Paper Crafter's Library : Win a One Year Membership!

This past January Paper Crafter’s Library celebrated our first year anniversary – and in that time we have established ourselves as the THE all-in-one learning solution for paper crafters with the largest {and best} online library of video tutorials on the internet. From beginner through to advanced, covering product instruction, techniques and project ideas for stamping, card making, scrapbooking and altered art – we have something for everyone! We’re proud of how far we have come, and we’re hoping you can help us spread the word!

That’s why as part of our first anniversary celebrations we have an exciting new contest which we are running for a total of 9 months – where we will be giving away a total of 18 ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIPS to the Paper Crafter’s Library – each valued at $200! We will announce 2 winners at the beginning of EACH MONTH – we started in April, and we’ll be ending in January of 2013.

There’s several ways to enter, and each way gives you 1 entry into our draw – so the more ways you participate the greater your chances of winning:

1. Put our Fan Badge on the sidebar of your blog or website. In the right hand sidebar of our blog, under the heading “Grab Our Fan Badge” you’ll find a box with the html code which you just need to copy and paste into the sidebar of your blog.

2. Create a post on your blog letting everyone know they can win a One Year Subscription to Paper Crafter’s Library and linking back to this post for instructions on how to win.

3. Post about our give-away on your Facebook Page linking back to this post.

Once you have done any or all of these things, leave us a comment here on this post letting us know, with a link back to your blog or FB page and we’ll pop by for a visit. When you leave your name, make sure that if you don’t put your full last name, at the very least you put your last initial.

So how do you enter if you don’t have a blog or FB page? Simple, leave us comments on our daily blog posts. We love hearing back from you, we love your feedback and we read each and every comment. For every comment you leave on one of our blog posts* you get one entry into that month’s draw. * Please note Freebie Friday is separate from this contest – comments left for our Freebie Friday give-aways do NOT count as entries in this contest.

Remember, we’ll be running this contest for the next 5 months, so you will have LOTS of opportunities to win. The next two winners will be announced at the beginning of August. Please note this contest is open to current Paper Crafter’s Library members – if you are a current member and you win, that time will be added on to the end of your subscription.

We’ll be picking two more winners in August – so if you’ve entered already but weren’t picked, there are still plenty of opportunities to win! Make sure the badge is still there on your blog, put up another post or tweet or FB letting people know about our contest and then leave a comment here in this post linking back, or simply keep visiting and leaving us comments.


Paper Crafter's Library Link : Click on the Fan Badge in the sidebar!

Our Prairie Home.

Last week I came across the blog from Our Prairie Home.

This blog is about Laura and her familie who bought an old house that they want to renovate and Laura wants to salvage old furniture to decorate the house with.

She tells us in her blog about her day-to-day live with her husband and 6 kids and at the same time trying to restore the house and salvage different pieces of furniture to decorate it with.

She started her blog in Juli 2011 and in the mean time things have changed.
Not only is she still busy with the house and offcours her familie, she is now also selling her salvaged furniture in store!

I started reading her blog from the very first post she wrote and I absolutely LOVE reading it!

This week she is having a give-away to celebrate the debut of Prairie Patina at The Changing Season.


You can get up to 9 entries for entering this give-away and the price is a custom made pillow!

Below is an example but you can choose your own colours and/or qoutes to go on that pillow!

Go and check out her blog at : http://littlebighouseontheprairie1.blogspot.nl/

Even when you are not interested in the give-away this is a very fun, interesting and inspiring blog to read and follow!!

BIG SHOT IN THA HOUSE!! 

Yesterday my husband decided it was time to order my Big Shot Starter kit.
When he was checking out the website he figured it would be possible to get in the car and drive there to pick it up.

Since I didn't want to drive all the way across the country only to find out didn't have it in stock I called to ask.
Not only did the friendly man tell me that they didn't have it in stock, he also told me the European Distributor no longer had it in stock and at this moment there was no possibility of ordering.
This didn't just mean HIS store was unable to deliver the Big Shot, it means that ALL crafting stores in europe have this problem at the moment!

My heart sank.. I was so looking forward to getting one this month and I already had ideas for projects I wanted to try out with my newest toy.. And this man (who was really friendly and understanding!) told me I wouldn't be able to get one AT ALL!!

But, my genius husband asked me to check out ebay. Just in case!
And I did, without any hope because I really didn't want to spend money on an used machine because you never know if it might be broken or is having problems or what not.

Ebay did have international stores selling the Big Shot. But, for the same reason I'm not able to order it for example at Simon Says Stamp or any other USA located store, the shipping costs are insane!

