Good Morning All,
Today I have a request for you.......I received the following email from my cousin whose sister is battling brain cancer. She was diagnosed almost 2 years ago and was given 3 years to live. So far she is doing well, but who knows what lies ahead for her and her family. Please take a minute and read this email. Thanks so much!
Hi All,
We are very lucky in that my sister is doing so well with her brain cancer. Things so far are very good considering. However, I look all the time for ways to beat this monster : brain cancer. I can't imagine if this situation was different and I was writing this with my sister being a child, not an adult.
I received this from a member in a support group. Please take a minute to read this email and logon to American Express to nominate the PLGA foundation for a brain tumor research grant.PLGA (Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma) is critically underfunded and they are the most common form of children's brain tumors. The email below describes the steps to nomimate and is from the PLGA:5 minutes of your time could mean up to $2.5 million for PLGA research...
I am writing with an urgent request, because 5 minutes of your time could mean up to $2.5 million donated to PLGA brain tumor research.As of today, August 18th, the PLGA Foundation is in the running for a HUGE grant from American Express's philanthropic program. The hitch is that we need to get 10,000 people to NOMINATE the project BEFORE August 30th in order to be considered as a candidate for the funds.
This is where we need YOUR help. Nominating is EASY.
Just four steps:
1) Go to http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/NN934A which will automatically bring you to the summary of the "Project Brain Child" project
2) Click the "NOMINATE PROJECT" button
3) Sign in (If you are an Amex cardmember use your ONLINE user name and password as if you were viewing your credit card statement. If you are not an Amex cardmember sign in as a "Guest")
4) Click on "Nominate Project" again to register your vote.You are done! THIS TAKES 5 MINUTES TO COMPLETE.
For those of you who have time to do a little more.....when you are at http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/NN934A you can also click on the"Discussion Board" link at the bottom of the page and write a message that tells American Express why this is so important. (For example, no funds available, current treatments are toxic and punishing, not to mention ineffective, etc.)The ultimate thing you could do is reach out to your friends, colleagues, family, and any other groups where you might get the membership to vote for the project as well. (Feel free to also put the request on Facebook,MySpace, carepages, caringbridge, etc. page. and ask everyone to do the same.)The goal is HUGE, but 'viral marketing' can work...if each one of us reaches out to their email contact lists. We stand a chance if we stand together!!!!PLEASE, PLEASE help us get these funds for PLGA research.Thanks so much!
Amy WeinsteinExecutive DirectorPLGA Foundation
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Recent Pen Pal Cards
Happy Friday! What a long week this was.....up early for work and up late at night! I couldn't wait for today to roll around! I have my normal three-day weekend and I plan on sleeping in all three days! I was going to do the craft sale on Sunday with my daughter but she found out today that attendance isn't all that great for vendors so I think we are going to scrap it and do some other bigger fairs in the fall. My husband took the day off that day so he could be home for the kids so I guess we can all go to the pool or something.
So I wanted to share some cards I got this month. Sorry for the delay in thanking those who sent them and showing off their creations! This first card is from Tina in Wisconsin. I love these colors together! She made the brown starburst using a scallop circle punch which I haven't done or seen in person and it looks cool! I will have to try it. I love the sparkley flower in the middle too. Thank you Tina!!
This card is from Khara in Nebraska! OMG it's so cute! First I love the design of this card and I love her coloring on the bear and bees. I have to find out what she used because the yellow and black in the letters and on the bear has a shiny quality to it; not sparkly like glitter but maybe gel pen??? I don't know. But I love it!! Thanks Khara!!!
This card is from Tara in Arizona. I love the colors she chose and I love the layers. I love layered cards! She did a great job with the piercing next to the coffee cup; it's a nice detail. And I love cards with dimension. The sentiment and the coffee cup are raised. Thank you Tara! I love it!
So I wanted to share some cards I got this month. Sorry for the delay in thanking those who sent them and showing off their creations! This first card is from Tina in Wisconsin. I love these colors together! She made the brown starburst using a scallop circle punch which I haven't done or seen in person and it looks cool! I will have to try it. I love the sparkley flower in the middle too. Thank you Tina!!
This card is from Khara in Nebraska! OMG it's so cute! First I love the design of this card and I love her coloring on the bear and bees. I have to find out what she used because the yellow and black in the letters and on the bear has a shiny quality to it; not sparkly like glitter but maybe gel pen??? I don't know. But I love it!! Thanks Khara!!!
