I struggles with an idea for the Christmas ATC Swap on AMR too. In the end, time was ticking away. I decided to re-work the Christmas card I made for my co-workers. Melonscraps said that was cheating. I replied that I was just using my own "sketch".

This time around I was able to use Nestabilities Nesting Birds die which made cutting out the birds much easier. (I hand cut them last year) Once I got the sandwich right, they cut though the felt "like bud-dah". These little guys have brads for eyes and feather wings. After attaching the wings and tails last year I swore I'd never work with feathers again and though them away. While I did remember I'd have to buy more feathers, I had completely blocked out the mess a bag of feathers created. Seconds after I opened this bag, it all came back to me. I didn't have to deal with the tails feather this time because these guys are just too little.

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Here is how I make mine. These are the Thanksgiving cards I made for a swap at AMR. I heard paper piecing was back "in", probably largely to do with this card. It's weird how all these other scrappers seem to have a spy in my Scrap Lair. Or maybe there's a sleeper cell at my LSS. (I mean, it couldn't be the other way around, could it? Baaa Baaa Baaa Baaa)
Would you like my recipe? Now, I know brine-ing your turkey is all the rage, but I wouldn't recommend it for this guy. Besides, Mr Alton Brown specifically says to use a frozen young turkey, and this one is an old bird if I ever saw one.

The card base (Bazzill) is embossed with Textile Texture with a BG Mellow insert (from the 6x6 pad.) More Bazzill in rich fall colors of Bazzill die cut with the Scalloped Build A Flower die. Velvet paper was also die cut with BAF and embossed with D'Vine Swirls and traced with gold gel pen. the turkey's body, trimed with Nestabilities Scalloped Circles and pressed in Swiss Dots. The body in made from two Nestabilities Scalloped Circles embossed with Swiss Dots and head, beak and wattle are from a QK digital download, cut on my Silhouette. The card is finished with an American Crafts ribbon knot.

In case your not glued to your Google Readers, Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin' for my next blog post, I'd like wish everyone:

Happy Thanksgiving

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I signed up for a Grungeboard ATC Swap at AMR. Almost immediately, I question that decision. I was really blocked. My first attempt was hideous. I am typically a bit harsh on my work, but this was awful; truly, truly horrible. I went to re-work it, and ended up completely starting over, but I think it was worth it.

This little froggy is a QuicKutz die. The die wouldn't cut all the way though the grungeboard so I had to go in with my micro point scissors and complete the cuts. I have to say those little toes were a pain in the tokhes. (yes, I looked up the spelling on that!) He is inked and his lower body is embossed with Tiny Bubbles and re-inked in a lighter green. Black Mark-its for eyes and a Glaze smile.

I heat embossed a Studio G stamped image on the back of a piece of MME Oui Oui Handsome and mounted that on the front of the same paper. The frame is a QK digital download for the Silhouette its all on a piece of Mud Pie Bazzil. I like this one a lot, and I'll be proud to swap him with the other Grungeboard girls from AMR.

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Inspired by the Thankful banner at OPSC, I made my very own tigardlilly banner.

I should start this off by suggesting, if you want to make a banner for your scrap room/ nook/ corner/ lab/ lair you should not pick a scrap alias with 11 letters because this puppy is 46” long! I couldn't even get a decent picture on the entire banner. Two more pennants and I could have done my full first and last names! (On a similar note, scrappers should not give their children names that have the same letter three times. There is not enough Bs in any chipboard set on earth. As a mater of fact, if I ever have another child, I’m naming it ZXQ.)

Back on topic…I tried and tried and tried to use some of my border punches to make a fancy pennant to peek out from behind the letter pennant.

These sots of things are very difficult for me because I was born with out any spatial reasoning ability. I’ve spent millions of dollars seeing thousands of doctors in hundreds of countries on all seven continents. Yes, all seven! And they all agree, those of us afflicted with missing spatial reason at birth can never recover and spatial ability cannot be learned. Luckily, there is an organization to that provides Spatial-Ed services in schools and trains service animals (mostly monkeys) that will rotate 3D puzzle pieces into their proper orientation. Please visit NoIDontKnowWhatThatWillFoldInto.org to see how you can help.

Oh yeah, I also can’t see though those dang dolphins hiding in the 3D posters either, not that I’m bitter. I just spent most of the 90s hiding in shame. Since I was financially strapped from seeking experimental spatial cortex re-growth treatments, the I Am Squinting My Eyes and I Still Can’t See the Dolphin Though the Pink and Purple Squiggly Lines Foundation helped with the overcome the PTSD. They were the leading organization behind the movement have these removed from doctors and dentists’ office across the country. If your MD still has one of these devices of torture in their exam room, please alert the officials at IASMEAISCSTDTTPAPSL.org

Meanwhile back on the banner ranch….I really wish I had that pennant die from Stampin’ Up, bit lacking a time machine that would allow me to have ordered the giganto die two weeks ago AND the $40 to pay for it; I had to resort to other means, mainly, trial and error. When I started to worry that six trillion failed templates was quickly becoming the leading cause of deforestation in the world, I decided just to adhere strips of Threading Water cut cardstock to the back of the letter pennants. Actually the scallops line up rather nicely for the 5x4” pennants.

