Creating Lasting Memories

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Introducing Cheryl Stapleton

Posted: Fri, 17 May 2013 02:35:46 +0000
Cheryl, along with Mary Ruth, is one of our Design Team members who lives over in Grants Pass. I think I will call them the “valley girls”. Actually, I was pretty excited that someones outside of our local community was interested in making the commitment to drive over to the coast every month just to be part of the store’s Design Team. It was very honoring. Cheryl has a lot of experience doing booth demos and teaching classes at CHA. Maybe we can even get her to come to the store and do a class here. She loves Graphic 45 and you will see their influence on a couple of her projects.

Here is one of her challenge projects using the Prima Marketing Hello Pastel

Isn’t that just a lovely lacey look? Here are the instructions:
1. Cut pink cardstock to 5 1/2″ x 11″
2. Score center to create a 5 1/2 ” square card.
3. Cut paper doily (Spellbinders Gold Elements), adhere under each side of a 5″ x 5″ piece of printed paper
4. With fold on top, adhere a 5″ x 5″ piece of printed cardstock in center
5. Cut out floral decor and adhere to the center of the printed cardstock
6. Die cut four corner pieces and adhere to each corner with foam tape
7. Add floral embellishments and brad to left side of lattice-like window
8. Punch decorative corner on a 5″ x 5″ piece of white cardstock, adhere inside.
This card has an envelope look. I love the gray tones.
1. Cut two pieces of contrasting card stock 11 3/4″ x 6 1/4″
2. Score at 3 1/4″ and another score at 7 1/2″
3. Cut angled corners on the 3 1/4″ piece to form the flap
4. Cut two 5″ border strips from Spellbinders Floral Doily Accent
5. Adhere between the two pieces of patterned paper on each side of the flap.
6. Die cut the flap overlay from Spellbinders Gold Elements One from a soft tone of blue-tone cardstock
7. Cut out additional pieces for the inside from the same sets, layer for dimension.
8. Add flowers and brad elements to the front flap.
Notebook

This is a picture of the notebook she submitted as a favorite project. Here’s what it looks like when you open it up:

notebook open

She also submitted this wall hanging that uses last year’s Graphic 45 summer line (sadly all sold out):

But you could certainly use another beachy line and perhaps add a photo or two for a personal look. Love the corrugated cardboard for the background. I’m sure you are as excited as I am to see what Cheryl will be contributing to our blog this year.

Marjorie
Introducing Jill Petersen

Posted: Tue, 14 May 2013 04:18:35 +0000
Jill and her husband and two teenage sons just recently moved to Brookings. She started coming to our Thursday Make ‘n Takes and I could see right away that she was a talented card maker. She has a lot of experience with Stampin’ Up and especially loves kinetic cards – that is, cards that move when opened.

Here is one of two cards she submitted for the challenge using the Prima Hello Pastel:

She didn’t ignore the inside, but included a nice piece of the patterned paper there, too.

Here are her instructions for making this card.
1. Cut 6 strips of various lengths and widths of the Hello Pastel decorative papers.
2. Clip the ends into triangular shapes, making them into banners.
3. Curl up the ends and attach to card stock base.
4. For decoration, tie an organza ribbon into a bow, attach a button with a piece of white string. She used a couple of glue dots to attach to the top of the strips.
5. Then cut a piece of decorative paper slightly smaller than the size of the card for the inside.
With her second challenge card, you’ll see her love of unique openings:

It opens to look like this:

Then you open again to reveal this:

To make this card, follow these instructions:
1. Start with a 4 x 12″ piece of card stock.
2. Score at 4″ and 8″. Rotate paper and score diagonally on the two outside 4″ squares from the bottom left to the top right corner. Make sure the two diagonals are going in the same direction.
3. Fold the left side into the middle then fold down the triangle. Repeat on the right side except fold the triangle up (see photo).
4. Cut two 3 1/2″ squares of decorative paper. Cut one on the diagonal for the two triangular flaps. Use the second for the inside. She sponged this one with brown ink.
5. Using Spellbinders Label One, cut 2 pieces of solid card stock with the #3 die using your Big Shot, Cuttlebug or Vagabond. Sponge both pieces with brown ink.
6. Cut three pieces using the #4 die using decorative paper. Stamp a saying on one of them for the first opening.
7. When she attached the bigger labels to the card, she made sure they lined up witb each other and then she knew where to put dimensional adhesive to keep them attached on the outside label.
8. Run 24″ of ribbon underneath the outside label before attaching. This makes a nice big bow.
9. Decorate the outside with the Hello Pastel flowers and leaves. She also added a flower and leaf to the inside. A few pearls is a nice addition.
For her extra “favorite” projects, she submitted these two cards:

Easel card

Easel card opened

window card

Window card opened

Window card opened - back side

I love the net on the back side of that fish! Can’t wait to see what Jill will be coming up with for the design Team. So glad you moved to our beautiful coastal town, Jill. By the way, Jill just started working at Fred Meyer as a checker. Look for her smiling face the next time you check out!

