PINK PAISLEE CUPID VALENTINE

Well, I just couldn't restrain myself any longer -- I HAD to get my hands on the gorgeous Pink Paislee Cupid Collection!!  And what better use than to make a valentine for my dear mama -- though the design is pretty generic!

Pink Paislee has done such a fabulous job coordinating their papers and embellishments, this project practically made itself!  I started with a coaster from the Maya Road Tag Coaster Album, covered it in Cupid paper and sanded and inked the edges with Maya Road Pigment Inks in White and Brown.  Then I chose one of the Cupid Fabric Tags, frayed the edges a little and adhered it to the coaster.  Next  I used the sizzix to cut hearts out of three coordinating Cupid paper patterns, layered them with pop tape, and used the Cupid Pressons as accents.  These pressons (rubons) are fabulous and go on like butter.  Some generic ribbon punctuates the bottom left corner and the top of the coaster.  Then I spritzed the whole thing with Iridescent Pearl Maya Mist and lastly added the Cupid Brads -- it was a cinch with the cropadile!  And the best thing is, I have plenty of paper and embellies left to make more valentines!!

Webster's Pages

Did you know there is a whole forum devoted to all things Webster's Pages?  Well, there is!  It is a great place to find inspiration, challenges, and just have a great time.  I found the inspiration for this layout there in the monthly challenge section.  This month's challenge is to print your photo onto your scrapbook paper.  Lucy Edson did some amazing projects using this technique.  How could I not be inspired.

The patterned paper is from the Nature's Storybook collection.  The trims and the title font are also Webster's.  The beautiful leaves, flowers and butterflies are all Prima.

Be sure and check it out.  You can find the Webster's Pages forum at http://websterspages.ning.com/

Hope to see you there.

Nancy

SNEAK PEEK FROM FLAMINGO SCRAPS -- A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME........

Without a doubt, the HOTTEST trend of the new season is Roses, Roses, and more Roses!!!!  And who better to bring you roses than PRIMA!!!  In paper, flowers, and even in their gorgeous bling, roses rule!!





Paper

Flowers

Bling -- the fabulous new Say It In Pearls and Roses line features the pearl swirls we all crave accented with tiny resin roses -- BEAUTIFUL!!!!

and even in their E-line, which will retail for $1.49!!!!

For Spring and Summer -- everything's coming up roses at Prima and Flamingo Scraps!!!!

ANOTHER SNEAK PEEK FROM FLAMINGO SCRAPS!!!!

So sorry to have tantalized y'all with that Pink Paislee Sneak Peek and left you hanging -- my computer has been in the shop most all week!!!

PRIMA!!!!!  By far our biggest order -- we just couldn't resist all the GORGEOUS FABULOUS FANTASTIC goodies in the CHA-W release!!!  Flamingo Scraps will be carrying three of the new paper lines along with coordinating flowers, cardstock and chipboard embellishments, and alphas -- Pastiche, Raspberry Tea, and Flights of Fancy.

And FLOWERS!  Way too many to show you here -- we will have Innoscence flowers that can be altered in sooooo many ways!  Maya Mist works wonderfully and we have tons of new colors coming in!

Madrigals in every color!

Love Story

Ameruse -- fabulous pearl centers and just a kiss of glitter!!

Zazi -- just stunning and in several colors!

Debutantes -- precious little bouquets!!

I'll blog again on the rest of our Prima order and the HOTTEST trend for the season!!

Misting....A Comparison

Having just gotten back from CHA, I was a little curious as to how all the mists I was seeing compare.  Of course, at every booth, the designers show the mist to their best advantage, showing their best techniques.

Luckily for me though, I own many of these mists and just happened to have, in the stash, Maya Mist, Glimmer Mist and some Smooch Spritz all in blue.

Let's see how they compare....

In order to get a true test of each mists capability to cover, I pulled three identical pieces of chipboard and the following mist colors;  Glimmer Mist - Frosty Nights, Maya Mist - Blue Mist, and Smooch Spritz - Electric Blue.

 

I placed a white American Crafts rub on with the initial for each mist on the chipboard.  After a bit of swirling the mists to make sure they were thoroughly mixed I sprayed each piece of chipboard one time.

As you can see from the chips, the Smooch Spritz covered the best and with the least amount of drops on the chipboard.  The Maya Mist covered very evenly with little drops.  The Glimmer Mist had quite a few large droplets.

 

After blotting the chipboard with a cloth, I compared them again, side by side.  You can see in the photos that the white rub ons were not discolored by the Maya Mist or the Glimmer Mist but were definitely changed by the Smooch.

