Oooo... spooky...

The other two projects that were completed by my stamp clubs this week were Hallowe'en projects.   I love the spooky season, which is why I caved 2 days ago and decorated my house with lots of orange, black and purple.  I had tried to just put up the fall decor, but it was trapped inside the big orange/black bin, and Michelle wanted it all up.  How could I say no?

I don't know of anyone that sends Hallowe'en cards, so instead of making cards, we played with paper and treats.  I love the first project because the treat bag holds just enough treats (I've put a few in here, but the bags can certainly hold more than this!).   All of the Designer Paper on these two projects is from Ghostly Greetings.  The stamp set is Batty for You, and I've added some Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, and Old Olive cardstock to round things out.  Anyhow, the paper for the top of the bags is a 5"x 5" square, with an oval cut in the centre of the paper.  The bags are the Clear Translucent medium envelopes from page 167 in the Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalogue.  50 of these envelopes are $5.95, and they can fit cards as well as treats!  You fill the bags, seal them up, and staple on your paper.  I have then added the Bad to the Bone skull for something fun on the top.

This cute little dude is a bookmark that has been wrapped around an orange TicTac box.  Easy to make, easy to give out, and fun for all!  The Pumpkin Pie cardstock is 7 7/8" x 1 1/2" and the Ghostly Greetings paper has been cut at 7 5/8" x 1 1/4".  The length dimensions are important to ensure that your container is wrapped properly.  Glue them together, and let them dry!!!  Once they are completely dry, cut a notch at 1 1/4" from the top, and another at 1/2" from the bottom.  Make sure they are on opposite sides of the bookmark otherwise you won't be able to hook them together!!  Wrap the bookmark around and hook them together.  Add a cute dude to the top, and you're done!

 

Even though it's a bit early... Happy Hallowe'en!

Christmas Planner Class - registration ends soon!!

The dates or my Christmas planner class are fast approaching.  I still have spots for both the Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning class, but these are disappearing quickly!

Class times are as follows: Tuesday, October 14th at 7:30pm OR Wednesday, October 15th at 9:15am.   The cost of the class is $15, and it includes your tin, and all necessary papers, ribbon and accessories to complete your planner (don't worry - your calendar won't be purple!).

If you want to come to either class, please e-mail me at littleinklings@rogers.com or call me at 905-655-9347 to reserve your spot.

Registration closes on October 1st, so make sure you register ASAP!

Enjoy!

Did you know...

That Mark Twain was a scrapbooker?  Really!  Read below...

Scrapbooking can frequently be viewed as a woman's hobby.  There are however, many instances throughout the long history of this popular craft where men have played significant roles in developing the art that is loved my millions of hobbyists today.  Unfortunately, the pull for men in scrapbooking was often the money, while there is plenty of evidence that some of them truly did enjoy scrapbooking as a hobby.  Here are some of the finer achievements of men in scrapbooking history.

In the mid 1800's, London based "W.H. Rock" began producing leather albums with pre-printed pages of flowers and birds.  These albums became popular for scrapbooking hobbyists.  

In 1857, the producing of "carte-de-vista" albums, containing photographic pockets, became popular.

Mark Twain, best known for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, invented "Mark Twain's Adhesive Scrapbook" with pre-pasted pages.  This idea was one of his most loved business adventures, possibly because it earned him over $50,000.  Don't be too easily fooled, however, because Mark Twain enjoyed scrapbooking so much that he devoted his Sunday afternoons to keeping his scrapbooking albums up to date.

Thomas Jefferson was an addicted scrapbooker.  His albums included news clippings, drawings, and dried leaves.  Men in the eighteenth century helped to produce "Dutch Gilt" or "Dutch Flowered Papers" (lithography or stencilling in Holland or Germany) using wood, metal, or blocks.  Originally intended to line cupboards, these patterns quickly became a favourite in the scrapbooks of the day.  

In the 1870s, companies began mass producing embossed paper for use in scrapbooking albums.

While stickers, iron-on letters, buttons, rubber stamps and metal accents are used today in scrapbooking, the Prang Company developed "album cards" for use in scrapbooks of the nineteenth century.  These sets of ten cards were pictures of birds, flowers, or landscapes to be used in scrapbooks.  

