Sit .. with Scrap Our Stash

Morning scrappy peeps!

So I've been scrapping again. I started playing with this background a few days ago but it wasn't really going anywhere. Then November first arrived and with it, a host of new challenges. First off the cab for me was to finish this background with the Scrap Our Stash Tic Tac Toe challenge.

Sit

I chose the vertical strip on the right ..

I already had lots of the colour brown covered with my background. I punched my ovals out of scrap watercolour paper I had done some plain colour washes on, and then pierced them around the edge. I used scraps of burlap (or as us Aussies call it, hessian) I had hanging around, as well as a Charms Creations hessian heart. Some close ups ..

I so enjoy the versatility of the Scrap Our Stash Tic Tac Toe challenges. Mid month they have another challenge, a sketch with a word, such as 'stencil', and you need to use a product starting with the alpha of each letter in the word. For example .. Sewing .. Template .. Embossing powder .. etc. Lots of fun.

Anyways, if you fancy giving the Scrap Our Stash current Tic Tac Toe challenge a go, you can find all the details you need HERE.

Happy scrapping!

Alz
:)

Scrap Around The World

Right about now all I can say is O.M.G.!!! I stumbled across an amazing challenge blog, Scrap Around The World, with the most amazing challenges and talented designers from around the world. Wow! The blog has blown me away and I can't wait until I have the time to make myself a cuppa and sit down and fully explore all that it has to offer.

Moving on, I woke up this morning determined that today I was going to get my grunge on, get really arty, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do and with what photo and challenge. That's exactly what I did.

Detached

It was sooooo good to get down and dirty with paints and mists and inks and just let the creativity flow, to allow my mind the freedom to instinctively recreate what I had dreamed. It was just about the most fun I've had scrapping in a really long time. LOL I think I might have to set aside tomorrow for more of the same!

Anyways I used the June 2013 Challenge 2 - An Eclectic/Retro Mood Board By Anupama Choudary at Scrap Around The World when creating this layout. The challenge comprises Anupama Choudary's Mood Board from which to draw inspiration, and a "happy & whimsical" (clearly I missed this bit LOL) sketch by Scrap Around The World's resident sketch artist Julianne McKenna-De Lumen.

Can you imagine my surprise (and shock horror) when late on a winter's afternoon in Melbourne I find the due date for the challenge is the 25th of June (today)! LOL talk about a rushed photo job in less than perfect conditions. At least it wasn't midnight LOL!

 Anupama Choudary's Mood Board

I was inspired by the 'arty' photo of the camera in the bottom right hand corner.

Julianne McKenna-De Lumen's sketch

Loved this sketch!

So I have no idea if I've followed all the steps for this challenge but I'm going to link it up and see what happens. I have to say it was an absolute blast doing this challenge and I'm looking forward to getting more creative inspiration from Scrap Around The World.   :)

PS: I may just take some fresh photos tomorrow morning when the light is just right, and see if I can't  get not only a far better pic, but some close ups of the texture and other fun 'bits' on my layout.   ;)

PPS: For some better photos of my layout please see HERE.   :)

Scrap The Girls - March

The March challenge at Scrap The Girls is a colour challenge .. black, white and green.

Never stop dreaming

published in Scrapbooking Memories Vol 16 No 2

Ordinarily when I 'think' green, I tend to think of bright, fun and funky greens like lime. This time though I went with more earthy tones to blend with the photo. I created the background on a piece of 12x12 heavy weight, water colour paper (which I cut down from a larger sheet) and Tim Holtz distress inks. I loved the process and love the effect. I see myself playing with water colours more often.

Anyways if you're interested in giving the Scrap The Girls March challenge a go, you can find all the details HERE. But you'd better be quick! Entries must be loaded before midnight tonight!!

I hope whatever you're doing, wherever you are, whomever you're with, you're having a lovely Easter; and if you're travelling, please travel safe.   :) xx

Scrap The Girls - November

Scrap The Girls has a fabulous colour combo for it's challenge this month .. teal + orange + white. I wasn't sure I'd be able to give this challenge a go until I quite literally stumbled across an old photo of me as a child whilst I was scrapping on the weekend. It was screaming to be scrapped with orange and teal was the perfect accompaniment ..