Marjorie
Introducing Katrina Parke

Posted: Mon, 06 May 2013 01:36:27 +0000
Welcome to the 2013-2014 Design Team.

Katrina Parke is one of the younger members of the Design Team. She is active in the Pelican Bay Art Association here in Brookings, creating their monthly newsletter. A multi-media artist, Katrina is best known at Creating Lasting Memories for her wonderfully creative ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). For her primary area of interest, she said she would like to do cards and ATCs – she just can’t choose one or the other.

Here are a couple of ATCs she submitted for the challenge, using the Hello Pastel collection from Prima Marketing:

Spring had Sprung

Life by the Sea

I love this ATC. So be beachy. Here’s her description of how she made it:
1. Photo copy your image on to watercolor paper in black and white. Lighter is better.
2. Color you photo copied image with alcohol based markers.
3. Once it is dry, highlight your image with the Gelly Roll pens. As you do this, use the water brush to spread the Gelly Roll ink around like watercolor paint. Use the paper towels to dab your brush clean between colors and to soak up excess water.
4. Set image aside to dry.
5. Take the Prima paper, blue and white side up, and wrap hour ribbon diagonally across the front. Glue the ends down on the back.
6. Trim any excess ribbon overhanging the edges.
7. Take your canvas diamond and distress the edges by running your fingernail or the blade of your scissors over the edge to make them fray. Then lightly run one of your markers over the frayed edges.
8. Glue the diamond to the center of the card.
9. Adhere a button to the center of the card.
10. Adhere a button in each of the corners opposite that of your ribbon.
11. Cut out your image you colored.
12. Glue the image to the center of the diamond.
13. Embellish with sea glass and remaining buttons.
14. Adhere white cardstock to the back of your card.
Now, here are two of the cards she submitted using the Hello Pastel designer papers:

Thanks a Bunch

On the Road

I love this card, too. Here are her instructions if you’d like to make it. Once again, it uses a photo copied image. Katrina does this a lot. I’ll try and get her to tell me her internet source for some of these images!
1. Photo copy image.
2. Decorate photo copy with Gelly Roll pens and set aside to dry.
3. Fold yellow card stock on half.
4. Take a 4 x 5 1/4″ Prima paper and punch one of the longer sides with an edge punch. The grey side will be up on your card.
5. Adhere it to the center of the face of your card with the punch side on the outside edge.
6. Take the “Sugar Cube” Prima paper and select a square of roses. Cut it out.
7. Spray your selected square of roses with Dylusions ink spray. Blot with paper towel.
8. Once dry, glue if off center on the face of your card.
9. Cut out the photo copied image you decorated earlier.
10. Adhere it to the center of your card face.
11. Take the original image and cut out the focal point.
12. Layer it on top of the photo copy with pop dots.
13. Cut the heads off of your Prima flowers.
14. Arrange them around your image, gluing them down with Beacon 3-in-1.
Katrina said that she wanted to be on the Design Team because she thinks outside the box and would guarantee us that we would get something that is different every month. I know this will be the case with Katrina and really look forward to what she will be contributing to the team.

Marjorie
Introducing Jacki Rettke

Posted: Fri, 03 May 2013 05:12:27 +0000
Welcome to the 2013-2014 Design Team.

To many of you, Jacki should be no stranger. She has been a teacher at Creating Lasting Memories since 2009 with her popular The Creative Page class which meets on Saturday mornings at 10:30 am. She also volunteers at the store on Thursday afternoons. Needless to say, she is very well informed on the latest products and loves to showcase them on her pages.

For her two personal entrees, Jacki sent in one of her Christmas layouts:

As those of us her know her well, here is a die cut of a house and a deer, which often surround her home here in Brookings. She is a big fan of her deer pets. I love the images she put behind the windows of her house, straight from a Tim Holtz seasonal papers line.

Her second “personal favorite” entry is this one with the giant rosette. Again, for those who know her well, we are not surprised to see the rosette. Jscki loves these bulky but fabulous embellishments! For those of you who don’t know Jacki, she loves cats and calls no less than 7 of them her pets. I was honored to meet them. Believe me, you have never seen a cleaner home. I left wanting one of my own. So cute!

