Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
BLOG GIVEAWAY....
Hey,
I wanted to let everyone know that we are planning our FIRST EVER blog candy giveaway.
Kitty will be posting the Giveaway goodies later... so stop by again soon!!
Be sure to sign up to FOLLOW the KC CROPPERS blog for more fun giveaways coming monthly!!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving!! We had a wonderful dinner... thanks to KITTY!
She did all the cooking... I am only good at making PB & J sandwiches! LOL! Back to work tomorrow!!! Ughhhh!
I wanted to let everyone know that we are planning our FIRST EVER blog candy giveaway.
Kitty will be posting the Giveaway goodies later... so stop by again soon!!
Be sure to sign up to FOLLOW the KC CROPPERS blog for more fun giveaways coming monthly!!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving!! We had a wonderful dinner... thanks to KITTY!
She did all the cooking... I am only good at making PB & J sandwiches! LOL! Back to work tomorrow!!! Ughhhh!
Christmas Cards
To create this card, I used paper & diecuts from DCWV.The Angels are from a vintage Christmas card image.
I used a glitter gel pen to outline the angels image.
The glitter pen doesn't show up very well in the pic. :(
These two cards (above & below) are very similar.
I used Daisy D's background paper...
which is aso where the round angels image came from.
I used Diamond stickles on the Angel wings... looks a bit gold in the pic
but looks way much better in real life.
The beads are wired beads from Hobby Lobby.
I used my Fiskars Treading Water Border punch on white paper.
Then used my cuttlebug to emboss the vellum stip in the center.
I didn't add velum to the below photo.
Below is the Christmas card I created at the
Couple Christmas Card Crop. (see post below)
We each had the same paper, 4 buttons, and use of
a variety of stamps, stickles, and other embellishments.
I embossed the green paper in center with tiny polkadots...
but doesn't show up well in the pic.
The Couples Christmas Card Crop was loads of fun... who knows...
we may have started a tradition for every year.
I hope none of the husbands are reading this! LOL!
Couple Christmas Card Crop. (see post below)
We each had the same paper, 4 buttons, and use of
a variety of stamps, stickles, and other embellishments.
I embossed the green paper in center with tiny polkadots...
but doesn't show up well in the pic.
The Couples Christmas Card Crop was loads of fun... who knows...
we may have started a tradition for every year.
I hope none of the husbands are reading this! LOL!
Couples Christmas Card Crop
After eating a delicious Thanksgiving dinner,
a couple of friends and I gathered around the table
(WITH THE HUSBANDS)
and we each created a Christmas card.
Can u believe we were even able to persuade
the husbands to join in on the scrappin' fun! :)
Below is a photo of the cards created...
can u tell which ones belong to the husbands? LOL!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Assorted One-Page Layouts
These are just some one-pagers I have completed recently. Forgive the poor photo quality- I am still getting the hang of my new camera, and Adobe won't let me re register my photoshop program :-(
Happy Card
Here is a project I just completed where I used the Colorbok Chipboard Alphas I posted about last Friday. I also used k-i Memories "pop art" dimensional stickers from the "daydream" series, and Amy Butler for K and Company TeaLotus "Water Lotus" paper that had helpful little patterns on the back for the wonderful shapes like the one on the front of the card. At the base of the card is ribbon from Target's dollar spot Summer collection. All of the materials used in this card are from clearance or the bargain section.
Christmas Cards - Santa & Snowflakes
I started working on my Christmas cards last night... here are a couple.Santa pattern (SVG File) from http://www.myscrapchick.com/
Thanks to Dawn from http://www.dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/
for the cute snowflake card idea. Check out her blog... she has some great videos.
for the cute snowflake card idea. Check out her blog... she has some great videos.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
SVG 002
We are happy to post our next FREE SVG file!To the left you can preview it.
Download it for free by clicking here.
Scrapping Table SVG's
For those of you who use SVG files (with SCAL and Cricut),
here is a wonderful site with lots of nice svg files...
http://www.scrappingtable.com/themesets.html
She has a lot of Christmas svg files... great for those Christmas cards! :)
here is a wonderful site with lots of nice svg files...
http://www.scrappingtable.com/themesets.html
She has a lot of Christmas svg files... great for those Christmas cards! :)
Have a great weekend!!
