Introducing Xyron's NEW Design Team Members - and Day 2 of Giveaways!

Last week we announced six new Xyron Design Team members - and today we want to introduce them to you!  We are SO excited to have some fresh new faces...leave them a comment here on the blog (and check out their personal blogs) and one lucky winner will receive paper packs from DCWV and Colorbok, and a Mega Runner and 1.5" create-a-sticker from Xyron!  I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning on my Facebook page!

name: Tina McDonald
lives in: New Brunswick, Canada 
blog: www.tinamcd-mysanity.blogspot.com
why we love her: Her tutorials are FANTASTIC and she uses a variety of different techniques on each project.
a little bit about her: I am 35 years old and live with my hubby of 12 years and our 5 beautiful children! Life is busy but exciting!!  Scrapping is my release from every day reality! I've been scrapping for about 8 years. I draw my inspiration from life around me!! Everything from the looks on my children's faces, to their clothes, to music we listen to and emotions in our daily life! My style is hard to pinpoint... but is kind of romantic, often simple, and slightly shabby by times. I love layering, B&W photo's and journaling strips!! I'm a Layout gal...  I love the photo's and the journaling... this is what it's all about for me! :) That is they WHY behind doing what I do! I have also grown to love creating cards and off the page style projects. I've had the honor of being on several fabulous Design Team's. I am presently designing for Spellbinders Paper Arts and WOW Embossing Powder US. I have had the honor of being published in several great magazines and books! (Scrapbook Trends, Canadian Scrapbooker, Summerset Memories, Create: Family, Scrapbooking and Beyond, Crafts N'Things and Scrapbook and Cards Today and more). I am so excited to be embarking on this new journey with Xyron! I look forward to inspiring you all and being inspired in return!

layout by Tina McDonald

name: Linda Abadie
lives in: Fairfax, Virginia
blog: http://lindaabadie.com
why we love her: We've been wanting to broaden our horizons in to the world of mixed media art, and Linda was the PERFECT fit.
a little bit about her: I am a Registered Nurse during the day and an avid papercrafter, who love painting and mixed media art. I was introduced to crafting at a very young age. I just love being creative and trying new techniques. Creating art has become therapy for me. It brings me happiness and helps me stay positive in life. I have adored Xyron products since I first discovered it and I am so thrilled to be a part of the team. I am excited to start this creative journey and share my creations with you.

layout by Linda Abadie

name: Van Nguyen 
lives in: Today - Rhode Island.  Tomorrow - San Diego!
blog: http://likethecar.blogspot.com
why we love her: Her clean and colorful projects, her photography, and we thought her Project 100 idea was genius! 
a little bit about her: I started scrapbooking right at the end of my maternity leave in mid 2010 with my amazingly strong-willed yet sweet daughter, Charlotte.  While I had slowly collected crafting things since I was a little girl (i.e. stickers, stamps, pretty paper), my desire to document her life really pushed me to pursue the hobby a bit more seriously.  It didn't take long before I acquired an extensive collection of supplies to satiate my scrappy appetite.  After I returned to work as a big firm attorney, I found creative refuge in scrapbooking.  Scrapbooking also gave me an outlet to write my family history - both the major and mundane events in life.  The preservation of history - this was a topic I studied as a student of public history in both college and graduate school.  Who knew that my academic studies would one day help mold how I scrapbooked?!  :)


I was born and raised in San Diego in a traditional Vietnamese home.  After high school, I left the mild southern California sunshine and bounced around the world - from Connecticut to Wisconsin, Hanoi to Melbourne.  I eventually found myself back in California for law school.  During law school, I married my high school sweetheart and best friend.  After a year of long-distance marriage, we finally found ourselves back home in San Diego.  This past September, with military orders in hand, I quit my big firm job and we moved our family of three to Rhode Island.  For the past seven months, I fully immersed myself in scrapping, crafting, and cooking as much as my daughter lets me.  In mid-May, my daughter and I will move back home to San Diego while my husband continues his military training and then deployment elsewhere.  