Then there was my last hope Marktplaats.nl which is a website similar to Ebay. In fact, Ebay is the owner.
And I got lucky!
Only 13 km from my house was a lady who bought herself a Big Shot Starter kit and then got one more for her birthday which she couldn't return.

I drove there, checked it out and once I noticed that everything was still sealed in it's original packing I bought it and brought it home with me. (Offcours my husband paid for it!)
At the end of the day we've spend about 28 euro less then I would have in the store AND got a brand new Solo Thin Die Adapter included in the deal. AWESOME!!

So... (drumroll please!) here are some picture's of my newest toy!

The Starter Kit includes :
1 Big Shot
1 Solo Platform
1 Solo Shim
1 Pair Standard Cutting Pads
1 instruction DVD
1 instruction booklet
1 Bigz Dies (656334 Hearts)
2 Sizzlits Dies (#9 Flower Layers & #10 Flourish)
1 Embossing Folder (Sizzix Dotts)
10 Card Stock Samples (Core'dinations Colour Core, although mine have white core instead of colour core)
And in my deal with the lady who sold it I got the Solo Thin Die Adapter included.

I already bought some embossing folders earlier this week because they were on sale and I knew that I would be getting the Big Shot.

After trying out some of the folders and dies I went online and from the money we saved on this deal I ordered the Tim Holtz Die Pick, the Tim Holtz Paper Distresser and the Tim Holtz Alterations Bigz Dies Gears. All of which I'm hoping will arrive tomorrow in my mailbox!! And then there is still the Spellbinders Label 4 set that will arrive someday!

AND

Wednesday we were in a town a little away from my city and the local crafting-outlet-store was unpacking a box of Tim Holz Distress inks!!
Now, I only had 4 minutes to get in that store and look around because we had to get back in the car. (paid parking, and our time was almost up) So, needless to say; I was rushing!

The box with distress inks was the first thing I saw and my first instinct told me to pick up the box and run!

However, my mind told me I could only buy 2.
I wanted to get the Black Soot and the Vintage Photo but while rushing to get back to the car in time I picked up the Black Soot and the Pumice Stone instead.
It doesn't really matter since there aren't any colours of distress ink I wouldn't want to have!

It's fair to say that I am very, very, very exited about my early birthday present and my newest editions to my crafting supplies.
And since my husband is away for the weekend I'm going to spend my weekend playing with my dies, folders, stamps, inks and other lovely crafting supplies! Let's have some fun!!

How to store your dies and embossing folders.

I've been looking around for some storage solutions for dies and embossing folders.

I've found that most people make some sort of binder with pockets to put them in.
I can't say that that looks like something I would like to use.
An other idea I found is a large box with tabs for different brands.
That idea appealed more to my liking but I'm still not sure.

I don't want to spend money on a storage solutions that doesn't work for me.

Could you guys tell me how you store yours?

I'm just trying to figure out what I would like as a storage solution before my crafty-room gets cluttered again... :-S

I'll be back with new projects in about 2 weeks.
Right now we are having some free time to enjoy our summer.
I just wish it would stop raining.. lol!

See you soon!

Spellbinders Give-Away Week on Paper Crafter's Library!

I'm a winner!! (bounce, bounce!)

I've been joining the give-away week on Paper Crafter's Library this week because I wanted to know more about the Spellbinders Die Templates and the possible use on a Big Shot.
While I was following the given information anyways I entered myself in the give-away and I won!! YAY!!

What did I win? I won the Day 1 prize : Spellbinders Labels 4 Nestabilities.

I love them! Now I just have to wait untill I can order my Big Shot for my birthday next month!

Short post but I just wanted to share this fun news!!

Paper Crafter's Library Blog : blog.papercrafterslibrary.com
Spellbinders : www.spellbinderspaperarts.com

Glossy, Shiny, Metalic Bright Colours. 

When I say bright, I mean "put on your sunglasses before you look at it - bright"!

I had some metalic cardstock laying around which I bought at the local Dollar-Store (well, it's Euro-Store here but you get what I mean!) and although I really liked it, I didn't know what to do with it.

But, things chance and inspiration came looking around the corner.

We are giving our daughter potty-training.
She's 3 years old (april 28th) and untill recently totally not interested in potty training at all.
I talked to her teacher at her créche and she said : Make it a party! Have fun, Make it fun!

So I did! I crafted a weird apartment building on a big piece of paper with lots of windows and every time she would go on the potty she would get a Dora The Explorer Sticker to put in one of the windows.

She loves it and now she tries to go as much as possible just to get a new sticker!

AWESOME!!! IT WORKS!!

But there is only 1 big window and 1 big sticker left which she will get when she does a number 2 on the potty!

