Sneak Peek #1

Here are some peeks at a few of the cards we will make at the Stamp-a-Stack this weekend!!

I hope you are excited! It will be LOADS of FUN!!

Reservations are filling quickly! Call me now to reserve your spot!!

Thanks!

4th Annual Stamp-a-Stack Update

Due to several requests, I have decided to continue with the Annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack this year.

Saturday, November 14, 2009 11:00 till ??
Memorial Hall in Hotchkiss.

RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY NOVEMBER 10th!!!
This special event is limited to 20 people, so please, reserve your spot NOW!!
It is not an easy task to prepare supplies for this event especially since my help and time are limited at best anymore.

Make 20 Christmas/Holiday themed cards from 10 available designs for $25
(or free with a $50 purchase from TAC)
Snacks will be available, but if you would like to bring something to share, it would be appreciated!
Remember, everyone who attends will get a prize!

Watch the blog for "sneak peeks"

Witch Hat Candy Treat Tutorial

Supplies:
cutter
large and small circle coluzzle & foam mat
coluzzle swivel knife
decorator bag
black & white cardstock
8" black 3/8" ribbon
stamps & acrylic mount
ink (Noir & Orangerie shown here)
1 3/4" circle punch
1 1/2" circle punch
Not shown:
scissors
adhesive
1/8" punch
mounting foam
candy
Jar or glass

Directions:
1. Cut decorator bag down to 6" from tip.

2. Cut 1/2" slits about a quarter inch apart across the bottom (or open end) of the decorator bag.

3. Cut 2 circles from the black cardstock. (Iused the large circle coluzzle, 4th from the center. This will give you circles about 4" in diameter.)

4. On one of the circles, center the small coluzzle and cut a smaller circle out of the center. (Once again I used the fourth from the center, approximately a 2 inch diameter.)

5. Apply adhesive to one side of this circle with the cut out.

6. Open the decorator bag and one small section at a time, pulling the bag into the center of the circle, adhere the bag to the hat brim. (Hopefully you can understand what I mean from the picture. I used a jar to sort of hold or balance the bag while I did this.)

After you have the bag attached to the adhesive, you will need to apply adhesive over the bag that is attached to the brim of the hat. (You can use the edge of the jar to help with this.)
Fill up the bag with candy! Be careful not to get your candy stuck to the adhesive on the brim of the hat. (It also helps if you overfill the bag just a bit as the candy tends to settle after you turn it over.)

7. Attach the other circle and seal.

8. Turn your hat right side up!

9. Stamp your decorative element!

I used T- 3009 Glitter Goblins.

I stamped the image twice.

I punched the center out with the 1 1/2" punch and then inked the edges with Orangerie.

and then punched the base of my element out with the 1 3/4" punch.

I punched a small 1/8" hole for the ribbon at the bottom of my image and added some mounting foam and the center piece attached here.







Run both ends of the ribbon through the hole...

loop over the hat, tighten your ribbon and tie a decortive knot.

oooo! Almost done!

To make the spider charm to put on the tip of your hat you will need:

clear "shrinky dink" plastic

Staz-On ink

stamps (TAC-2600 Trick or Treat "retired" set used here)

1/4" hole punch
1/16" hole punch

thread

heat gun

heating surface (Iused a tile)

bamboo skewer (to hold the plastic while it melts)

a wood block (to flatten your shrinky dink, if needed)

Directions:

Stamp the spider and the saying on the plastic. (I stamped the spider on one side and the saying on the other.)
Punch out your image (1 1/2" circle used here)

Punch a 1/4" hole in your charm BEFORE YOU MELT IT.

Use a skewer to hold your image while you heat it. Remember the plastic will shrivel up as you heat it.

Thread some string through the hole on your shrinky dink charm.

Punch a 1/16" hole in the top of the decorator bag you used to make the witch hat. Thread your charm on and tie a knot.

Now you're done!!



Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions!

