Sketch Wednesday

First things first; Special thanks to Maria for her post on Glimmer Mists and their ease of use and versatility. Remember to check back next week to find more mists on the website, Maya Mists to be exact and give altering your chipboard and cardstock a shot. Now - it's Wednesday. Far enough into the week to be looking toward the weekend, yet enjoying the accomplishments of the past week. I am happy to report that my house is Christmas Free! Yes, it's sad but true that as of Sunday morning I still had my tree up in my living room, half decorated. I had rounded up all the other decorations from the house and they were piled in the dining room. But come Sunday evening my living room was de-Christmased and back to normal, my dining room was empty and all the decorations were packed and put away - in their right place I might add, not just sort of stacked near where they should be. I didn't realize it until Monday morning when I came down to make lunches, how depressing and defeating it was to see that tree still standing there with the clutter of decorations around it. To come down to a tree-free living room that was neat and tidy was so. . .lightening. Made Monday morning a good thing! (Happy sigh). So here we are at Wednesday night and I'm actually thinking of doing something crafty - depending on how long it takes me to get some Apron Strings things out of the way - this post and getting tomorrow's Blue Plate Special set up. I'm excited by the prospect -- I'll let you know how it goes. Whether you're looking to continue a week filled with accomplishments, or maybe it's just been one of those weeks where you can't seem to get anything done, give today's sketch a go. Thanks to Bessie, again, for this week's sketch. :)

Remember to complete and link all three challenges from this week by Saturday evening to be eligible for a Cookie Jar Treat.

I'm off to enjoy some quiet and maybe some crafting time. I need it - the 1 y.o. was in bed before seven o'clock, if that tells you how the evening was going. :) Enjoy your own quiet time tonight.

Re-color your chipboard, trims and letters!

Hey there! It's Maria, in December I had the privilege of working with the Bigger than a Breadbox kit which came with some fabulous papers and embellishments. I have a quick tutorial on using Glimmer Mist (or, spray ink) to color plain chipboard and other embellishments. Spray inks (Glimmer Mist, Shimmerz and Maya Mist) are a quick and easy way to give your embellishments a different look. Shimmerz and Glimmer Mist have a sheen to them (shake well to get the best results) and Maya Mists can be matte, or metallic, depending on the color chosen. I used Glimmer Mist, but any spray ink will work. First, prepare an area to use Glimmer Mist. I have a small area set-up in my basement (where I scrap) that is covered with newspaper, or old shipping boxes and is away from anything that could get stained (like carpet). For my "Everyday Picture" I sprayed the chipboard flourish in the Lily Bee kit with a Latte Glimmer Mist. It gave the chipboard a nice color and "sheen" to it.

Glimmer Mist can really be used on anything that is absorbent. For my "Anticipation" layout, I sprayed both the chipboard word and some white fabric Thickers (Red Velvet Glimmer Mist) to create my title. The Thickers ended up with a nice, vivid red from the Glimmer Mist and the chipboard word has a shimmer to it.

You can also color your ribbons and trims (like the trim that came in the Smaller than a Breadbox kit) with Glimmer Mist. To get the best results, spray the ribbon inside a zip-lock bag and squish the ribbon around to pick up all the ink. Let dry before adhering to your project.

One last way you can use your spray ink, is with a mask. Masks can be purchased or made yourself (coming in a later tutorial). For my "Sunshine" layout, I used a purchased mask (Tim Holtz, flourish). Simply lay the mask on the paper and spray. The mask is removed and can be wiped clean, or left as is. The ink will not affect the mask's use in anyway.

If you haven't tried spray ink, once you do, you might be hooked.

You can find Glimmer Mist, actually the Red Velvet used on the "Anticipation" layout, on the website now (and save 10%)- more will be coming soon, so you can stock up and see how easy they are for yourself.

Maria

Apron Strings Sous Chef

Monday Challenge - Stamping

Good morning ladies! Hope you had a good weekend. Here in New York the weather is so nasty, raining like crazy and the wind is unbelievable...gotta watch out you know because it can blow me away...seriously...lol. It's been like this the whole weekend. Is it raining where you live? If it is...its a great excuse to do some scrapbooks, don't you think? So, to get you started here is today's challenge. Stamp...stamp....stamp....stamp anything in your LO or card. It can be the title, an image, a sentiment, whatever suits you...just make sure that something on your LO or card is a stamped. ETA: Ok, so I was supposed to upload my sample on Monday (insert ashamed emoticon here). Gosh, it completely slipped my mind...and not turning my computer on for two days didn't help either. I apologize for the delay, but here it is. My stamped image is the lovebirds. So are you ready for scrapbooking and stamping???? Show me what you create and remember that you have until Saturday evening to upload your creation...and that you need to complete the three challenges in order to be eligible for a yummy cookie jar treat.

Have fun and until next time, Bessie

It's Friday!

Can you believe it's already Friday? This week seems to have flown by, probably because of the holiday on Monday. Anyway, sorry ladies about the lateness of the post - I pulled up the blog to post first thing this morning, but my little 1 y.o. wasn't his usual busy, independent self and then I got distracted looking at goodies for March's kits. So, as I shove aside, oh just a few catalogs and price sheets, I'm here to quickly post the 5 on Friday Challenge:

• 1 sheet neutral black cardstock
• 1 sheet patterned paper
• 1 set of round, small embellishments; i.e. buttons, brads, eyelets (remember them?) - just not paper
• 1 chipboard item
• 1 length of ribbon

Outside of journaling and a title, these are the only items allowed on your layout today. This and the other two challenges from this week are due, linked up, by Saturday evening.

