Valerie Salmon's Blog

A giveaway from the Boutique

November is Project-a-Day month at Fiskars.  You must check the site out daily for continuous inspiration!  This month is all about handcrafted holiday gift ideas for us crafty folks.

Today's project is one I created that is inspired by the Bella bag in my Boutique.  It's a smaller version for the special young girls in your lives.  I've also added the cutest flower pin that is removable and can be used as a brooch.  

Here is the direct link to the project on Fiskarscrafts.com with information on how to make one.

 

As you can see, this one is for my daughter Lauren.  Isn't it adorable?!

How would you like to win one of my handmade boutique items?  Now is your chance to enter a drawing for 2 giveaways!  Just post a comment right now and I will select random winners to be recipients a camera strap slipcover and a custom key fob.

Leave your posts no later than Sunday, November 15.  I will announce the winners shortly after.  Good luck!!

   

Harry & the witch

Here are my little trick-or-treaters last Halloween night.  Aren't they cute?

'Wanted to tell you about my Spooky Halloween Mini Book Download, which is available to showcase photos of your spooky traditions and costumed cuties.  Check it out if you haven't already done so.  It is an instant download, so once you complete the checkout process, you will get the complete instructions to re-create your very own.

Scarlet Lime: November '09

Hey, I hope you all had a great Halloween night!  

How about some more layouts?  It's that time again.  Here is what I did with the November Scarlet Lime kits.

 

Isn't this muslin rose cool?  It's handmade, using a strip of muslin fabric which comes in the kit.

Christmas layouts already!  Can you believe it is just around the corner?

 

Here are the kids last Christmas day with their Mimi, my sweet mother-in-law, Shirley.

A Halloween Page

Are you ready for Halloween?  We are almost ready.  I still have to sew an apron for Lauren's costume, a Kandy Korn witch.  Ian will be Harry Potter (again!).

The layout below is in Better Homes & Gardens Scrapbooks etc.'s October '2009 issue.

My kids from Halloween 2008:

Been sewing again...

I could sure use an extra 5 hours each day!  There's just so many projects I want to create and not enough time.  Do you ever feel this way?

In between all the paper-crafting work, I gladly fit in some projects to get my sewing fix.  I am in total bliss when I am sewing!

Here a few pretty things that I can smile about:

I added an "Ava" bag with this new damask print I found.  It is now an option on the Bella Bag page in the Boutique.

 

I have been wanting to make these applique'd baby onesies for quite some time.  I have a new baby girl in mind to gift these to.  I finally had the chance to get caught up with all my "paper" work to play with these.  It brings me such joy to make these adorable things!

 

I have to share this handy organizer I made for my mother-in-law during her last visit.

She occasionally uses a wheeled-walker, which she brought with her.  She mentioned wanting something for it to put items into.  Now, this was inspired by the purse organizers I make, but this one is custom to her needs.  It has three divided pockets and even has a flap to keep the items enclosed.  I also made her a water bottle holder.  All is removable, of course.  She loves it!

  

Now, this next one is not a sewing project, but I wanted to share it anyway.  It's another beaded watch for my niece Alex, who is 10 years old.  Her favorite colors are that of the sea.  I hear that she loves it so much, she won't tell her mom where she hides it, for fear that her mom will wear it.  LOL!  I don't blame her -- it is so dang cute!

 

So, dust off those sewing machines and make something pretty!

We have a winner!

Announcing the winner of the Scarlet Lime October Project kit...

CONGRATULATIONS TO SARAH!  

Please email me to claim your prize.

_______________________

What a cute idea! You could make seasonal albums and change them out through the year.

Posted by: sarah | October 05, 2009 at 06:35 PM

_______________________

Thanks to all who entered the drawing.  I loved reading your comments.  I wish I could give one to everyone.

Many thanks for Christy Tomlinson for putting together the most awesome kits, and most of all, for her generosity in this giveaway!

But I will be having more opportunities to win stuff, so swing back over or subscribe to my blog below to receive email updates each time I add a post.

Enter your Email

A Scarlet Lime Prize Drawing!

Are you ready for a new project idea, with free downloadable instructions?  

This one is a very cool hanging album for Scarlet Lime using the October '09 project kit.  {The kit does come with everything you see, including the stand!}.  To get more details about the kit, click here.

Now you'll have a chance to win the project kit!

Just leave me a comment under this post by Friday, October 9 and I will select a random winner.  It's that easy!

Get the Instructions. 

Scarlet Lime: October '09

I thoroughly enjoyed creating these pages with the latest Scarlet Lime kits!  Fall is my favorite season and I tend to take lots of photos of the kids.  It was great to pull out some of their older photos & scrap them.  It amazes me how much they've grown since these pictures were taken.

