Thursday, April 30, 2009

Hello Again

Wow.. I am so sorry for not blogging well this week. I have been super busy getting all the details for the Stratford Retreat done and sorted that I totally lost track of blogging time. Won't let it happen again :) ...at least not without a little warning :)

I had a GREAT week at the studio. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped in after seeing us at Scrapfest. It was such a pleasure to "introduce" you to the studio and what we are all about. Please keep in mind that the creative endeavours you see on this blog are all happening at the studio all the time. Come in and be inspired or learn techniques in person. Just give me a shout to see if the studio is available for a private class. Love to see you!
I promised I would pass on some Scrapfest photos when I got them from the great folks at Scrapfest (thanks Brad and Lisa :) ). Brad was kind enough to send me these earlier this week.

Here are a few pictures from the VIP Crop Party held on Friday Night. We had 220 croppers join us and I was thrilled to be your host!

I gave away TONS of prizes! Some were regular times draws and others I gave away by hosting some fun games and activities.

Thank you to all our crop sponsors!!

Jackie Ludlage from the Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine was also on hand to choose a layout from our layout contest for publication in the magazine!! She couldn't choose just one! Three talented ladies who showcased their layouts at the crop were chosen to have their layouts published in their next issue. Congratulations ladies!! I can't wait to see them in print. Very exciting!

I was thrilled to be a part of this show! Thanks to everyone involved! I hope Go Scrapping and Scrapfest have a long working relationship. Can't wait until April 2010!!

This weekend is the Stratford Retreat held at the Festival Inn. I am so thrilled to be hosting a GREAT group of gals at the hotel for this our 4th retreat at the Festival Inn. It's theme is the Matter Hatter "Scrap" Party and I have some fun things planned. I am not sure if I will have the opportunity to blog this weekend but I will be sure to post highlights of the retreat as soon as I can, Look out Stratford... Here we come!!!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Secret to looking good in pictures?

What a glorious day!!! It feels like summer! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

I am getting ready for a fun Birthday Party here in the Studio tomorrow and caught myself day dreaming about summer, our trailer and taking more pictures. Occupational hazard I suppose. hehe

Anyway, I logged onto my computer and what did I see on my Rogers homepage?? A Spotlight entitled: Secret of looking great in pictures? WELL... you know I had to read that!! LOL

It linked to a great little article with tips and tricks to "lookin good" and ultimately enjoying the picture taking process 'cause, let's face it, we all hate having our pictures taken :) Here's the link. Enjoy the article. If you have any other "tips" leave a comment. Love to "hear" them :)


Thursday, April 23, 2009

A Dog Gone Good Day :)


It was a big Dog Day!!

For those of you who don't know, my family and I adopted a 7 month old poodle puppy in January - His name is Mozart.

I made an appointment for visit to see the vet for heart worm testing and preventative flee stuff. The vet?? One of my oldest and dearest high school friends, Dr. Leanna :)

The "scruff-miester" wasn't quite sure what to think about the new smells and sounds of the clinic (too many other dogs and cats I suppose) and was a little nervous to start off but he quickly warmed up to Dr Leanna and took his vaccination needles and blood work like a trooper!! Way to go Mo! Thanks for being so great with him, Lea!!

I had to go to the studio after the Vet's... no surprise there :) So Mo had a visit and play with his friends next door at the Dog Groomers.

Stephen owns Bark Avenue Dog Grooming. The shop is located RIGHT BESIDE my studio on Lancaster Street. He and Roz have been fabulous with us -- but then again ... I should hope so.. It's because of them that Mozart came to live with us :) (hehe) It has been great!!! There are 7 dogs between them and they not only groom dogs, they show them and Roz is also a trainer. Handy... isn't it :) The wealth of knowledge!!

So -- Mozart was getting pretty scruffy. He was groomed last month but WOW his hair grows quick! Stephen had a few minutes and was kind enough to groom him for us. Now I have my handsome boy back!! Yippee!!

