An Announcement from Gerrianne

Hello Everyone!

I have always been told that …..“when one door closes another door opens”…. or how about….”that which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”…..As painful as it may be I have to say I truly believe both of these statements and they have been weighing heavy on my mind over these last few months as I have found myself faced with several challenges that have literally shook me to my core and left me simply asking “why?”.

So I find myself at the proverbial crossroads of life knowing that I can’t change anything in the past but what I can do is put my big girl panties on and move forward.

At this point I’m sure you’re asking “what does all this mean to you?”.

First let me start by assuring you that I am working diligently to mail everyone’s October kit out within the next week. This kit promises to be overflowing paper, embellishments and all things scrappy. This overstuffed kit is my way of thanking all of you for your loyalty and friendship over the years but it will be the last kit from Kit n’ Kaboodles.

The Kit n’ Kaboodles site(www.knkclub.com) and it’s message board will close on October 15^th so if there are any images you would like to save from either site please do it before then.

Okay…so that was the proverbial door that closed……now for the newly open door.

I am thrilled to announce that I will be launching a new site in the next few months that will be my therapeutic happy place! This new site will offer a variety of two page layout kits, card kits, project kits for mini-albums and home décor for everyone from the novice scrapper to the more advanced scrapper. It will feature products from my favorite designers and manufacturers like Tim Holtz and Claudine Hellmuth from Ranger, Prima, Petaloo, Canvas Corp, Quick Qutoes, Heartfelt Creations, Graphic 45, Bo Bunny and so much more! I am so excited about this new site as it will allow me to do what I love….and that’s to just simply create!

I would like to thank all of you for your business but more importantly I would like to thank you for your friendship and I hope that you will keep in touch. I will be emailing each of you when my new site is up and running and I do hope you pop in to browse and say hi!

I appreciate all of you reading through my long winded email as it was certainly an emotional one to write but let me recap some important dates.

September 25^th: This was the last time current members were charged. There will be no future charges.

October 11^th: All kits will be shipped out to current members.

October 15^th: Kit n’ Kaboodles site and message board (www.knkclub.com) will close.

TBD: I will be emailing all of you when my new site is up and running.

This Blog will remain active.

Take Care and I’ll see you soon on the new site!

Gerri-anne

More fun with Graphic 45

Here is another card that I made with the Steampunk Debutante paper pack from Graphic 45. At first glance, some of the images on the papers might make you do a double take, they are really quite striking. The colors are amazing. These designs and images bring us back in history to a very different time and place.
The Steampunk Debutante line is totally different than anything that Graphic 45 has done in the past. Most of the Graphic 45 line is traditional, vintage utilizing beautiful imagery from our past. To see more of their papers, please stop by the KNK store.

Noteworthy Note-holder

I am often caught short of little thank~you or thinking~of~you gifts or trinkets, so I figured that now is a good time to work on making some to have on hand. The holidays will soon be here, and we can always use ideas for little stocking stuffers and gifts for those people who make our lives a little better but we can't afford to buy gifts for. So, here's a little post-it note holder that you can make with a few pieces of coordinating patterned paper, a coaster (or 4x4 piece of cardboard even), a post-it note, a little piece of ribbon, and a pen or pencil!

Cut 2 pieces of patterned paper into 4x4 squares and cover your coaster with them. Trim and distress the edges, use distress ink to make it look nice if you desire :)




Use scalloped punches, nestabilities, or SLICE to cut nested circles to decorate front of post-it in colors complementing the patterned paper on the coaster. Also decorate a library clip with a scrap of patterned paper.



You can also use a piece of ribbon wrapped around the coaster to attach a pen or pencil. I glued down the post-it note pad for extra security, so it would not fall off.
Here is one of my finished note holders, front and back.







