I'm going to be teaching some online classes for My Kits & Pieces. They're going to start offering classes that are both kit-based and non-kit-based. My first class is available now and it's this fabulous mini album: As always, with anything I teach, there's lots of technique involved. The "classroom" is a private blog where you can ask questions, share your version of the album and watch the videos (yes, I've gone a little more high tech, there are videos) of the various techniques. If you'd like to sign up, the class is $10 and you've got the entire month... Read more →

I'm excited to share that Shakira from Scrapbook Takeout randomly e-mailed me and said that they love the stamp designs I've been doing for My Kits & Pieces and want me to design some stamps for them! How cool! I believe that they also put up a call at PubCalls because they're looking for a couple of designers, in case you're interested. My first stamps will go out with the August kit! And remember how I had a layout picked up by Creating Keepsakes last week? Well, Memory Makers requested the same layout yesterday. Eeek! That's the first time that... Read more →

My Kits and Pieces is having a Design Team call! I will just say that I love the message board over there. It's tiny and so it always feels like having a personal conversation. No cliques. No drama. Just a lot of fun chatter. And as far as being on the DT, Rosy (the DT coordinator and kit picker outer) is fab! She's very responsive and easy going. I encourage you to come over and visit the message board and hang out for a while and see if it's a good fit. The kits are very fun (and Rosy listens... Read more →

Yesterday, I had a scrappy day and finished up my June projects for the fabulous store, Just Let Me Scrapbook. MaryBeth (the owner) is the nicest woman ever and she is always running amazing sales. And let me just say that her taste and mine in supplies is so similar. Shopping there is always a dream! So, without any further ado, here's what I made: This one is for the "One Little Word" challenge. The word this week is "strong" and for the first time, I didn't use it in the title. Here's the journaling: That’s a quote from a... Read more →

I just had to share! In what must be the quickest reply time ever for a magazine submission, I sent a layout (just a general submission) to Creating Keepsakes at 8:04pm and they picked it up the next day at 1:04pm. Wow! So, I'm thrilled to share that it will be in the December Reader Gallery! Yay! I thought I'd also share some scrapbook enabling. Maya Road is having a virtual warehouse sale. They're offering kits worth $115 for $40 (and FREE shipping). It'll be a mystery box of older supplies, but if you love Maya Road, this seems like... Read more →

I can hardly believe it. I never finish class projects. Ever. Generally, I don't like something about them or they're not my style or it just feels weird to copy someone else. Well, I went to a crop (with the über fabulous Manhattan Scrapbookers) on Friday and finished up this adorable Heidi Swapp mirror album. (I took the class from Heidi at the Scrap Etc. event in Nashville.) Of course, I had to make a few changes. As you can see, it's very pink and full of hearts, which is so not my style. But, I added some of my... Read more →

I spent most of Saturday and several hours on Sunday at SIStv's online crop. They had a bajillion really interesting challenges that ran around the clock! SIS has a lot of international SISters, so for someone like me who keeps odd hours, it was great to see new challenges popping up at 3am! I managed to use quite a few of the challenges as inspiration for some CT layouts for Amanda Dykan and Tara Sroka Designs. NAME TAG: For this challenge we had to create a name tag for ourselves. FIVE PLUS A DAY: For this challenge we had to... Read more →

My mailbox has been an endless source of joy in the past few days! 1. Got my copy of the July/August Memory Makers and found my layout on page 46! 2. I opened up a big airmail package and found a copy of the April/May Histoires de Pages and page 16 features three of my layouts and a profile of me! (Of course, I can't read the profile because I don't speak French...!) 3. I got another package from France and it was Sultane's new lines of paper! They're sooooooooo beautiful! I can't wait to share some layouts. 4. And... Read more →

I'm leaving Milwaukee today. After 10 days away, I'm looking forward to getting home. In the meantime, this is an article that I wrote for Craft Critique.... The moment I saw the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Texture Hammer advertised online, I knew that I had to have it. The package describes it as, “an instrument used to give texture to grungeboard, papers, metal, and more to achieve a distinctive texture or character.” The package contains the hammer, four interchangeable tips, and a mat. The hammer itself is surprisingly lightweight. As for the tips, Tim Holtz gives you four of them: rubber,... Read more →

So, we're a little past the half way point, but I finally found a spot of sun to take a few photos of what I've been making here at the Bead&Button Show in Milwaukee: Above, you can see the glass beads I made the first three days. Days, which I have to tell you, were not without incidents! Besides burning myself on the first and third days of class, I also set a small fire! Oooops! I burned myself with a piece of hot glass, so I dropped it, but it fell onto some paper towel which immediately ignited! And... Read more →