Scrappin' With Katie

My bags were packed,

and the Penmaker and I headed off for some scrappin' time with our soon to be ten year old granddaughter, Katie.

This is my new

Rolling Scrapbook Tote by Darice (you can get it here). The Penmaker bought me one for our last trip to Virginia to carry along some of my projects. This case is absolutely great for carrying supplies... tons of space, lot of pockets and pouches... and half price to boot. I LOVE a bargain.

I finally had gotten some 

kraft paper bags in the small size at Michaels (they had been out of stock for the longest time), so we decided to make Steff's paper bag mini album. (Check it out here.)

 I gave some instruction,

passed the materials to Katie, and let her do the work.

The Tacky glue

bottle was almost empty and we had to take turns squeezing it out... hard work for her small hands and my arthritic ones. 

After four hours of

work, this little gamer finished her project, never letting up for a minute... endurance plus!!!

 Front

If you look close, you can see that she even used a stencil and added some molding paste.

Back

I am super proud of

our Katie. She has the makings of a first class paper crafter.

I'm linking Katie's album up at:

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Linda

(Proud Grandma)

Saying Thank You

If you're like me,

you've been busy making thank you cards for all your family and friends who presented you with a gift this Christmas. I have found it easiest to use pre-folded card bases with envelopes and one 6x6 paper pad with one group of matching embellishments.

Since these cards

have to fit in flat envelopes, I had to make them CAS, which is a real challenge for me... the woman who loves layers upon layers! With the blank cards being white, I chose kraft cardstock for all the mats since it seemed to go so well with most of the patterns that were in the My Mind's Eye Portobello Road paper pad. 

This is an old Lost & Found

collection and has some beautiful blue/green shades that I thought had a sort of wintery look.

Along with rhinestones,

pearls and ribbon, I cut snowflakes using my Alterations mini dies. I also used: Spellbinders Fleur De Lis Squares, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Jet Black Archival Ink, Scrappy Cats Thank You Clear Stamp Set and May Arts Satin Snowflake trim. I have several more to show you all using this same combination of product. 

I hope you're all having 

a wonderful, relaxing weekend. We have tons of snow here (not really... just a few inches but I like to think big!) It's that heavy kind that likes to cling to the tree branches and make everything look so gorgeous... a true winter wonderland! Time to grab a cup of steaming coffee, pull up a chair and look out the window... a perfect Saturday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Linda

Happy Christmas

Zorana has the cutest

free printable for December here. When I downloaded it this morning, I immediately started work on a journal page using her darling bird trio. 

The background is a

blend of titanium white, cerulean blue and grey for the sky with parchment, titanium white and raw umber artist acrylics for the yard. The stars were made with Golden's molding paste and Crafter's Workshop Mini Punchinella stencil.

The houses were stamped

on paper from 7 Gypsies Lille 8x8 pad, fussy cut and glued to the page. The trim was "painted" in using Barn Door Distress Ink... the windows with Mustard Seed DI. The fence was done the same way using Vintage Photo DI. The Christmas greenery and bow are from my vintage stash.

The tree stamp and

the sentiment are from old sets from Sweet 'n Sassy. I used Jet Black Archival for them.

To complete the page,

 I edged it with Black Soot DI. May you have a Happy Christmas!

I'm linking my page at:

Balzer Designs - Art Journal Every Day

Thanks for stopping by today!

Linda

Jingle Bells

Today is the most

gorgeous day. Looking out the window you would think it was spring. So why am I inside? Ahhhh... the lady is still making Christmas cards... that's why!

By now you may have

grown tired of seeing cards I've created with My Mind's Eye "All Is Bright". The fact is, I'm still in love with these papers and am enjoying mixing them with my Christmas scraps from last year. It's been sort of a personal challenge to see how many different looks I can get with these few paper patterns and a chipboard sheet.

I used the "Joy" 

chipboard piece as the focal point, and paired it with this scrap of Graphic 45's "Christmas Emporium". The two buttons are MME "Follow Your Heart" and tied with ivory burlap string from May Arts. The roses are Recollections and I Am Roses. The die cut is Spellbinder's Floral Doily Motif.

The big tulle bloom

is by Prima. I dabbed on a little Tombow Mono Glue  and sprinkled on Twinklets Diamond Dust... both are from Consumer Crafts, where you can get 20% off their entire site thru today - 12/13/12.

I'm linking my card at:

Cupcake Craftroom - Christmas

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Shopping Our Stash - Sentimentally Yours

Unique Crafters - Christmas

Thanks for the visit!

Hugs!

Linda

Bulking It Out

As I'm addressing

my Christmas cards, I am finding that...

1. I didn't make nearly enough cards for family and friends
2. The ones I have made are hugely embellished with flowers, trims, etc.
3. Saving money by making my own is out the window because I have to put them in padded envelopes and pay higher postage
4. That #3 above really doesn't matter because I love making something pretty for those I love

That all said, I've

decided to try an idea that I've seen some of you doing... make mail/postage friendly, flat cards in quantity... a la Amy. Now, my four little cards in no way can compete to Amy's amazing stack of 80. This gal can crank out cards like nobodies business and they're gorgeous to boot! So much talent!!! Nevertheless, I must say I am as happy as a lark to have these four completed in such a short time, but I just realized that I forgot to do the insides. Yikes!... back to the old craft mat and paper cutter! 

I used pre-made card

blanks with envelopes from Consumer Crafts to save more time. These I've teamed up with My Mind's Eye "All Is Bright" collection, Core'dinations Kraft cardstock, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, jute ribbon, and Prima Say It In Crystals. The Spellbinder's die is Labels One.

The image is my favorite

for this winter. You've seen this one numerous times in my posts... from Artistic Outpost "Midwinter". It's stamped in Jet Black Archival and glimmered up a bit with Glossy Accents and Twinklets Diamond Dust.

Today the plan is to

get some more addressing done, make a tag or two, wrap gifts... then make coffee and put my feet up. Want to join me? We could even sample a cookie or two!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs!

Linda