Altered Stick Pins & Studio L3 CCC #33 Entry...Frugal Scrappin' Style:)

Hello fellow scrappers/crafters/bloggers:)

I hope you are having a MOST wonderful day today!  I have been seeing altered stick pins around for a while now, and I've been wanting to try them myself, but just haven't had the time...UNTIL NOW, {hee hee}.

I'm SOOOOO excited that my dear friend, Jacquie, showed a group of us how to make our own altered stick pins at a TNT group meeting at our LSS.  I was so excited and IDEAS just kept running through my head, INCLUDING kicking myself for selling all those BEADS I've had for years at a recent yard sale I had...

Now you all know I have to put my own frugal little twist on what I've seen and I'm very EXCITED to share it with all...as I often say, I know I'm NOT a ROCKET SCIENTIST (well, sometimes in my own little head I think I just MIGHT be {ROFL}...well at least a "scientist" anyway...since, ya know, I'm ALWAYS coming up with new concoctions, AND I'm always all inky and stuff...DEFINITELY, no fresh manicures here, sistah!

So anyway, I went to my local "big box" craft store and bought some corsage pins..ya know, the ones that NEVER hold the corsages on (well at least mine don't)...anyway, I purchased two types...one with ROUND white pearls on the top and the other with TEARDROP white pearls on top.

Then I mosied on over to the bead section...ya know the bead section is now BIGGER than the scrapbook section!  What's the deal with that, I ask?  I know, I know, there are some AMAZING jewelry makers out there BUT I'm not gonna get into that craft now...no, I'm not, BUT I will use some of their AWESOME beads for my ALTERED STICK PINS!

Oh, and I also bought this whoppin' big pkg of glitter, too...I'm tellin' ya, if I can't find a glitter to match my project now, I've got issues...well MORE issues than I already know I have, lol.

I am now the proud owner of 24 lucious colors of glitter.  Here are a few of them:

Now, all I did was cover the pearl tops of my stick pins with some fast drying liquid glue (I use 3-IN-1 Beacon Glue).  Then I popped the lid off of a glitter bottle and dipped the pearly tops in for a "swim"...swirled it around a bit, lifted and tapped off the loose glitter and VOILA, I now had a glittery topped stick pin.  After adding a few beads, I had an AWESOME new embellishment for my crafting project!

Now, ya know I just COULDN'T stop there, right?  So I headed on over to my alcohol ink bin and added some alcohol ink to felt and swirled a few more stick pins around in the felt pad until they were covered.

Check these out!  Another use for my trusty alcohol inks...whoo hoo!

Can I just say AMAZING!!!!!!!

Now, if you've made it this far, I also want to show you my Studio L3 Challenge entry for this week.  Our challenge was to turn to pg 56 in the Compendium of Curiosities book, and use the altered metal technique.  Even though I DEFINITELY altered MORE THAN METAL, I did also complete this challenge.

Here's a close-up of the altered metal (this is a piece of chipboard covered with aluminum foil and embossed with an embossing folder).  The colors of alcohol Ink I used are terra cotta, sailboat blue, and sunset orange.

I had a GREAT time making this project.  THANKS to Linda over at Studio L3 for ANOTHER AMAZING CHALLENGE!

365 Cards Day 270 and a Happy Thanksgiving to ALL:)

So, it's Thanksgiving morning and I'm relaxing in my crafting room before our Thanksgiving dinner.  I have to say, there are SO MANY things I'm THANKFUL for today and EVERY DAY, but the 1 thing that comes to MIND today is my DEAR HUBBY.  I am SO THANKFUL for him!  He is a GREAT cook and has ALREADY started the preparation for today's FAMILY dinner!

The Christmas tree is UP, and ready to be decorated by our 3 grandsons...I'm cutting strips of paper so we can make a PAPER CHAIN that is quickly becoming one of the staples on my Christmas tree:)  I can't wait for the GRANDKIDS to come for a visit!

