4x4 Mini Tri-Fold Album Tutorial

I came across this tutorial from Stamping Inspirations by Maria and felt inspired to get working on my mini-albums. Those of you that know me well, know that I am addicted to mini-albums. I like the fact that I can actually finish an entire album in just a short amount of time. I think that these albums are a great way to present gifts to people without having to spend too much money.

Here is the tutorial:


Enjoy!!

"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy." (Psalm 61:2b-3)

Punch Art Flowers

I know that it has been a very long time since I post anything at all on my blog. I am not sure if anyone is interested in the reasons why it has been so long, but here they are in a nutshell. I am pregnant again! :) As a consequence I am EXTREMELY EXHAUSTED!!! LOL I finally got a lot of rest last night and had enough energy today to come around to post a tutorial.

I came across this wonderful tutorial on how to create beautiful flowers with a punch. Here is the tutorial by Scrappingbydesign.com:


I hope you all enjoy it!

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Miami Scrapaholix Club

I am so excited to announce that the Scrapaholix Club has been established in Miami and I have the honor to be the moderator! I cannot wait for August 26th to roll around and we have our first meeting. It will be held at A Womb's View (15659 N. Kendall Drive
Miami FL 33196) from 6PM to 8PM. I am in the works of trying to find someone to help me take care of children. If I am successful, I will be able to provide childcare. :o) For more information please visit Scrapaholix.

I was Published!!

I cannot believe that I was published in the July edition of the e-zine www.scrapbooking.com! I sent in a layout I did for one of my design team colleagues and I was asked to write an article along with it. I went ahead and wrote the article about paper-piecing and sent examples of the embellishments I have made. I also sent a pattern for the readers to follow and try their own version of one of the embellishments, but the editor chose not to include it. So, here is the pattern. The instructions to complete it are in the article Piecing the Pieces.

I would love to see the creations you guys are able to make using this technique. I guess this will be this week's tutorial. Not that I have been faithful with these tutorials, but I am trying... LOL!!

ENJOY!!

Be blessed!

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. " (Psalm 1:1-2)

Letters and More Letters

I am soooo excited! Today I was able to finally give my friend Deborah the letters she had asked me to make for her newborn daughter. For her baby shower I had made this card and as an inspiration of that she requested the letters. I was not sure how I was going to accomplish this task, but I took it as a challenge and failed in my first attempt. I went out of my way to buy the wooden letters but found myself fighting with the adhesive I chose. After about seven long and tedious days of work, the final product was a disaster! :( I basically gave up but had not the guts to tell her about it. Yesterday rolled around and she was under the impression that the letters were already made. She called me and told me that she was going to come to visit me and the baby, while at the same time she intended to get her letters. YIKES!!! I had NOTHING!! Immediately the challenge became even harder because now I had a time-frame to adhere to. I prayed and got to work. I am very pleased with the final product, and my friend loved them!

I made the letters out of chipboard and decorated them with patterned paper, stickers, and ribbons. Here is the final product:

I am even thinking of including these as part of the services Younique Reflections will provide. It will be a beautiful inexpensive alternative to the very expensive letters I see out there. What do you guys think? If you guys want to see a closer look of any of these letters, please e-mail me and I will gladly send you a picture of them :) Be blessed!!!

"This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life." (1 John 2:25)

Father's Day Survival Kit

For Father's Day I decided to alter my very first item: a formula can. :) I thought it would be a good container for the mini-album I made for my husband. I liked the idea of being able to treasure the container that we used to feed the baby as we celebrated the greatness of my husband's first Father's Day as a father. I found a list of things that could be added to the can in order to make it a genuine survival kit at the link labeled Inexpensive and Cute Ideas under the Scrappy Resources of this blog. It goes as follows:

Father’s Day Survival Kit

· Rubberband: Be flexible; things might not always go the way you want.

· Band-Aid: To heal hurt feelings, either yours or someone else's.

· Eraser: To erase the mistakes you will make along the way.

· Hershey's Kisses: for when you've given all of yours away and you need some back.

· Toothpick: Pick your battles; not every battle is worth fighting.

Mini-Album: To remind you of all the special moments we have shared

My husband thought it was a great gift and I had a blast making it. :) I also had the opportunity of teaching a class on this project on June 14, 2008 at A Womb's View. All the ladies were able to walk out with a beautiful gift to give to the father's in their life, along with the knowledge of creating something easy and fun that they can apply to any other project. I am excited to say that the class was just the first of many that will be starting next month. I will keep you all updated as to what we do together and I will be posting the pictures of this first class soon. Maybe you can all join me for the next one.

