NEW HOLIDAY MINI CATALOG

The NEW Holiday Mini Catalog is here! I have been creating with stamp sets from this mini catalog for a month! It's awesome! First of all, would you like to see it? Click here to see the new Holiday Mini Catalog. It's bigger and better than ever before! There are 40 pages of cards,scrapbook pages, and holiday home decor ideas that are sure to inspire you to start preparing for your holiday season NOW! Would you prefer to hold the little book in your hands, so you can page through it slowly, staring at each page, planning your gift wrapping and party decorations? Most of my regular class-attenders should have received their own copy in the mail by now. But if not, contact me here and I'll be happy to mail you a copy of your own!

~Alice

INTRODUCING MY DIGITAL STUDIO™

CREATIVITY WITH STAMPIN’ UP!® GOES DIGITAL

INTRODUCING MY DIGITAL STUDIO™

Stampin’ Up!’s award-winning artwork, colors, and accessories

available in digital format via My Digital Studio

Stampin’ Up! is venturing into the digital age with the release of My Digital Studio™. My Digital Studio is an easy-to-use, software-based design studio featuring thousands of Stampin’ Up!’s award-winning images, colors, and accessories.


Extremely intuitive, My Digital Studio allows crafters of all skill levels to easily navigate the program and design their own digital project or use hundreds of templates to create professionally designed cards, photo albums, scrapbooks, and more. New artwork and templates will be available on a regular basis for download via Stampin’ Up!’s Online Store. In addition, My Digital Studio will offer professional print services where customers can purchase bound photo albums, cards, individual scrapbook pages, and calendars.


The design studio offers perfect coordination when embellishing digital output products with traditional Stampin’ Up! embellishments, as well. Users can produce exquisite, multi-dimensional projects that marry the ease of digital with the beauty of handcrafted projects, creating what are known as hybrid projects.

“I love the way My Digital Studio combines what Stampin’ Up! is known for—exclusive images, terrific color coordination and inspiring project ideas—and offers it in a digital format,” said Shelli Gardner, Stampin’ Up! cofounder and CEO. “This will make it easier than ever before to scrapbook or create other paper crafting projects while still ensuring that your end result looks great!”

Please contact me here if you are interested in gathering a group of 3 or more of your friends together for a Girls' Night Out Digital Stamping event. I will bring my laptop to your home, or you can bring your friends to mine, where I will be happy to show-off the product and offer hands-on support. Those interested in attending this event or scheduling a personal crafting event with me are invited to visit my website here.

DECOR ELEMENTS

This is my new laptop.

Well, actually it's not really my "NEW" laptop. It's just newly decorated. I used ADORNMENT (Item #117929), and in just a few minutes and for under $10 I had a new look. Do you remember my beginning attempts with the vinyl DECOR ELEMENTS last year? You can see the wall decorating I did in this old post here. It's so easy, and comes in a multitude of colors. Obviously, I chose pink. Just about everyone who knows me can tell you that pink is my favorite color. I love this little bit of home decorating. A little bit goes a long way, right?

There are lots of styles to choose from, including designs to help decorate your home for the coming Holidays. Contact me to request your full color brochure, or just check it all out on the Stampin' Up! website here. You can order directly from my website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Just click on this link to my website here, and click on the button in the upper right corner, under my name, that says SHOP NOW. Or, if you prefer, you may contact me directly and I will be happy to place an order for you.

~~Alice

Princess Madelyn's Dance Recital

This post was created mainly for my baby sister, Sandy, who listened to me for over a month as I created this labor of love. But I thought some of you might be interested in seeing one of my "non-Stampin' Up!" projects, too.



This is a special gift that I made for my granddaughter, Madelyn, for her second dance recital this past June. This board book came shaped like a purse in plain white chipboard. I added the patterned paper (purple, of course! DUH!), the embellishments, and the photos. This cover shot features a Princess Tiara that flashes with mini lights and the fabric covered heart-button that served as the closure for the book.

I have a new posting program on my blog which is causing me all kinds of problems placing the photos. Please forgive the awkward spacing while I learn how to manipulate this new program. Isn't Madelyn adorable?!?!?

Madelyn is taking dance lessons from Mary Beth Snow at The Dance Place in Ocean City, NJ. Her mother, my oldest daughter, Kristie, studied dance at the same studio under Miss Mary for 12 years while she was growing up in Ocean City. Isn't that cool?

I had to keep the embellishments to a minimum so that the book wouldn't get so thick it wouldn't close! I used mostly shear ribbons around the handles and patterned paper punched into flower shapes. The journaling is printed by hand along the handles. I thought that gave it a nice personal touch that Madelyn can save and treasure for years to come.

The outside back cover of the book has a photo of Madelyn and her adoring Mimi cut out with a heart-shaped punch and a stamp saying "Created for you by Mimi 2009."

