ScrapHappy

Do-Right Friday

The beginning of happiness is gratitude.

Make your own gratitude journal. It will help you feel full enough to give to others. I like the idea of making one versus buying one just because of the consciousness of the process.

Examples:
Tonya's
Cathy's
Emily's

30-Minute Thursday

HHHHola!

Bet you thought that just because I am in Utah, you get a week off. No way, chicas!

Here you are... American Crafts all the way, baby! You have heard it a thousand times, but I'll say it again... if you stick with one product line it will be easier to mix and match. I know, I know, I'm not the matchy-matchy type either. I really enjoy pulling a little of this in with a little of that. I resisted sticking with kits or product lines because I was afraid that my page would look like everyone else's. But it just tain't true! I LOVE this page, even though I challenged myself to stick with one manufacturer. It made life much easier to know I HAD to limit myself. And when you are speed scrapping, that's a huge plus.

So your challenge for this week is to create a 30-minute page with just one product line. Go for it!

Last week's winners...

Nicole JenMc Amy Alexandra Etta Yes, once again that was EVERYONE who entered last week! And for the week before... when I was slackin'... Jess Mary C Email me your snail mail addies by next Thurs. so I can get goodies out to you!

Episode 31: Scrap In Style TV

Episode 31 is up! Listen here or on iTunes.

Notes:

-Review of 101 Hip, Handmade Gifts by Nicole LaRue

-Interview with the super-fun Jeanette Herdman of Scrap In Style TV

-Updates on where I'll be (look over <-- that way for more info and links)

-And more!!!!

It's Beginning to Feel a lot Like Monday

... and that must mean it's time for another

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN BONUS PROJECT!

Bonus #2... Kickin' Card Holder

For some reason that I cannot fathom, I don't have a photo of the completed project on my camera. And seeing as I am at Starbucks, I cannot just run upstairs and take one for you. So you will have to use your own little imaginations to extrapolate what the final effect is... and then when I get home I will take that photo and add it to the post!

ETA: Here it is! I got one photo in before my battery died. Ah, such is life.

But in the meantime...

Here is what you will need:

*A dozen (or so, depending on how many categories you use) 6x9" manila envelopes
*Six (or so) sheets of double-sided cardstock (or 12 [or so] half-sheets of single-sided) (I used American Crafts)
*Rub-on letters (I used Heidi Swapp)
*Ribbon (I used American Crafts)
*Felt flowers (I used American Crafts)
*Brads
*Binder ring (you can get plain metal ones from Office Depot)
*Adhesive (I used my Cheetah to adhere to the envelopes, and a regular tape runner to adhere the embellishments)
*Stapler
*Hole punch (I used my Crop-a-Dile)
*Circle punch
*Paper trimmer

Let's get going...

Step One. Gather your materials. Cut each sheet of patterned paper to two, 6x9" pieces. Save the odds and ends because you will want them for embellishing.

Step Two. Adhere the patterned paper to one side of the manila envelopes. You COULD cover both sides, but then you would be a blatant overachiever and we would have to mock you.

Step Three. Using the rub-ons, label each envelope with what kind of card it will contain. I ended up with ten categories: Love You, Happy Birthday, Congratulations, New Baby, Wedding, Sorrow, Thank You, Thinking of You, Miscellaneous, and Blank.

Step Four. Go ahead and take a little break right here to see how cute everything is shaping up. Appreciate your work -- Heaven knows my family doesn't! AHHAHAA.

Step Five. Punch out ten (or so) circles from the patterned paper scraps. Punch a hole in each, and add the felt flowers using the brads. I like to use a mixture of colors and not get to matchy-matchy, mostly because I am watching CSI and don't want to think about the order of things too much. Adhere the circles to your envelopes. Cute!

Step Six. If desired, cut 10 (or so) 6x1" strips of patterned paper and adhere to the top of the envelopes.