Stephen does a great job -- hand snips the pooches!! Gotta like that. I love going over to the shop to watch the dogs get all dolled up. It's not typically a good idea for the owner to be around while their dog is being groomed but Mo is so comfortable there that he didn't mind at all -- which is really cool! How do you think he turned out? :
There's the princely pooch that I know and love :)

Bark Avenue grooms all kinds of dogs. I highly recommend them!! Just think, you can drop your dog off at the "spaw" (hehe) and come next door for some creative fun for you too!

Bark Avenue Dog Grooming: 519-568-8555


Speaking of Creative Fun...
I created a layout for a Birthday Party I am hosting on Sunday afternoon at the studio. A dance themed layout for twelve 11 year old girls!... here's a sneak :) Looking forward to seeing the girls!! You know how much I love a party!!!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day

It was Earth Day at the studio today :)

decided, in honour of the occasion, to create something in the studio out of recycled materials. I looked around the studio and raided the blue bin for this project -- a Coke Can Frame.

I took a bunch of cans and cut them up using my Tim Holtz "snips" -- very carefully!!! For those who know me, this can be a trick as I tend be rough with my tools BUT ... I did it!! No cuts! Yippee

I loosely placed the cut up cans on my frame to get a general idea of where I would put them... I then snapped a pic and took the pieces off to wash them in the sink.

Once dry, I used the Tim Holtz texture hammer to "rough up" the pieces. The tin pieces were imperfect already - I just wanted to make the imperfections a bigger part of the piece.

If you have a hot glue gun, you can glue the pieces to the frame (use your picture ). I use my trusty 3in1 Glue from Beacon. Yep -- another use for this glue. Gotta love it!

I used very small finishing nails to tack down the pieces and to give it a little more "hardware". Be careful that your nails won't go through your frame. My nails needed to be no larger than 1/2" long.

The flowers were made with pop tabs and water bottle lids.

Get out your Alcohol Inks and a couple of baggies for this. I chose "meadow" ink for the pop tabs. Place your tabs in a small baggy and drop a couple of ink and shake (remembering to close the bag). Once the tabs are coated with the ink, empty onto a craft sheet. Heat set the tabs heat gun before use.

Shake up a bottle of Silver Mixative and apply it to the water bottle cap using a piece of felt - this will change the colour to silver as the mixative leaves an opaque colour. Once dry (this won't take long) spread some 3in1 glue on the top of the lid. I spread it around the cap with my finger and then poured some Stix 2 "seed" to the top of the lid to finish the center piece. Now all you have to do is arrange the flowers on your frame and glue them in place!

I found some green wire in my "tickle trunk" : green floral wire.

Using my fingers, I twisted the wire into stems and "swirly" leaves and attached them to the frame using that amazing glue to finish it off. :)

Pretty cute. I had fun.

I challenge you all to try a little recycled material art! Be sure to send me an image of your creation if you do! Love to see what you come up with!!

I do have some more glue on special at the studio. If you missed out on getting two bottles of 3in1 Glue for $10 -- come on in the studio and pick some up. I will honour the Scrapfest Show Special until May 1 or while quantities last.

Here's a pic of me (and Sue) in the booth grabbing a "bite" before the mayhem Friday afternoon :)

More on that later !
Happy Creating,


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

we have a winner!!

Here is another in a series of Scrapfest posts. I seem to be doing a lot of those lately :) hehe... can't imagine why :)

The Go Scrapping Booth had a Prize to give away: A Zutter Bind It All complete with coils and chipboard to go along with it!! Yippee!!

For those who don't know -- for every $10 spent in our booth, people were given a ballot to enter into our prize. I drew the name at the end of the day Saturday.... and the winner was.... JENN L!!!

Congratulations Jenn!

Jen came by the Studio today to claim her prize! She was so excited and I was thrilled to present it to her!

She stayed for a while to have a couple of Perfect Pearls demos ... in particular the using the mini mister to create glimmer mists... very fun! Thanks for coming in the studio today Jenn and Congratulations again!!