layout by Van Nguyen

name: Sharon Callis
lives in: Ardee, Co Louth, Ireland
blog: http://www.sharoncalliscrafts.blogspot.com
why we love her: Sharon could quite possibly be the Queen of the Xyron Creatopia.  Her 3-d cards completely blew us away...just look at the rest of the photos of the cake card you see below.
a little bit about her: I am 37 years old and I live in Ireland with my husband Kieran and my three children. I have been crafting for over twenty five years since high school. I started cardmaking ten years ago and I love love love it. My other passions are needlework, dollshouses, home furnishings, painting, drawing, 3d paper art and model making. I spend a lot of time designing, sketching layouts and drawing.  Last year I was crowned Cardmaking and Papercraft/ Quick Cards Made Easy Magazine Cardmaker of the Year 2011. I believe that using Xyron Adhesive products played a major part in me winning the title.  I used Xyron Adhesive products in creating all my entries. My work has been published in Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine, Papercraft Essentails, Creative Cardmaking and on Xyron facebook. I am beyond thrilled to be joining the Xyron Design team and I cannot wait to share my projects with you. 

card by Sharon Callis

name: Christina Heeren 
lives in: Des Moines, IA
blog: http://christinaheeren.blogspot.com/
why we love her: Christina has the ability to turn every day items in to creative, fabulous projects.  Her home decor ideas make us happy!
a little bit about her: I have been married to my wonderful and supportive husband, Doug, for 18 years. I have been blessed with four children who keep me inspired and on my toes! I started papercrafting over 14 years ago when my oldest son was born.  I love to create mini albums, scrapbook pages, cards, 3D projects, and more. When I'm not playing with paper I love to hang out with my family, volunteer at my children's schools, and work on my photography skills. I am very excited to be part of the team and can't wait to share my projects with you.

projects by Christina Heeren

name: Linda Neff
lives in: Howell, MI
blog: http://linda-neff.com/
why we love her: Her use of different mediums and techniques made us swoon, and her love of fabric made her the perfect choice as we expand in to the world of fabric crafting with our Creatopia!
a little bit about her: I discovered through my first attempt at scrapbooking I could create art – my way. With rubber stamps, inks, paints, paper, fabric and other mediums, I create a soft, vintage look that is sometimes natural and sometimes a bit more romantic, but always evolving. I enjoy making mini albums, scrapbook pages and wall art to capture my little scrapped treasures.


The mother of three adult children, I live with my retired husband in Michigan and spend my time designing and teaching classes. I am Ranger certified and currently am a Design Team member for Art Glitter, Globecraft Memories and now Xyron. I am always on the lookout for new techniques. I encourage others to dive head-first into the art of papercrafting, whether it be scrapbooking, stamping or altered art.

projects by Linda Neff

These fantastic ladies join our current fabulous Design Team members:

Jessica Barnett

http://www.sunnyside-updesigns.com/

Ann Corbiere-Scott

http://www.anncorbierescott.typepad.com/

Stacy Rodriquez

http://stacy-scrappinqueen.blogspot.com/

Christina Klauer

http://ckmom78.blogspot.com/

Angela Ploegman

http://www.angelaploegman.typepad.com/

Tammy Caudell

http://www.fromtheheartoftammy.blogspot.com/

Kay Brown

http://www.scrapbook.com/myplace/index.php?mod=galleries&u=463879&m=view&id=3592641&type=-1&start=1&page=1

We can't wait to see what they create together - hope you'll join us for the inspiration!

PS - Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Make A Change Monday: New Blog and FIVE DAYS of giveaways!!

When I originally started my MAC Monday list earlier this year, one of the things towards the top of my list was to "improve the appearance of my blog". Early on I realized that I wasn't going to be able to do that on my own - (see this blog post if you are even thinking about starting a blog or overhauling yours by yourself) so I enlisted the help of the fabulous MaieDae - and after MANY months (totally my fault...I'm sort of a procrastinator), you see before you the result of many hours of research and color choices and design options - and I couldn't be happier!

