“I love scrapbooks. They are one of the finest ways of dejunking life and abode... A good scrapbook is interesting and inspiring even to the stranger...Well put together scrapbooks and photo albums have warmed more hearts than any bound book... Without a good scrapbook, much that's memorable in life is forgotten or damaged or lost...."

~ Don Aslett

Thursday, September 30, 2010

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring the stamp set D1443 Share the Magic.  We have over 70 participants this month so hopefully you have seen lots of wonderful artwork to inspire you for the holidays!


This stamp set is perfect for the holidays and very much my favorite stamp of the month from this Idea Book.


If you have come from Toni's blog then you are on the right track!

I have made a several cards that are a part of my Holiday card workshop as well as a little clear paint can with gift tags in it so I will share them all with you - the more ideas the merrier, right?!?


For the paint can, I stamped Santa on a clear sheet with staz-on black ink.  When that was dry, I used the embossing pen to color in the areas I wanted to be white and then used white embossing powder to emboss.  After that was finished I used re-inker to color in the rest of the areas of Santa so that you would still be able to see through parts of him.  I also sponged versamark ink onto the white paper on the bottom and embossed in white to make it look more like snow.





These cards are just a sampling of the cards that we will be making at my card workshop in November. I used the Mistletoe Creative Basics and the colonial white card bases.


Materials Used:
Mistletoe Creative Basics
White Daisy Embossing Powder
Cranberry, Garden Green, New England Ivy, Cocoa Inks
Cranberry, New England Ivy and Cocoa Reinkers
Colonial White card bases
Circle Cards in Colonial White
Cardstock in Cranberry, Garden Green Colonial White
Colonial White Ribbon Rounds
Bitty Sparkles
Opaques Mocha
Cranberry and Cocoa Markers

Now it's time to head on over to Kathy's blog and see what she has created!

If you lose your way or just want to check out the list of participants, Helen's blog has a complete list.

If you like what you see here and would like to get your own stamp set or other supplies or sign up for my holiday card workshop, email me at GrigsterN at yahoo.com.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Fall/Winter Idea Book Open House!

It is time again for a new Idea Book open house already!!  I can't believe it is going to be October in just a few days!  Time to spread out the feast of new scrapbooking and cardmaking products.  See below for more details and a sneak peek at the make and take projects.

Dates:  Friday October 1st from 7-9pm    or     Saturday October 2nd from 10am - 1pm

If you are in the Hamilton, NJ area and would like to come, please comment below or email me at GrigsterN at yahoo dot com.  If you can't come but are interested in finding out more also feel free to email me!  You  can still get tickets in the raffle even if you can't attend in person!


  • FREE Idea Book and Make & Take projects for all attendees
  • 8 new colors, 4 new paper packs
  • New How-to Book, Magic, featuring interactive layouts
  • New Hostess Rewards Program
  • Raffles for new products - get more tickets, increase your chances of winning! (see below!)
    • How to earn raffle tickets:
      • RSVP by Wednesday September 29th
      • Be on time either day
      • Bring a friend
      • Sign up for a workshop class
      • Place a $25 order
      • Place a $50 order
      • Place a $100 order
      • Host a gathering in October, November or December
Hope to see you there!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Heart 2 Heart Challenge 25 - A sketch!

Wow - since school started up again, life has surely become hectic again!  My crafting time has seriously been impacted but I did get a chance to make up something this week.  We are following a sketch this time around for the Heart to Heart Challenge 25


I have been having tons of fun playing with our 4 new paper packs so I decided to use Magnifique for this challenge.  I love blues so this one really appeals to me.  I also found some Martha punches on sale at Michael's and grabbed a set that looked fun, this one is called quilted.  I used the stamp set from the Workshop kit and layered all the flower images for a complete dimensional look on the flower.  I also layered the 2 different ribbons to add more variety.




Now get crafty and check out what everyone else has done for the H2H challenge this week!