:)
:)
Friday, November 13, 2009
Scrapoodle's Find of The Week- Colorbok Chipboard Alphas
These are 99 cents at Target on the scrapbooking aisle. They come in several different color/pattern combos. Too cute!
A closeup:
SVG 001
We are happy to post our first FREE SVG file!To the left you can preview it.
Download it for free by clicking here.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Know Scrap Review- A Tale of Two Adhesives (or three or four...)
It was the best of adhesives, it was the worst of adhesives...
Today, I am going to do a comparison review of different scrapbook adhesive systems. I will compare the Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner, the 3M ATG 714, the Hermafix Vario, and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Mounting squares.
First, it must be pointed out that a direct comparison of all four of the above adhesives is difficult at best. They are all four very different products, and it is a little "apples-to-oranges" to lump them all together. So, I will do head-to-head comparisons of the products within the two groups- adhesive runners and mounting squares- and then share my thoughts about which product is superior overall at the end.
Lets look at the adhesive runner group- the Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner and the 3M ATG 714 adhesive applicator. Shell gave me a "hand-me-down" Xyron Adhesive Runner that she had barely used. It was compact, lightweight, and fit well in my hand. The refill cartridges snap into place easily, and the adhesive itself rolls out smoothly with a minimum of fuss. The 3/8" adhesive strip was a convenient width for the back of photo mats, borders, and other large to medium-sized elements on my 12x12 page. The "dot matrix" adhesive pattern was a little disappointing, as it seemed to be a bit patchy if insufficient pressure was applied while applying the adhesive bead. In all, though, I must say the Xyron performed admirably, and I thought I had found a new favorite adhesive applicator, right up until the applicator ran out.
ON MY SECOND PAGE!
At first, I thought the tape had misfed, and I opened the applicator to check, only to find that I had, in fact exhausted the entire supply of adhesive after only two full-size pages. The refills claim to hold 14ft. of adhesive tape. Either they do, and 14 feet is not nearly as much as it sounds like, or I use a lot of adhesive on my pages. Regardless, refilling after two pages does not seem like an appealing prospect, and at almost $4.00 for a 2-pack of refills, it translates to about $1 a page in adhesives.
Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner
The 3M ATG 714 is on the totally opposite end of the spectrum from the Xyron. Where the Xyron is compact, cute, inexpensive, and purpose-made for home papercrafting, the 3M ATG 714 is bulky, intimidating, expensive, and a professional-grade tool repurposed from the custom framing industry for papercrafting. To be honest, the first time I saw this being used on another scrapbooking site, I thought, "Wow! That's excessive!". I honestly could not see myself using such a tool for my own scrapping and card-making projects. Shell saw things differently, and sprang for the ATG. I remained skeptical at first, but I was quickly impressed by how smoothly it operated. After watching her glide effortlessly through pages, I had to try it for myself. Though the applicator itself is fairly large, the handle fits comfortably in my hand, and the action of the trigger is smooth and precise. The rubber wheel that rolls the adhesive tape on to the paper rolls smoothly and easily across the page. The adhesive itself is what really sold me, though- a continuous, solid band that bonded instantly and firmly. The 1/4" width was convenient for my medium to large- sized page elements on my 12x12 page. After using the ATG, I could immediately see why such a pricey professional tool had been appropriated by scrappers- it gets the job done right, the first time, with a minimum of fuss. The refills come in 36 and 60 yard lengths, so running out after two pages is highly unlikely. I also think the solid, high-tack nature of the adhesive makes it unnecessary to use as much of it to securely adhere page elements.
