Copic Markers

I went to an Amuse stamping class with Meghann on Saturday - gorgeous cards but I can't post them because they're not my design. Anyway, the Copic Markers are awesome - much better than the Prismacolor or anything else I've used. Meghann convinced me to join the Copic Club at Stampin n Scrappin Time...
This weekend - a calendar class with Virginia - will make great Christmas gifts!!!
Then Christmas scrapbooks for everyone!!!

Birthday Pics/Imaginisce

More Prima Pages

New Scrapbook

I am now working on a scrapbook for Meghann - the first page is made with Prima Paper "Flirty Little Secret
The next two are Imaginisce - "A Shore Thing" - I used the coordinating brads.
All pics layered on plain white, the scrapbook is Martha Stewart 81/2 x 11 and opens up - not sideways.

I am still working on this scrapbook and just ordered a bunch of smaller "journal" type scrapbooks to make Christmas gifts - so more posts will be coming!!!

The Mountain Goat

So this is what I do when I'm not scrapping. The race was 10 miles - 5 huge hills. The pics of me running are at the top of the final hill (that's why I'm smiling!!!). The pre-race pic is of me clutching my coffee and getting just a little more caffeine in before the race (I drank plenty of water too!!!!).
Cazenovia Lake 10 mile run on July 4th, ARC 1/2 marathon early September and if I can convince my husband to take me to the Cayman Islands in December I'll do the MARATHON there (the best way to do 26 miles is if it is all along the ocean!!!).
Craft room is almost put back together.

In Withdrawal - Can't get to my stuff

We are still redecorating - currently sanding down the living room and bedroom floors so our bedroom and living room furniture is in the dining room and craft room. I can see my craft stuff but can't get to it and would have no place to put it. Another week......

Redecorating

We are gutting and redecorating our living room and bedroom and guess where all the furniture went - my craft room!!!! I can't get to anything!!! Between that and training for the Mountain Goat run on May 3rd there hasn't been much time to scrapbook. There has been time to shop and I have new blank scrapbooks just like Molly's to make for Virginia and Meghann. I also have one for the family's activities this summer - along with a bunch of prima paper to scrapbook our camping adventures. The scrapbooks are all Martha Stewart brand, it was all on clearance at AC Moore so I don't know if it's discontinued - the supplies were nothing exciting, but the scrapbooks are nice because they are 8 1/2 x 11 and linen covered.
I am trying to figure out how to use adobe photoshop to edit my pictures to be half sepia or all sepia with some color. Despite numerous on-line tutorials and purchases of books and magazines I cannot figure it out (YET).
I will be posting pictures of the living room - when we pulled up the carpet we found the original hardwoods that we are going to refinish, I'm pretty sure there are original hardwoods in our bedroom too. We are also putting in new ceilings with recessed lighting, new windows and fresh paint.

Molly's Scrapbook - The Tinkertoy Pages

Two more pages in Molly's scrapbook. The paper is Graphic 45 - Playtimes Past.

Molly's scrapbook is now complete - a page or two might need a little tweaking but all of the pages are basically done - she really likes it. All of the pages in her book were pretty plain - not a lot of embellishments - I wanted to let the pictures speak for themselves. The sepia tone got a little tiring - I'm still using the same settings on Adobe Photoshop but now want to try adjusting the color of the photos freestyle - individually for each picture. I got new photo paper for the printer - not the same - I did not realize there would be so much variety between the different brands and different finishes....

I'm heading out to Stampin and Scrappin Time this morning - looking for new paper. Also, need to stop and get more mats for the Cricut - once the stickiness wears off the paper wiggles all over and it is impossible to cut.

Anyway, I don't know what the next project will be... might switch directions and start working on the yard - flower beds!!!!! Pics to come!!!

Molly's Scrapbook - The Dogs

Molly's Scrapbook

The next two pages are from a scrapbook I'm making for my daughter Molly. The scrapbook is 8 1/2 by 11 - all done in sepia tone (still not sick of it) and will go from her birth to her 11th birthday. These two pages are from our wedding when she was 6. The scrapbook opens top to bottom so the layout is longways rather than side to side - it's a martha stewart scrapbook that was on clearance somewhere - linen covered (which I have stamped to look like a school binder- pics soon)

Meghann's Artwork

Due to technically difficulties, the second pic is sideways - sorry!!!! The first one she did on tin foil in art class. I just included the second one because I like the word finsterwillies.

Recent Product Reviews

Cuttlelbug with Embossing Folders - well worth it - it makes awesome backgrounds, I have not tried the die cuts yet but will. And yes, you do need a cuttlebug even if you have a cricut.

Cricut - couldn't scrapbook without it!!!! Love the letters - haven't gotten too much into the shapes yet. The Xyron sticker maker is a must - putting little tiny glue dots on little tiny letters is too much hassle.