Soft Kitty

published in Creating Keepsakes Volume 18 Issue 6

If you'd like to give the Scrap The Girls challenge a go, you still have about 12 hours LOL! You can find the details HERE.   :)

Grunging it up for Sarah

I'm in a slow paced, relaxing and fun CJ swap which started last year at ScrapChat. We've each kept our own CJs and are sending the pages to each other so that our CJs don't get lost in the mail. We all completely understand that life sometimes gets in the way of scrapping and that sometimes when we're scrapping we just don't feel much like scrapping a CJ page or we're just not inspired by the theme (yet) or are simply completely lost. Whatever! There are 12 girls in the swap and I think if it takes us two years to finish, none of us will be particularly concerned. I'm loving it.

Anyways one of the themes I needed to scrap was "a day in my life" for Sarah (heh hon!!). At the time it was due I was miserable and was much preferring to bury my head in the sand and ignore my life, so the last thing I wanted to do was actually scrap about it LOL!!! Sarah was totally cool about me skipping hers for the time being and coming back to it when I was ready (see how relaxed we are?!). So I took some photos and then set them aside for when I was in the right head space. That was just a couple of days ago.

Then I discovered the size of Sarah's CJ ... the pages were A5 ... tiny!!!!! How was I going to fit all my photos and my journaling on a double A5?? I mulled it over for a long while and eventually came up with the idea of putting together some 'postcards from my life'. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun I had creating them from scratch. Plus I've fallen in love all over again with my Tim Holtz Distress Inks! I had almost as much fun creating the pages for the postcards to sit in. I just kind of went with the flow. I stitched the panels which hold the postcards into place and then, going with the flow, coloured in between the randomly stitched lines, something I'd ordinarily do when doodling. I don't know what it was about these pages for Sarah, but I really felt like I was having a zen moment when creating them! Anyways, without further ado I give you ...

Postcards from Alz

(note - size = A5 double)

products used:

cardstock - SU! Very Vanilla

patterned paper - Tim Holtz Idea-ology Lost and Found paper stack

stamps - SU! French Foliage, Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous - Postcards and Spills & Splatters

inks - Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Frayed Burlap, Tea Dye, Antique Linen; Archival Ink Jet Black

alphas - Quickutz Moonlight alpha die

other - Fiskars border punch, Pure Black Zig Writer, SU! Perfect Plum marker, vintage post stamps and sewing machine thread

a few samples of the postcards ...

postcard #3

postcard #5

postcard #8

I hope Sarah enjoys these postcards as much as I enjoyed creating them. If not I may just ask her to mail them back to me LOL. Although maybe I should just get on with re-creating them. Or maybe not!

Whatever you're doing I hope you're all having an awesome Sunday!   :)

Decking the halls

You know that feeling when you've spent weeks working on a big project and then all of a sudden it's finished and you're not sure what to do next? I think I'll call that feeling 'Creatively Tired and Confused' LOL ... CTT!! Well that was me on the weekend, which sucked big time because my girlfriend (heh Sandy!!) was hear to catch up and scrap. I was totally without inspiration. The 54 cards I made for the florist had left me with a bad case of CTT! Knowing me as well as she did, Sandy suggested I make some Christmas decorations. The perfect project really ... getting down and dirty with lots of paints and other mediums. Plus it has been such a long time since I really needed to wear my crafting apron! So I took up Sandy's suggestion and made some Christmas stars ...

Star Bright

products used:

Tim Holtz Grungeboard (plain); Sizzix die - Stars, Primitive; Tim Holtz Alterations die - Mini Paper Rosettes; Viva Decor Ferro Metal Effect Colour - Old Gold; German Glass Glitter - Copper; Stampin' Up! DSP - First Edition; Prima Flower Centres; metallic embroidery thread; beads

I am thrilled with the result, and inspired to make more decorations!!! Having spent the past few years sorting, culling, packing, renovating, selling, packing, moving, renting, building, packing, moving, we haven't worried so much about decorating our homes for Christmas. This year though we're thinking of getting a Christmas tree. Only problem with that is the Christmas decorations haven't been unpacked and although we know what box number they're in, where exactly that box is, is something of a mystery! So yep, thanks for your suggestion Sandy ... our tree may not be entirely bare this year!!!! xx

What do flowers, songs, and creations have in common?

