October Gulf Coast Crop n Shop Weekend Classes!!!

We are soooo excited about this crop and these classes!!!
The vendors have come up with some great projects for everyone. We hope you love them!! Support your vendors by taking classes, they will definitely appreciate it!!

You may sign up for classes ahead of time. Please pay your class fees directly to your instructors at the event. If you sign up for something, please make sure to be there, as the instructors prepare the kits ahead of time. If you cannot make it to your scheduled time, the instructors will be happy to sell you the kit, and I am sure can help you some time over the weekend.
The samples will be on display at the crop, and you can sign up there as long as there are kits still available.

We will update this post as new classes are added!!

Friday, October 18th

Noon- Message Board Class     Scraphappy     $12

            Supplies to bring to class: Adhesive, glue dots, Crop a dile if you have one. These make
            PERFECT gifts, learn how to make them so you can make personalized, inexpensive
            Christmas gifts!

  2pm- Project Life with CTMH   Tina Sutton     $29

            Project Life is all the rage. It makes scrapbooking simple, fast and do-able. It's a manageable 
            way to keep up with your scrapbooking. Here are some possibilities: *weekly pages, monthly
            pages, vacations, pets, a child's album, new house, your job, school year. The possibilities are
            endless! Let me show you how!
            My theory is start current and work backwards. In this class we will create 6 fall pages using  paper, stick ease, stamps, embellishments, pocket pages, and flip flaps to make it interactive.
           Your kit will include the following:
Paper, coordinating stickers, accessories, metal studs, horizontal and vertical pages and some flip flaps! This class will be fun and a great way to get fall pages done whether you are scrapbooking traditionally or the Project Life way.
          Please bring adhesive, 3-d foam tape, paper trimmer that can cut 12x12 paper, and baby
          powder.

4pm- All Occasion Card Class     Lashonda Idlebird   $13
         

  ***This is a 1 Hour Class***

Choose your own paper from a wide range of kits for this class.  We will complete 5 cards with plenty of supplies left over to do more! Please bring basic toolkit to class.

 

     630pm    Gypsy Class      Teresa Dorr     $22

     Come learn some great techniques using your die cutting machine! Samples will be available

     at the crop!

 

    

Saturday, October 19th

 

9am    Christmas Cards with CTMH     Tina Sutton     $29

Please join me for a class of holiday magic. It's a card workshop to kick off the Christmas Season. This class contains directions, products, stamp sets, everything you need to make 15 cards. 3 designs- 5 cards each!  Your kit will include: Exclusive Stamp Set 2 Frosted B&T Paper 5 Cardstock Sheets 15 cards, envelopes, silver glitter gems, champagne twine, color instructions, and the
Christmas Cards. Additional supplies to bring to class:  Paper Trimmer, Scissors, Adhesive, 3 D tape, Inks if you have them- Twilight, Ruby and Olive! (optional).

11am     Disney Countdown Calendar (may also choose to make the calendar Christmas Themed)
Pic coming soon!! Are you a Disney fanatic??! This acrylic countdown calendar is sooo cool!!
More info on this one coming up!

1pm     Layout of your Choice Class     Lashonda Idlebird   $25
***This is a 1-hour class!!***

Let's get some layouts done!  In this class we will complete (3) One page layouts and you will be able to complete the companion pages on your own.  The companion pages are included in the class.  This is going to be a fast paced class, so be ready to move!   ***You will get to choose from four different layout kits.***

 

 

3pm  Interactive Card Class   with Teresa Dorr    $22

We will be learning 4 folding and other techniques to make cards and as a bonus, how to make

an envelope for any size card and for bulky cards. **I cant figure out how to get the flyer for this class on here at this moment, will add it ASAP.

7pm   Mini Album Project Life Style with Lashonda  $19  ***1-Hour Class!!***

We are going to make a mini album in this class that will have sheet protectors for you to add your photo's to.  The album will have enough space for you to add plenty of photo's and embellishments.  We will complete the base of the pages and you will add your finishing touches on your own!

 

Sunday, October 20

 

 

9am  Disney Layout Class      Lashonda Idlebird   $13

PICS COMING SOON!!

  ***This is a 1 Hour Class***

Come and join me for a Disney Layout Class that will be sure to add a little sparkle to you album!  I will be including a project life style sheet protector that will allow you to add those extra photo's too.  There will be a companion (2) page layout for sale after the class for $6. 

 

11am     "Things I Love"  Acrylic Flip Album  Scraphappy    $22

 

Come create this pretty acrylic flip album! Great as a gift or to fill with photos and stick on your desk! Many titles to choose from!

 

***We will keep adding classes and info as we get it!! ***

If you want to sign up for something, please email at scraphappypensacola@yahoo.com with name and name of class. Thanks!!





 

 

 

 



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What's in Your Special Drawer??

