October Cards: Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving

September Cards: Anything Goes!

It's October!

It's finally October and the last official month of our swap! This month's theme is: Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving!

Celebrating birthdays this month are: Michelle C on the 9th, Sara K on the 11th and Mikey M on the 13th. Happy birthday to you!

If you haven't had a chance to send your card scans to me from September, please do so ASAP so I can get them posted.

Also, if you are interested in the Christmas card side swap, I need to hear from you no later than today!

If I haven't posted a spotlight for you, I'd love to do so before the swap ends.

Happy Fall!

Spotlight of the week: Sara K

In Sara's words:

My name is Sara. I'm 28 and married to DH John for 4.5 years. We don't have any kids but do have two feline furbabies: Callie and Teddy. Callie is 5 years old and we've had her since she was a kitten. She is a mama's girl but also a spoiled brat. Teddy is about 4 we think and we rescued him almost 2 years ago. He's very shy, a daddy's boy and a real sweetie. They are the focus of many of my scrapbooking layouts. John and I have lived in Michigan our entire lives. We love being near our families but hate the long, cold winteres. I work as an assistant librarian and car seat technician/educator at a major hospital in our area and DH is a grocery manager at one of the local supermarket chains.

I started scrapbooking right after I graduated from college and have been hooked ever since. I started making cards about 2 years ago and really enjoy that as well and that it fits in nicely with the scrapbooking. I've become quite the acrylic stamp fan during that time as well. I know several of the other girls in the swap through TSR and was very pleased to join this swap when Mickey e-mailed me last year. I have really enjoyed receiving cards from everyone and seeing everyone's creations.

August Cards: Thinking of You or Thank You!

It's September!

I hope everyone had a nice 3-day Labor Day weekend!

The theme for the month is: ANYTHING GOES!

Celebrating a birthday this month is Melanie on the 28th!

Spotlight of the week: Mikey M

(Mikey & daughters on Mother's Day)

In Mikey’s words…

I first started scrapbooking a little over 9 years ago after my daughter, Francine, was born. I have always had an affinity for paper and stickers, so when I saw some scrapbook stuff at Hallmark, I immediately latched on to it. Then a friend introduced me to Creative Memories and I thought I was in heaven. That is, until I found a local scrapbook store! That's where a lifelong addiction began.

Another daughter (Danielle, now 7), a wonderful husband (Ken), 4 stepkids (Mandy, Erin, Kamery, and Josh) and 1 grandson (Rian) later, I am still totally into scrapping! I go through periods where life gets in the way and I don't get to scrap for a while, but it always feels so good to get a page done!

I remember a few years ago when Monica asked me if I wanted to do cards and I pretty much laughed at her and said I didn't want to do something that would take away from my precious and limited scrapbook time. Time went by and somehow I got into cardmaking after all! Yeah, it really does take time away from scrapping but I really enjoy it too!

Melanie and I met because of an online card swap I hosted. After getting tired of flakers, we had this idea of an exclusive card swap…it has been such a great success that many years later, we are still doing it!

I am so thankful for this hobby as I have met some of the most wonderful people because of it!

It also gives me a great creative outlet and a nice break from all the logic that is so much a part of my job. I love being in IT and I really love being an analyst and programmer. Lately, I took on a new role and I am helping shape how our department takes on a new methodology. It's really fun and challenging.

This is probably more about me than you bargained for, but if you felt like reading more, you can always visit my blog and read up on the latest stuff!

It's August...

...well, almost!

I'll be out-of-town the next few days and away from a computer and internet access, so I thought I better do my "beginning of the month" post a day early.

The theme for this month is: thank you or thinking of you.

Celebrating birthdays this month are: Alison on the 7th and Wyonne on the 26th. Happy birthday to you!

Have a great month!

July Cards: Anything Goes!

