Sold Out Soon

I can't believe how fast we are selling out of our monthly kits. For the past few months, we have been selling out almost as fast as we put up the photos for the new kits. This month I made extra of all of them, but we only have a few page kits left. I love these page kits. They are going to look amazing in your book. But, let us know soon if you want some, we will be sold out before you know it!

The December Monthly Project Kit -Ornament Wreath is such a fun kit that you can use multiple ways! I did another example of how you could use this kit. Instead of gluing the ornaments together to form a wreath, you can add them to an actual green wreath (not included with the kit). In the top photo, I added the completed ornaments to a 36" wreath. The red ribbon is not included in the kit, but the gold ribbon is. Instead of using the gold ribbon to make the hanging portion of the wreath, I cut it into pieces and tied it to the tops of all the ornaments.

The bottom photo shows another way to assemble the kit. You can glue the ornaments into a wreath arrangement. The kit comes with hangers to place on the back of the finished ornament wreath as well as the ribbon with which you can hang the wreath (plus enough to add some finishing touches). This is such a fun kit!

Adhesives, part 3

Red line tape, like Artz Accentz

As one of my neighbors said when she saw me pulling out the redline tape, “You must want that to stay on forever.” This stuff holds like nobody’s business. Your paper will rip before this tape comes undone. One important thing, though, is that once it is down, IT IS DOWN. There is no grace period with this adhesive, the moment you place it down, it stays. I really like it for ribbon and pockets. I used it on this month’s project kit to hold the chipboard ornaments together in a wreath. And, of course, I used it to run the ribbon along the seams on two of the ornaments.

Taking Holiday Pictures

A friend just sent me a link to this blog that has a great list of tips for taking holiday pictures. Check it out. http://blog.webshots.com/?p=779&tag=nl.e201

Adhesives, Part 2

Liquid Glues

I love Tombow Multi (the green cap). I call it my “Elmer’s” glue for scrapbooking. The layouts made with this glue really hold up well to traveling. I like that it has a wide and narrow end. The narrow end is perfect for applying to small detail pieces when creating paper piecings. You do need to be very careful that you don’t apply too much. I barely apply pressure to the tube and drag it quickly along the edges/middle of the paper. This leaves a fine trail of dots along the paper that glues the paper firmly without causing paper wrinkles.

I’ve also been trying out the Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. My friends have been bugging me to move over to this glue for over a year now. But, you know how it is, once you find a glue you love, it’s hard to try something new. I picked up a bottle last month, and I must say, I’m loving this glue. In addition to paper, it is also works on metal & plastic. My buddy Penny used it to glue a coin to one of her layouts & it is still there. The good thing/bad thing about this glue is that it is in a much larger bottle. Good because it is a good price, bad because it is heavier/bulkier when doing paper piecings. Really minor complaint actually.

Overall, you can’t go wrong with either glue. I’m probably going to keep both in my repertoire because, as every scrapper knows, you can’t ever have too much adhesive!

Adhesives, part one

I would say that the number one question I get is “What adhesive did you use?” Everyone wants to talk adhesives at the show-what holds best, what is easy to use, what I like, etc. So, I think I need to post about what my favorite adhesives are. I’ll be covering them over the next couple of days.

XYRON

One of my all time favorites for projects. I love the complete coverage that I get when I run my mini book pages through the Xyron machine. For example, on the board books, I know that if I use Xyron to attach the pages to the books, those pages aren’t falling off. Plus, as people thumb through the books, they don’t pull the papers off. Xyron is an expensive adhesive, but I find it really worth it for the mini books and similar projects. Our board books probably get as much use in one expo weekend as your book will during its life. I have books over a year old that don’t have any tears/pulls at the edges. In this case, the extra money is completely worth it.

Sorry I’m late posting. Life has been crazy this month. Looks like I’m going to have surgery really soon. The doctors say I have to take two weeks off from work after surgery. As a result, the January clubs will be canceled next month :-( I’m really sorry about that, but with the Christmas holidays & the surgery, it would just be too stressful to get the three clubs out in January.

Things have been crazy around here! I only have a few days home between conventions and I have a crop, Halloween, a birthday party, plus we have to ship two monthly clubs! Anyway, I did see a really funny video at http://www.livevideo.com/video/537FF9DA20B44560845DEE157D1F9DD6/man-made-card.aspx?m_tkc=7800917

Check it out!

I went to a class this weekend with my best friend. She is not a scrapper, but she really wanted me to make her some mini albums for Christmas for her family. I was really worried about time, so I talked her into going to a class with me and making some together. She had so much fun! Hummm, I may have created another scrapbooker, LOL.

Here is the conversation we had about scrapbooking.

Nita: Melissa! this is a great hobby. It's totally fat-free! (Her hobby is cooking/baking, LOL).
Melissa: Well, there are times when people break out the chocolate fountain, but most of the time, you scrap and don't eat a bunch.
Nita: You could drink. . .
Melissa: You could, but there is the worry that you might spill on your project.
Nita: No problem, we can just get one of those hats.

I about fell off my chair laughing. Can't you see a bunch of women cropping looking like this?

I got the photo from a website called www.cocktailequipment.com. They call it the Pink Thirst Aid Helmet, LOL.

Did you stop by the website and see the new kits? If you haven't had time, here they are! I know, I know. . . the tags are missing the ribbons. They were supposed to get here last week, but they were delayed until this week. They are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, but I didn't want to wait until after I got back to show you all the layouts. We don't have a lot of extras, so be sure to sign up now!

Heading down south

We are heading down to the Ontario Scrapbook Expo. We have been working hard to get everything ready for the show. We can’t wait to see our southern California friends. We haven’t been down there since February. Can you believe it?!?!? It seems like we were just there. This year has flown by and I can’t believe we are heading into the Christmas season already. I really need to start my Christmas shopping, LOL.

We are updating the site with the new page kits tomorrow. I’m so excited about both the kits-one is titled “Thanksgiving 2007” (it also comes with an 8, just in case) and the other is “True Bliss.” Just wait until you see them; they are so beautiful! But, you better order soon. I'm pretty sure we will be sold out of these, so be sure to reserve your kit today.