It's Just Me... Kim

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T17:13:00.001-05:00

Happy

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Kim and Donna thank you for supporting KD Craft Concepts these past few months. We are looking forward to bringing you some great inspiration and products in 2012!

Open House Sunday, October 23rd from 12-4PM!

2011-10-22T23:25:00.000-04:00

I'm hosting my first open house on Sunday, October 23rd from 12-4PM. Stop on by my home and see my all new studio! Sit down, make a little art and enjoy some refreshments!

The first 3 people in the door will receive a door prize!

I'll have some catalogs available if you feel like you need some supplies and I do have a small store for you to peruse as well.

I'd love to see you! Be sure to stop on by and say Hi!

284 Beulah St
Whitman, MA

eBay...

2011-10-19T14:19:00.001-04:00

Has anyone out there ever eBayed before? It's hard work, huh!

I've got several items that I've been meaning to get rid of for months and with the restructuring of my craft room and the children's room I just need to make space. Never mind not having a regular paying job this last month as well. I've given away a bunch of stuff, thrown away broken things and donated a majority if books and clothing but there is some craft type supplies I decided would be best suited to eBay. I even have a few things I might put up on Etsy but that's a different adventure, I'm sure.

So I listed some basket weaving items and some stamping items up on eBay. First, let me say.... It takes about 15 minutes to list each item. That doesn't count answering questions, packaging and mailing.

Then the fees involved are huge! 9% from eBay and the another 2.9%+.10 for Paypal. eBay even takes fee from your shipping. So I already know I'm going to have to cut into any profits just to pay the shipping to get these items to their new home. Ugh!

Really, I'm wondering if it would have been easier to give the stuff away. Or throw it away. I don't want to - goodness knows I never get anything for free and I don't want to pollute the world anymore than it already is. But if I end up paying someone to take the stuff off my hands, what good is that to me either?

If you are interested in any of my eBay items, you can look up my eBay name at zinfodel. Or try clicking here to get to one of my current auctions:

Browser URL:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=170713838364
Lot Of Close To My Heart Ink Pads

My only hope now is that something goes for big money. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky...

Copic class in November

2011-10-15T22:00:00.001-04:00

I'm working on my November 10th Copic class. We will be working on reds and some faces. Here's a sneak peek of the techniques we'll be working on in class.
Don't worry, it will be a card. This one was just colored. Whether you are a beginner or a regular Copic user, this class is for you!
You can sign up for class via PayPal or by contacting me directly! See this link to pay via Paypal. http://www.kimparkinson.com/Class_Information.html

Maine

2011-10-09T13:31:00.001-04:00

We went on a much needs vacation to Maine this weekend. I feel great, rejuvenated and ready to get started on my next adventure. Here are some photos of our relaxing trip...

Newsletter sign ups now available!

2011-10-01T20:45:00.000-04:00

My website is up and running!

I've got a class calendar, guest book and even a newsletter sign up page!!

I've decided to create a more professional looking newsletter and have signed up for a marketing service. If you would like to know what classes I'll be teaching, where I'll be teaching them and more, please go to http://www.kimparkinson.com/Newsletter_Sign_up.html and fill out the blanks. Even if you are a friend, this will be the place I send out all the information you need to know about classes.

On Tuesday, I'll manually add some of you who had asked to sign up to know more about Donna Maligno's and my classes while at the Cupboard. - And YES!, I'll up date the newsletter to include Donna's classes as well!!

Progressing

2011-09-30T19:11:00.001-04:00

I'm progressing on my studio. I've got a lot of stuff in the eBay pile and some things in the living room still but I'm making progress.

Organization is the key!

2011-09-30T08:48:00.001-04:00

Today is cleaning day. I'm going to sort and get most of this organized so I can work.
Here's my room right now.

Website being updated

2011-09-28T10:45:00.001-04:00

If you are looking for www.kimparkinson.com it's currently being updated. I decided to add some features (calendar, guest book, etc.) so it needed to be converted.

You should be able to see the improved site tomorrow.

All About Halloween class starts today!

2011-09-27T05:07:00.000-04:00

I have teamed up with Bethany Kartchner and Jennifer Priest and we are bringing you some fantastic projects in a brand new class called All About Halloween!

Anyone can take this class, it's online at My Creative Classroom. Class starts today but you can work at it at your own pace. We'll take sign ups through October 7th. Here's a little about the class:

Trick or Treat! Do you love spooky ghosts? Goody bags filled with candy corn? Funny spiders and spectacularly scary mini-albums and layouts?

If so, All About Halloween is for you! In this jam-packed course, taught by three amazing teachers: Kim Parkinson, Bethany Kartchner and Jennifer Priest, we'll be creating everything you need this spooky season from cute Halloween cards and goody bags to whimsical home decor to fun layouts and mini-albums to document all the precious memories. If you need inspiration this season, look no further. You are in for an entire bag of treats! No tricks!

· Week One with Kim Parkinson: Fabulous gift bags and cards using alcohol inks, distress inks and embossed metal. We'll explore ways to highlight certain areas of a design using watercolor effects with UTEE.

· Week Two with Kim Parkinson: Create a spooky coffin mini book made from cardstock. It even has an easy stitched pamphlet inside! We'll discuss embossing on metal or pliable aluminum. If you do not have access to embossable metals, no worries! Kim will give suggestions on using other household items for embossing.

· Week Three with Bethany Kartchner: BOO! This week is all about spooky ghosts. You'll meet Zeke, Spooky and a whole gaggle of adorable ghosties. We'll create not just one, but three different home decor projects based on these transparent haunts using Creative Paperclay and supplies found at your local craft store.

· Week Four with Bethany Kartchner: Silly spiders are all the rage as we further explore sculpting with Creative Paperclay. Four unique projects involving our eight-legged friends are on the docket including a Halloween wreath with a spider named Jimmy, napkin holders and Miss Samantha, the most fashionable spider in the whole arachnid kingdom. Eeek!

· Week Five with Jennifer Priest: We'll explore innovative ways to create spooky effects on three unique scrapbook pages using googly eyes, paint, ink, and more. We'll also experiment with color and quirky embellishments for a mix of "scary" pages and whimsical, child-focused pages.

· Week Six with Jennifer Priest: Memory preserving continues as Jennifer shares several versions of mini-albums to lock up all of your spooky memories using leftover decorations to create up-cycled embellishments. To top it all off, we'll create custom "spooky" woven ribbon binding using the Bind It All machine.

If you are a new scrapbooker or crafter, don't worry! We will be covering all the basics along with more advanced techniques in video demonstrations, narrated presentations, downloadable pdf tutorials, forums and a student gallery. If you aren't sure about how you'll view course materials, please read our FAQs.

The first lesson will open in a few hours. Here is a close up of the cards and gift bags we'll be making:

I hope to 'see' you in the classroom!

Art Bar is here...

2011-09-25T17:37:00.000-04:00

It's taken a lot of manuevering and lots of help from Bev, hubby and my Father but I've got the Art bar in my house! Not all the stools are here and it's no where near ready for classes but it's here! I thought some of you might like to see my before and after and what the bar looks like now...

This is before I even touched my room. You can see, there's stuff everywhere. I know the photo is tight but it gives you a general idea of what I'm working with.

After some clean up yesterday, it was looking clean but still like I had a ton of work to do...

OK, OK. I confess. It was really only this little area that was cleaned up. The colorful cart went to my son's room so that he could use it for legos.

I have two tables in my room but this is the one I usually 'worked' on. (when I could find it...)

Yah, I know. It's hard to see. It's been covered in stuff like that for probably 6 months or better.

I took to top off of it, and repurposed the cabinet part. Now the cabinet is in my kitchen where a bakers rack used to be. The baker's rack was nice but it always left everything out in the open, for all to see. Now everything is neatly contained in the cabinet. All I need now is a small shelf above it to hang some utensils.

Nice and clean looking! A white-wash of paint and it'll work out beautifully!

So, here it is... the Art Bar has made it to the house.

Now to sort and clean and get all the stuff around the room, into the bar... I'm in for a busy week...

Life...

2011-09-23T17:30:00.000-04:00

Things have changed a lot since my last post. These past few Summer months haven't been all rosey for me. Sure, I've had some great times but life's thrown me a few curve balls this Summer. Without going into too much detail, I've had some personal issues, health concerns and some career setbacks. Let me catch you up on where my career is heading...

First, let me say that I STILL have a job with My Creative Classroom. Not only do I teach classes online there but I'm also their Marketing person. It's a great place to learn and a great place to work (even better since I do it all from my home!!)

But as far as in person teaching goes...

I'm on my own. Basically. The Scrapbook Cupboard will be closing it's doors forever on September 30th (if not before). I've already taught my last class there. I've been with Bev and the Scrapbook Cupboard for 7 years. It's like loosing a ton of friends all at once. I know that many will follow me and many will keep in touch but it's not the same as seeing them at the Cupboard. This is a sad chapter for me, like missing a piece of me.

I started at the Cupboard teaching a Circle Journal class. That didn't actually run for a few years after it was introduced. My running class was a sketch series that we called "Map it Out". I had three 'regular' students. Melissa, Stacy and Susan. They stuck with me for maybe a year or so. In that year, I tried other classes but not many ran or if they did, they had small attendance. That was when the Scrapbook Cupboard was all about Scrapbooking.

About 2 years after I started, we started to move into mixed media, stamping, cardmaking and other paper crafts. That's where I really fell in love. I liked scrapbooking but I LOVED getting dirty with paints, inks and all those other goodies. From then on, I went on to aquire my certifications. Ranger's Inks, Silhouette, Ten Seconds Studio, Copic 1, Copic Intermediate and even some silly ones like the Tombow one I got at CHA this past Summer. (it wasn't really a certification as it was a class on it). Why so many certifications? To better myself so I could teach my students new ways to use their supplies. And I love teaching. I really do. I think I've got a natural ability to help others and I'm creative enough to come up with a project I'm confident enough to teach. All important traits to being a better teacher.

I've even been on some design teams, like Kandi and Dreamweaver. Both of which, I'm sad to say, I didn't put in as much as I should have. Designing for the sake of designing isn't for me. I design with ONE goal in mind... to teach it. And really, I've always had the store and it's stuff to deal with.

So, you might be thinking, "What about another store?" I have decided NOT to tie myself to any one store. I was going to. I was all set to start moving my classes over to one store but (thankfully) I found out that wasn't going to work. And now, this frees me up to be able to work in other stores and venues. I've already got some of that in the works!

For now, I've made arrangements for my ATC club to meet at a local community center. These will occur once a month and we'll enjoy each other's company and create some beautiful art to share.

As for some of my other classes, well... I bought a large bar-like table that I can teach off of right here at my house. I'll continue some of my classes here and use the community center for the larger classes. I started my own website... www.kimparkinson.com that I'm going to showcase class dates, times, prices and photos. You'll be able to view the class, chose one and pay for it all online when it's finally implemented. Very cool and very easy! I'll be working on that within the next week and hope to have it all up and ready soon with classes started after October 16th.

I need to be better with my blog now, so you can expect more frequent updates. At least several times a week. I'm ready for the challenge and I hope you are all ready for me too!

Back from vacation!

2011-05-26T14:38:00.000-04:00

Last week at this time, I was here:

Thoroughly enjoying my first family vacation out of New England. Evidently while I was away, Boston needed umbrellas the entire week.

So for Dreamweaver's blog post, since Lynell did some umbrella's, I thought I would show you some too...

Today it is gorgeous out. Let's hope it stays that way for our Memorial Day weekend and we don't need any real umbrellas any longer!

Creating fast and furiously!

2011-05-05T01:08:00.000-04:00

It's been a whirlwind here since my last post. Right before Easter, I came down with Strep throat. Unfortunately regular medication didn't touch it, so on Monday I went back to the doctor and had a different medication prescribed. This one, I 'could' be allergic to. It's a cousin of another med I am allergic to. Well, needless to say, I am. And so I've had to take the rest of my meds with a nice dose of Benedryl. Which knocks me right out! ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz.

Once I woke from my stupor and felt better, I knew I needed to get into high gear! My online Advanced Stenciling class with My Creative Classroom opens next Monday! Yikes! I had barely started creating any of the videos, PDF handouts or Presentations!

I set myself to task this week and just a few moments ago finished up the last presentation for the third week of class. I'm what you might call a last-minute-Nelly and sometimes, I'm putting the finishing touches on these things the night before the class opens. But! I have made an improvement. The first week of class isn't until next Monday and all is completed! Now to wait until Monday! Here are a few screen shots from my class...

There's always lots of information in my classes and the best part is, you'll have step by step hand outs for each of the techniques!

Now that I have that class off my plate, I'm on to some in person classes I need to worry about. Those will be tackled tomorrow and Friday. My plan is to have all my classes, directions and everything work related DONE by Monday. See, next Thursday we are headed out for an 8 day vacation to DISNEY!!! Yup! I cannot wait. This will be out first major family vacation ever! The last family vacation was to Maine (only a few hours away!) and the last vacation hubby and I went to that didn't require driving was a cruise to Bermuda 8 years ago! So, we are long overdue. This is going to be a fabulous trip. My Brother, his family and a family friend and his family are all going down too. Not the same dates but we will share some time together there. We're even going to celebrate my youngests 8th birthday there! I'm too excited. BUT! First, I must finish my work....

Another Sketch Thursday!

2011-04-21T06:39:00.001-04:00

Spring is finally arriving here in Massachusetts! I'm so happy to see daffodils and tulips starting to bloom. The days have been getting warmer, I've even been able to open my moon roof once!

This Sunday is Easter and today is Sketch Thursday over at the Dreamweaver design team. So, I thought I'd combine the two.

Here's the sketch for the month, created by Lee...

I created the torn layers on just a piece of paper using some of the new Papersoft from Viva Decor.

I've been working on this card a little bit at a time for a little while. The little bunnies are pasted, glued and then flocked! I also added some pink and grey stickles for their little bunny ears, nose and eyes.

The 'Spring Spheres' (Easter Eggs!) are pasted in black, then pasted over with the crackle paste. I then placed the stencil back on top of the design and colored it with some inks. The eggs were kinda stark white, so I colored them with some Apricot Papersoft and then used a little bit of embossing powder over all of it to give it a slightly glossy look (like and egg!). Cut everything out and mount on your card background!

A couple of friends asked about the double flocked bunny. I covered most of the bunny in white and then once dry, added glue and brown flock in just the area I wanted the stripe. A small amount of brown is on other areas of the bunny but if you allow the white to dry fully and you don't get glue anywhere else, you should do a pretty good job of coloring the bunny two toned.

Have fun with your stencils and have a Happy Easter!

To my husband...

2011-04-07T12:54:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, April 5, Patrick and I celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary! I'm so happy to be married to this man. He's my best friend, my love and my everything. We are extremely fortunate and have a beautiful home, two great boys and each other. We've worked through some bad times but mostly we have a lot of good times! Whether raking the yard or watching a movie, pinching pennies or living it up, living through sickness or living healthfully, we have worked through it and each year we get closer.

Today, this card goes out to my loving husband.... Thank you! For everything!

Art Journals, Hand Bound classroom open!

2011-04-04T18:00:00.000-04:00

My latest online class is all about Book Binding! We are making two hand bound journals in class over the next 4 weeks! Complete with all sorts of great techniques for your inside pages too!

If you've ever thought about making your our journals, check out my class at My Creative Classroom. Enrollment continues through April 8th and class is only $20!

These Art Journals will be treasured for years to come. This class is jam-packed with loads of techniques! We'll explore paints, chalks, inks and mists. We'll decorate each page in the books as well as create the covers and then finish them with a hand sewn binding. They can be created with Metal coverings or without.

Sketch Thursday!!

2011-03-24T06:12:00.001-04:00

It's Thursday so another day to play over on the Dreamweaver Design Team! This week we are working with a sketch! This is the sketch:

And here's my Springy take on the sketch:

That's the trio tulip stencil number LL 444 in the middle. I first placed down the stencil and used some inks to color in the areas. I did have to use the picasso a bit at the top near the actual flower part. Then I took off my stencil, cleaned it and replaced it exactly back where it was. I then used Dreamweaver's Translucent paste over the image and let it dry. While it was drying, I dug out some Springy butterfly and pink paper, orange ink and orange stickles and created the card. It does open in the middle with the tulips and then inside says, "Happy Spring!"

Once the Tulips were dry, I sponged on some blue and green coloring so that it appeared they were grounded and adhered it to the card. For some added effect, I also used some of the blue and green on the pink cardstock as well.

This stencil works perfectly for this type of card but it also is the perfect stencil to use for a nice, bright Spring-time card! And for us here in Boston, who just got another dusting of snow today.... I'm yearning for my tulips to make their appearance in my yard!

Wanna play?

2011-03-22T16:19:00.000-04:00

This Thursday is sketch Thursday with the Dreamweaver Dream Team. If you are interested in playing along... here's the sketch we will be using....

I'll post Thursday and you can see what I did!

If you wanna play and have a blog, you'll be able to put a link to your blog on the Dreamweaver Blog too!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T01:13:00.000-04:00

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all! Whether you've got a lot of Irish in you or none at all, it's still a day to celebrate with a pint of Guinness and to wear some green!

My family (on both sides) comes from New England, generations back we've been here. One side was here when the Mayflower arrived and the other arrived on the Mayflower, with other branches sprinkled in as well. I have a miniscule amount of Irish in me. So little in fact it amounts to... well, actually, none. Yes, for a girl born and bred South of Boston, the chance that we have little to no Irish is amazing, considering the Irish population around here. Even my husband has little Irish in him.

BUT!

His NAME is Patrick! And I count on him to rid my little island (my 1/3 acre of land) of all the garter snakes he (or I) can find! Couple that with the fact that March 17th is his 1/2 birthday, well.... I guess we'll celebrate!!! YAH!!