They are all weekly favourite challenges over at ScrapChat.

September has been a difficult month. Coming to the realisation that it was time to let Max go. Accepting that realisation. Acting upon it. Difficult times. There have been countless days when I have quite simply not known what to do, where to turn. Days of having to drag myself out of bed when all I've wanted to do is stay under the covers with Max, and, later, with his blanket. But for what purpose? When he was gone, what was I going to do when I got out of bed? My life revolved around him.

I am thankful for that time spent in hospital when I learned how to make cards as occupational therapy. I am thankful for all those months spent in therapy learning about mindfulness and how to implement it in my daily life. Without either of these tools I think I would have succumbed, in the end, to the urge to never get out of bed again. I did get out of bed and, although without inspiration, I had a long list of 'favourite' challenges which were overdue. Those challenges, together with a frenzy of card making for a girlfriend have got me to today.

Ye Olde English Roses

(favourite flower)

products used:

cardstock - Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla; patterned paper - Kaisercraft Timeless Collection Sheet Music, 7Gypsies Savannah Flock Paper Harlequin, red flocked paper; Heidi Swapp clips; Cuttlebug alpha dies - Harmony; Sizzix/Stampin' Up! Embosslits - Beautiful Wings; Kaiser Pearls - Pewter; Kaisercolour acrylic paint - Antique White; fine, gold tulle and red sewing machine cotton

Harmony

(favourite song)

opened

products used:

cardstock - Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Grungeboard Nature (as masks); Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Denim Blue, Suede, Sunflower; Tsukineko Walnut Ink - Willow; FolkArt acrylic paint - 527 Forest Moss; Jenni Bowlin alpha stickers - Reverse Black and Vintage Black; Stampin' Up! Linen Thread; Pure Black Zig Writer, Uni-ball Signo white pen

Tim Holtz Junkie

(favourite creation)

products used:

cardstock - Bazzill; patterned paper - Tim Holtz paper stack Lost and Found; black Smooth Spritz (and mesh tape used as a mask); Tim Holtz Idea-ology - plain Grungeboard, metal embellishments; Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations dies - Hanging Sign and Heart Wings; Jimnie Gel Roller silver pen; Dymo and black label; black leather, black sewing machine thread, embroidery cotton

Next up I'll share the cards I've been making this past week. Stay tuned ...

From the heart

I took this photo back in March.  I hadn't ever wanted to scrap it.  I didn't think I'd ever be able to.  However, the photo has stuck in my mind, as some photos do, and right now, it says everything about how we're feeling, and more.

How

products used:

cardstock - Core'dinations embossed, Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Taken with Teal; patterned paper - My Minds Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky "Together" Lines Paper, My Minds Eye Lime Twist Life of the Party "Be You" Bloom Paper; Chelley Bean Designs fabric rosettes; rope flowers; 'by Alz' handmade shipping tags; white lace ribbon; American Craft Thickers - Lullaby, foam, charcoal; Sassafras Lass Cardstock Stickers - Slate Alphas; Carolee's Creations Adornit Tiny Whoopsy Teal alphas; Pink Paislee Artisan tape - Teal; unknown chipboard flourish; Crate Paper Restoration Collection Borders; Fiskars Artisan border edge punch; Tim Holtz Broken China Distress Ink and Distress Crackle Paint; FolkArt acrylic paint - 651 Metallic Blue Topaz; Stampin' Up! Upsy Daisy stamp set; Stampin' Up! Basic Gray marker; upcycled white cotton

I've used the White With 1 July challenge criteria when creating this layout ... white + aqua/teal + chipboard.  A gorgeous combination I recommend you try.  For more info on the White with One challenge check it out HERE.

Troubled moments

"However long the night, the dawn will break."

~ African Proverb

The day these photos of GB were taken, we were at Point Henry with Max, expecting to lose him in only a few short days. Where had this come from? What was going on? It was all so sudden. We felt like we'd been slammed side on and been left in the dirt and decaying leaves in the gutter. Ultimately, Max was granted a reprieve and almost four months on, he is still with us. For how long? We don't know. I can't speak for GB but I know it is something that seems at times to consume me. Perhaps because I'm home full time with Max and I see his deteriorating health and his daily struggles worsen? All I know is we don't have him for very much longer, and it's breaking my heart.