This post-it holder is made with the Graphic 45 paper line called Steampunk Debutante. On the back, I used one of Tim Holtz's fragments to create a point of interest for the old man to look at. This paper line from Graphic 45 is a little weird, but you can have lots of fun being creative with it! Hope you have fun too :)

Happy Sweet 16 to my Daughter

I was looking for a fun simple spunky card for her so I used some chipboard numbers as a mask and used my glimmer mist to create the background. I then used the glimmer mist on my ribbon (it was originally white and black) and on the flower. I used the overspray to ink the edges of my tags:D Hope you have a great day!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Congratulations to Laura!! She is the winner of the sketch challenge that I posted last week! Check out this awesome page she created using my sketch! I love those little bird houses! What a creative way to use those banners!

Laura, be on the lookout for a RAK from me! I think you are going to like it! ;)

New Graphic 45 is "Steamy"

I was given this funky new Graphic 45 STEAMPUNK DEBUTANTE paperpad to play with and I have to say that it is pretty weird. It is retro like the other graphic 45 paper, but with more of a unique edge. When I saw it, it reminded me of the "oddness" of the industrial revolution. There are gears and gizmos and gadgets, and of course pretty girls! For those of us who are Tim Holtz fans, I can easily see blending his metal pieces and stamps with these beautiful papers. Look a bit closer, don't just take a fast glance and turn away. I think that Graphic 45 took a giant leap of faith with their fans and this avante~garde line of products. I had fun making this card with their paper and some bazzill cardstock. All I added was some black cardstock and antiqued brads.

Still creating with the September KIT!

wow I can't believe the fun I have been having with the September kit! and I still have paper to spare!!! I made this all purpose card. The Kraft paper collection is so versatile! And you can add any color with it and it seems to create this instant "pop" . Here i paired it with some white core purple card stock. I did add some marshmallow glimmer mist to the flower for some sparkle. Have you tried these flowers yet? you really need to!! I am addicted!!

Sew what...

Well a few weeks ago I bought a sewing machine off Craigslist just to use for my papercrafting...this thing has all kinds of features...many of which I am sure I will never use, but it does a good number of decorative stitches... So..I took the plunge and stitched on my card for this week...TWICE!!!!

I first stamped the fluffles image onto white cardstock and colored it in with Prismacolor pencils. I then stitched this cardstock to the kraft cardstock. I then decided to stitch around my card base to secure that green paper strip down. I mounted my stamped image and kraft onto the orange pattern paper and then the entire thing to my card front.




Sew....how crafty are you going to get this week???

Happy crafting....Lynda

Sketch Challenge!!

Hello scrappy friends! I thought it would be fun to post a challenge today, so I whipped up this sketch for you! Banners are a big trend in scrapping right now, so this sketch is designed around that. Show me what you can do with banners! Have fun with it and link your page in the comments section of this post. You have one week to complete this challenge. I will draw a random winner from the comments section of this post next Tuesday, September 21.

Fall Welcome Sign

I made this Fall Welcome sign (well i suppose it would work for any season but the flowers seemed fallish to me.) using the September Kit from KnK! There are only a few more days to get yours, so if you haven't got it yet what are you waiting for?

I made the rust and orange flowers using the technique I found here. For the rust flower I used a solid core card stock while for the orange one I used a white cored card stock. As you can see below it provides a slightly different look. I also used two different types of flowers from the GEORGE cartridge for my Cricut. These flowers are very addicting so I would expect to see a few more from me. :D oh and the yellow flower was made by layering some Prima flowers I had leftover from the June Kit. Please share you flowers with us :D

Fall Photo Challenge

It's been a while since we had a photo challenge, let's do something fun with our cameras! The weather has started to cool off a little for most of us, making it a bit more bearable to be outside, and with autumn on the horizon there should be some great photo-ops on the way. So let's have a autumn-themed photo-scavenger-hunt! Take one photo of as many of the following as you can (or want to):

1. a pumpkin

2. a scarecrow

3. leaves

4. apples

5. hay

6. a spider

7. acorn(s)

8. pinecone(s)

9. corn

10. football

11. baking

12. school bus

13. a tree

14. wagon

15. gourds

16. an orchard

17. rain

18. red

19. orange

20. yellow

This challenge will be closed on November 1st!! You have lots of time, think creatively and have fun. Those who participate will be eligible to be in the drawing for a RAK. You can have your name added one time extra for every layout you create and post in the gallery, using one of the photos you took for the challenge.

