Morgan's Birthday Card

I made this A2 card for my granddaughter's third birthday. When I asked her mom what she wanted for her birthday, I hear my practically perfect grandbaby girl holler "purple!" So everything about her gifts from us is PURPLE!

I used cardstock from The Paper Cut -- Grape Jelly and Grapsicle. I wanted to decorate inside of the card as well as the outside, so a heart-balloon diecut seemed to be the perfect addition. I selected black and white ribbon is from May Arts for my decorative touch because it's a good neutral color. I used my Imaginisce ribbon cutter to cauterize the ends of the simple knot to keep them from raveling. My Heart Balloon is an Elizabeth Craft Die. I used two Memento inks --  Tuxedo Black and Smoky Plum. Copic Markers Used: E000, E00, YR00, R20, E97, YR18, E19, C1, C5, C7, V0, and V04.

Snow One Like You

This is the first of of my January Table Classes which I will be teaching at a private residence this evening. This adorable snow couple is from SparkleNSprinkle's Stamp Set 515 Snow One Like You. We will color with the brush tip of our Copic  markers unless otherwise indicated.  I used the following markers: B00, B02, B04, C1, E55, R21, R22, R24, R81, R85, YR 04, YR07, YR24 and the colorless blender. I also used Memento Tuxedo Black to stamp the snow couple, Summer Sky to stamp the snowflakes, and Nautical Blue to stamp the sentiment and to edge the surfaces. I die cut Circle 1 (smallest) of Spellbinders S2-125 Classic Scalloped Circles Small for my  sentiment. 

Before we begin coloring, prepare your image by coloring with the colorless blender.

1.  Shade edges with Copic Marker C1 to enhance shape. Then brush shadows to ground snow people.

2. Apply a base coat of B00 on the scarf, hat and mittens. This photo does not show the scarf totally colored; it should be. See sample in step 4.

3.   Flick B02 along cap edge and scarf stripes. Circular shape on mittens.

4.  Blend cap edge with B00.

  5.    Add B04 to edges of scarf, cap and mittens. Blend with B00. Repeat as needed.

7.      Color with YR04 on the carrot noses.

8.       Shade carrot with YR07.

9. Color R21 on the poinsettia leaves to create a base coat.

10.   Flick R22 from center of flower outer edge, one petal at a time.

11.   Flick R24 from center of flowers out.

12.   Blend with R21.

13.   Color center poinsettia with YR24.

14.   Color stems with YG25

15.   Color snow girl's hat, bow, scarf and pocket with R81.

16.  Shade hat, bow and pocket with R85.

17.   Blend all three with R81.

18.   Repeat steps 16 and 17 as needed.

19.   Color R21 base coat on birds and candy cane stripes.

20.   Accent with R24.

21.   Blend with R21

22.   Color stick arms with E55.

23.   Shade candy cane and stick arms with C1

24.   Color Eyes with B04.Then Random stamp snowflakes with Memento 604 Summer Sky Dye Ink.

To finished the card I rounded the corners on the images and an A2 card which I cut from blue Bazzill cardstock from my cache. After edging the cardstock and the image base with Memento Nautical Blue, I applied Stickles' Diamond Dust glitter glue to the centers and tips of the snowflakes. I cut white cardstock with small, scalloped circle die and stamped it with the sentiment.I edged the scallop with Memento Nautical Blue and adhered it to the card front with foam dots.

Of Course You Love Me!

I had a lot of fun putting this Art Impressions card set together. This is the Tina Set #4512 and we have some in stock in our store. I used The Paper Cut Front Stair Step Card for my base, Love My Tape Read Heart Border Washi Tape for my border, and the following Copic Markers: YR20 Yellowish Shade; YR 24 Pale Sepia, R81 Rose Pink; R83 Rose Mist; R24 Prawn; R27 Cadmium Red; Y28 Lionet Gold; B32 Pale Blue; and Spica 11 Gold. I have the product available in our store and should have them posted in our scrappigators shopping cart by the end of this week. Feel free to email me at dcookwrites@cookworkshop.com for more information.

Project Life Organizers

 I'm totally excited about Project Life -- so much so that I've signed up for two Big Picture classes and one Studio Calico one. During the last quarter of 2013, I acquired multiple core kits, some mini kits and several theme kits. Before I knew it, I was overwhelmed with product.

I tried several storage solutions and one of the best seemed to keep them in Iris photo boxes. It got them out of sight, but they were not accessible. I didn't have a clue about what I had in the boxes.

Finally, I found the solution during a shopping trip at my local WalMart store. The timing was perfect. I purchased two three-compartment organizers (Mainstays Model# MS12-016-250-10). These clear, heavy plastic trays measure 13.88"L x 11.88"W x 4"H and will fit in drawers or on top of other tables or furniture. Since I'm more likely to use something I can see, I first placed them on top of a cart next to my work table. But that wasn't close enough. Now, my two bins -- one for 3x4 cards and one for 4x6 -- share space on my 6'x30" work table. Each bin cost $6.94 -- a bargain at any price. I separated the 3”x4” cards by theme or topic. I created my dividers with cardstock cut 3" x 4.5". For the moment, the 4”x5” cards are separated by core kit name or theme.

Positioning the trays onto the work table has worked very well. The thing I like best is that I can grab a journaling card and jot down anecdotes when life happens, with or without photos.

Parker's Hidden Gift

I always ask my daughter-in-law about appropriate gifts for our grandchildren. The two little ones (ages 2 and 5) are pretty easy to buy for, but our 13 year old grandson continues to be a mystery. This year Parker wanted money so he could by a pair of $250 sneakers that his parents refused to purchase. So I decided to create a Sn@p scrapbook with the money tucked inside somewhere. I used a Simple Stories 2-ring notebook to create his 2013 scrapbook.

 I love the way the cover turned out after I painted it with a Viva Décor’s 3-D Stamp Paint. I used Carmine Red Metallic as a base coat and then added a light coat of Black as a second layer. I then added some washi tape from my stash to cover the point where the black cloth binding meets the naked chipboard.

 

 I used these images as a cover page to Parker’s Sn@p book. I actually cut out one of the Parker images and attached him with foam dots.

 

  I dropped in photos and appropriate sentiment cards to capture these candid photo moments

 

 This photo set was taken on June 30^th in the family’s new home in a different part of their Montclair development.

 

 On the left, Parker was demonstrating his athletic prowess. I left room for him to share his thoughts. On the right and below are images from our field trip to the National Aquarium in Washington, DC.

 

Then we stopped at Johnny Rocket for dinner. It was the first time Dave and I had been there, but it is one of Parker’s favorites. As I recall, it was located at the Metro Train Station.

 

Much to Parker’s surprise, he got to pay for everyone’s meal with his brand new pre-paid credit card.

In the photo on the right, Parker is just about ready to leave for his first day of Junior High School.

 

These last pages are from Parker’s first football game.  This is where I stopped because I simply ran out of time. When we see him this weekend, I may give him so more pages that will take his journey to the end of the year.

 

The “hidden gift” was money I put in the bottom 4”x6” pocket for him to add to his shoe fund. Unfortunately, my photoshop elements wouldn’t let me crop/edit the photo because of the money inside. He had to look through the whole book to get to the “prize” at the end.