Christmas in July: Wrapping it all Up!

Hard to believe today is the last day of July already isn't it?!  Well, I thought I'd take the time to do a brief recap of all the fun Christmas in July projects we finished around here:

1. Button Tree
2. Recipe Books
3. Gift Card Holders/Envelopes
4. Lunch Box Greeting Card Gift Set
5. Christmas Tree Mini Album
6. Storage Crate
7. Stamped Dress Form
8. Photo Frame
9. Gift Bags
10. Brooch

The best part are all the other projects we were inspired to create from putting this together that we are looking forward to sharing with you in August.... a greeting card mini album, some jewelry... we had fun putting together this feature and we hope you enjoyed it. 

Don't forget to go enter in the random drawings for the dress form and the storage crate!!  We will be drawing and announcing the winners next Wednesday.  As for the rest of next week.... it will be exciting around here, you won't want to miss it!!

I have it on good authority that this will be hitting the store next week sometime....

A guest blogger for the month of August will join the ranks to bring you Cool Challenges for a Hot Summer... in fact, we will be introducing her tomorrow and the first challenge (and one week SALE you won't want to miss!) will begin on Monday.

And then on Tuesday... we will announce this....

I can't stand the waiting much longer!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Guest Blogger Nichole: My CHA Experience

When the Flamingo Scraps girls asked me and Deb if we would like to go to CHA-Chicago for them to be their “eyes and ears“ of the show, we felt so fortunate and agreed right away! Neither one of us had been to a CHA show, so we were on cloud nine when opening day finally arrived. As we walked from the parking lot across the sky bridge to the conference center where CHA was being held, we both admitted to each other that due to the excitement of it all, we hadn’t been able to get a lot of sleep the night before.

Summer CHA Show Floor

Upon walking in, we  were amazed at all of the companies that were there that we recognized and loved! We had expected that it would be a big show with a lot of products to see and projects to “make and take”, but we were glad for the guidance of our map that we received right at check-in. We didn’t want to miss a thing! While browsing through the booths and down the aisles, we were pleasantly surprised by how many actual designers there were in attendance at CHA! All of the designers that we spoke with were so nice! They were so hands-on with everyone with the projects and were so attentive and willing to answer questions. What an exceptional experience it was to meet and talk to many of the designers as well as the wonderful contacts and reps in the companies that love Flamingo Scraps!

L-R Deb, Brandin O'Neill from Webster's Pages and Nichole

 Since we had only a few hours, we tried to visit and look through as many booths as possible. The booths were all so unique and artistic! Browsing through the products at CHA, we saw a lot of holiday themes, cute children/baby themes, practical/everyday themes, felt embellishments, rich and vivid colors and papers, and new fantastic trends like “steampunk”.

Display at Graphic 45 Booth

 We also were pleased to see some of our well-loved favorites like Stickles and Glimmer Mist. We loved the new Glimmer Glam and Glimmer Glaze products from Tattered Angels.  The list would be too long if we included everything! 

New Glimmer Glam from Tattered Angels

One of our many enjoyable booth visits was with Prima. Not only did I get to meet Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, but I also got a big hug from Marion Smith while she was live-streaming her CHA “make and take” on the website! Flamingo Scraps got a big “shout out” from her live and online! I also have to add that not only were we impressed with the booths and their gorgeous originality, we were impressed with the colors and designs of all of the new releases. Added to that were all of the projects, layouts, and crafts that used all of the products! Stunning! CHA was overflowing with creativity!

Nichole and Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Marion Smith teaching a Make and Take at Prima

Overall, visiting CHA was a wonderful experience! More than a few leisure hours immersed in the world of scrapbooking is time well spent, in my opinion! Not only were we inspired by all that we saw there but we felt such a sense of community among everyone there, knowing that they loved what they were creating and then sharing it with others. A big “THANK YOU” to Flamingo Scraps for sending us to CHA-Chicago! It was an amazing experience….and yes, I am going to use my memories and pictures to scrap all about it!

Christmas in July: Christmas Brooch

In our family, it just isn't Christmas with out that special pin, brooch, or corsage, preferably a new and different one each year.  What better craft for Christmas in July -- they make great gifts.  And with all the fabulous paper crafting goodies at Flamingo Scraps (and in our stashes!) totally unique ornaments are just begging to be made!

I put this beauty together using scraps of Holiday themed paper, silver plated Maya Mist, a Prima Grande Dame Jubilee flower (you can get two booches from a single package!) and some Prima bling.

Using a large flower Sizzix die, I cut two pieces from the holiday paper, spritzed them with the Maya Mist, inked the edges for definition, and layered them using pop tape for dimension.

