Coffee Books Brewed-Part 1

Sheila and I wanted to share our finished coffee book projects with you.  This is the project we got to work on together while I was visiting her earlier this summer. Once again, we started with the same materials and photos, and check out how different they end up.  I don't know how we do it!

Maura's cover held in a cup protector

Maura's back of book, including a tag

Maura - page 1 and 2

Maura - page 3 and 4

Maura - page 5 and 6

Maura - page 7 and 8

Maura - page 9 and 10

Maura - page 11 and 12

Maura - page 13 and 14

It's Black and white

OK, here we go, back to basics - where do you start?  Often, it is with white paper and black ink.  Now the question is what do you use?  Well, here are our favorites....

White paper?
Maura likes Stampin Up Whisper White to stamp on - it has a nice smooth surface and Bazzill textured white for scrapbooking.

Sheila likes Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock because it is a bright white, a heavy weight and great for just about everything. I buy it in bulk that's how much I like it. 

Black ink?
Maura likes the Stewart Superior Memories Black ink and the India Ink Black.  I use the Memories for all my everyday stamping and the India Ink if I am going to be adding water color to it or need a faster drying ink for the paper I am using. I like the Quick Quotes "Midnight Confession" chalk ink for inking the edges of paper or for a very rich look to my stamping.

Sheila also uses the Memories black ink for just about everything but loves the Tsukineko StazOn Jet Black permanent ink when stamping on shrink plastic, acrylic, glass, Stampbord and more. 

Sheila here-love how well used that India Ink pad is!

Product Review: Corner Rounders

Lisa suggested we do some product reviews at our Blogoversary, so Sheila and I are working some in throughout the year - great idea, Lisa!

I compared the three corner rounders I use most often.   All of them do fine with lightweight paper and cardstock. Here are the pros and cons I have found in working with each.

EK Success

EK Success has a large platform to feed the paper into and a good lever to help with the punching. It cuts a larger curve than the other two I have. One disadvantage I have found is that it has no paper "catcher" for the pieces.

Zutter Round It All

Zutter has a catcher for the pieces, makes a smaller curve and is the only one strong enough to also punch chipboard - an advantage if you like to make books. The disadvantage I have found with this is that the handles sometimes get stuck open, and I have to readjust it.  I believe this was also the priciest.

Creative Memories

Creative Memories has a paper "catcher" and is small and easy to fit into a tool bag.  This one also has a small curve to the corners.  Sometimes I do find it a bit hard to press down and punch the paper (some of the heavier cardstock).

Sheila here to add one of my basic corner rounders by We R Memory Keepers:

Corner Chomper

This tool will cut through cardstock, chipboard, several photos at once and even acrylic. It does have a paper catcher too. They also have 4 other styles-even smaller corners at 1/8" and 3/8" and also decorative corners like Deco, Photo Cut and Scallop.

So can you get by with one corner rounder?  Of course, and for a long time that was my Creative Memories one - a great basic one.  I added the Zutter so I could round chipboard and the EK Success for a different shape corner.

What is your favorite corner rounder?

Inspiration!

Check out Jenni Bowlin's blog for her guest star post on Lisa Super.  I see some wonderful ideas here to incorporate into a mini album or the December Daily! Lisa has a very vintage inspired style.Be sure to check it out!

Graduation Card

I have made a few graduation cards to put gifts in for some of my students - a combination of patterned and solid papers, and stamped images.  I kept it fairly simple, and used the school colors red, white and blue to add personal meaning to the card.  I finished it off with a coordinating stamped image on the card - a tip I learned long ago from Sheila!

Storage Ideas for Buttons

 On a recent "artsy" shopping trip, I found two items that are great for button storage.  The first one I purchased, but I can see a lot of possibilities for this...if you have access to these old salt and pepper shakers.  This one is filled with vintage buttons, with a pretty handmade label and tag, and tied up with a ribbon.  I have this sitting on my craft desk. When you are visiting the thrift shop, look at the clothing for neat buttons too, as well as the cloth, not just the item itself.  I have found some art items this way.