So to celebrate...I'm having giveaways ALL WEEK LONG!!!!!! 

I'm still working on a few things - still trying to sort my posts by "type" (military life, kids crafts, etc), figure out the spacing problem, feel my way around blogger, etc - but PLEASE let me know if something is missing, or a link doesn't work - and after you've poked around leave me a comment. 

I'll select a winner every morning - so today's winner will be announced (on my FB page and via email) tomorrow morning, then I'll post another giveaway tomorrow, and so it will go all week!


Today's giveaway contains paper packs from DCWV and Colorbök, paper and stamps from BasicGrey's new PB&J collection, and a Mega Runner and 1.5" create-a-sticker from Xyron!

Thanks so much for being along on this ride with me...with this new blog we've got some WONDERFUL new things planned - can't wait to share them with you!

Make a Change Monday - a New Holiday Tradition

I spent a good part of last December (well - ok - every December) obsessing about Christmas cards. Handmade or store-bought?  Intricate or simple?  Mass produced or individually created? I wrote about an article from Dear Abby on this very topic, then justified not getting them finished by making some New Year's cards instead, and then just putzed out altogether...and felt guilty about it the whole time.  We can talk about my weirdness at a later date.

This past weekend I went away for a much needed scrapbooking retreat and in my "projects to work on" pile was the list of people who didn't get a Christmas or New Year's card. I was ignoring it - and feeling guilty, when I came across this image on the Canvas Corp blog:

I had just been working on some MnTs using crepe paper and finger folding, so had all the supplies I needed with me and thought "what the heck - why not make some Easter cards"?

You know what? I actually ENJOYED it. I loved working with the spring colors and new papers and fun techniques.  I loved being able to work on 30 cards instead of 300.  I loved being able to finish the whole thing in an hour or two instead of setting aside an entire day or weekend to plow through my list.  I loved that it reminded me of WHY I enjoy paper crafts and surprising someone I care about with something hand made. It got my creative juices flowing, got the cards off my to-do list, and gave me an idea for a new holiday tradition.

Instead of scrambling to make hundreds of Christmas cards during an already jam-packed season, I am going to make and send cards during different holidays throughout the year.  No minimums, no time line, no pressure - I'll do it when I have time and when I am inspired.  People "expect" cards around Christmas - but what a wonderful surprise to get an unexpected card for Easter, or 4th of July, or Halloween! I can make 2 per holiday or I can make 20, and this will also give me the time to personalize each card instead of just signing my name because I am in a hurry to "get it done".  I am SO EXCITED about this - and can't wait to spread the word to my other card making friends. Wouldn't you love to know that people are thinking about you throughout the year?

So to the 24 people on my Christmas list who thought I forgot about you, look for this little spot of springtime in the mail this week.  The rest of you...you never know when a card full of love will arrive from the Kingstons!

(products used: WRMK Cotton Tail collection - Thicket and Bunny Tail patterned papers, Bazzill Basics Dotted Swiss cardstock, Xyron 510, 250 and Mega Runner, Silhouette Cameo, crepe paper, scrap paper, Gelly Roll clear pen, May Arts ribbon, tag, joy stamp)

Happy Easter to all!

Make a Change Monday - How I Scrapbook (and a great giveaway!)

Ok all my scrapbooking friends...raise your hand if you are still:

a - scrapping chronologically

b - complaining about not being caught up on your scrapbooks

c - all of the above

I am going to feel like a SERIOUS dork if I am the only one who has raised my hand - but I know I can't be alone! I have been scrapbooking for a lot of years - and while I have always been open to (and enjoyed) creating mini albums, making cards, creating home decor, etc. I have ALWAYS held steadfastly to the belief that I need to scrapbook chronologically. I don't know where that idea started, or why I haven't been able to let go, but I held on to it to the point that I was starting to "dread" scrapbooking.  Every time I looked at my piles of photos or started to print out pictures from my computer I just lost the excitement and started to feel the pressure because I was "so far behind".  It feels ridiculous now that I am typing it out - but it is the truth, and I think there are many of you out there who feel/felt the same way.

