Thursday, April 30, 2015

Like I needed this ;)

I wanted to meet up with my friend whom I haven't seen for a while.
Well, what better place to meet up for 2 creative friends but Michaels.






















Here are the crafty goodies that I picked up…hard to believe I found anything, since my last trip to the States was a big shopping trip :)
I was actually going to pick up a small Memento black tear drop ink pad, as I can't find mine since the crop from last weekend, I hope it didn't fall in the trash bag they hung from the table.
Guess what I totally forgot to look for….the ink pad, lol.
But I did enjoy the time spend with my friend Debbie, so all was good :)

I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Banner Paperclips

Aren't these so so cute!!!
I made these and put them in my friends treat bag at the crop.
Denise even used hers that night :)















So easy and fast to make….especially when I made them assembly line style.






















I love the hearts.
I have so many ideas for these…I can really embellish these up :)






















I got the idea from Nancy.
She gave me a Paperclip banner in my Pocket Letter…I forgot to take a photo of it…but I share hers and the pocket letter she made for me in my video.
Not only that…but I made a tutorial on how to make these cuties :)
If you would like to watch my video on my YouTube channel, just click on the link "Tracy's Treasures"
I hope you all have a very creative day :)

Tracy :)

Monday, April 27, 2015

Treat bags

I made some treat bags for my friends for the crop last weekend.
I love to make these….and since my daughters have been out of school for so long, I enjoy making them for my friends now :)
I just love these blank favour boxes….I have used them many times.
This time I decorated the whole box/bag with decorative paper, I stamped with "for You" stamp and then punched it out to make a tag.














I did a video…not only on these bags, but also share the contents of them :)
If you want to watch the video on my YouTube channel…..just click on the link "Tracy's Treasures24"
I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Such Great Fun with Friends

Yesterday was the big Crop for Autism.
It was their 3rd annual 12 hour crop and my 3rd time attending :)
For those who don't know what a "Crop" is….it is a time for creative women (in this case scrapbookers and card makers) to get together and get some pages completed…or in my case visiting and laughing with my friends :)

I can not believe how fast the day/evening went.
That is when you know you are with your people….when the time goes by so fast and you are so sad when the evening comes to an end :(
Here is my group of ladies….not all of my friends could attend as the tickets were sold out right away…but then again it was for a great cause.
















Sharon got lost in the top photo, so I wanted one of her with me….Lynne didn't want to be left out, so she jumped into the photo, teehee.






















Not only did I enjoy the company of my regular scrappin' gang…I also enjoyed seeing Caroline again.
Not only did we wander to each other's tables a few times, but we also enjoyed looking at each others art journals.
If you remember Caroline and I have a challenge going on for our journals.
I was so excited to see her art journal in person….I have to say it is more beautiful in person then in photos….if that is even possible.






















It just happen to be Sharon's birthday this day…and we couldn't leave that uncelebrated, teehee.






















Sharon is a very quiet..I'll sit in the back and observe, type of person.
Well she picked the wrong group of friends for that, lol.
Not only did I pick her up a tiara to wear all day, I made her a birthday sash and Lesli got her a Birthday badge.
I picked up cupcakes…with a musical candle….because us singing didn't draw enough attention to her, lol.
But when Sharon won a prize and had to walk up to the stage, the whole room sang Happy Birthday to her, lol.

I hope you all have a very Creative Day.
I finished 6 layouts …with some bumps along the way…but that is for another blog post ;)

Tracy :)

Friday, April 24, 2015

Crop for Autism

This can only mean one thing….I'm going to a CROP !!!!!






















Can you believe I only have two bags packed?!
It is only a 12 hour crop, but I'm pretty proud that I only have 2 bags….I wonder what I forgot..hmmmm.

The rolling tote has a couple of kits that I put together, my scrapping necessities, my new Inktense coloured pencils and 3 punches.
The blue tote has all of my kits I had purchased from Crop & Create the last couple of years (I probably won't even get to those, lol) and some of my stamps.
Actually, I think I could have got away with just bringing my rolling tote….but I always bring WAY more than I can get done, and I bring other projects besides scrapbooking…..I like to have options :)

I hope you all have a Very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Matchbook Treats

I was making some treat bags today and wanted to add some of these in them.
I used my papers that I was gong to donate.
I figured most will throw the package away anyway.






















I guess you are wondering what these are, aren't you?
Does this give you a bit of a hint?






















