11-11-11

The numbers said it was an extraordinary day.

Waiting until the shadows were long, I headed out with my dog and my camera. I couldn’t let this once-in-a-lifetime day pass without a picture.

From my back yard I snapped this photo of the sunset:

Stunning.  I should never take it for granted that I get to see sunsets like this all the time.

We, my Snickers and I, headed over to the field by the mill.  Of course, there were deer, one of whom was a little disconcerted to see a dog approaching:

But this one seemed to care less about us (she should have been a little more concerned as the dog was off the leash at this point):

And for reason (I suspect we pruned them late) the hydrangeas in our yard, which refused to bloom all summer, are now radiantly beautiful:

Nothing extraordinary here – just an ordinary day. But so gorgeous.  And I don’t live in a war zone, with burned out buildings and no vegetation to be seen.  I have a beautiful home and family and a life of peace and beauty.  Am I blessed? Yes. But I am also grateful for the soldiers who defended my right to have such a life.  Thank you to all the vets who have given me a perfectly ordinary day.

“May the Lord bless you and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Marjorie

It must be that time to start to thinking about your Christmas cards if you plan to make them. We’ve had a lot of customers coming in and getting stamps, ink and paper just for that purpose.  There is still a great selection though, so I thought I’d share some with you in this post.

For starters, Great Impressions has a nice set plus instructions for 6 different cards.  Come in and check out the display board.  It is typical Great Impressions style – lots of glitter, just perfect for the holidays.  As always, the stamp of the month (the flourish right in the middle of the photo below) is half price if you buy one of any of the other stamps in the set.

I love this reindeer, which is also part of this collection. It’s a perfect example of an easy to make card that looks fabulous.

We’ve got lots of nice sayings, too. Here are a few:

This snowman sparkles especially if you add a little glass glitter and “frosted ice”:

And last, but not least, we’ve got several nativity scenes like this one in cling (please excuse the glare from the plastic packaging):

And trees are always popular and make great cards.  We’ve got realistic ones and stylized ones, depending on your preference:

So I encourage you to stop in soon while the selection is still good and you have plenty of time to make your cards.  Blog special:  Mention this post and get 30% off all Christmas stamps.

Marjorie

I love discovering a new technique that uses supplies I already have. In this case, it is printed paper bags from my store and acrylic paint. Before I start, let me give credit to Karin Mason who showed me how to do this at the Coastal Crop Getaway.  It really makes some great punched embellishments. I especially like the weight of these text covered paper bags.  If you shop at Creating Lasting Memories, you probably have one or two of these.  If you don’t have one, stop by and we’ll give you one.

The first step is to prepare the paper bag. You want to cover the surface of the bag with clear slick sealant like Modge Podge.  I used Golden soft gel and it worked fine.  You could probably even use a white glue.  I like the look of the gloss best.  While it is still wet paint with two or three colors of acrylic paint in random spots.  It works best if you leave some areas unpainted so the text shows through. Really, just roughly paint here and there like this:

Once dry, you can punch shapes, little or big, or both.  Make a large dye cut for a scrapbook page or small elements for a card, ATC or tag. Love these butterflies:

Or how about leaves?

Aren’t these little envelopes cute?

Happy creating!

Marjorie

I love the look of writing right on your photos ala Allie Edwards, one of my favorite scrapbookers.  At the Coastal Crop Getaway I demoed pens that write well on photo paper.  The pens sold out quickly but I promised to post to my blog the brand names so you can look for them at your LSS or online.  Uni-ball by Signo is an excellent white ink pen.  It takes a few seconds to dry, maybe 15 or so.  I like to use it to draw a line around the edge of a photo. Besides white, it also comes in silver and gold.  Although I didn’t have it with me at the demo, I discovered when I got home that I have a Uni-ball Deluxe Micro black pen that dries instantly on slick paper.  At the demo the black pen we used was the Permawriter II.  My favorite size is the 03, but if you like a bolder line, buy the 05. I also really like the Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen. I have an XS (extra fine tip) and an S.  All of these pens write well on photos and dry instantly so purchase whichever one you can find.

Since we are talking about product, I thought I would mention one of my favorites.  It is the layout page organizer by Cropper Hopper.  I know you like using the plastic zip top bags we give out at the store.  But this page organizer is really terrific.  It has a small pocket in the front with an index card for sketching out a layout or making notes. This pocket also holds photos. There is a big center pocket for holding 12×12 paper and a half pocket in the back to hold embellishments.  It is tabbed at the top for labeling the page (use a dry erase pen so you can change the label).  They stand up in a 12×12 paper holder.