I made it from plain crafting paper and used left-over paper from my scrapbook-papers to create the windows. Once all the windows are filled with stickers I'll take it of the door where it's hanging and I'll put some extra embellishments on there like a big yellow sun, a roof on each building and numbers on the doors.

The idea is to frame it as a piece of art and hang it in her room when she gets a room make-over.

Time to make a new project and get some new stickers.
This time I went for Little Pet Shop Animal Stickers and Zoobles Animal Stickers.
I made a very colourfull and HUGE Tree on which she can place the different animal stickers.
She saw the new project and immediately wanted to het started!

I used the same plain crafting paper I used for the apartment building for the background and the brown tree.
Then I used the metalic cardstock for the colourfull "leaves".
You really can't see it on the picture's but the colours are incredibly bright and that is exactly what my daughter like about it!

After I finished the tree I made something else that will be usefull. This time it's for my husband and myself.

He found this dvd-workout program to get in shape. It's called The Insanity Program.
We are both looking for a way to get back in shape with a program we can combine with our day-to-day live. This should be perfect because we can do it at home, whenever we have the time and space to do it.
In this specific program you have to keep track of your own personal progress.

Now, this all sounds like we are incredibly sporting people but we are NOT!
Since we both smoke and I gained a lot of weight while pregnant (most of which is already gone but not all!) it just seemed about time to get started with something that would get both of us back in shape.

So I bought 2 small basic notebooks and altered them with some of the bright cardstock I used for the tree.

The back of the notebooks are covered with the same paper I used for the background of the front.
Other then that I kept it simple; background paper, 1 tag shape and cardboard alpha's.

Again, you can't really see how bright the colours are on the picture's but atleast on these picture's the reflecting light shows a bit of the patterns of the paper. Each colour has a different pattern on it.
I did find out the next morning that the glue I used fades the colours of the cardstock on the notebook.
For some reason this didn't happen on the tree-project and I used the same glue for both projects.
I don't mind this unexpected effect because it makes it look distressed and I'm a big fan of distressing!!

INSANITY - PROGRAM
GET FIT OR GET OUT!

Simon Says Stamp and Show... Anything Goes! Challenge.
Fathers Day, June 17th, 2012.

Today is Fathers Day, so before I start talking about my latest project I would like to wish all the amazing dads in the world a good day and I hope they've spend it with their families and enjoyed the time together.

I've spend some time wondering what I could give my husband for this special day to let him know I appreciate everything he does for us.
Then, at some random moment I was sitting behind my computer, looked ad his desk and saw the usual mess on the shelf next to his screen and all of a sudden inspiration struck!
I have been checking out a lot of altered trinket boxes (for example the ones from Graphic 45) and figured I could make something to go on the shelf so he can put away his supplies in something pretty, something with a steampunk-vibe.
So, about a week ago I started looking in the stores for something that would fit (size) and that I could alter and I ended up with.. nothing!
Then I figured, if I can't find it then maybe I can make it.. I bought 3 small wooden crates to alter.

I forgot to make picture's before I started but as soon as I started painting I remembered!
On the picture the 3 crates are already glued together I started painting the inside of the first one.
I didn't like to use the light colour for this specific colour so I gave them a dark brown colour.

I used some Bo Bunny - Timepiece paper (6x6 paperpad).
It is the first time I used Bo Bunny paper and I fell in love with it. My absolute favourite is the doorway. I could just put it in a frame and hang it on the wall and it would look stunning!
Other then that, this collection is wonderfull to use with the steampunk style I love so much without using a lot of embellishments to give it the right "look".

With the crates I also bought a small wooden trunk which I altered to match the theme.
I didn't have to change the colour so I just put some more Bo Bunny paper on it and some gears we collected from some old clocks my husband dismantled.

Like I said before, the Bo Bunny paper really doesn't need a lot of embellishments to give it the look I envisioned. It is an absolute perfect match with the gears on it!

I used some K&Company cut-outs, clock-parts, Tim Holtz gears and a Kaiser Craft wooden key to embellish the cabinet, jars and the trays. 

Some close-ups from the clock-parts, the Tim Holtz gears and the tags;

Some close-ups from the 3 shelves/crates :

The first shelf.

The second shelf.
On the left : Denial is my happy place
On the right : You're amazing

The third shelf.
On the left : You're my inspiration
On the right : Life, it happens

 And finally some close-ups from the finished project :

The other items on the picture are some memorabilia he really wants to keep.
For example, the liquor and the flask were a present for his 30th birthday this february.
The little sign is a present I gave him when we just met.
It says :

Sing as if nobody can hear you, 

Dance as if nobody can see you, 

Love as if nobody has ever hurt you.