This week the Dreamweaver Design Team has a free week. No theme, no colors, no sketch, just do what we will and what we want! So, of course, I chose.... Some Saint Patty's day cheer!

I used several stencils for this design. First the background is done with the new large plaid making stencil. One way, it's colored in gold ink and the other is in green ink. I also did a little bit of gold Dreamweaver paste and then a little bit of the green Dreamweaver paste for the center portion of the plaid design. **NOTE: The colors in real life look very similar. The colors in this picture look way off. Sorry.** This technique takes some time to do as you need the first layer (in my case, gold) to dry completely before you can turn your stencil and paste the other side (green). Today wasn't a great day for that as it's been raining all day. But once I turned on the stove for dinner, I placed the large pasted piece on the stove and it dried before dinner was done! (I did NOT put this on the burner!)

While that was drying; I used the stencil LL381, a celtic knot with the Green Dreamweaver Paste.

Oh, and a little note about the paste. When you open the jar... it looks like a light green color. This is not the final color. Once dried, it deepens in shade and ends up being quite a different color then you see in the jar.

Before the paste was dry completely on the celtic knot, I sprinkled just a little bit of clear glitter on to the drying paste. It's stuck in there now and adds a nice sparkle to the card. I used the Gold Dreamweaver Paste on the Celtic Heart knot, LM178 and let that dry. Using some scissors and an exacto knife to cut out the open areas I then adhered it onto the celtic knot. Pop that up entirely, add a little typed sentiment of "Happy Saint Patrick's Day!" and I'm good to go!

I hope you enjoy and I hope you enjoy something green today!

15 minute card...

2011-03-10T11:45:00.000-05:00

Today's Blog Challenge with Dreamweaver is a color challenge! Actually, it's my colors that are chosen today. I chose the colors Brown, Cream and Blue.

I have a usual routine every week but this week, I'm all outta sorts. I had been away for the weekend and hubby usually has Thursday's off and this week he doesn't so when I woke this AM, I thought it was Wednesday. Oops. So, I thought... well, I'll make this a bigger challenge for myself. I'll make a card using my colors in just 15 minutes. I grabbed some cream cardstock, some blue cardstock, and some brown with blue patterned cardstock. I grabbed my stencils and looked. My lightbox is on my table since I'm using it for some other projects and I went to work looking for a design I could complete in only 15 minutes.

I dry embossed the running horse (LM 167) and then added some brown ink to his mane and tale, swirling some of the ink over the body of the horse too. I used Cocoa F/X powder on his mane and tail and then cut him out. Honestly, cutting him out took the longest part of my 15 minutes! I tore the patterned papers to look like a scenery, added some stamped words and adhered everything down.

An easy card, finished in 15 minutes and now, let's hope I can remember it's Thursday!

Happy National Craft Month!

2011-03-05T00:22:00.000-05:00

March is National Craft Month! And we are celebrating over at My Creative Classroom! Interested in taking a class this Spring? Well, now's a great time to sign up and take any class at My Creative Classroom. Sign up for a class and receive one class free (you can choose from 4 different classes)! WOW! Here's a sampling of the different FREE classes offered....

Would you like to know more information?

The Basics of the Program:

Here is how the program will work.

•Purchase 1-3 classes in March and you get a one free seat. You get to choose the class from a list of 4 possible classes.
•Purchase 4-6 classes in March and you get two free seats. You get to choose the classes from a list of 4 possible classes.
•Purchase 7-9 classes in March and you get three free seats. You get to choose the classes from a list of 4 possible classes.
•Purchase 10+ classes in March and we will automatically enroll you into all four classes.

More details can be found here. MCC

I hope to see you in the classroom!

Metal and Dreamweaver!

2011-03-03T12:05:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Lynell posted a picture of a card Magdelena Muldoon did. Magdalena owns MercArt. MercArt provides metal embossing tools and metals. I have a lot of MercArt's tools in my house, they are very fine quality and work great. I started my metal embossing 5 years ago with Ten Seconds Studio and discovered MercArt about 3 years ago. I am certified to teach Ten Seconds Studio metal but I like both companies. Heck, I've even told people to use an empty ball point pen and a mousepad to emboss their metal! With what ever tools you use to start metal embossing, you need to try this technique! There's ONE tool above all else that you absolutely need to purchase when working with embossable metals....

This is a Paper Stump or a Paper Thumb. Some people call it other names too. They come in a variety of sizes. My favorite is size #8. It's easy to hold and works well for most tight spots. But I do own a bunch of the other sizes too. If you own a paper stump (they are also used by charcoal artists for blending), a mousepad and an empty ball point pen... you can metal emboss! Of course, it's nice to have all the tools and the work is much easier with all the tools but if you aren't sure if you are going to like it, this is an easy, fast and inexpensive way to get started! Oh and you'll need some metal. :-)

So, I decided to try my hand at the exact same design that Magdelena did:

Then I went on to do another card....

And this one is on clear acetate and has a nifty technique on the back! Fill the embossed area with spackle, let dry and then use alcohol inks right over the whole thing! You'll color your metal AND the spackle, leaving you with this...

Pretty neat, huh? The spackle is more of a burgandy in person so the effect is stunning. And a surprise when you open the card!

I hope you enjoy!

Hoot Hoot, sketch challenge time!

2011-02-24T11:44:00.000-05:00

It's Dreamweaver Thursday and I have a fantastic sample for you!.. This week we were supposed to use the following sketch created by Terrece:

Here is my version of the sketch. Done with the new LL 3013 Owl Pair stencil and some Faux Cloisonne!

We received in these new dry paints at the store, InkaGold by Viva. They are really rich and highly pigmented colors. They all have a shimmer to them too. So I used those to color in my stencil area first and color the owls. Then I let dry. Once dry, I rewet to add embossing powder and create the faux cloisonne look! The neat thing about the Viva inks, when heat, they bubble up into the embossing powder and create a really neat look!

I hope you are inspired to use this sketch and perhaps try your hand at some faux cloisonne!

Stenciling with Style!

2011-02-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

What do all of these samples have in common?

They are all samples for my online class!

I bet you didn't know that I teach online classes with My Creative Classroom? Yup! I've been with MCC now for almost 3 years! This Spring semester, I have a few class offerings and my Stenciling with Style class is one of them!

If you love all those beautiful metal stencil designs out there, you'll love the look of what they can do! Stenciling with Style will walk you through using DreamWeaver's Metal stencils, their pastes, F/X powders and the many different techniques to do with them! This class will is technique based so you will not need to have the same stencils as the instructor but you will be able to complete projects based on the stencils you do have! Class includes video presentations on exactly how to get pasting right every time as well as materials and instructions on basic pasting, dry embossing, theorem stenciling, using the 'picasso' stencil, working with other mediums such as Copic markers, inks and Art Stix, pasting on different mediums, coloring the pastes, adding texture to pastes, sludge pasting and much more!

Class starts on Thursday, February 17th with new material posted every Thursday for 4 weeks. Class cost is $25. You will be able to join in on class from now through February 25th.

Would you like to take the class for FREE? Post a comment below and I will choose one person by random to win a free seat in class! WOW! If you've ever wanted to learn all there is about Stenciling, why not join us in the classroom today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:49:00.001-05:00

It's February 14th. The day best known as Valentine's Day! The Dreamweaver Design Team is having a big Blog Hop with a few other great companies! Stampendous, Lizzie Anne Designs and Scrappy Chick Boutique! You'll want to spend some time perusing through these blogs and their design teams blogs. Not only will we inspire you but you could WIN prizes too! Go to http://www.dreamweaverstencils.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment to see what we have for a prize and enter to win.

Here's my simple Valentine's Card for you...

The background of this card was made with Shell Pink, Wild Plum and Gold Alcohol Inks. Then I placed this beautiful stincil over the dried ink and used Pearlescent paste over it. Adding a simple sentiment finishes it off!

So if you are looking for a quick card to make for your sweetheart today, this is it! Simple, easy and beautiful!

Now hop on over to the next blog to see what they have in store for you!

Taylor Usry - http://taylorusry.blogspot.com/

Libby Hickson - http://stampinlibby.blogspot.com/

Cindy Coutts - http://cindycoutts.com/

Cyndi Bundy - http://scrappychickcyndi.blogspot.com/

Amber Hillman - http://ambersantics.blogspot.com/

Angelique Nederpel - http://scrapping-angel.blogspot.com/

Tanya Johnson - http://little-scrapper.blogspot.com/

Suzi McKenzie - http://mrsweyremaster.blogspot.com/

Cathy Wallington - http://ellieskeeperscreations.blogspot.com/

Pam Hornschu - http://1pamperedstamper.blogspot.com/

Wendy Price - http://paperinkandsmiles.blogspot.com/

Patricia Hays - http://thinkingofinking.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Maria Levine - http://riacreations.blogspot.com/

Sandie Dunne - http://sandieshores.blogspot.com/

Juanita Gillen - http://stampintwilghtmom.blogspot.com/

Janelle Stollfus - http://rainpuddlesdesign.blogspot.com/ (corrected)

Mary Collins - http://www.softangelkisses.blogspot.com/

Berenice Rendon - http://karbersweetescape.blogspot.com/

Cheryl Gorka - http://shestamps.blogspot.com/

Jessica Fitzgerald - http://jkfitzgerald.blogspot.com/

Dee Morris - http://sprytebyrd.blogspot.com/

Darsie Bruno - http://www.craftingwithdarsie.blogspot.com/

Sandy Allnock - http://acolourfulworld.blogspot.com/

Margie Cortina - http://ohbumbleismemargie.blogspot.com/

Kathy Fronczak - http://pixieduststudio.blogspot.com/

Cat Darling - http://catscraftycorner.blogspot.com/

Joyce Martens (Jolara) - http://jolaras.blogspot.com/

Erin Leveille -http://stamptillucramp.blogspot.com/

Gudrun Loennecken- http://papirbloggen.blogspot.com/

Mackenzie Bruckler - http://midnightscramper.blogspot.com/

Melissa (Pink Cat) - http://pinkcatstudio.blogspot.com/

Patty Tanuz - http://cardsbypattytanuz.blogspot.com/

Emily Leiphart - http://www.leiphartonart.blogspot.com/

Jane Matsumoto - http://whoopsiedaisy-jane.blogspot.com/

Kimme Leach - http://kimme-thelifeofaprincess.blogspot.com/

Kerry Kung - http://kerryischilling.blogspot.com/

Heather Lee-Reppen - http://inkonmyear.blogspot.com/

Rachel Sztonyk - http://gingerbreadgallery.blogspot.com/ (corrected)

Jennifer Dove - http://just4funcrafts.blogspot.com/ (corrected)

Lysa - http://lysaq.blogspot.com/

Erica Johnson-Wanzer - http://www.inkedupandreadytoplay.com/

Tina Kiehn - http://kiehn10.blogspot.com/

Sugar Whiting - http://sugscardsnmore.blogspot.com/

Karin Martin - http://karin-withaniforpaper.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Sunghee Chon - http://www.creativityinprogress.com/blog/ (new addition)

Tanis Palmer - http://tannyps-rubbish.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Lindsey M-P - http://www.bashfulblogging.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Kristi Parker Van Doren - http://kristiscreativecafe.blogspot.com/ (new

addition)

Julie E - http://www.lastminutecrafter.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Alison Heikkila - http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Audrey E - http://hippieaud.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Laura Drahozal - http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Louise Healy - http://www.artfullyarticulate.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Wendy Jordan - http://www.papertherapy-wendy.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Lynell Harlow - http://www.dreamweaverstencils.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Terrece Siddoway - http://www.made4ubyt.blogspot.com/ (new addition)

Prizes:

- StampInsanity - with a set of choice for one winner

- Meljens designs - 4 digis to one winner

- Pixie Dust Studio - 2 digis to one winner

- Lizzie Anne Designs - $10 gift certificate (from me)

- Christian Paper Crafts - 1 year general membership

- Paper Pretties - 3 total winners: 1 person will receive Timeless Love stamp

set; 2 people will receive 5 digis of their choice from the store

- Karber Digital Images - 2 digis to one winner

- Di's Digi Downloads - 5 digi images to one winner

- The Scrappychick Boutique - 2 6x6 Cosmo Cricket paper pads to one winner (yes,

Cyndi - or is it 1 pad for each person?)

- Stampendous - 4 cling rubber stamps from new release to 1 winner

- Pink Cat Studio - 5 digis of winner's choice to one winner

- Amber Ink - $10 gift certificate (and more if people use an Amber Ink product

- see deets on their blog)

- Simply Betty Stamps - 3 digis of the winner's choice

- Mark's Finest Papers - set of their choosing to the winner

- Dreamweaver's Stencils - a couple stencils, pearlescent embossing paste and a

palette knife

- Chi Chi Memories - Meaning of Love Digi Stamp Set to one winner (new addition)

- Little Potato House - $20 gift certificate (new addition)

- Kenny K digis: 4 digis to one winner (AND: 2 digis to anyone who uses a Kenny

K image for their hop card) (new addition)

Dreamweaver Color Challenge for February!

2011-02-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome back!

This week, Dreamweaver is having a color challenge. The colors that were chosen... Pink and Brown!! I LOVE those colors. They are MY colors. My coat is pink and brown, heck even my hair is pink and well.... it's supposed to be blond by it's really brown. hehe! So, I decided that since I was teaching a misting class at the Scrapbook Cupboard on February 10th, I would combine the two! So I used mists for this card.

I used a few of my different mists to get the background. I believe on this one, I used a pink stain, some tattered angels sherbert and even some Ranger Bronze Perfect Pearls mist. I misted all of that on glossy paper and then let dry. That took the longest time. It was really misted on there and it didn't want to change the look of those droplets so letting it air dry is your best bet! If I had used a heat gun, those droplets may have moved and that wouldn't be good so I chose to wait. (I had lunch!)

Once completely dry, I placed the NEW Dreamweaver Damask stencil on top and misted over the stencil with Tattered Angels Marshmellow. It's a very pale white. You really can't see the detail unless you enlarge the photo. It's amazing in person but I know the picture makes it hard to see. After that dried (I played a silly PC game waiting for this one to dry. :-) ) I then pasted on the new heart wreath and the Be My Valentine. Just in white matte paste. I let that dry, which was actually a shorter amount of time then the mists!! I placed the stencils over the paste and used a small stipple brush to add the brown coloring on top of the matte paste. I mounted the entire piece onto brown cardstock and I was done! Fabulous!

I didn't just stop there! While I had all that white mist on the damask stencil, I used it on a different pink piece I had misted. This time, instead of placing the stencil over the pink colored paper and misting through it, I placed the pink paper on top of the misted stencil. All that ink that sits on the stencil, don't waste it... use it!!! Here's my sample...

Can you see the damask image in the pink? Yup that's the same mist ink that went onto the card above! Nifty! Oh and I don't know why but in person, this is really more of a pink color. This shows it red and pink but it's more pinky. Sorry about that. I just got the new Iphone and haven't mastered the photos with it yet.
Anyhow, after placing the pink piece of paper onto the misted stencil, lift up and let dry. I then used Silver embossing paste on the heart and an older LOVE stencil. This LOVE is from a tiny stencil. I let those dry and then ran a brown ink pad on the sides of the paper and mounted it on a doily and then onto a card! Perfect!

Once I started with the mists, I couldn't stop! Here's some more samples I was making...

I just went crazy! I was having a ball! I'm excited to continue. I got a package from Ms. Lynell on Tuesday with new stencils in it. I'm going to get started on these right away! I'm so excited to be back in a crafty mode. And to finally have some time to do it too! Yippee!

Want to see more fun projects in the pink and brown color theme? See some of the other Dreamweaver Dream team projects. You can start by click on the links to the right on my blog or you can go to http://www.dreamweaverstencils.blogspot.com/ and follow Lynell through the Dream Team posts.!

Have fun and I hope everyone makes some art today!

Welcome February!

2011-02-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that it's February?? You are probably wondering where I've been. Me too! The last few months have been filled with a baby, snow, more snow and another baby! My sister, Nicole gave birth to a beautiful 8 lb 7 oz baby boy on January 28th. Thomas is absolutely adorable! Don't believe me? Check out this picture...

Don'tcha want to just pinch those cheeks!! Here's me holding the newest bundle of joy. I know this has been on Facebook a few times but if you aren't a friend, you may not have seen it...

Here's both babies together with my two 'babies'.

Quite a size difference. My Caleb was born at 8 lbs. 15 oz and Bryce at 8lbs 2 oz. so it's amazing to see how they go from that small to what they are now. WOW!

We've also been keeping very busy with scouting. Both boys are in cub scouts and it's busy this time of year with Pinewood derby, Blue and Gold, Scout Sunday, and something called a Klondike Gold Rush. Caleb is in that this year. It's in two weeks so we'll see what that is all about. I know he has to trek through the snow in the woods and learn some tips on survival. Cub Scouts is an amazing program. They learn so much that they may not without it. This year, Caleb's car won first place in the Webelo 1 den! His car will be entered to race in the upcoming tri-town derby!

He's not allowed to take his car home. It's impounded until the tri-town derby but here he is with his beautiful golden trophy! Very cool. He's so proud!

At home, I've been busy redecorating my bathroom. The wallpaper was falling off and generally it was in disrepair. I'm happy to say that it should be all done as of tomorrow! All we have left is the crown molding and it's done. I love the colors, a soft Paris Mint green, white, tan with silver accents. I love it. Here's just a peek (if you'd like to see).

I was very frugal and painted the inside wainscotting on this piece. We've had this sink/vanity for a while but I thought it needed a little something-something so used the same paint to color the faux wainscoting. I also painted over my medicine cabinet and a shelf that has been in the bathroom since, well... forever. But now they look brand new! Just with one simple coat of paint! Cool! The shower curtain I found at Target. It matches perfectly and I didn't have to search forever for something nice! Love it!