Any plans for the weekend? Not sure what the weather will be like here; it looks nice and sunny, but there's a wind and clouds rolling in - big clouds and I haven't watched to see what the weekend is supposed to be like. We have two basketball games on Saturday, one crack-of-dawn-early and one right after that. One of my son's classmates' mother died this week and we are trying to decide if we should attend the services, which fall after the last game. Still not sure on that one. And birthday party later in the evening for my niece to round out the day. Sunday looks empty, but I'm sure I'll fill it up with something. :)

Enjoy your weekend and go get some pages done so I can scrapbook vicariously through you all!

It's a Schmorgesborg

What started with an impromptu trip up to Wyoming for a quick family getaway (aka car search) led to a frantic last couple of days of shortcut bookkeeping. The trip was a nice, fairly long trip, but comfy with all of us trapped in the car. Stories from the road: Dr. Pepper cup left on the roof, only to be seen flying off behind the car as we re-enter the highway. The son whose cup it was didn't find it nearly as funny as the rest of us. A very nice hotel room in a very small town. Swimming. Paperwork by the glow of a laptop screen. Unfortunately, the car we drove up there to see was a waste of time, but it too had its high point, a good look conversation with DH about what we want and what we thought we wanted in a vehicle. So this little trip and a lack of bookkeeping snowballed into chaos and is why today's post is quite late, but it's here! Let's start with the sketch for Sketch Wednesday. Thanks to Bessie, who is becoming quite the sketch artist:

Remember, this challenge along with Monday's and Friday's are due by Saturday evening to be eligible for the Cookie Jar Treat.

Winners from last week -- yes, winners -- remember I was giving away two goodies and double entries went to those who hadn't shared their work before. Thanks for the great layouts, and cards :) It's always fun to look at the many ways people interpret the challenges. Random.org has selected:

• Nitasha - I still owe you your grand prize from 25 Days, so I'll include this one too. Sorry for the delay on that one.
• Kristin - see it pays to play :) I'll get yours out to you when I ship Nitasha's.

Next I need to do a little bragging. My younger sister purchased one of the Christmas kits from October Afternoon. Below are the layouts she created with that special edition kit.

I loved this kit and will have to do another one this year, so even though we're just getting over the whole holiday-thing, be planning your budget so that you can pick one up!

Hmm, is that it? I think it is. At least for today. I'm off to grab a well-deserved bowl of ice cream and start making plans for March kits. First though, I'll need to peruse new goodies and see if their time lines fit with mine. :)

Monday Challenge - Cardstock it is...

Hello ladies, did you enjoy your weekend? Do you have a long weekend? Have you been scrapping? I did manage to scrap a few pages and make some cards yesterday. It felt nice to sit back, relax, and scrap a bit. How about you? If you didn't then here is the first challenge of this week to get you started. This was really a challenge for me...to say the least I don't even know how I managed to leave it as is, lol. You will understand why, if you are a patterned paper lover like me. It's almost impossible for me to not include at least a tiny bit of patterned paper on my LO...but I did for you ladies, lol...because this week's challenge is to use only cardstock on your LO or card. No patterned paper, no specialty paper...only CS. Yes, your eyes are not disguising you, lol. Of course you can use any type of embellishment you want. Let me see what you create...can't wait. Here's my take:

As a reminder, you have until Saturday evening to upload your LO or card...but you also have to complete the Sketchy Wednesday and the Five on Friday to be eligible to win a cookie jar treat. Thanks all for playing and see ya' next Monday.

Hugs,

Bessie

5 on Friday

Running a little behind. That's not good when it's before noon. I knew I had to get a post up, but kept thinking it was for a sketch. What's that "better brain/better memory" supplement? I think I need to get some. It's been crazy busy, and there haven't even been any basketball games, excessive homework or other outside the house activities (though the car saga continues, we haven't been out this week.) I've been neck deep in shipping, follow-up and the like. When I've had the spare moment, I've been drooling over some of the new releases coming out at CHA -- fun, cute, gorgeous, can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them excitement. Depending on ship-dates, you could see some as early as the March kits. What's on your calendar for this weekend? Here, basketball resumes with a game on Saturday. The boat show is in town, which is something DH looks forward to every year, even though we have a boat. So we'll grab some dinner tonight and head downtown to the convention center. It'll be a nice family outing. Sunday, looks like the weather, which has been sunny and fairly warm all week, will continue and we have a bonafide "down day." Is there cropping time in my future? Highly unlikely, but with today's 5 on Friday, there could be some in yours:

• 2 sheets patterned paper
• 1 set of blue buttons or brads
• 1 naked chipboard piece; must stay naked
• 1 length of ribbon

Only the items listed, plus journaling and title, are allowed on this layout. This challenge, as well as the other two from this week, are due to be linked up by Saturday evening to be eligible for a Cookie Jar Treat. I think I said, if you're a "never posted" person, you get a double entry and that I'd give away two prizes this week. We need to jump start the New Year ladies, those pages won't complete themselves! Come on. :)

Whatever you plans are, have a great weekend.