Easy To Make Scrapbook With Old Horse Show Ribbons

If you show horses you know that in one show alone you can amass quite a few ribbons. Before long, there is no place left to display the fruits of your labors. Wall hangings and pillows are a great way to showcase these awards  http://charrisart.blogspot.com/2010/08/oh-what-to-do-with-horse-show-ribbons.html  ...or you can make a scrapbook to hold your photo memories as well.  All you need is a simple 1 ½” clear view binder.  Add your scrapbook items in sheet protectors and you are all set.

You will need:

One 1 ½”  3-ring clear view binder

Loose-leaf sheet protectors

Various Horse show ribbons

Art paper (sold in craft stores) which comes sized-- 9" x 12" pack of various colors or you can substitute any heavy colored paper 

Permanent glue stick

Scissors, ruler

Disappearing marker

Waxed paper to work on

1.     Cut a piece of art paper in a color of choice 9” x 11”

2.     Take apart the printed ribbon strips from the ones you intend to use for your scrapbook.  Cut the ribbons to 7 ¾” length.  Most ribbons are 2” across so your ribbon strips should be 2” x 7 ¼”.  You will need four across and one at the top for a total of five ribbons. 

3.     Line up your ribbons side by side on the art paper and mark their positions with a disappearing marker.

4.     Working on a piece of waxed paper to protect your work surface, cover the back of each ribbon strip with the glue stick and attach to the marked areas.  Smooth down with your finger.

5.     When you have attached all the ribbons strips, feed the paper with strips attached through the clear plastic of the binder.  If you would like the ribbons to be on both sides of the binder, repeat steps 1-4 for the back of the binder.

6.     If you would like to add an unprinted ribbon piece to the side. (Optional) Cut a strip of paper 1” x 11” attach a 1” x 8” ribbon piece with the glue stick and carefully feed through the clear plastic.

Create some scrapbook pages and add them to the sheet protectors for memories that last forever!

Monday Musings: A Memorial Day Edition

Hi, everyone,

Thanks to all the servicemen and women and their families for the sacrifices you make for our country. Godpseed!

Heartfelt condolences to those families of heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

OWH Sketch #123: Red, White, Jute, and Star

My Any Hero card for this week's sketch should be a real crowd-pleaser based on all your kind comments about Two American Treasures.  (Hubby actually gave this one a 9 out of 10 -- and that was before the final element was added!)

                                      

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, BasicGrey Kraft; Sentiment: Stamper's Best; Fiskar's star punch; garage-sale button and jute

Those of you who visit regularly know how much I love this Bo Bunny collection. And, I LOVE the jute paired with the deep navy. 

So, this card came pretty quickly. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

• I immediately knew what papers and material to use for the background, the larger centered rectangle, and the vertical strip. I knew the sentiment. I remembered something about a star-shaped button -- and quickly located it. But, I didn't remember it being white. 
• So, the first design issue was how to pop the star. If you look closely at the top of the vertical strip, you'll see there's a tilted blue star. It seemed like tilting a kraft star would mimic the star in the paper nicely and serve as a good background for the button. Finally, I  used a string from the jute to dress the naked button. :)
• After putting the card aside for a little while, I remembered a painting teacher talking about colors appearing three times in a piece. It was clear that the card needed another punch of white. But, neither pearls nor gems felt right because the button is made of plastic. And, then it came to me that a simple line of punched out circles -- punched from the same paper as the card base and sentiment -- might be just the trick. And, I was really pleased with the result when I placed these 5 circles on the circle.

 Parting Thoughts: OWH's Memorial Day Blog Hop

While hopping from blog to blog this weekend, I was struck by a couple of things. 

• Isn't it amazing how the OWH sketches result in such a variety of cards? Very cool!
• Isn't it wonderful that the blog hop brings recognition and focus to the meaning of Memorial Day? It's so much more than buying mattresses. Don't get me wrong -- we've been the mattress buying couple. When you need a new mattress, you need a new mattress. But, for me, the hop has really helped focus on the true meaning of this 3-day weekend.

 I've also noticed a few bloggers talking about their motivation and inspiration for making cards. For me, there are three reasons:

• My father-in-law is a World War II. He's actually had a remarkable year -- a year full of honors and recognitions for his service. If you'd like to learn more about these tributes, please check out this March 2nd post. We are so blessed that he is still with us. [We will be having dinner with both of our dads this evening! :) ]
• My uncles served during the Vietnam era. Uncle Ken was in the Army, while Uncle Charlie was in the Navy. Needless to say, they take the Army-Navy game pretty seriously!  We are further blessed that both uncles are still with us.
• Finally, I taught high school for 20+ years. Hubby is also a teacher. Over the years, we've known so many young people who have chosen to serve our country.  

 Think that's it. Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone has a fun, but safe, Memorial Day.

K-Cup toothpick holder

Are you ready for crafting with a K?  K- cup crafts that is. This one is super easy and very quick to make.  It is a perfect project for kids.  I always keep some toothpicks in my kitchen for testing cakes and baked goods, don't you?