I encourage you all to drop by the studio anytime for demos -- now that I can find all my supplies (I unpacked the last of the boxes from the show today), I would be thrilled to "get messy" with you all!!

Oh happy day! Thanks to all who participated in this contest!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Big Thank Yous`

I will certainly blog about my AMAZING Scrapfest experience in detail soon -- complete with pictures :) ... I just wanted to leave a quick note on the Blog to THANK EVERYONE for making Go Scrapping's Scrapfest experience so delightful.

Everyone includes the fabulous crop people, the marketplace shoppers, the Scrapfest team, the Go Scrapping Sponsors who taught in the class area, the amazing girls who promoted Go Scrapping in the Booth... everyone who I was in contact with at the event. THANK YOU!!

I feel so blessed to be a part of this industry and to have the privilege of getting to know so many wonderful people. Happy Creating everyone!!!!!!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

This is it.....

I am packing up the car with all my fun bits for Scrapfest!!
I can't wait to get there and have it all set up!

I mentioned in yesterday's blog that I had a fun announcement to make for Scrapfest:

I know there will be a lot of "GO peeps" coming to the show this weekend. I would love it if you wore your Go Scrapping shirts to the show!! So... ON SATURDAY - wear your Go Scrapping Shirt to Scrapfest and swing on by our booth (Booth #510) to show me your duds :) There just might be a sweet treat in it for ya *wink* ...just sayin' :)

Gotta go now.. get back to work. Check back again tomorrow. I will TRY to get a post in. If not -- see you when you arrive!!!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The last sneak for the Go Studio Class area at Scrapfest and its schedule.....

Well, here it is -- the last (but certainly not the least) sneak peek of what is being offered by Go Scrapping and some if its sponsors at our class area in the Scrapfest Marketplace.

This sweet, and not fully disclosed, card is going to be taught by Erin from The Scrapping Bug in Kitchener. It will use some of their exclusive Bug Cuts which I know you will just love! YAY
Now, I am SURE you are all wondering how this is going to work -- me too :) ... just kidding :)

Here is the schedule as it will be posted in the Marketplace:
10:30 - Go Scrapping Studio (Sticky-Back Beaded bookmark)
11:15 - Scrapping Turtle (Glass Etching - Quickutz)
12:00 - Olde Tyme Country Crafts (Core'dinations Card)
12:30 - In A Pinch Designs (Cherish One Another Layout)
1:00 - The Learning Factory (Tri-Fold Card)
1:30 - Stamp Art (Invisibles Card or Photo Mount)
2:00 - The Scrapping Bug (Bug Cut Card)
2:30 - Simply Scrapping (Time Layout)
3:00 - Go Scrapping Studio (Sticky Back Beaded bookmark)
Yes, I am going to open and close the class area! Can't wait for it all to begin!!

There are only 24 seats available in the class area for these make n takes. They will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Jen (my happy Grunt *her little pet name*) will be handing out 24 numbered cards to the first 24 people standing in line at 10:15am in front of the class area. You MUST BE IN LINE to receive your ticket and NO SAVING SPACES WILL BE ALLOWED. Sorry, but that is the fairest way to do this. Tickets for the next make n take will be given out when my first class starts 15mins later. Tickets for the following make n take will be given out when the second class starts, and so on. Thank you in advance for your cooperation on this. We are doing make n takes for 216 people in total... It's going to be a good day.

If you miss my make n take... I will be demoing when I am not teaching -- I am happy to show you how to create the bookmark at the Go Scrapping Booth or here in the studio anytime! Love to see you!
I am taking my "booth parts" over to the AUD tomorrow for a Friday start! YAY!

Look for a fun announcement in tomorrow's blog!!!!!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Final preparations....

I've been working all day getting the Studio booth ready to go to Scrapfest. All I have to do is get a few signs together!! Yippee! Can't wait to get into the AUD and set up for you!!