My second find is this vintage wire basket with the six tins in it.  I decided to use it to sort my buttons out by color - whites and creams, browns and blacks, blues and purples, reds and pinks, yellows and oranges, and greens.  Funny how the green button tin is filled to the brim! The nice thing about sorting by color, is it lets me know at a glance the colors I am running low on.  I made space for this on my craft desk too, since I think it is cool!

Have you found any unique ways to store your buttons?

Nautical Album Class: Information

If you are checking the blog for information, here are the dimensions for the book:

Dimensions:

Chipboard cover back 6 ¼” x 9 ½”

Front cover 6 1/4 “x 6 ¼” top

Front cover 6 ¼” x 3 ¼” bottom

Inside pages 6 x 6” and 6 x 3”

Photo mats 5 x 5”

There will be printed directions available at Captured Moments for you to pick up, and bring your book in to bind it with the Cinch.  If you need help, let me know anytime you see me! 

Scavenger Hunt Winner Announced

Thanks to everyone who entered our Scavenger Hunt Blogoversary giveaway last week. The winner is Robin and here are her answers-all of which were correct.

1. The date and year of our very first post.--July 2009

2. What states do we live in--Ohio and New York

3. Name one of Maura's classes that she has taught--(science!) heehee. Also The Halloween Spooktacular Book Class

 4. Name one other blog we have been featured on--Camp Kaboodles

 5. What is one of Sheila's favorite things to make--One for holidays are Treat Boxes.  Another is accordion mini albums.

 6. What is Maura's favorite color--Green!  Every shade of green.  (my favorite is August Green)

 7. Name a long distance project we have shared--Build Your Own Book

 8. What is our favorite scrapbook store--Captured Moments 

Congratulations Robin! I've emailed you so that we can send you your prize which is a Cosmo Cricket Blackboard mini album with some travel/treasure themed embellishments. 

Enjoy! And thanks again to everyone who joined us in our blogoversary celebrations. 

Sailing into Summer!

On a beautiful summer day in July, here are the creative folks who joined me in the Nautical Summer Album class.  We had a lot of fun creating the album together.  I love the new twists they came up with on their pages - pennant banners like you might see on a boat's rigging, punched sea shell and sea horse shapes...I think everyone left with their own unique version of the book!  Thanks ladies!

For those of you doing the book in kit form, I have put together directions on how to make the book and those will be available at Captured Moments  along with all the supplies you need. Enjoy!

A new recipe

I had a request to do a set of recipe cards for a bridal shower. The twist was that these were to be used as advice to the bride-to-be. Everyone at the shower writes their "recipe" for what it takes to have a happy marriage. Here is what I came up with:

poem found via Google-there are lots to choose from

I added the chipboard date to the binder ring so that she could fill in her wedding date.

They requested generic stamped images of flowers, hearts, etc. but I think these would be darn cute with measuring spoons, mixing bowls, aprons, etc. I just may have to make another set.

So, what is your "recipe" for a happy marriage?

Christmas in July - Sneak Peeks from CHA!

Well, Sheila has started me thinking about the December Daily, so when I was looking through the CHA Summer sneak peeks, I found these wonderful holiday papers that I think would be great for the DD.

The first one is Websters Botanical  Christmas. First of all, I love the Webster pages - they do such great design work, and it is always high quality.  A couple of my favorite pages here are the doors, and the red and cream graphics page.  I think this is a definite possibility!

 Next is Prima's North Country.  This inspires me to think Adirondack Christmas!  I see a lot of elements here that would fit into celebrating Christmas right in my neck of the woods. Plus, Prima always has such cool embellishments. I like that this includes both traditional and non-traditional Christmas colors in the collection.  Hmmm....perhaps an Adirondack style December Daily?

The third one I found (here is the embellishment page) is Jenni Bowlin's Christmas Line.  She has such great graphics!  This one would give a much more traditional look to the December Daily.  I do like incorporating her embellishments into any one that I make.

So many choices....I think it may be a challenge to decide on the paper line to use this year!  Are any of you thinking of creating a December Daily?  What are you looking at using?  Let us know!