Days like today I'm thankful for scrapbooking. Whether I've used it as occupational therapy or creative self-expression, or both, today, scrapping has eased the load. Perhaps because these photos were taken on a sombre occasion, they are particularly meaningful? I know I love the candid images of GB simply wandering in the shallow waters. It's taken me a little while (okay ... almost four months!) to scrap these photos but I've been waiting for the right time. Today was it, apparently ...

be

products used:

Tim Holtz - Lost and Found paper stack, Distress Crackle Paints Linen and Weathered Wood, Distress Inks Stormy Sky, Shabby Shutters, Frayed Burlap, various metal embellishments; various crocheted elements; American Crafts Thickers - Delight, Fabric, Green; Kaisercolour acrylic paint - Antique White; Stampin' Up! - Not Quite Navy ink pad, Weathered background stamp, antique brads; Cuttlebug Harlequin die; font - CBX Monument; Making Memories staples;  fabric, hessian

Special thanks to Purple Pumpkin for the fabulous sketch designed by Belinda Spencer which they've used for their July sketch challenge ...

for information re Purple Pumpkin's July sketch challenge

check the details out HERE

Well that's today's efforts done and dusted. Tomorrow? I have a hankering to give White With One's July challenge a go. GB is having my photo printed as we speak ... hopefully ...

From just one layout ...

... came a sketch, a mini layout (3x3"), mini album covers, a 12x12" layout and two cards.  This 'just one layout' is the culprit ...

Beautiful

published in Scrapbooking Memories Volume 11 No. 7

products used include: Treasures and Core'dinations cardstock; Kelly Panacci and Crate Paper patterned papers; Little Yellow Bicycle transparency; K&Co die-cut cardstock shapes; Doodlebug stick with it alphas; WeRMK foil sheets; Crate Paper rub-ons; Stampin' Up! scallop edge punch; Kaiser pearls; Zig marker; various ribbons (including Maya Road velvet ric rac), buttons, fabric and other haberdashery items; and a generic 'cheapie' (but super stunning don't you think?!) flower

Although I created this layout quite some time ago now, it remains one of my firm favourites.  I remember being inspired by the photo and after editing it, being inspired to create something dreamy, floaty and childlike in its innocence.  Recently, my friend Kylie of {yillup designs} (see HERE) created a sketch from this layout ...

Beautiful sketch

I love how this sketch turned out (thanks K!!) and was eager to give it a whirl more than two years after creating the original layout.  But I confess, I'm in the middle of my first (and hopefully last!) serious head cold for the season and over the past week I haven't felt much like creating.  Plus, and this bit is more than a tad exciting, I'm going on a scrapbooking retreat in June so I've been a bit of an eager beaver getting a head start on my photos and kits to take away.  Could I bring myself to drag myself away from the retreat preparation long enough to actually scrap?  LOL at the rate I was going I would be taking away enough projects and kits to work on I'd never get them done in a month of Sundays.  What to do?  Then I remembered I needed to make ten mini (3x3") layouts for a swap at the retreat.  Why not use my sketch (somewhat shrunk you could say) to create those mini layouts?  Problem solved!!!  This is what I came up with ...

Alz

note - the layout is actually 3.5x3" so as to allow 0.5" for binding

products used include: Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock; Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned papers; Kaiser rhinestones; Prima Forever Flowers; ribbon; Zig writer; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; EK Success border punch (postage stamp); and Stampin' Up! 2 3/8" scallop circle punch

I'd had the Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie range (okay I confess I have all four colours in the Paperie range) in my stash for what feels like eons without using it.  A girlfriend used the Greenhouse range last year some time when she was here and we were cyber cropping (hi Sandy!) but otherwise, I've left them dormant.  What was I thinking?!  Was I crazy?!!!  This range was divine to work with.  I will be the first to admit I have always had a thing for Making Memories, since the day I started scrapping. Having said that I can't quite understand why I hadn't done anything with these collections before.  Well let me say, once I had done 10 versions of this mini layout I was hooked.  So hooked I proceeded to do my mini album covers for the mini layouts (once we have swapped them all at the retreat that is), completely forgetting that covering our mini albums was meant to be one of the retreat challenges.  Seriously what a dufus!  There's nothing I can do about the fact that I've completed the challenge only about six or seven weeks before the event so I may as well share.  Oh and no I'm not going to officially 'enter' them with the other mini albums.  Seriously ... what a dufus!!!