~Alice

POST-IT NOTE HOLDERS

We had a great time at my last workshop with Faith and her MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) Group. (Hi Faith!!) She wanted to make a simple 3-D project to show her friends how to stamp, and let them know a little about Stampin' Up! and the great business opportunity it can provide. These Post-It Note Holders were easy to stamp and easy to assemble. They make a cute little gift for a friend, or a handy notepad for yourself on the kitchen counter, or maybe in your car! We made this one using the beautiful bird image from the Level 2 Hostess set, WINGS OF FRIENDSHIP. The sentiment was cut out using the MODERN LABEL PUNCH.

This image is of another holder I made using the CIRCLE CIRCUS stamp set, showing how to use small stamps to create your own patterned paper. It's all wrapped up with MELON MAMBO 1/2" POLKA-DOT GROSGRAIN RIBBON and centered with layers of punched circles and a FLOWER DESIGNER BRAD. The small gel pens were found at Staples, thanks to Dawn Griffith and her blog which can be seen here.

If you and your friends would like to have a fun Girls' Night Out with stamping, creativity and some refreshments, contact me at Angelsme@aol.com. I would love to come over and show you how you can make creative projects designed especially for you and your friends!

~Alice

August Scrapbooking Class

This birthday layout was lots of fun to make! The colors were bright and cheery, with Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, and Crushed Curry playing accent to the lively Lovely Lilac (try to say that fast 3 times... hehe). Letters from the new JUMBLE ALPHABET, were stamped inside Melon Mambo cupcakes, which were created by using the Scallop Circle Punch with a little extra trimming at the bottom. The Orchid Fine Cosmo Glitter was applied to the Textured Bermuda Bay cardstock strip using a 12" piece of 1/4" wide STICKY STRIP.

The TAFFY ALPHABET and the "H" from the retired LETTERPRESS ALPHABET were used to create the "Happy" Title Strip. The entire spread was pulled together at the end by using a fun technique called DOODLING, something most of us have done while sitting and talking on the phone, or while daydreaming in a warm, boring classroom. The BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' WRITE MARKER has two different tips, one is a wide brush tip and the other is a fine, hard tip -- perfect for journaling or doodling!

This layout was a generic spread, which means that it can be used with almost any kind of photographs taken about male or female in almost any activity or situation. There are several different small swatches of patterned paper used in the blocks across the bottom of both pages, which draws the viewer's eye from one page into the other. The same patterns can be found in the petals of the flower on the left page, which were created by choosing a stamp from "PICK A PETAL" stamp set and then trimmed around the edges of each. The center is stamped with Tempting Turquoise ink on the same card stock, then covered with a clear round button and Linen Thread. Then stitching was added around the edge of both pages, and from the flower on the left page across to the flower on the other side of the layout. Once again, this helps unify the two pages and carry the eye to the photos stretched from left to right in one long line across the center of the layout.

~Alice

MORE SCRAPBOOKING

This SUMMER FUN layout would be great for photos of the beach or pool, a day spent fishing or just laying in the sun, vacation or "Stay-cation". There is lots of room for photos of any size, with small accents from the Occasions Mini Catalog's new set, JUST BEACHY. The bottom border was created using a Bashful Blue Ink cartridge and the SOMETHING FISHY jumbo roller wheel. The ink was rolled on Bashful Blue card stock and on Tempting Turquoise card stock. Both strips were hand torn to create the nice texture along the top of the border. KIWI KISS is a nice background contrast and provides a lush green color of summer.

Can't you just feel the hot summer sun in the title block below? The "S" was cut from SUMMER SUN card stock using the Cricut and Plantin Schoolbook cartridge, and the other letters of the title were stamped using the TAFFY ALPHABET SET and Summer Sun Ink. The "S" was placed on a 1-1/4" SQUARE PUNCH of Tempting Turquoise layered on a piece of ONLY ORANGE Square Scallop Punch. One of the Orange Flowers from the FLOWER BRADS ASSORTMENT makes the perfect finishing touch, don't you think? All of this is layered on top of TEMPTING TURQUOISE PRINT PATTERN DESIGNER SERIES PAPER.

I thought this layout would be good for photos from the Strawberry Festival, which is a large local event held in nearby Plant City, FL annually in March. I know... I know... these are cherries, not strawberries. But this stamp set, TART & TANGY, also has a cute strawberry stamp in it. But I wanted to use this awesome print from the (now retired) ROCKABILLY SPECIALTY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER. Can you see that I also used the cherries stamp and Versamark Ink to create my own patterned paper for the background? This is the best of both worlds: using Stampin' Up!'s beautiful DSP -- and creating my own patterned paper using repetitive stamping of the main image stamp and Versamark. How much easier can it get?!?

The embellishment below was created by stacking alternative colors of card stock using successive sizes of Circle Punches and the Scallop Circle Punch. The rhinestone in the center adds just a touch of bling to the spread.

We are having so much fun creating these layouts as we work toward compiling a year's worth of photos into one full scrapbook by the end of the school year. Would you like to join us? Class meets 9:30AM until noon every first Saturday of the month at my house in Apollo Beach, FL. Contact me here to R.S.V.P. two weeks prior to the class date. If you would like to take the class but flying here each month creates a problem for your busy schedule, contact me about ordering a packet to be sent to you via the USPS. I would love to have you join us -- either way!