Prismacolor Markers - undecided - do I like them as much as Marvy LePlume water based markers??? possibly. My next step is to get a few Copic Markers and see how they compare.

Amuse stamps - love them!!!

Score Pal - another keeper.

I am on the lookout for the perfect black ink - my StampinUp has faded to purple, the black soot distress ink smudges (I guess I could emboss it) - I could always go back to the old standby and emboss everything black but I wanted things to be a step easier.

Adobe Photoshop - wouldn't be able to scrapbook without it!!!!

the end of the old scrapbook

more of the old scrapbook

sepia vs black and white vs color

I think my sepia phase is passing, of the three it is my least favorite. All 3 pages are 7x7" - to fit a 7 gypsies scrapbook. The backgrounds immediately behind the pictures are embossed with the cuttlebug, the black and white and sepia are further decorated with ink and the brayer. On the black and white the ink color I used was StampinUp basic black which looked dark purple (a nice shade but not black), maybe it's because the pad is 11 years old!!!

The amuse stamps are in - just need to make the trip out to bridgeport to pick them up. The store doesn't open until 12 so I'm twiddling my thumbs until then. Apparently only some of the order came in and I can't really remember all that I ordered so it will all be a surprise!!! They probably have new stuff in too - my bank account and I are ready and my husband has been warned.

Cuttlebug

The cuttlebug came in the mail today and it was a good thing because I have had a BUSY week at work so far and the rest of the week looks even busier.
The is done with the embossing folder - paisley - colored with a brayer (a tip from someone's blog that I found while googling cuttlebug) and a pink kaleidacolor pad. Just a background for a card so far.....

Artwork by Virginia

This is by Virginia. The caption says "Ed, Fred, tom, Peenut and Jery are having a picnic together. Coloring done with Crayola Twistables.

OLD Scrapbook Pages

Here are some of my original scrapbook pages all made entirely with Stampin'Up stamps, ink and paper. I made them in 1999 shortly after I became hooked on this hobby. Everything I used was acid free and the ink seems to have held. The princess pages were made with my all time favorite Stampin'Up set - Dreams and Dragons - stamped in black ink and chalked. I can only load 5 pics at a time per post - more to come.

Waiting for New Stamps

I'm just waiting to hear that the stamps I ordered at Stampin & Scrappin Time last week are in - all amuse stamps and really cute. I have also ordered a cuttlebug and 5 or 6 embossing mats to spice up the cards. Just waiting for things to arrive.
Virginia and I are thinking about making cards for a local nursing home or hospital - she likes to make "batches" of cards and I'm sure there are people out there who might appreciate them. We were also thinking of making goody packs for employees in a nursing home on Easter - it's hard work and underappreciated and might brighten someone's day. I haven't looked into where yet, there are a couple of places near our house.
In the meantime - I'm training for the mountain goat - the sun is finally shining and it's light later and I am just loving it!!!!

More Cards

I am working on cards today and pretending that I'm an artist and my little of the family room is my studio. I am trying to accent the cards a little - it has been so long since I did this that I'd forgotten how fun it was!!!!
Of course, I'm using Amuse rubber stumps. I got prismacolor markers - I wanted to try alcohol/solvent based rather than water based brush markers - so far I am not impressed and prefer my Marvy 1122 LeplumeII. I got a prefilled 24 pack of the markers rather than picking out my own 24 colors, that may have been my mistake.
The flowers and scallop shape are cut by the cricut which I am still loving.

The Hobby Lobby

The Hobby Lobby just opened near our house so we had to check it out. They had some really good opening specials - we got all of Molly's birthday party supplies for 50% off. But... the stamping and scrapbooking section just wasn't that great; it was just a small part of the store and had much less than AC Moore, which is where I normally go for basics like adhesive, scissors, etc. They do have a nice fabric/wool selection which is needed around here. They also stock Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers (both sold separately, not in kits).

I think I'll stick with Stampin & Scrappin Time - they have so much more variety, nicer stuff and are not any more expensive.

One Picture - Six Looks

The pictures below demonstrate how Adobe Photoshop can be used to alter/enhance photos. The features used were crop, convert to black and white and adjust hue/saturation (click colorize box-hue 27, saturation-21) for the sepia tone photo.
My computer is not cooperating, the sixth photo is the full view of the sepia tone but I can't load it right now, I'll try again later.
Scrapbook pages using the pictures are next!!!

One Picture-Six Looks

Another Amuse Card

This card uses Amuse cardstock as well as an Amuse stamp. The shapes are cut with the cricut. The ink is stampin up basic black (the best black I have found so far). The markers are Marvy brush markers (I'm waiting for my Prismacolor markers to arrive in the mail!!!)

Cards by Meghann

All cards made with Amuse stamps by my daughter Meghann.

Scrapbook Pages

Here are the rest of the scrapbook pages, all sepia tone, on Graphic 45 paper.