A Final Layout

A final presentation showcasing the "Penny Arcade" kit. I have to say, one of the original reasons I fell in love with this kit is because I was drawn to it's subtle colors and patterns. The muted hues are perfect for documenting stories about family. Whether your scrapbooking about your ancestors of yesterday or celebrating new love, this lovely kit provides the perfect palette for preserving such stories. 

For this last project, I documented an ongoing family tradition that Eric and I used to share - gatherings in the kitchen. He would carefully manage the cleaning of dishes. It was a task that belonged to him. After his passing, the task became mine. Every time I take note of the sink or whenever I'm doing dishes, I think of Eric. To me, the task of cleaning dishes is trivial, but to Eric, it was an activity of finely attuned awareness. I took this photo of him a few months prior to his passing of him working in the kitchen. He's fully present in the moment and of total peace of mind. 

Color coated chipboard doesn't have to be used "as is". If you happen to like the shape of a piece of chipboard embellishment, but the color doesn't quite fit, simply paint it or cover it with an alternative material. For the above chipboard embellishment, I painted it light brown and coated it with silver glass glitter. I backed the chipboard embellishment with one of the vintage cards provided in the kit. 

I've already mentioned this at my blog, but I'll mention it again. I have a substantial size collection of transparency embellishments, including frames. Frames are not only wonderful for accenting photos, they're also a great option for bringing attention to journaling. Trim your transparency frame to fit your area of journaling (or whatever you decide to frame) and adhere it to your layout using small glue dots.

Thank you for the opportunity to guest design using the "Penny Arcade" kit. It's been a pleasure! Have a wonderful evening everyone! Take care - Christine M.

Making Your Own "Thickers!"

Do you love American Craft's Thickers? ME too! I hoard them, buy them constantly.......but let's face it, they are not cheap! I am going to show you an easy way to make your own. The best part of making your own? You'll never run out of those important letters, and they are super cheap!

Any craft store will carry fun foam in a variety of colors. There are some that even have the adhesive backing on them! I have even seen it sold in bulk!

What do you need? Any die cutting machine will do.

You need letter dies. Here are a few of the ones I own.

Just place the die and fun foam in die cutting machine......and you have an instant "Thicker!"

This one uses a Quickutz die.

I crank that baby through the Big Shot too.......no more using that darn Quickutz squeezy thing!

American Crafts also sells glittered Thickers. So here is how you can make those too!

Run fun foam through die cutting machine.

Gather these supplies......

Coat letter with a thin layer of Aleene's Crystal Glaze. I use my finger to spread it out thinly. Dump glitter over letter.

Shake off excess. Voila!

ooooops! Spelled Dimension wrong.......again! Sorry!

Here is a sneak peek of a LO I did using my homemade Thickers.

In these tough economic times, who doesn't want to get more bang for their buck? This is a quick easy way to make lots of cheap dimensional letters!!!

Have a great week!

Always There

Even though this lovely kit is already "sold out", I still have the opportunity to play with it each week over the month of June. This week, I worked up a frenzy with die-cut butterflies and paper curls. I layered borders with doodling, rub-ons, and paints. I even took out the shimmer mist to add a subtle layer of blue-green to the bottom half of the page. There's plenty going on with this layout, so take a closer look and enjoy! - Christine M.

Title Tips & Techniques

Today's tip/technique is simple, but something that adds a special touch to your projects!

I like to make my titles stand out... and I seem to not be able to leave the letters alone.

Here are a few ways I embellish my titles:

-Color your chipboard letters with colored pencils & glitter.


-Sand the edges of chipboard:

-Layer the chipboard letters on top of each other (and heck, add a few distress Stickles!):


-Glue on a few rhinestones:



-Draw some simple lines...
-Or add dots and trace around the letters!
What ways do you like to alter your titles?

Quick & Easy Gifts with Templates

Sometimes you need something quick and easy to say THANK YOU to a friend, neighbor or colleague . . . but you still want it to be cute!