This week we are on a car hunt. I'm looking for a new one. I think we may have found it but I haven't made my final decision yet. I'm going to check one other place first. I love car shopping! Test driving all those cars, smelling the new car smell. Seeing the insides of the new designs, looking at the older models.... it's fun! The car I'm currently looking at isn't brand new but it's nice! Very nice. We'll see. As I said, I still have something else to look at.

Well, I'll be back tomorrow AM with a Dreamweaver blog post! I finally have been crafting again and I'm sticking with it. I NEED to craft. Not only do I enjoy it... but it's my JOB!!! I love that!

Blizzard Number 2 and a Dreamweaver Challenge -

2011-01-13T06:00:00.006-05:00

This post was supposed to automatically post on 1/13/11 but when looking at the previous information, I see it did not. Well, I'm posting now. No sense in letting a good post go to waste - even if it's almost a month old...

Welcome to 2011! We've been hit here in Boston by two blizzards in the past two weeks. We have a LOT of snow on the ground. I know it's New England and we get a lot of snow but usually it's over a period of time. This is a picture from my driveway. Hubby was at work, so I had to snowblow the driveway myself!

These crazy snow storms have knocked out power! The first one, my Mom, two Sisters and my infant niece had to come stay with me for about 2 days. This one has knocked out power to much of my town, and two other nearby towns. While our electricity is back on for now, I can see a power line caked with ice and swinging very low. Several of my trees and bushes in the yard are being 'naturally' pruned this year. This poor dogwood is in my front yard. I planted that tree the Spring that we moved into our house. It was shorter then me when I planted it and now, several branches are snapped and I haven't a clue how much other damage was done to the front of it. :-(

The kids are out of school for another day tomorrow and with hubby off for the day, maybe we'll go into Boston and see the sites.

I haven't been lacking in my Dreamweaver Thursday posts. Don't fret, I'm back and ready with a nice Springy one! Lots of flowers, butterflies and the proclamation of LOVE!

I used two older stencils. Both were introduced in 1996. The Love is a tiny little stencil and it has two words on it, both Love, in different fonts. It is number LS21. The second is part of a butterfly and musical notes stencil. It's still a little stencil but can create a LARGE impact! I only used part of it here. This stencil is number LM149.

Both stencils were attached to white paper and then I used pigment inks to color the sections I wanted. The Love is colored in with a red while the butterfly has red, purple, pink and yellow in it. The musical notes are colored with brown and copper and the bee in yellow and gold. After cleaning my stencils, I placed them back on and used the transparent paste on top of the colors. I like to clean my stencils in between coloring and pasting. Sometimes it takes a little patience to get the stencil back in place just right but I like the fact that it doesn't color my paste with the inks. Well, unless I was going for a Party Mix (Sludge Pasting) coloring, then leave the color on the stencil and paste over it. Just be careful not to put the colored paste back in to the original jar!

I let the paste dry and then put my card together. Oh, wait! I needed to color the outside with a bluish-green to match my patterned paper. Easy enough, when the transluscent paste dries it's glossy. If you use a sponge and some dye based ink, you can color right over the dried paste and it won't effect your pasted design at all! Just like magic!

I've just been given the go-ahead to start giving out hints of stencils that will be released at CHA. Let me tell you a little about my favorite....

"How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?"

OK, I'll give you more hints next week too! And when I can post them, I will!!

It's almost time...

2010-12-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

Only a few more days until Santa Claus arrives! The kids are off from school until January 3rd, the shopping is done, the wrapping is completed and now we wait.... WELL... maybe not. We do have to clean the house, make a pie, make some marshmellow bark, do some laundry and other mundane everyday things. You know, those things no one really likes to do. But there will be time for crafting! Today, I'm going to have some time to craft in between loads of laundry, I know I will!

It's Thursday and that means, it's time for some stenciling! Today, I'm showing you another oldie but goodie! The reindeer on the left were pasted in black and then foiled using the metallic leafing. The Let It Snow stencil was pasted in purple (no, they don't have purple - you have to make it!) and then clear glitter was added for a beautiful effect!

Wanna know how to make purple? Add a little bit of dark purple (highly pigmented) paint to your white/pearlescent or glossy white paste and mix together until blended well. No need to go to town on the blending either, just folding the color in will work nicely. You can create 1000's of different colors now! Heck, you might be able to create 1000's of different shades of purple! Go ahead, try it!

This was a class I offered last year and they were really just about the techniques, no design elements to the cards, it was all techniques. I believe that everyone in class got a chance to use several different stencils we had available.

I hope you have some time to craft this Holiday Season! Have a very Merry Christmas and we'll be back next Thursday with some more designs!

Thursday Challenge - Blue Paste!

2010-12-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm short on time this week but I do have another Dreamweaver card for you today!

This week we were Challenged with using the Blue Glossy Paste and choosing a blue/purple theme for a Holiday card.

I used the blue glossy paste and chose to paste the ice skaters. Before I did any pasting, though I colored my paper with blues and purples and then inked up some Stampscapes, CC Crafts and Stampers Anonymous Stamps in purple ink and created a 'scene' for my skaters.

Here's my card for this week - I hope you enjoy!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

It's a Dreamy Thursday!

2010-12-09T06:00:00.026-05:00

It's Thursday, so that must mean we have some Dream Schemes over on the Dreamweaver Design Team! This week, I'm going to follow the sketch from last week and show you another one of the new stencils done in a Christmasy way.

Here's the next new Valentine stencil:

By the way, you can order this stencil and last weeks stencil through your local craft store that carries Dreamweaver products. Everyone who takes my Friday night class will get one of these for FREE!

This stencil is called Love Birds and they are supposed to be sitting on a heart shaped wreath. See it? Beautiful, huh?! Well, if you wanted to make these Christmasy....

Make them into partridges and add little holly berries onto the wreath. Add some bling and people will overlook the idea that this could actually be for Valentine's Day. Now, it just looks Christmasy! Of course, you could play off of the 'two calling birds' idea too! Those little tendrils of color on the paper, that's from the stencil too! Just some ink and a stipple brush will get you that look!

Oh and I have a secret about this card too.... I actually used YELLOW paste for this stencil. YUP! Not white but yellow! If you look closer, you can see that the birds have a slight bit of yellow on their bodies, that's just the paste! So, next time you are looking to paste with your stencils and you look at your stash, think OUTSIDE of the box! These stencils are extremely versatile and the pastes, they can be changed to suit your needs too!

Here are both cards, ready for Friday night's Dreamweaver Holiday Cards class at the Scrapbook Cupboard:

Now don't forget to go visit some of the other talented ladies blogs. We have:

And of course the Dreamweaver Stencils blog as well: Dreamweaver Blog.

Thursday's Dream Schemes!

2010-12-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

It's Thursday and for everyone on the Dreamweaver Design Team, that means it's time to post a new photo for the Thursday Dream Schemes! This week, I'm sharing a new stencil with you! Dreamweaver is revealing two new stencils this month, LL3010 is a Heart Tole Wreath and LL3011 has Love Birds on a scroll wreath.

Here's the Brand New Stencil that I received from Dreamweaver, LL3010 the Heart Tole Wreath.

Also for the Dream Schemes this week we were given a sketch to follow for our cards. Here's the sketch:

I love sketches. They make life a little easier and they can be used in many different ways! In my card, I chose to round out my corners and forgo the scrolls but I kept the ribbon and even the little bow (but in a different way!). Oh and did I mention that we are making Holiday cards all month long? Well, how about this for a Christmas card?

Do you see that Heart Tole Wreath? Upside down? Now making a HUGE Christmas tree! The presents underneath are popped up. They are just little presents stamped onto papers and cut out. The star is a little sticker (you know the ones the kids bring home on their homework?) again popped up. The heart tole wreath was pasted with pearlescent paste and F/X powders were added.

WOW! The versatility of these stencils are amazing! I'm excited to show you what I created for next week! This week's posting and next Thursday's postings will be the Dreamweaver class at the Scrapbook Cupboard on the 10th.

Now hop on over to some of the other gals blogs and see what they made for their Dream Schemes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T10:22:00.000-05:00

I've been really pre-occupied lately with the birth of my new niece, Gabriella. I was my Sister's coach and helped her bring this sweet little girl into the world on November 18th.

Not only was I Mom's birth coach but I am also her Godmother! I just love this little girl, she's already got quite a personality. Gabriella is my third niece, and soon, I'll have a second nephew too! My other Sister is expecting in January! Lots of babies around!!

We found out just recently that my Grandmother is doing very well. Her cancer has subsided and her outlook is extremely good!

In my professional life, I found out on November 14th that the Scrapbook Cupboard was going to stay open! She had announced that she was closing and I had already taken an interview and had scheduled another one. What a stressful experience to go to job interviews. I hadn't had to do one in years! 5 years actually and I thought I might have been a little rusty. Well, no matter for now. Bev has decided to keep the store open! Whew! This will allow me to keep doing the classes I do, plus do all the behind the scenes administrative stuff that I love to do too!

Donna and I will still be working closely together and actually we met with a graphic designer this week. I won't say more but that we are cooking up some good stuff!

Today we are kicking off a Dreamy Thursday blog event with Dreamweaver Stencils! Every Thursday, the members of the Dreamweaver Dream Team will be showing some samples on their blogs. I feel like I haven't been home more than an hour in the past two weeks. So please forgive this week's submission, it's a repeat from one earlier this year. Tomorrow will be my crafting day but that will be a day late for this. Perhaps I'll post that tomorrow too!

With some black matte paste, I pasted the sign. On some wood, I pasted the Season's Greetings and then cut it out to fit it on the sign. The 'snowy' part on the bottom is just the Dreamweaver paste that's been piled on without any stencil.

Oh boy! I know that it's not new but thankfully I have something to share today. Come on back tomorrow, I'll post something then! And next Thursday, come on back and I will be up to date on my crafting!

There's lots to be Thankful for this year! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Striking it out - on my own??

2010-11-05T00:42:00.000-04:00

Well it has become official. The store I am currently working with will be closing their doors. I'm expecting the store to be closed before Thanksgiving. Bummer, huh! I've been with Bev and the Scrapbook Cupboard for 5 years!! Yup! 5! Seems like a long time but it's been some of the best times of my life.

So, what now? Well I've got a ton of irons in the fire and hopefully one of them will pop back out at me and let me know it needs some attention.

No, No, No, I don't really hope to get burned, I'm just so overwhelmed with the thoughts that are going through me. I *almost* said I was never at the closing of a businesses doors but then I reflected that I used to belong to Corporate America and I was there when Nellie Mae was swallowed by Sallie Mae. The difference between then and now - other than the awesome stock option package I was given with Sallie Mae? Well, a lot. A real lot!

I still have all those people to say good-bye to. Co-workers, friends, customers... I still have to clean out my desk (cabinet space), I still have to find another job...

I'm very fortunate. Very, very lucky. When I was laid off with Nellie Mae, I had another job waiting for me. I was 6 months pregnant with my first child and that was to be my new job. It was a wonderful time, not having to worry about money (because I cashed in those stock options of course!) and just spending the time learning how to be a Mom. Now, well I've got options out there too!

Donna Maligno and I have teamed up to create KD Craft Concepts. We will be striking out on our own, at least partially, to bring some of you regulars a taste of Donna and Kim classes and events. In what capacity? Unknown at this time. We're still hashing everything out. I will also mention that, I've gotten a few other offers as well and will be exploring these very soon. I'm hoping to find a new place to teach on a regular basis, we'll see how it all works out. - That's why the irons are in the fire, I need to get rid of some wrinkles and I need those irons HOT! :-)

I'm sure you'll be seeing me posting more. October was a miserable month... I was sick most of it. And this month, we are awaiting a new arrival to the family! My Sister will be having a baby girl soon. So, whether photos of the new baby or photos of new classes and more information about where I will be, I'll be in touch!

Lucky number 16!

2010-10-04T19:54:00.000-04:00

Guess what number was chosen through Random.org for my blog hop winner?? Lucky number 16... let's see who is #16.....

It's.....

Anonymous said...

Hey Kim,

Love the lace border! What a versatile stencil. I also love the glowing ghost. Leave it to you to have glow in the dark embossing powder. I also love F/X (all colors)

Diane H

Saturday, October 2, 2010 11:02:00 AM EDT

Diane H, if you are reading this, you've been chosen as my blog hop winner! You have until Midnight on October 5th to contact Lynell with your mailing address and your choice. lynell@dreamweaverstencils.com

Congratualtions to all the blog hop winners!! Lynell will be posting some more winners later tonight. And a special THANK YOU to all that participated in the blog hope, it was great to have all of you stop by!

Dreamweaver Stencils Blog Hop is here!

2010-10-01T09:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the first ever Dreamweaver Stencils Dream Team Blog Hop! Today is day one of this three day long blog hop. There's lots to view over this weekend, a whole lot of eye candy using these quality metal stencils from Dreamweaver Stencils! Follow along, post a comment and you could be a winner! (details on blog hop are at the bottom of this post.) Be sure to comment on this post for a chance to win!

All the gals on the Dream Team were given four stencils to work with for the blog hop. These were mine:

Lace Border LG727

Lets Boogie LM286

Long Stocking LL499

Village LL459

Well now I'm hoping you are wondering what I did with them. I used the lace border in a few different ways and coupled that with the the Village and with Let's Boogie. First up, a little Halloween fun!

One of the coolest parts of this card is that it GLOWS in the DARK! Well, the ghost, "Boo" and the little corner semi circles do anyhow! Wanna know how I created it?

First I pasted on the ghost with Pearlescent Paste. He's part of Let's Boogie and needed to be masked so that all I used on that stencil was the cute ghost. I also masked off parts of Boogie and pasted the word Boo at the bottom of the card. I then made sure the ghost and the word was dry completely.

After the ghost was dry, I fit on the Lace Border Stencil and used the original matte embossing paste. Let that dry and then used the Picasso stencil to add color to the candy corns, dots and swirls. In the lace border, there are these 6 pie pieces that make a circle, I left those white. Well, I added googly eyes but not until after the entire thing was done!

Now, I own this glow in the dark embossing powder and thought it would be a cute touch to add that to the ghost. Glow in the dark embossing powder works best over a light surface and the ghost was perfect for that! I re-fit my ghost stencil back in place, used embossing ink and then sprinkled on some of the embossing powder. I heat it slightly just until melted. After doing that, this adorable little ghost now glows in the dark!

After the card was completely stenciled and pasted, I added the googly eyes last.

I was able to create something fun and then something elegant out of the same Lace Border stencil. These stencils are truly versatile! Use as much or as little of the stencil as you'd like to get the best results for your card or project!

My next card is for the Holidays.

This needed some masking as well. I masked off one of the houses from the Village and then I used my Pearlescent paste to paste onto a heavy weight vellum paper. Once the house was dry, I dug out my Pergamano kit and got to work! I placed the Lace Border stencil strategically so the house fit in the middle and then either pushed the vellum into the stencil, pushed it out of the stencil or I used the pokey tool to poke holes into the vellum. With the right tools and the right paper, this can easily be completely in about 45 minutes - and that allows drying time for the paste in a humid climate (I live in New England).

Mount the vellum onto a bright blue piece of paper and adorn the card as you'd like. Easy! Elegant! And just shows another option of versatility of these stencils.

My last card today is with the stocking.

More of a vintage type card. I used pasted the stencil on red paper. Again I used Pearlescent - hmmm.... I didn't realize until writing this that I used Pearlescent on everything. With 15 different knds of pastes, my options are NOT limited so I guess I'm going to have to hide the Pearlescent so I stay away for the next few projects!

After the stocking was dry, I cut out right on the lines (or where the natural contour of the lines would be). I placed the stencil back on, grabbed some glue and a paint brush and painted the glue onto the top part of the stocking. I then threw on some flocking. WHAT? Flock on your stencil paste? Yup! Absolutely, these products are amazing!

I distress the background of the paper, added soem ribbon and old saying I had lying around and the stocking. Viola - done!

But I'm not going to stop there! I'm going to tell you about some classes I'm teaching in person and online! If you want to know more about the amazing versatility of these stencils, you can come on by the Scrapbook Cupboard and take a class from me in person. My next Dreamweaver Stencil class is on Friday, October 22nd. We'll be creating two cards using several neat techniques...

What? You don't live in New England? Well, many of the other Dream Team members teach in their areas. Or you can take my online class!

Class just started yesterday and will run for 4 weeks with new lessons posted every week. You can view the class information here at My Creative Classroom. If you love all those beautiful metal stencil designs out there, you'll love the look of what they can do! Stenciling with Style will walk you through using DreamWeaver's Metal stencils, their pastes, F/X powders and the many different techniques to do with them! This class will is technique based so you will not need to have the same stencils as the instructor but you will be able to complete projects based on the stencils you do have! Class includes video presentations on exactly how to get pasting right every time as well as materials and instructions on basic pasting, dry embossing, theorem stenciling, using the 'picasso' stencil, working with other mediums such as Copic markers, inks and Art Stix, pasting on different mediums, coloring the pastes, adding texture to pastes, sludge pasting and much more! Class starts on Thursday, September 30th with new material posted every Thursday for 4 weeks. Class cost is $25.

So now more information about the Blog Hop!

BLOG HOP INFO

We want you to have the chance to win YOUR favorite stencil, embossing paste and Metallic F/X color... for each time you post along the hop, you need to leave a comment on the site where the newest creation is offered, then go to the Dreamweaver site here http://www.dreamweaverstencils.com/, choose the stencil you like best, identify it to us, tell us why it's your favorite, and how you think you'd use it. Just be sure you comment on each blog along the hop..make sure your comments count for winning! Information today...then October 1st you hop!

BLOG CANDY... HOW TO GET IT!
For each time you comment on different blogs, you need to choose a different stencil as a favorite, your favorite paste and your favorite Metallic F/X color...just in case you win more than once! At the end of the three days,each member of the Dream Team will choose a random entry to win and post it on their site by midnight of the next day October 4.

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR CANDY
Hoppers are encouraged to comment once on each designer's blog throughout the blog hop. Each time you do so will give you one opportunity to win what's on offer at that blog. For an additional entry, you're invited to sign up to be followers of the Dream it Up Blog, right here. So, with eleven designers, this gives you the potential of twenty-two chances to win! All winners will be selected by Random.org, and posted on each designer's blog by midnight Monday.

BLOG HOP SCHEDULE
It is not imperative to follow this schedule, but different designers will be posting their creations on different days, so take one last look on Sunday to make sure you've taken advantage for all the opportunities to win blog candy ...now enjoy these designer's "treats", and here is their schedule:

OCT 1ST

OCT 2ND

OCT 3RD

Have fun hopping!

Blog Hop Starts tomorrow!

2010-09-30T18:58:00.000-04:00

BLOG HOP INFO

We want you to have the chance to win YOUR favorite stencil, embossing paste and Metallic F/X color... for each time you post along the hop, you need to leave a comment on the site where the newest creation is offered, then go to the Dreamweaver site here http://www.dreamweaverstencils.com/, choose the stencil you like best, identify it to us, tell us why it's your favorite, and how you think you'd use it. Just be sure you comment on each blog along the hop..make sure your comments count for winning! Information today...then October 1st you hop!

BLOG CANDY... HOW TO GET IT!

For each time you comment on different blogs, you need to choose a different stencil as a favorite, your favorite paste and your favorite Metallic F/X color...just in case you win more than once! At the end of the three days,each member of the Dream Team will choose a random entry to win and post it on their site by midnight of the next day October 4.

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR CANDY

Hoppers are encouraged to comment once on each designer's blog throughout the blog hop. Each time you do so will give you one opportunity to win what's on offer at that blog. For an additional entry, you're invited to sign up to be followers of the Dream it Up Blog, right here. So, with eleven designers, this gives you the potential of twenty-two chances to win! All winners will be selected by Random.org, and posted on each designer's blog by midnight Monday.

BLOG HOP SCHEDULE

It is not imperative to follow this schedule, but different designers will be posting their creations on different days, so take one last look on Sunday to make sure you've taken advantage for all the opportunities to win blog candy ...now enjoy these designer's "treats", and here is their schedule:

OCT 1ST

OCT 2ND

OCT 3RD

Being a better instructor...

2010-09-25T17:27:00.000-04:00

I'm looking for something...

It has occurred to me in the last few classes that I taught that I need a slight refresher course on being a good instructor. But where would you find such a course? If one existed, wouldn't everyone want to take it? Now, I'm not a lousy teacher (I hope!) but lately, I've felt disconnected while teaching (this is 'in person' teaching, by the way) and I want to be better. It's not that my students don't learn - they do! And it's not that they don't finish the projects - they do! And really, I'm not even sure if any of my students notice but I just feel like I want to be better. I want to be more connected to the people that take my classes, to help them more, understand and anticipate their needs and wants.

Is this possible?

Today, I went on a virtual journey. Looking for a class, a Ning, anything that might help those of us that teach crafts to adults. It occurred to me, as I was looking, that perhaps this type of class (whether in person or online) doesn't exist. I DID find a description for a craft instructor. Look at the credentials for a craft instructor here: Craft Instructor I love it when they describe a craft instructor as:

Craft instructors are important to us, as they bring art and creativity to the public. They help even the most unskilled artist create beauty and power through artistic endeavors.

How true that is.

Now, when I say that I'm looking for a class to refresh me on these skills. This is what I mean:

Craft instructors must be patient, kind and understanding of others' abilities and talents. They should have a sound knowledge of many aspects of crafting, and be extremely skilled in the area they teach. They should have leadership skills as well as very good communication skills. Craft instructors must be open to many types of people, cultures and backgrounds, and should be able to treat everyone equally. They should be fair, kind and enjoy people. If they choose to go into business for themselves, they should have some knowledge about business practices.

This is so right. It hits right on what all craft instructors should be. This is what I want to brush up on. I believe that I'm patient, kind and understanding. I have a sound knowledge of the crafts that I teach and many times I'm more than qualified to teach a skill. It's the next sentence I would like to work on. My leadership and my communication skills. The rest of the paragraph, I've got too!

I do think that I can be a good leader. Heck, sometimes I feel like the darned Pied Piper! But I just want to brush up on the leadership skills. Or maybe, I need to be humbled. I need to know what I'm doing but not act like I do.

No, that's not it.

I need to know what I'm doing, be able to teach it and make the people I'm teaching feel like the only person in class - like they are getting a private lesson.

Is that possible? Is that what people want?? It's really been such a long time since I've been a student in a class. Perhaps that's my problem. I need to be a student more often. I need to sign up for a class that is WAAAAAAYYYY out of my element so that I can get a better understanding of what others want. Should I? What to take? and where?

Then there's my communication skills. Yes, I admit. These have been shot lately. I can't seem to wrap my mind around anything I want to say lately. And I'm seriously wondering if this blog post even makes sense! :-) I find that I'm struggling to come up with words that should very easily roll off my tongue. Words like "adhesive", "stamp", "brush". Several times in the last few classes, I've described what it is they need to use rather than just saying the word. Because the words trips as it's falling off my tongue. Ever been in class and a teacher has said, "So now stick that piece of paper to the other, using that sticky stuff that comes out of the little hand held container."

OK, yah I might not have said exactly that but something similar - and a few times too! How terribly embarassing. What's going on that I can't connect the object to the word? I will say that I do find that I trip on words while not teaching too. Almost like my brain is spinning so fast, my vocal cords and tongue can't grasp what's being said and just stops working. Very similar to a car sputtering awake on a cold, New England Winter morning.

Blah.... Blah, blah..... bl....ah...bla...h. blah, blah, blah, bla......h, bl....ah, Blah, blah, blah, etc.

Say that out loud and you'll have what I sound like... sometimes. I do not have the knack of listening/comprehending and talking all at the same time. I know someone who does but that's not me.

So, if any of you out there in blog land stumble across a class that might make me a better instructor, I'm looking to brush up on my skills. Sure, I may not learn much (or anything) but then again, I just might. And I'm all about trying to better myself and hone my skills.

It's all for the greater good. I refresh my skills and you get a better instructor!

Classes this Fall... well through October anyhow...

2010-09-23T10:11:00.000-04:00

Loads of online and in person classes are being set up for this Fall!

Online through My Creative Classroom, I'm offering right now Art Journals, Handbound... sign ups are only through September 24th. Class has already started (but only one week, so you still have time to sign up if you'd like). This class will run for 4 weeks and is only $20! View the class information here.

Starting this week is the Metal Sampler. If you've seen my blog before, you've seen this posted several times. You will learn about 14 different metal embossing techniques in class. This class starts on Friday, September 24th and will run for 3 weeks. This class is $25. View the class information here.

The last week of September, I'm starting a NEW class! Stenciling with Style! This class will cover all different types of paste embossing, stenciling and much more! In this four week class, we'll cover about 20 techniques that you can do with all those beautiful Dreamweaver stencils! This class is $25 and starts on Thursday, September 30th. View the class information here.

On Monday, October 11th I will be starting the second bookmaking class. MORE Art Journals, Handbound. This class will run for 4 weeks and we'll be covering even more bindings as well as techniques for the inside pages. Lots of FUN! View the class information here.

Advanced Metal Techniques will be the last class I have on My Creative Classroom's calendar for this semester. This class starts on October 28th. This four week class will go into even more metal embossing techniques as well as putting together many different projects. Class is $25. View the class information here.

I have another class I wanted to put online but as of right now, I haven't too much time. While I'd love to get another class out there typing up those directions takes time plus presentations and videos (if needed). So stay tuned to see if I got to that one.

In person, I have a number of classes for September, October and we are already starting to schedule November. While I don't have any samples for November, I definitely have one for this upcoming Friday...

Holiday 'scapes will be on Friday, September 24th from 7-9PM at the Scrapbook Cupboard. Using just a few Stampscapes Stamps, ink and the right paper and you can create easy Holiday cards in a flash! Class is $20 and includes everything you need to complete the above two cards.

On Sunday, September 26th you'll find me at the Scrapbook Cupboard again hosting the first Collage Workshop. While this isn't a class where I teach you how to do the Collaging, I will be doing a demo during class using some different products in the store. Class is from 12-3 (or 4, I'm not going to kick you out) and is $20.

Tuesday, September 28th, I'll be back at the Scrapbook Cupboard again for the Card Swap. This month's theme is either Fall or Halloween cards. This swap is already full but next month's will interest everyone. We are making cards to send to our servicemen and women overseas. These are cards that they can then use to send back to their families. There is no need to sign up for this class, just drop off your cards before October 28th to have them included. Absolutely no glitter or sparkly material on the cards. For more information on it, see the date October 28th on the Scrapbook Cupboard's online calendar.

My first class in October at the Scrapbook Cupboard is on Thursday the 7th. I don't have any samples for the Collage Cards for that night. I'm awaiting a Penny Black delivery to the Cupboard so I can use those stamps. I might try to squeeze in another from the Artful Stamper but so far, I don't have anything to show you for that.

Friday, October 8th I'll be back at the Cupboard for my Spooky Coffin and Mini book...

Inside this spooky little coffin box contains a hand bound mini album. This is perfect for those scary Halloween pictures or just to display! With a little metal on the cover and stitches on the inside, it's sure to be a ghoulishly fun class! Class is $20.

For the rest of October I have:

Copic Theory on Thursday, October 14th - $20
Circle Journal Swap/Crop on Saturday, October 16th - $10
Copic Review for Beginners on Sunday, October 17th - $59, includes 6 markers
ATC Swap on Wednesday, October 20th - $5 - out theme this time around is {Alice in} Wonderland
Another Collage Workshop on Sunday, October 24th - $20
The Card Swap (see above) on the 26th - Free

and

Happy Holidays with Dreamweaver on Friday, October 22nd.

Get a jump start on your Holiday cards using some tips and tricks from our own Dreamweaver Design Team Member, Kim! We'll be completing two Holiday cards using some unique techniques. Class is $20.

I just am now realizing how much I have going on in the next month. I'm tired just writing this post, nevermind actually doing it. This is just classes too. Well, if you find me dead come Halloween, you'll know why!

As I get to complete the samples for some of those classes above, I'll post them here and on the Scrapbook Cupboard's website.

Creating this Fall...

2010-09-22T10:32:00.001-04:00

For a craft teacher, Fall is the busiest season. Or, well, it is for me! When Fall pops up, I find myself crazy busy with all sorts of different classes both in person and online. But it's not just the classes that bring chaos to my life, it's the creating and keeping them all straight!

A few months ago, my friend Susan, bought me a 'Projects Notebook'. It's set up so that you can list the things you need for each project and then refer back to them easily. I tried to use the notebook and I think the set up is great, I just need it bigger and well, I need someone else to write it for me!! I'm just not that type of crafter. Although, I must say... when I do write directions (all my Copic in person classes come with directions as well as all my online classes have printable and downloadable PDF files) I spend a good deal of time making sure they are accurate and step by step. I have used the notebook on occasion to write something in it so that I remember to type it up later, so it's not all a waste. And someday, I'm going to type the format of the notebook into a Word document so that I can use it more often.

Anyhow, one of my biggest problems is how long it takes me to actually create. First, it's finding the stuff. Yes, I have everything organized but no, it's never clean! And then the creative process. For me, it takes a while to get started. Like a cold car on a winter morning, it takes a little bit of time to warm up. But once it's running, I can swoop down and run like the wind.

OK, that is until the wind hits a brick wall - usually the brick wall is anyone or anything that interrupts me. And when I say anyone or anything, I mean it. I've got two sister's expecting their first babies in the next couple of months, so they have been known to pop by for a visit. I have a Mom who works here in town and she's been known to stop by unexpectedly (well, sometimes she texts first but I swear sometimes she texts from my driveway!) and always visits on Friday's - most of the day. I have my Weight Watcher's meetings, my Zumba classes (which I LOVE!), Thursday's belong to my hubby since he is usually home all day. Monday morning's I signed up to volunteer for Caleb's classroom library time at school. I LOVE to volunteer, it's so rewarding plus seeing my kids at school interacting with their friends, I just love the experience... And the 90 minutes flies by. All that plus whatever else happens leaves very little time to actually create. Which frustrates, saddens and sometimes angers me. I love to do it but I just can't seem to get to it. Just like any other crafting Mom out there, it's tough to fit it into your schedule between laundry, dishes, homework, after school activities (my boys are currently just in scouts), keeping house, paying bills, groceries and whatever else needs doing. No wonder I'm tired!

Over the next few months, I'll be planning two baby showers, hosting several Tastefully Simple parties and events (did I mention that I'm a consultant for them too? Yup, and this Fall's catalog is fabulous. People are loving all the goodies they came out with this year!), teaching at the Scrapbook Cupboard, teaching online through MCC, being my Sister's birthing coach and so many more things I just can't wrap my head around it all.

Tomorrow, I'm going to post my upcoming classes. I've got quite a few on the books and want to make sure everyone gets a chance to see!

Blog Hop coming soon!

2010-09-21T14:32:00.000-04:00

The 10 designers of the Dreamweaver Dream Team are working to put together a blog hop for YOU!

http://www.dreamweaverstencils.blogspot.com/

You'll want to watch the above link and be sure to come back to this blog on September 30th! Here's a tiny sneak peek of what I've been working on....

Hey, I said it was tiny!

Lots of Pasted Cards!

2010-09-15T11:04:00.000-04:00

Last month, the Dreamweaver design team was asked to create some Holiday inspired cards using the Dreamweaver Pastes and Stencils. These are some of the designs I provided...

I had a lot of fun making these cards! Some of these cards will be taught in some upcoming classes too! You'll see several of the cards taugh at both the Scrapbook Cupboard in East Bridgewater, MA as well as online with My Creative Classroom. My Dreamweaver online class starts Thursday, September 30th. Lots of techniques in class to learn, including videos, presentations and hand outs!

Coming up soon - a Dreamweaver design team blog hop! More details coming soon!

Back online and feeling fine!

2010-08-31T14:41:00.000-04:00

My new PC is here!! And without a moment to spare! I have lots to catch up on. While working from the library was ok, you really can't do much about the photos. The library PC's are just not right for uploading your photos.

While gone, I've made some Dreamweaver holiday samples and worked on some Copic, Stampscapes, my new MCC classes and more! The kiddos go back to school tomorrow, so I can be assurred now that everything will start to get done! That includes blogging!

I've got a few classes coming up that I'd like to share! First on Friday, September 10th at the Scrapbook Cupboard, I'll be teaching this class...

There are many different easy to do Metal techniques in this. Obviously lots with the Cuttlebug but some hand embossed stuff too! While I love to work with metal, it's not always workable into the schedule. This was supposed to be a class in July, and then in August, but I really slacked off this Summer and didn't have it up in enough time for people to sign up. On the day it was supposed to run in August 4 people called to sign up. After the other 2 people who signed up were called and told it was cancelled. Oh, {*sigh*} well I have no one to blame - so I'll blame the call of the pool... :-)

The following day, I'm headed up to Ink About It in Westford, MA for two metal classes. One is the tag book I created a few years back. It's filled with lots of different basic metal embossing techniques...

This class is in the morning. Then in the afternoon, I'm doing a card class. It's a great way to see how you can incorporate the techniques you learned into something else - other than tags...

This is the Faux Tin Litho technique. It can be done with ANY stamp, not just this one. This just happened to be a holiday stamp I grabbed. Then there is this one...

Ok, you are going to have to turn your head to view. I see now that I haven't finished installing all the software into my new PC and I have not editing software to turn this. The next one too.

Not as Holiday-ish as the others but put on a little saying that says "Happy Whoolidays" and you'll be fine!

I'm looking forward to teach those two classes. And boy, oh boy and I ready to get back into a routine!

I have lots more to share but think it best to load that software first. I'm going to do that now. But he's a video I shot and then edited for Just Imagine Crafts. The owner, Bobbie is a wonderful woman! She's here in MA for the Summer and Bev and I were happy to do this on the little Flip camera my husband owns! I'm so happy with that little camera, I bought a HD one for me!! It'll be here soon! The Flip comes with it's own software, so I was able to edit that right away! Here's a link to the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9LI7pAvaR4

OK, now I'm really feeling uncomputer savvy. I KNOW I can put the video into the blog but I can't figure it out. It must be the incessant "MOM, MOM, help me with...." I'm hearing. Only one more sleep until school starts!!!

2010-08-18T17:07:00.001-04:00

PC broken. :-(

Gone Viral...

2010-08-16T20:42:00.000-04:00

I have some projects to blog about but right now, I'm still fighting a virus. Not me, personally but my poor little PC. I finally was able to install a good virus software (I had Trend) but it wasn't catching everything (Spyware Doctor), there was definitely still something going on inside. So while at Bella Art teaching the other day, hubby installed McAfee. It appears to have scrubbed most of the virus away but I'm still left with just this tiny problem....

When I do a google search for anything, and I click on one of the links it gives me, it doesn't always send me to where it was supposed to send me too. UGH.

At first I thought maybe it was Internet Explorer's problem. An Aunt suggested I download Chrome (which I must say, I really like!) but it still does it with Chrome. BUT! Here's the strange part... it only does it when I search through the Chrome address bar. If I click on HOME and then do a search through Google, no problems. So.... that's what I've been fighting with lately.

If anyone out there has any suggestions, I'd love to know. Otherwise, I think I'm going to live with what I've got and get going with all my many projects....

more tomorrow (as long as my PC stays stable).

More Art...

2010-08-01T11:36:00.000-04:00

As promised, here are some more of the art I've been working on lately.

I couldn't believe that after I made this post last night, I was so wide awake thinking of different ways to do some of the upcoming projects I have due. Now to write them down so I don't loose the ideas...

