Weekly Challenge!!

Yippee!!!! It's Friday! And it is December (tomorrow). I think I need to patent my sons new phrase.....when asked what Santa says he says Ho Ho Ho rerrrry Christmas. It is too cute! Along with the never-ending supply of candy and cookies this year, he is a riot. Now instead of asking for a cereal bar for breakfast he asks for a list before we get to an acceptable one. The first is (always) candy. Followed by cookies. Then chocolate (I think the distinction has not yet been made between candy and chocolate). Then chips. Cereal mix is next. Then the funny guy asks for spaghetti, but not just any spaghetti, 'COLD spaghetti MOM'. And we HAVE to go through the whole list every morning (try skipping one. HA!) This used to be soooo simple! But at least now it is entertaining (well, most days)!

Anyway, this weeks Lay-out (LO) challenge is to scrap a page using one word. Let your pictures do the talking. Of course you should put the place and date, but let your title tell the whole story of your layout. Make sure your title is big too...to get the point across. Here is an example:

Now doesn't the title tell the story? Amazing. My husband and I honeymooned for two weeks in Sedona Arizona. It was really amazing. If you ever get a chance, I would go there (we actually talked about going again with our son). The rock formations are out of this world and the colors! Being from the midwest I was a bit afraid of the heights, but it was worth it!

Happy Scrapping! Head to Pat Catans for all of your scrapping holiday shopping! I want to see your layouts too! Email me at jenne@darice.com!

Jennifer

(Lay out features Basic Grey Infuse papers, Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps (scribbles Alphabet), Infuse Die Shapes and chipboard. Other materials include tape runner, paper trimmer, and Sharpie black marker)

Look What's New!!

Hey Everybody! Time for new stuff to be put up in stores again! Starting the beginning of the month (Dec) Basic Grey will be featured on one of our endcaps! YEAH!!! The Infuse and Periphery lines will be the main attraction!

Here is a little preview of what is on the endcap! You better get yours before it is gone!

Infuse (including ribbon, fibers, buttons, monogram sheet and die cut sheet)

Periphery (Including ribbon, fibers, buttons, monogram sheet, die cut sheet)
Also featured:

Magnetic Clasps, 3 Ring Chipboard Book (perfect for gift giving!), 3 sets of coordinating Rub-ons, and 3 sets of chipboard shapes (including chipboard alphas!)! WOW!!!

Magnetic Precision Mat (This mat is AWESOME!) with magnetic pieces to hold down your work. Ruler is also magnetic

And last but no least, the Precision File Set (Look at what you get!!)

Ok, now for a few examples:

Look for this in stores and get it while you can!!! Happy Scrapping!

Jennifer

PS. If you want to show off your work email it to me and I will post a few of them (jenne@darice.com)!

Back To Basics - Eyelets

Eyelets are a wonderful embellishment that you can use on any page...they attach paper that is hard to attach, or vellum that you cannot use your tape runner on. They can also make a page come together or they can just embellish and not have a functional purpose. With the right tools setting eyelets is easy and fun!



My favorite eyelet setter tool is the Silent Setter by Provo Craft (at Pat Catans for $15.97).





To set an eyelet you would first take one of the black hole punches and place it in the Silent setter (determined by the size of your eyelet). The pieces are magnetized so it easily "snaps" into place. Next place your paper over the cutting mat that comes with the setter and stand up (just to get a good hole). Push down and twist the Silent setter over the place you desire an eyelet. Once the hole punch has made it through the paper, remove the hole punch and put in the setter that is appropriate for the eyelet. Place the eyelet into the hole you just made and turn the paper to the backside. Once again push down the setter over the eyelet and twist as you push until the metal bends on the eyelet making it secure. Your eyelet in now set! Easy as 1-2-3!


You can also use other eyelet setter tools such as the Crop-a-Dile and the Darice Toolbox Hammer and Eyelet setter kit. All of them work great and will have you using eyelets in no time!

For brads you punch the hole and place the brad and fold back the prongs - even easier with the same effect. Although I have found that eyelets are sturdier when you attach things with them.