~Alice

July Scrapbooking Class

The first layout in this class is a common theme for families with young children, but can be used for "children" of any age! We had lots of fun using ANIMAL STORIES, a stamp set from the new Stampin' Up! catalog which coordinates wonderfully with TALL TALES DESIGNER SERIES PAPER. The letters were created using the CRICUT and Plantin Schoolbook cartridge, and were cut out of both Crushed Curry and Old Olive card stock. Layering one on top of the other made the Old Olive pop off of the dark Chocolate Chip background. The animals were all stamped on Whisper White card stock and carefully trimmed out using Stampin' Up!'s wonderfully sharp PAPER SNIPS.

The journaling block below was created using a strip of Tall Tales Designer Series Paper using the Spiral Punch along the entire left side, creating a look of paper torn out of a loose-leaf binder. I really liked the color and gridlines of this paper to be used for writing in a straight line without the look of traditional "lined" notebook paper. The PHOTO CORNER PUNCH was used to create boundaries on both pages, and the 1-3/4" Circle Punch was used to create mattes for lots of small photos, common from visits to the local zoo. Have fun!

This rather simple layout uses Textured Real Red cardstock and a couple of pieces of Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper to create an open design where photos of any size may be added almost anywhere. The right hand page is divided so that two verticle 4"x6" prints could be placed at the top, and two more 4"x6" prints could be placed horizontally across the bottom. The flower at the top right was created using the largest flower from PETAL PIZAZZ and a technique called "Rock 'n' Roll. In this technique, the stamp is first fully inked up using Cameo Coral Classic Ink. The stamp is then rocked in a circular motion, so that only the edges of the image are inked up in a Real Red Classic Ink Pad. This creates the unique image shown in this second photo, where the pink flower has red edges. An old sewing basket full of buttons was raided to produce the large red button in the center with some white embroidery thread tied into a bow. At the bottom of the left page, three red flower-shaped buttons, again tied with embroidery floss, echo the flower theme. The Eyelet Border Punch creates a pleasant border strip at the bottom of the page, while the journaling block was created using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels One die and the Big Shot die-cutting machine.

~Alice

I just wanted to take a moment to let you all know about my husband, Larry. He is the most wonderful, fantastic, loving, caring, romantic person in the entire world. It may have taken me over 40 years to find him, but we were meant to be together. One of the coolest things about him is that he is THE BEST poet! He has written over 500 love poems to me in the 10 years we have been together. I have them handwritten and typed, on notes on scraps of paper, full page designs for regular days, and in cards for holidays and special events.

DH has a hobby. He owns a 1969 Corvette Stingray with a 427, tri-power, 4-speed with 400 horsepower, T-tops, and factory side pipes. (He sat here and narrated that for me... hehe) I don't know what all that means, but if you do, or if you would like to know more, go visit his blog:

http://vetteguy.wordpress.com/

Leave a comment telling him I sent you. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. Or maybe your DH would be interested. They tell me it's a "Guy Thing" :-)

~ Alice

CHA

This is CHA. The Craft & Hobby Association's Summer SuperShow held at the Convention Center in Orlando. The major difference with this show is that it's the first time it was open to the General Public. It was open only to Retailers for placing orders from Tuesday through Thursday, but on Friday and Saturday it was flooded with crafters who were determined to find the latest, greatest new product to hit the market.And we were not disappointed. There were lots of new die-cutting machines scheduled to make our lives easier, and some more Digital Scrapbooking programs coming out soon. I talked to a few different marketers about Digital Scrapbooking companies to learn more about their programs. But the BEST software system will be released this fall by Stampin' Up! That's right... you heard me. Stampin' Up! has been working on this for over a year. And this fall the wait will be over. I had a chance to view the program at Convention in 2007, and it promises to be the easiest, and the most user-friendly program on the market. For those of you who aren't quite ready to make the big jump to digital scrapbooking, what about going Hybrid? That's when you design your scrapbook page on the computer, using Designer Series Papers that coordinate with Stampin' Up!'s current papers and card stocks. You will be able to "stamp" using the same sets and colors that make SU! the best in the market. Once you print your page out onto paper, you can add traditional embellishments, ribbon, Hodgepodge Hardware etc. and VOILA! You now have a HYBRID SCRAPBOOK PAGE.


Anyway, back to CHA. Agnes and I dressed up with some supplied props and had our photographs taken in a stall located in the JoAnne's booth. The photos were developed within a minute, and we used them to create our own 8" x 8" scrapbook pages. It's hard to see in these photos, but the pages we are holding each have 3 small photos on them.

This last photo shows a mini scrapbook made with Vintage Christmas ephemera. A new spray called Glimmer Mist was applied very sparingly. It dries almost on contact, and gives the card stock a shimmery appearance. It's not glitter; but rather a light shimmer. I'll let you know when I get some, so we can all experiment together. Thanks for stopping by. Have a GREAT day!

~ Alice