I've completed my card for the 365 Cards challenge, but have realized that while I'm challenging myself with the daily challenge, I'm forgetting that VINTAGE is also the name of the game this week.  While I won't win any awards for following directions, lol...I'm hoping I can award myself for actually FINISHING something.  You see, I always have great ambitions, but rarely have the time to actually follow progressive challenges to the end.

Because 365 Cards has such AMAZINGLY talented DTer's, though, it's VERY EASY be be inspired to play along.  Thanks, 365 Cards for another GREAT challenge today!

Today's challenge is hosted by Hannah and her twist is to use a dimensional sticker on your card.  Now, I normally do NOT use stickers (not because I don't like them...it's because I prefer to "create" my own)...Like all of us, though, I DO have a stash of stickers AND have some that are dimensional so rummaged through my stash until I found something that matched the paper I had already decided to use (from my "scrap pile", mind you...heehee).  So I used some popped up stickers from Sandylion that I've had for at least a few years...again, thanks for the opportunity to put these to good use.

Here's what I came up with:

Now, if you've been following the challenge all week, you will notice that I copied a quote that Kim used...as soon as I saw it, I knew it was one of those quotes that "speaks to me"...A new WORD document and a couple of text boxes later, I've got my quote for this card.

Whoo hoo!  I just love it when I can "homemake" my card sentiments:)

enJOY:)

Have a VERY BLESSED Thanksgiving Holiday and BE SAFE:)

Lori M, FSE:)

365 Cards Day 268

O.k....I'm FINALLY caught up with this week's challenges over at 365 Cards.  Whoo hoo!!!!

Here is the card for day 268.  The challenge was to use at least one stamp on your card...well, of course I went just a tee bit overboard...I used one of my favorite TH Stampers Anonymous stamps and stamped in Pumice Stone, Shabby Shutters and Tumbled Glass.

I thought the stamp AND the ink colors went really well with yet....you guessed it!  Another scrap from my stash:)

I added one of the TH coins AND a studio 490 stamp, some SEI ribbon from my stash and a few TH brads.  These are some of my favorite colors to work with so this was very relaxing to make:)

One other thing I REALLY have to tell you that I keep forgetting...first a question...Can you TELL that my FOTOS are much BETTER lately????  I know that's a LOADED question, lol...so no need to answer:)  I went to the Photo Expo in Del Mar a few weeks ago and bought my very first Christmas gift...FOR ME, lol...I bought a Tamaron lens that is AMAZING!  Wait til you see the close-up of one of the photos in this set of fotos.  I'll just say WOW!  It's a 60 mm lens 1:1 (like I really know what that means, lol)...but I'm learnin'!

O.k., now on to the fotos:

Hmmmmm....the direction of my dreams....well that would be to become a FAMOUS ARTIST...in the altered art/mixed media category...now, how KEWL would that be?

Now for the close-up...I was able to actually hold the card at arm's length with one hand and take this foto with the other hand.  Whoo hoo!!!!  The ONLY problem with this lens you might ask?????  It's sooooo sharp, I may not want to see fotos of myself with this lens...talk about emphasis on my "wrinkles"...hee hee...yeah, I have 'em:)

200th Post and a 365 Card Challenge, whoo hoo!

Wow, I can't believe this is my 200th post!  How cool is that?  I just LOVE my BLOG:)  Now, I've been blogging for a little over 2 years now, and I'm sure some of you out in blog land have MANY more than 200 posts in that much time, but for me this is TRULY a milestone...you see, I tend to jump in with BOTH FEET when I get into a new interest....then when the novelty wears off, I peder out....

I do have to say, I've had a few "breaks" in my blogging over the last 2 years (when my "other" life has gotten the best of me, lol), but I'm really PROUD of ME for sticking with this AMAZING hobby!

Thanks to all of you who have been following (and a few of you...you know who you are...that have been "lurking" along the way....Hey, I have an idea:)....wouldn't it be REALLY KEWL to have 200 followers, too?  Since I'm not an OVERLY TECHY person...I'm not sure how to combine my fb followers and the blogger followers...It appears as though I have almost 100 followers between the two but I'm sure some are duplicates...so...it may be a bit harder to really know how many followers there are...hmmmmmmm...well I'm going to start working on a goal to increase interest in my lil ol' blog.  Any ideas are greatly appreciated:)  I want to do something original...so I'll have to put on my thinking cap...I can smell the "wood" burnin' already, heehee.

O.k., 'nough of that, I need to get to my project for 365 Cards...of course there is TONS of inspiration out there, and this was no exception.  I do have to say that I liked the sample so much that I simply "copied" it (well, the sketch anyway).  Here's my project:

I think by now, you all probably know that I just LOVE inspirational quotes...I know this one is by no means original, but ya know...sometimes ya just have to go back to the simple things...those things ya REALLY KNOW, but still FORGET to DO!...I'm just sayin'....

In true frugal scrappin' style, I'm still forcing myself to use "just the scraps, ma'am"...Here I found some REALLY OLD Rusty Pickle paper, some Cloud Nine Designs paper, as well as some that I have NO IDEA who's it is because the nice strips on the edge of the paper are missing.  I added some ribbon I've had for YEARS and some roses I picked up a the Fabric Barn in Long Beach.

Thanks, 365 Cards for giving me yet another inspirational project to create from.

enJOY:)

Lori, FSE:)

365 Cards Day 267 AND Studio L3 CCC #23

Whew...two challenges that I REALLY wanted to participate in are complete...and I found out a few things about myself...you see, I THOUGHT my style was vintag-y...the operative word is THOUGHT, lol...but when I TRIED, REALLY TRIED to do a vintag-y card, I found myself VERY inTIMidated, lol! 

Now, that doesn't happen often, ya know...I do have to say that I am normally a very HUMBLE person, but inTIMidated????....uhhhhh...not usually, lol....LONG STORY-SHORT...apparently, my STYLE is NOT vintag-Y at all!  GRUNG-Y, yes, but vintag-Y, not so MUCH.

I'm gonna show you my card, but don't laugh, now, ya hear?  I know it's a STRETCH, but maybe...just MAYBE if you squint and turn your head this way and that...you'll see just a wee bit of vintage in this card:)

I do think I followed the rules about only using my card for the 365 Cards AND only 1 other challenge:)...and using a pin on my card, so it's just the "vintag-y" part that may be a bit of a stretch, lol...

They(365 Cards) are having an AWESOME blog hop this week with a really cool grand finale challenge...it's a progressive recipe challenge and is proving to be alot of fun!  You travel from blog to blog and collect "recipe" items that will then be used on the last day (this Saturday) as the recipe to make Saturday's card.  Cool, huh?  Now there are some other rules you'll need to follow, so visit here and get started:)

I am enJOYing my time to play along with challenges, but have also found that it's TOO HARD for me to incorporate more than one challenge into one card...do you know I saw a card this morning (wish I could remember where because it was REALLY cute...and there must have been a list of 10 or more challenges that one card was going to be entered in....gee wiz...I would have never finished even that one card!  Too much pressure for me:)

Oh, so for the second challenge...this one was very EASY for me...it's for the Studio L3 challenge where we are turning to page 40 in our Compendium of Curiosities book and working on the double distress technique.

What fun this was!  Thanks again Linda:)  You ROCK, girl!

The colors of distress ink I used were:

• Victorian Rose (see I really DID try to do vintag-y)
• Stormy Sky
• Old Paper (see, see, I really did try, lol)
• Frayed Burlap (y'all)

Now, ya know I can't tell ya how to do this technique...my lips are sealed, you're gonna just have to buy the book...trust me...it's worth it!

enJOY:)

Lori, FSE:)

Frugal Scrappin' Announcements and fun pics of November class!

As I try to get caught up on my creating this weekend, I can see that I will be posting multiple messages today, so thanks for stopping by:)

ANNOUNCEMENT:

For the month December, Frugal Scrappin' will be moving up a few weeks to December 9th.  The class will still be held from 6:30-8:30 and as always will include some AWESOME projects so come one, come all and have a scrappingly great time!