DC fold out book

Many, many moons ago.... (okay, it's only been three years) our family took a trip to Washington
D.C. And now, finally, after all my good intentions to get these done the fall we came home, I'm finally going to finish these fold-out memory books for the kids.
This is my big plan for Saturday which I will be spending at the Scrappy Moose Retreat in Delta. It's their 1st Anniversary and the grand opening of their scrapping retreat!
Okay, enough about me...

Here are the details of the project...which is the real reason you peruse this blog, isn't it?
I used three 10" chipboard squares and seven "coordinating" pieces of 12" decorative paper.

The chipboard was cut as follows:
One left intact, as the back and base of the book.
The center pieces are cut in half to two 5x10 rectangles.
The top, or front cover is cut into one 7x10 and one 3x10 piece.
I'd provide the dimensions of the paper, but honestly, I didn't really keep track, exactly... but, I'll do my best here...
A: 8x11 for the large half of the front cover
B: 6.875 x 9.875 and 2.875 x 9.875 to cover the inside flaps of the front cover pieces on both sides
C: 6x11 for one of the inside flaps and 4x10 for the other side of the front cover flap.
D: two pieces 4.875 x 9.875 to cover the inside flaps.
E: One piece 6 x 11 for the other inside flap & to cover the chipboard letters on the front cover.
F: 9.875 x9.875 to cover the inside of the back cover
G: 11" square for the back cover.

The large pieces were wrapped around the chipboard (miter your corners) and the smaller pieces adhered the the "inside."


Sorry if that's not too clear.
I used eyelets and twine to create the bindings and tags leftover from paper packs that seemed to coordinate with my paper colors for my journaling.
I'm hoping to get all four of these done this weekend.
Please leave me a comment (which I love to read) if you need clarification on any of the instructions.
Have a great day and I wish you better success with your good intentions than I seem to experiece with mine, at least, more often than I'd care to admit!


...Oh! For you interested parties, and because you asked for it...
I'll get the directions for the witch hat posted soon! .... Stay tuned!

Treats for your Tricksters, Goodies for your Goblins

I spend a lot of time perusing the internet looking for fabulous ideas that I can use with stamps and supplies I already own. Especially now when more people are trying to save a buck rather than spend a buck. If you don't absolutely LOVE a stamp set, or can't justify it's usability, it's just not worth spending the money for it.

I just can't afford to always get the great new stuff. Maybe that is the reason why I don't get rid of my discontinued stamps. You know, the ones they don't carry in the catalog anymore? I know, as a demonstrator I'm supposed to push *NEW* stuff, but, that just doesn't always work with a particular project I'd like to create. So, I reach for my retired stamps frequently. Sometimes it takes the combination of new and used sets to get the final piece I really want. Most stamp sets just don't come with a great combination of images and sayings. (The big advantage with the creative cling backing on TAC's real rubber stamps is the minimal amount of storage space which enables me to be able to keep such a huge inventory of personal stamps!)

Monday night we will be making some treat ideas for our little goblins.

Hmmm..... but I found such great ideas, I had a difficult time deciding which ones to do....

Should we do something new?

Like this cute pumpkin basket? (I added the cute label on the handle ...with retired stamps.)

Or maybe this cute witch hat with a shrinky-dink spider charm? (a combination of current and retired stamps)

We could always stick with the tried and true favorites...

...a sour cream container (current stamp set)

...or maybe an M&M matchbook (current stamps)

...or a mini candy bar pull (current and retired)

...or a pixie stick pack (current and retired)

...or a candy corn envelope (new stamp, old EKSuccess punches)

We will be doing at least three of these on Monday, but which will they be?

See you at 7!

Back to School

I love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. It has always meant Autumn to me, and "back to school" time.

I like to send a small gift to the homeroom teachers the kids will be working with this year. Since those cute small backpacks have been making the rounds on the stamping blogs, I thought this would be a great idea. I put small "Teacher Survival Kits" inside each one. I used one of TAC's retired sets to create a school related background.

I'm back! with LOTS of news!!