For this banner, I used Basic Grey’s Ambrosia. Melonscraps helped me out with a scrap of Elephant Bazzil and some eyelets. That right girls, I used eyelets, 55 of them! At first I only used 33, but when I started to string it, I decided I needed eyelets in the top scallops too. I actually ran out one color, and didn’t have the color that melonscraps had let me used, so I stole the ten eyelets I needed from her stash when she walked out of the room. (Don’t tell her, OK. Were cool right? Dude, you better not rat me out) I cut the letter on my Silhouette (Pharmacy font) and inked them and pop dotted them to the pennants. I cut and Diamond Glazed eight butterflies from the sheet of Basic Grey Winsome. As the Diamond Glaze dried, the butterflies wings curled a bit and it look great. I stickled their bodies and attached six to the pennants. Then I made eleven little dangles from crystal beads and looped them thought the bottom eyelet and scallop of each pennant. I strung it all on some black hemp cord and spent a day trying to figure out where in my scrap lair I could hang the sucker.

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This weekend I attended OPSC (Our Private Scrapbook Convention) Some of my scrap pals and I were bummed because we couldn’t make the Seattle CKC. So were decided that each of us would teach the others a class CKC –style.

(BTW, I have no idea what my neighbors must of thought when melonscraps came over and unloaded enough stuff to fill a small uhaul, then Kay came with more, and then Inara shows up with a massive box, all of us filling past the "Welcome to OPSC" sign on the door.)

We started off with a challenge. Melonscraps and I made a kit from our existing stashes. We did not have to buy a single thing, that’s right between the two of us, we had enough product on hand to make four identical kits! We had four and a half sheets of BG Urban Prairie, a sheet of card stock, four ribbons, a mirrored butterfly, flowers, buttons, brads and eyelets, gems and pearls and a giant photo corner. We also included pictures of us crops from the past year or so. It was great to see everyone’s take.
Next melonscraps had a flawed plan to hold a contest where the winner got to pick whatever they wanted from my Scrap Lair. I DON’T THINK SO!!!! She changed her tune I suggested we award the prizes from her stuff. (That’s right; I’ve decided to officially dub my space The Scrap Lair. I can just imagine coming home with bags and bags of scrap goodies and announcing to my boys with my arm pointing toward manifest destiny, “To the Scrap Lair!!!” Duh na na na na na na NA NA)

Kay designed an amazing “Thankful” banner for us. It was really involved, but she set up stations and it flowed really nicely we all got to try new techniques and sample some of her Stanpin’ Up goodness. We double stamped (veramark+SU Ink) and embossed the letters and Versamarked and embossed flowers and a berry spray on each flag of the banner. We brayered over the images in two three colors and added an inked ribbon distressed the edges. Then we strung though eyelets in the cardstock background. It was so much fun; it inspired me to make a tigardlilly banner for my scrap room. (Check out my blog tomorrow for that)

Inara taught a card making class which included these amazing paper flowers we distressed so that they looked like they were fabric. She let us all chose our papers from here amazing 6x6 pad collection and we got to used here Sizzix dies. I had never used one before in my Cuttlebug, so it was a great opportunity to try that out. She also gave us some mini envelope templates. The Velcro closure was defiantly one of those, why didn’t I think of that moments. Inara is a teacher and it was great to see her being teacherly.









Melonscraps designed and entire mini album. She gave us ton of product and everyone got to use Nestibilities and bind our books with the Bind it All. It is full of transparencies, Hambly screen prints, lace cardstock, die cut cardstock and ------------------. I have promised I will finish this kit, which will be no chore because see coordinated it so well. Now I just need to print twenty pictures or so and fill ‘er up. It was actually pretty cool to see her competed book, and my stack of pages waiting for pics and embellishments and the difference in the thickness of the two.



My project was what I like to call my scrap swag book. It is a mini book made from badge protectors. I carry this around in my purse with list of my products so I don’t buy doubles. It’s especially helpful items that come in a zillion colors (inks, paints, stickles) or a bazillion styles & sizes (alpha stamps & dies) I also have a coin envelope in there to keeps those scrappy punch cards and 40% off coupons. Inara even shared her Velcro with us so we don't loose our coupons. (I still can believe I never though of a Velcro closure, ingenious!) You could also use it as a nifty brag book. It was really cool to see everyone concentrating so hard while cutting out birds and flowers from Urban Prairie’s Meadow. I should have taken pictures of all the squinting and lip biting. It was a pretty simple project, but I think everyone enjoyed it and the Diamond Glazing went well.

It took me a day or so to recover, just like the the real CKC, but now I'm back. I for one had a blast.

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Some persons have suggested that I may be difficult to buy gifts for me, and since the holidays are nearing, I thought I give them some ideas:

1. Bind It All 2.0, 2. XXL Tote, 3. Cricut Deep Cut Blade, 4. Indie Art, 5. Storybook, 6. Perfectly Paisley, 7. Forest Branches, 8. Border With Love, 9. Just My Type, 10. Border Frills, 11. HP PhotoSmart B8350, 12. Making Memories Slice, 13. Nottinghill Stamps, 14. Sassafrass Lass Mini Fair Maiden Stamps, 15. Clip it Up Top Tier Add-on, 16. Clip it Up, 17. Square Tab Punch, 18. Round Tab Punch, 19. Cricut Wild Card Cartridge, 20. Glue Glider Pro, 21. IKEA Expedit 2x4, 22. iPhone, 23. Red Collapsible Measureing Cups, 24. External Hard Drive