Spotlight of the week: Wyonne T

In Wyonne’s words:

My name is Wyonne (pronounced y-on) and I live in TITLETOWN, USA! otherwise known as Valdosta, GA. We were just recognized by national vote on ESPN. I am a retired secondary mathematics teacher, currently teaching part-time at Valdosta State University. I love scrapbooking and stamping! My daughter (Stacey R) really got me into this hobby when we spent one weekend in a motel in Montgomery, AL doing a hurried family album for my father. I have been married to the same man for 39 years next month. We have 2 grown children and 4 intelligent, beautiful, wonderful grandchildren, it's okay to be just a little prejudiced. Family photos are the main subjects of my scrapping. Some would say that I am more of a collector and hoarder than a real project completer. Being one of the older members of the swap and retired, I spend quite a bit of time in my scrapbook/computer/sewing room. I have met 5 of the members of this swap at a scrapbook retreat last year in Wichita, KS. Thanks, Mikey, for inviting me to be a member of this group.

Spotlight of the week: Michelle M

Michelle lives in McKinney, Texas with her husband of five years, Octavio, and her three step-children (Valentina age 18, Georgia age 15, and Yuri age 13). McKinney is located about 30 miles north of Dallas. Michelle is originally from Omaha, Nebraska and spent most of the 1990s in New York City. Michelle and her family were tired of the cold weather and snow in the MidWest, so they are really enjoy living in the Dallas area. Michelle recently changed jobs and is now the marketing director for a sales training company. She also works as a freelance graphic designer and web designer. It’s amazing that she still has time for stamping! Michelle has a degree in fine art, so making cards and creating craft projects is her creative outlet. Her favorite color is green! She also enjoys playing tennis, yoga and pilates (but doesn’t have as much time for those activities as she would like). We are glad you share your creativity and talent with us, Michelle!

Tip of the Week: Scallop Border using a Corner Punch

My new favorite technique is to make a scallop border with a corner rounder punch. I'm sure it's not a "new technique" to the scrapbooking/card making world, but it's new to me. I discovered this technique on a blog:

http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2007/02/26/quick-tutorial-on-scallop-border/

Instead of posting the instructions and photos, I thought it would be just as easy to post the link where you can view Beate's tutorial.

Once I figured out how to make the border, I became obsessed with the technique! (I think I've even used it on my card this month!)

Give it a try...it's super easy!

Spotlight of the week: Heather K

Heather currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with her Army husband and their 2 children--Mark who's 8 1/2 and Kieran who is 5 1/2. Since they are military, they've lived in many different places. Heather’s favorite 3 year tour was in Vicenza, Italy (she would love to go back). They plan on staying in Colorado for awhile--especially since her husband is retiring from the military next year. Heather will be teaching Special Ed. in a middle school (6th grade) this fall and taking classes through the Teach Now program at Western State (she will have her Colorado teaching license in May '09). Heather first started making cards in approximately 1995. She was introduced to stamping at a Stampin' Up! party. She first started scrapbooking in 1997 and was introduced to it at a Creative Memories party. She really got into scrapbooking, however, when her son was born in 1999. Heather says, “I LOVE everything about stamping/scrapping.” She got her twin sister, Heidi, into both and is excited that they can share something they both love together (she wishes they lived in the same city so they could get together and create!) Some of Heather’s other hobbies are: reading, running, knitting, spending family time on their boat, and traveling. Heather and twin sister Heidi (also a “card chick”) are celebrating their birthdays this week! Happy birthday, ladies!

Win a prize: This is a test!

The first five (5) "card chicks" to post a comment on this posting will win a prize! I'm not sure yet what the prize will be, but it will be a scrapbooking related item! This is not a joke!!!

The reason why I'm doing this test is to see who is actually reading our blog! It seems like I get feedback from the same people (don't get me wrong, I really appreciate you ladies who regularly leave comments, so you will probably be the ones who are rewarded anyway)! There are several ladies in our group that don't leave any feedback, so I'm beginning to wonder if they even read the blog!

I guess the bottom line is...I love feedback! I really appreciate those of you who are making comments on the blog, volunteering to post things, submitting your card scans or just e-mailing me with general concerns! Keep up the great work!