Most ninteenth centre scrapbooks have "calling cards" in them.  These decorated cards were left by guests at the host's home.  They eventually made their way into many scrapbooks because of the fond memories of wonderful parties and dances, not just be women, but as you have already guessed, by men.

Credit goes to Linda Plett (www.virtualinking.com) for sharing this information with fellow stampers.

An extremely cute (and easy!) baby card

Today's offering is a card that my stamp club will be creating this week.  I saw the original on Corrine Sommerville's blog, and LOVED it!  So, I thought that it would be a good card for my stamp club to have fun with.  

I have used Pink Pirouette paper for the body of this card (as well as the sentiment), along with Bella Rose paper for inside the scallop.  The sentiment is from Say It with Scallops.  This set is this year's Ronald McDonald House set for 2008-2009.  Stampin' Up! will donate $2 from the sale of each set to Ronald McDonald House Charities.  The sentiment is embossed using White embossing powder, and has been punched using the new square scallop punch.  I have also inked the edges of the square, and added some Stampin' Dimensionals to the back.

The 2" circle at the top was cut out using my CM circle cutters (I know!  They're not SU!  But I've had them for three years now...).  I also punched a small hole on each side of the semi-circle, and fed some Whisper White grosgrain ribbon through.  

What a cute card!!!  And sooooo easy to make.

Just as an FYI... my Monday stamp club for the next group is completely full.  The Thursday group has 5 confirmed members, and 2 "I'm almost sure" members.  So, there's really only one for sure spot left.  If you want it, let me know.  Quickly!  The next round of stamp club begins in late November, but you definitely want to confirm your spot now.

Happy stamping!

Very Spooky...

Stampin' Up! has released an awesome Decor Element - just in time for Halloween!!!  It's a Spooky Spider, and he's hot!  He comes in three sizes and two colours, and he co-ordinates with our Ghostly Greetings DSP and our Chills & Thrills Rub-Ons.  

Check him out here!

Let me know if you'd like to order one.  I will have 2 orders going in this week, so he'll arrive in the first week of October - just in time for Halloween decorating!

Big Shot Scallop Circle Cards

I was trolling through some of my favourite blogs last week and came across Scallop cards in Corrine Somerville's blog.  She had made some scallop style cards using her Big Shot, so I just had to give it a try!  I made 4 of them on Friday evening, of which I've already posted one (Michelle's birthday card).  Here's the second!

I made two of these cards, with slightly different colour combinations for the centre flowers.  Corrine has a great demonstration on her blog on how to cut these cards, but here's the basics.  Take a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock and cut it in half.  Fold one half in two, and line it up with the scallop die ($23.95) for the Big Shot.  The key is to ensure that 5-6 of the scallops are visible, on the edge with the fold (ie. don't cover the entire scallop die with your cardstock).  You can then run the die through the Big Shot and it easily cuts through both layers.  This card was made using Not Quite Navy cardstock.  

Using my Creative Memories circle cutters, I cut a 3 1/2" circle for the centre of the card using one of the papers in the Maine Blueberry DSP.  Corrine has this on one of her blog cards and I loved the look.  The flowers on my card were cut using the Flower Layers die ($18.95).  I cut the flowers three times, in Old Olive, Not Quite Navy and Bashful Blue, and ended up with three full sets of flowers that I could then layer in a multitude of colour combinations.  A half pearl from the Pretties kit was added to the centre, and I added some Old Olive ribbon to the top.  I haven't added any sentiments to the card because... I'm not sure who's getting it.  When I made this card I was really just playing with my Big Shot, and having fun.  There's lots more that could be added - if I find the time...

The full list of available Sizzix dies will be available in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini catalogue on October 1st.   The dies and Big Shot are available NOW!  If you would like to purchase any of the dies, or the Big Shot itself, give me a call, drop me an e-mail, or try our convenient Online Ordering!!!

Happy stamping!

Michy's birthday card

My darling daughter celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday.  Here's the card that I made for her last night, using my Big Shot and my large scallop die.  I LOVE Pink Pirouette paper!!!  The floral paper is from the Bella Rose DSP, and I've faintly coloured the Pretties before I added them to the card.  My only disappointment is that the glue from the Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive shows through the Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon.  Oh well, live and learn.

Did Michy like her card?  No idea.  She looked at and tossed it aside.  There were presents to unwrap!

 

Enjoy!