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February 2010
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April 2010

March 2010 posts

I *love* free motion stitching. If you don't know what it is, it's a type of quilting in which the needle becomes like a paintbrush and you move the fabric beneath it to create any image or shape you want! You can see the major key to free motion stitching in the photo above. I taught a class at The City Quilter on Friday that was all about free motion stitching, and the photo above is of the whiteboard in the classroom. It's what the students saw when they walked in. Do you see the difference? Answer: I didn't remove... Read more →


There are so many amazing, creative, thoughtful people out there. Here's a round-up of some of my recent favorite blog posts: On the 7gypsies blog, Mou Saha (one of the scrappers I adore) shares a fabulous paint filled accordion album that she made. Here's one image, but you have to click through and see them all! On the Fancy Pants blog, Jolene Plenaar shares her "flower techniques album." I love the idea of putting techniques into a book so they're easy to find and you don't have to remember them! Her beautiful album is full of great flower techniques! Kerry... Read more →


Another great kit from Kenner Road this month! Here's what I made: This is one of the most "simple" layouts I've ever made. But I love it. (Totally obsessed with those Sassafras border stickers too - the blue squares attached to the orange and red strip - They make it so easy to scrap!) I outlined the chipboard letters. They're from My Mind's Eye and I like the fact that they're matte. Adorable birdhouse paper from Jillibean soup. I cut out a few of the birdhouses and added some rhinestones to the round doorways. I made this layout at a... Read more →


Good news or bad news first? Okay, I'll pick. Bad news first. Due to a technical glitch, my first class was NOT recorded. Sad, sad, sad. I was upset at first, but then I realized that there are plenty more classes to come and I will definitely get back to all of those techniques at some point! Sorry if you missed it, just a little incentive to make sure you're at the next one! ;) How about some good news now? Want to make this? Album in a Box with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer March 22 at 2pm EST/GMT -5 Open... Read more →


I've got some new classes at the Ink Pad: Distress Ink Exploration: March 26, 2010 • 7:15-9:15pm Ranger Distress Ink is more than just ink to stamp with. Come and learn how to push your ink pads to reach their potential! I will share a ton of fabulous techniques with you and you will leave the class with a collection of beautiful tags. (I've heard that this one might be full already, so if you want in, be sure to call sooner rather than later.) Creative Masking and Stenciling: April 17, 2010 • 10am - 12:30pm In this hands-on class,... Read more →


(Above is a panoramic view of the classroom as taken by our teacher, Jim Cooper. I'm there, second from the right.) Well, my final Portrait Drawing class has come and gone. I did two drawings in class and I took photos of them in progress. Here's the first drawing about 5-10 minutes into sketching: And now here it is fully resolved: This is the second drawing I did, in three stages: I've been thinking a lot about a comment that Kelli left after my last post about my portrait drawing class. She said: You've come a long way with these... Read more →


I wrote this tutorial for the Kenner Road blog. It's a quick run-down of how to put together the structure for this mini book: Supplies: 7gypsies Book Covers Ribbon Scrips and Scraps Sewing Machine Thread Gel Medium (or other strong adhesive) Fabri-Tac Cardstock Bone Folder Pencil Ruler Corner Punch Binder Clips Scissors STEP ONE: Create the Cover Base The book covers from 7gypsies are 5.5x7 inches, so that's why my cover is the size it is. I cut a piece of cardstock to 7x12 inches and then scored it to create a 1 inch wide spine. You can see the... Read more →


Hello, hello, hello! Pencil Lines was sponsored by Prima this week. Here's the sketch: And here's my layout: I'm circle obsessed lately. Even when I try to not do a circle, I always seem to end up with one! Take a peek at some of the details from this layout: I cut a wonky circle out of patterned paper, glued it to another piece of patterned paper and then painted a circle of acrylic paint where the two papers met. This is one of my favorite techniques for blending disparate patterned papers. Once the paint was dry, I wrote right... Read more →


If you're coming to my FREE online Prima class on Monday, we'll be working on creating the elements from this layout: There's no kit for this one, so here's what you should have ready (and this is going to put my dirty secret out there in the world - I use a lot of supplies on every layout): Sewing Machine (don't worry if you don't have one, I'll talk about how to get the same effect using embroidery floss) Adhesive (I used my ATG and Mini Glue Dots) Ink: Staz On by Tsukinko (Jet Black and Black Cherry) Computer or... Read more →