The shimmer was best in the Smooch.  But since the Maya Mist wasn't a metallic, not sure it is a fair comparison.  The metallic Maya Mists do retail a bit higher though than the regular mists. 

The Smooch Spritz claims to have the best sprayer, one that leaves very few droplets; and the Maya Mists have beads in the bottle that help to mix the pigments (much like spray paint).  I think that both of those claims are true.

Glimmer Mist retails for $6.89 for 2 ounces.  Maya Mist retails for $6.99 for 2 ounces.  Smooch Spritz retails for $4.49 for .37 ounces.  All other things being equal, the Smooch would be the way to go.  But for the price, I think I would have to go with Maya Mist.  Great coverage, not too many drops and the better price.

I have a few paper flowers lying around that I may try and mist next.  Oh, and see if I can get my hands on some blue Shimmerz or the new Creative Imaginations mists to compare them as well.

Be sure to check back for updates.

Hugs.

Nancy

A Few Quick Projects to Share

So glad to be home and settled after CHA.  As nice as it was to get away for a few days, I missed my family...and boy, did they miss me.  LOL

I did this layout for a challenge over on the Webster's Page's Ning site.  http://websterspages.ning.com/  So much great inspiration over there.  If you haven't been, you should definitely check it out.

Lots of yummy products here.  The papers are from Webster's Page's Nature's Storybook line.  The flowers and spray are mostly Prima, as is the butterfly.  The bigger, white flower was handmade, and I will be back later to show you how.

And here is my youngest playing with the Easy Bake Oven.  This layout was done using the Lily Bee Vintage Poppy line and some more fabulous Primas.  (flower and bling).

Hugs.

Nancy

Amanda's Second Day of classes at CHA!

Today I took two CHA Classes that focused mostly on those fabulous mists and sprays like Maya Mists.   My fingers are covered in inks and dyes!!   I learned some fabulous tips and tricks that I'll be back to show you in the next couple of weeks to use on your prima flowers and papers that are just dying to be altered. (Get it, dying?!  Sorry... bad pun!!)

In the first class, we altered all kinds of flowers and butterflies and made this bright and colorful album:

And in the second class I learned over 16 advanced techniques for those spray bottles of pretty inks.  Unfortunately, I don't have much to show for it but a pile of sample cards.... not so exciting, but stay tuned and I'll be bringing the coolest ones to you soon!

As we wrap up our stay here at CHA, I thought I'd show y'all the fabulous make and takes from Prima that I made using everything from the packaging to paintable papers, and of course the primas themselves!

Along the way, we saw some crazy cool crafty animals, including these large button animals and even larger knit animals!!

They looked like they took HOURS to make.  The knit giraffe was easily over 10 feet tall!

And I want a pair of these..... wouldn't that be fun?!

In the end we walked miles, had fun checking out all the great new products and ordering fabulous flowers, papers and embellies for Flamingo Scraps!

CHA- Day 3

Today was the last and final day for us at CHA-W.  And it was busy.  Once again, I was up long before I needed to be....any hints on how to sleep better in a hotel?  Uggggh

After a quick trip to Starbucks,  I headed over to the showroom.  Looking at a few last things before heading to my first class.  I was able to do a few more make and takes but you will have to wait to look a them till after I give the items to their future recipients....don't want to spoil the surprise.  LOL

Amanda and I headed over to Melissa Frances to place our order after a bit.  This is the first time we will be carrying her products in the store and we are so excited.  Her resins are beautiful.

So much detail, and so many ways to play.  You can leave them naked for the feel of old moldings.  Or color them with pens and mists and a little glitter for a more colorful feel.  Simply gorgeous.

We also are bringing in some glittered chipboard alphabets and the cutest little envelope and tag album.

And Melissa herself is so cute, and so sweet.  We really enjoyed chatting with her.

After the Melissa Frances order, we were off to our classes.  We made a super fun mini book with Marah Johnson from Creative Imaginations.

After our class we were able to grab a quick bite to eat before headed over to meet Adam at the Prima booth.  Had a great time placing the order....and I am sure you will be thrilled with all the beautiful goodies we have coming.    You can check out a video of the Prima booth here.  Super fun to order all that yummy Prima goodness.  And Adam was the best.  Such a great guy for putting up with us.  He had to take a break and stretch about 1/2 way through our order, but he stuck with us the whole way!

  

After the Prima booth I strolled around the floor a bit, checking to make sure no stone had been unturned.  And then off to my final class.

Well, all in all it has been a great couple of days.  I am totally exhausted (seriously, someone tell me what to do so I can sleep!!!)  The children are really looking forward to me being home tomorrow, and I am looking forward to seeing them (and my bed);  so, it may be a few days till I am back blogging (and posting photos).

I hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures and are as excited about the new products as I am.

Hugs.

Nancy

CHA Day 2 From Amanda

Fun with Stamps!

This morning I took a class from Technique Tuesday called Ali Edward's Make Me Smile.  The class was taught by the owners of the company.  Those girls were so much fun and had such great techniques, I would definitely take a class from them again!!

We made one layout and one card.  I will finish my layout when I get home and print some pictures, but here are the pieces!  The card was super cute and easy to make:

As for some cool tips I picked up in the class?  Theonly quality clear stamps are those being made in the USA of clear photopolymer.  How can you tell the difference?  It's easy....

Do they require the jaws of life to remove from the plastic sheet?
Once you pry them off, do the fall off every block you try?  Do they never stick to anything again?
Does you ink bead?  Does your image get blurry or ruined?

Many of those stamps are made in Chibna, Taiwan or Indonesia.  So, make sure you check where they are made and what they are made of.  If you just have to have that cute stamp image, now you know and won't be disappointed that it only works for one time!!!

Tomorrow afternoon, we both have two classes.  One together, one apart.  My last class will be all about using those fabulous mists and sprays.  I cannot wait!!!

In a few weeks, I'll be back to show y'all the fabulous ways you can use your stamps to alter chipboard, flowers, trims and cardstock.

Amanda

Day 2 at CHA

Hello again from CHA.  Another fun filled exciting day is just about over, and boy was it a full one.  I woke at 5:09 a.m. almost 1/2 hour before the alarm was set to go off.  Don't you just hate that?  Well, laid in bed till I had to get moving for my 7:00 a.m. class.  And it was FABULOUS!  You R 2 Tweet was given by  Lisa Pace   with lots of fun goodies from Maya Road, Jenni Bowlin, Ranger and Duncan Enterprises.

Can you believe all that was in the bag?  And, I  soooo needed that coffee.

In the class we learned to make some gorgeous flowers, a quick and easy way to cover chipboard and then add a scalloped border.  And then.  Is this not, the cutest banner you have ever seen?

  And did I mention that I got a copy of Lisa's gorgeous book?  I guess if you have to be up and out early in the morning, this is great reason.  And I promise, when things get back to normal to show you some of the amazing things I learned.
After my class I went to stand in the line to get into the showroom.  Tim Holtz and Sizzix were having a giveaway for the first 100 people.

And we got these....

So can not wait to get home and try it.  Did I tell you how much I love Prima? 

After running so quickly to get the die, we had to think of our gameplan.  Luckily for us, there was a Prima make and take going on.  Gorgeous.

While we were waiting to make the gorgeous tag, I decided to become queen of the Primas.

After a bit more wandering around, I went over to the Making Memories booth, where I got to sit on a pink Vespa.  Just like the one I have been trying to get my husband  to buy me for the last couple of years.  Think this picture might be enough to push him over the edge?

This display is part of a huge promotion for the new "Hands Free Slice."  So fun to use, and you don't need a new machine, it is a casing for the machine you already have!  How cool is that?  Of course, if you want a new machine...well...that is up to you.

Of course, back to Prima for more goodies.

And more Prima goodness...

Seriously, you could live in the Prima booth.  So many beautiful products, such great inspiration.  Everyone so super nice.

So, what is new this year?  What am I seeing everywhere?

Jewelery.  Lots of Fun, Funky jewelery.  These are just a few of the projects that were available today.

Oh, and how about a Cricut machine that you can use to cut fondant and gum paste for cakes.  You will probably want to get a separate machine.  Something food safe and all.  But imagine the fun using all your cartridges to decorate cake goodies.

Well, that is about it for me tonight.  Another crazy busy day placing orders and taking classes tomorrow.  And I need my beauty sleep.

Hugs.

Nancy

AND NOW FOR A FLAMINGO SCRAPS SNEAK PEEK!!!!

Nancy will be blogging again tonight about the dynamic duo's second day at CHA -- but we thought we would start letting you know what they have ordered for you!!!!

Let's start with Pink Paislee -- ALL three new collections (Bayberry Cottage, 365 Degrees, and Queen Bee) have been ordered, and although they don't ship until March -- they are worth the wait!  In addition to the papers, Flamingo Scraps will be carrying the Flip Notes, ribbon pleats, cork shapes, punchouts, borderlines, brads, and stamps that go with each paper line!!!  We also ordered the ever popular Pink Paislee Glitter Chipboard letters in a new font and four of the fabulous new Weathered Wood alphas!

We hope you are as excited as we are!!!  Another reveal tomorrow!