Great FREE way to end the summer creatively

Just saw this on Big Picture Classes. 

It starts August 15th so there is plenty of time to sign up and best of all...it's free. 

Blogoversary Winners Announced

Maura and I want to thank each and every one of you who left us a comment on our Blogoversary Giveaway. It is always nice to read such wonderful comments. The winners are as follows:

Springtime Envelope Book goes to Fran who said...
I started reading your blog from a link on captured moments blog...I had also taken a couple of scrapbook classes from Maura and that made it personal... I really like her unique mini scrapbooks. Then Maura joined our little art group, which made it even more personal. Your blog, the ideas you both have and individual talents keep me coming back again and again. I cannot believe all the wonderful projects you so freely share with us! Thank you, even if I don't win a thing I'll come back for more...

Dream book goes to Lynda who said...
Why do I read your blog? Well, it is because the two of you are just so creative. I just love to see what your crafting. Every entry is unique and different. You spark my own creativity!! I can't thank you enough for sharing your wonderful talent with all of us that read the blog.

Library Card book goes to Ginger who said...
I've been reading your blog since I meet Maura. I find it to be one of the best and most supportive thing you can do for a friend. I can't wait to see what you have in store for the future. You just made me think I should go see how long I have had my blog. It's funny I never really looked before.

Congratulations to the winners! We hope that you enjoy our little handmade books. Maura will be getting those to you shortly. Thanks again to everyone who joined in our Blogoversary celebration. And remember....there's still a chance to win another great prize with our Scavenger Hunt HERE.

PLEASE EMAIL MAURA and let her know if you will be seeing her soon at a Captured Moments event, or if your prize should be mailed out to you (include your address in the email if this is the case). Congratulations!!

Road Trip

 No trip to visit Sheila is complete without a stop at the Archiver's store!  Of course while I was visiting recently, I had to go and spend at least an hour going through every area of the store (maybe closer to two?)  Somehow, I lose track of time in a scrapbook store, and even though this was a travel day, I was not too concerned about getting on the road.  I found some great things, and some will be shared with you in the days ahead as I work on them.

The other place I stopped at on my travels is in the Columbus, Ohio area.  It's called Red Letter Journals.  I think it is in an old mill building because it was very cool inside - very open and hardwood floors polished to a shine. I liked the way they laid it out - each section of the store had a sign telling you what was there, so it was easy to find the sections I wanted to look at.  For example, there were pet sections, holiday, boys, girls, wedding, baby, military - in each section were the papers and embellishments that go with that theme. This was my first visit, and I think it is likely I will be stopping again when I get to visit Sheila!

Scavenger Hunt-Blogoversary Edition

OK, get out your flashlight and backpack! We thought it would be fun for you to hunt for the answers to the following questions. Each one has been addressed here on the blog in the past two years. (Big Hint: Search button and labels)


Once you think you have ALL  the answers, EMAIL either one of us (we wouldn't want someone to do all the work and then have someone else copy-plus that cuts out all the fun of a scavenger hunt)-email us button on left hand side under photo and we will pick one winner for our surprise giveaway. Just like a treasure hunt, you never know what you are going to find until you get to the "X" on the map! You must have all the answers correct. If more than one person is correct, we will randomly pick a winner.K
Deadline to enter: midnight EST July 17

1. The date and year of our very first post.
2. What states do we live in.
3. Name one of Maura's classes that she has taught.
4. Name one other blog we have been featured on.
5. What is one of Sheila's favorite things to make.
6. What is Maura's favorite color.
7. Name a long distance project we have shared.
8. What is our favorite scrapbook store.

Are you ready?  you have your compass right?  OK, get started!

Tick Tock goes the clock

Recently we asked if any of you had any questions for us. 

Well, Fran asked us how we find time to create...

We have ALL the time in the world!

No, seriously now....

