Scrapfest at the Mall Of America

My dear Sister-in-Law talked me into going to Scrapfest at the Mall Of America this year.  She had attended last year and had so much fun she wanted to do it again.  I had an absolute ball!  It is a fantastic way for crafters to see vendors and learn about their products.  The have many booths with "make and takes" that are free (you must buy a Scrapfest badge to do the make and takes).  My absolute favorite booth was the Graphic 45 booth.  Each day of Scrapfest we made a different tag from their Lady's Diary line.  Here are the tags (each one measures 41/2 by 9 inches)

There were 27 booths and we hit each one of them at least once.  Many booths had different projects each day.  The Carta Bella and Echo Park booth did two projects a day!  Here is a sample of most of the make and takes I made.

We also attended two crops at the Archiver's store in Apple Valley MN.  The Friday night crop was sponsored by Maya Road and we made a darling card and got a goodie package of chipboard, a canvas mini album and a Vintage Embellishment Super Pack.  Maya Road has several grand prizes also but we didn't win.  On Saturday night the sponsor was Graphic 45.  We made a vintage card with real metal hinges and received a goodie pack that included Hampton Art stamps and a 12x12 pad of Graphic 45 Cirque paper.  I won one of the grand prizes that included an alphabet stamp set, Graphic 45 hardware, Little Darling Stamp sets and a Nutcracker 8x8 pad.  Plus the Archiver's store provided a goodie bag each night also.  I barely had enough suitcase room to cart all the goodies from Scrapfest home!

Last and best of all was the one hour and a half class with the Rock Star of crafting TIM HOLTZ!  (scream!)  He is one of the best instructors on video and even better in person.  The project taught us a lot of techniques.  After the class he was available for picture taking and autographing.  I had him autograph the top of my instruction sheet.  Here it is framed on my wall in my craft room next to my completed project.

 We enjoyed talking to women from all over the country while we were standing in line for the make and takes.  And of course the shopping, there were some amazing stores.  I hope you might consider attending a Scrapfest.  You will not be disappointed.  

Happy Crafting!

You can visit my Creative Memories website HERE.

My 9-11-2001 Story

This day is always a tough one for me.  On 9-11-2001 I was the Chief of Staff for the Colorado Army National Guard and on a Temporary Duty Trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the National Guard Bureau with 13 other members of the Colorado Army National Guard.  Our hotel was right across from the Pentagon.  It was a day of horror to be that close to terror and death.  If you are interested you can visit the Colorado National Guard news archives for my story.  There are other stories from Guard members who were with me on that trip also.  I ask God to bless our country every day and keep it safe. I pray constantly for the safety of our deployed service members.  We will remember.  GOD BLESS THE USA!

Happy Crafting!
Donna
You can visit my Creative Memories Website HERE

Elegant Wedding Card and VCMP Challenge 9

I finally finished my last challenge (#9) from the Operation Write Home Virtual Card Making Party last weekend.  Shannon at Sharing My Work for OWH challenged us to use a neglected tool.  I used my heat embossing tool.  It has been a while since I heat embossed and the results turned out gorgeous.

This is a wedding card I made for the son of a friend.  I stamped the Stampin'Up! Mr & Mrs in Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink and embossed it with Zing Clear Finish embossing powder.  It gave it a nice shiny raised feeling.  I used the Stampin'Up! Apothecary Accent Framelit to cut it out.  The paper is Creative Memories Tie the Knot Addition (no longer available).  I used Our Daily Bread Stamps for the inside of the card.

Then I made a gift card holder from my new Close to My Heart Artiste Cricut Cartridge.  I found the idea on Diane's blog Capadia Designs.  She was one of the first blogs I ever started following right after I bought my Cricut.  This Gift card holder is on page 55 of the Artiste Cartridge book and is cut at 5 inches.

That's it for the Virtual Card Making Party Challenges.  I had fun doing them and created more cards in a weekend then I did all last month.
Happy Crafting!
Donna
You can visit my Creative Memories Website HERE.

Lawn Fawn Week Bonus Sketch

I couldn't resist this cute little fox and his pine tree for the Lawn Fawn Week Bonus Sketch at OWH.  This also is a card that represents Colorado for the 10th Challenge of the Labor Day Weekend VCMP.  Our state has a tremendous amount of National Forest Land with pine trees.  This year we have experienced many forest fires because of the drought.  Also our fox population has diminished due to mange so we have an over-abundance of rabbits to deal with.  On to the card!

Stamp Set:  Lawn Fawn Critters in the Forest
Craft cardstock
Background DSP:  Hey Birdie by Kaisercraft
Forground DSP:  Happy Camper Tree Hugger by imaginisce
Colored with Tim Holtz distressed markers
Banner Die Cut:  Itty Bitty Banners by Stampin'Up!