"If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent." (Psalm 91: 9-10)

June Challenge

It was my turn at the beginning of June to come up with a challenge for EBB. After thinking hard about the experiences and the things that I have recently gone through, and considering the things that truly would be a challenge to me, this is what I came up with:

Since Noelani was born on 5/7/08 at 3:07 I decided to use these numbers to establish the parameters for the challenge. You are only to use the following materials while creating a layout. It can be a single or a double layout, but you must adhere to the limits.
5- pieces of scrap paper
7- rub-ons
0- buttons
8- letters in your title (I am flexible with this one)
3- pictures
0- ribbons
7- of anything else you want to add

Have fun!

For those of you that are overwhelmed with what I ask for, I have a different challenge. Come up with a sketch that would accommodate these elements and post it here so that you can help inspire those that are going to try the challenge. (Like me lol)

I did not think I could do this, since every LO that I ever create has to have ribbon and buttons, but I was able to accomplish it. It was a challenge indeed, but here is the outcome:

5 -pieces of scrap (It looks like more because I grabbed one of the pieces and cut it.. )LOL
7 -rub-ons (K&Co)
0 -buttons
8 -letters in the title
3 -pictures
0- ribbon
7 -butterflies

(The orange part is missing the journaling, which I am working on. I wanted you all to see the page though, so that you hopefully could be inspired)

I can't believe I was able to pull it off... I can't wait to see what the rest of you are creating!

So far, only one other person took this challenge. Her screenname at EBB is born2scrap and here is her creation:


I will be posting any other pictures of those that have taken the challenge. It truly was a lot of fun to challenge myself beyond what I am used to doing. Maybe this is something that I can continue to do on a monthly basis. Who knows? :)

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge, his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." (Psalm 91:4)

Anita's Version of the Star Spangled Banner

As you all know, I am part of the best design team ever: E.B.B. Creations. One of my fellow designing buddies is Anita A.K.A. "The Card Queen". She has such an amazing ability of inspiring me with her cards and LO's. Well, she informed me that she was recently published and I wanted to share with you the project that was published in : http://magazineofmemories.blogspot.com/. I asked her about the stars in her LO and she said that she created them herself. I am so proud to be her friend!. :) Way to go Anita!!

Star Spangled Cuties By Anita Mulcahey
Papers:
Red (Bazzill), Stars Paper (Karen Foster), Whisper White Paper, Real Red (Stampin’ Up)
Accessories:
Paper Trimmer (Fiskars)
Chipboard Star Button (Cosmo Cricket)
Mono Adhesive (Tombow)
Modge Podge (Plaid)
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (Stampin’ Up)
Round Vellum Tag (Stampin’ Up)
Assorted ribbons and fibers
Bold Brights buttons (Stampin’ Up)
White Gel pen (Signo)
Star Plastic Charm from stash
Techniques: faux stitching, I also free hand cut out the star

"The Lord is righteous in everything he does;he is filled with kindness. " (Psalm 145:17)

Make Your Own Transparency Silhouettes

So, I went on a mission to find a tutorial that would be useful to me while I create various projects. I found this tutorial to be very easy to do and very cost efficient. With the rise in prices all over the market, it is great to know that I can make embellishments with the materials I already have. So here it is:

I will be creating a LO using this technique and I will be posting it. Enjoy!

Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:2)

I am BACK!!!

For those of you that know me, you have been able to share in the joy of the precious gift the Lord has sent my way. Noelani Isabelle was born on May 7, 2008 at 3:07 PM. She weighed 4.3 pounds and measured 18 inches long. She is truly a joy and a priceless gift. I did not think that one can truly love someone as much as Freddy and I love her in such a small amount of time. God constantly uses her to remind me of the way He loves us... just because. There is nothing Noelani has done to earn my love, and it humbles me to finally understand a bit better the way God loves me. :o) I cannot believe that she will turn one month tomorrow already!
With this said, I am excited that my schedule is going back to normal and I have been able to begin to get back on track with my scrapping. I will be posting the tutorials once again and I believe there will be weekly challenges as well. I am truly excited about being able to see, once again, what you guys can come up with. Therefore, please stay in touch with me as you decide to take upon yourself the challenges and the tutorials being placed here.