3MMM mini album covers

products used include: chipboard; Stampin' Up! Top Note die; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Stampin' Up! Kraft cardstock (on the inside of the covers); Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned paper, trim, blossoms and buttons; embroidery cotton; Kaiser rhinestones; American Crafts Thickers, rockabye, foam, leaf

Now honestly, can you see why I have fallen in love (all over again) with this fabulous range?  The darker green paper covering the front and back of the album covers is actually flocked.  I love things which are touchy feely and this flocked paper fits the bill!!  After I had mistakenly completed this challenge now instead of in mid June (have I mentioned what a dufus I am?!?!) I packed everything away nice and neat ready to start my next project only, LOL, to pull it all out again to keep creating.  I wasn't hooked on this paper range, I had well and truly jumped from the water into the boat!  Over the course of five days (yes I know that's slow, even for me, but remember I'm scrapping with a nasty head cold), using this collection, as mentioned above, I created 10 mini layouts, decorated my mini album covers, made a 12x12 layout and two cards.  After all this I managed to successfully (for now!) put the collection away and away it has remained.  I'll admit though I'm not so sure if that's because I've finished with it for the time being or because I'm scared I'm going to use it all up LOL!!!

This is the 12x12 (my preferred size) layout ...

Couple of kids

(briefly and all over the place) the products used include: various American Craft Thickers; Kitty Robot buttons; Glossy Accents and FolkArt paint; red brads; Buzz and Bloom chipboard; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Making Memories (there they are again!) Clear Creations, Family; chipboard; Prismatics and Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock; Tim Holtz Alterations dies - Paper Rosette and Mini Paper Rosettes (I LOVE this new die!!!); Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie patterned papers; and The Crafter's Workshop template, Zinnia

For those of you interested in creating your own 'die-cut' look background papers, can I suggest you invest in some templates by The Crafter's Workshop?  They are so versatile, working fabulously (amongst other things) as masks, but in this instance quite simply as a template to create a cut out paper background ...

It really is as easy as tracing/drawing the outline of the template on your patterned paper (or cardstock as the case may be), using a craft knife to cut out the pattern (I suggest a super sharp knife and a glass cutting mat to make this job faster and cleaner), and then erasing your pencil lines.  Voila!

Finally, here are the two cards I made, using the sketch Beautiful for inspiration ...

Asian bird

Asian grasses

products used in making these cards include: Prismatics and Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock; Making Memories Greenhouse Paperie journaling book and patterned paper; Making Memories Rouge Paperie felt clips (I told you I had the other colours!); red brads; red Kaiser pearls; Stampin' Up! Embosslits die, Beautiful Wings; Tim Holtz Alterations dies, Paper Rosette and Mini Paper Rosettes; Sizzix Sizzlits border die, Scallops, Giant; Stampin' Up! stamp set, Asian Artistry; Stampin' Up! ink pads, Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss; Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss cardstock; Stampin' Up! scallop trim border punch; Maya Road twill; sewing machine and cotton

I don't know about anyone else but I think that's enough green and red for this time of year.  LOL anyone could be forgiven for thinking I had mistaken it was Christmas ...

Sunday's child is full of grace ...

Sunday's Alz is spick and span ...

How many of you are diligent when it comes to housework?  Honestly?  How many of you are diligent about keeping your scrapping space in order?  Honestly?  Come on ... really truly pinky swear???

Hi my name is Alz and I am an Orderly Organisation Obsessive.  Ask anyone who has been to my place to scrap about how well things are organised.  Ask GB what a difficult time I have 'cleaning up' after someone who has been scrapping at my place and using my stash.  In case you were wondering, no LOL I don't have an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  It's just that everything has a place and in its place it shall/should be.

I've always been 'into' organisation.  In fact it might as well be my second name.  These days though, its become more and more important for me if I'm to use my stash to the best of my (and its) ability.  So everything which has been unpacked has a place and is clearly labelled.  Like is stored with like.  If everything was just stored away, even like with like, but not labelled I'd have a devil of a time remembering (a) what I had and (b) where it was stored.  My MS has slowly eaten away at some grey matter integral to memory.  As a result I heavily rely on visual prompts.  So if I'm to remember that I have stamps, and to use them, I need them stored and labelled in such a way that they're easy for me to access.

