IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE...

it's a Silhouette!

Sometimes I forget about the Silhouette.  I overlook it.  I treat it like a red-headed-step-child.  (and as a red head, that's saying quite a lot!).

But it's not intentional.  Nope, instead it's because last year the Silhouette was ALL I worked with.  It was all I talked about.  It was all I used.  It was my focus.  At the start of this year, I put my Silhouette into semi-retirement.  Just to change things up a bit.

But you know what they say..."out of sight, out of mind".  So my Silhouette has been rather neglected and ignored this year.

Until now.  Because holy scrap - the S.M.Arties have their new machines and are putting me to shame!  They are playing and exploring and experimenting and downloading and creating some amazing stuff!  And only with a couple of days under their belts!

Wynona (a.k.a. Tammy) got her machine first - and went to work right away, putting it thru its paces.

Here is the first page she completed...

She cut all of her snowflakes with the Silhouette - but then cut her title out of last year's QK Bright font. She was amazed at how easily the Silhouette cut those detailed snowflakes!

Then she wanted to play with boxes...


these are some of the boxes that come pre-loaded on the Silhouette. She cut a couple out, and added some Christmas trees, that are included in the new Holly Digital set. What a great idea for holding gift cards!

Next on her agenda were cards. Cards, cards and cards!


This turkey she had the Silhouette draw with just a ballpoint pen. She went back and colored everything in with her COPICS. What a great way to get a custom look! And he's such a cute tom-turkey!

For Christmas cards, she had lots of options. The Holly set has a million new images to play with. Okay, not a million - but you know what I mean! All of the following sentiments were Silhouette-cut, as were the images on the card. Think of the mix-and-match possibilities!




Cute stuff. Really, really CUTE STUFF! And you know - yadda yadda - CUTE MATTERS! But let's face it, this time of year EASY ranks right up there as well!

S.M.Artie Jenn was playing with her Silhouette as well. She needed place cards for her Thanksgiving table - and she wanted to mix it up a bit too. She used her Silhouette to cut the actual 2-piece place cards, but then decorated the fronts of the cards with Revolution cut fonts and shapes.


What a great idea...the kids could even help, and decorate their own. That project could keep them busy for quite some time Thanksgiving morning!

Jenn used her Jolly set for the frames around "mom" and "dad", as well as the 4x8 font. She also used some Revolution pumpkins and vines for the kiddos cards.

So YES - I'm digging out my Silhouette next week, and bringing it back into my scrapbooking fold. I'm sorry friend - to have ignored you for months. Really, I am!

If you have any questions, leave a comment or drop us an email. We're here. Well, this weekend I'll be in Seattle, but you know what I mean!

PEACE!

- - - Susan

OWLS...OWLS...OWLS...

I'm up to my armpits in owls!

Have you noticed?  These critters are everywhere...

cute Sassafras Lass paper

even cuter Sassafras Lass paper

new Sassafras Lass chipboard

and adorable Bosskut dies

This past weekend I was at Hobby Lobby, and while flipping through their in-house scrapbook magazine I even saw owls there!  In fact, it was a QuicKutz Aquarius font rearranged to be an owl.  How cute!  I quick snapped a picture with my phone's camera - and ran home to try it out.

This is what I had to work with...(crummy at best for seeing the detail)

but I pulled out my Aquarius and with only a few cuts...


I made this...


Isn't he CUTE? And YES - I'm aware of the fact that the necessary letter/numbers to make this little guy spell out "B4 BOOB". But I figured that would be a great way to remember what you need to cut out. Right? BEFORE BOOB...and you get an owl. In fact, let's just name this little guy "Boobie". Of course, you could also add a "U" and then he becomes more of a rotund owl, preparing to take flight...


He might be the CUTEST!

So you remember this one by saying "B4 YOU BOOB". Like the answer to a question..."hey honey, are we going to eat dinner before or after the movie?" The answer is "before, you boob!".

Now you'll never forget it!

So I put everything together, cut out some more letters from this favorite font of mine...and got this...


If you look at this card closely you'll see that I've been experimenting with my new COPIC markers. Each red letters was shadowed with this marker. I just traced around the lower right hand edges of everything. Looks pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Boobie the Owl was also shadowed with the grey, and his tummy was filled in with YR-24. Very fun to try some new things out!

Okay - big stuff going on today that I need to get focused on. Last football game of the season, which means last marching band performance as well.  I can't believe it!

