Updates....

The camera situation is improving. I have heard from Nikon and my camera is on the mend. Which is good news for all of you as I will be able to post creations again!

April 1st is TAC-nique Tuesday, 7 p.m. Be sure to join in! We learn two techniques, make a 4x6 sample page with instructions for a tech-book and then create 2 cards with the techniques we learned. All for only $5. What a steal of a deal! Not to mention FUN! And I have replenished the supply of M&M's and pretzels. Be sure to let me know you are coming so I can have supplies prepped for everyone!
Upcoming dates: May 6, June 3, July will be skipped due to Holiday & vacations, August 5

Wednesday, April 9 is the last monthly Stamp Camp before we switch to every other month. On the slate is a mini-book featured by Heather Scott on her blog and in the latest Scor-Pal newsletter. TOO cute! I know you'll all love this one! Also we need a Card Organizer after creating all those cards at the Stamp-a-Stack. And we'll do one more great project...but I keep changing my mind...so I'm not revealing what that will be. (Well, at least we have lots of options for future Stamp Camps!)
By the way, keep saving those Crystal Light cartons! Everyone will need to have 2 cartons each to create Pam Plencner's fabulous organizer!
Upcoming dates: June 10, August 13, October 8

Creative Escapes will continue once a month. I tried to do Saturdays and Fridays, but, let's face it....Saturdays are nearly impossible! So, we'll stick to the last Friday of the month and start at 6 p.m. Upcoming dates: April 25, May 30, JUNE will be cancelled due to vacation

3rd Annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack will be Saturday, November 22. This is the weekend before Thanksgiving.

The Hostess Hoopla event will be in January 2009. You will get to preview the new catalog and receive a special coupon book good for the entire year! Remember you can participate in this event by being a FUNshop hostess anytime during 2008!

'You Make My Day' Award -- Thanks!!

WOW!! I got this from Heather Scott who is a constant source of inspiration and motivation for me! How great is this!! Thanks SO much! You are totally fabulous!!

There are 5 rules attached to this and they are:
1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

5) To show these rules.

The five blogs I have selected are:

Carol Norby

Rita Kegg

Vicki Hook

Laurie Unger

Trudy Osborn

I really would have added Julie Griffith, but I didn't want to double-whammy her since Heather also gave her this award also. These are the gals I check frequently for ideas and inspiration. Be sure to check out all these sites!

Faux Suede Tree

See all the great stuff your missing at the TAC-nique Tuesday class? This is the card we made using the Faux suede technique with Liquid Applique. Do you like the black torn edge? Looks nice, huh? Okay....I cheated! It's really black cardstock under the brown LA. Sure saved lots of time inking the edge though! So, there's a little free tip for you...Liquid Applique IS opaque so you can use whatever color cardstock under it, especially if you want a colored torn edge. This is definitely a card that can be made in less than 10 minutes! I wish the screen had a "touch & feel" option so you could feel the texture where the tree (from the Good Timber set) is stamped. Next class will be April first for all you technique crazy fools!
Okay, so, now I'm officially out of photos...so, it will be a couple days before I blog again. I am working on stuff though! I have not heard from Nikon yet about my camera...perhaps I'll hear something by the end of the week...

Journey Manila journal

Here is a photo of a manila envelope book I created a while ago. This was the first Prop swap I ever made. I used the Sand of Time paper and also Rustic Chic. I had a couple pieces of cardstock that matched the envelopes perfectly and I slipped those inside also! This project was inspired by a class at A Scrapbooker's Dream in Delta. I hope it inspires you!

Class Updates:

Friday night will be open craft night. Starts at 5:00...come when you can!

For those of you that missed the Spring Stamp-a-Stack...we had loads of fun!! Next one will be Saturday before Thanksgiving for the 3rd Annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack.

Next Stamp Camp will be Wenesday, April 9 at 7:00. Be sure to let me know you are coming so I can prep supplies. We will be creating a mini scrapbook, a monthly card holder, and ....something else!

For anyone drinking Crystal Light...please save your packaging tubes!!

Hopefully I'll have more to post after I get my camera back or get a new one!! (I'm hoping for a new one this weekend!)

Pull-up Bug Card

Here is the other pull-up card we did at the last Stamp Camp. First photo shows the card closed, the 2nd open, and the 3rd open as side view.

Hope you enjoy! Hopefully this weekend I'll be getting a new camera! Yea!

Stamp-a-Stack this weekend!

Don't forget the Spring Stamp-a-Stack is this weekend in the CraftCave! I wanted to post a preview, but alas, my camera is still broken. Remember to bring your favorite adhesives. I'll see you at 4:00 & food will be provided!