Have you heard of Core'dinations??
The gals at Olde Tyme Country Crafts have put together a really cute make n take for the Go Scrapping class area that uses Core'dinations paper -- its the cardstock with a colour core that you can sand, and do some great techniques with..
Here's their card:

I have one more make n take to show you... I will do that tomorrow and fill you in on how you can participate in one of these great make n takes.

Thanks ladies!!! Have you begun counting down the days? :)

Monday, April 13, 2009

A true sneak peek for you....

I have Simply Scrapping's offering for the Go Scrapping "class area" and it is a true sneak peek.



I do have the full image but I was asked to keep it under wraps :) .... and hey -- I'm always up for a little fun so I will... you will just have to come by the Go Scrapping Booth to see a picture of the actual project! Here's the peek:

It is very pretty.. I know you will love it -- Wait?? is that Crackle I see?? Could be.......

So -- I told you I was getting involved with the Waterloo Region Block Parent Association. Here's the fodder....

Go Scrapping is proud to become a Commercial Block Parent!! Yes, you read correctly and yes, there is such a thing. The studio will be a place where people, young and old, can go to get help if they need it. My application is in and I am told I will be presented with my business sticker at their Annual General Meeting later this month.

Businesses with Block Parent do not receive a sign to place in the window... it is a sticker that is placed on the door to the business. To qualify as a business Block Parent you must have a ground floor business accessible and visible to the street and have police checks done for you and your staff (if any). There are a few other details -- but for the most part, that's it!! For more information - please contact Block Parent directly.

I have also joined the association as the events coordinator-- fitting, don't you think? :) I am planning an event or two in aid of Block Parent. I will let you know details when I can start promoting them. I am looking forward to working with everyone associated with the organization -- even Darren :) hehe (see post below) Its a great community charity -- I hope you consider opening your doors to it too! Look for Block Parent at Scrapfest!!


Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!!


Happy Easter everyone.. and to our Jewish friends, I hope you had a family-filled passover celebration!

Now.. step away from the chocolate bunnies - and... if you haven't already, wipe your hands before you touch the keyboard :) I have another sneak peek for you...

In A Pinch Designs has created a very special 3D Spring Layout for our class area at Scrapfest. Wanna See?? Here it is.

Cherish One Another... In the picture is Sheri East of In A Pinch Designs, her "Scrubbie" Darren and their sweet pooch (that I am not allergic too ... sorry, inside joke).

Sheri and her business partner Judy also teach for me at Go Scrapping Retreats. I love having them a part of my events - thanks gals.

All you ladies attending Scrapfest will also be able to get to know Darren. Darren (who some of you might recognise from last year's retreat in Stratford) is the new Director of Public Relations for Waterloo Region's Block Parent Program -- Scrapfest's official charity 2009!! Darren will have a booth set up outside the marketplace promoting this very important program and will also be selling raffle tickets for 3 VERY COOL GIFT BASKETS each worth between $150 - $200 retail! woo hoo!! All the proceeds of the raffle will go to the Block Parent Program.

Learn more about how Go Scrapping is getting involved in the charity soon... that's fodder for another blog entry :)

So... please "Cherish One Another" on this Easter Day. Many Blessings!!


Saturday, April 11, 2009

Boxes and Boxes of Product... oh my!!

Good Morning blog readers!!
Still here in the states... a little pooped from the drive to Grand Rapids and back yesterday but it was so worth it!

I took my daughter along for the ride (which was good) so we both had the opportunity to meet Kelly - my sales rep at Notions Marketing. What a fabulous gal. I love doing business with her and I hope that she isn't too sick of me yet! :) I have done quite a bit of "putsing" around with my orders lately getting ready for Scrapfest - trying to stock my messy bits that people can see, learn about and buy. Thanks for all your help Kelly! It's very appreciated!