Often I get in a creative rut and forget about some of the fun items that I have picked up over the years. My pages and cards all start to look about the same with minimal variations. One of the great ways that I find to boost my creativity is to sit down and just start stamping images, or cutting a variety of die cut designs with no real plan in mind. This was the beginning of the “cat on the fence” card.

I had a stash of die cuts and sat down determined to use some of them. This fun Tim Holtz "On The Edge" fence die and the cloud punch got me to thinking. I can make a fence, add some flowers, maybe some stickers and – wait a minute, what about the drawer with the brads and eyelets. I have cats, frogs, stars, sock monkeys, and dots of all colors. I have a tiny bag of paper flowers to hold those pastel flower brads. It was definitely a case for out of sight out of mind.

 

 

Lawn Fawn and Hero Arts have out some great stamp / die cut sets. For those of you like me who find trimming tiny designs tedious, this is a great answer. I tried both stamping first and cutting first with fairly equal success. I love the look of a nicely trimmed image and this makes it so easy. By stamping my birds in color, all I had to do was attach them at a saucy angle to some pretty pink paisley paper that has a touch of blue in the design. I added a pop dot under the middle of the line to give the birds some dimension. Scraphappy has several such sets to get you started.

I saw a card with the gate opening in a magazine and remembered classes where I had made such cards. Now it seems mine were all the same. Just cutting the card stock vertically or using a gate fold adds such a spark of fun. Then I remembered that I still had a couple of pink ribbon die cuts from a class at Scraphappy, and the card was complete.

So dig into your special stash, pick up a new die cut, buy a craft magazine, pull out the brads and eyelets that you are saving for a special occasion and see what you can get started.

Using Paper to create in The Cereal Box Art Journal

Never knowing when and what I am going to be in the mood to create, this month I woke up at about 4 am each morning wanting to play with paper to go in the Cereal Box Art Journal.  I would only play for about an hour or two before it was time for me to rest.  While I was playing, I made a banner to go on the left side of the page.  On the right side of the page, a full size pocket was created with a file card to fit.  Tim Holtz distress pads were used to create color and texture to the pocket.

 On the one side of the file pocket card, I placed two Polaroids with Journal space. 

On the other side of the file card, I decorated with a Polaroid where photos can be placed. I also did two tags placed in a pocket.  It was a lot of fun creating this page.  Make sure to use your imagination to place what ever your creative mind comes up with in the empty spaces and make sure to have fun with this as I did!

Supplies:

Paper

Twine

Glossy accents

Tim Holtz distress pads

Using Coordinated Collections - A Challenge

Happy May, Ladies!

How many of y'all made it to the Gulf Coast Crop and Shop weekend in April? I was able to go for a few hours on Saturday and was impressed with how creative you ladies are. Well done! While I was there, I picked up some fun new Basic Grey papers and stickers to play with. There are times when I want to mix and match patterns and manufacturers. There are times I want to be artsy and make my own backgrounds and embellishments. And then there are times that I want quick and easy. I don't want to think about whether this paper matches that paper. I just want to grab supplies and pictures and create. The easiest thing to do at these times is to use products from a single manufacturer. Scrapbooking companies spend many hours designing and producing lines that coordinate. They WANT to make this easy on us. They WANT us to be able to use their papers and letters and stickers and stamps all together. That is their goal! And sometimes, that is exactly what I want, too.

The line that I brought home to play with was Basic Grey's new Bowties line from their winter CHA release. They had several bright and happy lines this release, including Hipster, Bowties, and Kneehighs, but this is what I chose to play with. All the supplies coordinate. All the supplies are colorful. All the supplies begged me to play with them. All I added to my layouts was some cardstock, ink, and miscellaneous bits and pieces. Everything else came from the Bowties collection.

My challenge to you this month: Choose a line of products that you like. Pull out 3-4 papers from that line, plus some coordinating embellishments, and create a layout (or card or whatever project that you are inspired to make). You may add whatever supplies you want to your project. Post a link to your project here or to the ScrapHappy Facebook page before June 3, and Christy will randomly choose someone to win a $5 credit to the store to spend however she wants!

This first layout, I added washi tape and a printed label from Studio Calico. The journalling block was actually packaging from the Basic Grey enamel dots, and the letters were cut from one of the papers in the collection.

 I only added cardstock to this second layout.

 On this last layout, I added cardstock, washi tape, thickers, more label stickers, and some stitching (a friend loaned me her new Amy Tangerine stitching template, so I was experimenting and playing...highly recommend this product...so...much...fun...).

So...are you ready? Then run grab your collection of papers, get set, and GO!!! I look forward to seeing what you create!

Supplies:
- patterned paper, stickers, brads, enamel dots, transparent frames - Basic Grey
- washi tape - Doodlebug, Hambly
- label stickers, thickers - Studio Calico
- stitching template - Amy Tangerine
- cardstock, stamping ink, bubble wrap/dots stamp

Mineral Spirits... who knew?