Hey! I forgot to tell you we had Leprachauns visit the house this year! Dominic, my youngest, was very excited about St. Patty's for some reason. He asked for green paper to leave the leprachauns a note. Would you believe they came and left their "magic" all over the house? Well, they did leave a little treat for the kids, so I can forgive them the mess. When I get a camera, I'll take a photo and post. Dominic was thrilled!! I guess the leprachauns didn't go to every house, just if you left a note apparently! Maybe next year they could leave a treat without the mess!

March TAC-nique Tuesday cards

At the last TAC-Tuesday we did bouncing brayer and rock-n-roll. Both techs were used to create the cards shown here. Instead of having a designed card for the gals to make, I challenged them to use the techniques and create their own card.

What do you think? We have some creative gals, huh?

Next class, on April 1st (see calendar on right) we will do another 3 techniqes: thumping, kissing, & kiss with a twist. Intrigued? Come & check it out!! You can click on the calendar to see details and to reserve a spot too!

Tree Trivet

Another project from our Stamp Camp. (Sorry for the fuzzy pic...I am hoping to have a new camera soon.!) This is a quick & easy tumbled tile trivet. Tumbled tiles come in a variety of sizes. This one is 6 inches square. The 4 inch squares make great coasters!

We stamped the tree and the pinecone from the Good Timber set with Burnt Umber Palette ink and colored with Chalk and then sealed with Krylon finish. You can use Satin, Glossy or Matte depending on how you want your finished product to look. Of course you need to put some cork or felt on the back of your tile. I think cork works best and you can use our cork paper and adhere it with YES! glue.

Oops! It was yesterday....

Well, silly me! I should have posted this yesterday, huh? Anyway...this is the CD chip pin we made at the Stamp Camp last Wednesday.

To cut your CD up, I hold it with pliers under hot running water. (You could probably put a pot on the stove & do it that way too in order to conserve water.) The heat makes it easier to cut, especially if you use decorative scissors. Using a heat gun is a bit too hot & will warp your CD....unless you want that effect, of course! A blow dryer might work well though.

To color the CD, we used PH Martin's calligraphy inks, green & gold. You could use acrylic paint too. When your ink is dry, stamp your image or sayings or both. (The stamps here are TAC but have been discontinued.) Then cover with embossing ink or Versamark and add UTEE & heat set. Do another layer of UTEE but this time ink up a stamp & have it ready to stamp as soon as the UTEE melts and stamp in the melted UTEE. You can see the larger shamrock at the bottom of the pin. (Not placed very well, I admit, but still visible.) When the UTEE cools a bit then pull your stamp back off. This will leave a slight impression of the stamp on your pin. If you would like to add charms, drill a small hole & add your jump ring and charm. The pin back needs to be added with E-6000 so it adheres well.

Stamp Camp Pull -up cards

So, I have to tell you what happened. Right after I finished downloading my pics from our Stamp Camp & the last TAC-nique Tuesday my camera died. I don't mean it needs new batteries. I mean it is dead. It is now permanently stuck in the halfway open position and making horrible noises. Aaarrrrrgghhhh!!!!! I can't live without my camera!!!! Lucky for me I got the photos downloaded & cleared the memory BEFORE it died, huh? What a blessing!!

At our stamp camp we did 4 projects. Two of them were pull up cards. I figured since they are closely related it would be fun to try them both. Well, I admit we had a lot of trial and error on the double pull up card, but eventually it all came together! For this project we used Mulberry Meadow cardstock, Versamagic pads (the colors from the Jewel box & Flower pot Dew Drop sets complimented the cardstock very nicely) and Write it although we did have some subsitutions with the Ordinary Greetings set. There was some debate as to what should be stamped first, flowers or stems & leaves, but as we all know....there are NO mistakes in stamping, only creative opportunities. Either that or just flip it over & it's a do-over!!

I created a pattern to cut the slits on the inside since I didn't own the punch used in the directions. You know, I will say, although the job can be accomplished, the right tool sure would have made this card a snap instead of work!!

You'll also notice at the top of the pull-out, I stamped a bit too close to the edge and my words show through the pull out section. Ooops!! Well, next card I'll fix those little errors...either stamping to the side a bit more or lower. I think I would also punch an opening with the Instant Setter & the slot punching set, slip my ribbon through and then staple. I also found that the front pull up section needed to be cut down from the instructions. So, word to the wise, when making a specialty card, kind of "test run" before adding permanent adhesive!!

My Winter Roundup Fav!!

This was my favorite 3-D item at the Winter Roundup. Pam Plencner created this. Isn't it Fabulous!! I'm thinking teacher gifts for Back-to-School or Christmas. Or better yet...my own desk could use one of these organizers!