You can link us up to a photo album such as Photobucket or Flickr, when you've finished. Just make sure you put the link in a comment on this post.

This is also posted in the KNK message board so if you're a member, feel free to post your pics there!

Have fun :)

Vacation layouts!

The September kit is absolutely PERFECT for the vacation photos that I recently took in South Dakota. For this first layout of Evan (and his horse Spud), I used the blue Smooch spray and sprayed the background paper. Since the pictures were busy, I tried to stay as simple as possible, just adding a title and a few of the die cuts from the Paperie embellishments.

My second layout is candid shots of Kendall, and again, the goal here was to stay simple and focus on the pictures. I again sprayed an accent strip, added some diecuts, flowers and accented the clock face die cut to signify the meaning of the layout.

I hope you all enjoy this kit as much as I did!

Rooty tooty with Stampendous

Happy Wednesday everyone, Lynda here!!!

Each week the Stampendous blog features a challenge on their blog...and I enter quite frequently... well this week my card that I entered WON! I showed you this card on my April 28 blog post if you wanted to find out the details on the card itself.

So...here is my card that I entered into their challenge to use their embossing powders on a card...for this card I used their melot embossing powder kit to create the colorblocked background.



be sure to check out their blog and their website for some fantastic Stampendous creations!!!

Happy crafting....Lynda

Altered Canvas Bag

In a previous post, Amy mentioned the little canvas bag that you will find in the September kit. I altered my bag to use as a holder for a mini album, or a gift card for a friend, or even a cute little door hanger.

I spritzed it with some Starfish and Candlelight glimmer mists. Once that was dry, I used a Pink Paislee press on. I was a bit hesitant to try to use a rub on on the canvas, but the package said that these transfer on almost any surface, and they were right! It went on like butter! I stamped the quote with Versamark ink. I used a clear glue to attach the lace on the top part of the bag and the ribbon on the handle. I made the paper rose with the Crafty Chronicle in the kit and used Starfish glimmer mist on it. Then I popped on some bling and a Jenni Bowlin butterfly, and it was done!

Be sure and share with us the creative ways you alter your canvas bag! Have fun with it and happy scrapping!

I've Been Working on My New Scrap Room

Ben is off at school, and is so excited and happy. However, things have taken an unexpected turn of events in other areas of my life. Before I can get working on projects and cards, I needed to get my new scrap~space in order. Thankfully, I have had time on my hands, and Peter to help me move around the items that are too heavy for me to lift. I still have a ways to go, but I thought that I would share with you some photos of my new scrappy space.

My desk area


one wall of supplies


BigShot station: inside the cupboard are all my sizzix dies, nestabilities, and supplies for my bigshot and cuttlebug :)


This iris cart is filled with punches (yes~~I have a lot, but I am thrifty and buy them on sale and clearance)



This is the closet. I have been able to put lots of stamps on the left side, on the right side, in those 12X12 iris boxes are my scrapbook papers and Theme boxes. There are also some assorted scrapbook supplies housed here


Here is where I set up my Cricut (hopefully I will use it more) and my Slice.


This is the wall where I have lots of my scrappy supplies and embellies:



The guys rolled ribbon onto clothespins to help me try a new way to organize my huge ribbon supply ;)


Love those Stufftainers by Stampendous!!!

I loved the September Kit. This kit offered so many options! For this card I used the cover sheet that came with the papers. I cut apart the squares on the front. I added glossy accents to the stamped butterfly. For the next layout I wanted to use the papers as is again and add a splash of color.
I loved how it really made the color pop on this picture! and I love the little banners!

