Project: Name Card Holders for Your Holiday Dinner

Hello Scrappers--Sorry to have been away for so long, but I have been working on some major projects.  When I learned Mom would host Thanksgiving this year, I wanted to do a little something special for the table, so I searched for some ideas.  I came up with this little topiary, and it was pretty easy to do.  Here are some photos and steps in the process...

1) Start with a large or extra large daisy petal punch, some plain cardstock and a 6 x 6 double-sided paper pad like this one from MME.

2) The number of flower punchouts is determined by the size of your ball topiary--this one is 1.5 inches. I also cut some of the balls in half for the florist foam, used green stakes for the "branch" and then laid a little moss on top to cover the styrofoam.

3) Once you have your punched flowers, flip the edges up like this.

4) eesh--pardon my manicure in the above shot!  :)  Ok, now it is time to get your hot glue gun ready.  I use a cool shot--the burns aren't quite as easy to get with it.  I start at the bottom (or top really) and push pretty hard on the foam and squish the flowers together as tightly as possible.

5)  keep going until you have covered your foam ball with the flowers--the cut of the petals does look like a boxwood--such a classic topiary plant.  My mom loved these as we had one for each place setting and the guests could take them home.  I simply tied a little name tag to twine and attached it to the branch--sorry I didn't include the final picture of the table, but this gives you an idea of what it turned out like.

I thought I would share the whole process in case anyone was hosting some holiday dinners this December. :)  Thanks for stopping by!

Congrats to October Fabric and Challenge Winner Dawna

This month's Fabric and Trim Challenge Winner was my dear scrappy friend Dawna. You can check her out at sb.com here...http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/641373/view/3403529/-1.html.  A photo of her LO is below.  She is a gifted scrapper, and I am sure you will love looking at her gallery.

Dawna's prize this month is a "fat quarter" of black and creme toile fabric.  it is pictured below.  If you would like a chance to win it as well, please comment on this post and follow my blog.  If you do, I will put you in for a chance to win.  Thanks!

As for the November Challenge, it can be found here at sb.com. I hope you play along with us this month.


http://www.scrapbook.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/1566611/post/new/#NEW   


As for the prize, I haven't yet decided, but I promise it will be good.  Happy Scrapping!

A Couple of Quilled Cards

Hi Scrap Fans--I recently purchased a quill, and I am trying to get the pressure of my rolls down.  Here are two cards I made with the rolled papers.  The rolls are pretty forgiving to work with, but the circle becomes more perfect if you have completely equal pressure while rolling.  The circle in the middle of the sun is purposefully off-center.  Thanks for stopping in at the blog. :)

I used the same tool with doilies on this card.  Because it has a slot on the end, you can easily roll practically any paper--the doilies tend to rip with too much pressure though.  I used small doilies and cut them in a circular pattern to create the flowers on the card below.

Exploring the CuttleBug--Majestic Mountains of Montana

Hi Scrap Fans--Recently I purchased a cuttlebug, and it is possibly the most low-tech and fun to use tool that I own (besides maybe my distresser).  The texture it adds to LOs is really awesome.  Recently I visited my brother in Montana, and I took some pretty cool pix of the mountain ranges out there (seven without sight of his home!!). 

I wanted to capture how massive and awesome they are, and so I went a little crazy on the LO pictured below.  I distressed everything, even going so far as to completely crumple the cardstock and then smooth it back out and then used various textured plates to help make the various mountains dimensional.

I then used artist's medium for the snow and mistable ribbon for the clouds.  Underneath near the pond, I used a comb and dragged it through paint in order to get the texture of the field.  I know it is an unusual LO, but I really like how it came out...plus, it was featured on scrapbook.com's home page.  Makes a girl feel good. :)  Thanks for popping over to my blog!

Don't Forget The Fundraising Crop in Medford Lakes This Sunday November 6

Hello Scrap Fans__

If you are in or close to the jersey area, please come out for a Fundraising Crop on November 6, 2011.  Doors will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and price of admission includes breakfast, coffee, snacks and beverages throughout the day as well as entry into the cash prizes for best LOs of the day!  In addition, we will have vendors there to help with any supplies you may want to pick up, and there will be a chinese auction for some awesome goody bags.  There will also be a giveaway every hour!  How can you stay away??  Entry is $20 per person for 6 foot table of scrapping space and access to a cricut expression and cuttle bug.

Are you a novice who is just beginning to explore this hobby?  We'll have experts milling around to offer advice and tips too!  Page kits will be available for those who need a little nudge in the right direction as well.  If the full day doesn't fit into your schedule, come out after 1 p.m., and we'll slash the price of entry--no lunch will be included, but you can come and scrap for only $12.

Address of Event is: Vaughan Hall  79 Tecumseh Trail Medford Lakes, NJ 08055 .  If you have any questions or comments, please email me or leave a comment here.  I hope to see you!!

Just One More Halloween LO

this was in response to a scraptastic club challenge--we had a recipe.  One of the items was a spooky picture, so I treated Kiernan to an art lesson.  Below are two Halloween cards made from scraps.  I am trying to get better at card-making.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

More Halloween Fun!

I learned that this page has also been featured on scrapbook.com as both "cute" and "funny."  I love these papers, and did a little experimenting with distress stain--also some goodies from Authentique.  This was Halloween last year--had to change my journal after I snapped the picture.  Thanks for looking!