Cut 'n Paste

Winter Escape

HAPPY NEW YEAR friends!!

Rick and I returned last weekend from a wonderfully relaxing Caribbean cruise. We, along with some friends, left on New Year's eve and headed out to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to catch our Celebrity ship. We had beautiful weather and had a blast. We arrived home to snow, which made our escape in the sun all the sweeter.



Since our return home we've both been busy catching up at work. I am looking ahead to Thursday, Jan 26th when I will be leaving to attend the CHA trade show in California. Within the next few days I will be sharing the new products we will be releasing from Melissa Frances with you. I can hardly wait!!

Handmade Album

Hi friends, I hope that you each had a very Merry Christmas celebration and that you have health and happiness in 2012!

I wanted to share an album I made from scratch as a Christmas gift with you. This project was so much fun and it will be the inspiration for one of my 2012 workshops.

Wee Christmas gift box

I was asked to make a Christmas project for the Norwegian scrapbook blog, Scrappe Huset and am happy to also be able to share it here. Check out the link for the full supply list and directions.

Here's hoping that everyone has a great week - only 2 more before Christmas!!

Jerusalem layout

Happy December! I arrived home last night after a weekend trip to Miami. After having an unusually cold weather here, the weather there was a nice break.
(SUPPLY LIST: Patterned Paper: Anastasia (PA328) and Alma (PA197) by Melissa Frances • Jewelled button: Black Ice Brooch (BR008) by Melissa Frances • White resin flower accent: Architectural Molding Applique (CX822) by Melissa Frances • Chipboard: 5th Avenue chipboard (GN445) by Melissa Frances • Inks: Jet Black Archival, Clear Emboss it!, Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy, Wild Honey Distress Ink. All by Ranger • Embossing Powder: Clear by Ranger • Cardstock: White, Kraft and Brown by Bazzill • Stamp: Memories are Forever by Collections by Julie van Oosten , Stitched floral by Stampin' Up! (Discontinued), Cursive Stamp by Hero Arts (discontinued), Border Stamp also by Hero Arts (discontinued) - For the discontinued stamps, there are other stamps which are currently available which have the same look • Tag - Large tag by Avery •Other - Heat Gun, vintage book pages, Twill ribbon, a few pearls and thread.)

I was asked to be a special guest on the Scrapbook Brasil website last week, and now that the week is over, I can finally show you the tutorial I made for them. I used the beautifully vintage Attic Treasures collection from Melissa Frances for this modern-vintage collage styled layout.

Here's a walk through the steps:

1)  First, gather supplies to stamp image on fabric. You'll want to use an ink that will work on fabric. I used Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink on Osnaburg fabric.


2) Stamp the image onto the fabric and trim to size.


3) We will be doing some heat embossing for a resist ink technique. First, gather your large tag, stamp, clear embossing ink and powder. Stamp the embossing ink onto the tag, then sprinkle on the embossing powder. Shake off the excess and then use your heat gun to melt the powder.


4) After heat embossing, use the Tea Dye and Brushed Corduroy ink and a blender tool to apply the ink to your tags. The great thing is that the embossed areas will resist the ink leaving the manila tag color showing through. When I applied the ink, I followed no set pattern so that the tag is randomly colored. Glue a little strip of vintage book paper to the bottom of the tag.


5) Cut a piece of Alma paper 9x9 inches. Using a border stamp and cursive stamp, along with 3 inks, randomly apply the ink to the back of the stamps. Before stamping onto the paper, first, stamp each image onto some scrap paper lightly so that a little of the ink comes off. This way, when you stamp onto your paper the color will be a little bit less colorful. I stamped the border design onto the upper right side of the page, and the cursive writing onto the bottom left of the page.


6) Cut a piece of Kraft Cardstock 10x10 inches and a piece of dark brown cardstock 10.5 x 10.5 inches. Glue the kraft paper onto the dark brown cardstock and the Alma paper onto the kraft cardstock. Glue a large old dictionary page to the upper left side of the page, and the fabric swatch that you stamped onto, to its right. Finally, print your title/journaling piece and glue it across the bottom of the page.

7) Now, take the papers from step #6 and sew around the edge of the fabric swatch as well as the kraft cardstock border as seen in the sample. Finally, using a brown zig zag stitch, sew onto the lower portion of the Alma paper.

8) Glue the rest of the page elements onto the layout

New necklace and a video to make you smile

Yesterday I received some happy mail - yeah! The necklace that I ordered not too long ago from Cupid's Charm arrived. This is the first piece that I bought after discovering them through pinterest. I'm pretty happy with it - although I am considering covering the tintype with some Ice Resin which will protect it.

Have you seen these two little girls? I know that I'm a few weeks late in discovering them, but oh my goodness - I laughed so hard. I'm not a fan of Nicki Minaj, so that part is not that interesting for me, but their interview? So precious! After watching this, I then looked for and watched all their appearances on Ellen. What cutie-pies.

This recipe

Source: candcmarriagefactory.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

from pinterest, is SOOOOO good. Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin - oh no, this recipe should be called Nectar of the gods. Seriously people. It is just. that. good. We had the extended family over for dinner last week and this is what I made for the gang. It was a hit with everyone from the 3 year old to the 60-some year old! Making dinner for a crowd should always be this easy.