THEN - a few years ago my scrapping mojo was literally saved by Xyron when they started carrying the Everyday Stories (EDS) albums and page refills.

 

 

 These days the idea looks very familiar, as there are several companies/celebrity scrappers who have created entire systems and collections based on this type of divided page protector process.  I remember the first weekend I tried it - I printed out 3000 photos (yup - you read that right!) and got them ALL in albums in a weekend.  ALL OF THEM.  It was so incredibly freeing - because you CAN still do 12x12, but now you've also got other/easier options as well.  Were all of the pages decorated and journaled in that weekend?  HECK no!  But you know what - that was ok, and eventually they got finished.  Now, whenever I get a coupon for online photo printing I'll print out all of my "current" photos, put them in EDS albums, and then I can go back and add paper/embellishments later.  I am, for all intents and purposes, "caught up".

Recently I have finished the albums for Don's childhood (you can see the first one in the second video above) and our time in Hawaii and it is SO MUCH FUN to be able to go in to a store and know exactly what kinds of products I need and to complete several pages in one sitting.  Also - for those of you who are product hoarders (like me) - scrapping this way has been HUGE in helping me purge old products I will never use.  For example - one weekend I was in a "Halloween" mood so I went through all the albums and embellished/added paper to all of the Halloween photos.  Afterwards I was able to go through ALL of my Halloween product and get rid of items I KNEW I would never use - papers I didn't like any more, products that didn't apply or weren't my style ("our first Halloween" die cut anyone?), etc.  I pared down my Halloween products to stuff I love - and it felt gooooood.

I bring this up for MAC Monday because this weekend I was vendoring at the Cut Out Cancer Crop in Southern Pines, NC and I talked to SO many women who STILL feel the pressure to get "caught up" and have lost their love of scrapbooking - and I want to help one of my fabulous online friends find the joy in this type of scrapbooking.  So I'm doing a GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Post a comment here and tell me what you think about this way of scrapping.  Have you tried it? Do you have questions about it?  Have you used other divided page protector systems?  Tell me your thoughts and one lucky winner is going to receive a 12x12 black leather (REAL leather - not pleather!) EDS album with one pack each of all of the page refills we carry.  Deadline to enter is midnight Eastern time on Wednesday February 15th.  Good luck everybody - and Happy Scrapping!

 

Heading back to HSN! Check out my schedule and some great savings!

I am SO excited for my friend Andrew Hiller - Andrew is the owner of We R Memory Keepers and Thursday is the WORLD LAUNCH of their eagerly awaited Lucky 8 punches.  Andrew will be on about a bajillion times during the day (first airing is Midnight Eastern time) and I'm excited to be a part of it.  See below for my schedule and the CRAZY savings on some of our favorite Xyron products.  Hope you'll tune in!

PS - Be sure to check my FB page throughout the week - I will be giving away some of the great products that air on Thursday!

*all times are Eastern - Thursday February 9th *

Midnight - Xyron 2.5" create-a-sticker plus refill - $18.95 - lowest price they've ever offered!

1am - Xyron Creatopia - $59.95 - retail is $99.99!

(then I will be taking a short nap!)

8am - Pink Paislee Sweetness Papercraft Kit (how PSYCHED am I to be airing some PP product this month - I love them!) - $24.95

Noon - Xyron Runner Bundle - $29.95 - this bundle includes a Mega Runner plus refill and a Tape Runner plus refill - it is a CRAZY deal!  The Mega Runner alone is $24.99 retail!

Noon - Pink Paislee Nantucket Cardstock Crafting Kit - $26.95

3pm - Xyron 1.5" create-a-sticker plus four refills - $12.95 - this is the lowest price they have EVER offered.  The machine alone retails for $10.99!

