April Favourite

This is my favourite April class layout:
Layout Title: "Just For Ben"
Why this is my Favourite April layout:
1. The colours - just so happy, like his expression
2. The song lyrics - Really cute song. Check out the old Sesame Street muppets singing it here (My favourite bit is when Cookie monster comes in at the end)
3. The nostalgic pictures from the KCo patterned paper and Jenni Bowlin chipboard buttons
4. The bumpy dots around the inner circle - made with dimensional pearls
and best of all
5. The memory - Benny was mesmerised when I sang this song to him and when it ended he hugged me and gave me a big kiss - sweet.

It always pays to sing to your kids (especially while they're too young to tell that your singing sucks - haha)

I Think My Feet Have Finally Stopped Hurting

Creative Escape by Numbers
67 scrappers all in rows
3 terrific guests and 3 awesome classes
12 hours of scrapping, eating, scrapping, phototaking, autograph collecting and more scrapping
2 'highly enterprising' little old ladies who came with plastic bags to help themselves to leftover food after every meal
2 hands all stained with purple alcohol ink (my hands, Donna's ink - very honoured!)
6 tired Teaching Assistants with 12 very sore feet
A gazillion signatures collected from our wonderful guests Kah-Mei, Tia and Donna
Hundreds of celebrity snapshots (Can't believe I didn't take any myself!!!)
More than 20 bags full of trash to clear away
More than 30 cartons of stuff to take back to the store for unpacking
1 boss very relieved that everything went smoothly

Whew! Maybe we'll do this again next year huh? (but let's just not talk about it right now - haha)

(Present)ing...

Wanted to share some fun presents I made. Its quite a nice gift idea and not too hard to do... ('instructions' after the pics)

This one was for hubby last christmas - using lots of white rub ons. (actually made a whole series of these for friends - all in all, used about 6 packs of different rub ons for about 12 people.) Made this one recently for my sis - with her favourite paper from Sassafrass Lass. The little girl on the tricycle actually reminds me of a photo of her as a little kid - very cute, with curls)

Thought you might like to see it more clearly without the frosted cover...

Materials:

1. Notebooks with plain covers - I got mine from Borders (more expensive but really nice. You can use cheapo ones for people you don't like so much...haha)

2. Scraps of patterned paper, and rub ons.

Method:

3. Layer, layer, layer in the corner.... - you might find it helpful to cover the corner with word paper (like in my sis's book) to have a 'base' that will cover any of your empty spots. Also, I find it helps to just layer in one long element going along the bottom edge and one on the right edge to help me get started. Then all the big elements go in first, and then after that fill in little bits with rub ons or little images you like.

Note: Its quite nice if the rub ons get 'broken' as you work too - it's texture! (All my mistakes are texture)

This is a nice way to use up some of your old rub ons and bits of paper... Enjoy!

Ready Steady...Good to Go

I am ready for...

1. my May classes:
(Sorry about the pics - bad lighting and I have no photo editing software on this laptop.)

This is the 'layout' class, which will feature 3 different sized 'framed' layouts:
One for Cynthia...
One for fans of 'cute'...
And one for me...
And the collage project I showed you in an earlier post is finally done. The project has grown so huge and complicated that we're going to have to teach it in 2 classes - one class for the outside and another class for the inside....whew!

Here's bits of the inside...


And more sneaks of the outside...



And of course, we are all in the midst of getting ready for....

2. Creative Escape - exactly one week to go!!!
It's going to be great! We've got people flying in for the event (not just the teachers) and it's going to be good....tiring I'm sure, but good.

Better go charge my sleep bank this weekend before all the bustling kicks in. See ya.

Stamp? What Stamp?

Here's another layout for Purple Onion:
Layout Title: "Happiness Is...Going to the Pool"
Thought you might find it a little hard to actually spot the stamps I used so, here they are:
Stamps used: Happiness Is____ and Scallops

Happiness Is_________
1. Making the scallop stamps look like fish scales / waves - very tedious...but I like the final look
2. Lime Green embossing powder from American Craft
3. Getting to use the new Cosmo Cricket patterned paper I got
4. Seeing Benny in goggles....my funny boy
5. Having no more "O"s and finding a life preserver on your patterned paper
6. Loopy felt ribbon - reminds me of muppets (I don't know why)
7. The journaling sticker from 7G in the corner that says "Too much chlorine in the gene pool" - haha - good one!

I Did It! I Did it!

Layout Title: Sloooww Boat to Redang (Design for Purple Onion)
Stamps used = the Z's and the cloud

It was supremely painful, but I did it - I made a layout with a tremendous amount of white space. This is a big deal for me because:
1. I find this VERY difficult and VERY uncomfortable
2. I ALWAYS think I need to add more, then I fiddle more and do more and end up having to distress everything to 'rescue' it....haha.
3. See that tiny red brad used for the tiny word 'to' - it took SOOOO long to decide on that (thanks Betty for being my helpful critic)

Sasha, you're rubbing off on me!

Happy Accident to Share
Very cool happy accident on this one (from the Stamping class I showed you in the last post). This is done using Ranger's Clear Resist Ink and Glimmer Mist (I used yellow, orange and red). To get this effect,
1. Stamp Clear Resist Ink on white cardstock, heat to dry
2. Spray glimmer mist all over white cardstock for colour (choose the more intense shades)

For some strange reason, the Clear Resist Ink, seems to collect the pigment from the glimmer mist resulting in the nice effect in the background (see the flowers and grass?). Maybe can try this also with water colours? (The white words were stamped on a transparency with White Staz On and laid over the background)

It's funny 'cos Clear Resist Ink isn't actually supposed to be used this way - it's meant to be used on glossy paper and you stamp it, then rub dye based inks on it and the part with the ink will 'resist' the inks i.e. stay 'white'. Mine is obviously not resisting at all....haha quite the opposite!