Hmmm.....perhaps an upcoming Stamp Camp project? Leave me a comment with suggestions for upcoming stamp camps. If you see items on my blog (or someone else's) you'd like to create I would love to know! I could definitely use some ideas!

Tomorrow I'll start posting things I've been doing since the roundup...like the TAC-Tueday cards and Stamp Camp items.

Don't forget to RSVP for the Stamp-a-Stack! I've got 7 so far...won't YOU join us? Besides, you don't want to miss my mini Italian sausag sandwiches!!! Yummy!! And I'll even put out the pretzels and M&M's.

Fabulous Gift Wrap made E-Z!!

Check out this cute lunch bag! Yes, that's right, it's a lunch bag. Okay...so it's green. Another one of my fantastic shopping finds at Target. (Sorry for the glare.) This was how I packaged my prop swap for the Winter Roundup. It also happens to be an example of why we save all those slim strips of decorative paper! You just never know when you'll be able to use them! You can't see it very well in the photo, but the yellow strip is stamped in Chartreuse with a saying from the Little Things set. I also added a mini clothespin as a closure for the bag, also decorated with a paper scrap from Miss Moxie. I used the Crop-o-dile to punch a hole in the clip and the wood fence post which doubles as a bone folder! I thought it would be nice to have one with a clip to attach to a scramping tote to make it easily accessible. I know that's what I would need!! The "bone folder" is stamped with the Life is too short set because life IS too short to run all over town to save five bucks!

Hostess gift for Julie

Before leaving for the Winter Angel Roundup in Kansas, I had to drive from Paonia to Denver where I met up with Julie who graciously let me spend Thurs. evening with her and her wonderful family! Now, you know, a stamper just can't bring any kind of hostess gift...it has to be altered or decorated somewhere with stamps or some of TAC's fabulous paper!! Now the candle in the tin, which in this photo is actually behind the basket handle should look familiar (this was a sorority gift, remember?) The other jar is some great skin sugar. Those of use who live in Colorado really suffer from dry skin and this stuff is great!! I just put some Pop Rockz paper on the lid with one of the tags...stamped of course! I added a flower, ribbon, and some paper floss and the results are FAB!! I also added some chocolate and aren't those flower suckers too cute for words?

You would not believe the fabulous finds I get at the DollarTree and and the $1 spot at Target! I'm always looking for fabulous deals or great little gift items that can be altered or embellished.

Invites are going out today for the Spring Stamp-a-Stack. It is the day before Easter, Sat. March 22nd. Don't forget to RSVP as space is limited to 20!!

Triple trees

If you've ever been to Colorado, you'll know that the trees here really are tall & skinny. These trees are from the Camping set and the saying up in the corner is from the Be Still set. I used the Tombow markers to color the stamp before pressing the image. Makes it easy to get the dual green & brown tones that way. I tried one with stickles, but I have to say, it just didn't look right. Janine Robertson, fellow angel from Colorado Springs, suggested using the glue pad and prisma glitter. She may be onto something there! I have been back from Winter roundup for 2 weeks and still haven't had a chance to try it. This was her favorite of the swap cards I did.

Remember to call me to reserve a spot for the Stamp-a-stack on March 22nd if you plan on attending.

Winter Roundup Prop Swap

Here is a photo of the prop swap I made for the Winter Roundup. I had a lot of fun making this! You'll need to click on the pic to see a larger version. I love this paper! And, let's face it...it is very nice to have coordinated papers with cute tags, hardware, and matching ribbons! Not much time spent mixing and matching since it's already done!

March Events

TAC-nique Tuesday: March 4, 7:00 p.m. in the Craft Cave we will be doing Faux Suede, Rock-n-roll, and BONUS tech...bouncing brayer. Next technique class will be April 1. $5 or free with $20 order. Limited to 8.
Stamp Camp: March 12, 7:00 p.m. CD pin, Tumbled tile trivet, slide-pull card. $15 or $5 off an order of at least $30. Limited to 10.
Cracy Craft Night: March 28, starts at 5:00 p.m. & goes till midnight. Arrive when you can & work on your own projectsor catch up on TAC-nique classes. My gadgets & supplies are available for your use. Some supplies have a nominal fee,like cardstocks & paper. No fee for this event, just bring a snack to share.

Spring Stamp-a-Stack: March 22, 4:00 p.m. get some thank-you and birthday cards ready to go! $20 for 20 cards (4 ea of 5 designs) or free with a $40 order.

Reserve your spot for this event by March 14th!!

Gratitude Coin Envelope Mini-book

I entered this mini-book at our Winter Gathering contest, this one didn't win, but I like it! (Trudy won with an awesome fold out book.) I really like these little coin envelope books! This one is made with Mimi paper and tags, the Gratitude set and the new It's the little things level A Hostess set.