Work It Wednesday - April 30th

So, I don't know about you, but where I live it rained all day yesterday. All day! I don't mind rain, like it actually. However, rainy spring afternoons and bored kids don't always make the best combination. So, for today's Work It Wednesday I wanted to share a quick trick for all you mothers, aunts, babysitters, grandmas, or generally anyone who associates with kids and might need a quick idea to keep them entertained. The best part about this is you can use your scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies and, once again, work them beyond their original purpose.

You can click on the photo to see it larger if needed. But basically here's what you do:

1- You get a roll of self-adhesive magnets (you can buy these at Judy's - see last photo) and pick out two different patterns of paper.

2- cut the magnets and paper into small squares. No exact measurements needed, just cut.

3- add magnets to back of paper and then place pieces on magnetic surface, like your fridge. The next step is to play tic-tac-toe for hours! It's that simple. I you want to take it even further, you can laminate your pieces or embellish them as much as you'd like.

And, because Mother's day is coming up here's another quick idea you can do using magnets and photos too. Find some favorite photos of the people you love and turn them into fridge magnets. Here are some of my girls that we use on a daily basis to hang up their art work or love notes. You could make several of these rather inexpensively, stack them on top of each other and tie a nice big bow around them and give them to grandma for Mother's day! A perfect gift and easy to do.


Enjoy!
Amy

School papers

I'm not sure if you are aware of it or not but Judy's carries several unique papers that are custom ordered. Our high school papers are a good example of that. We have paper for Bangor, Brewer, Old Town and Orono high schools and because they are custom ordered you won't find them just anywhere. We're also stocking up on another hard to find items, like field hockey products. The first photo shown is of some field hockey 12x12 paper that we are currently carrying. Stop in and see what other custom items and unique papers we carry.

Prom season

The photos aren't the greatest but I know it's Prom season and you all might be looking for prom themed products.
I just wanted to let you know that Judy's has some different options to choose from, however these where my favorite. If only they were available in 1991.

And, since Prom isn't the only thing that happens in high school, check back tomorrow for some other fun new high school related products.

Just for Judy!

Last week I sent out a store email that I didn't ask Judy's permission to send. Normally we keep those emails for information related to new product arrivals, classes or crops but for this occasion I let you all in on a little surprise for Judy, and luckily no one spilled the beans. The request, in case you didn't get the email, was to send Judy a little note to help her count down to her upcoming 50th birthday. Between family members, friends, and store customers, the response was overwhelming.

The idea is that Judy will open one message a day, for 50 days, until she reaches her birthday. I believe she is having a great time with this. Everyday is a new surprise for her as to who the message is from and what it will say. So, because so many of you joined in and sent her special messages I want to include you in on the fun and show you some visuals of the end result.


Anyway, I just wanted to share the book and say thanks. THANK YOU to all who joined in! Judy's big day will be so much more fun because of your kindness and friendship. (If you'd like to see the book in person I hear Judy takes it with her to the shop everyday. Pop in and check it out!)

Smiles!
Amy

P.S. - A special shout out of THANKS needs to go to Jo-lyn and Jo (Judy's sister and mom) and Steve (Judy's Hubby) and Barb (Judy's mother-in-law) .... These four people helped spread the word and even sent pictures of Judy - I couldn't have done this without their help!

P.S.S - And, because we've had a bunch of inquires, if you are interested in making or buying one of these countdown books for a friend or loved one, let us know! You'll have to collect all the messages but we can help you out with the book building part. We can construct the book for you or walk you through the process in an upcoming class

Work It Wednesday - Earth Day

So, yesterday was Earth day. There is so much talk about global footprints and going green that I thought we might as well hop on the bandwagon and incorporate a little nature in our crafting. Here are just a couple of quick ideas:


Idea 1) Did you know that you can add rub-ons to almost anything? It's true. Try it. Grab a rock, a small flat one works best, and add a rub-on. I did this using a heart rub-on and then added it to a very simple, almost plain card - the inside, as you can probably tell, says "you rock"

Idea 2) If you get the right size of rocks you can even add them to your layouts. I'm not big on bulk but small flat ones from a beach work great to make a border.