Karen, my ever so talented sidekick will be leading the December class and has designed an AMAZING project!  In true Frugal Scrappin' style, this class will be filled with fun techniques using lots of T!m's products.

Here are the samples of what will be completed in our December class...you will NOT be choosing between these two lovely projects...you get to do BOTH!  Talk about a FRUGAL bargain!...AND still for the Frugal price of just $15!

These two projects are just BEAUTIFUL!  Karen will be showing you how to use some of her favorite T!m dies to create these amazing projects!  You'll be inkin' and sticklin' and creatin' and will leave with BOTH of these projects!

Don't miss out!  These classes sell out almost EVERY month, so sign up now by calling Ever After Scrapbooks at 760-630-CROP (2767).  Class size limit is 15 students (so we can give you the time and attention you deserve:).

NOVEMBER CLASS RECAP!

We completed our 3 month series where we created a BEAUTIFUL canvas project using various techniques, all using T!m's products.

Since Gloria and Jacquie dressed for the occasion (matching my display board), they agreed to be the models for this photo.  Thanks Gloria and Jacquie!

 Here we have Holly working on her project.  Everyone had such a great time, and came up with their own twist on each ATC.  I just LOVE it when my students take their creativity to a level beyond the sample.  Kudos to you all!

 Here we have our very own Chris who beyond being hooked on Tim's classes, is an employee and T!m expert at Ever After.  Chris loves working with T!m's products so much that she brought a friend to class:)

 Kelly and niece Kel-An (in background) also had a great time in class.  Way to go with those projects, girls...you all ROCK!

A good time was had by all AND this Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire (that would be me) was humbled by all of the talent in this class.

I hope to see you all in the next Frugal Scrappin' class!

enJOY:)

Lori, FSE:)

The Grand Finale:)

I'm so excited to FINALLY share the GRAND FINALE with all of you!  My 12 "Tags" of Christmas canvas is finally FINISHED!  Can you give me a WHOO HOO!

I just LOVE this project.  It has given me such JOY to work on this project...and what an AWESOME way to get into the HOLIDAY SPIRIT so early in the SEASON!  I started working on this project WAY BACK in August!  WOW!!!!  This has been a LONG TIME coming!

Here it is~~~

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about how any of the mini projects were completed.

enJOY!

Studio L3 Weekly Challenge

Happy Day for me:)

I have my scrapbooking "studio" all to myself today, so a VERY happy Frugal Scrapper is gonna create ALL DAY!  Whoo Hoo!

Here is my entry for the Studio L3 "Compendium of Curiousities" weekly challenge.  I haven't had time to participate recently, so I'm SO glad to have this opportunity this week!

If you have Tim's Compendium of Curiosities book, turn to page 58 and play along:)

enJOY a wonderfully ARTful day!

Lori McCausland, FSE:)

Today's gonna be a GREAT day, so here's a sneek peek & StudioL3 Post:)

Whoo hoo!!!!!  Today's gonna be a GREAT day!  For those of you who live in "sunny" southern California, you know that the coast has not been so "sunny" this year!  While my hubby and I feel VERY fortunate to be living along the coast in Northern San Diego County, summer has eluded us most of this year:(

Well, that has changed today!!!!  I think May Grey, June Gloom AND July Cry has moved on out (at least for today), and the sun is comin' up over the mountains!  Whoo Hoo!!!!

I took this picture right off of my deck this morning...at 6:30 a.m.....Ahhhhhhhh, this is WHY I moved HERE!

Hey, are those actually SHADOWS I see there?  Wow, it's gonna be hard to go to work today...

I've been workin' on my newest canvas project that I will teach at Ever After Scrapbooks...It will have a Holiday theme and will be modeled after T!m's 12 tags of Christmas...with a frugal scrappin' twist, of course!  This will be part of my monthly Frugal Scrappin' monthly class, and will be a series...we will complete this canvas over 3 months in Sept, Oct, and Nov...in plenty of time for gift giving or Holiday decorating.  More details to follow...