Anyways, I'm sorry that the craft stuff around here has been slow this past while. I have been busy making things which can't be shared for the moment. But I am trying to squeeze in some time to make a few things to share here too. Hopefully I'll be back with some creative stuff next week. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend friends :)

Melissa Frances giveaway

Just wanted to let you know that we have a video up showing some of our new Christmas embellishments on the Melissa Frances blog. There is also a giveaway on the linked post, so be sure to leave her a comment. Good Luck! 

Making a List

I thought that with Christmas coming up soon, it might be fun to share some of my favorite things with you! These are items I've bought this year and which I highly recommend.

1) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - After reading an excerpt from this non-fiction book in Vanity Fair last year, I borrowed a copy of this book from the library to read. To put it simply, the story in this book is so remarkable that if it wasn't footnoted and highly researched, you'd think that the whole thing was a fantastical work of fiction. I literally could not put it down. And the highlight for me was the unexpected ending. The last 50 pages or so were such a revelation and testimony. This book is one that I plan to give out this holiday season. Here's a little preview of this amazing story:

2) French by Heart By Rebecca S. Ramsey: This non-fiction book chronicles the move by an American family to France. From the book flap: The Ramseys are not jet-setters; they’re a regular family with big-hearted and rambunctious kids. Quickly their lives go from covered-dish suppers to smoky dinner parties with heated polemics, from being surrounded by Southern hospitality to receiving funny looks if the children play in the yard without shoes. I found this book delightfully sweet and an amusing read. Unbroken is my #1 book of the year, but if you're looking for something quite a bit lighter, French by Heart was a fun read.

3) CO Bigelow Tinted Lemon Blackberry Lip Balm: CO Bigelow Lip Gloss has been my go-to lip treatment for many years now. But I recently found this balm and I LOVE it!!! It reminds me of Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. This balm has a deep cranberry tint, which is really nice for the fall/winter. And of course, like all CO Bigelow lip products, it tastes pretty nice too ☺

4) The Good Lovelies: This Canadian trio sings their whimsical lyrics accompanied by fun bluegrass instrumentation.  I own both of their albums and heartily recommend both of them. Check out their (admittedly cheesy) music videos here to get a taste of their sound. Fun, right?!

Happy Halloween

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashley on Pinterest

I hope that you and yours have a Happy Halloween tonight!

Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop.   I was invited to create something for you using the Eileen Hull Scoreboard Suitcase Die in combination with our Melissa Frances product line.
 
I had such fun playing with this product! I had never used the Sizzix scoreboard product, and I loved making some thing a bit more sturdy with my die cut machine. Over the past few months, I've been enjoying making jewelry pieces, and once I started to assemble my first suitcase, I immediately saw it as a possibility for making darling presentation and storage boxes for jewelry.


(Supply List: Patterned Paper - Lula (PA367) • 2" resin applique wreath (CX853) • 5th Avenue Chipboard Accents (GN445) • Best wishes rub-on -discontinued • Sizzix: Scoreboards XL Suitcase Die, Cream Scorboard  • Other, non Melissa Frances supplies - Copic markers, pink seam binding.)

Here are some quick instructions for my project:
    • First, glue the Lula patterned paper to the cream scoreboard. Glue paper patterned side up to whichever side of the scoreboard you would like. Then, place the patterned paper face down onto the die. Finally, run it through your die cut machine.
    • Using Tea Dye Distress Ink (By Ranger) and an ink applicator tool (also by Ranger), apply ink around the edges of the pieces before assembly.
    • Assemble box as directed by the instructions on the die packaging with one exceiption - do not attach the handle of the suitcase to it. (We will not use the handle on this version of the project.)
    • Tie pink seam binding in a double bow around the upper third of the lid.
    • Distress the edges of the ledger piece from the  Melissa Frances chipboard accents. Using glue dots, attach it to the project as seen in the photo.
    • Using Copic markers, color the 2" resin wreath to coordinate with the patterned paper. Attach to the ledger Chipboard piece using whatever glue you would normally use to attach buttons to a project.
    •  Apply Rub-on sentiment to the bottom right of the lid.

FAQ about the Fresh Vintage Blog Hop:
How do I hop around to see ideas using the current featured die? Every Tuesday and Thursday between September 27-November 3, 2011 there will be a new Sizzix Fresh Vintage die featured on 6-10 of the 75 participating designers' blogs. The navigation buttons for "Hop Back" and "Hop Forward" will allow you to easily hop around and see projects featuring whatever the current die is, since those buttons are programmed to navigate only to the blogs that are participating for that die. On the next Tuesday/Thursday, the buttons will automatically reprogram themselves to navigate to the blogs that are signed up for the next featured die.

What if I start at a designer's blog that isn't one of the 6-10 signed up for that die? No problem! Simply hit either the "Hop Forward" or "Hop Back" button on the Fresh Vintage navigation widget on my blog's upper right sidebar and you'll automatically advance to one of the participating blogs.

Can I go back and view the ideas for a previously featured die? Of course! Go to the "Blog Hops" link at the top of the page. It will bring up all of the blog posts where you'll find direct links to each participating blog along with a thumbnail image of the project.

Where can I buy the Sizzix Fresh Vintage dies, by Eileen Hull? You can visit Sizzix.com to find a local and online retailers for Sizzix products. Also be sure to visit Oh My Crafts, one of this blog hop's sponsors, (between the dates of September 27-November 3, 2011) and enter for a chance to win a Flower Layers #9 die!

The Blog Hop has ended and the navigation widget is no longer in the sidebar. How can I see the ideas? Go to the "Blog Hops" link at the top of this post. It will bring up blog posts where you'll find direct links to each participating blog along with a thumbnail image of the project.