You are the Best

This is the last card for the card club in May. A design paper combination the different kind. It is a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base with the fold to the right.

I used a doted green and a flourish green/ turquoise Close To My Heart design paper...yes dots and flourishes...but they work great as long as the color match.

I ran a piece of green cardstock (matching the doted paper) through a border punch and adhered it to the bottom of the card. A strip of doted paper went on top of it. 

I used a template to draw the black swirls on the card base. Both butterflies were punched and glued together with a glue dot. One glue dot was used to adhere it to the card. This way I was able to bent the wings upward.      

A rhinestone finishes of the butterfly. I piece of turquoise cardstock was adhered with the doted and the flourish paper and place on the card with some foam dots. A small little circle with a phrase completes this card.

If you like to recreate any of this months cards, please feel free to contact me. I have sets of all four available for purchase. The set comes complete with all items needed except adhesive, glue dots or foam dots. Instructions will be also included. 

A Birthday Dog

Once more I worked with the cute little Schnauzer stamp set "A Bowwow" (A1126) from Close To My Heart. The little guy is just to funny and makes a great third card club project...

The card base is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and the fold is on your left. I covered the lower part with a piece of design paper. The circle was punched out from cardstock. I used a regular straight "Happy Birthday" stamp from Close To My Heart. Since the stamps are clear and flexible, you can bend them around to create a circle image. I then adhered the circle to the card. The green piece of paper was stamped with the bones and adhered on top of the circle.

I stamped the Schnauzer image onto white cardstock and colored his tongue and nose. To make the color more interesting, stamp the collar image onto the design paper, cut it out and adhere it on top of the stamped white cardstock. This give is a little 3-D effect and makes the dog more interesting.

 Inside the card we stamped a funny little birthday phrase and this card is ready to be sent out...

If you like to recreate any of this months cards, please feel free to contact me. I have sets of all four available for purchase. The set comes complete with all items needed except adhesive, glue dots or foam dots. Instructions will be also included. 

Mega Meet Novi,MI - Part III

Last but not least we ended our day at the scrapbook convention with one last class. This time we attended the 

Copics - Beginner class.

The instructor in this class was Sharon Brown and the class was sponsored by Scrap Happy, OH.

I have to say that we were very disappointed of this class. Not only was the project we did not worth the class nor was the information we received. The instructor might have been a very knowledge person if it comes to Copic markers, but the techniques she tried to teach weren't explained very well. If it wouldn't had been for the early class, we wouldn't have learn anything. We got to use three Copic markers in purple to color in one flower. That was it...not extras, not freebies and all this for $22. Not worth the money spend!

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect lots of gifts or freebies, but I do expect more of a class than just a sales spiel. Sorry, but this class was not worth it!

I know, you ask yourself now, how do we know what classes are worth it and which once are not worth it? I can't tell you this either, but you want to read carefully each class description and check out the following things:

1. What is this class going to teach you? Is this interesting for you?

2. What supplies do you have to bring? If you have to buy a lot of these supplies from the sponsor first, plus pay the payment for the class, is this worth it?

3. See what extras you are getting.

4. Check for word like "fast-paced" (more advanced crafter's or not much time to work on things), "how to purchase" (usually more a sales spiel), ...

No matter what you decide to do, do your homework and see if previous convention goers can give you some advice on classes. 

So what did we learn from working with alcohol markers?

It is not at all complicated to work with alcohol markers or to blend colors nicely, if you know what colors to pick and how to do it. The best way to learn the "how too", is to practice. If you are interested to learn more, please contact me...

Here is a little help to get started with alcohol markers:
   
Copic alcohol markers are nice, but a little to pricey in my mind. The life expectancy is 3 years and even if they can be refilled, the costs to buy and maintain them are high. There are other options available to work with. 
Cost per pen ca. $ 5-6

Close To My Heart alcohol marks are very nice. They come in a pack of two, so you always get a lighter and a darker shade for blending. Advantage here is, you can pick a couple of colors without spending a fortune. 
Cost per set of two pens ca. $ 6.80  

I also think that the Spectrum Noir alcohol markers are a great alternative as well. They are sold individually or in a set of 6. The sets have one color in different shades that all blend well together. 
Cost per set of six pens ca. $ 10 (at the show)

Stamp'Up has their own brand of markers, but those are not alcohol markers!

Well, I hope you liked this little preview of the Mega Meet and hopefully you will go next time too. Mark your calendars for the next Mega Meet scrapbook convention...

2014      May 8, 9, & 10

2015      May 7, 8, & 9

2016      May 5, 6, & 7

or check out their website at www.megameet.com!

Let me know if you have any questions or like to get a little instruction class about alcohol markers. 
Please contact me via email or write a comment/ question here!  Love to hear from you....

Happy Birthday Blooms

Here is our second card club project for the month of May. 