This one is of the happy threesome, taken recently on Ian's 7th birthday.  The kids just adore Bea, my friend Genevieve's daughter.  I think the kids may be arguing over who gets to put this on display in their bedroom.  LOL!

Fall is here...

This has to be my fave season!  I missed out on this while living in CA.

Now, it's one of the things I love about living in the midwest!

The leaves are starting to change colors... and it's almost time for us to go to the pumpkin patch.  The kids have so much fun.

Then, there's Halloween.  We'll be picking out the kids' costumes pretty soon, too.

Lauren wants to be a candy corn witch and Ian is still undecided on which superhero he'll be.  lol!  

Speaking of halloween, my Spooky Halloween Mini Book Download is available to showcase photos of your spooky traditions and cute little goblins.  Check it out!

Wanted to take this chance to greet my baby a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. He's 7 today!!!

Off to have lunch with him at school.  :D

Have a great day, all!!

Got Sketch DOUBLES is ON!

It's day one of Got Sketch Doubles! 

We are so excited!  Now the fun begins!

The first sketch has been revealed and the members are already planning their first double-page layouts!

We have a "reveal" almost every single day to keep those creative juices flowin' and get those photos into pages.

Members, please be sure to log in today, check out the sketch, my example layout, and get your first download.  Visit with friends in the forum, too.

Can't wait to see the all the great creations about to happen in the gallery!  :)

Plus, I am not one to give lots of hints... but the next sketch is going to include an insane amount of photos!

The most ever in Got Sketch!  

If you haven't joined, you still can while class is going on -- and even after.

The private classroom and the entire class content will remain accessible until November 15.

Happy scrapping, all!

New Got Sketch Class!

Calling all double-page-sketch-lovin' scrapbookers!  

'Got lots of photos waiting to be scrapped?  'Have plenty of event-type pages?  If so, this is the class for you!  Gather up those vacation, school, sports, holiday, family, & celebrations photos.  Let's get them into some fabulous scrapbook pages!

Lots of you have asked for 2-page sketches because that's what many of you primarily scrap.  Well, here it is!  

It's a Got Sketch online class that only highlights DOUBLE-PAGERS, in the familiar quality and workshop community you have come to expect.

GS-Doubles kicks off on Monday, September 21.

To get more information and sign up, go to the Got Sketch Doubles Info Page.  

This class is separate from GS-105, which we are planning on doing later on.

Hurry!  Everyone who pre-registers by September 20 will automatically get $3.00 off the class fee. (No coupon codes.  Just sign up by 9/20/09.)

A chance to win a FREE PASS to this class:  Just comment on my Got Sketch blog post to be eligible.

A few things...

Goodness, gracious, it's September already!

Been busy with several things lately.

I have a new class starting soon and it is sketch-related.  :D  Watch out for details to that tomorrow.

I just added something new to the boutique, too.  This one was a special request by someone who wanted a bag to put her Scarlet Lime purse organizer in -- so that everything coordinates!  I thought that was a fab idea.  (Thanks, Lisa!)

So this little seamstress made it and loved it.   Black and white is such a basic combo, too!  I want one!

Click here to get the details of the Bella Bag, named after my dear friend's new baby niece.

(Welcome to the world, little Bella!)

Another purse organizer sample:  Meet the "Jean" combo.

Did you all know that Got Crafts posts Freebies?  

Check out the Freebie Page and download some crafty ideas.

See the newest one that Janna posted.  It is adorable!!

Scarlet Lime: September '09

Happy September!  Scarlet Lime is two!

It's that time again!  Here's what I did with this month's kits.

Make sure  you visit the artist gallery to see other layouts that are sure to inspire you. 

  

More SLR strap examples

Someone has been a busy sewing bee.  Yup, me.

This has been such a refreshing change from all the paper-crafting.  If I had it my way, I would have my hand in every crafty thing imaginable.  But for now, paper-crafting and sewing is more than enough.

You guys are keeping me busy with the orders and lots of awesome interest on the new Scarlet Lime combo, which I adore.

I have also had some requests for other custom items.  And I am always up for a challenge... because I'd like to think I can make anything.  lol.  So, do not be surprised when you see a new item in the boutique.  If you have some suggestions on a cool idea, let me know and I will consider it as a possibility.

Wanted to show you a few new examples of the SLR strap cover below.  These are some that have been ordered, so these are spoken for... but I make them to order so, check out the info page if you are interested.

I just switched mine out to the "Peg" combo.  I love that I easily switch them out.  

Some of you may know, I LOVE LOVE Halloween... so, I am thinking of making a camera slipcover with a halloween theme!  Now, if things slow down just a bit in my craft room, I promise to make one and show you.

And yes, I haven't forgotten that I owe you a photo of that cropper's apron I made.  :)

Have a great week, all!

  

    

Scarlet Lime Giveaway Opportunities!

Hey, have you heard that Scarlet Lime turns 2 in September?

