Scrapbooking

I've been working on lots of cards and books and things for a while so I decided it was time for a change of pace. I think it's time for a charm....a mica charm to be exact! Mmmmmm, if you've never worked with mica I highly recommend it. It's one of my favorite things to work with. It comes in many forms...the piece below is a mica tile. The great thing about the tiles is you can peel them apart and get many sheets from one chunk. You'll notice that the thicker or more layers a mica tile has the deeper the sepia color is - single sheets have a transparent, vintage quality to them. Here are a variety of thicknesses so you get the idea. I took two fairly thick sheets of mica which I wanted to use for my charm. I gathered up the goodies I wanted to sandwich between the tiles and my Crystal Lacquer. I applied bit of the CL to the tile then began layering on the flowers & sentiment. Once I had everything where I wanted it, I added more CL and then added the 2nd sheet. Now comes the hard part.... Dry Time! Yuck - LOL!! I'm not very good when it comes to waiting but this will take a while to dry because it's very humid here today and of course it is sandwiched between two non-porous surfaces. So, this is where I'll leave the charm today and we'll pick it up again tomorrow once the tile has dried. Hope to see you then!

I guess I should have explained myself a bit better...I've had several e-mails asking where the class I am teaching is going to be at. The class I'm "teaching" isn't really a real-live event, it's an on-line class hosted at Scrapbook News & Reviews art hub - The Art Studio. Here is a direct link to the class... Adventures in Alcohol Inks. It's a huge class with many many techniques and LOADS of examples. The class is $29.99 which I know sounds like a lot but it works out to less than $1.00 a technique not including a lesson on the materials associated with AI's; a lesson sharing what the inks look like on a variety of surfaces and a AI gallery which has over 50 different examples. Basically you buy the class, then the class will be shared in increments so you can work a bit on one section then move on. It's not like some classes that expire, once you buy it you will have access to it from here on out. So, if you can't finish it right now, the lessons will be there for you when you can finish. No worries about deadlines or having to print everything out. I think that answers all the questions ~ hope that helps!

Close To My Heart is teaming up with Big Picture Classes to bring you a live webcast with step-by-step instructions for making this Happy Thoughts kraft container. Tune in for the FREE webcast on Thursday, May 30 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (MDT) at BigPictureClasses.com. During the presenta- tion, you’ll learn to make several projects from a variety of sponsors, including Close To My Heart’s Happy Thoughts kraft container. If you’d like to interact on the message board, participate in live chat, post to the gallery, download handouts, or enter any contests, you will need to log in to the Pajama Party “classroom” by creating a FREE account on the Big Picture Classes website. If you would like to make the project during the webcast, place your order asap! But you can also participate in the webcast and make the project later. Either way it's going to be FUN!Click here to place your order. To make our Happy Thoughts kraft container, you will want to have the following items—or similar products—on hand: My Acrylix® Frame Flair Stamp Set (D1546)My Acrylix® Happy Thoughts Stamp Set (C1536) Chantilly Paper Packet (need 1 sheet of B&T, X7163B) Crème Brulee Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5754)Lagoon Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5762)White Daisy Cardstock (need 1 sheet, 1385)Whisper Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5929)Whisper Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2172)Lagoon Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2195)My Creations® Kraft Container (Z1833)Baker’s Twine Neutral Assortment (need 3 yards, Z1701) Color-Ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes (Z1844)Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment (Z1754)3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)Micro-Tip Scissors (Z534)Corner Rounder (Z578)Paper Trimmer (Z1783)My Acrylix® Spritz Cleaner (1778)My Acrylix® Stamp Scrubber (Z1782)2" x 3K" My Acrylix® Block (Y1009)4" x 5" My Acrylix® Block (Y1012)Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection (Z1686) Have a great day!Michelle

I'm so excited about today's post - my first ever post for Practical Scrappers! I've been watching these clever ladies scrap and paper craft for a long time, and I'm so honored to be a part of the team now. I'll be working on the Ten Things team, which is my FAVORITE feature. Woo!For today's Ten Thing feature we are focused on Titles. Make sure you pop out to Practical Scrappers to see all the other fabulous title ideas! For my page I cut CS letters on the Cricut with my Artiste Cartridge then stitched over them with a double length of sewing thread. I popped up the second part of the title on a little Dream Pop 1/2" banner I cut on my trimmer and popped that with a bit of washi tape I found at the Paper Issues store. That banner cluster at the top is cut out of the Dream Pop B&T base for my page, flipped over and I covered the "BEAUTIFUL" sentiment with one of the quotes from the zip strip.I also used the Practical Scrappers May Sketch for my layout inspiration. I chose the hexagon resist CS from the Dream Pop paper packet, but I inked Outdoor Denim Ink to bring out the pattern and bring down the brightness level of these cheerful papers. I'm still working my way through my pile of Printsagram prints, and I love scrapping these random square photos of cute things the boys have done. I {heart}Instagram! I'm posting under Stamping Rules...Leave your Instagram name in the comments so I can follow you too!

Learn how to use the My Acrylix® stamp scrubber from Close To My Heart to clean My Acrylix® stamp sets and keep them in tip-top shape.Happy Stamping!Michelle

Can you believe it? Studio J is even better then before!Discover the creative potential of being able to add and customize photo wells on your Studio J layouts. Click here to get started!Happy Digital Scrapping!Michelle

Use Studio J®, Close To My Heart's online scrapbooking software, to create a beautiful layout in just minutes by watching this month's Love Your Layout(sm) video. You'll learn creative techniques on how to layer My Stickease® images, use black and white photos, and add borders for a summery layout in the Surf's Up kit. Log in to Studio J to create it yourself while you watch!Happy Digital Scrapping!Michelle

Hi everyone!! Today is my May DT Day at Meljens Designs. This month the theme is Inspiration. I thought about it a bit and thought.. You know what my inspiration is each day?? Jesus, Prayer, My Savior, My faith, Hope and that there are still good people in this world. Something pretty new to me, but also something I'm trying to make a priority. So, with that in mind I used the images Faith Hope Love and Faith Hope Butterflies.And here is the card I came up with: I used all pink and white on this card, which a touch of teal on the butterflies. I colored with Copic. I of course did some decoupage/popped several things LOL the lettering in HOPE, the hearts and circles, the butterflies. I used a Spellbinder die cut behind the top image. The two images are Faith Hope Love and Faith Hope Butterflies. On the inside I used two stamps from "Something Within" Unity Stamps. I added the die cut circle and added some gems to it. The pink paper is embossed. And I think that is it. Copic: Hope: R0000, R20, R22, R24 Corners/Hearts: RV11, RV13, RV14 Butterflies: R0000, R20, R22, R24, BG000, BG53, BG57

Learn how to get the most our of our alcohol based markers! Blend and intensify--all without streaks! Each marker is packaged with and accent color, either lighter or darker, for easy blending. No guessing about which accent color goes best.Click here to see the available colors.Have a great day!Michelle

Some schools are out already (wow!), so it's a good time to start thinking of teacher's gifts if your kids are still in school… Here are some ideas: "Berry Best Teacher" –... {This is a content summary only. Click on blog title to continue reading this post, see pictures, comment, browse our website and more!}