This card is from Tara in Arizona. I love the colors she chose and I love the layers. I love layered cards! She did a great job with the piercing next to the coffee cup; it's a nice detail. And I love cards with dimension. The sentiment and the coffee cup are raised. Thank you Tara! I love it!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Some wonderful Pen Pal Cards!
Hi everyone! It's a late weeknight for me! Gotta get up for work tomorrow, but wanted to say thank you for the wonderful Pen Pal cards I have received recently. I will post pictures of them tomorrow when I get home from work. Have a wonderful night!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Pocket Notes Purse Tutorial
Finally I finished my tutorial! Geez! I started typing this on the 10th (which is the post date) but today is the 18th. I worked all week and I am finally able to get back to my computer to finish it! Sorry for the delay....
Turn the paper and on both short sides score at 4 1/4”. 
Now cut on the last two score lines that you just made 1” to the other
score lines.
It should now look like this.
In this picture you see my scoring blade about 3/8" from the top of the purse front. I made a little mark so I knew where to place my word window punch. 
At this point I did all my stitching lines with a white gel pen (the one from SU is the best). I used my short ruler as a guide so my lines would be straight.
First I went along all the score marks (on either side of the score marks) going in one direction. 
Then I turned my paper one quarter turn and made all the stitch marks going in the other direction. Make sure your marks are DRY before you turn the paper or move the ruler. I made the mistake of dragging my ruler after making a fresh line of stitches and smeared them all! So I had to start over! UGH!!
I made lines around the punched opening and along the top edges. This is what it should look like when you are done. Okay see that center rectangle which will become the bottom?....You don't have to make stitch marks there.........I was just on a roll and kept going! LOL
Next, you are going to make sure this is completely dry before you run it through your cuttlebug! Place the embossing folder with the bumps facing up (the word Cuttlebug should be facing up) and your paper should be face up as well. When placed this way, the raised bumps will be on the outside of your box. If you do it the other way, your box will have dimples. LOL I don't worry about the bottom of the box having a texture so I just center my cardstock to cover the front and back of the box. In this picture, I am doing the back of the box.
Then you turn the paper around and do the front of the box.
This is what it looks like when you are done. 
Now it's time to put it together.... in this picture you can see my Tombow but hopefully you can also see some glue dots going along the sides of the top of the box. I just used a few for extra strength. I fold the flaps in like this and then put adhesive on all four sides of the the flaps. Then I only put adhesive on the the top portion of the box where the punched out hole is.....you don't have to put adhesive on the back of the box. 
Once you have all the adhesive on, fold the back of the box up and attach it to the flaps. Then you fold the front of the box up and attach that to the flaps and the sides.
Once that is complete, it should look like this.
Now you can move on to the belly band. The pattern paper is 1 1/2" x 12". The solid piece is 2" x 12". 
Adhere these two pieces together and add the stitching along both long sides. 
In the picture below, you will see that one end of the belly band is bent. Score just one end at 1 1/2" 
Place this bent piece on top of your box on the front. Don't stick it down yet. Turn your box around (the opening of the box is now facing you) with the belly band laying underneath it (the bent end is still where the front is) and the long end of the band is sticking out to the right. 
See where the belly band is sticking out? You are going to make a little mark with a pencil right next to the box on the belly band. You are marking where your next score mark is going to be. Because each box may be a tad different, score marks can not be pre-determined. So this is how I got a nice score mark all the way around the belly band. In the picture below, I have moved the box out of the way so you can see the mark I made for the new score mark. Now score it. 
Okay now you have two scored lines on your band. Now the band is underneath and the box is face up. You are now going to make a mark on the left of the box on the belly band. 
Now keep going in this manner until you have scored the whole band. It should look like the picture below. 
I ran adhesive down each score mark with a glue dot on each line as well. Can you see them in the picture below? 
To adhere it tot he box start at the front of the box again and adhere the end of the band to the front of the box about 3/8" below the punched hole. Go all the way around until you reach the front of the box again with the other end of the band. It should now look like this. 
Now we move on to the closure band that goes from the back of the box to the front and into the punched hole. Cut the solid cardstock to 1 1/2" x 7". Cut the pattern paper to 1" x 7". Adhere these two pieces together and do more stitching along both long sides. 
Round the corners on one end of the strap with your corner rounder. 
Adhere it to the back of the purse inside the box in this manner.......I slid the rounded end through the punched hole making sure I had enough length inside the box so that it wouldn't slide out. Then while that end was still in the whole, I grabbed the other end and attached it to the back, INSIDE THE BOX. 