I made little matchbooks for some Life Saver mints.
Aren't they cute :)
I am going to a 12 hour crop this Saturday and I always make my friends treat bags :)
After I made these, I thought I should have used prettier paper….but I want to use some of my old paper and this is a perfect project for it.

















These are so so simple to make.
Here is where I found the tutorial "Krafting Kreations"

I hope you all had a very Creative Day today :)

Tracy :)

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Another Washi Use

Call me crazy or even paranoid, but I had seen a show where laptops have been hacked into and the hacker can watch you through your camera on your laptop.
Is this true, I have no idea.
But I don't need someone snooping on me…even though they would get bored very quickly.

After I saw this program I stuck a post it note on the camera on my laptop.






















Isn't that pretty, lol.
When Heather saw this the other day, she was confused on why I had the crumpled up post it note on there.
After I told her why…she chuckled and said to me….well at least you could have put some of your Washi tape on there instead…….such a smart girl, lol.


















So I took her advice and added one of my favourite wash's to the camera ;)

















Actually I added a few layers ;)
So much prettier ;)

















Here are a few other uses I have for my washi tape :)
Just click on my link if you want to see them :)  "Yup, another washi post"

I think I may need to go back into hibernation….second day of snow here :(
And its chilly as well.
But Spring is coming :)
















I hope you all had a very Creative, snowless day :)

Tracy :)

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Happy Pocket Letter Mail.

I received another Pocket Letter in the mail!!!!
This one is from Stefanie, LbCrafter.
Isn't this such a cute pocket letter.
I love all o f the birds and especially love the charm she made for me.
I should have taken a close up photo of the charm…it is attached to the page protector.






















Here is the back of her Pocket Letter.
I love that she added objects from here country Belgium, like money and chocolate ;)
I feel like I need a do over and send her some objects from Canada.






















Not only did Stefanie send me a Pocket Letter and a charm, she also sent me a book mark she had made.
So sweet of her.
Thank you so much Stefanie :)

















It was a snowy and hail day today.
I did have to go out to get some groceries….but then came back to the comfort of my warm home :)

I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Monday, April 20, 2015

Pocket Letters…the second set

I have to say that I am having fun with these Pocket Letters :)

I loved making this one.
I know, I said I was only going to use my old paper…but this is old, just not 15+ yrs old ;)
I had so much fun with my punches on this.






















I love the feminine look to this one :)
I thought it would fun to try and use the same paper in all of the pockets….well all but the centre pocket :)
I even used some punch outs that I had cut extras of and were in my stash.
I did use some of my newer supplies as well.


I made a video on these pocket letters and the goodies I put inside of them.
If you would rather watch it on my YouTube channel, just click on the link "Tracy's Treasures24"


Another rainy day here today….I hear maybe snow tomorrow?
Lets hope it was just a joke though ;)

I hope you all had a very Creative Day today :)

Tracy :)

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Pocket Letter Mailings…some tips

Lookie how pretty :)
These are a couple of my Pocket Letters that went out in the mail last week.






















On one of the Facebook pages that I follow that is dedicated to these Pocket Letters, many of the ladies have been having questions about mailing these away.
Some have even had them returned to them.
So I decided to make a video on how I mailed mine away and how much they cost me to mail them.
Being from Canada, the currency I paid was in Canadian funds.
I would strongly suggest taking your packages to the post office and getting them weighed.
Let the post office handle it. That way if it comes back, they have to resend it and pay for it.

I also did a video explaining how I mail them out and I have a blooper in there as well…ya, I still make
them, lol.
Hope you all had a very Creative Day.
It has been raining here all day, so an inside day for us :)

Tracy :)

Saturday, April 18, 2015

In the Work Shed

Its not like me to miss a day on my blog…but 2 days is unheard of.
Don't worry my SIL/friend Sharon, has already shared her disappointment in me and my lack of posts, teehee.
I thought my art journal page and video would have tied you all over for a few days.

Today was a beautiful spring day here.
I even got outside….well by outside, I mean in my work shop ;)
I was waiting for a nice day to cut the pieces I needed for Ashley's wedding centrepieces.
Don't mind the messy work table…it kind of looks like my craft table, lol.
My work shed is on my "todo" list of things that need to be sorted out.






















This is my first set of 160 pieces that need to be cut.
I have a lot more than this to cut though.






















