Sunday, August 30, 2009

Fun for everyone

First of all I have a layout to share. Craig and I had A LOT of fun (yes, I am shouting) on our four day cruise with Carnival this past July. I took a collection of the photos from our trip and put them into a double layout. The bubbling water effect was created by using a Sizzix die and Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock (Vacation Blues).

Supplies: Core'dinations cardstock, Jillibean Soup ribbon, number sprout and corrugated alphabet, ProvoCraft/Cricut die cut letters ("bahamas" - Opposites Attract), Sizzix die (circles), Hampton Art letter stamps, Tsukineko ink, Making Memories sanding block, Xyron Sticker Maker (to adhere ribbon and die cut "bahamas"), other: foam layering tape.

Next, over the weekend I found a great recipe on the internet and made a huge batch of playdough for my new kindergarten class. Matt and Ema helped me and, as a reward, got to test drive the batch. Ema realized that by simply adding a googly eye she could make a "Bob" from the Monsters vs. Aliens movie. She then made a Mrs. Bob and many Baby Bobs. I have included the recipe below. And yes, that is Ema ducking down behind the Bob Family. She didn't want to ruin the family portrait.

How to Make Playdough

Step 1:

Basic ingredient ratio:

2 cups flour

2 cups warm water

1 cup salt

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)

Food colouring (liquid, powder, or unflavored drink mix)

Scented oils

This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.

Step 2:

Mix all of the ingredients together, and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes.
When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the center, as shown below, remove the pan from heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If your playdough is still sticky, you simply need to cook it longer! Keep stirring and cooking until the dough is dry and feels like playdough.

Step 3:

Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or silicone mat, and knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth. Divide the dough into balls for colouring.
Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food colouring in. Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the playdough, trying to keep the raw dye away from your hands and the counter. You could use gloves or plastic wrap at this stage to keep your hands clean- only the concentrated dye will colour your skin, so as soon as it's worked in bare hands are fine.
Work the dye through, adding more as necessary to achieve your chosen colour.
If you use unsweetened drink mix for colour, test on a small ball first- it won't go as far as the "real" food colouring.


Step 4:

Enjoy your playdough! It's entirely edible, if a bit salty, so it's kid-safe.
When you're done store it in an air-tight container. If it begins to dry out, you can knead a bit of water in again to soften the dough back to useability. Once it's dried past a certain point, however, you'll just have to start over; thankfully it's not terribly difficult.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

CPS meets Jillibean Soup

Today I have a card that I made based on a sketch from CPS (Card Positioning Systems). Jillibean Soup is the sponsor of their current challenge. Be sure to drop by the CPS website and the Jillibean Soup blog today to see the original sketch and other great versions of the sketch.

Supplies: Jillibean Soup paper, kraft A2 card, stamps and twine, Scenic Route worn grid paper, Tsukineko ink, Making Memories brad and sanding block, Bazzill heart brad, other: foam layering tape. This card is based on a Card Positioning Systems sketch by Tami Mayberry.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Happy birthday, Naomi

Our friends Kate and Steve's little Naomi turned one over the weekend. There was a party for her on Saturday. I think I hit the 200+ photo mark. Now I need to get scrapping the photos.
Here is a layout that I did a while back of the photos I took of Naomi when she was still in the hospital. She was about 24 hours old.
The journaling reads: Only one day old and Naomi already knows it's best to hold hands when you go out into the world.

Supplies: Core'dinations cardstock (Vintage), Scenic Route worn grid paper and chipboard house, American Crafts letter stickers, Fiskars border punch, Gel-a-Tins stamps (tree, bird), Krylon spray paint (stone), Buttons Galore buttons, Tsukineko ink, other: fabric, sewing machine, thread, foam layering tape. This layout is based on the winter 2008 sketch for Scrapbook & Cards Today.