Spotlight of the week: Michelle C

Michelle has been doing paper crafts since just after she was married- 14 years ago. She saw a flyer for a valentine scrapbooking class, signed up with her mom and was hooked. She did mostly scrapbooking until she had her second child (2001). Since then, it’s been mostly cards because of her limited time. The thing she loves most about paper crafting is that it forces her to let the housework go for a few hours, shut herself away and “check out” for a while. Michelle considers it her “therapy” and comments that she should do it more often! Michelle has four ACTIVE kids: Tristan (9), Jolie (7), Gavin (3 ½), Mia (6 months). Michelle has a degree in Political Science and French. She was an exchange student in France for a summer during college. She worked full time in civil rights until she was expecting her second child. She took some web design classes in 2001 and 2002 and has been able to do that off and on (part time) out of her home. Michelle says that “Being a stay-at-home-mom is very overwhelming and exhausting, but I feel it’s the most important thing I could be doing at this stage of my life. It’s such a blessing to be home with my sweet kids. I love them dearly.” Michelle’s other interests are: photography (with her Cannon Rebel XT), blogging (be sure to check-out her blog using the link to the left), cooking (she’s an amazing cook), reading and walking/exercise. And, on occasion, she also enjoys quilting, snow skiing, traveling and all things French. Michelle and Dan (her husband) are working on a huge landscaping renovation this summer so they don’t have plans to go very far from their home in Fruit Heights, Utah. Michelle is planning a family trip to Hawaii next summer, however!

June Cards: Masculine

It's July!

The theme for the month is: ANYTHING GOES!

Celebrating a birthday this month are "the twins", Heather K & Heidi Q on the 16th! Happy birthday, ladies!

Please be sure to mail your cards by the 15th of the month. Don't forget to send your card scan to me before the end of the month!

Spotlight of the week: Kim M

Kim M was born in Kentucky and has lived there her entire life. She grew up on a farm and spent most of her waking hours outdoors playing in the woods, barn or the creek. She is married to her high school sweetheart for 23 years (he was the ballplayer and she was the cheerleader). The parents of three children, Kim and Jeff live in a small rural area about 20 miles from where she grew up. Their oldest son no longer lives at home and attends graduate school. Their two daughters, however, do live at home. In her early adult years, Kim worked at a bank then stopped working to attend college to become a nurse. She found out during the first semester, however, that nursing just wasn't for her—she longed to be home with her son, so she quit school. Within a month of quitting college, Kim became pregnant with her middle child and has been a stay-at-home-mom ever since. Kim loves being a SAHM more than anything and feels very blessed to be able to spend so much time with her children. Kim started scrapbooking about 5 years ago after her daughter bought a scrapbook kit from Wal-mart. When Kim tried to help her with the kit, she became “sucked in”. Kim got into cardmaking when her pastor's wife invited her to a Stampin’ Up! party and they started having monthly card making get-togethers. Kim also likes to read and do woodworking and has a goal to develop her photography skills (if she can get a better camera). Although she enjoys her other hobbies, scrapbooking is her favorite. What Kim loves most about scrapbooking/cardmaking are all the wonderful friends she has made. She has really enjoyed being in Card Chicks and has received so many beautiful/wonderful cards in the mail each month.

Question of the week: What are your Summer travel plans?

What are your Summer travel plans?

Are you going anywhere exciting or are you staying close to home?

Tip of the week - Dad's Coupon Book

For Father's Day this year, I made this coupon book for Ken. While Father's Day has come and gone, this is something you could easily do for birthdays, Christmas,
anniversaries, or just 'cause.

To make this coupon book, I started off with a simple frame. I used a free digital frame that I found on 2Peas. If you don't do digi scrapping, you could also make text boxes in Word.

Inside the frame, place a pictures - mine was actually part of the digi frame, and you could choose to do the same, use a photo (of either the recipient or the giver) or some other clipart (say, a clover for a coupon that is good only for the month of March).

Also add wording like "this coupon good for" or "redeem this coupon for" inside the frame. That gets your framework set up.

To make the individual pages, simply type in text specific to that coupon. Print it off, then change the text for the next coupon. Repeat until you have all coupons printed.