3pm - Xyron Creatopia - $59.95

6pm - Xyron Creatopia - $59.95

7pm Xyron Runner Bundle - $29.95

(then I will pack up, grab dinner/drinks with Donna Stork and Holly Fossen - and Andrew if he sells out! - and be in bed by 10pm!)

I'll end with a shameless plug/plea...as much as we all want you to buy our product, what we REALLY want you to do is buy our product while we are on-air.  I can't tell you how giddy we get (for ourselves and for each other) watching the numbers go up on the screen in the studio, and it makes HSN think we are REALLY cool when we have big numbers.  Just putting that out there.  :)  On behalf of all of the craft guests on HSN - thanks for watching!  We love you guys!

CHA Giveaway Friday (and a bonus giveaway from Xyron)!

Who is ready for a CHA giveaway?  I posted on my FB page earlier this week that I was SO excited and lucky to meet Jen Allyson who is one of the designers for My Mind's Eye.  Here she is below - standing next to her newest line - Miss Caroline.

Now - I don't know how many of you out there are like me - I have no daughters and so really have nowhere to use pinks and purples and flowers and butterflies in my scrapbooking - but I LOVE THEM ANYWAY!!!!! I have piles and piles of pretty pastel papers and embellishments that I only break out about once a year, but they just make me happy - and so does Jen's new line! She was SO incredibly generous to let me bring some home with me - so I am sharing them with you!  Reply to this blog post and tell me how YOU would use these papers.  Contest will end at midnight on Monday (February 6th) and on Tuesday morning I will randomly pick a winner who will receive the following from the the Miss Caroline Dolled Up collection:

6 sheets 12x12 paper
6x6 pad
pins & buttons 
twine
pearl shapes
rub-ons
wooden die cut butterfly

I mean - come on...look at this stuff!

In addition - to celebrate Xyron's new collaboration with the fabulous Teresa Collins the winner will also receive one of her new Xs - pink with a houndstooth pattern!  These are GORGEOUS!

The winner will be announced on my FB page and notified by email.  Good luck everybody - can't wait to send this to a lucky winner!

**BONUS GIVEAWAY!!!!!!** Xyron is celebrating our collaboration with Teresa too!  Head to this link on Xyron.com and be entered to win one of three prize packs that include a Xyron 9" Creative Station, a Teresa Collins Signature Series Book and a 3-issue subscription to the rest of the series! 

Stay tuned for more CHA giveaways next week!

 

 

Make a Change Monday - don't be afraid to ask for what you want

As pretty much every much crafter knows, CHA is being held this weekend. It is an amazing opportunity to get together and share ideas, products and inspiration with others in the industry and I LOVE coming here. However - I came to a realization about myself this weekend that I think applies to a lot of women. I am afraid to ask for what I want.

While I could probably write 700 blog posts about how this affects my personal life, this weekend I discovered how much it affects my professional life. Part of my job at Xyron is to build partnerships with other manufacturing companies - whether it is cross promoting through videos, supplying product for HSN, coordinating make and takes, or making sure our design team has the latest and greatest, I work with other companies to make it happen. I LOVE this part of my work - and have made some amazing friendships because of it. As I have been thinking about you guys this weekend - my followers on this blog and my FB page friends - I wanted to make sure I came home with some fun new products to use as giveaways. Before I came to work at Xyron I remember what it was like to see all the photos of CHA and wish I could be there, and I wanted to bring a little of that home for you. HOWEVER - yesterday as I was walking the show floor I realized I was AFRAID to ask anyone for anything. Now you are talking to a woman who works for a company that has given away THOUSANDS of dollars worth of adhesive to other companies for this show, yet I would walk up to a booth where we donated runners and Xs and refills and I couldn't seem to say "Hey - I'd love to take a pack of your new rubons home with me for a giveaway". Couldn't do it. I also could not walk up to Theresa Collins (who is working on an AMAZING partnership with Xyron and who I ACTUALLY know) and say "could I get a photo of us together?" - it just wasn't me. Until last night.