Here's the Home Decor Collage Piece that I'm teaching at the Scrapbook Cupboard on the 13th...

It's all about the waxy gooness on this one. YUM!

Then I created some cards for a class at the Scrapbook Cupboard called, It's All About the Metal...

I LOVE me some metal! And this goes just a bit further than you might think! All sorts of metal in this... :-)

I also made a card for the Card Swap I host once a month. Well, I made 8 of these for the Card Swap and this is the one I came home with. Have you seen this Cuttlebug folder before? Yup, how simple was THAT!

OK, I say it was easy but really - they took some time to intricately paint each of those lines without going over too much. It's all part of the art process, though! I was happy to do it. As for the saying, I own a stamp set with a bunch of different birds on it with some cute sayings, the "What's the Word, Bird." saying was in that.

I'm off to have lunch with the in-laws today and then hopefully come home to create more art. I'm really feeling it today and kinda bummed I have plans... Oh well.

Some art to share...

2010-08-01T00:02:00.000-04:00

I finally have a moment to post some artwork that I have to share with you! Wanna see?

First, here are my CHA -Summer Dreamweaver Samples:

This is a new stencil for me. It's number LG 679. Before I even put the stencil to the paper, I used my Copic airbrush system to airbrush the back ground. A light speckled blue background was all I was looking for. Then I used the original Dreamweaver Stencil paste to paste on the scenery. After I let that dry COMPLETELY, I then used my Copic markers to color each of the individual parts. I do this with a steady hand right on top of the dry paste. Don't bother putting the stencil back over the design, if you are too heavy with your hand, you just might accidentally over color the area and bleed the color to the paper. It's important that the color just stays right on top of the original Dreamweaver Paste. That's the one with the Maroon label. :-)

This is the BRAND NEW CHA Summer design!! It's LJ 902. I made about 10 different samples using this stencil as I just loved playing with it. All but this one made it to the round file. (I can be picky with my art if it doesn't come out right!) I used the Yellow embossing paste on white watercolor paper. Watercolor paper is kinda lumpy bumpy, so it adds a nice texture. Once the yellow paste was dry, I placed the stencil back on top of the design and then used my picasso stencil (that'sll 332) to color in the leaves and stems green. For the green, I used the oil based Art Stix and a small stencil brush. The center of each of the daisy flowers has black flowersoft. It's the fine flowersoft so it's not too chunky.

Now, if you click on the photo, you might notice that some of it looks shiny. That's because I didn't realize how long the art stix were going to take to dry. Hours after I put it on, it still was wet. So, I threw down some green glitter on it, and it stuck! I was actually quite happy with the green glitter look once finished.

Ohhh... this is one of the new Summer releases! Wheat! It's item number LL 3008. This is on Ten Seconds Studios Dark Chocolate Brown metal. It's actually a really cool process.

First, you need to own a paper stump. Place your stencil down onto a mouse pad. Place the metal down on top of the stencil with the color face down. Use the paper stump to rub over the stencil area, revealing the design. You'll notice in my design that it's on their three times. ONLY do the stencil rubbing on the metal twice! Use your paper stump to really get into the areas of the stencil.

Flip the stencil over and use a sanding block (emery board or other type of sandpaper) to sand off just the raised areas of the design. Try very hard NOT to hit the other areas. You might want to push the other areas flat with your paper stump first.

Once you've sanded the areas, use your paper stump to completely flatten the entire piece of metal. YES! I said FLATTEN the piece of metal. You'll notice that because you already sanded it, the images are still there! Now you can use the stencil on the front of the metal. Attach it on with repositionable tape and then use the Metallic Silver Paste to paste on a Wheat stalk in the middle of the two that are sanded. Let that dry completely. After it's dry, place your stencil back on to the pasted design and use alcohol inks and an applicator to add a little bit of color to the metallic paste.

Lastly, I used just a wheel from Merc Art to add a little bit of texture around the edges. Sanded those and viola! Done!

OK, I know this was a LOT! Let me know if you'd like a step by step tutorial with photos and I'll do it! But you gotta let me know you want it!

Oh, this is one of my FAVORITES!!! I'm so gonna repeat this in a class soon! This is the sign stencil number LG 684. As well as the itty bitty Season's Greetings, number LS 91.

I love this one!!

It's all done on blue cardstock. First, use a white pigment ink to add a little bit of texture to the background. Then I used black matte embossing paste on the sign stencil. While that was drying, I measured the inside of the sign and cut a small piece of the wood paper from Creative Imaginations and used the Season's Greetings stencil and Glossy white paste to stencil in the middle of the wood paper. I let all that dry.

After it was dry, I placed the sign stencil back on and added a little bit of the palette glue and the NEW Metallic F/X Mica Powder Gold Dust to parts of the sign. I also put the stencil back ontot the Season's Greetings design and colored the words with red oil based Art Paint Stix. After adhereing the sign into the middle of the cut out area of the signpost, I then used glossy dreamweaver paste - as is! - to add a little bit of snow to to the bottom of the scenery. Now, I thought I was done with this after I did that and I needed to run an errand. Well, while driving, I realized that I needed to add just ONE more element to this card. I NEEDED a little sparkle! So, before the white glossy Dreamweaver paste dried, I embedded just a tiny amount of white glitter. Just to add that snowy sparkle!

The NEW Peacock! My friend, Mimi's favorite stencil. She was with me when I started using this stencil. She accidentally saw it before she was supposed to. Oops. She promised NOT to say anything but as soon as they the design was released to the public, she told Bev (the owner of the store I work at) that she was on the list for when they came in. I'm happy to say, that I KNOW that Miss Mimi is a proud owner of this beautiful stencil! I bet you are wondering what number this stencil is - so you can order your own! It's LG 730. Get it, now!! It's simply gorgeous! Have you seen the other samples the other gals on the Dream Team have done with it. SO much!!! Go look! Their blogs on on the right -------> over there------> go look!

This was my sample on the Dreamweaver blog. YAH! I love it! Go take a peek!

Whew!

So, I've been a little busy.

Not only have I created those wonderful samples for CHA but I've also got a few samples of classes at the Scrapbook Cupboard too! I was going to show them here tonight but the photos appear to still be on my phone. I'll grab them and get them up for tomorrow. I promise!

Vacation is over...

2010-07-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

It's with some sadness that I must admit.... vacation is over. The children have been out of school for a while but last week, Patrick had it off and we stayed busy with lots of family fun! Let's see, we roasted marshmallow's for 'Smores...

We watched sunsets

We swam in the pool

We went to Woods Hole, MA for a scenic trip to the Science Aquarium and Nobska Lighthouse (thanks Kerriann for suggesting!)

We went to the Museum of Science, where we watched the 3D Shark movie, looked at the HUGE whale exhibit, watched the lightening show, looked out over the harbor (that's 'hahba', if you say it right!)

Partied with friends - ok, so this pool is empty but I was having so much fun I didn't get any pictures!!

Enjoyed the flowers

Make 2 1000 piece puzzles

Ate outside (that's some chili peppers that will be drying in the sun.)

Listened to my book (and I'm reading one too!)

Drank 99 cent iced coffee's (thanks Cumberland Farms!!) - and the kids enjoyed the slushies..

and didn't bother to answer many (if any) emails....

The only thing that machine was good for this week was looking up directions and playing games. I've got over 1400 emails to weed through and I decided, once I downloaded them that it would be easiest to just deleted all priors from my Blackberry and get to it on the laptop. I've got lots to catch up on, including sharing some of my DreamWeaver DT cards, updating my blog links and getting into my studio to get started on some art.

Where to start....

2010-06-27T12:24:00.000-04:00

So much has been going on since April, it's tough to know where to start!

Well since this is about the Adventures of a Craft Store Teacher let me start with the teaching bit...

I'm still working regularly at the Scrapbook Cupboard in East Bridgewater, MA. I'm still teaching online at My Creative Classroom. I've been asked to do a class at Bella Art in Johnston, RI in August and two other classes at Ink About It in Westford, MA in September. Art is definitely keeping me busy! On top of those great teaching opportunities, I might have a few others in the works too! Yippee!

So what type of art am I teaching? Mainly Metal, Copic Markers and Dreamweaver! I'm always loving my metal creations, my Copic markers get a lot of use! and Dreamweaver.... let me tell you a bit about this one.

In early May, a friend, Lynne mentioned to me that she saw a Design Team call for Dreamweaver stencils. When she saw it, the first person she thought of was me. So she immediately emailed me and mentioned it. We've carried Dreamweaver Stencils at the Scrapbook Cupboard for years and I've done a bunch of different classes with them as well as created a few new techniques with them too. I thought, heck... why not. I sent in these samples...

But.... they never got them. Yup, still missing out there in la-la land! Thankfully I have photos. Lynell, from Dreamweaver was kind enough to call me and mention that my samples hadn't arrived, so I sent her the photos. Even after my missing samples, I got the official Welcome Letter the following week! YES!! I am now an official Dreamweaver Design Team member!! Yippee!! I've received my welcome pack with some great stencils as well as a few NEW designs (I'm sworn to secrecy though. Sorry, I can't divulge!!) I've been busy making notes, creating and getting these samples ready. And this time, I'm sending them through only priority mail with tracking and signature required! I'm not loosing anymore precious samples out there in the world! Lynell just gave us the OK to share some of our creations on our blogs (except those NEW designs) so I'll take some photos and post them!

I'm going to get back into the swing of the blog thing. It's been a while and I have so much to say and so much to show too! Right now, I'm going to go watch the kids while they swim in our new pool - that's another post! I'll be back to creating art later today!

Missing...

2010-06-24T13:08:00.002-04:00

Has anyone seen Kim? Has she fallen off the face of the Earth?? Is she on some journey a 1000 miles away? Where, oh, where could she be?

She'll be back - and soon! Loads to tell and more to show you...

Benefit class to help Haiti!

2010-04-24T13:50:00.000-04:00

Join My Creative Classroom as we help the victims of Haiti's recent earthquake. Ten of the MCC faculty and myself have come together to offer this wonderful class. It is really a 'buffet' of ten different styles and techniques. Click here to sign up for the Benefit Class for Haiti. Class begins Tuesday, 4/27.

We have three weeks of all types of papercrafts and mixed media classes. Here is the line up and links to their blogs:

Week 1 features:

Week 2 features:

Week 3 features:

All proceeds from this class will go to a wonderful organization.....Haiti by Hand. Haiti By Hand is an artisan group of Haitian women begun by Rebecca Sower. Just days before the earthquakes of January 2010, Rebecca was in Haiti working with this group of women. This ETSY shop was established to showcase and sell the handcrafts of the Haitians, as well as a shop to sell items donated by artists and crafters who want to help this group of Haitians rebuild and establish themselves after the devastation of the earthquakes.

What a great way to help out! Join us today!

Working on some flowers....

2010-03-24T22:46:00.000-04:00

My Advanced Metal Techniques class opens next Tuesday at My Creative Classroom. As is usual with me, I'm a wonderful procrastinator. I've been feverishly working on the class, filling both Tuesday and Wednesday with flowers of all kinds, and using all types of different techniques with them too. I made Daisies, Lilies, Dahlia's, Roses and other unknown flowers. I used colored metals and Pepsi cans. I used alcohol inks, paints, glossy accents, decorative scissors, punches, paper, adhesives, nail polish and lots more!

Here, let me show you some that I made...

This is a play off of the Grungeboard Roses. I didn't have Wendy Vecchi's stamp, though, so I made due with my own template. It's ok. It didn't come out as I wanted so I think I'll make another and tweak it to my likings. I love the way the Pink Diamond Metal looks though!

These are my new favorites! I love how these came out and they are so easy. I could continue to make these for days! They are sturdy and elegant. Absolutely stunning! It makes me wish I knew someone getting married. These would make beautiful centerpieces!

I loved these too! Not elegant but almost whimsical. These are super easy to make. I loved making these, too!

I had to show the side view of this one. I love that it's triple layered so it has some petals that hang down. This is really pretty little, only about 2 inches across, it would make very beautiful and delicate filler flowers for those lilies above, huh!

All the directions for these flowers will be in class. I'm still working tonight and I've got another flower type and a better rose that I'm working on.

Class won't just be about flowers, we'll also do a monogrammed home decor piece. Her'es a snippet...

We're going to make jewelry pieces and a mini scrapbook too! All in 4 weeks worth of class! This class is an amazing deal too! Only $25!

Fun Bryce story...

2010-03-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

I've told this story to several of my friends but it bears being immortalized in Blog Land!

About a week and a half ago Bryce came home on a Thursday afternoon off the bus. Patrick has Thursday's off so I don't have to go traipsing down to the bus stop on those days (yah!). Anyhow, we he came in the door, he says:

"Mom, I have something to tell you. And Dad, you need to leave the room and close your ears!"

Bryce is 6 3/4. Don't forget that 3/4 either! He'll be 7 in May so it's a big deal to be 3/4 of a year! :-)

So Patrick walks off in a little faux huff and I ask him:

"What's wrong honey?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you about a girl on the bus that I like."

"Oh? Really? What's her name?"

"Alicia"

"And is she in your class?"
"No, just on my bus. But she's in 1st grade too. Mom, I want to buy Alicia some flowers and give them to her on the bus."

Here's me thinking (quickly!).... can I let him do that? What if kids are allergic? What if she's allergic? What is she going to do with flowers all day long at school? But I say:
"Sure, honey. We can pick out some nice flowers for her on Sunday night and you can give them to her on Monday. Will that be OK?"

"Sure, Mom. They have to be purple flowers."

"OK, honey. Well you can pick them out for her. So tell me, what does she look like?"

"I don't know. She's got hair likes yours and she's nice."

"So why do you like her?"

Here it is.... Here's what a 6 3/4 year old boy thinks is CUTE in a 1st grader.! This is what he's basing his infatuation on...

"Oh Mom, she's so cool!! She's lost 10 teeth already!!"

Yup! That's my kid. So innocent, so cute! I dare not tell him her teeth will grow back! But I think he knows that.

So, we did buy Alicia flowers. And it worked out that I brought 3 flowers wrapped in a wet paper towel and then in a little plastic baggy to school on Tuesday when I volunteered. Bryce took them and gave them to her on the bus on the way home. That way they were still in great condition.

When he got off the bus that day, sure enough there was a little curly headed blond girl with a toothless smile waving at me! She was cute!

Class Coupon!

2010-03-06T10:49:00.000-05:00

My Creative Classroom is offering a class coupon! And you can collect as many as you'd like! Here are the details...

To celebrate National Craft Month we will be providing you an opportunity to earn 'cash' towards future courses during the month of March. For every course you enroll in during the month of March you will a $5 off coupon towards a future course of your choice. Earn as many as you want, use them together or one at a time. Coupons are good through December 2010.

We will add up your coupons and send you an email with the total by April 15th. What a nice way to celebrate tax day. :) To earn a coupon you must enroll in a course in March, but the course does not need to start in March.

WOW! What a great deal! I have two more classes this semester that I'm offering there. Advanced Metal Techniques and More Art Journals, Hand Bound. You do not have to have taken the first two to take these. All my classes are stand-alone classes and perfect for beginners, intermediate and advanced users.

Maybe I'll see you in the classroom!

Metal Flowers!

2010-03-02T18:42:00.000-05:00

March 2, 2010

I've had this thought in my head for a while. My problem is that I'm looking for a stylish and unique way of showing off metal embossing techniques. Yah, I could make another wall hanging - or I could create some cards, heck I can even make a mailbox but I am looking for something to put in my home that will also remind me and act as inspiration.

Two months ago when I was just starting sewing, I came across this McCall pattern:

And something inside clicked! I wanted to make these out of metal! With all sorts of different metal techniques on the petals! I just knew it could be done!

Well, all the best plans need some tweaking, right?! Well, I did make exactly one of those flowers from metal and it looked like this:

Well, that wasnt cutting the mustard in my opinion. It was flat, one dimensional and I wanted something that stood out more. Something that would look good sitting in a vase. So, I came up with these:

See how they stand up? See how they look like they are looking for the sun? Looking for Spring? Yup, these are what I'm looking for!

These flowers {and one more not photographed} will be taught at the Scrapbook Cupboard in East Bridgewater this Friday night from 7-10PM! Whew, cutting it close on that display sample, eh?!

Oh, and if you don't live in the area... these flowers will also be part of the Advanced Metal Techniques class through My Creative Classroom. That class starts Tuesday, March 30th. There will be 6 flowers all together in that class. That class runs for 5 weeks.

Now off to finish making dinner, yikes it's getting late!

FunScapes

2010-02-27T20:51:00.001-05:00

2/27/2010

I have two classes coming up next week that I haven't completed yet. Yes, I know. I'm bad. A bad, bad girl. Usually I scold the other teachers about having samples and yet, here I am doing the same thing. Eh gads! One of the classes I have a pretty good excuse for. I didn't get the stamps in until last night. So, between last night and today, I've been busy, busy, busy making samples.

I was so inspired last month by Ken's fun Stampscape cards over at StampersQuest, that I was inspired to make my own. Here are the cards for Thursday night's class that I made....

Can't you just see it. This would make a great card for someone who's having a bad day. You can write something on the inside like, "It could be worse!" Here's another one...

This one here is really a card on perseverance. On the inside, you could write, "Need a Helping Hand?" or "I know you can do it!". Definitely one of those where this card could go the opposite way too. Have someone you don't like? Well, I'm not sure you'd send them a card but if you had to, you could write on the inside, "Either way, you'll drown." OK, that's not nice. Let's stick with the positive affirmations! Here's the last one.

This is the one is very similar to Ken's at StampersQuest. My husband, Patrick, said this was his favorite. Specifically he said, "Now that's what I call fishing!" Although if I was to give this card to Patrick, I'd probably kid around with him and write something like, "Too bad it got away!" Or "It was ttttthhhhhhhhhiiiiiisssss big!, Yah right!