Pat Catans also has many different kinds of eyelets and brads!


If you have any questions please feel free to email me at jenne@darice.com!!


Jennifer

'Tis the Season!

Now that the heartburn has subsided and the leftovers are pretty much gone, time to enjoy the season! This is my favorite season. There is just so much going on and everyone seems to be in a good mood (well except for those at the gas pump...don't get me started).... This time of year is just fun. I did something different this year...I did Christmas "lite" in my house. We still have a tree and lots of decorations but I only pulled out half of them. You know what? It was the best decision I have made this year! My son helped me decorate my "mini" 41/2' tree and it took all of 2 hours to decorate the house. Now it looks a bit odd at first because I am used to the completely cluttered Christmas with tons and tons of decorations, but I do not miss the 2 days it usually takes to put and and pull down. I have more time with my family. And my house still "feels" like Christmas. Maybe try it. Relaxing is the key! More time to scrapbook then too!

Great Scrapbooking Gifts....(put on your wishlist!!!!)

Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter - $299.97 (I want one of these! Only available at Strongsville and North Canton Stores)

Cricut - $194.00
Great Tool for getting started with electronic cutting Machines!

Cricut Expressions (Love the 12X12 format!) - $349.97

Quickutz Quickstik - $5.97 (A must for ANY scrapper!)

Curvy Cutter Circle (don't forget the cutting tool!) - $12.97

Curvy Cutter Round Square - $12.97

Curvy Cutter Segments - $14.97

More gift ideas to come! A good gift idea for your scrapping friends is to put together a scrap basket. Put paper, small tools, embellishments, etc. in a basket. This would make anyone happy!

Happy Shopping for Scrapbook supplies!!!


Jennifer

Happy Turkey Day!!!!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. This year we have a turkey marathon. Two days of good eats! Needless to say I am excited (probably because I only have to make side dishes)!

****A few project ideas for your turkey weekend!!!****

Recipe Box (perfect gift idea!)

Recipe Holder while cooking (very nifty! You won't get your recipes dirty!)

Photo frame

Photo frame

Detailed instructions are at www.patcatans.com! Got to the front page and click on the Fun and Easy Christmas Crafts button. I hope all of you are have a great holiday with lots of fun and food!

Jennifer

Because I did not have time to post the Challenge...

Hey everyone! 62 degrees tomorrow! Say heck with cold November weather....we are getting Sept/Oct weather now!! I guess I cannot keep putting off raking the leaves anymore...just yesterday I had justified it in my head that since it was late November it would be waaaayyyy to hard to clean up the yard at this time of year. I told myself just wait until spring since fall hit so late this year and now I am too busy with the holidays to clean up leaves and so forth. Well, that is not going to work for me very well because I cannot have a messy yard when it is going to be 62! 30 degrees and everyone nods when I say it has been way to cold to go out there and get it all together....62 and they look at me and say in not so many words...get off your lazy butt! So this weekend, guess what I am doing.... Anyway, I digress....

This weeks challenge is going to be to use all of those alpha sticker sheets you have laying around that you cannot make any words out of...oh you know the kind...the ones that you can only make out one word and then have to go buy another sheet because there are not enough A's. Yeah those. I have a few :) Use your extra day off this week to put those letters to good use!

I would like to see what you have done!!! Email them to jenne@darice.com!

And here is a card (and directions to make) made by Colleen Penn from the Cuyahoga Falls store. How cute is this one?

Happy Scrapping!

Jen

Here is an Example!!

If you read my post from earlier in the week, you read that I make Thank you cards (in stacks of 10)...and attach a nice pen....well a wonderful reader submitted an example of cards that she did!!!! They are stationary instead of thank yous, but that is even better because it is even more personalized to the person who receives your gift......very cool! I will have to try this for this Christmas!!!

Happy Cardmaking! As always, if you have a cool project or have a question, email me at jenne@darice.com. I will be happy to post your project and answer your question! Thanks! Jennifer

New Product in Stores!!