So, see what happens when you break the rules? Heh heh!

p.s. I think you can tell I decided not to care whether or not people think I am naive for sharing class techniques on the blog - life's too short to let cynicism get to you eh? *smile*

Tomorrow is Good Friday - I must remember why it's good. (I'm glad God wasn't cynical about humankind)

This is What It Looks Like When I Get Artsy:

It was a real treat putting this together. The project is actually really small (about 3.5 X 5.5") but each page is chock-full of lumps and bumps - just the way I like it. Hope you ladies who were at class enjoyed the mess!

Mini Quote Book: "Wise Words to Live By"
Favourite bits:
1. the black burnt bit around the frame - black embossing powder
2. the big wooden button (from textile centre)
3. This quote: "It is the sweet simple things in life which are the real ones after all"-so true, so true
4. The orange background: Ranger Clear Resist Ink + Glimmer Mist

5. The cracked and crumpled transparency (crackle stamp + melted transparency)

6. The background (masking fluid + glimmer mist)

7. The butterfly (Purple Onion!) and the quote: "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"

And this is the super artsy project I'm making for a class in May. I totally enjoyed this project because:

1. I got to use my favourite Claudine Hellmuth Studio Matte Multi-medium (sniff sniff...ahhhh)

2. I got to use pictures of 'kaka' (that's what Cynthia calls those 'scary' faces of long-dead women they have in the images from Artchix - like the lady in white in the corner - totally freaks her out)

3. I'm quite proud of the fact that I made my own metal number from scratch (See the 9? you'll get to do it in class too) - 10 Seconds Studio!

4. It's black white and red (sort of) - my default colour scheme

And now a little philosophical musing ....

I actually created calendar pages using digital stamps from Rhonna Farrer's digikit as part of this project and was thinking of printing out the pages for everyone to use in class too - but......realised (only after I spent 2 hours designing the pages!!!) that I don't think I'll be able to do that because I bought the digikit for personal use and I think printing it out in class wouldn't be right.....sigh.... it's back to the drawing board I guess.

Which got me thinking....you know, its hard sometimes - there are so many things you can say to yourself to convince yourself that its ok to do stuff like that (After all, its only a few copies, Rhonna wouldn't know about li'l ol me far far away in Singapore, everybody copies....etc.) but I know only too well how it feels to have people copy your stuff and not credit you and so I don't think I could conduct those classes with a straight face if I did end up using the Digikit....

And maybe that's why sometimes I wonder how much of the techniques I used in class can be shared online. Am I naive if I share so much? Will people stop coming to class and simply wait for me to write about the techniques online so they save money (and surely there will be people like that) and am I therefore 'cheapening' my classes? , Am I selfish to not share the techniques I know? I honestly don't have an answer...

But maybe I don't have to be afraid...and I'll just keep teaching, sharing what I feel comfortable with and as my son says "I may be small, but God will fight for me" (He got that out of a storybook about David and Goliath) - as long as I myself am doing what is right, giving credit where its due, being honest when an idea is not my own....He will fight for me.

Sorry....the rain is making me ultra-reflective today....*smile*. Have fun getting artsy today you guys!

First Layout for Baby D

Layout Title: "A Very Special Father's Day Delivery"
This is the first layout for my nephew (or "Baby D" as he's best known). It's me playing with a cardboard box again (love that stuff)

Favourite Bits:
1. The bronzy flecks around the main photo. That was done just using tape glue and foil.
2. Sanding the brown background on the floor for some woodgrain texture - (Sorry I made you ladies get 'up close' with the store floor in class...hehe)

3. The general worn-out brown-ness of the layout

And this month, let's all be extra nice to these ladies (don't forget Iverina who's not in the photo), who are getting busier with preparation for Creative Escape:
I am grateful for these wonderful friends (Aiyah, Iver why you not in the photo ah?) who make Laine's feel not so much like a 'workplace' but a comfortable home. I know how rare it is to have a workplace where everyone gets along with each other and there is real teamwork and harmony so I am very thankful for them.

I am blessed to be where I am with the people I am with.

Happy Things

1. Laine's Anniversary Month!

It's been 4 years!!!! I've been doing this for 4 years.........wow! It's a testament to my sis's hard work, perseverance and business smarts how the store has changed and grown. So many reasons to celebrate! Happy Anniversary Cyn, Nancy, Iver, Betty,....! It's wonderful working with you guys!

Check out Laine's April newsletter for all the great deals going on this month - just in time for the new arrivals too.... (Tim Holtz Ideology.....yummmm!)

2. OVERSTOCK SALE!!!! at Purple Onion!
- All the stamps listed here are 50% off!!! While stocks last! This is good stuff ladies - go go go!

3. Mr Fishy:

Thanks Peggy for tagging me in her blog - must say, it was fun making silly faces for the camera again. I absolutely think you should never 'grow up' so much that you take yourself too seriously.... So, here's my official "Mr Fishy" face. My kids absolutely crack up over this one. (You're just not laughing yet because I couldn't make the 'gills' effect with my hands - had to hold the camera.). Haha.

4. This Layout: "Me & Che Che Berry"
No ink, no distressing! I think it fits the photos, no? Favourite bit? The 'bite' in the patterns where I doodled the flower petals. Hmmmm.....wonder what else I can 'bite'...
Sending many happy thoughts to all of you wonderful friends who have supported Laine's and our classes - you are the reason I have been able to 'play' at work these past 4 years and I am so very grateful.