Love in Christ,

Nana

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 107:1)

Flap Paper Bag Album

I came across this awesome tutorial when I was seeking to make a mini-album for a friend of mine. I wanted to make her a paper bag album but a lot of the pictures were too big for what I had in mind originally. When I saw this tutorial, I was shocked! It was just what I needed! :o) Here is the tutorial:


I have included this as a challenge for the EBB Online Crop. Hopefully many of you will get to participate. It truly was a lot of fun! (I will post pictures of the album I made on the NSD thread in EBB. I will post the pics here at a later time.) I would love to include your pictures here for others to get inspired! :o) ENJOY!!!

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

Glitter Embellishment Example

I finally received my diamond glaze and was able to create my own glitter letters. I am thrilled to know that I can do this now with all the letters or any chipboard embellishment I come across. Here is the example of what I was able to come up with. I have to admit that I did not try the tip Kristi had offered of using a sealer. I went ahead and covered the glitter with another layer of the Diamond glaze. I truly love the smooth finish the letters have now. I like even more the fact that they are not messy. The glitter stays sealed within the top layer of the glaze. This is very convenient for me because glitter and I always go at it... :P I hope that others would take the challenge of using the glitter tutorial. Enjoy!

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)

Flat Ribbon Bow

For the longest time I would observe how people had these beautiful flat bows on their pages, and as hard as I tried, I was never able to come up with how to do it. Ribbon and I are not really good friends, although I completely love using it on all my pages. :o) This week's tutorial demonstrates a very simple step-by-step plan to use ribbon in order to come up with these flat bows.

To my shame, it is way easier that I ever thought it would be. LOL Because it is this easy, I decided to post this tutorial in case there is anyone else struggling with this dilemma. Here it is:



I hope to see some of your fabulous pages using this technique. I will try to post mine as soon as I get it done.

Be blessed!

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

Heather's Version of the Mini-Album

To my delight, I entered E.B.B. this morning and found a comment from Heather stating that she too had taken upon herself the challenge to use the tutorial. She was able to create this awesome little album that she will be using for quotes. (I think that is a very clever idea).

Heather used the EBB's April monthly kit to complete this project. It is amazing the amount of things you are able to come up with using this kit! I still can't believe that so many different projects can be made using this one kit.. (and to think it brings so much more than this!) If you are a kit subscriber and are clueless of what to do with it, go to the EBB monthly kit gallery and see what others have made. Who knows, maybe you will find inspiration there. :o)

Thank you Heather for sharing with me. Hopefully this is the first of many challenges we will be able to work on together. ;o) You better start sharing the quotes you find... I love those as well.

Be blessed!!

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)

Accordion Mini-Album

I am sooo excited! I was actually able to sit and work on this album. It is sooo easy to do that it is scary. I have not been able to put in the pictures, but I will be adding wallet size pictures, which is what fits best. I am thinking about adding some doodling around the pictures as an embellishment after I get my Sakura pens from EBB. :) (Can't wait!!)

Here are some things to consider if you intend to make this album. Because the pages are 3x3, I found that the chipboard should be cut to 3.5x3.5 instead of 4". I tried it originally with 4" and it was too big. This other measurement worked great.

The patterned paper I used to cover the chipboard measured 5x5 because I wanted to make sure that the 3x3 album pages would cover all the empty space. I also used double-sided patterned paper to create the pages. I think it adds a little something unique to it.

This is a beautiful album that can be carried around in your purse. I think it could also be used as a memory-card when giving a present to a friend. Because it is so easy to make, it will serve as a great addition to any project you make. I even think that it can be added to a LO in order to incorporate hidden long journaling.

I would love to see some of your own creations. Please take the time to create this album and share a picture. :OP I love to see what others are able to inspire me with!

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10)

Mini-Album Tutorial

This week I wanted to share a tutorial that I have had lots of fun with. I am completely fascinated by mini-albums and how easy and practical they are. Here is a tutorial I believe would be extremely cute to try. You will need one sheet of 12x12 cardstock in order to complete this mini-mini-album. The pages inside the album are 3x3, so it is an album that you can carry around with you. I will be working on this today and I will post a picture of my album on this thread. Here is the tutorial:



Enjoy!!

Please share your pictures as you decide to follow this tutorial to create your own version of this album. It is always fun to see what others are able to create. :)

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name." (Psalm 91:14)

Flat Julie's Adventures

I have had the privilege of having Flat Julie for about a week and a half already. Although I am supposed to be resting, I found it necessary to take her with me to my friend's baptism. On Saturday, April 19, my hubby and I along with a group of friends went over to Key Biscayne to witness how many people were getting baptized. It truly was a beautiful day in which many confirmed outwardly what they already believe in their hearts: Jesus Christ is Lord. Among these people was our great friend Carlos. He has been such an amazing blessing in our lives, and it was an honor to be able to share with him such an important day.