I didn't want to individually cut each piece of wood.
Even though it would still be much faster cutting these on my saw than cutting teach one by hand.
But if I was going to go assembly style, I might as well go all out.
So I made a jig.
I clamped 2 paint sticks on top of each other, to the saw base.
I clamped them to the measurement I needed.
















I then butt the pieces that need to be cut up to the clamped paint sticks and started cutting.
The reason I clamped 2 paint sticks for my jig, so then I could double the layer.
So instead of cutting 4 pieces of wood at once, I was able to cut 8 :)
















See how nicely it worked :)

















Here are the first set of wood pieces cut as well as the end cuts.
Now I need to find a use for those end cuts…hmmmmm.
















I had to brush myself off before going into the house….a bit of saw dust :)

















I did have FNS (Friday Night Scrapbooking) last night.
I completed a layout I started last February.
I also looked at some of my layouts from the last year or so, and was pleasantly surprised on how much I really like them still, lol.
Does that ever happen to you?
You make a layout or a project, but then look back on it at a later time and don't like it as much as when you first created it?
Happens to me all of the time, lol.

I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Dance in the Rain..Art Journal and a video

It is a photo heavy post, but I wanted to share my process to making my art journal page.
And for an extra bonus, I made a video as well :)
What I won't do for you guys, teehee.

The prompt that Caroline and I had for this month was to use a girl image on our page.
I used this adorable stamp designed my Angie Blom called Lizzy Girl from the Angiegirl collection from Unity stamps.
I have to say, I am loving my page.
Each page I do, I like a bit more than the last :)

















Ok…lets get started:
I wanted to have a border to this page and I wanted it to be a vine border, as I was going for an "April showers bring May flowers" theme.
I used Archival ink as I was planning on using my new water colour pencils.
Using Archival ink, I didn't have to worry about my stamping smearing or bleeding when the water is added.
I wanted to use mists for the background, so I made a mask of this image so the mists didn't go on my main image….I then used embossing powder and heat embossed my main image it to make sure the mists didn't bleed under my main image.

















But before misting I wanted to add some texture with some background stamps.
I was trying to achieve some texture or dimension without adding bulk from papers.
By using the mask I made, I didn't have to worry about my background stamps going on my main image :)

















Now to pick out my mist colours.






















Time for some colour :)
Because I have heat embossed my image and made a mask for it, I don't have to worry about my mists seeping on my image.
I used this technique on my "Faceless Beauty" card.
















See how crisp and clean my image stayed by using that mask and heat embossing it :)
















Now to add some Rain drops.
I used a stencil and some embossing paste to make my rain drops.
I put the mask back on my image when I did the rain drops.
I know they look more like snow drops right now as the embossing paste is white….which would have worked perfectly for last week as we had snow ;)

I also coloured in the leaf border and my image with my new Inktense water colour pencils….which I have to say…I love!!!!
They blend so nicely and the part that sold me on these pencils, is that they are permanent when dry..I am going to have lots of fun with these in the future, and the colours are so Intense ;)

















Now to make my snow drops into rain drops.
I need to add some colour.
I used some distress inks….what I should have done was put the stencil back on the raindrops and then inked them, as the ink also went on the background.
Which just added some more colour (which I like) but at the same time the rain drops weren't as prominent (which I didn't like).

















In order to rectify that, I used my Pitt pen/marker and added a darker colour to the right side of the rain drop to add some depth.
I then used my white sharpie marker to add some highlights to the left side of the rain drops.
I have to say, I love how they turned out :)






















I decided to not go with the "April Showers" them and go with this quote "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the Rain"
When I showed my daughter Heather my finished page, she said it was nice…but why isn't my girl dancing, lol.
I told her, she hasn't learned the lesson yet, lol.






















How adorable is this image!
I love all images that have umbrellas.






















Look at how vibrant these colours are.
I love the umbrella colour….I think it is my favourite one in the set…but then again, this is the first time using these pencils, teehee.






















And the finished page!!!
I am so happy with how this one turned out :)
As I had mentioned, I made a video on my process.
I think it took longer to upload the video and this blog post then it did to make this page, lol.
If you would like to watch the video on a full screen, just click on my name "Tracy's Treasures24"

If you want to check out "Caroline's art page" just click on her name :)
Her page is so soft and pretty, like a warm summers day.

After sharing my sneak peek yesterday, Caroline suggested I enter it in "The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge".  She knows what is going on with challenges :)

I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Art Journal…Sneak Peek.