Here's an idea for you.

First, start with few Kit Kat bars (I used the JUMBO bars, but I think the regular ones would fit in much better).



Next, find a FRY BOX TEMPLATE online and print it. You can copy and paste it into a word processing program to size it if you need to.



Now, use the template to cut the shape from a piece of cardstock. Decorate as desired. I added some patterned paper to the inside of mine and then made a simple band of patterned paper with a label for the outside (papers from the Rise & Shine kit). "Thanks" is spelled out with Jenni Bowlin rubons.



Fill with broken Kit Kat candy to look like "french fries."



Place in a cellophane bag and tie with a cute bow! Done!!!
Hint: if your cellophane bag is too tall, just cut it shorter with a pair of pinking scissors. CUTE!

This would be fun for a teacher, friend, neighbor . . . or how about using this idea for Dad or Grampa for Father's Day.



For more fun templates check out the links below:
(if you know of any others, please tell us about them in our comment box and I will add them up here.)

Stampington & Co. Templates
Mirkwood Designs - Templates
Mel Stampz Blog - Templates
Jan Donavan Templates
Chia's Rubberstamp Art (House of Stir Fry) Templates
Jers Girls' Free Templates
Lori's Templates
Scor-Pal Projects (click on the different Volumes and E-zines -- some of these would be easier to do with a Scor Pal, but I'm sure some of them can be accomplished without one)

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BONUS TIP:

If you are like me and love to use buttons, you are constantly changing your thread color to match the layout you are working on.

Instead of rethreading your needle everytime, buy an entire package of embroidery needles (they have a larger eye and are easier to thread) and keep a length of each of your favorite colors on its own needle. Black on one, brown on another, white on the next, etc.

I keep mine in my tool drawer and they are ready to go whenever I need them.

Discover Your Scrap Style Class

Have you ever wondered why it is that some scrapbookers' layouts are identifiable a mile away?

Do you have trouble deciding what purchases to make or what supplies you want to pull out because you're overwhelmed by it all- or just love it all?

Have you ever thought, "I wish I could figure out what my scrapbooking style is?"

Then this class is for you!

Join me, from the comfort of your own home & at your own pace, at noelmignon.com for an online workshop style class; June 1-3, cost $8.

The nitty gritty:

I don't claim to know everything about style and design, but I do know that I have grown from doing scrapbook pages like this:

to ones like this one, that better reflect my personal style and design sensibilities:


(We'll even discover how those early projects had clues to our personal style!)

This is going to be an interactive/discussion style class- not focusing on projects; however, I will be teaching you how to make a Design Workbook and producing a layout that features "your style." I'll also be including lots of visuals and printables (hey we're scrapbookers- we are visual creatures!). We'll be discussing what factors can go into helping you discover your scrapping style, key things to look at in that process, and some practical steps for pinpointing those elements.

What you get:
-my research and discussion on style elements
-my workshop guiding you through at least 3 different hands-on activities that help you define your style
-a completed Design Workbook - made with materials you already have on hand (with printables you can include within)
-a layout that represents your style (using supplies you already have on hand)
-a discount during the time of the class to the Noelmignon.com store

Please feel free to email me at 2blackflipflops at gmail dot com if you have any questions concerning this class; once you sign up, I will send you a "supply list" (don't worry, it's all basic stuff that you will already have available).

Looking forward to chatting with you all in June!

CLICK BELOW TO BUY!

Using journaling cards

I confess I love to use journaling spots/cards. They are easy, quick and usually cute and also adds a bit of variety to my layout. SO, I decided to make a little freebie that you all could download (please let me know if it isn't working).

Here are the 2 cards. They are PSD files and 300dpi. Should be nice and clear. I used the oh so cute Noel "girl" and a little saying that can be used for any layout or even a card! Have fun and enjoy! Please if you use these link us up and show us what you make - I wanna see!



CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD