Shimmerz

Many of you have picked up the Shimmerz add-ons the past few months but you may be thinking, "What the heck do I do with this?" I've done a little playing and little research and came up with some great ideas.

Shimmerz are a shimmery, paint-like glaze. They are pretty transparent so you may find that they work best if you add a base color first if you prefer a more opaque look. Shake the little pot well before opening--all of the shimmer settles to the bottom. I used a brush with soft bristles to apply them to my project. (I think a sponge brush would soak up too much.) Choose one that is an appropriate size for the piece you are painting. Because they are so "wet" you will want to tap your brush off before applying.

Shimmerz dry on non-porous surfaces so they are perfect for adding a little sparkle to Heidi Swapp Ghost letters & shapes, transparencies, & even buttons or brads. They can be used on fabric, paper, and pretty much anything you can think of. Use them to paint in stamped images or coat lace, ribbon, or felt trims. A heat gun will speed up the drying process if you are impatient.

Here's a fun little project I put together using the Shimmerz I have in my stash.

I started out with a piece of cardboard. I applied a bit of white paint and brushed it with "Angel Wings" & "Bubblegum" Shimmerz. The chipboard letters were painted white and then coated with "Bubblegum" Shimmerz.

And my favorite part of the entire project...

Ordinary Prima paper flowers become extraordinary when coated with Shimmerz paints.

With 40-50 colors available you are sure to find the color you need but like other paints they can be mixed & layered to create whatever you desire.

I would love to see how you use your Shimmerz. Be sure to link me up to your projects!

~B

Economical Scrapping by Ronda

Have your eye on the new CHA-products, but worry about the hit to your wallet? Try these tips and tricks, so you can still indulge in your scrapbooking needs!

1. Use your scraps!! If any of you are like me, you have TONS of scraps just waiting to be used!
Now is a good time to dig into your old stash and use it up!

2. Share. Order products with a friend and split packs of paper and embellishments. You can double your items without doubling the cost.

3. Go for paper! Sometimes embellishments can get expensive! Paper is an inexpensive embellishment, and allows you to create your own handmade embellishments.

4. Sell the old. Check out a local scrapbook store for “garage sale” opportunities, or sell unused items on Craig’s list or eBay.

5. Cut out on something else. Take that money that you'd normally be spending on eating out or fast food for example, and put it towards your scrappy savings.

Member Spotlight!

We wanted to start recognizing all of SO's wonderful members! So every month we will have a member spotlight so that we can get to know all of you! This month we decided on Diana Adams aka DianaA! She has been around for a very long time and always participates in everything. Great to have you around Diana! Here is a little bit about here.

*Do you have any pets? Nope - I'd be the one taking care and cleaning up after it and I have enough with 2 kids and a hubby!
*Do you like to cook? Sometimes. It depends on what it is and if I'm in the mood. I used to love to bake I just don't do it as much anymore and I don't know why.
*What's your favorite food? If I have to pick just one it would be Spaghetti.
*Do you have brothers and sisters? I have 1 half brother who is 12 years older than me and 1 full brother who is 3 years older. No sisters.
*Which sport do you like? I'm not a sports fan but I can tolerate watching hockey.
*Have you ever lived in another country? Nope.
*Have you ever met a famous person? Sort of. I was in the audience for the Big Spin (CA lottery) and Michael Gross (the dad from Family Ties) was the host. He said hello ;)
*How do you spend your free time? what's that?? hahaha. If it's really free time for me and not family free time, I scrap or play on the computer.
*Tell me about a favorite event of your adulthood. There are 2. The birth of my son in 2001 and the birth of my daughter in 2006.
*Tell me about a favorite event of your childhood. that's a toughie. I had a great childhood so there are a lot of them.
*What countries have you visited? None.
*What is your motto in life? Live, love, laugh.
*What kind of food do you like? Italian is my favorite with seafood a close second.
*Who has had the most influence in your life? I'd have to say my mom - we're really close.
*Would you like to be famous? No but I wouldn't mind the paycheck that goes with it.
*What do you think you will be doing five years from now? Hopefully the same thing I'm doing now but with more time to scrap - hahahaha.
*Are you a 'morning' or 'night' person? definitely not a morning person but I'm not a night person by choice - my brain just doesn't shut down easy to go to sleep at a decent hour!
*When do you feel best? In the morning, afternoon, or evening? mid morning is my best time
*How many times did you move as a child? none - my parents moved into the house I grew up in when I was a year old and it's only been 5 years since they sold it to move here and be closer to me ;)
*If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be? Rhode Island
*What super-power would you most like to have, and why? hmmmm...probably super human strength so I'd never have to ask my hubby to do something I'm not strong enough to do and wait for him to get around to do it :)
*Are you a beach, country or city person? In between country and city. I like the country life but I also like being close enough to the city to do things.

