More from the Cape Cod kit

So, last month I showed you how I used the cut-aparts from this fabulous Club Scrap kit to make a card.

My original inspiration was the recent engagement of one of my best friends by a lighthouse. The arrival of this kit was perfectly timed!

I made a box to contain my little present.

Open the box, and find a sweet little book.  The lighthouse paper is perfectly sized to create a lovely border - this book is about 4" wide.

Open the book, and you'll find some instructions, a label, and the squash book from the kit.  I decorated the cover of the book with a die cut heart.  I pre-placed some adhesive in the book cover so my friend can adhere the squash book to the cover once she's put some pictures and journaling in there.  I thought that would be easier before adhering.

The book opens up and is just so cute! I think this will be the perfect memento of a memorable day for her and her fiancee.

The final touch is a memorable card. This is one of the other photo mats from the kit, along with ribbon and buttons. I love when I'm sending a package to someone - I can make the card as dimensional as I want!

I made my husband a scrapbook of our engagement as a wedding gift, and these gifts are so special to look back at over the years.  I hope my friend enjoys many happy years with her fiancee, and cherishes all of the memories they create together.

Hopes Blog Hop - A card collection

Hopefully as you're reading this, Paul and I are enjoying ice skating morning, noon, and night. I say hopefully for several reasons:

• We have old knees
• We have brand new ice skates (we've been warned by many of the terrors ahead)
• "Hopes" is the Club Scrap kit this month

I also hope that you're enjoying the blog hop this month. I'm a Club Scrap Lite member, and just like last month, the cut-aparts this month inspired me to make a bunch of cards.

I started by cutting two of the tan pieces into 8.5 x 11 pieces of paper.  The wider piece that was left made four tan card panels. The dark brown paper was cut into six 4 x 5.25 panels.

I used the stamps from the Hot Chicks kit to create backgrounds on the panels.  The dotted swoops on the flowers and dotted circles just struck me as coordinating with this kit. I used different combinations of fuchsia, ocean, earth, and tangerine ink on the panels.

Here I used the dandelion stamp.  I didn't like this as much until I put the greeting on it.

I needed one long card for my test application - I'll be dancing the Rhythm Blues, and I have a form to return to the school.  This was also a great opportunity to use my new Envelope Punch Board - how great to be able to make any envelope of any size to fit what I need!

I thought I would use the orange paper at first, but I wanted to throw a bit of a brighter color in to go with the shiny gold paper.  This lovely teal is from the Cyprus kit.

While we're at skating school this week, we'll be working with five different coaches, and the skating community has been very welcoming to us.  I thought that having some cards on hand would be a good idea.

I added some ribbons on some cards, and photo corners on this one. If I had more time, I might have added some dimensional paint, too.

It was nice to have a crafty break before heading on vacation. We're really looking forward to skating, hiking, golfing, and just spending time together. I hope that you are also enjoying the beginning of summer and looking forward to some time together with those you love.

Next on our hop is Wendy Bellino.  If you get lost or just want to start at the beginning, check out the entire group at Club Scrap Creates.

Check back in two weeks to see the second half of my Cape Cod project - my friend loved it!

All Things Paper - the release!

It's officially here, and the All Things Paper book is now available in the US.

Here is my little project that I contributed to the book, along with some Nottingham lace to set the mood.

I love little books for traveling, and the sentiment on the cover is one of my favorite Club Scrap stamps.  I was inspired by travel and maps that I'd picked up at a library book sale, and was curious how I could combine all of these items into a mixed-media cover.  At the time, I was taking some online classes, and I was wondering how I could use those techniques in my bookmaking.

This book is really different than a lot of the craft books out there. First off, it focusses on a variety of paper crafts. If you love paper like I do, you will find something that inspires you.  Secondly, the projects are a step above what you usually see in a book.  They range from quilling to box making (I think the box might even stump Kay!) and everything in between.  Finally, the projects themselves are a work of love.  The photography was done by each individual artist, and Ann did a fabulous job making sure everything was picture- and text-perfect.  Ann has a beautiful eye for selecting work, and has compiled a wonderful selection of artists to show their love of paper.

