Training the trainer – an introduction to stamping

Last week, I had the fun of introducing a friend to awesome world of stamping and paper crafting.  Nikki is my personal trainer from the gym (gotta kick out those last few pounds of baby weight!) and she has been very curious to check out Stampin’ Up!.  Since she wouldn’t be able to get a workshop scheduled until September and she was going back to Hawaii to celebrate her Grandpa’s 100th birthday in a few weeks, I invited her over to create a card and gift for her Grandfather.  We had a blast playing with everything and helping her create something that she loved and was going to be special for her Grandfather.

So, we created a card and then an 8×10 photo page.  She attached a photo of her Grandpa and Grandma and we left the space under the photo blank so she could hand write a message to him.   Aren’t they the cutest couple?? 🙂

 

I loved helping her try everything out and create something special and she can’t wait to take it to show off to her family. 😉 

Birthday Photo Layout Recipe:
Stamps:  Whimsical Words (Sale-a-bration 2010 set)
Inks:  Night of Navy
Paper:  Whisper White CS, Night of Navy CS, Bashful Blue CS, Pink Flamingo DSP
Accessories:  So Saffron 5/8″ ribbon, Corner Rounder punch
Paper:

Is it possible to craft without making a mess?

Well, I’m going to have to make this post quick, but I thought I would post the progress I’m making on a project since it seems to be taking me a while to complete it.  🙂

So, on Sunday (or was it Monday?) I started trying to get things together for my open scrap day on Saturday.  I’m putting together some kits for folks who aren’t going to be bringing their own project.  One of the kits is going to be a two page 12×12 scrapbook layout.  I thought “one layout shouldn’t be so hard” but when I sat down with my papers, I realized that the only 12×12 paper that I had enough for everyone (if everyone got a kit) for the base pages was Glorious Green.  So I started from there. and it turned out to be a more challenging color base than I expected.  I because obsessed with creating this layout to the point that I keep futzing with it instead of moving on to my other kits. 

Finally last night, I found my groove and got the layout close enough to done (I need my BigShot that is in transit to finish it completely) that I’m going to move on to other projects tonight.

Now, my “craft room” is also mine and my DH’s office and it is complete disaster – never got fully unpacked and now is a mess of half unpacked boxes and stacks of paper, books, and knick knacks.  So, until I get that straightened up, I’ve been taking over my dining room.  Last night, when I got home from work, I walked into my dining room and saw this:

I’ve now decided that I can’t work on a project and have my space by clean.  I also don’t know how some of you work on dresser tops and coffee tables.  🙂 My paper, scrap, and accessory piles are too big for that.  Does anyone craft and stay tidy at the same time?

The bookcase that was supposed to be for books and instead is my SU storage space.

A year in reflection scrapbook pages

Each year, I trade scrapbook pages as Christmas gifts with family members.  The pages highlight what my family did over the last year, so in the end, I have a stack of pages showing me what everyone has been up to while I’ve been living out of state.  It is lots of fun to do, but this year I had so many things to share that I needed to make 4 pages for each gift.  I was trading with 4 families this year, so that was 16 pages to make.  It may not seem like a lot, but doing 16 12×12 pages in 2 days (I’m a late starter) was a lot of work.  However, it was fun to get some scrapbooking in. 

I’ve spent so much time recently doing cards and 3D projects, that I’m a bit rusty on scrapbooking (I was suprised at how different a style it can be).  This time, I was able to start incorporating stamping into my scrapbooking with the Enjoy the moment stamp set on my pink pages.  And of course, I couldn’t live with out my punches (corner rounder and ticket punch) whether I’m making cards or scrapbook pages.