Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry for being spotty on here again lately... I'm actually writing to tell you I'm going on a mini vacation of sorts... My youngest daughter leaves on July 23rd for Europe and My little sister is getting married on July 28th... so I'm probably not going to be able to find time to update again until the end of the month... but look out... I have some AWESOME ideas for you starting in August....

Stay Tuned.....

Alicia P.

Weekend Challenge

Hope everyone had an awesome 4th of July! I spent it playing 18 holes of golf with hubby and friends, then headed out to my mom's for a family picnic and fireworks fun...

I received this challange yesterday via e-mail from one of the scrapbooking groups I'm a member of and thought it was such an interesting challange, I would share it here:

Find two pictures of yourself, one from when you were very young and one recent one. The journaling can be lengthy or short but should reflect the phrase, "You've come a long way, Baby!" Use your favorite colors.

On your mark, get set, GOOOOOO!!!

E-mail your layout to me and receive some "blog bling" to scrapbook with via snail mail from me!!

Technique Tuesday

Cracked Glass Technique
Supplies: VersaMark Ink Pad; Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) or Clear Embossing Powder; Dye Ink; Image Stamp(s); Cardstock; and a Heat Gun

Step 1: Stamp image on cardstock
Step 2: Add color to image as needed
Step 3: Either Apply VersaMark over the entire piece of cardstock
Step 4: Place your cardstock either into a craft tray or on a sheet of copy paper and pour the UTEE over it.
Step 5: Heat powder with the heat gun until melted
Step 6: While the UTEE is still hot, add more powder over the cardstock. If the UTEE has cooled, just reheat or apply another layer of VersaMark before adding the UTEE.
Step 7: Heat again until melted
Step 8: Repeat steps 6 & 7 until you have a smooth layer over the entire image.
Step 9: After heating the last layer of UTEE, put the cardstock in the freezer for a couple minutes. The cardstock will look warped when you take it out of the freezer, but no worries...
Step 10: Bend cardstock carefully until the UTEE cracks. Continue bending in different areas of the image until you like how it looks.

If you'd like the cracks to show more, sponge a dark colored ink over the entire image. The ink gets into the cracks. Wipe the image with a paper towel to pick up the ink that doesn't seep into the cracks.

Fireworks

I love to take photos of fireworks... only 1 out of about 100 ever come out clear and cool looking but this photo from the 4th of July 2005 is one of those that I enjoy looking at... I was able to get photos of my kids playing with sparklers that year, probably the last year I'll ever get photos of my now teenagers doing something they feel is so "childish"... I sure miss the days when they were in grade school...now they just want to blow things up!

Independence Coaster Frame

This is a coaster frame made using 4" square coasters (If I remember correctly there were Smirnoff Ice coasters). The paper and stickers are from Close To My Heart "Independence" line. I also used Silver Hinges, Colonial White brads and Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon. I used the Close To My Heart's "Playful Lowercase" stamp set to stamp "USA".

I thought it was a cute patriotic project to share this week!!

Enjoy!
Alicia P.