For her Design Team Challenge, using the Prima Hello Pastel col lection, here is Jacki’s fantastic layout:

To recreate this layout, here are her instructions for this layout:
1. For my project is used the provided papers plus a scrap of SEI paper I had in my stash.
2. I used my Sizzix Big Shot and a Sizzix Big Shot scallop die fot the strips.
3. The cardstock and the pattern paper shpaes were cut out on the Cricut.
4. For the butterflies, I used Ranger foil and Ranger alcohol inks in several different combinations until I found two pieces I liked. After inking the foil I used the Tim Holtz Movers and Shakers butterfly dies to cut them out.
5. I added the flower accents that were included in the kit and took them apart for more interest.
6. And of course, everything was either distressed or inked before assembling to the page.
I feel blessed to have Jacki on the Design Team. You will too, I am sure.
Spring Fling

Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:59:48 +0000

We had another fun day at the store on Saturday, April, 13, flinging into spring. Wanted to share some pictures and the cards we made.

Doesn’t this just LOOK like spring?

Here’s the first card I made. This one was taught by Chris Liles and uses the new Spellbinder Fancy Lattice die :

And here is a picture of our birthday girl (Chris’ birthday was the next day) with her sister:

The next card I made was taught by Cathy Verzi. It uses a stamp by Inky Antics that we colored with Copic markers and adorned with Candi brads:

And here’s a picture of Cathy with Areta:

Then there was the card that Loye designed. It uses a new die by Hero Arts with outline sticker bling:

Carole taught for the first time and here is her card with a unique fold and lots of layering:

And here is a smiling Loye and Carole holding each other’s card:

Candice taught us all how to make a Master Board. This was a super fun technique. I definitely want to make more of these. And here is the card we made using our “board”:

Sonja had a unique fold card too, with another stamp from Inky Antics:

And here is a picture of Candice and Sonja showing off a couple of cards they made:

The seventh card we made was a tag designed by Trisha Easley which used the new Tim Holtz Distress Paints for the background. This was very popular and Trisha showed us how to get a fabulous look with ease:

Some more smiling faces:

Thanks for a great day everyone! See you in October for World Card Making Day!

Marjorie
Memories of World Cardmaking Day 2012

Posted: Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:23:35 +0000

What a good day.

Good food, good cards, good teachers, good friends.

We made 7 cards by 7 different teachers. Here’s the one designed and taught by Chris Liles. It features Memory Box dies. These ornament dies also come in a much larger size, perfect for scrapbook pages.

This next card was designed and taught by Allene Fewell. The stamp is by Technique Tuesday; they have a great blog. Check it out here. We colored using copic markers.

The third card was designed and taught by Shari Townley. I love using Shimmer Sheetz by Elizabeth Craft Designs. They come in lots of colors. This is the bronze and we embossed it (Tim Holtz Shattered Glass folder) then applied Krylon gold using a foam pad to the raised edges. The symbolism of the light piercing the darkness is so perfect for Christmas.

Our fourth card was designed and taught by Cathy Verzi. The paper and stamp was Impression Obsession. The ornament die is by Spellbinders.

This next card was designed and taught by Sharon Bessinger. I love her paper-piecing techniques. She is really talented and this card also featured a unique “diamond” fold. To speed things up (sometimes it is hard to fit all the steps into the alloted 40 minute time slot) she scored and folded the cards for us but she gave us a pattern so we can make them ourselves later. And, with help from her supportive family, she cut out all the MANY pieces ahead of time! There is a tag at the top (sorry, the photo cut it off) that says, “So grateful for you.” Sharon is moving to Oklahoma and I just want to say that I am so grateful for her. You will be missed, Sharon.

This next card was designed and taught by Sonja Woodward. It is called a “never-ending” card. I remember making these way back when and I hadn’t made one in a long time. So much fun. It has four “pages.” And once again, Sonja did a lot of the work, cutting, scoring and writing instructions so we could finish in 40 minutes (well, almost). And we got a pattern from her to so we make them ourselves. I loved making one of these again.

And finally, last but not least, our 7th card designed and taught by Loye Rich. Simple but elegant poinsettia stamp by Penny Black in their classic watercolor style. Usually we use brush markers to color these (right on the stamp) but this time Loye had us use a stipple brush and Brilliance ink. The colors and the shimmer are quite lovely especially in person. And the card was finished up nicely with the gold outline stickers (also from Elizabeth Craft Designs).

Now isn’t that a great collection of Christmas cards by a group of talented teachers? All of these cards are on display at Creating Lasting Memories and if you want to make any of them yourself, just stop by the store and we’ll show you the supplies you will need. Plus, we have lots of other Christmas stamps and paper for all your holiday projects. Hope to see you soon.

