May Make & Take

This tag & pocket were the Make and Take project for early May. We still have a bunch of pockets left from last year's GASC, so occasionally I work them into a Make & Take. Since I was getting ready to leave town, it seemed a good time to use the pockets so I'd have less to cut.

I embossed the pockets with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, one of my favorite things to do.

Spring Make & Take #2

I know I've said this before, but I love my Cuttlebug. The flower is a Cuttlebug die, and the Sizzix tag, butterfly punch and dark green strip of cardstock were all embossed with different Cuttlebug embossing folders. I used chalk ink to brush across the raised design of the tag and butterfly to highlight the embossing.

Spring Make and Take #1

The above is one of the projects I designed for the LSS in either February or March of this year. I just discovered it in a bag when I was tidying up, along with another recent project, so I figured I'd post them.

The file folder is made the same way as the Lighthouse file folder further down (Sizzix die). The pocket on the file folder is one of the Sizzix tags, but with the pointy part folded down. I used a scalloped corner to punch (EK Success, maybe?) the piece glued on top of the folded triangular part of the pocket. The Frolic word stamp was from a Technique Tuesday small winter set (old, old, old), the swirly stamp is probably by Daisy Bucket, but might be Snag-Em. Not sure who makes the Playful button stamp or the little phrase stamped on the pocket. The unknowns were among the tools found at the LSS. The stamped tag that goes into the pocket is by Prima Marketing. Not sure who makes the paper, either.

I'm not sure what happened to the ribbon that was on the stamped tag. It disappeared before the sample came home, so I just used craft thread to replace the missing ribbon.

Tri-fold Shutter Card with link to tutorial

A friend send me a link to an awesome card tutorial. I couldn't wait to give it a try. Another dear friend of mine has been having horrible health problems, so I made the above card for her. The left image shows the card closed, the right image shows it open.

The link to the tutorial: Tri-fold Shutter Card

You'll notice on the blog where you find the tutorial that she uses a Score-Pal. I saw so many being used in tutorials that I broke down and bought one when I saw it at the LSS.

Recipe Lunch Tin

I like to cook, although I don't play in my kitchen as much as I ought to considering the collection of kitchen gadgets I've got. I also like to collect recipes.

In December of 2007 I taught a recipe lunch tin project. I used the French Kitchen line from Reminisce. It was a lot of fun to make. We also did a Christmas cookie & recipe exchange.

This is a collage showing photos of the different parts of the lunch tin. I know it's not the best photography and piecing job, but it gives you an idea of how the recipe tin turned out, anyway.

GASC 2008 Make & Take

GASC stands for Great American Scrapbook Convention. The LSS had a Make & Take table, which I staffed for two full days, with only occasional spelling off. I did have some help, or I would have gone crazy. Staffing it alone was especially challenging, since the table was in the hallway near the classes. When the classes got out, large numbers of scrappers stopped by the table. Trying to help a big group all by myself was a bit much. Fortunately, I wasn't alone at the table most of the time.

I designed the project, and was very happy with it. To punch a hole in a tag pocket, then stamp right through it so you could be sure of seeing your phrase on the tag inside the pocket, is not a commonly used technique. At least most of the ladies who did the project had never tried it before. The back of the tag could be used for hidden journaling. The clam shell is a Sizzix die, the whelk shell is a QuicKutz die, and the pocket is by Accu-cut. The tag itself is just a rectangle with two of the corners rounded.

"Beach" and flip-flop stamps are by Snag-Em. The small words are from an Inque Boutique stamp set. And yes, the stamping job isn't the best. Once again, my originals disappeared sometime during the two days, and were replaced by ones stamped by someone else. I really do stamp more carefully than this!

I'll also be doing the Make & Take again for the LSS at GASC Chantilly 2009. I've already designed the project. It's very different from the 2008 project, and it teaches different techniques. I'll post a picture of it after the convention.

Beach Make & Take

This was a Make & Take for July or August of 2008. The file folder is a Sizzix die, but with the paper folded before cutting, and the fold just inside the cutting line. Then I trimmed off the front tab part. I embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder, of course (yes, I do love my Cuttlebug and folders!) and the seashell is a Sizzix die. The lighthouse and saying are My Sentiments Exactly stamps.

One note about the project shown here. My sample was stamped perfectly, and the chalking was done much better. Apparently a customer liked my sample better than her completed project and she did an unauthorized swap! Yes, I have had samples totally disappear on a rare occasion, too, with nothing left in their place. I don't know if the customer just didn't want to take the time to make the project, or if they totally botched their own project, but it's frustrating when I go back and my sample is completely gone. I finally started taking photos of my projects because I don't always remember what I've done (chalk it up to senility).

If I were to use this on an album page, I would definitely re-do it, but it's been awhile since I've been to the beach, so there's no hurry to make a new one in the meantime.

Lazy? Maybe. I just don't have a lot of scrapbooking time these days, so I'm not about to waste it on remaking a project I don't need right away.

Family Tag

Another simple project, mostly stamped. I love to stamp, and have even persuaded a few reluctant customers at the LSS to pick up a stamp and give it a try. This stamp set is one of my favorites, because it has a lot of different and versatile fall designs on it. Unfortunately, I've lost the info as to who makes it.

Simple Birthday Card Make & Take

The background is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, the cupcake punch is a Martha Stewart. I'm not sure who makes the scalloped square punch.

Santa Layout

In November of 2007, the owner of the LSS asked me to do a photo shoot at the store. Her husband dressed as Santa, and I took photos of the kids (or adults) sitting with Santa. The photos were printed right there for the customers (at no charge), and I had designed a Make & Take Christmas themed layout that the customers could purchase, add their photo to the layout, and go home with a completed page. I don't have a photo of that year's layout, but the owner asked me to do the photo shoot again in November of 2008. At the last minute I had to get a substitute to do the photo shoot, but I'm pretty happy with how the Santa layout turned out. Apparently the customers liked it, too. They sold out pretty quick.

The photo frame is a die made by Accu-Cut. I used stamps by Technique Tuesday (Naughty/Nice), Stampology (License Plate), Art Warehouse (Ho Ho Ho and Santa Was Here), and Close To My Heart (Santa-Playful Caps alphabet).

Christmas Photo Canvas

This was a fun project that I did with the gals at church. I actually designed and made it in the Fall of 2008. I considered teaching it as a class at the LSS but was just too busy to seriously think about it. Teaching classes takes a ton of prep time.

Doing it with the ladies at church was easy, since they had to cut most of their own stuff. At the LSS, I have to cut everything for the class kits, which is why they take so long to prepare. Sometimes the money made teaching is decent, and sometimes it's below minimum wage. It just depends on the class. I didn't get paid anything for teaching it at church, since it was a volunteer sort of thing, but at least I didn't have to spend hours cutting a bunch of little pieces.

Thanksgiving Make & Take project

One of the things I do at the LSS (Local Scrapbook Store) is design and prepare the Make & Take projects. The projects have to be fairly simple, something even a beginning scrapbooker can do with just a sample to look at. They also have to be inexpensive, since they are a freebie, and sometimes we make quite a few of them. Occasionally we have charged a small fee for the Make & Take projects, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

So the samples I'll be showing here aren't necessarily my best work, but they are kind of fun to do.

The old fashioned die-cuts aren't exactly trendy, but sometimes they can still be used effectively, especially when turned into a simple paper piecing like this Thanksgiving tag. The tag itself was embossed using a Cuttlebug folder. The word "Thanks" was a CB die, the cornucopia and fruit were Sizzix dies. The large tag is an Accu-Cut die. This was a Make & Take for last November.