Countdown to Thanksgiving (and a long weekend) = a week away! YEAH!! For my place cards I am going to have a piece of square cardstock with the name of the person on it and a pen. After giving thanks I will have everyone write down what they are thankful for. When dinner is over I will collect them and put them on a scrapbook page with a picture of everyone. This does two things: collect memories from others, not just myself and makes my page a lot easier!

Here are a couple of layouts using Pat Catan's Materials:

This layout features Bling Bazzill Paper in three shades, Darice Chipboard Letters in Glitter Silver (2") and Darice Alphabets. Darice Punches in three sizes were used to make the flowers and Darice Brads for the centers.

This layout features Bazzill Cardstock, Darice Chipboard letters (3" and 2"), new Darice chipboard Stickers. and Darice Brads.

The Chipboard Stickers come in 'I Love Dogs', Cats, Baby (Boy and Girl), Travel, 2 Halloween versions, Christmas, and Winter.

Here is what you get for $1.00 (WOW!!!): (I will post more examples too)

These Chipboard letters are also ONLY $1!!!!!

Glitter Letters (also in Gold) are ONLY $2!!!!

Don't miss these great deals!!! How could you go wrong buying these?

Happy Scrapping!

Jennifer

Christmas Card Examples!!

It's Monday again....wow...Thanksgiving is next week...AWWW! I thought I had more time! Anyone know where I can buy some time? :)

For those of you who like to make Christmas gifts, I have a good one for you.... for the past two years I have been making Thank you cards in bundles of ten, tying a pretty ribbon around the ten and attaching them to the gifts I give (or if I make a basket of gifts, putting them in there). Although I have never gotten one back (so I don't have a picture for you)....they all go over really well. This is a nice present for Daycare teachers, mail person, etc....add a nice pen and you have it! Plus it is really easy to do and you get to craft! I usually leave the card blank inside and stamp or put a sticker a really simple 'thank you' on the front with at least two types of cardstock. The closest example would be the "cheer" card I will show below....just stamp "thank you" instead. I do everyday paper too...so they can be used other than the holidays. Just make sure to start doing them early!!! Like now...the season is quickly approaching...although if you go into any retailer you will know most have forgotten Thanksgiving. :) Gobble Gobble... Poor turkeys. :)

Here are some examples. All paper and embellishments can be found at Pat Catan's for a great value!

"Cheer" is made with Thickers Chipboard stickers in white and American Crafts Papers (they are double-sided)

"Joy" is made with Darice 3" chipboard letters (new in stores) and covered with American Crafts paper. The background paper is also American Crafts.

"Merry Christmas" is made with Darice Christmas Chipboard Stickers and American Crafts (very easy to make!)

"Peace Hope Love" is made with Creative Imaginations paper (double-sided), Silver Sharpie Marker, Die-Cuts with a View Rub-ons (around the outside of the green box), Epoxy Embellishments by The Paper Company (found on end-cap), and I put epoxy over the peace hope love (even though you cannot really see it).

"Love" is made with American Crafts Paper and New 2" glitter chipboard from Darice (also comes in silver)...

And there you go! I will post a few thank you cards once I start making them this year :) Happy Card Making!

Jennifer

Weekly Challange

It is that time of week (again!!!) for the weekly challange....I cannot believe how fast the days are going! They seem to fly right by!

This weeks challange is to use heat embossing on your card or layout.

For those of you who do not know how to heat emboss, don't worry, because it is really really easy (and fun!).

Supplies: You will need a Versamark stamp pad (ie: invisible ink), your stamp, embossing powder, and a heat gun (or a small hair dryer...if you use your regular hair dryer you will blow the embossing powder away). Please use caution because you can catch your paper on fire if you are not careful!

1st: Stamp your image with the invisible ink onto your layout (make sure you do not emboss over your photos, they will burn!)

2nd: Cover your invisible stamped image with the embossing powder (make sure to cover every inch)

3rd: Tap off excess embossing powder back into the jar.

4th: Turn on your heat gun and let run for a minute.