Marjorie
Creating Xmas in July tags 2012

Posted: Sun, 22 Jul 2012 23:40:56 +0000

So much fun…so exhausting…can’t wait to do it again!

It was an incredible two weeks and I thought I’d share all the tags with you.

And here we are on the last day showing off the amazing tag designed by Trisha which actually included a wearable piece of jewelry.

Thanks to everyone who participated. It was great!

Marjorie
Lasting FUN with new Tim Holtz

Posted: Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:28:14 +0000

If it’s the end of April, then FINALLY, Tim’s new stuff from CHA has arrived. Yippee! Seems it always takes this long to get here but its worth waiting for, right?

“What came in this week?” you ask. Well look and see:

Yep, the long awaited and much anticipated Distress Markers in all 36 colors plus picket fence. Plan on this product being our demo this Thursday, May 3. Come and play and see what all the hub bub is all about.

And then from his Ideology line:

Ad you can see, it’s all about words, so if you struggle with getting just the right sentiment on your cards or layouts, perhaps some of these will help.

These have nothing to do with Tim Holtz, but in case you are needing to make some graduation cards or invites, here are some stickers that recently arrived:

I wish I knew someone who was graduating because I think these owls are the cutest thing ever.

I mean, really adorable, don’t you think?

So stop by and check out all the new goodies. Hope to see you soon at Creating Lasting Memories.

Marjorie
Memories of CHA Day 2

Posted: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:26:35 +0000

Day 2 was a whirlwind of “celebrity” sightings, great make n takes and more awesome displays.

We started out the day by going back to the Technique Tuesday booth to do a make n take with Allie Edwards. We made an 8×8 grid layout and I got my photo taken with her.

More super cute banners hanging in the Ephiphany Crafts booth. Who knew cupcake wrappers and coffee filters could make such an adorable decoration?

On the way to the Ranger booth, we stopped at Little Yellow Bicycle and made a 12×12 layout using their new Saturdays line. Love this paper collection.

Oh, another detour – the May Arts booth. So many new pretty ribbons. I’ve got quite a list of them to order. Really nice to be able to see them in person. As I walked around the booth, Allison typed up the numbers of the ones we liked on her iphone. Very handy.

Finally made it to the Ranger booth. They had had their own “creative challenge”:

Here’s a few of the ones I liked:

This sample made we want to order Tim’s compartments and I still may:

Of course, there were plenty of tags:

And yes, I got to meet Tim and get my picture taken with him.

And here are some pretties from Webster’s Pages:

CHA Day 2 Ranger Make n Take

Thanks for taking a look at my fun day at CHA!

Marjorie
Memories of CHA day 1

Posted: Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:38:45 +0000

Silhouette booth from Marjorie Towers on Vimeo.

The first thing you will notice about the above video is how LOUD it was at CHA. There is a great deal of excitement especially on the first day. One of the best parts of CHA is just taking in the way each company decorates their booths. The video show the back wall of the Silhouette booth. The images you see are what you can download to your computer and then cut with your machine. There are literally thousands of choices. Plus this machine will cut any font you have on your computer or any image you design yourself. Competing in the same market is the Eclipse by Sizzix. For those of you who follow Tim Holtz, you know that he has designed cartridges that will cut his stamped images. The Eclipse also will cut any font on your computer and any image you design yourself. I can order either machine for you if you are interested.

I fell in love with the Canvas Corp booth and spent a lot of time there on the first day. They have purchased Tattered Angels and we made a great make ‘n take using canvas and the new Plain Jane sprays. I really like any spray on canvas. It is just a great combination (almost as much fun as using Gelatos which I learned all about in class with Donna Downey in the evening of Day 1).

Here’s a few photos of Day 1:

This wreath was huge – about 5 feet in diameter.

Beautiful wedding layout on 12×12 stretched burlap. Yes, we have these at Creating Lasting Memories.

An example of mixed media mini-album. Love the burlap pocket.

Lots of banners decorated the tops of the booths. These were real sweet made out of fabric. One thing I really noticed at CHA was the mixing of media, especially combining fabric with paper crafts.

Vintage was everywhere in the booth decorations. These clocks were hanging in the Graphic 45 booth.

Check out this layout displayed by hanging from an old yardstick. There were actually three layouts hanging from a single yardstick.

Ok, it took me forever (well 2 weeks actually) to get these posted so I thank you for waiting and I hope you aren’t too disappointed. It really is so much fun to attend CHA. Next post I’ll share all the celebrity sightings of Day 2!

Marjorie