You will need:

Notched Popsicle sticks (Sometimes called skill sticks)

Black used K-Cup, washed and filter removed (Black gives a nice look peeking through the openings)

Kitchen shears or heavy-duty scissors

Tacky craft glue (I used Aleene’s Turbo Tacky glue)

Wooden circle to fit around bottom

Scraps of tiny lace trim

1.     Use the kitchen shears to cut 12 pieces of notched Popsicle sticks.  Cut each end at the first notch.  You will get two pieces from each stick. (One from each end)

2.     Draw a bead of glue down the side of the K-cup and attach one of the pieces of Popsicle stick. Continue adding glue and sticks around the K-cup until you have covered the entire K-cup.  Adjust the sticks if necessary and let dry.

3.     Add some tacky glue onto the bottom of the K-cup.  Center and attach the round wooden shape for the base.  Let dry.

4.     Cut a length of tiny lace to fit around the top rim of the K-cup.  Run a bead of glue around the edge and add the lace.  Cut an additional length of tiny lace to fit around the bottom edge and attach with glue.

Keurig Mini Plus Personal Coffee Brewer

2012 OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop

Hi, everyone. Thanks for stopping by Scrapping with Purpose, one of the stops on this year's Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop.

                        

When I think of Memorial Day, three things come to mind:

• our troops, past and present;
• my mom and mother-in-law; and
• memories of summers past and hopes for summers to come.

For the hop, I've made cards for each of these. All three cards were inspired by OWH Sketch #59.

  

For the Troops: Two American Treasures

For our Moms, with Love

With Thoughts of Summer: Footprints of Love

Thanks again for visiting. Details for the cards posted are included in posts for May 23 and May 25.

Click here to return to the start of the blog hop. Happy hoppin'!

Friday Night Writes: An OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop Edition

Hi, everyone,

I am so excited about this weekend's blog hop.

              

Hope everyone will be able to make at least a few stops. All three of the cards I'm sharing tomorrow were inspired by OWH Sketch #59. I heat embossed using Versamark and clear powder on both of the cards shown below.
 
                                     

For Our Troops: Two American Treasures

Know how every 6 x 6 pad of paper has a couple of patterns that seem a little more challenging to use than the others? For me, this flag and eagle image was one of those challenging papers. So, I chose to use just a part of the paper. Finally, I heat embossed the eagle to give it a little extra oomph!

Paper: Bo Bunny Liberty, Bazzill watermelon; jute and gems

Summertime: Footprints of Love

Summer has always been filled with family celebrations for as long as I can remember. Let's start with our summer birthdays: hubby, dad, mother-in-law, nephew, and me. Then, we had the anniversaries: my parents, my in-laws, and hubby's and mine. (Before I started making cards, you wouldn't believe how many trips I made to Hallmark during the summer months. Now, I visit my favorite LSS and Michael's! Hmmm...) The Fourth of July was a time for fireworks, parades, an occasional picnic, ice cream, and time with family and friends. And, of course, there were family road trips and vacations.

When I first experimented with heat embossing, the image I got reminded me of wet sand. So, I thought about how I could incorporate that into a beach-related card to commemorate beach vacations with hubby. When I came across the Inkadinkado footprint stamp at a garage sale, I took it as a sign that I really needed to work on that beach vacation card.

Paper and Vellum: Recollections; Stamps: Inkadinkado, PSX; FiberScraps, BasicGrey opaline half pearls

I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with the letters. The original stamped letters were too light. So, I used a Q-tip-like tool to apply a little more Versamark and re-embossed.

But, the heart turned out pretty well. And, hubby approved of the footprints. More importantly, he immediately knew what they were -- and that was seeing only footprints on an otherwise plain rectangular brown piece of cardstock! He reassured me even more by saying that sand footprints aren't perfect. :)

The Recollections paper is actually from its baby boy collection. The fibers were another garage sale find. I was planning on using a piece of corrugated darker brown cardstock instead of the fibers. But, the card felt like it needed more color variety. When, I pulled out ribbons and found these... Well, they grew on me. The colors seemed perfect. And, the collection of fibers felt organic and flow-ey -- reminiscent of seaweed, but  in a totally good way.

Parting Thoughts

Looking to achieve the right balance this weekend: time to honor and remember, time to be inspired, time to relax, and time with family.

Hope to see you at the hop!

        

OWH's Memorial Day Blog Hop: A Preview Post

Hi, everyone,

Hope the week is going well. Just a quick reminder that the OWH Blog Hop is scheduled for this weekend.

                          

When I think of Memorial Day, three things come to mind:

• our troops -- present and past,
• my mom and mom-in-law, and
• summertime memories and future plans.

This weekend, I hope to share three different cards, all made using OWH Sketch #59. For now, I have a card for the moms.

In Loving Memory of our Moms

It will be two years this weekend since the passing of hubby's mom. In December, it will be 25 years since I lost my mom. It is such a blessing to still have our dads. Nevertheless, we miss our moms so very much. 