Yes, I've been a BAD blogger. But really, when people say, "Family First," do you think they mean it? Well, my life this summer has been all about putting family and family needs first. I did plan a few classes, which were very poorly attended ....or not attended at all. So, needless to say, I didn't really have much to post. Also, I started a new job in June too. Although it's supposed to be "part-time," at 30 hours a week and working till 6 p.m. it may as well be the full-time job it feels like! But, I must say, I really love my job, even if it has limited my time for my creative outlet.

So, the BIG news it that, after 13 years with TAC, I was actually asked to submit some samples for the stamp of the Month for September.

You can check out the ones TAC liked here.

And below are the samples they did not include on their website:

(The first two show outside and inside the card.....)

(So, sometimes, even when I use the preview tool, my pics and text come out kind of weird looking. Sorry about that!)

Here's the last bit of news.....CLASS INFO!!

Tech Tuesdays will continue the first Tuesday of the month. (I will just have to be better organized and of course, have better cooperation from my family.)

So, those dates are:

Oct. 6, November 3, and December 1 all at 7:00 p.m. Come & learn 2 techniques and make an instruction card for your book and a sample greeting card for only $5.

Monday, Sept. 28. Halloween Treats & goodies. 7:00 p.m. $10

Make 3 spooky treats for your special goblins!

Thursday, October 22. Matchbox Advent Calendar. $25

Most of you have seen the candy box.... this one is even bigger!!

Monday, November 30. Calendars. $20

Make 3 calendars, just in time for gift giving for the new year.

Monday, December 14. Frame it up $20

Just in time for those last minute gifts! A great way to display photos is always an aprreciated present!

All classes listed above are limited to 10 people. Reservation must be made at least 3 days prior to class.

Also, mark the date for the 4th Annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack

Saturday, November 14 (time & location to be announced later)

Now, just keep in mind.... class dates may change due to school scheduling....

postcards are going out this week!

and one last photo.....

the reason I've been so busy this summer, and the big reason I went back to work...

Rebecca started at Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR this fall. Here she is on the beach.....

Just in time for DAD!

Toilet tube mini book for Dad's Day!

Just a sample of the book we will be doing tonight at class in the cave. I will actually get this one complete before Father's Day!

Sorry for the lengthy delays in posting....

My oldest survived High School and has graduated, #2 is moving on to Middle School, #3 and #4 have maintained a healthy "status quo" and between all the stress of other life altering events we hoped for but then didn't happen it seems that life is getting back to it's normal run of chaos in the Limone household!

Now...

Here are some quick instructions for the mini book:

Keep in mind that the size of the tubes varies from brand to brand and even sometimes from roll to roll.
Supplies:
Empty toilet tubes
Sanding block
Big Shot
Decorative papers & CS
Embellishments
Adhesives
Directions:
1. Flatten the tubes and sand off the excess toilet paper if needed. (It may help to run the edges over the edge of a table or to run through a BigShot. You can also rubberband a bunch together and let them sit for a while.)
2. Most toilet tubes can be covered with a 6 x 6 piece of paper. You will want to have enough paper to overlap the roll and each edge by ½ inch for a finished edge.
3. Punch holes with a Crop-a-dile, drill press, or the Bind-it-all on one side of the tube. You can finish the raw edges of your punched holes with eyelets. (If you punch with the Bind-it-all I recommend securely adhering the paper to the tube along the edge you will be punching.) Use binder rings or binding wire to put your pages together.
4. Make tags to go inside your tubes! My measurements were 2 ⅜” x 3 ¾” but remember tube sizes vary so you will want to measure & adjust to your tubes if needed.
5. Decorate as desired!

6x6 papers

Here is a shot of some simple cards I made using just one 6x6 piece of decorative paper cut into strips.

I'll be heading to Kansas next weekend and I'm hoping it will give my mojo the boost it needs. I admit I've been in a horrible funk that just doesn't seem to lift.

I would like to thank all of you who have visited my blog for all the great comments you leave. I appreciate it more than I can tell you!

MIA...

So, first I had computer issues, for what seemed like "all time and eternity" then the camera goes MIA with all the photos I had ready to post.