3M ATG 714
In the other category, we have the mounting squares. Instead of a continuous band of adhesive, squares are self contained, double-sided stickers. The Hermafix Vario (also called the Herma Vario) dispenser was the first purpose-built scrapbook adhesive dispenser I ever owned, and it has been my workhorse these past five years. The dispenser places the mounting squares at a set interval on the page when you roll the wheel over the paper. Or at least, it is supposed to. I found the Vario dispenser to be a bit temperamental at first, and learned over time that it is often quicker and easier to advance the wheel and peel the squares off by hand. If the tape the squares are on gets off the gears, it can also be a pain to rethread. The squares themselves provide a moderately tight bond, and are fairly forgiving in the fact that they can be repositioned once and still stick if you peel them carefully from the paper. At 1/2" in width, the squares must often be cut in half (a tedious process) to be used on small page elements, but work well on medium to large-sized page elements. At one point I had taken to peeling the squares directly off the backing by hand, and had stopped using the dispenser all together, though I have gone back to it now since I have become more adept at refilling it. In all, it gets the job done, and with 1,000 mounting squares per refill roll, it lasts through several projects.
Hermafix Vario
Finally, we have the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Mounting Squares. When I was going through my peel-the-squares-off-the-backing-by-hand phase with my Vario, I decided it would be reasonable to eschew the pricey (approx. $5-6 per refill roll) Vario refills, and by the cheaper Scrapbook Adhesives mounting squares (approx. $3-4 per box)in their own dispensing box. The squares themselves are similar to the Vario squares in dimensions and in level of tackiness, with the main difference being in the delivery system. The SA squares roll out on a tape like Vario; but each one also has a little individual wax paper tab you peel off the other side.
It was loathe at first sight for me and the SA mounting squares. I found the two-sided wax paper peeling to be time-consuming and annoying, and the blizzard of tiny wax paper bits produced by the squares was a huge, hard to contain mess. Add to that the fact that the boxes I have run across contain only 250 or 500 squares. All of this motivated me to go back to my Vario the minute my box of SA mounting squares ran out.
Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares
So, in the end, what would I recommend? Since these two categories of adhesives are so fundamentally different, I recommend a mix of both. In the adhesive runners department, I recommend the ATG. For scrappers who are serious about the hobby, the ATG is just going to be the better long-term investment. In the mounting squares department, I would definitely recommend the Vario, or at least the Vario refills. Squares are versatile, more forgiving, and can be useful in situations where it would be impossible to run adhesives in an unbroken strip. Even the tedious cutting of squares in half for smaller elements is actually a boon in those situations where glue isn't the right answer, and smaller spot applications of adhesive are needed. Serious, high-volume scrappers will want to have both of these tools.
For the beginning scrapper, or someone who wants One Adhesive To Do It All, the Vario would be the best bet. It's relatively low price and versatility make it a clear favorite.
The Xyron is a good, low-priced, easy-to-use adhesive runner, but I could only recommend it to someone who was planning on using adhesives VERY sparingly on their projects. I would not recommend the Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares to anyone, unless they really, really like picking little squares of wax paper off of stickers, and picking them up off the table, floor, etc. after every project.
Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner- $9-12 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores. Refills- $3-5 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
3M ATG 714 Adhesive Applicator- $41.69 at framingsupplies.com (I do not recommend buying the ATG 714 second-hand as an entire lot of defective products entered the marketplace a while back, and some people have been reportedly trying to unload these defective applicators) Refills of 908 acid-free tape- $3.49.
Hermafix Vario- $9-14 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores. Refills- $5-8 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares- #3-4 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
Today, I am going to do a comparison review of different scrapbook adhesive systems. I will compare the Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner, the 3M ATG 714, the Hermafix Vario, and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Mounting squares.
First, it must be pointed out that a direct comparison of all four of the above adhesives is difficult at best. They are all four very different products, and it is a little "apples-to-oranges" to lump them all together. So, I will do head-to-head comparisons of the products within the two groups- adhesive runners and mounting squares- and then share my thoughts about which product is superior overall at the end.
Lets look at the adhesive runner group- the Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner and the 3M ATG 714 adhesive applicator. Shell gave me a "hand-me-down" Xyron Adhesive Runner that she had barely used. It was compact, lightweight, and fit well in my hand. The refill cartridges snap into place easily, and the adhesive itself rolls out smoothly with a minimum of fuss. The 3/8" adhesive strip was a convenient width for the back of photo mats, borders, and other large to medium-sized elements on my 12x12 page. The "dot matrix" adhesive pattern was a little disappointing, as it seemed to be a bit patchy if insufficient pressure was applied while applying the adhesive bead. In all, though, I must say the Xyron performed admirably, and I thought I had found a new favorite adhesive applicator, right up until the applicator ran out.