Voila! You have your finished Purse! Isn't it cute?
There may be lots of pictures and steps in this tutorial but don't let that intimidate you; they are very easy to make! And fast too! Have fun! Let me know when you make one so I can see your masterpiece!
Okay first I have to say that this is not my pattern! Jan Tink shared her template on her blog and I actually made a chocolate version a while back. You can find her template here.
Here are the steps:
Here are the steps:
I cut the base of the purse from pink cardstock. It measures 5 1/2" x 10 1/2". On both long sides, score at 1 1/4” .
Turn the paper and on both short sides score at 4 1/4”. Now cut on the last two score lines that you just made 1” to the otherscore lines.
It should now look like this.In this picture you see my scoring blade about 3/8" from the top of the purse front. I made a little mark so I knew where to place my word window punch. At this point I did all my stitching lines with a white gel pen (the one from SU is the best). I used my short ruler as a guide so my lines would be straight.First I went along all the score marks (on either side of the score marks) going in one direction. Then I turned my paper one quarter turn and made all the stitch marks going in the other direction. Make sure your marks are DRY before you turn the paper or move the ruler. I made the mistake of dragging my ruler after making a fresh line of stitches and smeared them all! So I had to start over! UGH!!I made lines around the punched opening and along the top edges. This is what it should look like when you are done. Okay see that center rectangle which will become the bottom?....You don't have to make stitch marks there.........I was just on a roll and kept going! LOLNext, you are going to make sure this is completely dry before you run it through your cuttlebug! Place the embossing folder with the bumps facing up (the word Cuttlebug should be facing up) and your paper should be face up as well. When placed this way, the raised bumps will be on the outside of your box. If you do it the other way, your box will have dimples. LOL I don't worry about the bottom of the box having a texture so I just center my cardstock to cover the front and back of the box. In this picture, I am doing the back of the box.Then you turn the paper around and do the front of the box. This is what it looks like when you are done. Now it's time to put it together.... in this picture you can see my Tombow but hopefully you can also see some glue dots going along the sides of the top of the box. I just used a few for extra strength. I fold the flaps in like this and then put adhesive on all four sides of the the flaps. Then I only put adhesive on the the top portion of the box where the punched out hole is.....you don't have to put adhesive on the back of the box. Once you have all the adhesive on, fold the back of the box up and attach it to the flaps. Then you fold the front of the box up and attach that to the flaps and the sides.Once that is complete, it should look like this.Now you can move on to the belly band. The pattern paper is 1 1/2" x 12". The solid piece is 2" x 12". Adhere these two pieces together and add the stitching along both long sides. In the picture below, you will see that one end of the belly band is bent. Score just one end at 1 1/2" Place this bent piece on top of your box on the front. Don't stick it down yet. Turn your box around (the opening of the box is now facing you) with the belly band laying underneath it (the bent end is still where the front is) and the long end of the band is sticking out to the right. See where the belly band is sticking out? You are going to make a little mark with a pencil right next to the box on the belly band. You are marking where your next score mark is going to be. Because each box may be a tad different, score marks can not be pre-determined. So this is how I got a nice score mark all the way around the belly band. In the picture below, I have moved the box out of the way so you can see the mark I made for the new score mark. Now score it. Okay now you have two scored lines on your band. Now the band is underneath and the box is face up. You are now going to make a mark on the left of the box on the belly band. Now keep going in this manner until you have scored the whole band. It should look like the picture below. I ran adhesive down each score mark with a glue dot on each line as well. Can you see them in the picture below? To adhere it tot he box start at the front of the box again and adhere the end of the band to the front of the box about 3/8" below the punched hole. Go all the way around until you reach the front of the box again with the other end of the band. It should now look like this. Now we move on to the closure band that goes from the back of the box to the front and into the punched hole. Cut the solid cardstock to 1 1/2" x 7". Cut the pattern paper to 1" x 7". Adhere these two pieces together and do more stitching along both long sides. Round the corners on one end of the strap with your corner rounder. Adhere it to the back of the purse inside the box in this manner.......I slid the rounded end through the punched hole making sure I had enough length inside the box so that it wouldn't slide out. Then while that end was still in the whole, I grabbed the other end and attached it to the back, INSIDE THE BOX. Now to make the strap, cut a solid piece of cardstock to 3/4" x 11". Make more stitch marks! You're are going to hate faux stitching after this! LOL Once that is dry attach it to the box by punching a hole about 1 1/2" from each end. Then using your strap as a guide, punch holes on each side of your box. Place your strap in the box lining up the holes and place your brad through the flower and then through the holes and then open up the brad inside the box.