Kelly gave us a little tour of the warehouse. OMG we were in one of three warehouses that they ship from and my eyes were just popping out with all there was to see! Packing stations upon packing stations all done via conveyor belt each person with a specific job and boxes moving around everywhere. So hard to believe they can keep it all straight -- yet I have never had an order arrive incorrectly! Boggles the mind. Row after row of product all bursting to the rim ready to fill orders. wowsers! *singing* "I'm in heaven... crafter's heaven..." It's a good thing that they are not set up for shopping in the warehouse. My credit card would have been in a lot of trouble let me tell you!!!

So far it's been a good trip -- now, I hope the border people are in a good mood :) hehe

Okay, so, where are we at?? Oh yeah ... 6 days until Scrapfest (7 days until the marketplace opens to everyone!!!!) Crunch time people!! :)

Here is another peek at what the Go Scrapping Studio "class area" will be offering next Saturday... Etching with a new product from QuicKuts taught by the gals from the Scrapping Turtle (St. Jacobs).

Aren't these glasses cute?? This will be a longer make n take (approx 40 mins) because of the etching process but I am really excited to see them create these with you. Looks like fun!

Keep posted on the blog for more Scrapfest peeks... I am getting the booth together this weekend and will post highlights too!

See you soon!!!!

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Another Studio "class" at Scrapfest!

I wanted to pass along another sneak peek of what will be offered at the Go Scrapping Studio "class area'.

Nancy from Stamp Art in London will be teaching this card background (or you can certainly use this for a photo) using "Invisibles" and distress inks! So cool. Love to see her create this with you.
Stamp Art will be our "booth neighbour" -- so be sure to say HI when you come see us at the show... All of the participating stores will have booths there! It's great to have so many Go Scrapping sponsors all in one place. Can't wait for Scrapfest... 8 days!
I am in Michigan right now turning a business trip into a family Easter outing! I will be making the trip to my distributors in the morning before spending the rest of the weekend with my family. I might just have to take my camera! :) I can't promise many pictures but we can at least introduce you to my sales rep extraordinaire!!

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Another Scrapfest Sneak Peek....

I do have images of Go Scrapping's retail sponsor's make n takes too..

Wanna see what Joanne from The Learning Factory will be offering......?????


Here it is. A trifold card just waiting for your pictures!


This will be an afternoon make n take at the Go Scrapping Studio "class" area. Stay tuned for more details... I will post a schedule and just how this "class" area is going to work when we are a "little" closer to the Big Event!! :) ...nothing like keeping you in suspense, eh?


Just to entice you some more....


I have been spending my evening packing all the supplies I will need in my class. Check it out! Busy Busy Busy! 9 days?? :)




Tuesday, April 07, 2009

The Go Scrapping Studio ROCKS Scrapfest

Many many of you know that I will be hosting the SOLD OUT VIP Crop at Scrapfest in a couple of weeks! I am soooooooo excited to be your hostess extraordinaire! Got lots of prizes and fun planned that evening!!

What most of you don't know (yet), is that the Go Scrapping Studio will also be having a big booth in the Marketplace!! YAY!!! I will be bringing the studio's Messy Bits and I'll have some fabulous Groupies running things for me Friday night and I will be there all day Saturday doing demos and meet and greeting as the croppers are on their own :) hehe

Anyway, directly across from the main Go Scrapping Studio Booth (#510).... there will be a 24 seat "Studio Classroom" set up for myself and 7 Go Scrapping Retreat Sponsors (Simply Scrapping, The Scrapping Bug, The Learning Factory, Olde Tyme Country Crafts, In A Pinch Designs, Scrapping Turtle and Stamp Art) to offer a series of 20 minute(+) classes for you!! Yep -- you heard right!!! Go Scrapping's own classroom space right in the marketplace! Yippee!!

I was going to wait until Friday to start tell you all about this but.... I had to re-vamp my "class" today and I am so excited about it, I had to share.

I have been getting emails and facebook notes about the sticky back canvas beads I made.. so... I decided to incorporate those and give you the chance to try them yourselves. We will be creating a Bookmark -- stamped, inked, spritzed and oh so much fun. Here's a sneak peak... Only 10 more days til Scrapfest!! See you there


We are getting a new Neighbour!