Similarly, for products that are stored 'like with like', I need to have them grouped and/or catalogued.  I have just recently catalogued all my die-cutting equipment.  Actually nope that's a lie.  I'm yet to catalogue my Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders.  Anyway an image of all my dies is on my Mac, which is not only great for house inventory purposes, but it also helps me to clearly see what I've got in the way of, say, Bigz dies.  I now need to create a catalogue which splits the dies into 'type' categories like flourishes, birds, flowers, etc, which will make life even easier.  It may seem complicated and time consuming but it won't be, as the hard yakka has already been done.  The images of the dies are already there on my Mac.

When I recently culled and sorted my clear acrylic stamps I sorted them into the following groups and stored them accordingly:

• Travel, Love and Sport
• Robots, Aliens and Monsters
• Journaling and Borders
• Alphabets and MM (Making Memories) Magnetic sets
• Card sentiments and Christmas
• Quotes, Sayings and Words
• Birds and Butterflies etc
• Botanicals and Flourishes etc
• Page elements (eg, architecture, arrows and photo corners etc)
• Foam stamps and Acrylic blocks

This may seem a little (or a lot) 'Over The Top' to some of you but I have had a plethora of clear acrylic stamps ready and waiting to be used for a looooong time, but have never used them.  Why?  Because most of the time I didn't know what I had or where to find it.  Now I do.  Now I've rectified that situation I can, and do, incorporate stamping into my paper crafting.

Sure it's taking me a little while to get used to, but just yesterday I used three journaling stamps when creating a layout.  Incidentally, by referring to my die-cutting catalogue, I also used five Sizzix dies and a Quickutz die.  Whilst I'm at it I'll make mention of the the four Tim Holtz Distress Inks I used.  "Distress Inks?" I hear you question LOL.

I'm a total Tim Holtz junkie and have all of his Distress Inks, Embossing Powders, Distress Crackle Paints, Alcohol Inks, yahda yahda yayda.  They are all tucked away in their appropriate, purpose-built Tim Holtz containers.  They are all labelled on the outside as to their contents.  However I am no longer able to remember, for example, which colours make up the original versus the second release of Distress Inks nor what the colours even are.  Seriously, I love and use all the colours of my Distress Inks (that's just a quick justification for having them all LOL!) but if I want a green ink I don't want to have to get out both storage tins and all the greens and sample them all to make a decision on what to use.  Likewise for his other products.  It's too time-consuming and I'm a slow scrapper at the best of times.  The answer?  Sample charts ...

I cannot recommend sample charts for any and all products you have, highly enough.  You don't need to have a complete range of a particular product for a sample chart.  In addition to my Tim Holtz Distress Inks I have a large number of other, mixed brand ink pads from my card making days.  I intend (one of these days ... like the Cuttlebug dies I guess and [LOL] organising my die-cutting catalogue by 'type') to make a sample chart of those too.  I still use them so they are still relevant.  I'll probably end up doing something similar with my paints.  My punches I don't need to worry so much about because for the most part they are Stampin' Up! punches and having the Stampin' Up! catalogue, well I already have a sample chart.

Are you getting the 'gist'?  Organising your stash and keeping your scrap place clean (we'll address that some other Sunday!) makes scrapping enormously easier.  It helps you make the most of your stash, you know, really get your monies worth, and prevents you from doubling up on products that can do the same thing or are the same thing (as the case may be!).

cardstock and left it to dry, or I used a VersaMark ink pad to press directly onto cardstock and then heat embossed the Embossing Powders.  When it came to the Distress Crackle Paints I simply painted an area large enough for the size punch I knew I was going to use to punch out my sample.  Incidentally, I used a 1.0" circle punch for my samples.  "Why the 1.0"?" I hear you say?  Because it fit easily in my Xyron 150 and so enabled me to turn my samples into quick and easy to use stickers.  Now seriously ... how easy is something like that to do ... really?

Okay, well I'm off to use my Distress Inks sample chart to figure out which inks will work best with the new MME Stella Rose collection (Spiced Marmalade is looking good for starters) which I'm about to make a card with ... oh that and have breakfast too.  Wishing you all a peaceful Sunday ...