My DH thought it would be a good idea, since MY camera is the oldest that he & Bubba get to use it as their "fishing" camera. Okay, no problem.... except I still use it for my stuff too!!


Needless to say, after weeks of complaining... and somewhat searching... the camera turned up, in DH's fishing vest.... imagine that!! Me thinks he has "permanently" confiscated the "no longer MY camera" to be THEIR "fishing" camera. Time to come up with a plan B, I suppose.





Anyway....


Here is a photo of some of the cards I created w a y back in January. We used Joseph's Dreamcoat Technique to create the colorful trees.



Upcoming classes:
Tech Tues. on March 3 at 7:00 and
Stamp Camp on Wed. March 11 at 7:00.

February class date changes!!!!

I have some schedule conflicts coming up. Life does tend to get in the way sometimes, what can I say?

Tech Tuesday: Usually first Tuesday of the month will be moved to Thursday, February 5.

Stamp Camp: Usually second Wednesday of the month will be moved to Thursday, Feb. 12.

Thanks for understanding! See you there!

Stacked Boxes in a Box

Hello my friends out in blogger-land! I know, you must think I fell off the planet by now. Sorry about the L O N G haitus... I do have several excuses....

There's been a lot going on in my personal life full of all the details I normally avoid here.

Our hard drive at home took a nose dive.

My mojo has been a no show for quite some time.

Anyway...to make it up to you I have a tutorial ready to go! I will be doing this as a class at the Scrappy Moose in Delta on Saturday.

Supplies:
12” cutter (not shown)
2 - 12” coordinating sheets of Designer Paper (DP)
1 – 12” sheet of coordinating cardstock
4 – 2¼” x 5” medium weight chipboard
1 – 1” x 5“ medium weight chipboard
Tim Holtz Screw Knob
Adhesives: Dot n’ Roller, Mounting Tape, Zip Dry glue, Ruler, Scissors, Pencil, Bone Folder, Spacer (created from 3 pieces of med. weight chipboard)

Directions:

Cut DP to required sizes.

A: Outside of box: cut selected DP to 6” x 12”
B: Inside of box & lid: From second piece of DP, cut a piece 4⅞ “ x 12” and then from the remainder, cut a 7¼” square.
(You can use the remainder of your DP for cardmaking, photo backgrounds or other crafting projects!)
Cut 12” cardstock into four 6” squares.

1. On the WRONG side of A, start with your 1” x 5” piece of chipboard and glue down to the left side of your paper with a ½” border on the left, top, and bottom. (I used ZipDry because it’s aggressive, will provide adequate coverage, won’t wrinkle, and dries quickly.)

2. Then put your spacer along the edge of your piece of chipboard and glue down a 2¼“ x 5”. Be careful and align the top and bottom with your first piece ½” from the top & bottom.

3. Repeat step 2 three more times. Your project will look like this:

4. Crease edges all the way around. (A Bone Folder is very helpful to get nice creases.)

5. Trim corners with a scissor. Be careful not to trim too closely to the chipboard!! Leave approximately ⅛” from corner of chipboard.)

6. Adhere the edges to the chipboard using the Dot n’ Roller.

7. Crease the ½” edge between the chipboard pieces and then carefully fold each section. Use your bone folder to crease the outside edges.

8. Lay the 4⅞” x 12” piece of DP (B) over your prepared piece and hold it down with a ⅛” border on the left, top, and bottom. Use your bone folder to create a crease between the pieces of chipboard all the way across. On the right side ⅛” from edge, mark your DP where you need to trim. (I cut approximately 1¼” off the end.) Optional: Ink the edges of this paper .

9. Glue down each section one at a time with ZipDry. (I used my bone folder to help smooth the paper and keep the creases in place while I glued.) This completes the box frame.

10. With your ruler and pencil, mark the center of the four 6” pieces of cardstock and the 7¼” square of DP instead of folding to find the center.