Repeat this on the other side. This is now what your box should look like. 
Now we move on to the medallion. Which I punched from scallop circle punches. First I stamped the cupcake and colored it and cut it out. I used Staedler Markers for coloring. They have a nice foam tip, so they will always stay pointy. I set that aside to dry. 
Repeat this on the other side. This is now what your box should look like. Now we move on to the medallion. Which I punched from scallop circle punches. First I stamped the cupcake and colored it and cut it out. I used Staedler Markers for coloring. They have a nice foam tip, so they will always stay pointy. I set that aside to dry. Then I punched out the circles I needed.
Next you assemble the circles. I adhered the larger green circle onto the box first. Then I put pop dots on the pink layer. The green goes on top of the pink and the cupcake goes on top of that. 
Next you assemble the circles. I adhered the larger green circle onto the box first. Then I put pop dots on the pink layer. The green goes on top of the pink and the cupcake goes on top of that. There may be lots of pictures and steps in this tutorial but don't let that intimidate you; they are very easy to make! And fast too! Have fun! Let me know when you make one so I can see your masterpiece!Pull Out Scrapbook
I made this for a class last month and I never took pictures of it! I finally took pictures
this weekend.
I didn't take any pics of the inside because I want to decorate it a little more first. If you haven't tried to make one of these, you have to! They are really easy and I love how sturdy they are. I used pattern paper that has this antique look to it. It's paper that I have had forever and never got around to using it! Do you have paper like that?? LOL The oval frame on front is pre-cut and purchased that way in a pack with about 20 frames. The embellishment on the top corner is something I cut out from extra paper. I really like it, it came out pretty cute. :) Thanks for stopping by!
this weekend.
I didn't take any pics of the inside because I want to decorate it a little more first. If you haven't tried to make one of these, you have to! They are really easy and I love how sturdy they are. I used pattern paper that has this antique look to it. It's paper that I have had forever and never got around to using it! Do you have paper like that?? LOL The oval frame on front is pre-cut and purchased that way in a pack with about 20 frames. The embellishment on the top corner is something I cut out from extra paper. I really like it, it came out pretty cute. :) Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Happy Sunday!
Hi everyone! Happy Sunday to you all! Today I am cleaning a little, doing laundry and I am going to try to squeeze some projects in. I have to make a sample for a class that's coming up. I was up late last night browsing other blogs and watching video tutorials. They are addicting! I am also gathering ideas on how to improve my own blog. Anyways just wanted to check in and say hello. It's raining here today so we won't be going anywhere; stuck in the house doing crafts! LOL Thanks for checking in!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Happy Friday!
Happy Friday everyone! I wish today was my Friday but I have to work tomorrow. I don't normally work on Saturdays so my weekend is Sunday and Monday this week. I don't have a project to share with you today :( but I have something else to share with you.......I love browsing blogs as I'm sure a lot of you do too! Sometimes I can spend hours at my computer visiting different blogs. Look at my list of favorite blogs and you'll see why it takes me so long! LOL. I discovered a new blog tonight thanks to Carol at SCS. Thanks for sharing, Carol!! The addy is http://www.kiyomikrafts.com/kiyomi/. Her name is Jenn and her projects are stunning! She is great tutorials and videos as well. You should visit her the next time your blog hopping!
I will be making new stuff this weekend because I have some classes coming up so be on the lookout for those.....one is a photo wallet, the other is something I call "No Calorie Desserts." Won't tell you what that consists of quite yet! :) Soon I will be setting up links to descriptions of my classes that are held in Essex Junction. I have the list started but you can't click on them yet.
I also started a new list of books that I am currently reading or have recently read. In case any of you are readers out there.........
So have a wonderful Friday and I will check in tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by and go say hi to Jenn! :)
I will be making new stuff this weekend because I have some classes coming up so be on the lookout for those.....one is a photo wallet, the other is something I call "No Calorie Desserts." Won't tell you what that consists of quite yet! :) Soon I will be setting up links to descriptions of my classes that are held in Essex Junction. I have the list started but you can't click on them yet.
I also started a new list of books that I am currently reading or have recently read. In case any of you are readers out there.........
So have a wonderful Friday and I will check in tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by and go say hi to Jenn! :)
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