Tomorrow I have a few more projects to work on. I did do some cleaning in the studio today but not much. I had to stop to go to the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. For my poor little Tiger Cub, a three hour banquet was too long. Heck for my neck, 1 hour was already too long. Oh, I didn't mention that I've been holding a ton of tension in my neck the last two days. Boy, oh boy does it hurt. So, that being said, I think I'll go put something warm on it to relieve some of the pain.

Cuttin' it close...

2010-02-26T16:09:00.001-05:00

2/26/2010

OK. I'm cutting this really, really close!

Last night I finally finished the metal cards. One had been up for about a week but the second one was only just finished last night. Started... and Finished... last night. Yikes! Everything I do lately is like that. Last minutes, with moments to spare. Oh, the insanity!

I've been running, running, running all day. Weight Watchers, Appointment, another appointment which ended up being cancelled so I ran to Joann's to partake in the $1.99 McCall's Pattern Sale, pick up kids, doctor's appointment and then finally home. I'm off again in a few hours to class so I'm going to go sit and rest a few moments before ~~making~~ calling for dinner.

Here are both of my metal cards, all ready for tonight...

I'm really loving the mailbox. Very cute and wicked easy to do! Funny... that is the name of the class.. Unusual and EASY metal cards!

Both stamps are by Magenta and lately, I'm really loving the brass brush - if you couldn't already tell!

I hope you have a great day. I'll be back again tomorrow.

Oh, one more thing... I have had a few people complain they can't tell which date my posts are written on. I think it's the new format I'm using. I don't know why the date and time won't show up. So, if I remember, I'll try to put a date at the top of my posts.

Life and Art to share!

2010-02-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

My husband, Patrick, recently got a promotion at work. With this promotion comes added responsibility and many, many more hours of work. Ugh. With two school aged children, it means that for me, more running around. This weekend, for example, is the Blue and Gold banquet at cub scouts. Patrick will work until 5 and then race home. The banquest starts at 5 so I'll pack up the kids, our appetizers and shuffle them off to save a seat for Dad. Did I mention before that he's the Den leader for Bryce's Den? Yah, so sitting close to them is probably a required task on my part.

I do a lot during the day. Not just housework (which I detest), groceries and laundry but also working on the newsletter, calendar and classes for the Scrapbook Cupboard. I also answer emails several times a day from my great students at My Creative Classroom. I write a monthly article for Stampers Quest Ezine plus participate in challenges and other projects on that site as well. Twice a week for about 3 hours total, I volunteer for my local elementary school. The same one my kids go to. It's great to see my kids during the school day and to meet their friends but it's also a great way to help out my local school. I also attend my weekly Weight Watchers meeting, go to sewing class, visit with my Mom and lately it seems as if we have a lot of dental or doctor appointments we've been going to (it's just that time of year!). So adding in more projects seems insane, right?

Well, today is Patrick's only day off for another week and what's he doing? Adding lighting and a TV into my newly redesigned studio. I know. He's a great guy! Of course, I'm not really helping. I'm working. Typical, huh!

Anyhow, I wanted to tell you how the rest of the studio redesign is going. S.L.O.W.L.Y... I've been at this for a while now and I don't know when it will be done. I had to stop so that I could get out some projects with deadlines so it won't be until possibly Saturday before I get back in there to organize some more. Yesterday I organized for a little while and look what I found...

Isn't that fantastic! I might have shown it before on the blog, I can't remember. It's a piece of Pearl colored metal, run through the Cuttlebug with a DreamWeaver die and then colored. What did I use? Prismacolor Pencils!!! YUP!! Just plain 'ole Prismacolor pencils to add all that beautiful coloring. I think I might have to make another sample of this and throw it into a class! The Pearl is a great color to use for this technique as it has a little tooth to it, being that its more of a matte than a glossy finish on it. Try it and let me know you did!

I also wanted to share my latest creation on Stampers Quest Ezine. Check out these adorable Elephants!

Wanna see how I made them? Check out the article at Stampers Quest here: Sweet Grass Stamps

Tonight I have a painting class with Jean, a local Certified One Stroke Painting Instructor. She mentioned that I should bring the directions from last class to class tonight. Hmmm... I'm not sure what pile they are in. Guess I should go find them...

A little about what I'm doing...

2010-02-23T23:29:00.000-05:00

Let me fill you in on something I've been doing for a little while.

I joined Weight Watchers last September. Yup! And I've been sticking with it. Not great but good. So far I've lost 27.4 pounds but I still have many, many more pounds to go until I'm where I'm 'supposed' to be. Anyhow... last weekend, I had 5 friends over for an evening of drinking, eating, and Wii playing. Barbara brought over Just Dance. Have you heard of this game? Have you tried it? Why not! It's a fabulous cardio workout. We had such a great time with this game that 3 more of us now own it!!

Another workout I've been doing lately, redesigning my studio. A complete redo. I have been working on it for about 2 weeks now, it's been consuming many hours of my days and I'm not done yet. I've been purging like crazy too. I had about 4/5 large totes worth of stuff that I've been pulling out for friends to go through. I'm happy to say that I'm down right now to one tote. But, did I mention I'm not done with my studio redesign? Yah, so I'm sure to have more things to give away soon. Here's what it's looking like so far...

You can see a part of the new shelves in the first picture. Plus I have a new desk over there too. Perfect height for sewing, computer work, writing, or whatever! I don't have a chair yet but since the room isn't completely functional yet that's not a matter at the moment.

I really wanted to be done with this project by now as it's frustrating me. I totally feel stagnant in my art without a working studio. I was able to throw something together this afternoon. But, really it was for a card swap that was due tonight. See, I'm not really getting things done ahead of time. More like at CRUNCH time, which I'm hating. Wanna see the card I threw together? Simple. Super simple. The theme for the Card Swap was St. Patrick's Day OR Good Luck Cards. We do our swap with a choice. And it was great fun to see what people made tonight. We got 4 good luck cards and 3 St. Patrick's Day cards. Perfect!

The white around the card is the actual envelope. It doesn't have any white on the card at all. The Happy St. Patrick's Day is on a light green and the Shamrocks are all embossed with Green Tinsel embossing powder.

I hope you are having a great day. I'm going to turn in early and hopefully wake up extremely productive!

3

2010-02-23T00:37:00.001-05:00

It's been a little while since I've posted. I've been crazy out and half out of my mind. I am always feeling like I'm about 3 weeks behind in projects to be completed. I seem to have overextended myself a bit. So, I wasn't able to write and update the blog as often as I would like. While I'm still about 3 projects behind, I'm looking in the right direction and can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

So, what have I been up to? LOTS! My classes have been running and enrollment has been good everywhere. Within the last month, I've taught several classes at Scrapbook Cupboard, one at Ink About It and so far, we are in the middle of one at My Creative Classroom. I have 3 classes tomorrow! Yup, 3! The last week lesson for the Metal Sampler will be posted, the first lessons of the Art Journals, Handbound will be posted (both at My Creative Classroom) and I've also got a class tomorrow night at the Scrapbook Cupboard. Busy!

Let's take a peek at what else has been going on.

I took another Zentangle class:

That's not my hand or my Zentangle. It belongs to my friend, Danielle. She did a fabulous job! Certified Zentangle Instructor, Toni Henneman taught the class. She's a great teacher and it was great to learn something new and to finally get out for something other than to teach others.

I've been taking a beginner sewing class at Saftler's in Whitman, MA. Again, no picture of me - just one of my sewing/WW/walking buddy, Susan. Hard at work...

I've been surprised at how therapeutic this sewing class has been. I'm just about done with my apron. My first piece was an owl pin cushion. I don't have a picture of him but will get one up. I've already signed up for another sewing class. This time it will be on making villages. And if you've read my blog in the past, you know - I'm big on houses! So this was right up my 'alley'! Sorry, I couldn't resist the horrible pun!

I also took another Stampscapes class. Jeanne drove Bev and I up to Maine to learn a few new techniques! Stampscapes are so easy to do. And with little effort, they can look beautiful! Here's the card we made in class:

Hey, at least this time you get to see my hand!

So, I just started a course on building a better blog. So, far my lesson is to decide in what direction you want your blog to go. Keep it all business? Keep it all family? Keep it all art? Integrate all? Well, in an effort to find some photos of some past art I did, I had to look through my blog earlier today for the photos. When I did, I found that I really did enjoy blogging. Then I stopped blogging - or rather, I stopped blogging as often. Why? I think it's because I stopped incorporating my life into it. I've been feeling like my blog is a big advertisement of what classes I'm teaching. Where? When? What? But that's not just what I'm about. I have a life outside of that and I have a beautiful family too. So, I'm going to go back to the old way of blogging. Incorporate pictures and stories of the children. Articles about my life. And pictures of my art. Regardless of whether the art is a class today or was something I found and made years ago. No rules, no regulations, no restrictions.

I seem to have a theme with this blog tonight. Everything I've spoke of, has come in three's. I guess I've got a blog header today! 3! 3 great classes coming up. 3 great classes I've taken. I'm teaching/or have taught at 3 great places this month. I'm going to revert my blog back to talking about family, art and business. I'm not going to limit myself to rules, regulations or restrictions. Huh! How about that!

Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of the larger project I'm working on. Plus tell you some more about what I've been doing in my life. Maybe I'll show you some art too! But for now, I must rest!

Big class today...

2010-01-24T10:59:00.000-05:00

Rather than chat with the family this morning, I thought I'd update my blog since I'm saving my voice.

See, I'll be talking for the next 4 hours at my big Copic Review class at the Scrapbook Cupboard!

This Copic Review class covers the first six months of the Copic Collection I taught at the Cupboard. There is so much information we cover in these classes I still don't teach it all! As a matter of fact, I teach just one or two things from each class but I give you ALL the hand outs for each of those 6 months. It's really a great deal. The class is $59, includes 6 markers and 6 months worth of step by step hand outs! WOW!

This class is full (or maybe it has one spot) but there will be another one in March. Sunday, March 14th to be exact. Class is held from 12-4PM and it's a download of a whole bunch of knowledge. Loads of knowledge ... and I never shut up! It's the only class I talk for hours and hours on end. And if you know me... you know, I'm not a big talker.

Would you like to know what I'm going to talk about for 4 hours? Let's see, first I'll go over all the basics regarding Copic Markers. Then we start working on the simple blending...

Then we'll go over all those cool things that the Gray's and Colorless Blender can do... everyone gets a hand drawn Kim house! I love making houses!!

We'll then move on to using your Copic's with other mediums...

And then ON other mediums...

Next we go over the Air Brush System and lastly, skin tones!

You think that's all? NOPE! I have 6 more month's of Copic Collections that I'm in the middle of teaching now. So there will be another Copic Review 2! coming up in April encompassing all "those" techniques!

While I'm not an expert at the Copic's, I'm really good at breaking down things and figuring how they work. I will say that since becoming a Certified Copic Designer last year, I've barely touched another marker since!

Oh, it's time to go to class...

Oh, you might want to check out...

2010-01-21T07:08:00.000-05:00

Stampers Quest EZine today.

Part one of my 2 part article on Inks is up and ready for your reading pleasure! Let me know what you think.

Classrooms are up and online!

2010-01-20T23:54:00.000-05:00

I have 4 classrooms up and ready for enrollment over at My Creative Classroom.

Here's a breakdown of what I'm offering and the descriptions...

Metal Sampler
Class Starts Tuesday, February 9th. This is a 3 week class for $25.

Class Description:
Metal embossing is one of the hottest techniques in the market today. The art of embossing metal has been around for centuries but has just exploded with papercrafting artists within the last few years. Papercrafters are using embossed metal for their cards, scrapbooks, home decor and more!

Have you wanted to try metal embossing but not sure how it's done? It's an easy and rewarding craft. Kim Parkinson has made metal embossing her passion for the last 4 years. She is a Ten Seconds Studio Certified Instructor but hasn't stopped there. Kim has created a Metal Sampler with 14 different embossing techniques that are both easy to learn and to apply to your crafts and projects. She's even created a technique of her own and shares that technique in this 3 week workshop. Once completed your Sampler also makes a beautiful piece of art for you to hang and display!

Metal embossing isn't difficult and it doesn't have to be expensive. Using many popular items such as stamps, stencils, paints, inks and sprays, you are sure to have many of the items to complete this project on hand already. Kim will guide you through the embossing products in the market today as well as showing you some simple and economical ways you can get started. Please take a look at the Supply List for a more information on what we will be using in class. Or take a look at the Substitution List to see how quickly you can get started!

Art Journals, Hand Bound
Class Starts Tuesday, February 23. This four week class is $20.

Class Description:

Advanced Metal Techniques

Did you take the Metal Sampler and couldn’t get enough? Never taken a metal embossing class before? Dabbled in embossing but want to know more? Then this is the class for you!

Kim Parkinson has made metal embossing her passion for 4 years! She’s a certified Ten Seconds Studio Instructor but hasn’t stopped there, creating several of her own techniques along the way. This semester, Kim is bringing to you two new and fantastic home décor pieces, easy to make and enjoy. In this 4 week class you’ll use jewels, decorative scissors, inks, soda cans and nail polish to collage, stitch and color the metal into two stunning pieces you’ll enjoy for years to come. One of those pieces can even be used outside of your home! Kim will also show you how to take these techniques from home décor to your papercrafting projects by completing a mini scrapbook for your treasured photos.

There’s no pre-requisite for this class, come with lots or little experience. If you are looking to try something new, then this is it! Please take a moment to review the Supply list as well as the Substitution list. Crafting shouldn’t always be expensive and Kim has some great tips on making metal embossing more affordable!

MORE Art Journals, Hand Bound
Class starts Tuesday, April 20th. This four week class is $20.

PHOTO COMING SOON!

This is ‘bound’ to be another fun class! There is a lot more techniques and two more stitches in this class! We’re going to be using paints, inks, gel medium, mists, collage art and even beeswax! You’ll be using needles, thread, floss, chipboard and cardstock too! If you’d like you can even use some embossed metal to cover your project!

This class doesn't just cover stitching your own art journals but also completing the pages within with different mixed media techniques too!

In this four week class we will complete two hand bound journals. Both journals will come with complete instructions for the inside pages and bindings. Also included are videos showing you exactly how to complete the bindings, stitch by stitch.

You can make these journals more than just a journal, you can make these a work of art!

There's lots of great classes at My Creative Classroom. If you haven't been over to see what's new, you might want to do so soon. Registration has just opened and the first classes start on February 1st.

Staying busy!

2010-01-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

I've been staying busy today. Working on my classroom's at MyCreativeClassroom.com as well as playing with my newest toy...

Yup, it's finally active and I'm using it. WOW! What a learning curve compared to the other phones I've used. I'm loving it but it's taking me a while to get used to and I really don't have the time to spend on it. There's just so much it can do! I'm now fully plugged into the world! OK, I say that yet yesterday I didn't log onto email even once with my computer. I actually never even turned the thing on yesterday. Too much fun enjoying some time with the family - who were all home for MLK Jr. Day.

I'm working on quite a few things tonight. I've got a lot of deadlines either past or coming up and they need addressing. Hmmm... maybe I should shut off my new phone to get them done....

Nah...

Find me on Facebook...

2010-01-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

I've been posting occasionally on Facebook for the last few months. I've got a few pictures up there of projects I"ve done, pictures of the kids and more.

Interested in being my friend? Click here:

Kim Parkinson

Create Your Badge

Renewed Excitement!

2010-01-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

I've been lost in lala land for a little while. The busyiness of the Holidays and the stress of some personal issues coupled with some uneventful dieting had put me in some doldrums. Not that my muse has been lost, NO! I've been creating classes as they need to be created but I haven't been looking ahead too far lately. But I'm ready for a change!

A few things have changed recently that I'm very excited about!

Let's see, where to start?

Well, Patrick made me a fabulous cabinet for my studio as well as a place for all my stamps. This piece really is exactly what I needed! All my most loved and recently purchased stamps plus some items I always seem to be looking for are here.

and then behind me is this giant cabinet...

It's got three shelves inside and is really high up on the wall. I put some dry erase paper on it to write my to do and up coming lists on it. I whited them out here but you can see, it's a lot of space. See that picture in the background? My very talented friend, Mandy made that years ago. I did some hypnosis with her this past Summer and she gave it to me. I love it!

After spending about a week organizing those cabinets, I thought I'd jump right on the bandwagon and get to creating. Well, it wasn't so. I guess as with everything, it takes some getting used to. I love both pieces and already have seen how much of an asset they are to my studio.

I've been asked to teach again online at My Creative Classroom. I'll be teaching 5 classes coming this Spring Semester. The Metal Sampler and Art Journals, Hand Bound from last semester as well as Advanced Metal techniques and More Art Journals, Handbound. There's a card class in me waiting to come out too but it's not until very late in the semester so I haven't done much to start that. Speaking of My Creative Classroom, did you know that if you join as a Fan on their Facebook page that you are entered to win a gift cretificate for $30! That's one, maybe two FREE classes! Check them out here:
My Creative Classroom Facebook Page

There's been lots of research and development regarding my classes. I've been purusing through a few books:

I've been using my sketchbook (which, I'm ashamed to say needed to be dusted off !!) and I even found a few things I'm going to be playing with soon. I found this at an auto supply store...

and this at Home Depot:

Hmmm... lots of interesting ideas swirling through my mind! Now to use that dusted sketchbook and get them out!

So what's got me all fired up and ready to rock and roll? A few more things. I've been exploring taking other classes for myself. It's tough and draining to come up with 5 to 6 classes a month plus teach them without getting any feedback from other sources. So, I decided that what I really needed was to expand my craft knowledge. My friend, Susan, and I are taking sewing classes at Saftlers on Monday's. It's a 10 week course and I'm going to make one of these...