Create origami boxes from all the squares. (Box instructions here)

11. Apply mounting tape to one side of the four cardstock boxes. Adhere boxes to the inside of the box frame. The first box center side to side on the last 2¼” panel aligning the bottom along the edge of the inside DP (B). The second box center in the next panel 1¼” from the bottom.

The third box center in the next panel 2½” from the bottom. The

fourth box center in the panel and align the top edge of the box with the top edge of the inside DP (B).

12. Poke or punch a hole in the center of the DP origami box and screw in the knob.
Use your box to hold jewelry or give as a gift filled with candy!

Really? For me?

Carol in Arizona nominated me for this Award. Isn't she a sweetie? And fantastically talented too! You just have to go and peruse her blog. I "case" her stuff all the time. I think she is the encouraging one, really. But then perhaps we all encourage eachother.

Now on to the business portion of this illustrious award.

The rules for the Encouraged Blogger Award are:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog. (check.)
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award. (check.)
3. Nominate 5 blogs. (check - See below.)
4. Put links to their blogs. (check - Just click on their name.)
5. Leave a message for your nominees. (check.)

There are blogs I frequent regularly just because these gals are so FABULOUS and creative and encouraging and inspirational and ...okay...you get the idea.

1. Julie
2. Heather
3. Laurie Unger
4. Lisa
5. Angela (oops! Carol nominated her too! I didn't catch that till I left my comment. See how encouraging she is!!)
6. Seleise (this is really my number five...again!)

Now, are you hoppin' on over to their blogs? You should be!!

'08 Peek #4

Don't have any Christmas stamps? (Not that I would believe that of ANY of you!!) Well, try thinking out of the box and use something non-traditional.

We all have some regular everyday stamps. It's time to start multi purposing our supplies, especially in these days of recession where we all have to watch how we spend our crafting dollar.

This card uses the Welcome Home set. Not really a Christmas set, huh? Well, it's all in how you use it... decorate it... color it... embellish it!!

And now, for something different...

Any Monty Python fans? ...nevermind.

Julie created a really cute Get Well goodie last year, and I thought it was brilliant. ('Course, most of her ideas ARE brilliant.) Now, usually you just can not improve any of Jewel's ideas and they are totally worthy of a "direct case". For this one, I just tweeked her idea a wee bit.

I saw a couple other little gems while blurfing and had a "lightbulb moment" thought of just putting all of it together...
So...I added a bit to the "Get Well Goodie" with the throat lozenges and Emergen-C (or Airborne comes in individual packets now too!) and put it all in a cup holder designed by Lauren that was originally made as a Hot Cocoa set. And, what would be cuter than some tissues in a holder that says "Bless You," of course! Thanks to Dani for sharing the template.

Note: I had to adjust both of these templates a titch to fit the tissue packs & cups I was using, so check your measurments.

DANG!!! Now you all know my BIG secret! I just combine or tweek other fabulous ideas into something almost original.
Really though, big KUDOS to Julie, Lauren and Dani for sharing all that they share on their blogs (and myriads of others, too!). I'm really thankful that I don't have to take the time to make a tutorial or figure out how to share a PDF file for a template. And I certainly wouldn't want to do such a thing and then and pretend it was MINE!! Why re-invent the wheel? I'm ecstatically happy to "give credit where credit is due" and these fabulous truly creative ladies definitely deserve the nod! (Okay, I'm now stepping off my little soap box on blogging manners.)


Say! You know, now that I think about it...wouldn't this be really cute for a Thanksgiving (or Christmas) Hostess Gift with a quart of Apple Cider (or wine) on one side and mulling spices on the other? Yummy!!

Or, you could just give the bottle with a "hang tag pouch" with the same spices.

See...that's just how my mind works...running from one idea to the next...

Or maybe....nevermind! You can figure it out, hey?

'08 Peek #3

Really! It's tougher than it looks!
Heather originally created this card and I just had to share it.
Don't YOU wish we still could get this Merry Wishes paper? Yeah, me too!

'08 Peek #2

Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus.....

Can you hear it?

Just remember.... you gotta believe if you want to receive!!

More to come in the next few days. I still have a couple spots open, but time is running out!