Lots of fun things going on and opportunities to win some cool giveaways!  Just check out the August newsletter just released.

I am sponsoring a giveaway of a Limited Edition purse organizer set just for Scarlet Lime fans - Yes, in SL colors!  Check it out below.

To be eligible, make sure you post a comment on Christy's blog post to be entered into a random drawing!

You can win a purse org/tissue set or one of two key fob wristlets.  Good luck, gals!!

Go to the Scarlet Lime Purse Organizer page to see more.

I also added some fun new fabric combos, too.

'Had some inquiries about getting the tissue holder on its own.  So I added that to the boutique.

You can get it included as a bonus when you buy a purse organizer.

Lately, I have been getting inquiries from non-US residents wanting to place orders.

I have limited the shipping within the US for a few reasons, but the Canadians are wearing me down.  LOL!

So... I can make some exceptions if you really, really must (and I don't blame you) have the goods.  ;P  

It's probably best if you could get a couple of your friends to combine an order to save on shipping.

Just email me of your interest and I'll look into the shipping rate for your country.

Thanks so much for your support.

Please know that I truly appreciate it.

More Projects at Jo-Ann's

Some of these Fiskars projects may be seen at the JoAnn store displays as headers in the scrapbook aisles.  Just in case you didn't get copies of the freebie Project Sheets, I've linked them here.  There's probably more on the site, but these are just some I found quickly.

Check out the rest of their Projects.  Lots of great ideas.

JoAnn.com Link:  2nd Grade

Project Sheet Download

JoAnn.com Link:  Ian

Project Sheet Download

Joann.com Link:  Girlfriends

Project Sheet Download

Here's one I did using Janna's daughters' photo:

Joann.com Link:  2 Cute

Project Sheet Download

The next two are ones I did with  Lynn's boys:

 

Joann.com Link:  Our Baby Boy

Project Sheet Download

Joann.com Link:  Baby Boy

Project Sheet Download

Here are more scrapbook layouts:

My Guy

Simply You

Happy

Some Tags:

Sweet Baby

Baby Girl Dress 

New in the Boutique

Remember the SLR camera strap cover I posted about recently?

Well, I had several inquiries about it, so I added it to the boutique.

Click here for the Info page.

I'm even more proud to wear my SLR around my neck nowadays!  It's oh-so-stylish!  I had to sport in on at the kids' school on the first day of school, and then at Ian's first football practice yesterday.  :D

  

I'd like to add more to the little shop but I haven't had much spare time lately.  My plan is to continue sewing.  After such a long paused period, I didn't realize how much I missed it.  Plus, it's a wonderful break from the continuous paper-crafting that goes on in this craft room.

I still want to show you this cool cropper's apron I made.  

You will love it when you see it.  I just need to set up my tripod to get a photo of it on me.  lol.

Lots of errands & things to do today.  It's another busy one!

Some cards

Just sharing some cards I created for the BHG Scrapbooks etc. website.

Find the links here, here, and here.  Make sure you check out the rest of the slideshow to see other card ideas.

First School Day already!

I had to write this post this afternoon.

If I had done it this morning, the tone of this post would have been a downer.  ;P

The first day of school is always a bittersweet day for me.  Summer is just never enough time spent with them and have them all to myself.  

But my munchkins' excitement about the day really melts the blues away -- not fast, but it does.

I am minutes away from hearing about their first day.  So, I can't wait.

Here is one of the pics taken this morning as they waited for the bus 

-- our annual tradition of photos on the first day of school.  Lucky for us, the school bus picks up & drops off right at our front door.  Works great, especially during the winter months, huh?

Hope your week is off to a great start!

Back from Ohio

This was the kids last week off before school starts next week.

As a last hurrah, we took them to the Kalahari Resort Waterpark in Sandusky, OH.  That waterpark was unbelievable!  Lots of stuff for kids to do.  We even did some pottery painting.  The Safari Adventures was amazing!  Plus, the kids got to ride a camel and pet/feed all sorts of safari animals, including a baby kangaroo.  Aw.

Needless to say, the kids had a wonderful time and Ian wanted to stay there forever.  The next time we go back, we will try out the Wisconsin Dells location.  It is supposed to be even grander than the Ohio one, if one can imagine that.  

Summer has flown by too fast and I am really not ready to have the kids return to school just yet.  

But we're ready:  school clothes - check!, school supplies - check!

Waking up in the early morning hours once again is going to be torture.  LOL.

'Hope your summer was a good one.

I leave you with a photo of my very first beadwork attempt at making these cool watches with the interchangeable watch bands.  I got one as a gift last Christmas and as usual, I was inspired to make more.  How chic are these?  Love them!  Mine, mine, mine -- lol!  So, I believe I will be getting busy trying to crank more of these holiday gifts out because I just think they make the best gift for those special gals in our lives.