ON MY SECOND PAGE!
At first, I thought the tape had misfed, and I opened the applicator to check, only to find that I had, in fact exhausted the entire supply of adhesive after only two full-size pages. The refills claim to hold 14ft. of adhesive tape. Either they do, and 14 feet is not nearly as much as it sounds like, or I use a lot of adhesive on my pages. Regardless, refilling after two pages does not seem like an appealing prospect, and at almost $4.00 for a 2-pack of refills, it translates to about $1 a page in adhesives.
Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner
The 3M ATG 714 is on the totally opposite end of the spectrum from the Xyron. Where the Xyron is compact, cute, inexpensive, and purpose-made for home papercrafting, the 3M ATG 714 is bulky, intimidating, expensive, and a professional-grade tool repurposed from the custom framing industry for papercrafting. To be honest, the first time I saw this being used on another scrapbooking site, I thought, "Wow! That's excessive!". I honestly could not see myself using such a tool for my own scrapping and card-making projects. Shell saw things differently, and sprang for the ATG. I remained skeptical at first, but I was quickly impressed by how smoothly it operated. After watching her glide effortlessly through pages, I had to try it for myself. Though the applicator itself is fairly large, the handle fits comfortably in my hand, and the action of the trigger is smooth and precise. The rubber wheel that rolls the adhesive tape on to the paper rolls smoothly and easily across the page. The adhesive itself is what really sold me, though- a continuous, solid band that bonded instantly and firmly. The 1/4" width was convenient for my medium to large- sized page elements on my 12x12 page. After using the ATG, I could immediately see why such a pricey professional tool had been appropriated by scrappers- it gets the job done right, the first time, with a minimum of fuss. The refills come in 36 and 60 yard lengths, so running out after two pages is highly unlikely. I also think the solid, high-tack nature of the adhesive makes it unnecessary to use as much of it to securely adhere page elements.
3M ATG 714
In the other category, we have the mounting squares. Instead of a continuous band of adhesive, squares are self contained, double-sided stickers. The Hermafix Vario (also called the Herma Vario) dispenser was the first purpose-built scrapbook adhesive dispenser I ever owned, and it has been my workhorse these past five years. The dispenser places the mounting squares at a set interval on the page when you roll the wheel over the paper. Or at least, it is supposed to. I found the Vario dispenser to be a bit temperamental at first, and learned over time that it is often quicker and easier to advance the wheel and peel the squares off by hand. If the tape the squares are on gets off the gears, it can also be a pain to rethread. The squares themselves provide a moderately tight bond, and are fairly forgiving in the fact that they can be repositioned once and still stick if you peel them carefully from the paper. At 1/2" in width, the squares must often be cut in half (a tedious process) to be used on small page elements, but work well on medium to large-sized page elements. At one point I had taken to peeling the squares directly off the backing by hand, and had stopped using the dispenser all together, though I have gone back to it now since I have become more adept at refilling it. In all, it gets the job done, and with 1,000 mounting squares per refill roll, it lasts through several projects.
Hermafix Vario
Finally, we have the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Mounting Squares. When I was going through my peel-the-squares-off-the-backing-by-hand phase with my Vario, I decided it would be reasonable to eschew the pricey (approx. $5-6 per refill roll) Vario refills, and by the cheaper Scrapbook Adhesives mounting squares (approx. $3-4 per box)in their own dispensing box. The squares themselves are similar to the Vario squares in dimensions and in level of tackiness, with the main difference being in the delivery system. The SA squares roll out on a tape like Vario; but each one also has a little individual wax paper tab you peel off the other side.
It was loathe at first sight for me and the SA mounting squares. I found the two-sided wax paper peeling to be time-consuming and annoying, and the blizzard of tiny wax paper bits produced by the squares was a huge, hard to contain mess. Add to that the fact that the boxes I have run across contain only 250 or 500 squares. All of this motivated me to go back to my Vario the minute my box of SA mounting squares ran out.
Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares
So, in the end, what would I recommend? Since these two categories of adhesives are so fundamentally different, I recommend a mix of both. In the adhesive runners department, I recommend the ATG. For scrappers who are serious about the hobby, the ATG is just going to be the better long-term investment. In the mounting squares department, I would definitely recommend the Vario, or at least the Vario refills. Squares are versatile, more forgiving, and can be useful in situations where it would be impossible to run adhesives in an unbroken strip. Even the tedious cutting of squares in half for smaller elements is actually a boon in those situations where glue isn't the right answer, and smaller spot applications of adhesive are needed. Serious, high-volume scrappers will want to have both of these tools.
For the beginning scrapper, or someone who wants One Adhesive To Do It All, the Vario would be the best bet. It's relatively low price and versatility make it a clear favorite.
The Xyron is a good, low-priced, easy-to-use adhesive runner, but I could only recommend it to someone who was planning on using adhesives VERY sparingly on their projects. I would not recommend the Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares to anyone, unless they really, really like picking little squares of wax paper off of stickers, and picking them up off the table, floor, etc. after every project.
Xyron 3/8" Adhesive Runner- $9-12 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores. Refills- $3-5 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
3M ATG 714 Adhesive Applicator- $41.69 at framingsupplies.com (I do not recommend buying the ATG 714 second-hand as an entire lot of defective products entered the marketplace a while back, and some people have been reportedly trying to unload these defective applicators) Refills of 908 acid-free tape- $3.49.
Hermafix Vario- $9-14 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores. Refills- $5-8 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
Scrapbook Adhesives Mounting Squares- #3-4 at most craft, scrapbook specialty, and some discount department stores.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Archivers Make & Takes
Kitty & I participated in the free Make & Takes at Archivers
over the weekend... The following pics are the freebies we made.
We embossed an acrylic snowflake, sprayed the snowflake with
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist spray, and added the snowflake
punched tag & ribbon to create the snowflake ornament.
over the weekend... The following pics are the freebies we made.
We embossed an acrylic snowflake, sprayed the snowflake with
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist spray, and added the snowflake
punched tag & ribbon to create the snowflake ornament.
We created the below card by using
silver embossing powder and heat gun.
silver embossing powder and heat gun.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Just 4 U Card
I used colored cardstock, tiny red brads,
and Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper/die cut.
and Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper/die cut.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Taylor's Sketch Challenge
Ok.... I am excited...
I am submitting my very first blog challenge...
Taylor's sketch challenge. I realize mine doesn't compare
to the beautiful work the others have submitted,
but I wanted to try anyway.... who knows... maybe someday!
I am submitting my very first blog challenge...
Taylor's sketch challenge. I realize mine doesn't compare
to the beautiful work the others have submitted,
but I wanted to try anyway.... who knows... maybe someday!
Here is a dinner invitation that I'm
planning to send to a dear friend.
I hope she likes it! :)
planning to send to a dear friend.
I hope she likes it! :)
The Right One Baby... Uh-Huh!
This is one of my fave layouts from my earlier days
of scrapbooking... unfortunately, my dh is STILL addicted
to Pepsi! It could be worse... at least it is NOT alcohol!
of scrapbooking... unfortunately, my dh is STILL addicted
to Pepsi! It could be worse... at least it is NOT alcohol!
Friday, November 6, 2009
I have attached pics of my Halloween cards...
I'm really luv'n the clear stamps & Stickles!!!
Inside cards, I used a BOO stamp and added
a bit of chocolate.... a Hershey bar. YUM!! :)
(I also added tiny wiggly eyes to the stamped spiders and skeletons)
I'm really luv'n the clear stamps & Stickles!!!
Inside cards, I used a BOO stamp and added
a bit of chocolate.... a Hershey bar. YUM!! :)
(I also added tiny wiggly eyes to the stamped spiders and skeletons)
Mini Pet Album
Below are photos of a mini album I created
for my 3 yr. old Pomeranian princess, Lana!
for my 3 yr. old Pomeranian princess, Lana!
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