I've already started incorporating some recycled materials into this project...think soda cans, heehee...add a little paint, a little punchin' (hey, this will help sharpen your punches, too...a frugal BONUS), and a few of my other favorite T!m things..

Now I know this project is NO WHERE near FINISHED, but I couldn't help sharin' a SNEEK PEEK, especially since I could take it on a much eluded SUNNY southern California morning!  Whoo hoo!

I think I will also use this pic as my "project" for the Studio L3 CCC#9 challenge...I'm a day late (and probably a dollar short, lol), but hey it gave me the inspiration to used my crackle paint on my new project!

EnJOY!

As always, I love comments, suggestions, and just plain ole..."hey, how ya doin'?" posts...

Have a very BLESSED and sunny DAY!

You favorite Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire:)

Just the "scraps" ma'am at Frugal Scrappin' in July!

That's right, fellow scrappers:)  Whoo hoo...I'm REALLY excited about July's Frugal Scrappin' class at Ever After.  Join us as we go "back in time" and reminisce about those "scraps" we've been hoarding...it's time to bring them out, use them up, and send them out...as awesomely frugally made MAILABLE cards!

July's Frugal Scrappin' class is sure to be a tremendous HIT!  We will "PLAY" with our old favorite scraps as we assemble some great FLAT cards, great for mailing...no extra postage necessary!  We will use layering techniques that will give our cards DIMENSION without the BULK.

I challenge you to bring your favorite scraps and I will show you some tips 'n tricks on how to layer, use positive AND negative "space", make your own "templates", and more!  Of course, in true FRUGAL SCRAPPIN" STYLE, we will use my FAVORITE T!m product...distress inks:)

Below is a sample of some of the cards I've made with some of my favorite scraps...you may recognize these lines from days gone past...a little Basic Grey AND Cosmo Cricket!

As an added BONUS, there will be a little "contest" in class...I'll be bringing out a few of my favorite catch phrases from days gone by...with a word or two missing...all you need to do is fill in the "scrap" for your chance to win a $5 EA gift card!

As always, this class is fillin' fast!  Sign up right away!  Class details below:

Class Date:  July 29, 2010

Time:  6:30p.m. -8:30 p.m.

Price:  $15

Supply list:

• You favorite patterned paper scraps

• Scissors
• Paper Trimmer
• Distress Inks (neutrals and colors)
• Brown/Black Archival or Staz On Inks
• Your favorite adhesive (tape runner, etc)
• YOUR CREATIVITY
 
Can't wait to see you there!

Frugal Scrappin' for LOVE:)

LOVE is in the air and there is VINTAGE everywhere:)

Now, I know, I know...it's not even 2010 yet, and I'm already pushin' Valentine's Day:)  Well, bloggers this Christmas Holiday season has filled my heart with so much joy that I just want to roll it right into the next holiday where we think of those we love...what better way to get started then to make some warm, vintage, Valentine's cards....FRUGAL SCRAPPER STYLE, of course:)

These cards are the samples for my Frugal Scrappin' class that will be held on Thursday, January 28, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at Ever After Scrapbooks in Vista, Ca.  These classes have been EXTREMELY popular since I started running them in June, 2009.  Initially, I bounced them around from month to month...sometimes at the beginning of the month, and sometimes at the end....even the day of the week changed each month.

I'm very happy to say that the FRUGAL SCRAPPER (that would be me, lol) has finally settled on a specific day each month.  Starting in 2010, my monthly Frugal Scrappin' classes will be held on the 4th Thursday of every month.  Settling on the 4th Thursday does have some major advantages...you can now PLAN your schedule AROUND the frugal scrappin' classes:)  Since we have many students who attend EVERY MONTH, it will be so much easier to plan your schedule this way.  Also, by having the class at the end of the month, there is PLENTY of time for Ever After to advertise (of course, as long as I get the samples in on time, lol).

