Busy Times Ahead.

Have you signed up for the upcoming classes yet?  Don't be disappointed as one customer was just recently.  She completely missed all the Christmas cardmaking classes due to the busyness of life.  Don't let that happen to you. 

We have another cardmaking class tomorrow, though of course that now is full.  We'll be making a Christmas card, a birthday card and two card fronts for your stash for those times when you get caught short.  Does that happen to you?  Funny isn't it how even though we know a birthday/anniversary falls on the same date every year, we suddenly realise the day before (if we're lucky) that this is the day! 

Next thursday (24th) we have our calendar class.  We've almost got all the samples complete now, just one more month to go and then cutting of kits.  The ladies will be completing 12 mini pages (6 x 6) that will have space for one to two photos per month as well as the monthly calendar.  These pages will be hanging from a frame that can stand on your desk, counter or shelf.  Then next year you can take it, replace the calendar with another small photo and put these pages into a 6 x 6 album.  A gift that can conceivably cover two years.  Great to give to a Mom/Grandma who really doesn't want anything.

Then the following thursday, (Dec 1st) we have a quickie gift class.  There we will be making gifts that you can give as hostess, co-worker or teacher gifts.  Linda sent me a photo of the one she was making today...so darn cute!!!  There will be three in total, so not to be missed, make sure you call before the class is full.

Do you like to colour?  I hate it personally, but both Linda and my sister enjoy it.  I found these Mandella drawings that you can colour and have as a focal point on your card or even as a portion of your scrapbook page.  Head on over here where a very talented artist Thaneeya McArdle is sharing with anyone that wants to use her work for their personal use.

Did I tell you that I've been working on re-organising my craft room (hence not too much blogging)?  A year or two ago when Linda had her new kitchen put in, I inherited some of her old cabinets that she didn't want.  Though they gave me lots of storage, I never quite organised it, so I'm in the process now.  In doing that, I got rid of my old crafting desk and purchased a slab door for a desk.  I've hung it from the wall and the other end is on top of a small bookcase that we've had for years, making a long desk through the middle of the room from the window.   Works so much better because I can easily access the table from both sides.  It doesn't stop there though.  I've hung some other shelves on the wall for my scraps of cardstock.  I'll show you a photo of those, but you'll have to wait to see the complete revamp.  I want to paint everything to pull it together, but first have to paint the frames for the new windows we recently had installed. 

 
 I have 10 baskets in total, well actually 9 because the Dollar Store has no more white, so I'm hoping I'll be able to pick one up somewhere else.  The tags quickly show me what colour is in each basket.  I was inspired by paint chips to make the labels using my cardstock scraps in a badge holder.  They are  hung with elastic at the moment, but I'll change that to be the appropriate colour ribbon soon.  It has been really successful and looks quite neat too.

 

Last but not least, here's a look at the card I made for Linda's birthday last Monday.  Have another one to make for her husband's birthday on Friday.  Note I said another one to make.  It's not done yet!

Talk to you all later, if I don't see you in the store soon....

Lilian

Catching up - Slowly but surely

How does that saying go, slow and steady wins the race!  Well slowly but steadily we are getting caught up......however of course there are more classes in the planning stages!  So are we ever really caught up?  Never mind, it means that every day we have a task to perform, so that's good isn't it?  I've posted some more photos on Flickr tonight, so pop on over there to have a look.

In posting the October Thursday technique class I looked at this card again.   Made by stamping the oak leaves using the Tim Holtz Distress inks I really love the colours.  Need it be said that I'm a Fall colour person, born in the Fall of the year and now in the Fall of my life...LOL. 
With the Sizzix embossing folder behind the leaves, they look like they are swirling in the wind.

Did you enjoy the beautiful weekend we just had?  When we were outside yesterday, my husband pointed out that the temperature was a balmy 13 degrees Celsius.  (I can't not mention that as we were doing yardwork there were two ladies walking by who offered us pointers on how to work, but didn't stop to help!)  Then today Linda's husband was outside working dressed in shorts!  This November is one to enjoy and treasure as it shortens up the winter for us.  However after my granddaughter Rachel was at my home for a sewing lesson today after school, we realised that it had quickly become dark with the changing of the clocks this past weekend.

As I mentioned earlier in this posting, Linda and I have been busy planning and prepping some new classes for you, so be sure to check out the newsletter for dates.  Don't be slow in signing up and finding they are all full!

Here's a nice idea here if you are a sewer for making your own fabric storage boxes.  Though we don't sell fabric, we do sell the plastic canvas that was used between layers to stiffen the box.  Enjoy.

Lilian

I'm back......did you miss me?

No we didn't fall overboard whilst on our cruise.  It was just that when we came back we took off running.  With three all day Christmas card classes for 66 ladies, a scrapbooking weekend with 40 ladies, as well as some regular classes, there was no time to think let alone blog!!
It took an email from a concerned customer today as well as hosting the last Christmas card class yesterday to make me feel ready to sit down and blog again.  So here I am.

There were so many things in the past few weeks that made me think...I must put that on the blog, that you will be inundated in the next days/weeks with stuff!  Hopefully it will be stuff to make you happy and feel creative.

Linda finished a lovely paper Christmas tree today that may spark your creative juices for the coming season.  As well we had a card class tonight and the ladies made yet another Christmas card along with two decorative tags and a greeting card.  They were busy ladies tonight and the store reverberated with their happy laughter....it was fun.  I'll post those later on the Flickr site, though here's one tag to tease you and if you look closely you can see a corner of the other one.

Do you see that lovely green double sided satin ribbon bow and trim at the bottom?  Well from the time that tag was made to the time we went to cut the kits a whole roll of ribbon has gone missing in action!  We can't find it anywhere and unfortunately I have to 'fess up to being the one that likely lost it!  I'm notorious for having product in my hand and then going to help a customer and putting that which is in my hand down "somewhere" in the store.  Even today we were looking on the shelves for the roll of ribbon and couldn't find it, so the ladies at class had a similar colour but in grosgrain rather than satin...still it looked pretty.

Anyway I'm not going to make this a lengthy post tonight.  I will share a site with you that I found for some free fonts...never have enough of them and love them for cutting with my Silhouette for scrapbooking titles, gives me so much choice.  Click here to go and see them.   I really liked that Stampin Rachel font.

No I didn't forget to put the photo in of  the paper Christmas tree Linda made.  Here it is hope you enjoy.  I "bumped" the photo from my iphone to my ipad...ask me about that "app" sometime...it's really amazing technology.

So, to make the tree you have to go into your local scrapbooking and craft store, preferably the Craft Nook in Bracebridge. There you purchase a styrofoam cone, bell, sequin pins a small amount of braid trim and three papers of your choice.  We used two of one and one of another. The paper strips are cut at 4" x 1/2".  Easy peasy and done in very little time.  

Happy Crafting...

I'll be posting the cards that we did for the Christmas card classes onto the Flickr site in the next couple of days, so keep looking  for them.  Maybe they will offer you some inspiration too.


Lilian