Time flies folks - take time to enjoy it!

PEACE!

- - - Susan

A FEW TRAIN PROJECTS...

to keep you on track.

On track for what, I do not know.  That was simply my attempt at humor this morning.  (And yes, I know, it's not working very well!)

Crafty Deb sent me this cute little project the other day - and I was blown away.  Because I have this NEW QK Ttrain - and I have this QK Beads Border - but I've never thought to use them together.

Doesn't that train look cute, just bouncing along the bumpy little "tracks"?  Cute Deb, really CUTE!

So with trains on my brain - I remembered something S.M.Artie Jenn sent me a few weeks ago.  And realized I had never shared it.  Shame on me!

You'll never guess what she used for her "track"...the sign post from the QK North Pole die!  Which right now, is FREE WITH PURCHASE of the QK Jolly Gift Set!  Isn't that awesome...I just love gifts with purchase.  

And that train is such an awesome die - with so many uses.  Really - lots of uses...

•  loading up the car for the trip to Grandma's for Thanksgiving "ROAD TRIP"

•  for trips to Disney, Worlds of Fun, Six Flags or just about any zoo in the world

•  any pictures of any child sitting on Santa's lap "SANTA'S LITTLEST HELPER"

•  school pictures...or school achievements or milestones with an "ON TRACK" title

•  same title, but for charting new baby's growth "RIGHT ON TRACK"

•  any pictures from your own childhood "DOWN MEMORY LANE" (can't you just see this entire train cut out in browns/blacks and greys!)

So whether your train track is made out of a bead border, or a North pole - it's all good.  It's all doable.  It's all creative and artsie!

I'm working with owls today.  Lots and lots of owls.  Did you know that a group of owls is called a "parliament"?  CRAZY!  Of course, another acceptable terms is "congress", but after the elections this week I think I'll stick with the term used in England.

So check back tomorrow - for owl inspiration, juicy tidbits, and upcoming release date information.  If you already have the 4x8 Aquarius font...you're be in luck!  If you don't...call and order it today.  Trust me - you're going to want it after tomorrow!

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh - the rest is a secret!

PEACE!

- - - Susan

TURKEY, PUMPKIN PIE, STUFFING...

and leftovers.  Just to name a few of my favorite things about the upcoming holiday.

One of my other favorite things about Thanksgiving is spending time making and creating and crafting up a storm.  It's usually a very "artsy" month for me.

And now that our very own Scrap-Mart Design Team member Brenda has filmed this project - I can start working on the little details right now!

Watch Brenda as she gets her Bosskut groove on...

She makes it look very easy.  And that's what we're all about - easy and doable!

Here are some close-up pictures of the finished product...

I think it is her white pen-work that makes her projects look so perfect!  I just love it!

What a perfect accent to your holiday dinner table.

Supplies used for this project:

Bosskut Large Design-A-Flower

Bosskut Large Oak Leaf

Bosskut Circles

brown ink pad

white gel-pen

wire

glue dots

If you have any questions - feel free to drop me an email.  

Thanks Brenda for taking us through the steps.  Great project, great directions and a great video!

PEACE!

- - - Susan

A HISTORY MAKING DAY...

in more ways than one.

1. sixty one people have answered the poll question in the sidebar!

 

2. twenty eight comments yesterday! 

3. two dozen emails with crazy election day photos!

4. we reached the 23,000 blog-hits milestone!

oh yeah...

5.  and we elected a new president!

So while I have the S.M.Arties hard at work - creating, planning, filming, drafting, cutting and photographing - I'll take care of the task at hand.

You know...awarding our "Exotic Island Day 2008" prize.

Here is the photographic proof, of what my daughter did for me, late last night - - -

First, she printed up all of the comments and cut them apart into strips.  Then they got crumpled up and dropped into a shopping bag.  She shook, and tossed, and spun the bag around so the names got nice and mixed up.  Then she pulled out...

Stacey's name!  WOO HOO Stacey.  You just won yourself the Exotic Island font. CONGRATULATIONS!  Now remember - it's coming to you without its coconut, but it's coming to you foamed up and ready to use!  (And no Stacey, taking pictures of your mail-in-ballot does NOT make you a geek!!  It makes you a scrapbooker!)

So Stacey - email me your address in Virginia and I'll get this alphabet out to you today!

I just LOVE giving things away.