August Swap Card

The swap theme for August was Love.  When I make cards for my swap club I always make one or two extra for Operation Write Home.  This one is going to Operation Write Home and I Stickled the heart and then coated it with glossy accents to ensure no glitter flaked off.  This card also qualifies for the Lawn Fawn Midweek Throwdown  and the Glitter tutorial at Operation Write Home and the challenge on the Lawn Fawn blog.

All paper products and ink by Stampin'Up!

Stamp Sets:  Greeting Card Kids, Pennant Parade

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler

DSP:   Regals Collection (Cherry Cobbler Polka-dots)

Ink:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler

Stampin'Up! Pastels

Ribbon:  1/2" Seam  Binding Cherry Cobbler

Technique:  Paper Piecing

SU Scallop Trip Border Punch

Spellbinders Lacey Circles

Happy Crafting!

Donna

You can visit my Creative Memories website HERE.

Hambo Hoedown KICK IT UP!

The Hambo Hoedown "KICK IT UP!" this week was to us any of their digi's and torn paper.  I loved the cute Wee Henry doing Karate but I used "Artist Pig" and created a torn Color Wheel for him.  Unfortunately I missed the deadline but it was still fun to make the card.

I used Promarkers to color the pig.  I held my torn color wheel together with a brad because it was really hard to get it together!  It is also very hard to tear a triangle!  I used Creative Memories card stock for the color wheel and backgrounds.

Happy Crafting!

Donna

You can visit my Creative Memories Website HERE.

VCMP Challenge 8

I am finishing up the challenges from the Virtual Card Making Party (VCMP).  Challenge eight was to make a sports themed card.  This was perfect for me because my DH birthday is coming up this month and I needed a card for him. He coaches High School Baseball in the summer.

I was at a loss for a sketch idea until I noticed Paula's Card in the links.  I CASEd her card.  Thank you Paula!

Paper and Stickers are Creative Memories Baseball Addition

Pennant Stamp and Punch from Stampin'Up!

Tim Holtz Distressed Ink in Fired Brick and Brushed Corduroy

Happy Crafting!

Donna

You can visit my Creative Memories Website HERE.

VCMP Challenge 6 and 7

I am trying to finish up my challenges for the Virtual Card Making Party .  Challenge six was OWH Sketch 136  with Linda adding the twist of Use Your Punches.  Here is my take on the sketch.

Paper and Butterflies are from K&Company (I had to glossy accent the butterfly with the glitter)
Sentiment is Stampin'Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes
Punch is Word Window from Stampin'Up!

Now for Challenge Seven.  Sybrina K challenged us to make a Christmas Card for a Hero and a Christmas Card for a Hero to send home to a child.  That was a little tough for me as I don't do too many children's cards (mine is grown up and no grandkids yet!).  Here is what I came up with.

I used the Creative Memories Holidazzel Kit from Christmas last year.  It has some sparkly epoxy stickers that really brightened up the cards.  The paper edition is sold out but it is still available as a digital edition for both Storybook Creator 4.0 and other digital programs.  After I finished these cards I mad a bunch more and still have more paper left over to make some more.  OWH really got me crafting this weekend with the VCMP challenges!

Happy Crafting!
Donna
You can visit my Creative Memories website HERE.

VCMP Challenge 5

Challenge 5 for the Virtual Card Making Party (VCMP) was to make a card with a Western theme (Cowboys or Horses).  Lucky for me I recently purchased this stamp at the Rubber Stamp Expo in Colorado Springs.  The three horses remind me of my friend Linda who has three beautiful but aging horses. I bought this stamp to make a birthday card for her.

Materials Used:
Authentique Genuine Paper and sticker
Judy Duke Rubber Stamps (Horses, Brush Background, Pebbles)
Stampin'Up River Rock and Chocolate Chip Ink
Tim Holtz Distressed Inks Chipped Sapphire and Vintage Photo

I tried scanning the card instead of photographing it because I was tired of my camera distorting the squareness of my card.  The pop-dotted image makes the background paper fuzzy so that doesn't seem to be the answer either.  Any ides on how to get my camera to behave?

Happy Crafting!
Donna
You can visit my Creative Memories website HERE.

VCMP Challenge 4

Challenge 4 for the Virtual Card Making Party (VCMP) was to make a card using the Triple Time Technique.  The link has the directions how to do it.  Here is my card.

Materials from Stampin'Up!:
Pumpkin Pie Cardstock
Very Vanilla Cardstock
En Francais Stamp
French Foliage Stamp
Pumpkin Pie Ink
River Rock Ink
Soft Suede Ink
Lucky Limade Ink
Early Expresso Ink.
Sentiment by Hero Arts OWH Home set.

Happy Crafting!
Donna
You can visit my Creative Memories website HERE.