                                                                     I used the Close To My Heart stamp set "Hello Blooms" (C1540) which offers you a variety of different flowers that can be cut with your Cricut machine. To use your Cricut, you need the Art Philosophy Cartridge.

The base of this card is a 7" x 5". I cut the design paper about 1/4" smaller than the base and the white cardstock paper about an 1/4" smaller than the design paper. The white cardstock was embossed and inked around the edges.

All papers are centered and adhered to the base.

The grey piece of cardstock with the white Happy Birthday one are adhered together and placed with foam dots onto the card.

The flowers are stamped in Baby Pink and Blush ink and are different in size and design. I bend the edges to give each flower a more dimensional look. The card was finished with some rhinestones and is ready to be sent out...

If you like to recreate any of this months cards, please feel free to contact me. I have sets of all four available for purchase. The set comes complete with all items needed except adhesive, glue dots or foam dots. Instructions will be also included. 

Mega Meet in Novi,MI - Part II

After our first class in the morning we went onto the show room to explore all the new items available.

One thing I have to mention upfront, buyer be aware! 

1. Not all things that are available at the booths are cheaper than in your local stores, so do your homework and compare prices.

2. Some items are sold in bulk and for really cheap prices, but are they always worth it? Again do your homework or read labels carefully. E.g. tape runners might not have the regular adhesive length or the adhesive is older and will not stick to well anymore. E.g. totes and other bags sometimes are off cheap quality and wont hold up like the more expensive once....

3. Just because the sign says it's a SALE, it doesn't mean it is a sale...

Now you ask, why should I then even go? Well, there are plenty off other reasons why you should!

1. Many vendors at the show are not typically found in the local stores or have only online outlets. This is a great opportunity to check out their products and talk to owners about these products.

2. You can find craft items that are no longer available in stores, test items or see how they work at demonstrations. 

3. Some vendors offer special deals for sets of tools, papers etc. 

4. To get inspirations and ideas for cards, scrap books, home decor items etc

5. Just to have fun, enjoy a crafty hobby and meet interesting new people.

It is always a nice day at the show and we enjoyed it now for many years and will for more to come. Take a friend and make it a day for you :-)

Stay tuned for more .....

A Doggone Good Day

Welcome to this months card workshop! This month we will create a whole variety of different cards for all sorts of occasions. So have fun following along...

I used the Close To My Heart stamp set "A Bowwow" (A1126) with this cute little Schnauzer. The card base is a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" with the fold on the top. I then covered the front with two different green paper pieces and a black piece of punched cardstock. I stamped the little stone and grass image in black into the lower left corner. 

Instead of coloring the collar of the dog in, I used some bakers twine. I poked two holes into the image. One on the bottom of the collar and the other one into the knot. I then pulled the twine through and created a knot just were the stamped knot was. Now I adhered the white cardstock piece to the red one. This way you won't see the string on the back.

The red cardstock was placed with foam dots onto the card base.    

Inside I used a "Happy Birthday" stamp to finish up the card.

If you like to recreate any of this months cards, please feel free to contact me. I have sets of all four available for purchase. The set comes complete with all items needed except adhesive, glue dots or foam dots. Instructions will be also included. 

MegaMeet in Novi,MI - Part I

Right now the annual Mega Meet Scrapbook Convention in Novi, MI is going on and we have been searching for some new ideas and products. 

The convention started yesterday May 9th and will end Saturday May 11th.

You can attend classes for card making and scrap booking. You can learn new techniques or get to know companies and their products. As like many of these conventions, some classes are more worth to attend than others.

This year my friend Elke and I decided to learn a little bit more about Alcohol Markers and how to blend them. There are so many markers on the market and techniques differ from class to class that we decided to attend two different classes. And boy were they different.....

 "Alcohol Markers - Great Techniques", instructed by Jennie Black and sponsored by BEE Creative.

This was a great class and we learn a lot of new things about alcohol markers, how they work, how to pick the right colors, how to blend and that the blending pen has nothing to do with blending :-) (This information alone was already worth the class). 
The instructor was well prepared and could explain techniques in an easy to understand way. She provided us with many tips on how to get started and how to avoid common mistakes. 
In this class we used alcohol markers from "Spectrum Noir". A very good priced marker that colors and blends just as well as others. A great starter tool for beginners that don't want to invested a fortune.

Overall an awesome class for beginners as well as pros and it was well worth the $22 we spend.

We even got to go home with a set of 6 alcohol markers, a "blending" pen, a DVD with over 2 hours off techniques and tons of knowledge.

Tune in tomorrow for more information about the second class and the convention itself.

If you like to know more about alcohol markers and how to start, how to use them etc... please feel free to contact me. We can do a one on one class or if you have a couple of friends that are interested, we can to a class together, just let me know