While we were there, Flat Julie had an itinerary of her own. She spent the day lounging in a beach chair and being curious about the world around her. Once in a while she would go and speak to the people that would interest her, but for the most part she was a rebel. I understood her behavior very well because she had been stuck inside her envelope for quite a while. Now that she was finally out and about, she wanted to make the best of her time.



Flat Julie found a motorcycle and decided she would ride it for a while. While she tried out her cycling skills, the owner of the Harley came by and said he was honored to have Julie ride with him. He had me take a picture of him and her. Here is the proof!

After this great adventure, Flat Julie decided she was hungry and got herself a huge plate of food. She ate it while sitting on top of a car. While there, she spotted a beautiful dog and decided it would be a great idea to go check him out. This only left her in the middle of more trouble. The dog spent some time sniffing her. The owner of the dog assured me that the dog was harmless and I believed him. I turned around for a second, and when I turned back to find Julie, all I could see was her face and her little hands. Flat Julie had been buried in the sand. I was left with no other choice but to take Julie and put her back in her envelope.


There she remained only for a little while. My friends and I decided to go to Cracker Barrel and I decided to take her along. (It was way too hot here in Miami for poor little Julie to stay in the car.) Here are some of the few things Flat Julie was able to do here:



If you want to see more pictures of Julie in her Key Biscayne adventure, check out her adventures thread in the E.B.B. Creations forums. I will continue to keep you posted on her whereabouts! :)

Have a blessed day!

"I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (Psalm 91:2)

Thank you Kristen!

I realized today that Kristen went ahead and took the challenge of creating her own glitter embellishment. I thought it came out so pretty, I wanted everyone to see it. I have yet to buy the glaze I need to make my own, but I will soon that. I have some chipboard letters I want to cover in glitter and I will add to this post once I do that. In the meantime enjoy Kristen's creation.

Thanks again Kristen!!!

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:17)

Beginning of Weekly Tutorials

I just finished having a blast at the E.B.B. Creations forum. We had our kit reveal party today and I am still amazed at the talent that flows amongst the DT members. If you missed it, go to www.ebbcreations.com and find the kit party thread under the general scrapbooking forum. I can assure you that there will be something there to inspire anyone. :)

I want to begin having a weekly scrapbook tutorial video posted here. So here is the first one: How to make your own glitter embellishments

I am going to try to get the materials to be able to create some of these. As soon as I do, I will be posting pictures of them here for you to see. If you choose to create your own embellishments as well, please share by posting a picture here. :)

Happy Scrappin'!!

" Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2Corinthians 5:17)

You won't regret it...

Today has been such a strange day. I have spent the majority of the day in bed because of a new pregnancy pain and now it is 6:27 pm and I have yet to leave my room. :o) As I was chatting away with the people at EBB I realized that I have not even mentioned that I am now part of the BEST design team on planet earth (I am sure that the one's in Heaven could be better than us, but they have an advantage!)!! I am privileged to say that I am part of the E.B.B. Creations design team. The best part about this, besides the awesome women that design along with me, is the fact that I can get their monthly kits delivered at home once a month!!!! So I remembered that you too could take advantage of receiving these awesome kits. Here's how:

1. Head over to www.ebbcreations.com

2. Sign up to their store and search for the monthly kits. (Here you will be able to see pictures of the past kits)

3. Suscribe to the monthly kit club. As you do so please type:
"Al-Marie ROCKS AS A DT MEMBER".

4. Come back to this thread and post a comment letting me know that you signed up. Once you do, I will be able to send you a little surprise you won't regret having.


So there you have it. I can't wait to hear and see the amazing projects you guys are going to be able to come up with once you start getting these. I would even like to post a slideshow with the pictures of your creations. This should be fun! :oP


"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16)

I finally have a Blog!!!

I can't believe it. I actually took time to sit and create a blog. Because I am not the most computer savvy person, it will take a while before this looks even close to decent. Please be patient with me. :) I hope to be able to tell you all about what the Lord is doing in my life on a daily basis! It should be exciting to have a place to go back to and be able to appreciate His fingerprints in everything.

Join me in this new journey... It shall be fun!!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)