Christmas Card - Stampendous Jumbo Ornament

It is not to early to start making some home-made Christmas Cards!

I decided to try something a little different for Christmas cards this year.....a different size....different colors. This card is 6x6 and made with Bazzill cardstock and Stampendous Stamps. The colors aren't exactly "traditional", but I like em'.





How to do it:
Cut a 12x12 sheet of Bazzill Serenade in half then fold in half with the textured sides to the outside.
Cut a 5"x5" square of Bazzill Sprout 12x12 Cardstock
Cut a 4.75"x 4.75" of Bazzill Smoothies Coconut Swirl
Cut small length of white ribbon (a couple inches should do it)
Stamp the swirls (Stampendous Jumbo Ornament Set) on the 6x6 Bazzill Serenade cardstock (I used Ranger's Adirondack Ink Pad in Cool Peri.
Stamp the branches from the Jumbo Ornament set using green ink (I used Adirondack Dye Ink Pad - Lettuce). I stamped three branches in the top left corner of the coconut swirl cardstock.
Stamp the Jumbo Ornament in Black.
I used I'Kandee Chalk Earth Tones to color in the ornament.
Stamp the Merry Christmas from Stampendous Merry Messages stamp set in red (Adirondack Dye Ink pad in Cranberry)
Tie the white ribbon in a knot and adhere with a strong adhesive such as Mono Aqua or Glue Dots.
If you want to add a little "sparkle" you can use Stickles Icicle or Diamond color to line the ornament and dot the i in Merry Christmas. [note: Stickles takes a while to dry! You may want to let it sit for several hours before trying to handle it.]

Putting it all together.
Adhere the coconut swirl to the Bazzill Sprout square
Adhere the Bazzill Sprout square to the Bazzill Serenade Card.
I used Mono Aqua adhesive - because you can slide it around a little after you glue it down. Just in case you aren't "perfect" when you first put it down.

Whallaa!

Olympic Gold Medal SALE!!

Team USA won 36 Gold Medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Congrats to Team USA for all their hard-work and dedication! You might be thinking....how does this benefit me?! Well, you can save 36% on your order from Celestial Creations & Scrapbook Supplies, Inc. when you order between Friday, August 29 through Sunday, August 31st. Enter code TeamUSA in the code box at checkout.

Get it...Team USA won 36 gold medals....you save 36% on your order!

Midnight Oil Scrapbook Design GUEST DESIGNER CONTEST!!

It is finally here! I can announce that Celestial Creations & Scrapbook Supplies, Inc. has teamed up with Midnight Oil Scrapbook Design (MOSD) for their first ever GUEST DESIGNER SEARCH!!

Here is a photo of the kit:


Use this unique kit contains the following:

• 6x12 Cover to Cover Big Boy Album by Midnight Oil Scrapbook Designs (MOSD)
  
• An EXCLUSIVE set of Stick Ons by MOSD (never to be reproduced again!)
• "Half Map" Page Map by Becky Fleck - Designed especially for THIS CONTEST!
• Full Instructions for entering the contest through Pub Calls

CONTEST RULES:

• The contest is open to residents of the USA only.
• Winner will recieve a prize pack of MOSD product as well as the Mod Squad Designer Package for November 2008.
• The Retailer where the winner purchased the Contest Pack will win a prize pack of MOSD products.
• Contest runs from August 25th through September 30, 2008 - ALL ENTRIES need to be recieved through Pub Calls by MIDNIGHT of September 30, 2008.
• You must use the Half Map sketch on at least ONE PAGE.
• Use of the Stick Ons is encouraged, but not required.
• Submission:
• Take high-quality photos and e-mail them to pubcalls@gmail.com with the subject line of: MOSD DT CONTEST. The body of the e-mail must contain your Name, Address, Phone Number, E-Mail Address and the name of the Store that you purchased your Contest Pack from.
• Make sure to show off as much of the album as possible
• Specifically mention the page(s) inspired by the sketch
• Any questions - please contact the MOSD Contest Coordinators
• shannon@mosdinc.com
• christy@mosdinc.com
  

Need more details on the contest? - visit www.pubcalls.blogspot.com

Check out my previous blog on Acrylic Albums here

Olympic Gold Medal Sale update

Right now, Team USA has 16 GOLD MEDALS!! There is still a week to go. Cheer for Team USA and save over 16% (how much you save depends on how many Gold Medals Team USA wins) on your Scrapbook supplies purchased between August 29 and 31st!