Materials:
D1438 Circle of Love stamp set
Magnifique Level 2 paper pack
Heart to Heart stamp set (comes with Workshop on the Go)
Chocolate, Lagoon, Pacifica, Sky Inks
Chocolate and Colonial White Ribbon rounds
Colonial White brads (big and bitty)
Glitz Glitter gel Stardust
Martha Stewart Quilted punch and scallop circle punch

Friday, September 10, 2010

Heart 2 Heart Color Challenge!

It has been some time since I have participated in a challenge over at H2H....that's what happens when you go on vacation for a week and then have to get ready to go back to school!  The first week is over and it seems like my classes should be pretty well behaved (haha, who am I kidding, we've only had 3 days of school!?!)  Anyway, that brings me to the challenge, lovely fall colors to go with the changing of seasons.  This week we are working with Autumn Terracotta, Honey and New England Ivy. 


 Not my personal favorite but after trying out 2 cards for this week, I looove how this one turned out, simple but cute.

Materials:
Stamps - D1375 Treasures, D1371 Many Thanks
Inks and Cardstock in Autumn Terracotta, Honey and New England Ivy
Liquid Glass
Autumn Terracotta Ribbon
Colonial White Cardstock
Cuttlebug postage stamp die

Now get creatin' and head on over to the Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog to play along or just check out all the artwork!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Hooligans at ScrapThat!

Those of you who were in attendance at the last crop at ScrapThat2! at the Burlington Center Mall on August 21st got to see a sneak peak of my next make and take project.  For those of you who missed the first peek, here's your opportunity to see what's coming up on Saturday September 11th.

We will be using the brand spankin' new Halloween themed paper pack called Hooligans, complete with  adorable little monsters!



The layout is also brand new from CTMH's new How-to book "Magic".  I'll have it with me so you can check it out - it's gonna knock your socks off!!

As always the layout kits are just $5 and you will be able to use my ink and stamps.  One thing that is different, I will be featuring an add-on accessory for an additional $1 if interested. 

One last thing, if you saw my previous post for the Hooligans Workshop, I will have all that information with me to show you on Saturday as well, you won't be left out!

See you Saturday at ScrapThat2!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Ready for some Hooligans?!?


 I wasn't so fond of these adorable little monsters when I first saw this kit.  Then I started to play with it.....these little guys are really kinda cute and they grew on me, fast!   Anyways, I am offering you an opportunity to get to know and like these little guys in plenty of time to get your own little hooligans ready for Halloween.  

I will be holding the Hooligans Workshop on the Go on 2 dates in September so hopefully if you are in the area you can make it!

Dates:  Sunday, September 19th from 1-4pm
           Thursday, September 23rd from 6:30-9:30pm

Both will be held at my house in Hamilton, NJ and I have limited spots available so make sure you secure your spot early!!  All RSVP's and pre-payments are due by September 11th.

The kits are $29.95 plus shipping and tax and includes a Level 2 paper pack, exclusive Troublemakers stamp set, Sunset Mini-medley collection, and full color instruction sheet.  We will be making two 2-page scrapbook layouts during the workshop, maybe other projects too if time allows!





If you are interested, please email me (GrigsterN@yahoo.com) so that I can send you a shopping list to help you with your order!!

Hope to see you there!!

Friday, September 3, 2010

New Idea Book is here!!!

I have been teasing you over the past month or so with items that will be featured in the Close to my Heart Autumn/Winter Idea book and now, the wait is over!  You can see it all for yourself!  There are some amazing new products that I am going to recommend you check out first, here are my top 5:
1.  8 awesome new colors!  pg 101
2.  4 beautiful new paper packs starting on  pg 13-23
3.  Magic - a brand new interactive layout How-to Book by Jeanette Lynton  pg 4
4.  Creative new accessories like 12" Flip Flaps on pg 87 and the Mix and Mingle Album on pg 94
5. An incredible new Hostess Rewards program that rewards you with even more products free or half price!  pg 104


Check it out by clicking on the photo in the sidebar or head to my website to start shopping!
Email me (GrigsterN@yahoo.com) if you'd like to host a gathering a take full advantage of those great hostess rewards!