Step Seven. Cut a bunch of lengths of contrasting ribbon (I used three or four different kinds) and staple a tad to each envelope, varying placement. NOTE: You want to keep from stapling too far into the center of the envelope, or the cards will not fit after you are done. Just trust me on this one, it is the voice of experience speaking.

Step Eight. (NO PHOTO -- BAD DOBBY!) Hook all your envelopes on the binder ring, snap it closed, and call it a day. Whew, wasn't that fun??

Variations: Fill each envelope with a card or two of the category indicated and give it as a teacher gift... how cute would that be?

Emerging from the Turkey Haze

I don't actually eat turkey on Thanksgiving, so the title is something of a misnomer. But a little poetic license is okay, right?

The funny thing about blogging is, the more exciting my everyday life is, the less time I have to write about it here. Conversely, the more mundane and boring, the MORE time I have to write (but probably the less interesting the posts are).

So based on my absence, you would be correct in assuming I've been living the high life! Family, cooking, shopping, food, you name it... but a huge highlight was spending Saturday in San Francisco with Linda Woods, her husband Dustin, and my good friend Maria. For those of you who don't know, Linda is an amazingly talented artist and the author of Journal Revolution and one of the funniest people I've met. Just naturally fun in the way she looks at life. LOVE THAT.

And Dustin? Well, what can I say other than HE WORKS ON CSI!!!!! I could say a lot more -- he was wearing George Eads' pants, he is an awesome photographer, he's a great sport, and an all-around nice guy... and he put up with all my thousands of questions about life on the set of CSI. I probably scared him. Oh well, I have a tendency to do that.

Maria is a fabulously talented photographer so we traipsed around San Fran taking pictures (until we got thrown out of one store for doing so). We got lost. We got found. We ate chips and salsa. We laughed and laughed and laughed. A good time was had by all.

30-Minute Thursday!

Happy Thanksgiving! But surely you can steal 30 minutes while the turkey is cooking and the boys are watching football to create a little page... :)

The most time-intensive part of this whole layout was finding the numbers that looked good! I started with the photos. None of them was particularly terrific on its own, so I decided to use all three together. When pictures are so similar, I like to position them in a straight line. It just makes more sense somehow. I wanted the one of Callie looking straight on to be the focus, so I knew I wanted to tilt it.

Because she's wearing an orange shirt, I didn't want to ignore the orange... but I also didn't want to do a Halloween page (even though she was helping carve pumpkins when these pics were taken). So I went with the green background and then went through my stash of patterned paper to find something with green and orange... this Paper Salon paper was perfect!

Once the two pictures on the left were adhered, I went to the tilted pic. I wanted a little "something" to call it out more, so in came the photo mat... and since I scallop whenever possible, I scalloped the mat. It also helps break up all the straight lines on the LO.

Next was the title -- I loved the idea of counting how many days old Callie is. I originally intended to include a journaling list of all the things she's accomplished in 1143 days... but that idea went out the window when I couldn't fit it in. So I dug numbers out of my stash (this took the longest!) and then added the words.

The page needed something on the lower part to balance it, and I decided a little splash of orange would be good. I stamped the date, stuck it on the page, and added the bling because you can never go wrong with a little bling. Rounded the corners and I was done. :)

Your challenge: Do a page using numbers! Winners from last week... I have received a couple of requests to extend the contest one day because of the holiday... so I will! Winners tomorrow! Now go eat.

The ScrapHappy Idol: Becky Higgins!

The next episode is up! Becky Higgins... I think I am still hyperventilating... listen here (you do not need an iPod or MP3 player -- just click on the link and listen on your computer!). Of course you can always subscribe to iTunes as well.

Show notes:

We talk about...
-Becky's latest book (number NINE... can you stand it?)

-How she gets it all done
-Her favorite scrapbooking techniques as well as the ones she just can't get into...
and more!

Plus I give an update on the "Tag, You're It" relay and the L.O.A.D.* Challenge for January. Are you ready??

*Layout a Day

The Weather Outside Is...?

Definitely not too frightful here, but I am in California. So... understanding that many of you are living in colder climes, I figured you may need something to do to keep your hands busy (and warm).