O.k.....now what HASN'T CHANGED, you ask????  The Frugal price of $15!  Whoo hoo!!!!  In addition, these classes will continue to be FILLED with awesome TECHNIQUES geared toward teaching you ways to USE your STASH...and of course, all those AWESOME scrapbooking TOOLS out there in the marketplace.

Since these pic's are samples for my upcoming class, I do not post specific instructions...HOWEVER...if you do not live in the southern California area and cannot attend the Frugal Scrappin' class, feel free to e-mail me with any questions you have about how to make these cards and I'll be happy to answer them:)

Happy NEW YEAR!!!

Lori McCausland, Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire:)

Gettin' Messy with Paints:)

I am so happy to share my most recent Frugal Scrappin' Project with you all:) As some of you know, I have been teaching Frugal Scrappin' classes at a LLS in Vista, CA. You also probably know that I love EVERYTHING T!m Holtz:)

I have already taught several classes emphasizing all the ways Alchohol Inks and Distress Inks can be used to alter all of your paper crafting projects.

With my current project, the emphasis is on Acrylic Paint Dabbers.

I had a blast creating this mini album and took the first picture before I had totally decided what to "name" the project.

While I was reading the Summer issue of "Scrapbooks and Cards Today" magazine, I saw an idea about documenting "25 Random facts about me". Now we've all seen those "chain" e-mails where you answer predetermined questions about yourself and pass it along to "at least 10 of your favorite people"...I have a confession to make...I normally delete them because I just don't like "chain" e-mails...

The twist to the "25 Random facts about me" is that you get to document ANY facts you want to. What I think is really cool is that the only rule is to not "over think" your list of 25 facts. You are supposed to just jot down anything that comes to mind. I think it's a great way for people to get to know me, not only because of the facts I disclose...but also because of the facts I disclose...because you will most likely disclose the things that mean the most to you in the process (as opposed to answering questions that someone else has decided should be answered).

I'm sure you know where this is going by now...Yes, I've decided to title this mini album "25 Random Facts about ME" as you can see from the close-up of the new and improved front page.











The last thing I wanted to do is give you a little "sneak peak" into one of the "frugal" embellishments we will add to the book in the class. My dear hubby was "tossing" an old pair of dockers shorts when I said...HEY, wait a minute, I can use those for a crafting project:) You may have noticed the "curtain topper" on the cover, well I've also made "flowers", too, as shown below.



More to follow later:)

Thanks for visiting and have a GREAT week!

Frugally yours,

Lori McCausland, Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire:)

More of...Just the Trash and my Stash

Hello fellow scrappers:) I haven't posted a "Just the Trash and my Stash" project for a while, although I still do them all the time....soooo....I realized I need to share some more projects with you:)

I made this mini album focusing on my husband's 50th birthday. Our family surprised him by having ALL of our immediate family (kids, significant others, AND grandkids) together for the very first time! Whoo hoo!!!!












I started with a Genuinely Jane Arrow book that I got from Ever After Scrapbooks. This book came with 4 wooden arrow-shaped pages, but being the frugal person I am, I used only two of the pages in the project (which means...I can make another book later:)

I did add pages by using some corregated cardboard (from a cardboard shipping box...i.e...trash). To cut the arrow shape, I just layed one of the wooden pages on top of the cardboard and roughly cut around it with an exacto knife. I then trimmed where ever needed with scissors. When I do projects like this, I always ink around the edges of each page. Since I wanted this book to be masculine, I used a black acrylic paint dabber on the edges.

Using paper from Graphic 45, 7 Gypsies, and the Paper Loft (I love to mix the manufacturers papers), I covered the wooden pages. On the corregated cardboard pages, I used some Tim Holtx masks and glimmer mist on some, and some Making Memories acrylic paint on others. You will also notice that on some of the cardboard pages, I pulled some of the top layer of cardboard off so the corregated core would show through.

I then added some rub-ons, word strips, ink and more acrylic paint (on photo edges) from my stash. Finally I "blinged" it up (in a masculine way, of course) with Stickles.

I also decided to use sepia photos on this book which pulled the theme together.

Enjoy:)