crystaljrieger.com

I am sorry I haven’t been blogging and sharing the crafting love.  I have the usual excuses.  I’ve been busy, busy and, oh ya, busy.  For many reasons really.  Most of them good.

One thing I do have to share with you all is my new job.  I’m the new Creative Editor at Scrapbook & Cards Today which is a available at select stores in North America, by subscription or online (for free).  I am really looking forward to getting my hands dirty and jumping right into the day-to-day of the mag.  It is a pretty fun challenge for me, one that I hope will help me grow as a writer and a person.

So what are you waiting for?  Go and download the  latest issue, take a look and tell me what you think.  I am taking over fully for the Spring ‘10 issue but that doesn’t mean I don’t want your two cents now!

Cards don’t need to be full of do-dads to be nice cards.  Take this one for example.

I love the layers of white cardstock on this card.  I used the same cardstock for the card base (embossed it with this), for the punched border, for the die cut butterfly and the die cut letters (I backed the letters with an adhesive sheet before I die cut so they would be easier to adhere down – they are pretty thin letters). 

By repeating the white cardstock on so many elements it helps to keep the design simple. (Image how different this card would look if I used a variety of different papers for each of those pieces.)

(Patterned Paper by Me & My BIG Ideas)

A touch of Stickles to complete the butterfly and the card was complete.

Simple and sweet and ready to be given away the next time I need to say hello to someone.

I {heart} my Sizzix Big Shot for many reasons – it cuts through just about everything, including chipboard, I can emboss with it, it takes every die out there…  But there is another reason I {heart} it.

It is as easy 1,2, 3.  Let me show you.

One.

Two.

Three.

It is so easy that my five-year-old has got the system down!  No excuses that it is too hard to figure out the adapter!

His favorite die?  The monkey of course.  He can cut monkeys for forever and a day.  Just give him a pile of scrap papers and he is happy, happy, happy. 

We currently have about 632 monkeys loose in the house…

Sorry I have been MIA.  I had an outdoor wedding to attend to this past weekend and it set my allergies off which quickly turned into a cold/lung thingy.  This made in necessary for me take it easy the last few days.  Well, actually I have been sleeping.  A LOT.  And when I say A LOT I mean A LOT!  Probably 40 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours.  Guess my body needed it since I feel great today.

So today I am just posting a quick message since I haven’t been crafting.  I wanted to let you know that my handwriting book is on sale this weekend for 40% off!

• Go here and use the code LABOR09 – offer ends Sept 7th

*As an added bonus there is free shipping USPS shipping on orders $25 & over.  Plus, this coupon code is good for your entire order – not just my book!

So, if you have been thinking of picking up a few new crafty titles (hint, hint – my book!) here is your chance for a great deal!

I finished the album that I created for Magnus.  Not just an album about him, but an album for him – to handle and play with and to keep in his room. 

He loves to make funny faces for the camera and then see himself so this is what the album contains.

The above photos shows one full side of the album and the below photos show the other side.

(Supplies:  Album Die by Sizzix, Paper and Chipboard Embellishments by Cosmo Cricket, Ribbon by Bo Bunny, Adhesive Sheets by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L)

To bind the album I created small loops with the ribbon and hand stitched the centers with embroidery thread.

This created a flexible hinge that is strong enough to take a beating from my 5 year old.

I am sure that it will eventually get destroyed as he plays with it but I am OK with that.  Having it for his own and seeing the photos of himself makes him feel loved and that makes me happy.

It is always lovely to receive a note in the mail and I made the below card with this thought in mind.

(Supplies:  Floral Paper by Amy Butler/K & Co, Grid Paper by Jillibean Soup, Border Die by Sizzix, Stamp by Hero Arts, Archival Ink by Ranger, Black Foam Squares by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L)

I used some left over scraps to create this card in minutes but I know when I send it off in the mail it will make some one’s day.

I lifted the border with black 3D foam squares to give the card some dimension but I wanted the card to have clean and simple lines so I only added a simple stamp to finish it off.

It is so easy to brighten up some one’s day.

My daughter, Harper, is staying at a friend’s cottage this weekend so we sent along a little thank-you gift and included this card with it.

(Supplies:  Papers by Jillibean Soup / Flair by American Crafts / Textured Impressions, Frame and Border Frame by Sizzix) 

I made sure to die cut the cream cardstock first and then run it through my Big Shot with the embossing folder  so that the embossing wouldn’t flatten out.

I love creating a patterned paper with dies cut.  Take a look at this…

(Supplies:  Patterned Paper by 7Gypsies, Ribbon by American Crafts, Stamp and Punch by Fiskars,  Black Foam Squares and Adhesive Sheets by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Die Cut Border and Flower die by Sizzix)

To get this look I used an adhesive sheet on the back of some paper and then ran it through my Big Shot with this die.  By applying the adhesive sheet to the paper before I cut I am sure to get edge-to-edge coverage and don’t need to worry about applying adhesive to the teeny-tiny parts of the die cut.

Pretty easy way to create some stunning patterned paper for cards or scrapbook pages.

Here is a fun and easy craft to make (or to make with your kidlets) using scrapbook supplies.

(Supplies:  Patterned Paper & Chipboard Pieces by Cosmo Cricket, Vinyl Letters by American Crafts, Letter Stickers by Making Memories, Heart Rhinestones)

It is made from thin chipboard and covered with patterned paper.  A circle larger than the door knob was cut at the top and then the piece was decorated.

The ruffle around the opening was made with two strips of patterned paper about 1″ wide and folding it into box pleats.  I used Helmar’s liquid Craft Glue to hold the pleats in place. (This stuff is great because there is no water in the adhesive so it doesn’t leak through or warp your paper – and it is nice and strong.)

The label behind Harper’s name is lifted with black foam squares to give the piece some dimension. 

It probably took 15 minutes to make this from start to finish, only used one sheet of double sided paper and it adds a nice touch to the door to Harper’s room.

As you know I have been working on this…

My new site for online scrapbook classes.

I am loading classes and getting ready but I thought I would ask and see what type of classes YOU want to see/take.

Let me know by posting here on the blog.

Thanks – C