I made the cover page really similar to the pages. I simply removed the "redeem this coupon for" wording and replaced it with "Dad's coupon book". Print that off and now you've got all the pages done.

If you've got a Bind-It-All machine, simply use that to bind the pages together. If not, you can use eyelets and ribbon, or brads, or office metal rings (available in office supply stores) to bind the book together.

Voila - your coupon book is done! :)

Spotlight of the week: Lan A

Lan was born in Vietnam and currently resides in Kansas. She has lived in 6 different houses since she moved to Kansas, but all of those moves have been within the same state. Lan has always dreamed of moving out and experiencing life in one of the bigger cities, but home is where family is so she doesn’t see herself moving too far away anytime soon. Lan met her husband Lam during her second semester in college. She says, “We dated secretly for 6 years before we got married, because my parents are old fashioned and wouldn’t let me see anyone outside of our race or religion and he was both.” Luckily her parents eventually came around and after 5 ½ yrs of marriage, they have two beautiful kids (Makenzie—age 3 and Micah—age 20 months). Lan is a tax accounting specialist for a large aircraft manufacturer. She’s been at her current job for 2 years and previously worked for a CPA firm for 6 years (but the long hours from January through April 15th was just not a career she wanted to be in when she became a mother). Lan loves outdoor activities, gardening, rollerblading, volleyball, reading, dancing, and gymnastics. She dislikes watching sports on TV though and rarely gets to watch any television shows nowadays except for Nick Jr. with her children. Art was always one of her favorite subjects in school so scrapbooking fits right into her favorite hobby. She learned about Creative Memories at a party 8 years ago and after learning about kit clubs and meeting on-line friends (most of them are “Card Chicks”) she’s “hooked”! Photography is her 2nd passion and is now focused on learning the basics. (She is taking an on-line photography class with Karen Russell this month trying to utilize her Canon 20D to it’s full power.) We are glad you share your favorite hobby with us, Lan!

"tip of the week"

hey chicks!!!
i have 2 tips......one of them is a simple one that i usually do when i am limited on time or just lazy!

to make a button looked finished (stitched), with out tying a string though the holes, just "make" the string with a white pen/marker...i find the uniball signo in white is the perfect white pen to use. just make sure you let it dry completely!

my 2nd tip - is a "wallet card" that a friend of mine showed me...i created a father's day card with 3 quotes. i kept the embellishing to a minimum - to keep the masculine feel.

the measurements are:
card base - 4" x 12" round the corners on the "flap" end
score card base - from the bottom at 3 1/4" intervals. after the 3rd score line, score another line 1/4" from that.
the cardstock strips for the center of the card are 7 1/2" x 3".
the pattern paper panels are 3 1/2" x 2 3/4".
embellish to your theme and add quotes or photos or both to the wallet.
i added a velcro closure, you could also add a band of cardstock/pattern paper to keep the wallet closed.

happy day!!

Spotlight of the week: Alison B.

Alison lives in Southern California with her two sons, ages 11 and 13, and their dog (a Jack Russell “Terrorist”, lol)! Alison is a lawyer who practiced for about 8 years doing “icky things” like divorce work and child abuse cases for the County. She wanted to quit, so she started her family and decided to be a stay-at-home mom. She was introduced to scrapbooking 1996. While she was scrapbooking, she came up with the idea for a product some of you may be familiar with, Puzzle Mates (templates that crop photos into shapes such as a heart, soccer ball, etc.). The line was very successful for awhile and she even did a private label product for Stampin' Up! (Layer Ease). If you watch closely, you might even catch Alison on DIY Scrapbooking reruns since she was on several episodes. She couldn’t keep up with all the changes and trends in scrapbooking, so she now finds herself trying to figure out what to do next. In the meantime, she is a substitute teacher and volunteer at a mentoring center for disadvantaged high school kids. Alison says her favorite color is "purple, purple and more purple". She loves photography (and has even won some awards), reality television shows and shopping. As you all know, Alison came down with cancer earlier this year. It was found accidentally while she was getting a CT scan for something else. The cancer was caught very early—if it wasn’t discovered until she had symptoms, it would have been too late. Alison would like to thank everyone who sent her cards and kept her in their thoughts and prayers during her recovery time. We are glad you are doing well, Alison!