Photo Challenge

We have decided to add a new challenge which is a photo challenge! Ill make this one easy. Take a picture of your scrap space, whether its your kitchen table or an all out scrap room. Upload it to the gallery at Simply Obsessed and link it here in the comments. Cant wait to see your spaces!

Heres mine. Its small but Im happy to have it.

April's Kit Has Been Revealed!

I love the colors of the My Minds Eye Bella Bella Belezo! This is perfect for all the Spring/Easter pics that you will be having in the next month.

No guilt scrapping!

I think that many of us are in a similar position right now where we feel a little guilty about this hobby of ours. I've seen ladies talk about many things that make them feel bad -- the economy is in the pooper and I feel bad spending or suddenly it feels silly, I should be spending more time with my family, yada yada yada. We're women and moms, it's kind of our thing to think up reasons to feel guilty about anything good we do for ourselves. But I'm here to get your toes back in the water so that you can jump right back in.

The fact of the matter is that as a hobby, it is good for us to let ourselves have time to ourselves and be creative. It's true that you shouldn't probably skip out on family events to make that perfect altered birdhouse instead, but balance can and should be achieved. Look at your family - everyone probably has stuff that they do on their own timeto unwind. Hubby golfs? Kids play sports? Give yourself a little something.

As for feeling like it is frivilous, I'll be frank. I used to make some downright frivilous projects, scrapping or altering just to be scrapping or altering. Case in point, a birdhouse that can't do outside. Perfect:



Did it matter? I enjoyed it, so I guess not. I mean I've seen altered pirate ships before. If it makes you happy, who cares? But a huge chunk of what we scrappers do it not only not frivilous, it is cherished and expected. I was up until two in the morning today making my nephew's birthday album. It is a pretty simple album I do where I print up all the pics from the year, stick them in a little 4 by 6 album and make little 4 by 6 scrapped journaling cards to tell him how we felt about him through each accomplishment of the year. That was no waste of time because his mama LOVES it (and after 3 years I think would be sad not to get one) and at some point he will look at all of them and have a huge chunk of his life all written out for him in words in pics. PS, I also used up all the KI Pop Fusion I had. I always wanted to use it and I did, wahoo!!

When I feel like this craft is silly and frivilous, I focus on making cards, party favors and gifts. No one ever says to me "Ugh, why didn't you just buy me a card" and frankly have you seen how much a store bought card costs these days? The economy almost dictates me going in and making one. It probably doesn't dictate me buying a bunch of new stamps from Stampin Up to go with it, but no one's perfect =) And when the creativity is flowing and you're feeling good about your me-time and giving back, you'll feel ready to work on some LO's. And don't get me started on how much your family is going to appreciate those one day...

March Kit DT Reveal by Abbie

Good morning everyone!!

I am so excited to be on here posting what I made with this months kit!! I really enjoyed working with this kit. I LOVED its fun and funky colors and prints!! It was SO fun to play with the paper and see how well all the different designs complimented each other. Definitely a wonderful kit for scrapping all those fun Spring pictures!!!
Make sure to pick up one of these gorgeous babies from the SO store!!! Have a great Wednesday!!