I know you have all your Christmas presents done and wrapped and under the festively decorated tree... but here's a little something you can whip up for a last-minute gift or tuck away for Valentine's Day. You ARE getting ready for Valentine's Day, aren't you???

Christmas Countdown Extra-Credit Project #1:

Hipster Photo Charms

Supplies:

*Patera Deep Pendants in your choice of metals/sizes made by Nunn Design (click here for a list of online retail stores)

*Index prints (larger are better)

*Trimmer/scissors

*Diamond Glaze or UTEE (ultra-thick embossing element)

*Bead chain and fastener trimmed to preferred length

Step One: Using your choice of pendant as a template, cut a photo from your index sheet. You may need to trim a slightly larger piece of cardstock to mount the photo on, if the index print is too small.

Step Two: Mount the photo onto the cardstock if needed. A single swipe of adhesive is sufficient because the whole thing is going to be coated in UTEE or Diamond Glaze.

Step Three: Put a bit of a smear of Diamond Glaze in the base of the pendant. (If you are using UTEE, use a glue dot or something to stick the photo down). If you are the cautious type and are worried it will fall out, go ahead and use double-sided tape to stick it down (you are probably the type who insists on sitting bolt-upright on any  flight you take, for fear that the plane will plummet out of the sky if not for your constant vigilence).

Step Four: Pop in the photo.

Step Five: Coat the whole shebang with Diamond Glaze. Start at the edges and work your way in. As you can see here, the glaze will look murky when it is wet (I'm not THAT bad of a photographer!). It will become clear as it dries. Give it a good 12 hours to dry and harden. DO NOT (Let me repeat, DO NOT) try to speed the drying process by using your heat gun. It may seem like it is working, but the second your back is turned, strange things will happen, and when you look back again you will see weird globule-like things in your Diamond Glaze that will look like some sort of alien being has taken up residence. This will not be pleasant. So do yourself a favor and just let the darned thing dry. 12 hours isn't THAT long to wait!

NOTE: I recommend using Diamond Glaze instead of UTEE. For me, it is less work and gives a smoother finish (no loose granules to deal with). But if you insist... you will follow steps 1-4 above, then you will either heat your UTEE in a cute little heater thingy that Tim Holtz makes look so darned easy on his videos and then pour it into the pendant, taking care not to accidentally spill any on your fingers (which burns like the dickens)...

...Or you will pour a layer of UTEE granules over your photo in the pendant, and attempt to heat it with your heat gun, without spewing the UTEE everywhere. I was not successful in this quest, so now I have UTEE in places UTEE just should not be. I tried covering the pendant with a square of foil and heating through the foil, which provided a certain level of success, but not enough to make me say, "OH my gosh, this was so fun, I cannot wait to do it again!" Instead, I muttered, "Oh my gosh, why on earth did I buy this huge vat of UTEE? I will never use it again!"

But to each her own, so do what feels right. :)

Variations: Key chains. Kids' art shrunk down and sized to fit. New mom/grandma pendants... dried flowers, love notes, etc. etc. etc.

I love mine and wear it almost every day. I will be wearing it in Houston. You are coming to CKC Houston, aren't you??? Etta and Rachella will be there. :)

Run, run, run as fast as you can!

They may be last but certainly not least. I have seen some of the layouts and they are GORGEOUS.

And they, themselves, are quite tasty. Those funky, wacky gingerbread girls!!!!

Welcome home, everyone... now the real fun will begin. Starting next week I will post the layouts from each team.

You guys rock. You really do. Despite e-mail issues, delays, and other life events, you all persevered. I am proud of each and every one of you! (Cue cheezy music here). You make it fun to be me!

My bad....

The Sugar Cookies are here! They snuck in the back door and whispered so sweetly in my ear... I was so taken by their delicious aroma and crunchy goodness that I experienced momentary amnesia... so sorry! They've been here since THURSDAY...

For your cooking (cookie?) pleasure, a recipe...