Basic Grey paper, Martha Stewart punch-around-the-page and small butterfly punches, ribbon and gems

I already had the larger butterfly punch. So, I bought a punch to make baby butterflies. And, I spent way too much time -- really, way too much time -- thinking about the patterns and gems for these little butterflies. But this card is, after all, a love note to our moms. A few of the details I decided upon are:

• using different patterns to represent the two families. I used tan for my mom's side and blue for hubby's side. 
• differentiating the gals from the guys by using a single gem for the gals. 

Parting Thoughts

I'm hoping to get Card #3 done for the blog hop. And, I'm REALLY hoping that I don't mess up the whole posting/linking thing.

And, I'm hoping everyone has a chance to make a least a couple blog stops this weekend -- including me. :)

Thanks for stopping by. And, happy scrappin'!

Polymer Clay Pandora Style Bracelet

Make your own beads from polymer clay with little hearts.  These are so very easy you will want to make some in all colors, especially since you are threading them onto a bangle that opens with the twist of a screw.  Voila, presto change-O.

You will need:

Twist end bangles (they come three to a pack)

 Polymer clay in blue, green or desired color for base of bead

Polymer clay in small bits of white

Sculpey gloss glaze

Antique Metallic beads

Flat metallic spacer beads

Wooden barbecue skewer

Aluminum foil

Rolling pin (Use this only for clay, do not use for food)

Slicing blade for clay

Waxed paper

Ruler

1.     Cover your work surface with waxed paper.  Make the beads.  Measure from the end of the block of polymer clay, ½” and make a line with a pin or the tip of a pencil.  Mark this into (4) ¼” sections. One bracelet is made using three polymer beads and the other used four. Cut the pieces and roll each one into a ball in the palm of your hand. 

2.     Use the rolling pin to slightly flatten each round bead.  Center the tip of the bar-b-cue skewer in the middle of each bead and make a hole using a twisting motion.  Thread the bead on the skewer and add the hearts.

3.     Pinch off a teeny piece of white clay and roll with your finger putting more pressure on one end to make a tiny tear drop shape.  Repeat for another teardrop.  Place one tear drop shape on the side of the bead and add the other teardrop meeting the points. Repeat this three more times.  Roll the skewer with the bead attached on the work surface to adhere and define the heart shapes.  Make two more beads in the same way.

4.     Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  Cover a pan with aluminum foil and bake the beads for 20 minutes.

5.     When the beads have cooled, brush some Sculpey gloss glaze on the beads one side at a time.  Let dry.

6.     Unscrew the end of the bangle and string the beads as follows:  start with a flat spacer bead, antique metallic bead, spacer bead, polymer bead, spacer bead and continue alternating. (See photo)

Alvin S3301 Sculpey Clay Sampler Set-30

The Days that I Fear

It had happened at last, I knew it would come one day. The haunting realities of old age makes it impossible to forego. I knew it would happen it would only be a matter of time. The truth is that upsets me is not that it happened but I was not here by his side when it happened. I was not here to catch him when he fell, I was not here to sit by his side when he was lying in the hospital bed, and I was not here to take flowers and fruits to cheer him up.  It strikes me hard and I can’t forgive myself for making him be all alone when he needed me the most.

When I woke up yesterday, it was a beautiful day; a day like any other. The day was not meant to be anything other than what I have been planned. It was supposed to be an all holes barred canister of monotony but the heavens had plans that were greater than mine. When I reached home after a meticulously planned day which was executed to perfection, I was confronted with a rather off handed remark from my aunt. She enquired whether I knew about my grandfather been taken for a ‘service’.  All I could respond with was a rather confused look and a big question mark hovering over my head.

Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice.
Black Elk

I was to be at the receiving end of some very shocking news. While I was away in my college worrying about my petty exams a whole lot had happened here. One day my grandfather felt dizzy and almost collapsed, My mother and aunt tried sugar solution thinking that it was a drop in his sugar level, then the called a doctor who lives across the street, she came in and did some preliminaries and then they called my uncle who is a doctor and he was quick to recommend a hospital and insisted that they take him there instantly. He was admitted in Intensive Care Unit and was under observation for three days and a hoard of test was being conducted on him. All this while I was laughing, joking and partying with my friends, unaware of anything that was going on in my hostel.  I despise myself.

Photo by     Corbis Super RF 

All my life my grandfather was there for me, when I took my first steps , when I passed my first class, when I was not able to sleep and when I was down with a fever. He would come to me from anywhere he was. Je would abandon all that was important and come to me sit by me and care for me  and now when he was sick and tired where was I? Writing exams of no real significance in life? I was doing things that I could have written at some other time and passed with the same ease. No body informed me what had happened and nobody told me that something was wrong and I did not feel it, I should have felt it when he was sick. I should have. He does so should I shouldn’t I? My grandfather had asked everyone not to tell me anything.

"...there is no grandfather who does not adore his grandson."
Author: Victor Hugo

Now I know not what to do, Should I be angry at him for not telling me anything or should I be happy that he is alright? Should I be making a tantrum about why not me? Or should I just be ‘adult’ about it. But one thing is sure if at all anything happens to him which I believe will not and I am not here by his side holding his hands during his last few moments in life I know I will not forgive myself ever.