I Confess

I just couldn't decide what to do with the cute little canvas tote that comes in the September kit. I saved it 'til last, thinking that something would occur to me, that the lightbulb would come on, but it just never really did. That's kind of embarrassing to admit, but we all get blocks like this once in a while, don't we? Our mojo goes on hiatus? Takes a vacation and threatens to never return?? LOL well it feels like it sometimes!!! So, I did what any self-respecting scrapper would do....when all else fails, make a flower :)

First, I ripped all the seams from the bag, and removed the handles.

Next, I cut the bag into strips.

Then I chose my colors: Coffee Shop and Peach Delight Glimmer Mist.

After the strips had dried, I ran a needle and thread through one side of a canvas strip, pulled it tight, and secured the ends together.

Then I started pulling threads out, for a totally cool fringed effect....

....and finally, I chose my centers. I used some cork circles and a couple of buttons.

So I guess I figured something out with that cute little canvas tote after all. What will you do with yours?

Happy Scrapping :)

My turn with the September kit!

I am a huge fan of Kraft paper...but was a little intimidated with this kit. I have four children, and tend to go bright and cheery. I was blown away with the versatility of this kit, however! I love all my layouts and will have extras at the end of the month, because once I started, I couldn't stop!

My first layout is from our recent trip to South Dakota and Wyoming. The colors in this kit are perfect for this picture! I didn't use ANY patterned paper on this layout!

I had sooooo much fun playing with the Crafty Chronicles in this kit! I cut them into circles, inked them, and then crumbled them all up! It fits with old time picture of Kiley from the Wisconsin Dells! It is a very simple layout, but the picture is so busy and small, that I didnt want to distract from that.

I think you will all LOVE this kit!

September kit

I have two layouts left to share with you and then I'm officially done with the September kit. I have plenty left over though, so will probably do at least a few cards with the remnants. I think we all had a lot of fun with this one, and as usual, I am eagerly anticipating what Gerri-anne has in store for us for October... but I digress. I hope that over the last month you've all become inspired to get your hands all inky with September's kit!

Wall Drug (2010 Vacation)
The Year of the Whoopsie-Do

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget, you can view all the DT work with this kit at Kit 'n Kaboodles Hall of Fame. Have a great week!

Fun with September kit

I really loved the Kraft papers and that you could use as is or color them yourself. When I saw the main picture on this layout I loved the technicolor drum. The colors and the patterns just looked so fun! So I tried to mimic them for my layout. I cut the papers in strips and then spread them out and sprayed them with Glimmer Mist. I could have easily used Smooch Spray except I only have 2 colors ( a problem I intend to remedy soon ;) ) . Once the papers had dry I adhered them down onto my layout. I loved how it turned out. Simple yet effective!

I'm baaaack!!

The summer months can get pretty busy for me. I always do a lot of canning and freezing fresh food from the garden. I have put up about 50 quarts of green beans, 150 ears of corn, a few batches of blackberry and raspberry preserves, 30 some odd jars of peach salsa, some sliced peaches for cobblers, and some tomato juice. I am done for a little while until I go and get apples next month. Then I will be up to my eyeballs in applesauce and apple butter. I am so thankful to Gerri-anne and Sonia for letting me take a little break from my design team responsibilities for a few months, and for now letting me return with open arms!

I was so excited to receive my September kit, and I couldn't wait to jump right in and start creating. Here are a couple of layouts that I created.

I created the roses on this page using a technique I found on Stacy Cohen's blog. I just adapted a bit to suit my needs. I used pink bubble gum and candlelight glimmer mists on this page.

It's good to be back and creating again! Thanks for peeking at my pages and happy scrapping!

Two Down, One to Go....

Bear with girls, today's post isn't going as planned. I had a great altered box using some new Graphic 45 papers (way cool--kind of Tim Holtz-y fantasy, industrial revolution spin on them). However, here's where the snag is. My middle boy (Ben) left for college on Thursday (hence the title of this post). Hubby and youngest boy decided they needed to do the room rearranging this weekend to surprise me while I was doing groceries. Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, and it take more than a day to change around rooms. Peter is getting some of Ben's furniture and I am getting Ben's room for my new scrap~space.