Maura says:

I really feel like I have only found the time to create once my sons were older and more self sufficient.  Having a husband and sons who help out around the house a lot, opens up more time for me to play. That said, I seem to do best with dedicated crafting time, and for me that is usually at the crops I go to.  It's a day or weekend totally dedicated to crafting - no making meals or laundry calling to be done...

When I have a project deadline to meet, I will find time on the weekend or evening when I get home from school to work on that.  It usually means giving up something else to fit it in.

Sheila says:

I agree with Maura about dedicated craft time. If you have a block of open time, pencil yourself in. If it's in your organizer or on your schedule, you're more likely to follow through. When I haven't had enough time to craft and I really want to work on a project (or I have a long distance project due to Maura), I state that it is a crafting day and make sure my other work is done beforehand. Another way that I find time to craft is that we don't have TV in our home. That alone frees up a TON of time for crafting. It's all about prioritizing...Maura and I do so with our time because crafting connects us long distance and is something that we really enjoy.

Another reader, Lisa, asked us for more product reviews, so look for some upcoming posts of some of our favorite...and not so favorite things...

Stamp Camp

July Stamp Camp is coming up this week, so  I wanted to share with you what I created as my exchange for the summer.  I just was not in the mood for making cards, so thought, why not make something else?  I came up with the idea of a mini album made of file folders.  I used a template from River City Rubber Works to cut the folders out of real manila folders (You could use any cardstock or patterned paper though..)

Since I have been in a Steampunk mood, I continued that with this project and also used some of my vintage stamps as well as Stampin Up office style stamps.  Then I looked through my stash for "office" kind of things, like coin envelopes, paperclips and so on.

So there you go...sneak peek of a bit of my project.

Christmas in July

It only seems fitting to celebrate Christmas in July-after all it is the theme of Maura's upcoming crop later this month. Sneak peeks of summer CHA products are now showing up on the internet and this new Nordic Holiday line from Basic Grey has caught my eye as a good candidate for my December Daily album.

Look how cute the embellishments are:

I love it when I find my new holiday papers in July. Half the work is already done! Now on to enjoy the rest of the hot, humid summer.

Happy Blogoversary Giveaways!!

WOW!! Two years have flown by already  since we started our blog - now that is hard to believe.  But, we have taken some time together to look back over it, and are pretty darn proud of all the ideas we have put together in the past two years.  This has turned out to be one of our best "crafting" ideas ever!

We have some new ideas to try out in the year ahead, and have been busy planning out some great ideas.  We are always looking for more ideas from YOU, our readers!  So, if there is ever anything you are looking for, email us, or comment and let us know and we will do our best to create it!

We wanted to do something special for our blogoversary, to celebrate you, our readers and friends. This time our giveaways are our creations, ready for you to add photos and journaling. We have three special handmade mini albums to give away.

 

All you need to do is add a comment to this post by midnight EST Monday July 11, sharing with us why you read our blog. We'll pick three different winners randomly so be sure to check back next week and see if you're one of them.

Koffee Klatch...or Sneak Peek of Our Very Cool Coffee Books!

Products used in the creative process, minus the steaming cup of java

Sneak Peek of our covers - can you guess which one is Sheila's and which is Maura's?

 

Get your cup of "joe" ready...there will be more to follow!

Happy Fourth of July!

Sheila and Maura wish you a happy Fourth of July!  Hope you are enjoying picnics, parades, barbecues, fireworks...wherever you are.  Stay safe if you are traveling over the holiday.

We are looking forward to strawberry shortcake and sparklers tonight!

Keep on crafting!!

Where we are scrapping - together!

Sheila has this fabulous farmhouse style table to work at that is huge!  I have way more space here than I do at home to work, and the best part is, there we are - sitting right across from each other, working and chatting.

We thought we would share our working space so you can compare how we create.  This is my side of the table - piles of things, tools all over, everything out and messy! I just can't seem to keep my craft space neat - the mess just overflows....

 

Now, look at Sheila's side!  How neat is that!  Neat as a pin...or perhaps clothespin?  She only has out what she needs, and it's all organized.  No wonder she gets so much more accomplished than I do when we work together! I think I need lessons on organization from Sheila!