I love my Copic markers so much that sometimes I forget about the humble color pencils. There are such beautifully soft colors in my hummingbird. I wanted to get a good blend of blue and violet but sometimes the colors remain flat. That’s where a surprise from the garage comes in handy, mineral spirits. You can use those Crayola color pencils that have been stashed in the drawer. They work very well with mineral spirits. By taking a Tortillon blender (pointed little rolled pieces of paper) and dipping the tip into the mineral spirits, you can blend the blue and violet to get a vibrant blue violet on my birds.

In this pretty tulip card, the mineral spirits blend the colors into something special. There is a smooth mix of the soft shadows and the vibrant edges. So next time you sit down to color and just can’t get the life like quality that you want, pull out your color pencils and mineral spirits.

Simple Stories Vintage Bliss

I love the Simple Stories Vintage Bliss paper pad and find it to be inspiring.  I was not planning on doing another blog post, but the idea for this card just came to me, so here goes:

The paper with the alphabets reminded me of an artist trading card already decorated, so I cut the paper to 2 1/2 x 3 1/2, which is the size of an artist trading card.  I added some of the pretty paper from the Simple Stories Vintage Bliss pad, some pearls, washi tape, and twine with the Lawn Fawn Many Thanks stamp set.  The one thing I would add to the twine is a button.  I think that would add that little extra something special. 

The sentiment, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart," truly states how I feel.  I wish to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for your thoughts and prayers.

Supplies:

Simple Stories - Vintage Bliss 6 x 6 Paper Pad

Lawn Fawn - Many Thanks

Ranger - Archival Ink - Jet black

 Washi tape

Why Use Divided Page Protectors?

Greetings and Salutations!

How many of you have heard of Project Life or have wondered what to do with those lovely divided page protectors that Scraphappy carries? According to Becky Higgins (www.beckyhiggins.com), Project Life can be anything you want it to be. Some people use it as a photo-a-day project. Some people use it to document weeks at-a-glance. Some use it to corral all the stuff of life that accumulates in our homes. But me? I use it to help with my everyday stories and to include more photos from my travels. Some people choose 'only' Project Life or 'only' traditional layouts. I do both. I use the divided page protectors to include more pictures in my albums. Say you print 6 pictures of an afternoon at the beach but then only use 2 of them on your layout. What are you going to do with the extras? Sure, you can make more layouts, but if you're like me, you can only bear to scrap so many beach layouts. Or penguin pictures. Or Christmas pictures. Or birthday party pictures. Or...you get the idea. So what do I do? I scrap those 2 photos on a traditional layout, then I slide the other 4 photos into divided page protectors. If there are more photo sleeves than I have photos, then I pull some of my supplies (scraps and 6x6 paper pads work great for this) and make a mini-canvas to fill in the blocks.

Another way I have recently used Project Life and divided page protectors is to rescue an old album of pictures from a trip my husband and I took to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon in 1998. I had previously made a scrapbook with these pictures, but I used non-archival products to make it. I didn't know better. All I knew about scrapbooking at that time was those people who cut their photos into cute little shapes and decorated them with cutesy stickers...so not me. I refused to cut my pictures and make paper dolls out of cardstock. The good news? I organized my photos and journalled some of my memories in my book. The bad news? If I didn't 'redo' the album, those pictures and memories still would not have survived. So when I found a set of divided page protectors, I bought them and spent a weekend removing the adhesive from the back of the pictures and memorabilia and sliding them into these photo pocket pages. It was so easy, and I love the results. Even my husband and family have enjoyed the results. Every one of them has gone through my 'new' album and marveled at the improvement. And another perk of using the divided page protectors? Easy...good...design...with no thought required. The designers who created the pages based them on solid grid-based design principles, so you never have to worry about an unbalanced layout.

 I hope this post has inspired you to try out divided page protectors. You may love it. You may not. But either way, you'll have discovered a new way to preserve your memories.

And now, quickly, before I go, I have a few questions to answer:
1. Scrapaholic Mommy asked: how did you do the white stamp is there white ink out that i don't know about LOL???
Answer: There are various brands and forms of white ink available on the market. I've tried several, but my favorites tend to be chalk and craft inks. They tend to be thicker and have a richer color. But I'll let you know a little secret...I rarely actually use the white inks. I cheat. I use clear Versamark ink then emboss them with white embossing powder. Works every time ;)

2. Leslie asked: So Cori, do you have pictures of your completed non-wintry album that you did? I'd like to see it.
Answer: I wish! The album is at ScrapHappy, so feel free to head over there to flip through the album all you want!

Supplies:
- page protectors - American Crafts, WeRMemoryKeepers, office supply store
- journalling cards - Becky Higgins, American Crafts
- label stickers - October Afternoon, unknown