Oops, sorry it's sideways but you can see what it is! I've picked up a few more patterns. I'm hoping to incorporate more sewing into my crafts. I've even got my eyes on a quilting class in March. I'm hoping I easily grasp the sewing knowledge to be able to make it to that class.

Then last Thursday, I took a painting class. One Stroke Certified Instructor Jean Belbin taught me how to make this:

It looks hard but just as the teacher promised, it was easy and just takes practice to get the hang of. She's doing another one of these classes at the Scrapbook Cupboard next week. I believe it says it's the next step up from this class or maybe it says advanced but either way, I don't think this is a pre-requisite. Jean proved to be a patient teacher and everyone left with something they were happy with.

Then last night I took a class with Jane Davies at Ink About It. The class was called Book Proposal Workshop. Jane was very informative, had lots of information and answered every one of our questions. It really got me excited. Writing a craft book takes a lot of work, long hours and little pay but if you are looking to get some knowledge out there or to see your name in print, it may not be as hard as you think! I'm going to mull this information over for a while longer. I hate overextending myself but I've got lots to think about and perhaps some day another iron to put onto the fire!

I'll be back up at Ink About It on Thursday, February 4th for a daytime class. I'll be there teaching the Metal Sampler. Class is almost full there, so if you are on the North Shore and interested, call them now! If you aren't interested in traveling to Westford or can't make it to a weekday daytime class, the Metal Sampler is available this Sunday at the Scrapbook Cupboard or online at My Creative Classroom starting February 9th. Lots of options to learn!

My teaching doesn't stop there, either. Blue Hills called in late December and I'll be doing an 8 week Scrapbooking workshop at Blue Hills Regional School District on Monday nights beginning March 1st.

Whew! See why I'm getting excited? Oh, and I almost forgot one of the biggest roles I was hired for! Yikes! Not only am I the 2009-2010 TrailMaster winner at Stampers Quest Ezine, but I'm also now their Product Guru Review writer! My first article will be published online next week. If you are on the Stampers Quest home page, you can sign up for notification of new articles and you'll get it delivered to your email box! My first article is a two part-er and is goes in depth on something that us Stampers use every time we stamp! Can you guess what it is?

On a personal front, the kids are doing fabulous. Patrick is just about to take on a better position in his company. It's not in stone but I'm hoping. We really need it to happen. And yesterday, I signed up to be a Tastefully Simple consultant. After my consultant told me how much I spent on the food each year and how much I could save, it was kinda a no-brainer. So now, if I didn't think I had enough to keep me busy before... well, maybe that will help push me in the right direction!

More is coming. I've given the blog a make-over and now, I'm ready to create and share. Are you ready?

Happy New Year!!

2009-12-31T17:30:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!

May your 2010 be wonderful, prosperous, healthy, crafty, enlightening and FUN!!

My New Year's Resolution this year is to blog more. I always want to and I have so much to show, share and say so... in the new year of the newest decade, I plan to show you more, share more and say more!

Please be safe tonight and enjoy your festivities!

My husband isn't home from work and may not be until almost 8 but the kids and I are playing Wii, crafting and I'm just about to put a chicken into the rotissourie (ok, I KNOW that's spelled wrong!)

See you all next year!

Life Now....

2009-12-15T09:38:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've blogged here about my family, my life and me. So I thought I'd catch everyone up.

The kids are in school and I volunteer twice a week at the school. It keeps me in their lives while at school too. I really love the opportunity. Both boys brought home their report cards the other day. Caleb got all A's and B's (except they don't call them B's anymore - now they are P's. I do not know what the P stands for.) and Bryce receive all Satisfactory or Outstandings (in K through 2nd they only do Satisfatory, Outstanding, Needs Improvement, etc. No A's or B's in those grades either). Bryce's teachers note made mention to him being a little of a mess maker. OK, it made mention that he's a big mess maker. But it's so hard for me to tell him to clean up his act when I'm exactly the same way!! Yikes! Both boys are in cub scouts and love it. Patrick's even a den leader for Bryce's den. So we are all about the scouts here. Well, sometimes.

I've been sticking with the Weight Watchers plan and have lost a total of 21.2 pounds since September! I do keep a blog on my Weight loss, giving me something to look back on in the future. It's been a fun road so far. Not too hard yet. Well, it was very hard at first but now it's kinda smooth sailing. I don't always loose a lot, and one week I gained! But I jump back on and work at it. It'll be a while before I'm at goal but I know it'll be worth it.

Christmas shopping is in full swing here (and I'm sure almost everywhere!), the boys are done being shopped for. YES! And I just finished my husband this morning. YAHOO! But I have several family members to get gifts for. Some are easier than others. It seems that all my swap partners this year are guys, so I'm not going to be making any gifts this year. Oh well. Speaking of making things... I have my Christmas cards in pieces. I think I'll work on those today. Almost everything is ready for them, it's just assembly time. Which can take a whole day!

Life continues to spin crazy. I'm creating classes and have almost all of my January class samples done. I'm working on my Copic classes today. I'll take some photos and post those later this week.

A very Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL and PROSPEROUS 2010!

Zen - tangled!

2009-12-09T23:23:00.000-05:00

Today was the ATC Swap at the Scrapbook Cupboard. The theme this month was Zentangles or Doodling. I read all the online literature I could find and I came up with 10 completely diffferent ATC cards. While I didn't find the theme to be difficult, I did find it time consuming. I had a tough time doing more than one card at a sitting - my eyes going 'tangled'. One of the days I was working on my cards, Bryce came in to see what I was doing. He's only 6 1/2 but he can tangle with the best of them! Take a peek at what Bryce did...

Aren't those cute!

We are missing a few from some other participants, but so far, these are the fabulous cards everyone has made...

And not a one of us has had an actual class with a Zentangle teacher!

Our next ATC swap with be Wednesday, February 10th and our next theme is Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales. I can't wait to see what these talented ladies come up with!

Holiday Card Keeper - Part 4

2009-12-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

This is is, the last of the series on the Card Keeper. I hope you have all enjoyed it!

Today we are going to finish it up and attach our metal to our box. Here goes...

Day Four

Supply List:

 Box with lid – I’m using a cigar box, it measures 8 ¼ x 7 ¾ x 3, any paper Mache box will work too.

 Paints with Brushes, I’m using the new Claudine Paints by Ranger but any acrylic paints will do.

 Some paper towels or a soft cloth for buffing.

 Sand Paper or Sanding Block

 Your nearly finished piece of metal

 Paper Stump

 Brass Brush

 Humungo Adhesive

To color the metal, I dipped my brush into the paint and painted over some of the areas I wanted colored. Ranger's Studio paints stick really well into the metal so you don’t need to let them dry too much before buffing.

With cotton cloth or some paper towels, buff off some of the paint. I do this just so I can see some of the metal underneath.

As you see here, I completely covered the back piece in blue (I mixed the white and blue to get this nice color) I also completely covered the bottom in white.

I just buffed off the paint so that the paint ‘stuck’ into the snowflakes but didn’t stay all over the project. If you are using a cheaper paint, just let the paint dry a few moments before buffing. If you don’t then you might find yourself wiping all the paint off the project. If that happens, just do it again!

I found that some areas had paint left on that I didn’t want there. I used my brass brush and in a circular motion, ‘brushed’ off the paint.

To add my metal to my box, I use the Humungo adhesive from Ten Seconds Studio. There are many options out there. You can use a strong liquid adhesive as well as any strong dry adhesive. I’ve used the Ultimate, Claudine’s Multi Medium, Uhu’s Twist and Glue, Kokoyo’s tape roller, Magic Scraps adhesive and some others.

If you use the Humungo adhesive, my suggestion is to cut it to size first and then peel back just one layer.

“Walk” the adhesive down your piece. Basically, start at one end and then slowly spread you hand over the piece until all the adhesive is down. You’re trying to ensure no air bubbles get trapped between your adhesive and metal.

It’s possible you might have to trim up some of your adhesive.

Once you find the correct placement on your piece, then peel back the other layer on the adhesive and ‘walk’ it onto your box.

Use your paper stump or popsicle stick to help the sides lay flat on your project.

And now you’re done!

I hope you enjoyed this blog class! If you have any question, please let me know!

Holiday Card Keeper - Part 3

2009-12-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

I hope you are having fun! I would love to hear from you or see what you are doing if you work on this project!

Day 3

Day Three

We are going to continue our metal embossing today. Today is going to be a tough day. Depending on how much you stamp, there could be a lot of tracing and refining. If you need to, take breaks. Your wrists and hands will thank you for it.

For today, you’ll need to dig out…

Your aluminum piece from yesterday.
Stamps, any of your favorite images will work. Don’t use ones with words for your first design.
Staz On or Archival Ink, any color is fine although a dark color is best.
Paper Stump - or popsicle stick
Refiner tool – or empty ball point pen
Ball and Cup tool – or medium sized stylus
Thin Mat - or mouse pad
Acrylic Mat - or glass cutting mat
Small Wheel Tool – I use the ones by Ten Seconds Studio but Merc Art makes some and there are even some that quilters use. This past Halloween we bought a pumpkin carving set and it had a wheel tool in it that will work too!
Lightweight Spackle

Choose your stamp set and let’s start inking…

REMEMBER! When stamping on metal, use only a hard surface under your metal.

Choose the placement of your stamps and on the back of the metal, with just the acrylic (smooth cutting mat) underneath your metal, stamp your images. I used Staz On ink for this.

Complete your design. If you make a mistake or decide that you put in one too many trees or snowflakes, no worries! You can either ignore it or you can ‘erase it’ with a little blending solution or rubbing alcohol on a paper towel. Remember this is all done on the BACK of the metal. You won’t see this part in the end.

On the thin mat (mouse pad) with the refiner (ball point pen), place the waxed paper over the stamped on metal (this is optional) and trace the stamped lines. Be careful with close lines; remember you don’t want to ‘blur’ the lines. If you can leave out some lines on your image and keep the basic design, I would recommend for your first try. You can always add more detail in later if needed.

Once you have completely traced all of the stamped images, flip over your metal and place on just the acrylic mat (smooth cutting mat) and refine all your edges. This might take a while. Be patient!

If you have some areas that have a lot of details, such as the trees in the above photo, consider just tracing the outside lines. The when you are on the front of the metal refining, add in some squiggly lines. The lines will be slightly debossed in to the metal, but it’ll add a little bit of texture to your design.

On the acrylic mat (smooth cutting mat), take your paper stump (or popsicle stick) and on the front of the metal flatten any areas that are slightly puffy. You’ll add some dimension to just the area you want after this step.

On the back of the metal, place a thin mat (mouse pad) under the metal and select a few areas to ‘puff’ the metal. You’re just going to rub over a small area and stretch the metal outward.

Above is a photo of the ‘puffed’ area. You can see it’s slightly raised from the other metal surrounding it.

Let’s add a little bit more detail to your work. If you own a wheel tool, run the tool over the metal with the thin mat (mouse pad) under the metal. I did this on the front side of the metal. In my design, I only ran the wheel on the bottom – to look like a road, but feel free to use as you need for your own design.

Now we need to protect our embossed design from being flattened by normal use.

I use a cheap Lightweight Spackle and an old gift card.

It might take a little bit of scraping but slather on your spackle and then scrape off any extra. It's easiest to remove any spackle that's onyour gift card before cleaning up the metal. Spackle likes to attach itself to itself so if your gift card is scraped it will work better.

When you are done, you should see mostly metal but you need to make sure that the puffed areas are mostly filled in. The piece above is still not completely done. You should make sure that any excess spackle is removed - even if you use your fingers to do it. The better your spackling job on the back, the better the finished piece will look!

Let the spackle dry completely. Tomorrow we will finish up with some painting!

Holiday Card Keeper - Part 2

2009-12-04T08:00:00.003-05:00

Thanks for coming back!

Here's day two of the Holiday Card Keeper:

Today we are going to get started on our metal embossing! For today, you’ll need to dig out…

 Your aluminum metal. This can be a piece of 36-40 gauge metal from Amaco, Merc Art, Ten Seconds Studio or you can even use a disposable top to an aluminum party pan.

 Tracing paper or words printed backwards.

 Paper Stump - or popsicle stick

 Refiner tool – or empty ball point pen

 Ball and Cup tool – or medium sized stylus

 Thin Mat - or mouse pad

 Acrylic Mat - or glass cutting mat

Here’s a few photos for reference…

After I cut my piece of metal to the size that I wanted it, I decided on how big I wanted the words on the top of my box.

I printed the words backwards (usually this is in your printer settings – it could be listed as reverse print or T-shirt transfer printing). I cut the words out roughly just so I could exact my placement on the piece of metal. The picture above shows the backside of the metal. I chose to use a piece of the art metal by Ten Seconds Studio so that you could see when I was working on the back (copper color) and when I was working on the front (aluminum color).

I checked the size of the words based on the size of my stamps. I knew that this font was the right size when I saw how the house was going to look on the metal.

After taping down the words (this is optional but I do suggest for something like this), I placed the piece of metal on top of my thin mat (mouse pad) and used my small round eraser tool (stylus) to trace right on top of the letters. You don’t need too much pressure to achieve an embossing. Too much pressure, though and you could break right through the metal. Just be careful. Use a test piece to check your pressure before getting started if you’d like. Since the paper is taped on, you can always lift up the metal and look at the front to ensure that you are giving enough pressure.

TIP!! Use a piece of wax paper and rub it over your printed paper to allow your stylus to glide smoothly!

It should look like the photo above when you are done tracing.

Now that you have traced the words onto your metal, leave the paper on while to refine the area. You don’t want to find out as you are refining that you missed a spot and then can’t line up the paper again. So, with that said…

Take your refiner tool (ball point pen) and on just your acrylic mat (smooth cutting mat) outline the letters on the front side of the metal. You’ll want to go around all the lines that have been embossed. This doesn’t have to be perfect. If you are a little further away from the line, you can get in closer if you’d like. Play around. These should be big enough letters that it makes it pretty easy to do. Remember to refine around the inside of the loopy letters. Every embossed line should have two lines of refining around it.

TIP!! If you accidentally push in the line you’ve drawn, just flip the metal over, put down the thin mat (mouse pad) and go over the flattened line again with the round tipped tool (stylus). You really can’t make a mistake!!

Front View

Back View

Above are two images. The top one is what it looks like when you’ve completed refined all your edges. The bottom one is the back side of the metal. You can see a definite letter embossed into the metal.

Place your piece of metal in a safe spot. Tomorrow we’re going to add some stamping into our design.

Holiday Card Keeper - Part 1

2009-12-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome Back!

Today I'm starting a three part/day blog post. I'm hosting a FREE blog presentation on how to make a Holiday Card Keeper. You can view the Supply List for what you'll need the next three days here.

If you have any questions, post them as a comment and I'll answer them in another post for everyone to see.

Enjoy!

Supply List for today: **

Box with lid – I’m using a cigar box, it measures 8 ¼ x 7 ¾ x 3, any paper Mache box will work too.
Holiday papers
Gel Medium, Mod Podge or other favorite wet adhesive
Paints with Brushes, I’m using the new Claudine Paints by Ranger but any acrylic paints will do.
Sand Paper and Sanding Block
Aluminum Metal Foil – about 36-40 gauges will work well.

**See my tips in yesterday's post.

I’m working with a cigar box as my card keeper. Any paper mache box will do and use your imagination, you don’t have to make a card keeper either. A journal, a clock, a photo frame, almost anything can be covered in metal.

Today we are going to prep our Cigar box. I used Gesso to cover the wood grain look on my box. If you are using a paper mache box, you may not need this step.

Once completely dry, I sanded off an area that was bumpy. You’ll want to make sure that the top part of your box, the area that’s going to have the metal embossing on it is as flat as you can get it. If you have bumps, it might show through on your metal when you lay it down.

Once the outside was dry, I painted the inside edges. I’m going to place Holiday paper in the top recess and the bottom recess but I need to paint the edges first. I painted the flat edge and the inside edge of the inside of the box. I used Ranger's Studio Paint in Sable Brown. It’s nice and creamy and thick. Any acrylic paint will do for this step. The key is to cover completely any areas you want covered. Some paints will take several coats. Before painting the bottom, I did remove some cedar planks that were fitted into the box. Your box may or may not have these. Removing them is your choice as well.

I painted the inside edge of the bottom with Ranger's Studio Paint in Modern Red. Once dry, I measured my inside edges and cut some Holiday paper to cover the top and bottom edges.

I used the Studio Multi-medium in Matte to ‘glue’ the paper to the top and the bottom and then I also used it as a glaze over the paper. I did have a few bubbles in my project but I’m happy to say, when they dried, they dried flat. The key is to add thin layers of multi medium.

*Not pictured, I painted the top lid of the box the same Modern red and I added Holiday papers to the bottom outside edge. I adhered the paper with the Multi Medium and I then added a thin layer of multi medium over the paper too.

I used one of the left over cedar planks to keep propped open. I left this to dry overnight.

Tomorrow, we’ll emboss our metal. I used a piece of aluminum metal that just fit the top of my cigar box…

While I used a piece of Copper colored Art Metal from 10 Seconds Studio as well as their tools, remember you can use a top to a large disposable aluminum party pan and some basic supplies you might have at home. Here’s a photo for reference…

That’s a cutting mat, a disposable aluminum pan cover, a mouse pad, several stylus’ and an empty ball point pen.

Holiday Card Keeper

2009-12-02T21:46:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking... I've been a bad blogger lately. Other than not updating regularly, I also haven't done any projects or free tutorials lately. Tsk.. tsk on me!

So, I was thinking.

Last year I taught a Holiday Card Keeper class online to a Yahoo group that I belong to. Here it is:

And it occurred to me that I should post these directions here. For you... out there in blogland.

This class spanned 4 days online so I'm going to do the same here. I'm going to post the supply list today and then set up the blog to post a new lesson at 8AM EST each day for the next 3 days. If you have any questions along the way or at the end, post them here and I'll answer them here online too.