I am very excited to announce that the unit next door has been rented to 3 fabulous Hair Stylists! Yes, there is a salon going in next door! It's called the FLOOR ONE SALON.


To celebrate, Kevin, Graham and Janine have put together two gift baskets full to the brim with pampering products that also includes a gift certificate for a Colour or Highlight and a Cut and Style with Kevin. How fabulous is that!??! Check it out!!

Go Scrapping has a Basket to be given away and Bark Avenue Dog Groomers (our other neighbour) has one too!! All you have to do is come for a visit and fill out a ballot. The winner will be chosen May 5th -- Floor One Salon's Grand Opening.

Come on in and celebrate with us!!
Welcome to the building guys!! We are thrilled to have you here!

Monday, April 06, 2009

Sticky Back Necklaces...

Yesterday was a great day... in addition to enjoying an early Easter dinner with the "outlaws" :) I had the chance to relax in front of the tube and play with my supplies. I love doing some projects that way. Very therapeutic! :)

I have been playing a lot with Claudine Hellmuth's Sticky Back Canvas lately. I purposely brought a painted canvas home with me so that I could cut it up and create some fun handmade beads. I figured making the beads (in the quantity I wanted) would be a great in front of the TV project -- and man was I right!

For those who don't know -- Claudine designed a self-adhesive, artist-quality canvas and sells it in sheets ( 8.5x11 and 12x12). You can do pretty much anything with them.. I have seen a lot of floral embellishments etc created with it but after seeing someone in a mag creating canvas beads I thought this canvas would be perfect as it would eliminate the need for glue. So... here is what I did:

I thinly washed the canvas with black, red and gold metallic acrylic paints. Once it was dry (with the help of a heat gun :) ), I foam stamped in white randomly all over the canvas and added a little perfect pearls to the paint before it dried to give it a little extra bit of luster! The canvas looked so cool I ALMOST didn't want to cut into it :) hehe But, alas, as I was going to create beads so I got out the scissors and cut up the canvas.

This canvas is very easy to cut. I used Tim Holtz's signature scissors (by Tonic) as they are Teflon coated just to make sure the "sticky back" wouldn't stick ... I have cut this canvas with other scissors with no problems... I just wanted to use the tools I have that I KNOW will work well :) It's all about the tools, baby :)

I cut the canvas into triangles with an approximate 1.5"-1.75" base and then removed the backing to expose the "sticky" and rolled them up into cylindrical beads. As the canvas is already sticky... there is not need for glue! yay! As much as I love to get messy. This is one step I didn't want to take.

Now... for the fun stuff!! I covered the beads (rolled them into) a Perfect Medium stamp pad and then coated the beads in clear UTEE and set the UTEE with my heat gun. While the UTEE was warm, I dipped the beads into perfect pearls and other coloured embossing powders and embossing Puffs to add layers of interest and glimmer. I also got out my Angelina fibers and melted them into the enamel for some extra "stringy" bling. Woot Woot... Now you know its a Karen project!! Pretty fun and funky.

I whipped up a few dozen of these beads and "strung" them, along with some other metal beads, to a chain. I loved how these turned out... What do you think??

The Go Scrapping Studio carries everything you need to create these beads. Stop on in and check it out!! Love to "play"!!


Saturday, April 04, 2009

Goodies, Goodies....

Go Scrapping's unofficial countdown to Scrapfest continues :)....

Thanks to the support of some very, very generous scrapping Goddesses, we just finished "zutting" 720 mini books for the Scrapfest VIP guests and Crop Party People!!! YAY!!!

Yep -- 720 people will be attending VIP Night at this year's Kitchener Scrapfest..... how exciting is that??? Here is a sneak peek at what you will find in your goodie bags.