For Naomi's first birthday present I gave them an American Crafts album with this layout and two other ones that I had made of Naomi. I also gave her this card:
* Removed for Publication *
Supplies: Jillibean Soup kraft paper, button, twine and number sprout, K & Company printed paper, other: foam layering tape, sewing machine, and thread.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The divine Miss E. turns 5

Yesterday was Ema's Fancy Nancy birthday party. Fancy Nancy is a series of books written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. Nancy Clancy is a seven year-old girl who loves all things fancy. Ema owns about 95% of the books and we read them just before bed. Matt usually sneaks in to hear them as well.
The girls all arrived at 11am in dresses and looking quite divine but, in the ways of Fancy Nancy, more is always better. Deidra, a friend of Ema's who regularly cuts her hair, styled the girls' hair. My mom and my friend Kate applied nail polish to fingers and toes. Cucumber slices and a foot spa were another station we had set up in "Le Salon" (That's the French word for The Salon, or in this case, the living room). Each girl also got to make their own Bonjour Butterfly hair clip.
Then, at 2pm when moms arrived for pick up, we entertained the small crowd on our front yard with a fashion show.
Simply a divine and magical afternoon.

The dining room was transformed into the delightful area for nibbling on finger foods and extraordinary cupcakes. The paper butterflies were made from a Cuttlebug die and Core'dinations cardstock (of course). I folded up the wings ever so slightly so they looked ready to flutter away.

These are the party guests before Deidra arrived to do up their hair. Ema is front and center sporting her new Fancy Nancy party dress and shoes. Macy, Lexi, Kyra and Charlotte dazzled us in their beautiful outfits.

A plethora of nail polish made it hard to pick a favourite colour. Many girls decided to go with a combo of one colour for fingers, another for toes.

Bonjour Butterfly hair clips were easy to make. Take one diecut paper butterfly, a bountiful supply of bling, a roll of Glue Dots and one dollar store hairclip to be covered. Ta-da!

Chilled cucumber slices for the eyes and a foot spa for the tender tootsies. Very refreshing after a hard day of playing with Barbies.

Everyone's favourite pampering station had to be Deidra's Hair Salon, also known as the kitchen. She curled, pinned and glittered each girls' hair until it looked spectacular. Truly.

Present time was flabbergasting! Puzzles, markers, colouring books, a new Fancy Nancy book that we didn't have, the new Hanna Montana movie, a Webkinz pony, glamourous make up and accessories...too much. Ema loved it all.

Finally, at 2pm, we dazzled our moms with a fashion show that could not be beat. When Ema was asked what she liked best...above all else...she liked the cupcakes. Perhaps we have a theme for next year's party?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Scrapbook & Cards Today news!

Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine is featuring this layout of mine on their blog today. It features the new Alphabet Soup collection, number sprouts, buttons and printed twill by Jillibean Soup. It also is based on the September sketch by Allison Cope. Find more of her awesome sketches by clicking here.


Supplies: patterned paper, twine, button, printed twill, number sprouts, Jillibean Soup (Alphabet Soup Collection), kraft paper; additional patterned paper, Scenic Route; ink, Tsukineko; circle punch, Fiskars; adhesive, 3M Double-stick Clear Dots; font, Another Typewriter (downloaded from the internet); other, foam layering tape



Some other exciting S&CT news that I have is that I was asked to create one of three versions of their 2009 fall cover. I don't know yet if it will be the actual cover or not but it will get published in that issue somewhere. I will keep you posted.

Finally, if you live in the Toronto, ON, area and are free on Friday, October 16th from 3-4:30pm, be sure to register for a Jillibean Soup/Core'dinations class that I will be teaching for S&CT at the CreativFestival. For more details, follow the link listed in the "Upcoming Classes" section on the right-hand side on my blog.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Caardvarks blog hop

Today is the day! I have been holding onto this card for what seems like forever. Caardvarks has teamed up with Core'dinations for three days of awesome card sharing. Be sure to drop by their blog to check out all the details.
Here is the card that I made. It started out as one card but then I got carried away. It was a rainy day and I had just got my mitts on the Trifecta Collection by Core'dinations. This pack is sold in the United States through QVC. It's a super collection of coordinating Black Magic, Vintage and Essentials cardstock and it's only $26.50US (plus shipping and handling).


