrapbooks sold last month. I hope whoever bought them is enjoying them.

I taught a paper bag calendar class and a Christmas tag class last week. Everyone had lots of fun. I enjoy teaching others. It is fun to see the expressions on their faces when they create something they thought perhaps they could not.

My gallery at Repeat Impressions has been updated now. Stamps are 20% off this month, so if you are making Christmas cards, order now!!

How to Make a Paper Bag Calendar

Paper bag calendars are a good way to write down the everyday kinds of things you and your family do, as well as a way to focus on a few special events each month. You can purchase 6" x 12" paper bags at Kmart (American Fare brand). You will need 7 paper bags to make a calendar for one year. Fold the paper bags in half, and glue a 6"x 6" piece of paper on top of each page of the paper bag. (One paper bag will yield 4 pages.) You will use two pages for each month of the year. You can print out a calendar for each month from a software program or even from a website. Make it small enough to fit on your page. Attach the calendar on the sides and bottom only. Leave the top portion unglued so you may slip a blank tag into the "pocket" the calendar makes. You can use the tag to journal about special events that happen each month. On the second page for each month, make another pocket with a piece of card stock and add a tag. You can make or add as many tags as you want or need for each month. When you get to December, you will find that there are still three pages available to be covered. You can either make a "notes" section, or just glue the second and third pages together, and then you will just have to glue paper on to the back cover of the calendar. Leave the tops of the paper bags unglued and you will have storage places for your pictures, event tickets, etc. It will be a great way to document your year and a joy to look back on in the years to come.

More Creations for Repeat Impressions

2008-10-17T20:41:00.007-05:00

This is a home decor piece I made using Repeat Impressions stamps. The verse reads "Let Heaven and Nature Sing".

I was kind of stumped by how to make this lamp post the focal point of the card. It lacked dimension. Adding the ribbon for a bow gave it the oomph I was looking for.

Santa praying over the Christ child is one of my favorite images. I was so excited to find that Repeat Impressions has a stamp with this image!!

Gotta love those snow angels!!

I love the purple and turquoise color combos for this card!

This one took the most time (and the most glitter) of all the cards I made for the Repeat Impressions Design Team Challenges. I think the layers of vellum and glitter and the pastel colors make this a sweet take on the Christmas season. The verse reads "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air".

I know it's a little early, but I wish you all "Happy Holidays!" (works for everything from Halloween till New Year's!)

Using Watercolor Crayons on Stamps

2008-10-02T22:51:00.001-05:00

I tried a technique I read about in Vamp Stamp News: using watercolor crayons from Stampin' Up! directly on the stamp, then misting the colored stamp with water and stamping the image. It took a few attempts to get the correct amount of mist on the colored stamp to get a good strong image, but I think I know what I am doing now! I think this is going to be one of my favorite techniques.

I used this technique to make this card for the fall Repeat Impressions Design Team Challenge:

New Designs for Repeat Impressions

2008-09-29T23:40:00.001-05:00

The Design Team for Repeat Impressions has been given four challenges to meet in the next few weeks. One of the challenges is to design Halloween cards using Repeat Impressions stamps. We were given a list from which we could select 3 stamps and then we could add up to 6 more stamps of our choice from the Repeat Impressions catalog. Here are the Halloween cards I created for the challenge.

Craft Shows

2008-09-17T22:27:00.002-05:00

I will be participating in two craft shows in October.

On October 4, I will be at the Metamora Farmer's Market in Metamora, Illinois. Come see me in the American Legion building!!

On October 25, I will be set up at Crossroads United Methodist Church at the intersection of Route 24 and North Main Street, in Washington, Illinois.

There will be Halloween goodies, pre-made scrapbook albums, altered clipboards, altered tins, and hand-made cards for you to see.

These craft fairs are the perfect time to get out and start your holiday shopping. Buy local. Buy handmade. Buy one of "Kim's Keepsakes"!

2008-09-14T23:16:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Kim's Keepsakes!!

The first real "keepsakes" I created were some keepsake boxes I made when my children were born. I saved the wrapping paper and gift bags from their baby showers and then cut out images I liked and decoupaged them onto paper mache boxes. The keepsake boxes were the perfect place to store the ultrasound videos, cards, baby hat from the hospital, etc. I made a few more as gifts for some friends and relatives.

I began creating scrapbook pages in 2001. My sister and my mother walked and talked me through making the first few pages, and then I just went wild. I began taking classes, and spending lots of money at local scrapbook stores. I also learned a lot by reading magazines and looking at pre-made scrapbooks on ebay. I got some good ideas and inspiration for my scrapbook pages. One thing I discovered on ebay was the paper bag scrapbook album. It is one of my favorite types of scrapbook albums to make. It is relatively cheap because you just use paper bags, and one sheet of 12'x12" paper gives you 4 scrapbook pages!

I began making hand-stamped cards in 2005 after a lady at church mailed me a card and I discovered she was a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I had seen ads for SU in the scrapbook magazines I was reading, and was looking for a demonstrator. How lucky for me that she lives right up the street! I have learned a lot about stamping from the Stampin' Up group Carolyn teaches, as well as from reading Vamp Stamp News. VSN is a neat magazine that focuses on a different technique each month. Check out their website at http://www.vampstampnews.com

I have also dabbled a little with altered art. I like to make collages on notebook covers using up leftovers from my scrapbooking and stamping projects. I also like to alter clipboards and decorate them for use as photo frames.

I entered the Making Memories Magazine Masters Competition for 2009 this summer, but was not selected. I don't think I journal enough on my scrapbook pages. It was still fun to try.

I was selected to join a rubber stamp design team on July 16, 2008. Repeat Impressions of Freeport, Maine, put out a call for designers to their customers. I mailed them a CD of my card designs, and they selected me to be on their team. I am having lots of fun making cards using their stamps. Check out their website and see my gallery at http://www.repeatimpressions.com. If you purchase anything from them, please let them know Kim from Design Team sent you.

I received so many compliments about my scrapbook pages, my cards, and my keepsake boxes, and heard so many people say, "You should sell that", I decided to venture out into the small business world. I am teaching some classes for my town's park district. I have some items in a local shop, so if you ever get to Washington, Illinois, please stop by Holiday Presence on the historic square and see what I have to offer. Won't be coming to Illinois any time soon? I also sell some things in my etsy store on the internet. Visit my shop at http://www.kimskeepsakes.etsy.com and tell me what you think.

If you haven't been there yet, etsy is a site where everything is handmade. If you are a crafter, there are also materials available for sale on etsy. It is a neat site. I shop there a lot, myself. I like to support artists who are using their vision and talent to create something unique and one of a kind, instead of buying one of thousands of the same thing that has been mass-produced. Jewelry is what I mainly purchase from etsy, but that's another blog entirely!!