Early Spring Sampler

Hi Crafty Friends!

We've just had another snow event and I'm dreaming of spring. I mean, I like a snow day as well as the next person, but I think I'm done with winter now. I had a good time crafting a little bit of Spring with this month's framed art sampler.

I decided to create out of the boxes for this sampler. And I was very much inspired by this card we made at the Maryland Stampers event.

Here are the measurements for the sampler:

Whisper White project base, 9" x 9"

Balmy Blue, 8 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Berry Burst,  8 1/4" x 8 1/4"

Long rectangle: Whisper White, 2" x 7", Balmy Blue, 2 1/8" x 7 1/8", and Crushed Curry, 2 1/4" x 7 1/4"

The medium rectangles are from our Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies, I used the 3 3/4" long rectangle. It's die cut out of Balmy Blue card stock. Whisper White, 2 1/2" x 3 7/8", and Crushed Curry, 2 5/8" x 4"

I had such a good time putting this all together. I had lots of fun with layers. 

Let's take a closer look at the different elements.

This corner is a celebration of the Stitched Labels Framelits Dies. The sentiment is from the Amazing Life stamp set, as is the little four leaf clover, which I stamped in Momento ink and colored with Old Olive Stampin' Blends. You'll need to fussy cut out the clover.

The little wood flower is from the free SAB Butterfly elements, witch are unfortunately now out of stock. If there are SAB items you are really wanting, I'd place your order now! The project will still look lovely without the wood elements, or perhaps you have some left over from a previous purchase.

I love this middle panel full of four leaf clovers! I even stamped, colored, and cut out two of them to pop up and bring a little more dimension to this panel.

These Butterfly Gala butterflies are so fun (and fingers crossed that the punch will be back in stock soon). To give them lots of dimension, there is a second set of butterflies with dimensionals in between each layer. I added some Silver Thread and Rhinestones. Did you notice the stitched stamped lines in the background? I used them in the other medium rectangle element too.

This element features the Needle & Thread bundle. I used the Stamparatus with the hinge technique to get the back ground lines stamped so nicely.

This last element uses the Foliage Frame Framelits. I used Old Olive and Mossy Meadow card stock. The sentiment is from the Colorful Seasons stamp set.

Look at those layers! Aren't they lovely??

I am super excited to share this project in class next week. Rsvp by Monday the 25th to join the fun. These framed art pieces are great for around the house or as gifts. 

Also available as a finished project or as a To Go kit (no stamped images). Contact me at audramonk@yahoo.com for more info.

Maryland Stampers Weekend

Hi Crafty Friends!

I had such a good time last weekend, I want to share it with you. 

I attended the 6th bi-annual Maryland Stampers event and did the full weekend option. The Maryland Stampers is a group of demonstrators that get together to share what we love. 

Which is Stampin' Up! of course! 

It's run by four very lovely ladies. They offer events for demos to meet and craft (and eat!) together. So this past weekend, I decided to treat myself to the full deal.

The event this time was held at the Solomons Navy Recreation Center. Usually it's a one day event held at a local community college (I say usually, but I'm not an expert! This was my third time attending.) but this time it was held at Solomons Island and there was the option for the full weekend.

It was cold and windy, but very nice. I arrived about 5:30 and got to enjoy the sunset. We then enjoyed some lovely snacks and a bit of crafting.

I learned some great card techniques! 

So don't be surprised if you see similar layouts in future classes.

The next day was full of crafting, first at the main event and then back at the cottage after dinner. An extra cool thing was that Tanner Smeadly, our DDM (I think that stands for District Demo Manager) came from the home office in Salt Lake City to share the day.

Great swag bags! And table gifts! And Prize Patrols.

Super cute make and takes.

A wow project.

This was my first time making a pop up box. Very cool! I learned some new techniques and had a great time chatting with the other demos and Tanner.

After a great dinner (and lots of yummy cookies) we had a shoebox swap. This is where each person designs a card and then brings all the supplies ready to stamp an assemble. 

Here are some of the projects we made.

This is the card I designed using some lovely new product available 2/15 and 3/1.