On the shuttle back to the hotel I was having a conversation with Jenn Mason from Cloth Paper Scissors and some of my Xyron peeps, and a woman sitting in front of us suddenly turned around and said "Can I have your card?" and started telling us her story.  Turns out her products are a perfect match for a partnership with Xyron so we are going to stop by her booth tomorrow, but I was SO impressed with this cool chick (whose name I didn't catch) who saw a chance to interact with some established companies, and was proud/motivated/confident enough in herself and her product that she jumped in with both feet. First time exhibitor, new business woman, she knew what she wanted and asked for it. Can I have your card? Will you come by our booth? She inspired me to just take a deep breath and ask - and today was a whole different story. So I am coming home with a bag full of goodies, some new partnership ideas, and the kick in the pants I needed to not be afraid to ask for what I want. Yay me - and lucky you! Stay tuned this week and next for some AMAZING giveaway goodies!

Easy Cricut Gift Tags

aka - what to do when you are leaving for your nephew's birthday party in 20 minutes and realize you don't have a card!

Supplies:
Cricut Create-A-Critter Cartridge (and Cricut)
Xyron 5" Creative Station (also known as 510)
Xyron 1.5" Create A Sticker (also known as 150 or X)
WRMK Crop-a-dile
assorted scraps of cardstock (don't forget black for the features)

Determine which animals you are going to create and gather your supplies and coordinating paper (I literally used scraps I had laying around on my craft table).

 Cut each piece on the Cricut.

Run all of the larger pieces through the 510, set aside any smaller pieces. Remember that the adhesive goes on the BOTTOM of whatever item you put in through the machine, so be sure all of your pieces are facing up.

Use your scrap of black cardstock and cut out enough to cover the features (eyes, nose, etc) for each animal.  This piece will be hidden in between layers so it does not have to look pretty.

Run the black pieces and any small animal pieces through the X (right side facing up).

Start layering your pieces!

Once your animals are complete, flip them over to write a birthday message...

Use your Crop-A-Dile to punch a hole in the top...

and attach to your package!

Sparkly Snowflakes - Kids' Crafts Saturday

No...today isn't Saturday, but we made these on a Saturday - does that count?  :)

Actually - I call it Kids' Crafts Saturday because Don and I volunteer at the Fascinate-U Children's Museum in Fayetteville, NC on the second Saturday of every month (sponsored by Xyron - yay!).

We create fast and easy craft projects and have a BLAST doing it! I'm going to start sharing these projects here with you - maybe on Saturdays, maybe on other days, but I hope you'll be inspired to make these with some of your favorite little ones!

Supplies:
foam shapes (we got boxes of these snowflakes for a RIDICULOUSLY low price because all the stores were clearancing out holiday stuff)
markers
Xyron 5" Creative Station (also known as the 510)
glitter
tupperware container
scrap paper

Set out your scrap paper, markers and foam shapes on your craft space. (Tip - if your foam shapes have punch-outs in the middle, do NOT punch them out until after the glitter process. Trust me.)

Let the kids color on the foam shapes to their little hearts' content! (Another tip - if they color it TOO much the adhesive won't stick as well because the foam will be saturated.  We had more than 50 kids come through and it was really only an issue for about 4 of them - we solved that by just putting glitter on the non-colored side.)

 

Run your foam shape through your 510 (of COURSE I don't have a photo of this part!) with the colored side facing down. The 510 is easy enough to use that kids can help crank the handle! Peel off the top film, then peel the foam shape from the backing and place adhesive side down in your tupperware container filled with glitter.  You need enough glitter in the tupperware to make sure the bottom of the container is completely covered.

Help the kids move the foam shape around in the tupperware to cover the foam shape with glitter.  The beauty of Xyron is that if you pick it up and realize that you missed a spot - you can just stick it back down in the glitter!

And voila!  Sparkly snowflakes!  You can keep the foam shape intact,  or punch out the center for a cool shape.

Oh...and uhh...I held a snake.  :)  This has absolutely nothing to do with crafts - but it sure was awesome!

Happy Crafting Everybody!