Another piece of pop tape attached the gorgeous flower to the stacked background and then I attached the Prima bling.  I wanted the bling to cascade from the brooch, so to neutralize the adhesive on the back, I lightly dusted the adhesive with baby powder and carefully brushed off the excess with a paint brush!

A pin back was attached to the back side with glossy accents, and I have a unique Christmas brooch for a gift (or for myself) -- these also make fabulous toppers for gift boxes!

CHA Sneak Peeks: Susan's Favorites

Amanda asked me to write this blog and now I think it might just be a repeat of hers!  What can I say?  Great minds think alike!  ;-)

I have to say that Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante collection and Pink Paislee's Parisian Anthology collection are my top picks for Summer CHA.

Steampunk Debutante

Mini Album by Heidi Swapp using Parisian Anthology papers

So rather than repeat Amanda's previous blog, I'm going to expound on the virtue's of these collections.




















Graphic 45 has brought the hottest trend in design to papercrafting.......Steampunk!  Steampunk blends Victorian images with the Industrial Revolution and Art Nouveau.  Additionally, the color palette used in Steampunk Debutante is just stunning!  I love that all the papers have one side with gorgeous graphics and the other side is a repeating pattern.   That makes these papers so versatile!  You can fussy cut your favorite graphic from the front side and still have plenty of the reverse side to use in your project.

Parisian Anthology is the offspring of three of the best designers in the scrapbooking world:  Heidi Swapp, Rhonna Farrer, and Janet Hopkins, known collectively as the House of 3.  The whole concept behind this collection is that each scrapper can make these papers her own creation by altering them!  Customizable papers!  In this lagging economy, I say a BIG thank you to Pink Paislee and the House of 3!   I can't wait to get my hands on some Parisian Anthology papers, get out my Glimmer Mists, Maya Mists, Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Stickles and PLAY!

Suzanne and I are busy pulling together our orders for CHA.  In addition to ordering Steampunk Debutante and Parisian Anthology, we are carefully choosing coordinating embellishments from Tim Holtz, 7 Gypsies, Prima Marketing and Tattered Angels.

What are your favorites from Summer CHA?  Please leave a comment and let us know.

Christmas in July: Gift Bags

Ever buy the plain white gift bags or wrapping paper at Michael's?  I do! :)  I use them all the time.  Recently, I thought, why not try some mist on them?

I grabbed up some simple supplies:

A gift bag, some scissors, a pen, a scrap 12x12" piece of cardboard and my glimmer mist.

I sketched a quick candy cane.... then decided I didn't like the idea of using that for a mask.  So I sketched some holly instead:

I cut out my holly to make a mask for my mist:

All that was left to do was spray it with my glimmer mist!  Super easy!

Maya Mist would work just as well too. 

Super easy project that took less than 5 minutes!  I am definitely going to be using this same technique on wrapping paper for Christmas this year.  Have you ever used your mist stash to decorate gift wrap?  I'd love to see it if you have!

Christmas in July: Altered Picture Frame

I actually made this for my niece's housewarming gift but altered picture frames make wonderful Christmas gifts too!  When choosing papers and embellishments, be sure to color coordinate with at least one room in your gift recipient's home.  Of course it's easy enough to go with a theme too like Baby's First Christmas.

So I started with a Bare Essentials photo frame from Creative Imaginations:

These frames just happen to be 12" x 12"!





Convenient!  So you could cover the frame with one piece of 12" x 12" paper and cut out the 5" x 5" opening for the photo.  I wanted to use some coordinating papers from Upsy Daisy:

This is the London Blush Collection.






 I decided to do a sort of  Log Cabin layering around the photo opening.  I began on the left side with a 12" x 3.5" strip. I continued along the bottom with an 8.5" x 3.5" strip.  Next, I did the upper panel with a matching 8.5" x 3.5" strip; I could have easily continued along the right side but decided I liked the way this looked better. I finished up on the right side with a 5" x 3.5" strip:

Kind of like strip quilting!






So once you like your strip placement, just glue the strips down:

And then a little distressing doesn't hurt!  I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks and a cosmetic wedge to blend those white edges using Tattered Rose.

Once the distressing was done, here's what I had:

Now for some embellishment!

I pulled out a bunch of embellishments that coordinated with the colors in the London Blush papers.  In the end, I used one of those new Prima pearl and roses swirl in brown, some crocheted lace and a package of Prima's Holiday Lights platinum birds:

The finished frame!

Here's a close up!








Start to finish this took me about an hour and a half.   My niece has recently gotten engaged so I will be putting one of their engagement photos in the frame.  All in all, I'm happy with this project.  And by the way, Upsy Daisy's London Blush collection papers and rub-ons are available at Flamingo Scraps at a drastically reduced price!  Thanks for playing along with me!