And here I am with the super awesome Maryland Stampers crew and Tanner. Lots of thanks and love to Tricia, Margaret, Terese, and Sandy for a great weekend and their friendship.

And that wraps up my report on my crafty weekend. These demonstrator events are so fun! 

You should totally think about joining my team and making new crafty friends. It's the best time ever to join! During Sale-A-Bration, you get 175 dollars of product for $99 with free shipping. I am here to answer any questions and help you on your Stampin' Up journey.

Stay Crafty!

Audra

2019 Scrapbook Class, Part 1

Hi Crafty Friends!

I am so excited to share my passion for scrapbooking with you. Let's start with two things, we need to free our pictures from our phones, and scrapbooking does not have to be hard or complicated.

I love taking pictures and scrapbooking was my first foray into paper crafts. 

This video kind of sums things up for me:

So you can see,  this whole free your pictures thing is really important to me. I love being able to take great pictures with my phone, but I've seen how the whole connivence of it is preventing lots and lots of us from having actual pictures we can look at and share.

My plan is to share my memory keeping process with you through several blog posts and videos. My hope is that my ideas will help you free your pics and give you a scrapbook to be proud of.

I am offering this as an in person class at my home, every other month through December and at the end of the year, your 2019 book will be done. Wow! Won't that be totally awesome?

Here is a quick video flip through and general ideas for getting started. After the video will be pictures of the first class offering with pricing info.

Let's take a closer look at the page layouts.

 I had such a fun time getting back onto traditional scrapbooking!

This is our cover page. This page uses the free SAB Botanical Butterfly DSP. The numbers are retired.

January's layout uses the Winter Woods stamp set and coordinating dies (they carried over from the Holiday catalog). Close up pics of each page follow.

The Letters for You and coordinating Large Letters dies will be the constant for each monthly two page spread. Next up is February. Get all the details from this blog post: Feb layout.

Each class will have an optional birthday or sometimes seasonal page. 

I used the Broadway Bound Suite for this page.

The in person class is coming up on Sunday February 24th at 1:30. RSVP by Feb 18. The class is $45, which includes all supplies and page protectors. The birthday page is an additional $7. If you order the Black Faux Leather Album from me, I'll take $5 off your class fee. This class is also available To Go (no stamped images) or as a completed project. Contact me for more info.

Free your pictures and stay crafty!

Audra

A Sweet Scrapbook Idea, ICS Blog Hop

Hi Crafty Friends!

It's the first Wednesday of the month and I'm sharing inspiration with the ICS Blog Hop Team. We're sharing all things love. I love Designer Series Paper (DSP) and boy do I love the All My Love DSP from our Occasions catalog. Today I'm sharing how I'm using this paper for my 2019 Scrapbook.

I've decided one of the important projects in 2019 for me, is to help you with your memory keeping. I'm planning a bunch of blog posts and videos with lots of different ways for scrapbooking. And we're just getting started with this post. I am offering an every other month Scrapbooking Class where we'll create 2 monthly two page spreads. 

And the one I'm sharing today is probably going to be one of my favorites!

I mean, how can you not love this paper? Crumb Cake, Flirty Flamingo and, Lovely Lipstick (doesn't Stampin' Up have the best color names?) are the featured colors. 

I decided for this layout to let the paper be the star of the show.

I've also used a few of our dies.

Our Letters For You stamp set with coordinating Large Letters dies is a big investment, but one that will earn its keep. You'll use them for years!

The Be Mine Stitched Framelits are another set you'll come to time after time. For Valentine's Day as well as weddings, anniversaries, and love projects. Bundle them with the coordinating Meant to Be stamp set and save 10%.

Hoping I've inspired you a bit on scrapbooking or with how awesome the All My Love Suite is.

Looking for more love inspiration? Click HERE or the next button below to see what my good friend Megan has to share.

Need scrapbooking help or inspiration? Check back often as I plan to be sharing lots all month. Want to shop for this great DSP or other items? Check out my store HERE. 

I'm here to help you with your crafty needs, so contact me anytime.

Stay Crafty!

Audra