It's June!

The theme of the month is: Masculine (Father’s Day or Birthday)!
As always, please try to mail the cards to the ladies on your list by the 15th of the month!
Celebrating birthdays this month are Rita R. and Lan A. on June 4th and Monica P. and Kim M. on June 24th! Happy birthday ladies!

Tip of the Week--Sketches!

I LOVE taking magazine ads (these are from Country Living) and turning them into sketches for cards and layouts. Here are 2 ads I used to create sketches and cards. I will use the same sketches for layouts too. Try it---it's addicting :)

Tip of the Week---Sketches! cont............

Here's the 2nd ad, sketch & card. I couldn't get all the pictures in one post........

May Cards

Spotlight of the week: Pamella Klatt

One of our newest swappers, Pamella Klatt, lives in Western New York with her husband of 13 years and their two children, Phoebe and Jackson. The Klatt’s own the house Pamella grew up in. They have an 18 pound cat named Martini and a 4 pound Chihuahua named Sophia Loren. Pamella’s been scrapbooking for 8 years and has been creating with rubberstamps for 6 years. She loves her job as a part-time cafeteria monitor at her son's elementary school. The job enables her to be home with her children in the morning and when they get home from school. Pamella’s goal is to work in the New York State court system in some capacity. Aside from scrapbooking and rubberstamping, she likes to make her own jewelry, listen to very loud music and go on road trips. Her current favorites are: Desperate Housewives, espresso roast coffee, butter pecan ice cream, Hershey’s Kisses and the sound of her husband's car pulling into the driveway. One of Pamella’s favorite quotes is, “When life hands you lemons...ask for tequila and salt!” Check-out Pamella’s blog: http://mysarcasticworld-k.blogspot.com/! We’re glad you are in our swap Pamella and appreciate your creativity and fun personality!

Tip of the Week: Criss Cross Card

I had so much fun making these criss cross cards that I wanted to share the instructions with all of you card chicks.





Supplies:

(2) 4 1/4" x 11" pieces of cardstock for card base
(1) 4" x 5" piece of patterned paper
(1) 3 3/4" x 5 1/4" piece of cardstock for insert
(1) 3 1/2" x 5" piece of neutral cardstock for insert
(1) 1 1/2" x 12" piece of colored cardstock for card band
Ink
Stamps
Adhesive
More paper for accents
Corner rounder
Embellishments

Step 1
Score both 4 1/4" x 11" pieces of cardstock at 5 1/2"

Step 2
Take one scored piece and cut it diagonally from center top to the bottom left.

Step 3
Take the other piece of scored cardstock and cut it diagonally from the center top to the bottom right.

Step 4
Add adhesive to the rectangle back of one of the cardstock pieces.

Step 5
Tape or glue both pieces together. Make sure both long edges of the diagonal sections are on the bottom.

Step 6
Cut the patterned paper in half diagonally. I made several cards at once so I used two different prints.

Step 7
Adhere it to your card front.

Step 8
Add sticky strip (Stampin Up) or run a narrow line of glue on the bottom of the middle panel, as well as on the bottom of the triangle flap that will be on the top of the card. Tape or glue the card base together and set aside.

Step 9
Take both pieces of cardstock for the insert and use the corner rounder on the top corners.

Step 10
Glue together.

Step 11
Stamp and add tab and other embellishments as needed. I used the tab punch from Stampin Up but you could easily make your own tab.

Step 12
Take the 1 1/2" x 12" piece of colored cardstock and score at 5 5/8" and 11 1/4".

Step 13
Add glue to the end of the strip with the small 3/4" scored section. Glue band together.

Step 14
Decorate the card band.

Step 15
Slide your band over your card.

Step 16
Add embellishments. I used stamps, versamark ink, clear embossing powder and a heat gun to make my embellishments. I punched my embellishments out with a circle punch and scallop punch (Stampin Up).

