We Will Always Have Paris

New Page Maps Are Up!!

Get yourself on over to the Page Maps website! The February Maps are up and, this time 'round they have new Tag Maps. Love them all!  I'm off to print them out for my "scraplifting" binder, in preparation of ScrapBowl 2007 (which, by the way, is only TEN DAYS AWAY!).

Parisian Faux Postage At Rubber Chicken Stamp Art This Saturday!

I'm teaching my Parisian Faux Postage class this Saturday, February 3rd at 1:00 p.m. at Rubber Chicken Stamp Art in Gaithersburg, MD.  If you've never played with faux postage, you'll love the fresh French look of these cards.  Faux postage is easy to duplicate (use your own themes when you get home!) and looks great.

For only $28.00, students will make these three cards (featured in Stampers Sampler Take Ten Winter 2007) in this fast-paced class.  We'll learn the basics of masking, working with unmounted stamps, chalking and much more!

I just added some additional spaces to Saturday's class and I hope to see some of you there.  Click here to sign up via Rubber Chicken's website.

This Week at AC Moore (January 31 - February 6)

Ugh. Not much to get excited about at AC Moore this week (No Michaels ad this week either!).  This is about all they are offering paper crafters:

• A 40% off coupon.   Click here to get yours.
• Nicole 12" x 12" value paper packs are only $9 (regularly $14.99).
• Die Cuts With A View (DCWV) quote & sticker stacks are $3 (regularly up to $5.99).
• Provo Craft Zision Paper Trimmer is only $5 (regularly $12.99)!  This is a HUGE savings if you need a paper trimmer (to be honest, I've never used this brand, so it is an unknown... if you have it & like it, leave a comment.).
• DCWV designer gift albums are $4 (regularly $7.99).

Not much else of interest.  Use your coupon, then spend the rest of your money at your local paper arts store! 

Pretty Up Your Paper Storage

I stole this idea from the January 2007 Scrapbooks Etc. by Better Homes & Gardens:

How cute is that?  What a way to dress up my vertical Cropper Hopper paper storage!  Just a circle punch & metal rimmed tags & you're ready to go.  Now I can tell which colors or themes are in the folders.  I love it!

Basic Grey Rub Ons

My friend Amy is the queen of the white rub-on.  I tend to buy my rub-ons in standard black as I never like the look of the white ones.  Amy, however, uses Basic Grey white rub-ons on some pretty eye catching layouts & I thought I'd give it a try myself:

I learned that the key is to start with dark paper.  It really makes the white stand out.  Thanks for the inspiration Amy!  I think I'll go buy more!

BTW, I'm quite sure that when I look back at my scrapbooks years from now I'll say to myself, "Wow, went a little crazy with that circle cutter, didn't I?".  My scrapbooks are almost yearbooks for product trends.  I can tell you exactly when eyelets became popular, when color blocking was the trend and when fibers were all the craze.

I'm off to work on my next class project...  an altered book with a circus theme!  I'll let you know when I schedule class dates.

New ribbon at Michaels

Have you seen these at your local Michaels?  Suni found them the other day and I bought a handful of these cuties on their little wooden spools.  Three yards on each spool for $1.99.  I'm such a sucker for great packaging.  It's the cute little wooden spools that grabbed my attention.  Plus, they have them displayed in large quart canning jars.  What's not to love about that??

L O V E story

My basement is brimming with holiday decorations.  I have china/dishware, candles, and tablecloths/napkins for each season.  As I started pulling things out for Valentine's Day this year,  I wanted to "frill" things up a bit.  I absolutely love pennant banners, so I hustled out to the fabric store for some heart-themed fabric.  Using nothing but fabric, iron-on adhesive, pinking shears and embellishments, I was able to create this:

I started by gluing two pieces of white canvas together using iron-on adhesive and a steam-free craft iron.  I found a template on-line (e-mail me if you would like me to send you the PDF), cutting the shape out using pinking shears.  Then I was able to get to the fun part, decorating!! 

I printed the letters out using a blackletter font, then cut them out (OK, my friend Suni cut them out) of black canvas with adhesive on the back.  Each layer of fabric was glued on using iron-on adhesive.  It would probably be just as easy to use a sewing machine, but I haven't cleaned up that part of my studio yet!  Most of the embellishments were glued on using red-line tape.

The "L" was embellished with ribbons, buttons (stitched on!) and a woven label (Me & My Big Ideas).

The "O" was embellished with fabric circles (cut using my Sizzix die) and a Creating Keepsakes hat pin (purchased at 40% off this week at Jo-Anns).

The "V" was embellished with ric-rack, ribbon & a woven label (Me & My Big Ideas).

The "E" was embellished with large brads, ribbon, and a large bow (made with my handy-dandy bow maker). 

I would love to add some vintage glass glitter, but I have an 18-month old daughter who would love to get her hands on something shiny.  Maybe I'll glitz it up in a couple of years.

Round Maps

Earlier this month I mentioned that Page Maps had released a set of Round Maps for January 2007. At a recent crop I decided to give one a try.  I really liked the end result & I think I'm going to try another this weekend (after I do this week's Pencil Lines challenge!)

You can trace a large plate on the back of your 12" x 12" paper, then cut it out.  However, I found it easier to use the new  EK Success Circle Cutter (with a glass mat) to make the 12" circle.  I bought mine at Ashburn Family Scrapbooking in Ashburn, VA.  I made a big circle, scrapped on top of it, then used my scissors to go around the edges & trim the excess.  The papers are Daisy D's (a favorite of mine -- also from Ashburn Family) and the "Splash" rub-ons are American Crafts. 

If you decide to try this technique out, send me a picture.  I'd love to see your work!

Happy scrapping!

This Week at AC Moore (January 24 - 30)

Once again I'm not posting Michael's deals this week because they have little to offer paper crafters...  no big sales, no coupon, nothing!

AC Moore's big sale last week makes this week seem pretty blah as well.  However, there are a couple of things to check out:

• The standard 40% off coupon.  Get yours by clicking here.
• All K & Company scrapbooks are 50% off.  I bought a beautiful Basic Grey album (by K & Co.) and saved a ton of money.
• 40% off all stickers and memory paper.

Happy shopping!

Jo-Ann's Coupon (valid January 22nd - February 3rd)

Courtesy of Suni, here's the most recent Jo-Ann's coupon! I ran out yesterday to the Jo-Anns in Frederick, MD to use mine!

Happy shopping!