March Kit--DT Reveal by Brandi

I'll admit, when I first saw the colors in this kit I kinda panicked! LOL! They were so not what I would normally pick out but as you can tell they work really well with an assortment of photos.

~B

March Kit-DT Reveal by Suzanne

Heres what I did with this months kit from Simply Obsessed. I also used the Bazzill add on.

I thought with the spring feel of the paper that it was great for Easter layouts!

For this card, I painted the butterfly brown. I thought it would help it stand out more.

Thanks for looking!

March kit DT Reveal by Ronda

March Challenge

Good morning everyone!!! How's everyone doing?

My challenge for you this month is use a title for your page that really isn't a word. If your family is anything like mine, you use many "words" in your everyday usage that grammatically aren't even words at all. For example "chubsters" or "squeezies". "Squeezies" are what my family calls hugs.

I love doing this on my pages because it not only preserves my memories on my pages, but it preserves my kid's and family's cute and unique dialect as well!!

Hope you give it a try and I can't wait to see what words your family has made up!

Abbie Torroll

Fashion Forward Scrapping!

On March 20th Spring will have sprung.. The snow will be melting in the warm sun and the flowers will begin to bloom. Spring fashions will hit your favorite clothing stores and the new CHA products will be hitting the shelves at your favorite local and online scrapbook stores!

Fashion dictates trends (or do the trends dictate fashion?) From handbags and apparel to home decor and scrapbooking, many of the products you rush out to buy and love to hoard are inspired by the fashions that walked down the catwalk at New York Fashion week (or some other fashion show in London or Paris!).Based on this year's spring fashion forecast we can expect to see lots of fun "new" trends and the resurrection of some old ones. Butterfly motifs, sheer designs, one shouldered dresses and shirts and the jewel encrusted fabrics are all are "in"! So, watch your favorite scrapbook store for some of these influences in the next few months!

This month I challenged myself to use these new trends to inspire my scrapping. I found a blog post on FashionISing.com http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--Womens-SpringSummer-2009-Fashion-Trends-1288.html#2009currenttrends discussing the Spring fashion trends for 2009 and I used it to inspire my work. Here is where the trends took me:

1. Butterfly Motifs: A symbol of renewal, the butterfly is a favorite motif this Spring:

2. One-Shouldered Tops, Dresses and Bikinis: Subtle and sexy, asymmetric shoulder-lines return for Spring 2009
3. See Through and Sheer Fabrics: From soft and feminine to straight up sexy, sheer fabrics will keep you cool and fashionable this Spring:

You can visit the FashionISing site for more Spring fashions to inspire your creativity! Have fun and scrap fashionably!

xoxo

Trish

March kit -- DT Reveal by Brandy

Hi everyone! You guys have been SO patient with this and you will see it is totally worth it. Instead of bombarding you with all of our designs in one day, we are going to be spreading them out for you on this blog and then back in the gallery. So look forward to seeing more Sunday through Wednesday, and for now here are mine:







Excuse the smallness, we have some kinks to work out here with Blogger. And by we, I mean me.

I have to say that I most enjoyed getting to play with those amazing Thickers (this is easily one of the funnest fonts yet!) and the really awesome, perfectly unique butterflies. The bright colors of this paper pack will totally have you in the mood for spring, so if you don't have a kit on the way yet, order one ASAP!!!

See ya, Brandy

March Sketch

Hey everyone! It's March 1st and that means the kick off of our brand new blog challenge format! Instead of the montly newsletters, we'll be posting lots of fun challenges, sketches, articles, etc. here.

Here is the sketch for this month!

And here is my example page.


My sketch and example both feature an 11" x 8.5" page but you can certainly adapt this to whatever size fits your style (or you could try something new! :) )

We would love to see what you come up with so please load your page into our gallery (link on tab above) and post a link here!

~B