Saturday's Card Extravaganza

Today we're gonna share the cards that were made at The Shoppe's Holiday Card Extravaganza Class this past weekend.

Class participants visited with 4 different instructors throughout the afternoon, creating a total of 12 cards ready to be mailed out for this season's greetings. Everyone learned a new technique or style by making cards with the different teachers.

Here's a glimpse at what they took home . . . . .

We also have our Card Swap Board here at The Shoppe.

This is a *FREE* service for anyone & everyone to take advantage of.

All you need to do is bring in a card you've made & you can swap it out for another that you like! FREE . . . .Yep ~ No Charge!

Oh . . .What Fun!

We got the "Oh What Fun" collection in at The Shoppe from 3 Bugs in a Rug. Really, really cute papers & tags . . . .sooooooo many possibilities!

Here's a great idea that the girls from 3Bugs had to share . . . .

Candles A-Glow

Today we're gonna share a quick, easy, & inexpensive home decor' project. This would make a wonderful, unique gift as well . . . .
We've put together a beautiful candle setting using plain clear votive candle cups.
For the candle wraps, we've used pieces of white vellum that have been embossed with texture plates & the QuicKutz Tool. You can also use any of the Cuttlebug or Sizzix Embossing Folders, as well. Just remember tho' . . .The smaller your candle cup, the smaller your patterns should be!

After that, we dressed them up with some thin red satin ribbon & floral layers put together with a white eyelet.

For a beautiful presentation, we've placed them on a flat round mirror that we've stamped a flourish on with white StazOn Ink. For an extra added glimmer, add a few clear rhinestones!
This will make a wonderful Hostess Gift for the upcoming holiday parties on your schedule.

Or make one for your child's teacher, the next door neighbor, or your pastor's wife . . .

Don't forget about yourself! Match a set to your bathroom or place it in the front window for a welcoming glow to passersby.

We hope that you find some inspiration in today's project . . . .TaTa till next time!

Cookie Swap Idea

Today we're gonna share a Cookie/Candy Swap that's taking place here at The Scrapbook Shoppe.
This idea came from this years edition of "Holidays" from Scrapbook Trends Magazine.

Instead of just a traditional cookie swap, we're taking it a step further & including the recipes(which are stored in a cookie tin) along with all of the yummy treats!
Here's our version:
We've picked up 7"x11" cookie tins & drilled 2 holes at the top. Our recipes are done scrapbook-style on both sides of a 5x9 piece of chipboard and attached with 2-1/2" book rings.

We'll be decorating our covers on Swap Day (along with eating TONS of delicious cookies & candies!) (There goes the diet!!!!)
We're also taking a photo of each participant with our Santa, which we'll print out & have everyone autograph for each tin. That way, we can look back to see everybody in our group.

We've got 10 ladies participating, giving us 2 recipes each! Here are a couple of the recipe cards that will be in our tins . . . We can't wait to see everyone else's!

There's still time to get your special group of friends together for a fun swap like this!
It would be a great opportunity for a Girl Scout Troop to earn their Cooking/Baking Badge or for the Church Ladies Group for their Holiday Get-Together!

Before You Know It . . .

the Holiday Season will be upon us. Some of us will be ready and then there will be those of us who are scrambling for last-minute gift ideas.

Well, today's project should help you out a bit with that.

We've decorated some empty clear buckets and filled them with yummy, sweet treats. Make these for favorite teachers(don't forget the room moms!) , the bus driver (they put up with ALOT, you know!), the babysitter (so does she!) . . . anyone on your "Sweet Person" list.


Our buckets came from My Mind's Eye's newest Holiday Collection.























They were filled with these glittered chipboard pieces . . .
One we filled with peppermints & the other we filled with wrapped Hershey Nuggets. They are super-simple to throw together and a GREAT way to use the scraps you can't bear to toss out!

Here are our buckets . . .
We've got plenty more buckets here at The Shoppe along with the "Snowed In" paper kits. They include 1 of each of the papers in the collection as well as a sheet of matching die-cuts.


Here are a couple of pages you can create with this beautiful collection:

We hope you find some inspiration in today's project . . . Stop by The Shoppe to check out these cute buckets in person & the other goodies we've been working on!

The November Sketch Challenge

Hello Everyone . . .

Today is the release of The Shoppe's Monthly Sketch Challenge. This sketch has room for ALOT of photos. We're posting it here, as well, along with a list of instructions that Amanda has put together for reducing your photos so you won't have to crop them.

Remember to submit your pages to The Shoppe for voting by Saturday, November 29th for your chance to win a gift certificate!

OK . . .so here is what Amanda sent me. Hope it helps you guys re-size your photos!

1. Use Adobe Photoshop Elements or any other photo editing program to crop your pictures to size before printing. Then you can plop them all onto an 8 1/2 x 11 file and print them at home. (This is what I do.)

2. Use this free program: http://www.zdnetasia.com/downloads/pc/swinfo/0,39043052,39002838r-39393702s,00.htm. It is certified safe and works great, even with Vista. Select what size you'd like to print and how many images you'd like to fit on that size. Here is a screen print of some of the pictures I've selected (from that same layout) and how it would print. Then you can re-name the file as a .jpg and upload it to your favorite photo developer.

3. If you use a photo developing kiosk you can select to have wallet sizes printed. But you can only get one sheet all the same picture. And who needs 4 wallets of the same picture to scrap? So of course there is the old crop method. Print your pictures and crop them down. This would be especially good for a zoo layout. You know, all those pictures with the teeny tiny animal in the middle. Save the big slots for pictures of the kids (or you!) eating ice cream and a picture of a funny sign.

I hope this helps! There are other options to the old crop method. The computer can really be seen as another scrapbooking tool.

If you're visiting us from afar and would like to receive The Shoppe's emails which include Amanda's monthly sketches, please email us at: thescrapbook@bellsouth.net & put "Sketch Request" in the subject line.

Have a great day!

2009 Calendar

Today we'll be sharing the Calendar Project that we did in a class this past Saturday at The Shoppe.


These are all die-cut into an 8x8 scallop shape & mounted on chipboard. It's hard to see in the pix, but there's bling, glitter, & embossing of some kind on all of the the months.


We created a desk-top model which we hung on a good 'ole banana hanger ~or~ they can be strung on a beautiful ribbon with a big bow.


Take a picture the 1st day of each month and after the year is over, put them in a 8x8 book. You'll have another album to add to your collection . . . a "Year in Review" album.

It's the perfect way to see a new baby grow their 1st year!

If you stop by The Shoppe & choose your papers, we

can die-cut them for you ~AND~ we can also print

you out the 2009 label-shaped calendars that we used

in this class.

These cuties would make a WONDERFUL gift this holiday season . . . but we think you'll end up keeping it for yourself!

Hope you all enjoy today's project ~ Remember to check back tommorrow for another crafty idea!

Beautiful Fall!

I just had to share a couple pix today cuz Autumn here in Georgia right now has the most beautiful colors that I've ever seen since we moved here 5 years ago. There has got to be every fall color you can think of out on our trees!

This is the top of our street . . . .Yes ~ we live on a mini mountain . . . .So, if your world is exploding with color right now, make sure you get your batteries charged & capture it before it fades!

And don't forget to pick a leaf or two keep those memories alive . . .

Here are some that we picked 8 years ago & pressed . . . They still have all of the color as the day we picked them!