Check back later today because I've got the first S.M.Artie video to upload.  It's a totally cute and doable project from Brenda.  She'll be showing you how to make a piece for her adorable Thanksgiving table place-settings.  It's awesome!

Projects are stacking up, ideas are flowing, the inspiration is going to get real thick around here pretty fast.  You're going to be thoroughly impressed, I just know it.  You won't be able to stay away.

Trust me!  I know these things. {wink, wink}

Thanks for the fun yesterday.  I loved reading all of your comments, loved seeing all of your pictures, LOVE knowing that you all did your part in the election.  WE ROCK!

PEACE!

- - - Susan

SCRAP-MART WANTS YOU...

to VOTE and WIN today.

But we don't care if you vote for the winner. We want you to vote, period. And if you vote - you could win. Regardless of who you voted for.

Sounds cool - huh?

Here's what we're doing. Over the weekend I plowed through several stacks and piles in my scrapbook room. It was embarrassing. It was eye-opening. It was quite revealing. Amidst all of the stuff - I found some things that I had forgotten about. One thing I discovered was that I have two sets of this...


Exotic Island. But my sets looks like this...


One of the National Scrapbook Day Gift Sets from last May. The one that came in the coconut. I never had the coconut - but I have two sets of alphabets. And I don't need two. And since the thought of anything EXOTIC-Y and everything ISLAND-Y sounds good right about now - I figured I should give it away today.

You know, in honor of Election Day 2008! Which I have just renamed "Exotic Island Day 2008". (I love feeling like I have the power to rename people and days!)

So my Exotic Island is foamed and ready to use. It just isn't packaged. It's in a Ziplock bag. QK sent it to me just like this...and I already had it. So I'm paying it forward ladies!

Here's what you have to do...

1. leave me a signed comment
2. tell us what state you live in
3. tell us how long you waited in line to vote OR
how long ago you mailed in your vote
4. tell us if you're going to commemorate this day with a scrapbook page
5. brownie points if you send me a picture with your "I VOTED" sticker

Tonight - after the polls close - I'll have my daughter (who can't wait to vote in 2012!) draw a name from all of the comments. EVERYONE can enter. Previous winners, previous losers, design team members, Scrap-Mart friends, blogger friends...EVERYONE.

As long as you voted. And I truly believe that scrapbookers don't lie.

SO GET OUT THERE AND VOTE. Take a picture of the polls, take a picture of the weather, save the front page of the newspaper, write down your thoughts today, write down your fears, go grab a Starbucks (free tall brewed coffee with your "I VOTED" sticker!) and then go home and scrapbook the occasion.

And don't forget about this die...and this die!  I'll be using both of them in my own pages this afternoon!

GOOD STUFF! I love it!

VOTE - COMMENT - WIN!

PEACE!

- - - Susan

AFTER A FULL WEEK OF NO TRAVEL...

I have a camera full of videos to process, and ideas post-it-noted all over my computer screen.

Which is a good problem to have.  Especially since most of you have voted that you just want IDEAS this month.  Lots and lots of doable and usable ideas!

Well okay - consider it done.  I've filled in the S.M.Arties - they know the task at hand.  They are working and creating and learning to create in front of a video camera.  Together - all of us will keep the ideas flowing your way.  All we ask from you - is that you keep checking back. And maybe, just occasionally, send us some cyber-love.  You know - a comment or an email.  So we know you're reading and watching and enjoying! 

What can I say - it makes all of us smile!  THANKS!

First up for the month of November - the admission that I'm a THIEF.  Totally stole this idea from my girlfriend - and I admit it.  But I changed it.  And shhhhhh - made it cuter!

For your viewing pleasure, your creative inspiration - and especially for Heather who emailed me and pleaded for some great "gift card ideas" - 

Supplies I used for this project:

Scor-Pal and Scor-Mat

QK Revolution

QK Nutmeg Cookie Cutter Font

QK Nesting Flowers

QK Jolly Holiday Gift Set

Scenic Route "Garland" patterned paper

I hope you enjoy this totally cute and usable idea.  Thanks to the girls at the jr. high for giving me the idea - well - and the Starbucks gift card!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop us an email.  S.M.Arties videos coming your way the end of this week!  Look for them right here!

PEACE!

- - - Susan

EDITED November 4th - my girlfriend just called and "fessed" up.  She scrap-lifted the card she gave me on Friday, from another blog.   I believe in giving credit where credit is due!  So thanks Hero Arts, for inspiring Kathy.  And thanks Kath for inspiring me!