Drop by booth 510 -- the Go Scrapping Booth -- to see what is going on that weekend... or watch the blog starting this Friday April 10th for our official 7 day countdown complete with sample peeks and some exciting tidbits of what's to come! You're going to LOVE IT!

Friday, April 03, 2009

The Dollar Store Club Meets Again....

Wednesday April 1 was the first Wednesday of the month -- no joke :)
That means I have the pleasure of welcoming the Dollar Store Club to the studio. I REALLY LOVE this club. It is so nice to have such a social outlet for creativity. Thanks to all the girls who joined us.
This month's project was a Hand Held Mirror.

Most of us gals took it upon ourselves to incorporate last months alcohol ink "class" on this project but yet again... although we started off with mirrors.. the end results were quite different and unique.

I have been very bad about picture taking lately -- so sorry about that. But I do have a few photos to share with me and I know some of the gals are going to forward me pictures of their creations so I can share them with you... I will keep you posted :)
I do have Rosanne's Mirror:
Rosanne started out with a light blue mirror and then she inked it using the alcohol inks. She finished it off with some fabulous Prima Flowers and some ribbon and lace. Very Pretty!! Rosanne is a very talented lady who also keeps a fun blog on which she described her process.. please check it out! :)

Sheri got Funky!

She also inked her mirror... but not just on the back. She used a Heidi Swapp mask to mask out the word "me" on the front. Very cool! She mounted her mirror on the back side of a framed dollar store canvas. She made some very cool beads out of recycled flyers, UTEE and pearls and threaded them through ribbon she attached to the inside of the frame. Awesome job Sheri.

Just to keep up with the trend -- I used the Alcohol Inks too. However I covered my entire mirror with the ink. I also randomly dropped the ink on the mirror face to get a few different effects with it.
I played around with some Golden Digital Grounds for Porous materials... I took a piece of cheese cloth and treated it with the grounds and then, once dried, ran it through my printer to get my image on it. I then inked it green and mounted it on a piece of chipboard before attaching it to my mirror. I too added prima flowers (with little stickle centres) a pearl button and some toggles and feather from the dollar store. The crocheted doily you see was part of a crocheted runner I picked up at Value Village but if you have the time and talent you can create your own too!

The paper was attached to the mirror with gel medium and I also used some of Golden's Bead Gel tinted with green interference Perfect Pearls for a little extra pizazz!
The beads around the mirror and on the handle were attached with Beacon's 3 in 1 Glue and then I gave them a distress ink wash using my vintage photo reinker so that they would have a more "antiqued" look. So much fun.

Mindy, Amber, Kelly and Leanne also joined us! :)

Mindy promised she will take a couple of snaps of her mirror and blog about it this weekend. You can find her blog here. Amber and Kelly will get me some photos that I will upload soon... and Leanne.. I will email her :) Love to post her mirror here too. As I said -- they are all different and I would love to showcase them all.

I demoed a couple of different ways to use Perfect Pearls after we had our "Show and Tell"! at which time the girls had a chance to create this card (the image I stole from Rosanne's blog -- hope you don't mind Rosanne). We mixed the Perfect Pearls in white acrylic paint to add some colour and glimmer to Claudine Hellmuth's Sticky Back Canvas. The canvas was then run through the Sizzix machine to punch out a flower shape to add to the card. We also mixed some pearls, water and distress reinkers in a mini mister to create our own glimmer mist. And finally, we used a water brush to "paint" the pearls onto a white paper flower to add a wonderful coppery effect. Gotta love the pearls!!

If you are interested in learning how to do this yourself.... stop on by the Studio and I will be happy to teach you. I will have a card kit here if you would like to make this card yourself. Contact the studio for details. (519 954 6620)

Thanks for another fabulous Dollar Store Club Meeting. We always welcome new members. Our next Dollar Store item is a "wooden" glasses case. Hope you can join us.
SEE SOME OF OUR GREAT DOLLAR STORE PROJECTS IN OUR BOOTH AT SCRAPFEST and even get a chance to meet some of the girls. We are in booth 510