If you decide to try this out, feel free to use whatever stamp set you have and like. The women in the Yahoo Group that tried this all used different stamps and they each came out beautifully. For these techniques, you won't be able to use word stamps, once embossed the words will be backwards. Other than that... try it. It's easy and fun! AND! I tell you how to emboss using cheap materials that you may already have at home!

Here's the Supply List, come back tomorrow for the first set of directions: Have Fun!

Supply List:

Box with lid – I’m using a cigar box, it measures 8 ¼ x 7 ¾ x 3, any Paper Mache box will work too.
Holiday papers
Gel Medium, Mod Podge or other favorite wet adhesive
Paints with Brushes, I’m using the Studio Paints by Ranger but any acrylic paints will do.
Sand Paper and Sanding Block
Aluminum Metal Foil – about 36-40 gauges will work well. **See below for a tip on this**
Stamps, any of your favorite images will work. Don’t use ones with words for your first design.
Staz On or Archival Ink, any color is fine although a dark color is best.
Tracing paper or words printed backwards.
Paper Stump - or popsicle stick
Refiner tool – or empty ball point pen
Ball and Cup tool – or medium sized stylus
Thin Mat - or mouse pad
Acrylic Mat - or glass cutting mat
Small Wheel Tool – I use the ones by Ten Seconds Studio but Merc Art makes some and there are even some that quilters use. This past Halloween we bought a pumpkin carving set and it had a wheel tool in it that will work too!
Brass Brush - you can purchase one of these in your local hardware store. The hardware store one is bigger but will still work in a pinch.
Lightweight Spackle
Humungo - or Red Line Tape. You can also substitute strong glue. I’ve used The Ultimate with great results.

**The metal I used is a 40 gauge aluminum sold by Ten Seconds Studio. They make several different color coated metals.
If you don’t own metals by Ten Seconds Studio, you can use the metal foils made by Amaco or Merc Art as well.
OR - If you can’t get your hands on any of this metal foil, an alternative to this would be the top to an aluminum party plan. These can be found in your local super market, Wal-Mart or any party planning stores. I’ve bought mine for as little as 49 cents! If you choose the bottoms, you will find that they have too many creases and that many are stamped with a logo. This molding and stamping are hard to get out – and could be impossible so I’d just stick with the tops. Many times you can buy the tops seperately.

Check back tomorrow morning for the first part of the directions for this Holiday Card Keeper box.

Another one stop shopping event!

2009-11-30T19:39:00.000-05:00

Looking for another Holiday one stop shopping event? You can find one at the Studio 23 in Abington,MA. The address is Studio 23, 597 Brockton Ave., Abington, MA

Gayle will be having several vendors there on Friday, December 4th from 6:30PM - 9PM.

You can purchase items from:

Studio 23, including Silver Jewelry
Stampin Up
Tastefully Simple
Partylite
and more!

Come on by and take a look around. There will be refreshments to enjoy. And for anyone bringing a non perishable canned item for the Abington Food Bank, they will recieve a free gift from Studio 23!

I hope to see you there!

I'm a lax blogger - but I have some eye candy for you!

2009-11-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy few weeks. With Caleb and I being sick in the first week and my continued sickness into the second week, then my birthday was this past Monday so I've been busy celebrating and trying to catch up on the two weeks I missed getting things done. Oh boy! I'm amazed that I have been able to do what I've done! Next is to clean my house, studio, everything. It's all a mess. But since I won't be having Thanksgiving at my house, I guess I'm good for right now. Good enough to bring you some eye candy!

I've completed a few upcoming classes recently. Sunday, I really cranked out a bunch and I'm happy I did! It's always so rewarding to have stuff up and postable prior to a few days before class.

Here's my napkin card class:

Each of these cards are made using napkins. Just regular, old, Christmas Tree Shoppe napkins. They don't look like napkins, they don't feel like napkins but they are easy and a super quick holiday card! I may do all my Holiday cards like this! I wish I took a picture of the napkins to show you but they are at work. These are the small cocktail napkins and so each card is square. This class is being held on Friday, November 27th and Friday, December 11th from 7-9PM. It's only $20 for the class and you'll make all three cards. You'll also learn this fabulous technique and still (even in the December 11th class) have time to get them made and mailed before the Holiday!

The next class finished is my Dreaming of a Beautiful Christmas Card Class:

I know that Let It Snow card is in there twice - I wasn't sure whether we'd make just two cards or all three. But I know we will have time to make all three! This class will explore a few more Dream Weaver techniques. If you own a Dream Weaver stencil you'd like to use that day, bring it with you! These techniques can be easily used with any stencil! This class will be held on Thursday, December 3rd from 7-9PM. Also only $20!

The third class I put together is the Stampscapes Coaster Class. This class is phenomenal!:

Aren't those beauties! And believe it or not they are easy! E-A-S-Y!!! Easy! Just plain and simply easy. They are on Stampbord so they are very study. 3.5 x 3.5" and we will spray them before you leave so that they can be used as coasters. Wrap these up in a bow and they'd make a beautiful gift for anyone! I can't tell you how easy Stampscapes really are to use. We will make all 4 coasters, one for Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall (in that order in the photo). If you have time to come in to the store and take a peek at these - PLEASE DO! Touching them, looking at them, they are simply delightful! And really, I just put them together but it's the stamps that do everything justice! Even if you stamped the images in black and left it black and white, these coasters would still be stunning. The stamps are simply gorgeous! OK, so this class is being offered twice as well. Once on Saturday, December 5th from 12-3PM and then again on Friday, December 18th from 7-10PM. The class is $30. If you own any of these stamps in the photos (or any stampscape stamps) bring them with you on the night of class. It'll be easier to get it all done that way.

All the above classes are being held at the Scrapbook Cupboard, in East Bridgewater, MA. If you live or will be in the area on any of those dates and would like to take a class, call 1-508-378-0008 to sign up!

I have 2 more December classes to share with you. One I'm waiting on a stamp to come in and the other is just time. Maybe I'll get it done this weekend. Metal Christmas cards! WOW! Now to start thinking about January...

One Stop Shopping Event - TOMORROW!

2009-11-13T17:05:00.000-05:00

It's that time!

On Saturday, November 14th from 11AM - 2PM, you can stop and do all your Holiday shopping in one place! The Hawley's are opening their home to you! Come stop and shop at their beautiful new home at 264 Court Street, Plymouth, MA.

Which vendors will be there? You can expect to see business women from:

Stella and Dot
Stampin Up
Tastefully Simple
Beijo
Athena's Home Novelties
Southern Living at Home

There will be 100's of dollars in free give-aways, personal one-on-one shopping experience, sparkly drinks, festive foods and of course, you'll be supporting local women and their businesses.

Come on by and see what we have! Where else can you go and shop in one place and get all these different companies under one roof? I hope to see you there!

Free Moodles...

2009-11-02T10:35:00.001-05:00

My Creative Classroom offers a Free Class every few weeks. These are called Everyday Moodlings. If you are a member of My Creative Classroom, you can view these for free! How?

Well this is how...

To enroll in My Creative Classroom's FREE classroom please complete the following steps:

Go to the website: http://www.mycreativeclassroom.com/
Log on or create a new user account. Subscribing to our newsletter does NOT create a user account on our site. You must be a registered user of MCC to enroll in this course.
Once you are logged on choose Free Courses from the drop down menu at the top of the screen.
Click on the Everyday Moodlings course title.
Scroll to the bottom of the page.
Enter the enrollment key: mccfree1108 The enrollment key is case sensitive.
Click enroll in this course.

This week we are talking about Fabric! Several of the teachers have submitted articles on how to use fabric in all sorts of different crafty ways! Need some inspiration for a easy crafting project, holiday gift or just have a hankering to learn something new, be sure to check it out! My tutorial is on how to create Paper from Fabric. You'll be surprised at how easy it really is!

You never know what new and interesting techniques each of the My Creative Classroom talented teachers will bring to you. Why not go subscribe and see what you can learn!

Stampers Quest Holiday Blizzard Project!

2009-11-01T18:38:00.000-05:00

The Stamper's Quest EZine has been working on bringing you some great projects you can complete for this holiday season. They've got projects on:

Creating Ornaments
Making calendars
Creating Tags
Making Wine Totes
Place Cards
Journals
and much more!

I submitted my Winter's Welcome door hanger.

You may have seen it on this blog before. It was my Kandi CHA submission for earlier this year. But in this Ezine article, I actually give you complete instructions on how to complete it! Yippee!!

If you haven't popped over to the Stamper's Quest Ezine lately, you should! The November Ezine has been published and there's lots of great articles to read and to review. There's even an article (or 4!) on digital stamps! Yup, there is such a thing as digital stamps. WOW! That opens up a whole new world out there.

If you've got a few moments (or more!) to spare, take a trip over to Stamper's Quest and look around. You never know what you'll learn!

Art Journals, Hand Bound!!

2009-10-20T16:02:00.000-04:00

My latest class with My Creative Classroom, Art Journals, Hand Bound has begun!

This class will run for 4 weeks and each week we'll cover several techniques. By the end of class, you'll have created two journals perfect for keeping your art thoughts, or for scrapbooks or just to enjoy!

Class started Monday,October 19, 2009 but you can sign up here until Wednesday, October 28th. Don't worry about catching up, class has only just begun. Sign up today and you can jump right in and download and print or sit and watch the many presentations already ready for you!

I hope to see you in the classroom!

A One-Stop Holiday Shopping Event!

2009-10-19T23:03:00.000-04:00

It's not even Halloween yet but I have a ONE STOP SHOPPING EVENT to tell you about!

Mark your calendars...

On Saturday, November 14th from 11AM - 2PM, you can stop and do all your Holiday shopping in one place! The Hawley's are opening their home to you! Come stop and shop at their beautiful new home at 264 Court Street, Plymouth, MA.

Which vendors will be there? You can expect to see business women from:

Stella and Dot
Stampin Up
Tastefully Simple
Beijo
Athena's Home Novelties
Southern Living at Home

There will be 100's of dollars in free give-aways, personal one-on-one shopping experience, sparkly drinks, festive foods and of course, you'll be supporting local women and their businesses.

I hope you mark your calendars and stop by this event. Where else can you go and shop in one place and get all these different companies under one roof? Maybe I'll see you there!

You've gotta check it out!

2009-10-15T13:49:00.000-04:00

I was stumbling through some friends blog rolls and I found this one: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Holey Moley, Batman! Some of these actually made me laugh out loud! Keep scrolling through some of the previous posts. Check out some of the pictures and the comments they make. Hilarious!

OK, I'm going to stop procrastinating...

Where'd "Tomorrow" go?

2009-10-13T11:37:00.000-04:00

Wow, I had every intention of posting more last week. I don't know where on Earth my time goes. What with working 2+ jobs from home, running a household, helping with homework, cooking, cleaning, keeping track of my weight watcher points, laundry, volunteering at the kids school, doctor appointments, shopping, helping my son's cub scout den, exercise, friends and family who knows. It's lost in daily life. I'm not complaining. I enjoy my life. I love what I do and I love my family, friends and the hectic schedule. But I do wish one thing.

I wish I wasn't a P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-O-R.

It drives me nuts.

I like to think that I'm an organized person. Lists litter my workspace, charts, graphs, even sticky notes on the bathroom mirror once in a while. Lists on my phone, lists on the fridge, lists in my pocket book, heck if I could stick a list on the dog for her to carry around for me - I just might! But the one thing I do perfectly is procrastinate.

Take now for instance, should I be working? Yes. Do I need to make this post about my lack of motivation? Maybe. OK, - see there's my justification. Hehe! No, I probably don't. Cause really, you didn't come here to listen to my woes about procrastination. Although, if anyone knows of a good book or online seminar about why I might be a procrastinator, please pass the information this way. I'd really like to change my ways!

So, without further procrastination, here's the project I've been working on...

How stinkin' cute is that? I'm loving it! A little coffin book inside a coffin. The coffin has some Plum colored metal on it. Very neat. This is a class I have scheduled for Friday, October 23. It's the perfect little mini scrapbook for those people who love to showcase their kids for Halloween! A little spooky but fun too! If you are interested in taking this class, I'm going to be teaching it at the Scrapbook Cupboard. Class is from 7-10PM. You make everything! The coffin is made from cardstock and the book inside is card stock too. There's a little metal and adhesive and lots of fun!

Now I've got some time today and I've got a list to tackle. I guess I should stop this insane procrastination and get on my way!

Last Chance!

2009-10-06T17:05:00.001-04:00

It's been a whirlwind over here. I'm always feeling like I'm catching up on something. My to do list is about 12 inches long, single spaced!

I just received an email today saying that it was the last chance to sign up for my Metal Sampler at My Creative Classroom! So, if you haven't had a chance to do it and have been thinking about it, now is the time! Enrollment ends October 7th!

Tomorrow, I'll have pictures up of a project I'm working on. It's not quite done yet.

Lot's of exciting things going on here!

It's Metal Sampler time!

2009-09-27T00:34:00.000-04:00

I've been feverishly typing up instructions for Monday's Metal Sampler at My Creative Classroom. I'm going to be teaching this in person Sunday at the Scrapbook Cupboard too! So if you aren't busy today, you could join me in learning how to create this:

Let me tell you, it's very different to teach in person than it is to teach online. Yes, the project might be the same but for online you have a lot more typing, loading of photos and slideshows to put together. eyeyiyi!

Why am I cramming to do it at the 11th hour? Because... I'm the Queen of Procrastination! And I just love to torture myself with last minute deadlines and issues.

Anyway...

Thankfully all the PDF files are done. And they are loaded to the website! So, if you didn't get the latest newsletter from My Creative Classroom showcasing my class, then let me tell you - there's still time to go there and sign up!

Not sure? Let me show you a few pictures that are in the tutorials... and there are many, many more.

In these classes you just won't learn about the paper stump and the fine tipped tools. We'll also explain what the angle tool, the deer foot tool and the chisel tool are all used for. We'll cover techniques that I've created as well as those that I learned at the Ten Seconds Studio Certification course I took in April, 2008. There will be more than 15 hand outs on metal embossing alone! What an amazing deal!. Whether you are in class tomorrow or in the online class Monday, I'm looking forward to helping you make your journey into metal embossing even more fun.

Better late....

2009-09-23T17:27:00.000-04:00

then never, right?!!

I finally finsihed my "Napkin Cards" for this Friday's class at the Scrapbook Cupboard. These are super easy and fun to do! And once you know how, you'll be able to use any decorative napkin you own!!!! Think of how easy a birthday card could be - or to make your Holiday cards with this this fun technique!

This class is definitely running, there were sign ups even without samples - you guys are all great! But if you aren't signed up and would like to take the card class, call the store at 508-378-0008. Once you learn this technique, you'll be able to use it on much more than cards! Think of it - scrapbook paper made with a napkin! Yup, it can be done! h,mmmmmm..... maybe that might be something I can work on...

Be on the look out...

2009-09-22T12:35:00.000-04:00

I made these beauties for my friend Bernadette....

Bernadette had a birthday yesterday and when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said she wanted something handmade. WHAT??? Yah I could do it but I'm weeks behind in my work right now as it is, I didn't know if I'd have time to make her a scrapbook or a bunch of cards or anything else. She then also mentioned that she was loving the Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists and that they were so darn expensive. I told her not to bother, I could make her some! So not only did I get her a gift but it's homemade!! Yah for me.

These are the three colors I chose and I precisely measured and weighed everything so I can make these colors again! I even named them... Winter Blue, Spring Sky and Autumn Rain.

I think I may make more of these. I'll have to figure out pricing but it's definitely something I could sell. But for now, it looks like these may become Christmas presents and birthday presents for friends. I've even named them... Kim's Shimmery Concoctions. OK, well I might work on the name but for now, Bernadette is the only one with these prototypes. Lucky girl!

Let me know if you'd be interested in one.

Loosing....

2009-09-11T15:45:00.000-04:00

My friends, Susan, Traci and I are all on Weight Watchers. Today was Susan and my first weigh in. Just for those people interested in knowing how well I'm doing each week, I started a new blog just for this. Here's the link: http://kimsweightlosszone.blogspot.com/

I'll put it on my side bar under favorites too, just in case anyone wants to know in the future.

Art Journals, Hand Bound!

2009-09-04T08:35:00.001-04:00

I just added another classroom to my class list over at My Creative Classroom!

Have you seen or heard about My Creative Classroom? My Creative Classroom, or MCC for short is "a combination of [founder Jeri Parks] two passions: arts/crafts and education. Jeri has put together a huge list of extremely talented teachers. The Fall Semester is starting this month and we've got a little bit of everything on the site. We've got Copic classes, Bind It All classes, Wreath Making Classes, Mixed Media classes, Cricut Classes, Rubber Stamping Classes, Scrapbooking classes (both paper and digital!) and a whole lot more!

As a matter of fact, this is where you can find my Metal Sampler class and now my Art Journals, Hand Bound Class!

Registration is open for both of these classes. The Metal Sampler starts Monday, September 28th and the Art Journals, Hand Bound starts Monday, October 19th. I'd love to see you in the classroom!

Why take a class online? Well if you can't come to class in person, this is a great way to learn something new! Or if I'm not offering a class anymore in the area, here's an alternative! We've got a great philosophy over at MCC...

"My Creative Classroom is where teachers and students come together to create, to learn, to share and to grow."

I hope you take some time for yourself and join us. Come learn something new this Fall!

First Day of School

2009-09-03T14:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for both Caleb and Bryce. Both boys were excited (as was I!). Caleb was up extra early and ready to go way before we had to be at the bus stop.

I got a few pictures of the kids at the bus stop.

Now that both the boys are in school, I should have plenty of time to create and get to work. It's day two and I have created anything yet. I've been too busy doing things that haven't been done in a while. Maybe tomorrow I'll create something. Let's hope!