Christmas with Bind-it-all

I've been busy trying out some new ideas for the craft show on Saturday. If you're in the area, I'll be at the Chassell school (Google map) from 9-2pm. I've been trying to get in the holiday mood, which is a bit tough for me. I firmly believe that the Christmas season shouldn't begin until at least mid-November (it used to be after Thanksgiving, but it's creeping a bit earlier on me!). I also love little notebooks, and I've been exploring some new things with my Bind-it-all. I really love this tool for making little books. It's fun to be able to use sheets of paper instead of folding and stitching. My first book uses some of my favorite Christmas colors and the herringbone technique from Club Scrap. I know I've used this technique before, but I just love using these little strips of paper. These old-fashioned colors feel very warm and cozy to me.

Next, I've been thinking about modifying the Quick Jot journal I made from the Club Scrap Cruise in a Box earlier. I love the idea of a little folder for a notebook, and being able to slide the notebook in and out. I also like being able to replace the notebook with a new one so the folder can be reused. I find these little books very useful when traveling for keeping a travel journal. This is a picture of the closed book. These handmade papers are from Club Scrap, and the black elastic will keep the book closed if it's in a bag or purse.

Open, the book has an old-fashioned holiday spirit. I love these tree stamps, and the rich colors. This is a handmade book created with my bind-it-all, but it's about the same size as a 3x5 notebook, so that could be used as a replacement when the book is filled up. It also has a place for your pen!

Hope to see some of you on Saturday, and if you're not in the area, have a great holiday season! I can't wait to post some of the great gifts I've been working on for my family and friends.

Graduation cards

A friend of mine from work recently graduated, so I made some cards in celebration! Our school colors are gold and black, so in this first card, I used those colors with teal and maroon as accent colors. I love this graduation hat punch - it comes in very handy! I also really love using my spellbinders die cuts. I think layered cardstock looks fantastic, and the textured paper with the deep colors really works well here.

On the second card, I went a little wilder. I took a piece of gold cardstock and coated it with my xyron adhesive. After coating, I applied a variety of scraps to the paper. The exposed cardstock was still sticky, and I covered it with clear embossing powder and embossed. I learned this technique as part of the Club Scrap "carpet tape chronicles." I would recommend using the carpet tape for this technique, because I get the feeling that it is tackier (to hold more embossing powder) and more heat resistant. While I was embossing this cardstock, the scraps lifted off (but did reattach nicely when everything cooled back down).

The saying on this card "Another brilliant day life today, is just waiting on the wings" is from the Club Scrap Retreat kit 2008. I think it's a perfect saying for a graduation, since it is just the beginning of many wonderful days ahead.