Supplies: Core'dinations cardstock (Black Magic, Vintage, Essentials), Imaginisce rubons (Little Critters), Quickutz letter dies (Diesel Grand, Jolly), Fiskars texture plates, Sizzix texture plates, Stampin' Up heart punch, Heidi Swapp edge distresser, Making Memories sanding block, Carl scoring blade, other: foam layering tape.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Life is just one big party

This weekend can be summed up in one word - party.
Matt's 8th birthday party.
Ema went to her friend Cora's 5th birthday party.
Ema then swung by the tail-end of her friend Macy's 6th birthday party.
Balloons, cake, presents, junk food...and not one kid threw up. Awesome!
Here are some photos from Matt's party.




And, of course, no birthday weekend would be complete without a homemade birthday card. This one was for Ema's little friend Cora. I hear it received rave reviews from the five-year-old crowd.



Supplies: Core'dinations cardstock, Jillibean Soup patterned paper, felt flowers and leaves, Making Memories brads, Creative Cafe rubons, Sizzix texture plate, Heidi Swapp edge distresser, other: sewing machine, foam layering tape.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Big news!

Big Picture Scrapbooking

Yep. Best way to describe it. Big news!!!
I am in the final stages of preparing a class for Big Picture Scrapbooking which features Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock. I spoke with Stacy Julian on the phone yesterday (I was quite well behaved, in case you are wondering) and I have set a personal goal to have all the requirements to her by the end of August. At that point I will have more details about when the class will be available on her website. It will be a self-paced project so it will be available for quite a while.
Also, when the class date does get announced, I will have a super-fabulous-mind-blowing giveaway ... all the supplies that you would need to complete the class!
Stay tuned.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

New Core'dinations...and Jillibean Soup

Today's project is a hat trick.
It features the *NEW* Jenni Bowlin Core Impressions Core'dinations Collection which was just released at summer CHA, the *NEW* Lentil Soup collection and corrugated alphabets by Jillibean Soup AND it is based on Sketch This #89.
Whoa.

Supplies: Core'dinations cardstock (Jenni Bowlin Collection Pack, French Roast), Jillibean Soup patterned paper, twine and corrugated alphas, Fiskars border punch, 7 Gypsies label holders and brads, Making Memories sanding block, EK Success marker, Tsukineko ink, other: buttons, foam layering tape.

Core'dinations came out with three new collection packs at summer CHA. Sugar and Spice, Ebony and Ivory and, the one that has the entire Core'dinations design team drooling, the Jenni Bowlin Core Impressions Collection. Each pack contains 20 sheets of pre-embossed 12x12 paper in 5 colours and 4 different patterns. Truly mind blowing!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

CHA cards

Here are some cards that I made for the Jillibean Soup booth at CHA. For more projects that the rest of the Jillibean Soup design team created, be sure to drop by the blog over the next week or so.
This was a 30th birthday card for a dear friend. The inside reads, "Who ever said thirty is old?"
ETA: Be sure to check out Paula Gilarde's awesome review of the Jillibean Soup booth at CHA by clicking here...yeah, right HERE!

Supplies: Jillibean Soup printed kraft (Talk Soup), twine and ribbons, Core'dinations cardstock (French Roast), Sizzix texture plate, Kaiser rubon ("thanks"), Heidi Swapp edge distresser and other: foam layering tape.

Monday, August 3, 2009

More *NEW* Jillibean Soup

The new Alphabet Soup collection by Jillibean Soup is this teacher's new favourite line. How can I not love it? Little schoolhouses? Come on! It's almost too much for me.
So, without further adieu, a new layout using Alphabet Soup goodness and one of the new coordinating journaling sprout...with more new layouts using Alphabet Soup to follow soon.

Journaling: A long car ride with the two of you can be almost painful at times. The fighting, the sound effects, and the frequent questioning of our arrival time. One day you will both have children and you may hear yourself echo our favourite empty threat, "If you don't knock it off we're stopping the car and leaving you here at the side of the road."

Supplies: Jillibean Soup patterned paper, kraft paper and number sprout, Core'dinations cardstock (Whitewash, Essentials, Vintage), Sizzix texture plate, Cricut diecuts (car, title, stop sign/Going Places), Font: Another Typewriter, other: foam layering tape. This layout is based on a layout by Erin Roe for Scrapbooks Etc.