5th: Move the heat gun over your stamped image (back and forth)...make sure you get close (but do not burn) to your paper. You will start to see the image become embossed.

There are tons of great embossing powders to play with! There is thick powder, ultra thick, powder that is mixed (some are mixed to look like sand), and so forth. It is a great way to quickly embellish your pages!!!

Happy Scrapping!!

Jennifer

I almost forgot!!!!

I received a card yesterday (by Colleen Penn) this is made from product in the new endcap. I mentioned (and gave examples) in earlier post!!!! I think this is adorable and everyone is sure to love it!!!! Instructions are included below!! Happy Christmas Card making!!!

Jennifer

New Products in the Stores!

Hi everyone! Did you see the snow today??? At least it waited until November this year!!! For me snow marks the beginning of the holidays.

Today I want to introduce you to a few of the new products that are in the stores.

Drum roll please.....

Darice plastic organizers. Otherwise know as "folios." These fun organizers can organize pictures, paper, embellishments and almost anything else you can fit in there!

Darice Spiral Memory Books. Comes in various sizes and there is even a two pack!!

Here is an example of a finished product....(very cute!!) Love the way the ribbon is tied on the spiral!


And finally, Darice Foldable Storage Boxes. You can store anything in these! They are great and you can stack them if you like! Comes in other sizes too!

So head out to Pat Catan's where you can find all this cool stuff (and more)!!! This stuff is great for the Holidays!!!

Jennifer

Page Samples!

Hi!!! I have some page samples for you today. They are easily "scraplifited" pages and they meet last weeks challenge (using chipboard letters!). All product used here can be found at Pat Catan's. So here it goes!!!

The first layout is by Jill and it is titled 'all boy'. She used Bazzill card stock, Darice letters, Thickers letters, Daisy D's tape runners, Brads, and a stamp pad rubbed over the letters to create a rustic feeling. She used great matting techniques and she also used black and white photos that give the page a lot of character!

The second layout uses Basic Grey Blush paper with Thicker Chipboard letters. The page is simple yet effective because when the pictures were printed, they were printed with a white border. That could save money and save time! The border acts as a mat which gives it a clean look.

And finally the third layout uses American Crafts Paper - birthday paper and Thickers chipboard letters. Also used is the Autumn Leaves Stamps - Sentiment Circles (very cool by the way!). A numbered sequence is a great way to use a lot of pictures and tell a story without a lot of words (good for those of you who do not like to journal!!!)

I hope these pages get you scrapping!!!

Jen

Weekly Challenge!!!!

Good Morning! I am here with a cold and feeling a little under, but it is almost the weekend!!! AND I got my notice that we made the lottery for the Polar Express (Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad)!!! Of course this made me bounce off the walls (yes, I am living my second childhood through my son...he he) and my dear husband groaned a little....I can hear him say, what is she making me do now? :)

It is Challenge Friday though and this weeks challenge is to use chipboard letters.

All materials from this layout can be found at Pat Catan Stores! Paper: Basic Grey Pheobe (Angel Island, Japanese Tea Garden and The Presidio, $0.67 each) - Chipboard letters & Elements: K & Co Chipboard to Go - Patterned Alphabet Letters in a Tin (9.97) - Stamp: Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps "Journaling stamps" $11.97 (A GREAT DEAL!!!) - Adhesive: Vario Tab Dispenser double sided tape (my personal fav).

Hope you have fun with your weekly challenges! I hope to see them!!

Jennifer

Halloween Reader Submission

Hi everyone! Hope Trick or Treating was fun for everyone. I know my little guy very quickly got the concept. When he said trick or treat, candy goes in the pumpkin. This was fun to watch as he got more excited at each house. Oh and at one we got Play Doh....now THAT was cool. :)


So I have a great page to share with you today! A frequent Pat Catan shopper (and reader), Jill, used product that can all be found at Pat Catan's! She used great layering technique and placed her elements very well to make a balanced page! Great job and thanks for the submission!



Anyone else have a Halloween page?


Happy Sugar Hang-Over Day (AKA: Early Bedtime Day!)


Jennifer