10/31 What a fun day!

I told you I love this holiday and here are a few reasons why! Today in Child Development class we made some creative yet educational projects for small children. We even had a guest - 6 year old Rebecca was visiting and added the 'real life" experience some of my students needed! I was dressed like my favorite chocolate candy and posing with Dani - one of my favorites! (I know teachers aren't supposed to have favorites!) We made ghosts, spiders, bats and pumpkins out of a round paper plate and we made "Magic Slime" with my magic potion!- so much fun!



Rebecca and I posed for our Halloween picture - she spent all week with me in 1st and 2nd period before she went off to her classroom.


Then she made a new friend - this is so cute! A 1st grader and 9th grader - Sarai was so thrilled!


I am exhausted but I hope all of my 'kids' had fun!

More to come......

10/31/08 Happy Halloween!!

One of my most favorite holidays! Why? Because it is all about candy!! Especially M & M's! If you REALLY know me - you know that I am an M & M fan/freak! My classroom is decorated in m & m's - my high school kids think I am crazy! (So I guess I am!) Tomorrow I am going to dress up like an M & M - that will add to the craziness! Since I have no grandchildren yet I am sending out a picture of my baby Harley! My husband will not let me dress him up so I guess a scarf will have to be his costume this year! Tonight I am working on the 'dog treats" for all of Harley's friends in the neighborhood - see, I really am crazy!!!

Anyhow, Happy Halloween!

10/04 Adding the embellishments

The card needed a few extra touches and it seemed as if buttons were the answer! I used the Autumn Craft Buttons (Z1283), embroidery floss and Liquid Glass (Z679) as the adhesive. The ribbon in the Heartfelt Collection (Z1306) was perfect! "Sit and take time to watch the leaves turn" Isn't that perfect for this card?



I hope you get a chance to try one of these cards. I enjoyed teaching you a few techniques today! Thanks for 'tuning' in!

Adeline

10/04 Stitching the accent piece

Using the bamboo ink and the 1/4" corner placement guide (C1303) stamp, stamp the opposite corners of the 2" x 3" accent piece.



Pierce the dots using the piercing tool and pad. Then using a backstitch and Olive embroidery floss, stitch the corner sections. Optional: Use the Edge Distresser (Z1297) from the Distressing tool kit to 'rough up' the edges of the cardstock. Then use the 'direct to paper" technique to accent the roughed up edges.

You are almost done!

01/04 Step 1 Fun with Floss

Stamp the card front with Barn Red ink and the leaf stamp and acorn from the set. Using the NEW Piercing tool and pad, stamp 1/4" holes around the leaf design.



Thread your needle (found in the piercing tool set) with THREE strands of embroidery floss and stitch a running stitch around the stamp leaves with chocolate embroidery threads. I then used the backstitch to stitch with the orange and autumn terracotta embroidery floss. I became quickly frustrated with the rather 'cheap' needle threader and so I dug out my trusty dental floss threader that I used when threading my serger! It worked like a charm!

This step may take a few minutes to complete - I'll be back!!!

Adeline B

10/04 Winning Combination Card Design

This card design is found on page 99 of the NEW Originals book. The cardstock colors I used were Barn red, Olive and Bamboo. The stamp set is D1181 Autumn Splendor. The embroidery floss sets are Z1096 Neutral assortment, Z1094 Green assortment and Z1095 Yellow and Orange assortment. I pierced the paper with our NEW Piercing Tool Set (Z1114) and I added a few buttons and other embellishments.

Are you ready?

10/04 Fall Fun with Floss!

Sewing by hand is a four letter word to me! However our NEW Embroidery Floss has challenged me to take it up again! This FALL card design using our new embroidery floss along with stamping. I hope this card inspires you to take up sewing by hand again! (or maybe for some of you -it's your first try!)



Lesson begins in one minute!

Adeline

Fall Gift Card Box

I made these cute little gift cards for my son's girlfriends' parents. They were such gracious hosts when we were in California this summer. I would earn demerit points from Emily Post for being so late in sending the gift box, but I know Mary will love them! (she has already labeld me as the "Crafty one" in the family! :)

Check out the directions on Splitcoast stampers site and use the Originals book to create the quick and esay 3 x 3 cards for any holiday occasion!

Enjoy!!

10/14 Scoring the Card Accent

Are your colonial white squares dry yet? Great - then it is time to assemble the card and add the final card accents.

Use the track in the paper scorer and the CTMH scoring stylus to score random diagonal lines on the 2 1/4" x 2 1/2" piece. Roughly sand the raised lines to expose the white core. Doesn't it look great?



Complete the card with CTMH embroidery floss (Z1095)ang Fall Leaves. Add a sentiment of your choice and you are done!



Wasn't that fun? Not sure how to use the embroidery floss on cards? Stay tune for the next lesson!

Want to earn an A in Techniques 101? Now comes the extra credit or Bonus points for the class. Order any of the CTMH products used on the cards today and your name will be entered in a drawing for a FREE Distressing kit (Z1299).

$5.00 - $9.99 = 1 ticket
$10.00 - $19.99 = 2 tickets
$20.00 - $29.99 = 3 tickets
$30.00 - $39.99 = 4 tickets
$40.00 - $49.99 = 5 tickets
$50.00 and more = 7 tickets

Shop online with www.SweetAline.myctmh.com and WIN!!!

Adeline

10/04 Paint "Puddles"

To apply the rub-ons, place the 1" squares (5/8" size was too small) of colonial white UNDER the rub-on and rub only the leaf design. Try not to apply pressure to the other surrounding designs.

Mix the Magnolia White paint with a few drops of re-inkers to achieve the colors you would like to match your cardstock. Swipe the paint over the rub-ons.



After applying the paint, remove most of the paint by rubbing a paper towel over the squares. Let the paper dry completely before assembling your card.

10/04 "Puddles of Paint!"

Our first step is to assemble our materials.



In additon to the paper pack, you will also need:

Z1097 Nature's Ambiance rub-ons - the three small leaf designs
Z1304 Autumn Leaves paper blossoms
1" flat paint brush
Z1293 Magnolia White Paint
Re-inkers - Z2237 Olive, Z2262 Honey and Z2201 Autumn Terracotta
Paint tray and mixing sticks (from Z1299)distressing kit

10/04 NEW Originals Card Confidence Program

In September, Close to My Heart released the newly revised card confidence book, Originals . The cards are updated with the newest trends in card making and the photos are large and very colorful! Included in the book are 99 patterns with step-by-step directions to inspire you. I have included in each card the name of the pattern and the page for all of the directions.

The first card I will be making today is called "Cubes and Colors" and it is found on page 11. Here are the directions for the card and they list all of the paper dimensions. (Just click on the directions for easier reading!)



I used the X7088B Free Spirit Paper Pack - a perfect background for my Fall-themed card.

10/04 World Card Making Day event!

Good Morning!

Welcome to my very first blog tutorial event! In honor of World Card Making Day, I have put together a few technique lessons and I hope you enjoy them! The first lesson is using our new Rub-Ons! I have used rub ons in the past and these rub ons are much better than any of the others on the market today - seriously!

I am settled in with my morning coffee in my Fall mug to celebrate FALL in Tampa, Fl. Cool mornings and warm beautiful days have returned to my town but the leaves will not change colors until January! Oh well - I have plenty of FALL Ideas to get you into the mood!

Here is the first card!
Enjoy!