You get 3 for only $6 and we just got some in the store. I have several filled all the time.  When it comes time to crop, I just grab one and I’m ready to go.  Great product!

Marjorie

“Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it. And if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumns.” -George Eliot

There’s really nothing like fall on the coast.  Being an October birthday girl from California, I’ve known this all my life.  For years, I would drag my whole family to the beach to go camping in late October.  I can’t remember that it was ever bad weather. It was usually balmy, just like last weekend at the Coastal Crop Getaway in Gold Beach.  Fantastic sunsets like this graced our days:

And the company was even better than the weather. Thanks to everyone who came! You made it a great weekend.  Can’t wait to do it again in March.

Marjorie

Had a lot of fun using the Stamp and Stick Gluepad – part of the Palette Ink line.  Here is a great way to use your own art rubber stamps to create sticky images which can then be “colored” with gold leaf, mica powders, glitter or foil.  Plus it is a great way to cover chipboard. Press the chipboard onto the pad, then heat and it will be sticky and ready for whatever paper you want to cover it with.

I was in the mood for a “manly” tag for my class this week.  So I cut out Tim Holtz’s gears with my Vagabond, made them nice and sticky, and then added gold leaf.  I used the black Stamp and Stick Gluepad which added a nice distress look for those areas where the leafing didn’t stick. Here’s how it came out:

Join me in class tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. and you can make this too!

Marjorie

Webster’s dictionary defines solvent as “a substance, usually a liquid, which dissolves another substance.” This can describe any liquid – including water. But in the ink world, the term is used to describe any ink that is not water-based. The solvent is really a carrier fluid to keep the ink in liquid form. Once the ink is applied , the solvent evaporates. This week we played with StazOn by Tsukneko, a solvent-based ink designed for decorating non-porous and semi-porous surfaces, such as metal, shrink plastic, acrylic, cellophane, aluminum foil, leather and some glass surfaces. It dries in about 3-5 minutes on non-porous surfaces. It comes in 31 colors. Cleanup is easy with StazOn All-Purpose Cleaner.  Other solvent inks that we sell at Creating Lasting Memories include Copic markers and Adirondack Alcohol Inks.

In class tomorrow we will make a card using the acetate-tissue paper technique, also called “Caught in Crystal.” You can read all about it here.

This is a picture of the card we will be making using one of Tim Holtz’s new Christmas cling sets.  I love this angel:

This card glitters and shines but all that glitz is captured under the acetate so there is no mess.  Wouldn’t these be lovely Christmas cards?  Here is a close-up of that shine:

Join us for class tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. if you can. It’s gonna be fun!

Marjorie

Some of you may have already seen this photo, especially since I received via the internet and I know how these things get passed along.  But it’s my current favorite so I thought I’d share it with you:

He will cover you with His pinions and under His wings you my seek refuge

I am currently reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and in keeping with my word for 2011 (Story), I loved this passage (pg. 125):

“Oh, this is fun,” his wife said now, gazing through the night at all the houses they passed, lit up with different Christmas lights, and it made Bob Houlton smile as he drove; his wife contented, her hands folded on her lap. “All these lives,” she said. “All the stories we never know.” And he smiled further, reaching to touch her mittened hand because he had known she might be thinking that.

Marjorie

You’ve been asking when I would get the new Christmas and Fall papers out. Well I spent the better part of last Saturday doing just that. So stop by and see what’s available.

Some of the new lines we got in are

BoBunny Forever Fall

BoBunny Father Christmas

Best Creation Merry Christmas

Kaiser Craft December 25th

Kaiser Craft The 13th Hour

Webster’s Pages Botanical Christmas

Last week we talked about a unique product called Brilliance Ink which is a fast drying pigment ink.  This week it is Distress Ink which is a slow drying dye ink.  Personally, I would call them both hybrid inks.  They put something in them that makes them different from the normal pigment/dye ink pad  but the formula is “secret.” I think I prefer Palette that just flat out says hybrid ink. But that is next week’s story.

Distress Inks are a slow drying water-based ink designed by Tim Holtz.  They have several unique qualities.  First, they react to water.   Tim says they “travel.”  To observe this phenomenon, simply spritz the ink and watch what it does!  Secondly, they are blendable.  Since they stay wet for a while, using Tim’s ink applicator and a circular motion, it is quite possible to blend colors for a lovely mix. Third, since they are wet, they can even be embossed.

There is so much you can do with these wonderful inks.  I love every one of the 36 colors.  And Tim has also made a “stain” of the colors.  Here is a sample of something I plan to try soon – picket fence stain and then colored with a distress ink.  Click on this link and see what I’m excited about!

picket fence / stain