Idea 3) Grab some leaves and do a quick leaf rubbing for a unique background paper on a layout

Idea 4) Add seaglass or really small pebbles to the outside cover of a mini album. This works great if you are doing a themed mini album, say on camping, and you collect these items while you are on your trip.

Idea 5) Similar to #4, add a stick or found object to decorate and embellish your project.

Idea 6) Mona added this idea to the comments and since not everyone reads the comments, I wanted to add it here (Thanks Mona!): "Isn't it amazing what's out there free for the taking!?!?! Bark from birch trees works well too when looking for something organic to add to a lay-out or for use on one of those cards we sometimes need for the men in our lives. Just tuck a bit of bark behind an image you have stamped onto a piece of torn paper, or better yet, stamp right onto the bark."

Idea 7) Pressed flowers!

Sometimes using found or nature items isn't something we automatically think of, but it's kind of fun to think outside of the box and see what you can come up with.

Enjoy!
Amy

ahh Spring!

I don't know about you but I've been totally enjoying the nice Spring weather. It's been so nice. As I've been outside or have had the windows open, I've been more aware this year of the birds. I'm hearing them every where and they all seem so happy. Because of that I wanted to share with you some cute little birds that we have in the shop - Don't they make you happy just looking at them?!

Work It Wednesday - kits!

I had big plans for the first work it Wednesday after the crop, however, the day is quickly passing so I will save my idea for next week and make today's post short and sweet.

One thing we did at the crop was work with kits. Everyone who attended got a class kit with all the items needed to make a cute little book. Everything was pre-cut and packaged so it made the actual creating process quick and easy. Sometimes I like spending a lot of time on my designs and sometimes I don't. So, when I want to whip something up quickly, using a kit is a good way for me to do that. It just helps me work my craft a little easier.

Just like the class kits, we also packaged up - with photoinstructions included, several other little kits. If you want a way to jump start your creativity without having to think much, this is a good way to go. You can follow the photo samples exactly and just glue your items in place or you can take the items in the kit and add and subtract items as you wish, in turn making it your own.

So, for today I wanted to show you some of the projects that we made kits for and maybe you'll want one (we have these kits for sell in the shop) or maybe it will inspire you to put together a little kit of your own for the next time you scrap.

I'm a happy Cropper!

Hello Everyone!

I'm pleased to announce that we all survived our weekend crop. I had a great time and want to Thank everyone for coming. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of prizes, a lot of cookies and a lot of very nice women sharing a lot of creative ideas. Seriously, what could be better than that?

Here is a photo of the goodie bag everyone got when they arrived and some of the papers inside and large chipboard shape included:


I over heard a few conversations about what different scrappers were going to do with their items in their goodie bags. A few had some ideas, some even dove in and used them right away. But for those of you who wanted an extra idea or two, I'm including some images from a little book I made yesterday.


(If you weren't at the crop but are interested, all the items shown can be purchased at the shop. The chipboard shapes and papers are from Fancy Pants and the journaling boxes I added on my own using a stamp I bought from Judy.)

I also want to brag a little, ok a lot - I'm raising a creative child! I've passed along the scrapbooking gene! That makes me happy! Here's what my 10 year old created using items from the goodie bag - I'm so proud!


We can all learn a little lesson here, she was amazingly creative and was not worried about it being perfect. She made her own flower (top right box), She thought that the pattern on the paper should stand out more, so she outlined it (bottom left) - very cool idea. And she used her own hand-writting (bottom right). I love this little book she has made about the things she enjoys.

If you attended the crop, I'd love to see what you made with your items in your goodie bag. And, if you didn't attended but are somehow inspired to create something because you saw this post, well, then, I'd love to see what you created too. Do share! Maybe I'll even post it here.

Smiles,
Amy

Thursday

Ok Croppers - are you ready to CROP??? For those of you that have signed up and need directions to the crop hall, here's a map for you. See you in a few days.

And, in keeping with the schedule here's your product pick of the day:


Tim Holtz
Distress Crackle Paint

This stuff is really groovy. It comes in a few different colors and is really easy to use. Check it out!

