I love when my sister sends me picture messages of my beautiful nephews. These are the last 2 she sent me of the loves of my life! I need to plan their scrapbooks. Jellybean’s scrapbook needs major updating and I need to start the baby’s book. I have a lot of planning to do. Oy!

One of my favorite things is finding a deal at Big Lots. I’ve been dying to find cork sheets thin enough to run through my Sizzix Big Shot for a while and haven’t had the courage to splurge on the Sizzix Cork sheets in the new Stampin’ Up catalog (6 – 6″ x 13″ Sheets for $9.99 item# 119819). Saturday morning after Dub Club, I stopped by Big Lots for a couple last minute things for a Craft Date with my BFF, Andreanna. On my way to the back of the store to visit the latest clearance items, I found a roll of Martha Stewart Cork shelf liner. I almost passed it up and it SCREAMED my name!! Five bucks. How could I pass it up? I like that it is on a roll and not sheets. I can cut as much or as little as I need. I tested the Lattice die first. Wow! I am addicted and cannot wait to make cork embelishments my next trademark. Cards and layouts to come.

I have another craft date nite with another friend. I cannot wait to hang out and catch up with her. I’m having her over to make a few cards. I thought I would plan ahead in case she is not ready to create from scratch. I want her to have something to take home so I decided to make 3 cards for her to copy. As I made the cards, I cut all the pieces for her and put them in the envelope for the card. That way she has 2 of each card. I made a lil box with a lid for her. I used transparency film to make a box top. Most of the supplies are Stampin’ Up. I am too lazy to list all the supplies out. Sorry if I am breaking some kind of scrapbook code by not listing out the supplies. Sue me. I cased one of the cards. I gave proper credit on my 2Peas account. Here is a sneak peek at the card set. I’ll be sure to post pics from my craft date with Dian.

Happy Crafting!

I am enjoying spending time with my friend, Kristin. She is my new “Running Partner”. We are getting to know each other and having fun exploring east Austin. This week we had dinner at Blue Dahlia Bistro on 11th. The picture above is what greeted us when we left. I can’t wait to plan where we will visit next.

(Click to view larger)

P.U.S.H. – PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS

I just wanted to revisit the wonderful experience I had at the Women’s Retreat this past spring by positng some of my favorite iPhoneography shots I took that weekend. Enjoy!

I thought I would share a few things I do when I need to cut multiple pages or cards and want to make percise and consistent cuts or score lines.

• The supplies I use are: a paper trimmer with a swing out arm, 2 Binder clips and a piece of scrap cardboard that is slightly thicker than the cardstock. I used the back cardboard for the last DCWV stack I purchased
• If the measurement falls on the swing out arm, I clip a binder clip on the arm from the inside, lining up the inside edge of the clip at the measurement I need to cut or score. In this case, I lined the clip up at 5.5″. Slide your cardstock against the edge of the binder clip and then cut or score.
• If the measurement falls on the main part of the paper trimmer, I use a shim made out of cardboard. Using a piece that is thicker than the cardstock I am cutting allows the cardstock to butt up against the shim easily. The medium binder clips I use do not have very deep reach but are big enough to clip onto the shim and trimmer just fine. I lined up the edge of the shim in this demo at the 4.25″ trim/score line. Rule of thumb: The smaller the measurement, the wider the shim. I secure the shim to the trimmer using at least 2 binder clips to secure the shim in place.
• With the shim set in place, you can set up a pretty quick assembly line. Using these simple tips will help you with accurate measurements and consistent cards or pages. This tip helps most when making pages for my mini albums.

I hope you find this tutorial/tip useful. Feel free to trackback and leave comments.

HAPPY CRAFTING!