The All Things Paper blog has a giveaway going today through Sunday - check it out!

As soon as I can get my act together, I'll share some of my favorite projects from the book.  Until then, check it out on Amazon and look inside.  Also coming up soon are our annual anniversary cards!  Nine years and counting...

Half of the Cape Cod Blog Hop post

Welcome to the next stop on the Club Scrap blog hop for the Cape Cod kit!  I hope you're enjoying all of the inspiration from our crafters.  I absolutely love lighthouses, and navy blue is one of my all time favorite colors. Many a kit with blue paper has been cannibalized for its blue paper.  The other papers sometimes get sad and lonely until they're needed.

Whoops - need to get back on track!

So, what do you do when one of your very best friends gets engaged near a lighthouse?  Well, you use the Cape Cod paper to make her and her intended a fabulous keepsake and card!

Unfortunately, one of the rules of my blog is that the gift receiver gets to look at the present before you do, and she's out of town for a while. Not very good planning on my part!

What to do?  Well, if you're like me, you'll already know that if you're making one project, it's always better to make two.  All of the supplies are out, and you've got the mojo cranking (see my mojo posts from earlier this year for more tips like this!).

The 4 x 6 cut aparts in this kit really inspired me to make cards. My favorite card size is 5 x 7, and these 4 x 6 panels are just perfectly sized.  That empty space on them just screamed "put a greeting right HERE!" So, I did.

The photo mat frames it perfectly (no cutting involved!) and with two sheets of 12 x 12 paper, you're easily set to make two quick cards.

You're probably asking yourself - where is the other card since I'm talking about two?  Well, if your name is Meagan, it will be in the mail to you next week. A little something to look forward to. If your name isn't Meagan, there will be a blog post just as soon as she calls me to dish all the details on her engagement!

In other news, I just got an advance copy of the All Things Paper book. I'm a bit biased since I'm in it (and my project features the best stamps in the whole world - from Club Scrap!), but it is jaw droppingly beautiful.  There are 20 fabulous projects in there, all with fabulous step-by-step instructions. It's a large paperback, with each page a full-color glossy letter sized paper. It will officially be out on June 11th, so not too much longer to wait.

I do hope you'll stop by later to see what else I made from the lovely Cape Cod kit, and I hope you enjoy the next stop on our blog hop - DebDuzScrappin' - Deb Weller's fabulous blog.  If you got lost along the way or just want to start at the beginning, check our the Club Scrap Creates blog for a full directory.

A mini-book for National Scrapbooking Day | Club Scrap Blog Hop

I hope you're enjoying the Club Scrap [Inter]National Scrapbook Day blog hop.  Thanks for joining in!

I think some people forget how broad the term scrapbooking is. To me, scrapbooking is just a way of capturing moments and sharing them with those we love. It could be a home decor piece, an album full of layouts or a mini book. It's not always about making pages (although that's fun, too!).

This book starts with a box - I couldn't bear to cut into my Club Scrap paper to make this box, but doesn't it look lovely even if it isn't Club Scrap paper?

This book is from the Club Scrap 2011 retreat.  I finished it recently to give as a gift. It looks like I forgot to take a picture of it all closed up. It has a sweet elastic closure, and we used a lot of different techniques to distress the cover.

I used a rolodex die to create a little cover page for each section, used the index prints from my photo order as embellishments.  I think they are so sweet.

Each section has a blue cover.  I used my Sizzix to emboss the covers, and decorated with strips of coordinating paper (from Gimme a Ring) and stamped images (from Natural Resources).

Each page simply had stamped edges, and a photo. Easy peasy, as Jac would say.  :)

No gift is complete without a little love in it.

Minibooks make great gifts. My mom and dad loved this book, and I hope they fondly remember the time we spent together when they look at it. To me, scrapbooking is all about preserving memories. I hope you find some time to preserve yours - but not until you check out the next stop on this hop, Deb at DebDuzScrappin. If you missed anyone, or got lost along the way, please visit Club Scrap Creates for the whole list of bloggers.