What have been doing all day you may be wondering…
I have been playing in my Art Journal, and having fun :)
Every 6 weeks or so, Caroline and I are coming up with prompts and doing a page in our art journals.
Caroline was finished hers a week ago…but I have to wait until the due date to actually do mine.
But in reality, I am not late as it isn't due until tomorrow ;)
I am editing my video at the moment, and it will take all night to upload to YouTube.
So I can share it with you all tomorrow :)






















I had to take a break from my page as Heather and I went to the show to see "Home"
Yes, my adult daughter and I love cartoons :)
It was a good movie, I have quite a few chuckles…and those that know me, won't be surprised that I even shed a couple of silent tears ;)

I don't know why I don't do more pages in my art journal and only do our challenge art pages????
As I really enjoy it….maybe because I have so many fun creative projects I love to work on as well ;)

I hope you all had a very Creative day today :)

Tracy :)

Monday, April 13, 2015

The very last last of my holiday shopping :)

I forgot to share my pretty new walking jacket :)
It is water and wind resistant.
Today would have been a perfect day to try it out as it rained for a bit and has been very windy, but I was busy.
What I like most about this jacket…it looks better on me then on the hanger…how often does that happen, lol.
I am so excited to see most of the snow is gone and looking forward to my outdoor walks :)






















I needed to straighten my hair when Wayne and I were on our trip…but I couldn't find my hair clip to put up my hair so I could do the under layers.
I know one was clipped on my straightener, but I couldn't find it anywhere.
But I did find a large twist tie in my bag..don't ask why I had a twist tie, because I don't have the answer.
But look it worked great….move over MacGyver ;)






















I can not tell you how much I wanted to muck around with my new creative goodies.
But I had a full day of doctor's appointments.
I had to see my family doctor for my blood work results.
Then get an ECG and lastly see my Cardiologist.
Nothing has changed…which is good.
But sadly my Cardiologist told me he is retiring this September :(
Our family doctor retired last year, then I was told my Gastroenterologist is retiring in June, and now my Cardiologist.
I know I will find other doctors, but I have been with some of these doctors for 30 yrs.
I hope they enjoy their retirement.

I hope you all had a very Creative Day today.
My friend was excited and came by tonight to check out my new stash, lol.
I am hoping to get into the new supplies tomorrow :)

Tracy :)

Sunday, April 12, 2015

The Rest of My Crafty Shopping

I have to say my main goal heading to Minneapolis, was to go into Blicks.
I could spend a lot of time in there, but this time I had one thing on my mind…these water colour pencils.
What I like about them is once you colour, then blend with water….they dry permanent. They aren't suppose to reactivate when more water is added to them, great for layering colours :)
I think they will work beautifully on my art journal pages :)
I noticed they had two sets on the shelf and the biggest set held 36 pencils.
I was advised to get the bigger set from some online crafty friends, as they all got the bigger sets once they used them.
I had asked if they had the bigger set and at first the sales guy said no….but then checked in the back…I was so happy when he told me that they did!!!
I even got $20.00 off the price…bonus!!!!
When I told Wayne how much they were, and that they had the bigger set. He just said that was good.
I love that my husband doesn't blink an eye when I tell him that I spent an outrageous amount of money on coloured pencils, lol.
















We went to Tuesday Morning…not much there that interested me, but I do love tags :)

















We checked out Joanns.
I have been debating on getting this punch for a while now, and was still debating spending that much on one stamp….but don't think twice about spending 4x's that on coloured pencils, lol.
But Wayne told me to just get it…it was on sale and I looked at it the last time we were in the States.
So I did ;)






















Checked out another Hobby Lobby for those tiny envelopes for Ashley's wedding.
I found 3 more sets :)
I was incorrect in my numbers (yes I was a book keeper) I need 3 more, but this is all that they had.
I picked up another of the smaller Dylusions art journal.
And some fun washi tape :)






















On our way back to Duluth yesterday, we stopped at one of my favourite scrapbooking stores, Pine City Scrapbooking.
I love how those 2 12x12 papers make the tree when put together.






















One of my most fun stamp purchases from this weekend….the zombie stamps…how fun is this :)
I also found some of the fun peel off stickers like I used in my Fauxbonichi in January.

















We made it home safe and sound and are now watching 28 Days Later…I think it is a good substitute for missing our Walkng Dead.

I hope you all had a very Creative Day.
Besides sitting in the jeep most of the day…I did take out all of my new goodies and surrounded myself with them all…..oh that is happiness to me, lol.

Tracy :)