Viola'

Thanks for your feedback!

Coming soon..."Tip of the Week"

Thanks for the comments you posted in reference to my “feedback requested” posting. Starting this week, we will have a new feature added to our blog called, “Tip of the Week”. We have 24 swappers in our group and about 24 weeks left in the swap. Ideally, I would like to assign each of our swappers a week to post a “tip of the week”. Your tip can be anything from a tutorial on how to make a specific card or do a precise technique, a sketch, suggestions on where you get your inspiration to create, etc. Please let me know (via e-mail to melanieh928@yahoo.com) if you are interested in taking a turn to post a “tip of the week” and I’ll assign a week to you. Michelle Cox has graciously accepted the challenge to post our first tip—watch for it in the coming week! And…as always, if you have any other suggestions, feel free to let me know!

Spotlight of the week: Stephanie Storey

Stephanie Storey is celebrating a birthday TODAY (Monday, May 19th). She lives in West Weber, Utah (a suburb of Ogden located about 45 miles North of Salt Lake City). Stephanie is married to a great guy named Mark (they will be celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary this week) and are the parents of four sons. Stephanie’s sons are all named after U.S. cities (Cody, Karson, Logan and Austin). Cody attends Weber State University--close to home. Karson is in his senior year playing football at Mayville State in North Dakota (and will be graduating in July). Logan is serving a two-year mission for the LDS Church in Panama. Austin is in his senior year of high school. Mark (Stephanie’s husband) is a junior high school teacher and coach and is very supportive of her scrapbooking/card making obsession. He even makes homemade cards for Stephanie to give to her on special occasions—he tries to use a new “technique” on each one he makes. Stephanie’s sons are also supportive and good-natured about her crafting obsessions—they like to tease her about “Razzle Dazzle Bazzill” and other tools like her Cricut. (The day Stephanie arrived home after purchasing her Cricut, she told Logan that she had just bought the coolest machine—you could tell it what shape and size you wanted and it would automatically cut it out for you. So, Logan walked up to the machine and said, “Make me a three-inch circle.” When the machine didn’t respond, he turned to his mom and said, “It doesn’t work, mom!”) Stephanie is a stay-at-home mom, but previously worked at Jetway with Kathy and Melanie, before a chronic condition with her eyes forced her into medical retirement. Stephanie and Mark own a “Snow Shack” that is open during the Summer months—it’s been a great way to keep their sons and neighborhood kids busy and earning money for school. Stephanie collects bears and DVD’s (she has an impressive collection—films starring Doris Day are her favorites). Stephanie’s favorite color is green and her preferred scrapbooking items are brads and Stampin’ Up! paper (cardstock and patterned paper)! Stephanie has a great sense of humor and is very thoughtful and personable! We are glad we get to swap with you, Stephanie!

Spotlight of the week: Heidi Quimby

Heidi Quimby is a stay-at-home mom living in Andover, MN (a northwest suburb of the Twin Cities). Before staying at home with her two children (John - age 5 and Paige - age 3 1/2), she was a school counselor at a middle school. Heidi is hoping to return to school counseling once both kids are in school full-time. Heidi’s twin sister, Heather Kneis (also a Card Chick), got her into both cardmaking (7 years ago) and scrapbooking (5 years ago). Heidi says, “I LOVE this hobby - especially when I get to share it with friends and family. Oh, and the supplies are just so YUMMY!!” Heidi describes herself as an “idea book junkie” and LOVES sketches for both cards and layouts. Her other hobbies are: reading (she’s in two book clubs and loves to read just about anything), knitting (she just got back into it and now enjoys it more after finding the world of bamboo needles and projects using one skein of yarn), running and traveling. Heidi loves crossword puzzles and recently started playing Sudoku. Her “favorites” at the moment are: Grey's Anatomy, Vera Bradley purses, Coke Zero, Old Navy, the summer months, Clinique Happy perfume, Potbelly Sandwich Works, the color green, and dark chocolate.