My beautiful altered box, my camera, and a bunch of other items that I desperately need this week are currently somewhere in one of the piles or boxes in Ben's room (insert heavy sigh....) I can't even show you the before photo of what the room looks like right now, because my camera and cords are somewhere in that black hole. I spent a number of hours trying to organize and reorganize...and Gary says it will be a month before I am moved in. I am hoping to have it workable by the end of the weekend. Bear with me gals...you will see my Graphic 45 project really soon!

For those of you who have children going off to college or who have gone off recently--I am so happy that my boys have sprouted wings and flown away. I hope that I have taught them well, and given them the tools they need to be successful. It is their time to shine! I love them dearly, and they are still so much a part of our lives. However, it is time to move on, and I am truly blessed and one proud Mom.

happy Sunday!

I was so excited to get the September Kit from KnK. First off I love Kraft papers! and the thoughts of black and kraft papers with splashes of colors was just so exciting. I used this image which I have to admit I did not recolor myself. My daughter Meagan's friend Liz redid it! I just loved the effects. They all wore Tie-Dye shirts for Sadie last year-the boys choosing 1 color and the girls choosing the other! Anyway I just love how this was re-colored and have been waiting for the "right" papers to highlight it. I thought these papers were it! I added splashes of color in the flowers made from the Crafty Chronicles that is included in the kit. I also glimmer misted the Petaloo Color Me Petals for the leaves. The colored letters are plain old white sticker letters that I colored with my Copics. Hope you have lots of fun scrapping this week. Don't forget Amy's Challenge here on the blog and for message board members there are a few challenges posted by Jules on the board

Spritz, Glimmer, and a Mid-Month Challenge

Have I ever been having fun with KnK's September kit! The uber-cool Krafty Collection from Paper Trunk just begs to be sprayed and colored with just about anything you can think of! With these layouts I used Smooch Spritz (which I am told will very soon be available in the KNK Shopping Mall) in Emerald and Glimmer Mist (already available) in Frosty Nights. Now, you can see that I may have gotten a bit carried away on this first one... see where my paper wrinkled? I didn't really take into consideration the weight of the paper, as I should have, before I started spraying. The Kraft papers aren't super-light, but they aren't as heavy as say, Bazzill might be. So if you've never really gotten acquainted with sprays and want to give it a try, keep this in mind before you start spritzing away on a favorite piece of paper! Especially if you are a perfectionist (which clearly I am not LOL) Here's a close-up of one of the fun flowers I made with the Crafty Chronicle...
For this next layout I really wanted to think of a different way to showcase my photos. I happened to be looking through one of my old albums... an 8x8 one that I did when I first began scrapbooking. While most of the pages were filled with a picture, a title, and a couple stickers, one caught my eye in which I had taken a photo of my daughter and created a sunflower around it. I remember being particularly proud of that page, too! While it lacked any kind of technique or finesse, the idea itself was exactly what I was looking for. So instead of layering a bunch of different patterned papers behind my pictures, I made a template for two different flower petals and began tracing and cutting.... and tracing and cutting.... and tracing... and cutting...
... ok, yes it took forever to get them all cut out! But once I did the flowers went together pretty quickly. The only thing I would have done differently is to put my photos on after the flowers were assembled. I ended up with quite a few fingerprints on my photos.

The quote and dictionary text were both cut from the Crafty Chronicle, and I used a few of the Paperie die-cuts for the date-tag and in the banner at the bottom of the page.

So, I know you are all waiting with baited breath to see if I will have a mid-month challenge, aren't you? LOL If you're not, that's ok, if you are, here it is:

Go back through your old albums and recreate something. Not like scraplifting a whole page, but just some element on a page that you really loved then, and make it new with your experience and different techniques you've learned since. Clear as mud? And naturally, I want to see the "THEN" and the "NOW". Post a link to your pics in a comment to this post! You have til the first of the month. Happy scrapping :)