Coming Soon....

Aside from all the fabulous new products coming to the store in August and September.... we have some great stuff coming up for you and I thought I'd tease ya a little today with it!

Cool Challenges for a Hot Summer
A fun weekly challenge every Monday in August with sales.... some prizes.... you won't want to miss this!

Guest Design Team Call
Yep, you read that right!! And we think y'all are going to love this!  All the details coming Tuesday, August 3rd.

Second Anniversary
In October, the Big Pink Bird will be TWO!!  And we are going to have one big 'ol celebration with more prizes and sales of course!

This week, we're going to be finishing up our Christmas in July projects and don't forget to swing by the store for the last few days of our sale.... 15-75% off until July 31st with $5 Maximum shipping charge and free shipping over $70! (Free and discounted shipping offers valid in the Continental USA only)  All that and you get a free gift with purchase over $20!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

CHA Sneak Peek: Amanda's Favorites

Good morning and happy Friday!! I wanna gossip with y'all today about all this fabulous new stuff coming soon to the store!!

First, the girls just added Indie Girl from Sassafrass Lass:

Isn't it gorgeous?!

On order, the fabulous new Graphic 45.  I already have a layout planned for this particular piece of paper from Hallowe'en in Wonderland...

And for this one from Steampunk Debuntante too for that matter....

Then there's Websters Pages.... how do I possibly show self control and not buy every single color of these?!

Who am I kidding... totally not possible and they will be joining my stash very soon!!

Of course, there's always Prima.  What to choose.... so many GORGEOUS things.  The girls are still trying to choose which items to carry.  Have you seen their new items they've been previewing on their blog?  Check this out, a NECKLACE!!!

And there are a LOT of primas coming out this release that have feathers.  So pretty!  But this is one of my favorites... shhhh.... you didn't hear me tell you....

Yep.... Prima's got my favorite embellishment of the year now too!  They are calling them Clementines and I love that they are just a little different than Bloomers and the American Crafts trim from the Dear Lizzy line!

And the one thing I most definitely will not pass up on this time around is the new Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology.  How amazing is this collection?!?!  I can't want to ink and mist those papers whatever colors I want!!  And these embellishments are to die for don't you think?

So what do you like girls?  Anything in particular caught your eye?!

Don't forget to enter yourself in the drawings for the free prizes!  I'll be back tomorrow to sneak peek some fabulous stuff we have coming to the blog in the next month.... trust me, you are not going to want to miss what we have coming up for ya!

Christmas in July: Stamped Dress Form

I am just LOVING the new releases for CHA Summer 2010,  they really speak to me!  The colors are gorgeous -- reds, purples, dusty pinks, grey, teals.  Things are a little edgy with trendy color combos and unique embellies -- vintage is everywhere in colors, embellishemnts, and especially trims.  And then there is "edgy vintage" in steampunk with its mix of Victorian, Art Nouveau and Industrial/Techno!  There are also fabulous images that recur in a number of collections and embellishments -- dress forms, silhouettes, Audubonesque nature images, architectural and industrial images. 

Take dress forms, for instance.  They make an appearance in Prima, Webster's Pages, Graphic 45, and Maya Road among others and I have two in my bedroom!

Graphic 45 -- Steampunk Debutante

Prima Vintage Crystals

Maya Road -- Sew Simple Mini Chipboard

And my two!

Then there is this one I altered (I promise!) before the sneak peeks started!

I call her the Tatooed Lady!

From Flamingo Scraps:  Maya Mist and Maya trinket pins

Starting with a plain paper mache dress form from a craft store, I colored it with cream metallic Maya Mist.  Then I took various "tatoo" stamps -- swirls, vintage, funky, and flourishes and stamped the form with black ink.   Borrowing a trick from paper diva Marion Smith, I did not use an acrylic block to better cover the contours of the shape.

And lastly, I spritzed the whole thing with irridescent Maya Mist, added a black satin ribbon and an embellished Maya Road Black Pearl Trinket Pin!

Do you love dress forms as much as I do??  Enter a random drawing to win the Tatooed Lady simply by commenting on this post on our blog or facebook page. You can get an extra entry for getting a friend(s) to join Flamingo Scraps' blog and having them post on the blog that you sent them and they are NEW followers!  They'll be entered and you'll be entered, win-win for you both!! A winner will be drawn August 2nd. 

But WAIT!!  There's more!  Check our blog regularly for similar drawings for presents for YOU during the rest of Christmas in July at Flamingo Scraps!