Happy Thursday!

Work It Wednesday

It's yet another Work It Wednesday. Today I will be working my way up to the store to spend some time with Judy. I love the vibe of being in the store and sense of possibility and creativity that I always get when I'm there. I always walk out with something I'm certain I didn't need but it was just too yummy to pass up on. Speaking of yummy, I think I've talked about this before, but for a very long time I'd describe products and papers as "yummy" if I liked them. Have you done that yourself?

Well I was wondering what to post today for Work It Wednesday and came across some photos and layouts I did that are, well, yummy. (They are yummy because of the photo subject not because of my talents or lack there of.) These reminded me of something I've done that just extends my hobby one step further and applies it to real life. I've worked scrapbooking into another area in my home and that just makes me happy. So, if you haven't ever made a cook book, maybe it is time.



Next time you do some cooking or baking simply take a photo of your yummy creation before it is consumed. Then when you have a few photos ready to go, print them out, determine your cook book size, add the photos to one side and the recipe to other. And, there you go! A simple, yummy, practical use for your hobby. Plus, if you make a few extra copies of your photos you can make a few copies of your cookbook and share them with friends or give them as gifts.

Enjoy!

p.s. - Keep in mind you can put your recipes in a book or album or you can keep them on individual pages and store them in a recipe box. And if you want to add cooking theme product to your yummy project we've got items in stock for you to check out.

Tuesday

Here's your product shot of the day:

Colored
Pencil

Do you have some of these pretty colors in your stash?

Use them to doodle in your own page borders, color in stamped images, and in some cases even color on black and white photos for a hand tinted look.

If you don't have any, you might want some...

Monday

Hey there! This week is going to be a busy one for me and Judy. Our crop is this weekend and we are EXCITED!!! A lot of the stuff is already done but there is still a lot to do. So this week, I will still be updating the blog but it will be of product picks from the store. I will show a variety of stuff; some old, some new, some paper crafts related, some not. All of which have one thing in common, they are all worth having so stop by and check them out. So, without further delay, here's my first one - Stickles!

Did you know you can use Stickles in a variety of different ways? One of my favorite ways is to trace the patterns on pattern paper. It gives the paper a little dimension and whole lot of pop. Try it! it's cool!

Amy

Just a quick product update for you all. Remember Vellum? It's coming back. We've got some different styles and prints in stock as well as Vellum Spray to go with it.

Work It Wednesday - Perfection part 2

So last week I shared a little something that helps me out and creates a small sense of perfection on my pages. I asked you all to share your most used or favorite item that does the same for you and you know what, only one person responded so MONA - YOU WIN!!!

You can read Mona's comment on the post below but she said it was her shaped punches and I do agree with her. Punches really are a great invention. I mean, trying to trace a circle from an upside bowl or lid and then cut it out perfectly is a thing of the past - so happy about that.

So, what did Mona win? She won a collection pack of the new Basic Grey papers we just started carrying. The pack comes with 18 papers, one sheet coordinating alphabet stickers and one sheet coordinating cardstock stickers.

Her prize is actually another way to achieve perfection in your designs. There are so many products and papers out there that come with coordinating items that it really does make it easier to scrapbook. If you find a paper you like, chances are good their are stickers to match.

I used to teach classes on how to match up paper and now I don't have to because papers are coming out in coordinated sets - how awesome and easy is that! Perfect if you ask me. So, if you are one that looks at pattern papers and is overwhelmed by your options and confused by your choices, then today's Work it Wednesday is for you. Go through your stash and look for papers made by the same company and then create a layout using items from that coordinated paper line. If nothing else, you've got one more layout done and it will be perfectly matched as the papers will automatically go together. Here's a project I did using a coordinated line from Fancy Pants, it was easy and it's perfect in my book because the papers all coordinate and match.


Enjoy.
Amy

P.S. - all the supplies used in the photo can be bought at the store. I used a folding accordion book by Kaiser, Fancy pants papers, some monogram letters and black rub-ons. Oh and a brad or two.