Olympic GOLD Medal SALE!

There will be a Three-Day only sale on the weekend following the end of the Olympics. The sale dates are from August 29 - 31st. The number of gold medals the USA wins at the end of the Olympics will be the percentage you get off your order! As an example, if USA wins 32 gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics, then you would get 32% off your order - when you order from August 29 - 31st.

So, mark your calendars and cheer for TEAM USA in the 2008 Olympics!

Expand your Cricut Cutting Capability!

Sure Cuts A Lot Software from Craft Edge works with your Cricut Personal or Expression cutter to allow you to cut using the True Type fonts installed on your computer or from one of the thousands of fonts downloaded for FREE! You can also use it to cut dingbats and SVG files or Scalable Vector Graphics . Sure Cuts A Lot also allows you to weld words or change the style of the font to shadow, blackout, shadow blackout or mixed. It works with your Cricut machine as long as it has a cartridge in it. Additionally, the interface looks like your cutting pad, so you can move items on the interface to where they would be on your cutting mat and it is what you see is what you cut! Best of all, this software works on Windows and MAC! They have a free trial version if you want to give it a "test drive!" You may need to update your firmware on your Cricut, but I found that was easy to do.

Check it out!

Here are two examples of Titles that I cut out using the Sure Cuts A Lot Software:

the word "Baby"



"All text on this layout"

Long Term Photo Care - Home vs Commercial Printing

Home Printing vs. Commercial Printing - What is right for you?

At the time of this writing, you can get comercial 4x6 prints for as low as 8 cents per print. A brief overview of the top three companies is provided below:

Winkflash has a deal going where you can get 50 free 4x6 prints if you try them out and their shipping is as low at 89 cents. 4x6 photos are 8 cents per print and they have a wide variety of print size options that go from wallet up to 10x15.

Shutterfly has a deal where you can get 50 free 4x6 prints plus a 11x14 collage poster. 4x6 prints cost 15 cents per print and they have several print size options, although not as many as Winkflash, they do offer print sizes up to 20x30. Shipping costs start at $1.79 for 4x6 photos.

Snapfish offers new customers 20 prints free. 4x6 photos cost 9 cents per photo; however, they have the most limited options with only 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10. Their shipping is a little strange because it looks like you pay per bundle of 10 prints starting at 49 cents per bundle.

All three companies offer some form of editing and cropping.

For Home Printing you need a good quality photo inkjet printer and some photo editing software. You can get a nice photo inkjet for around $100 and photo editing software such as Photoshop Elements for about $100. Then there is the cost of the photo paper. As an example, I have an Epson R800 and the Premium Epson 4x6 glossy photo paper runs about 40 cents a sheet. Now, you may say "Oh, I use the office store brand because it is cheaper." However, you should be aware that the manufacturers "engineer" their inks and papers to work the best when used together. My Epson photos printed with Epson ink on Epson Premium Photo paper will last over 100 years. However, certain ink and paper cominations may not last 4 months! I would recommend you check out the Wilhelm Imaging Research's website for more info on photo longevity. They have researched several printer, ink and paper combinations for print longevity. Very interesting research!

Back to the commercial printers, only one of the top three sites had any discussion on print longevity that I could find with any ease. Winkflash indicated that their photos would last "several decades before any noticeable fading occurs..."

So, although the commercial printers may cost 8 cents a print make sure you do your research and are comfortable with the longevity of the photos. I personally like to print my own photos - could it be that I am a control freak...maybe. I like to crop them pick what sizes I want them to print out and get them immediately! :) However, if you are printing tons of photos or you don't have the proper equipment to print them at home then commercial printers are a great way to go. Just make sure you use a company that can provide the best print longevity. If they don't say on their website....then e-mail them and ask! You want to make sure your precious memories will last a lifetime and beyond!

So, in summary commercial printing can be much cheaper than home printing, especially if you are printing 100's of photos. If you are an impatient control freak....print 'em yourself! No matter what you choose - make sure you know how long those photos will last and take care of them.