Today's Featured Artist: Linda Auclair

This week's featured artist is the incredibly talented, Linda Auclair.  We were supposed to publish this post last week, but we didn't want to forget to thank all the sponsors and volunteers from CHA!

Linda wrote a special post for us assuming that her piece would be published in July...so let's just pretend summer isn't almost over and that it is still July so we can enjoy a little

Christmas in July!

Make sure to read the whole post....there just might a be a little surprise at the end!

It’s 93 degrees outside this afternoon, but here in my craft room I’m dreaming of a white Christmas!  The holiday season will be upon us before we know it, so beat the heat and do a little crafting with me to get a jump on your holiday crafting.  It’s Christmas in July – craft along with me!

What you’ll need to complete the project as shown:

• A small, lidded candy tin.  (I used one from my favorite Cinnamon Altoids)
• Crate Paper’s Snow Day collection patterned paper (Flakes )
• Crate Paper “Snow Day” collection Chipboard Accents
• Crate Paper “Snow Day” collection Phrase Stickers
• Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Round 14 tool & epoxy stickers
• Queen and Company self-adhesive Pearls
• Ranger Glossy Accents and Stickles Glitter Glue
• Colorbox Chalk Ink – Dark Brown
• Glue Arts Foam Squares & Extreme Adhesive Glue Squares
• Corner Rounder (I used the large Squeeze Punch corner rounder from Fiskars)
• Favorite adhesive (I used my Xyron, but you could use any liquid adhesive as well, just adjust for drying time.)
• Lace Scrap (Mine is from Prima)

How to:

1.   1.  Cut 4 rectangles from the Flakes paper, approximately 2.5 x 3.75.  You will need to trim each piece slightly to fit inside the tin and on the bottom without any overhang.  Using the corner rounder, punch each corner so it will fit.  Ink around the edges of all 4 pieces.  Cut one long strip 12x.5 inches to wrap around the lower portion of the box.  Ink the edges of this as well.

2. Adhere the inside papers pink side up inside the box lid and box bottom.  Adhere the top and bottom papers tan grid side up on the outside of the box.  Wrap the long strip around the bottom of the box, trimming small notches to allow the hinges free motion.

3. Begin adhering chipboard elements.  I used the Christmas tree and one of the snowmen from the Chipboard Accents sheet layered with stickers from the Phrase Stickers sheet.  

4. Create a custom round epoxy using the Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio tool and the “Merry” sticker from the Phrase Stickers sheet.  Adhere to the snowman’s hand.

5. Accent the chipboard stickers with Stickles and Glossy Accents.  Allow to dry thoroughly.

6. Wrap lace scrap around the bottom of the box, adhering with Extreme Squares.

7.  Embellish with pearls.

8. Fill with gift card for your  favorite person and make their day!

This project is great to do with kids, too, so if you are looking for a fun summer vacation project, you can adapt the box lid embellishments any way you choose.  How cute would this be filled with seashells or beach glass from a trip to the ocean?  Or decorated with birthday-themed embellishments for a friend’s birthday party?  The possibilities are endless!

Hope you’ve enjoyed a break from the summer heat!  Leave me a comment, and I’ll choose one winner at random for a cool treat!

CHA Chicago - a BIG Thank You!

Last week, Charity Wings graced Chicago with its generous spirit by playfully invading the CHA floor!

Most of these wonderful volunteers flew in from sunny California to a torturous, muggy Chicago summer.  With almost every day reaching nearly 120 degrees (with the heat index) and the air feeling sticky the moment it hit you, this Chicagoan needs to applaud these ladies.  They were cheerful, welcoming and eager to get some fabulous speakers for the LIVE feed and for the eBay Auction.

The LIVE streaming event from CHA was one again a huge success.  The sponsors.....the uberly generous sponsors showed viewers some incredible new products and  techniques.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of our sponsors!

And GUESS WHAT?!!!

There are still some goodie swag bags left!  So if you missed the chance to participate in the live streaming and still want to play along, there is still time!  All of the streaming was recorded and is being posted for you to view at a time that is convenient for you.  Go here to buy a goodie swag bag. 

 
The eBay auction items should also be going up shortly.  There is a lot of good stuff! So get ready to start bidding!  All the proceeds from the eBay auction will be benefiting Acts of Simple Kindness.

It was a great week and I enjoyed having all the Charity Wings crew here in my home town.  Here's just another quick sample of some of the fun, creative and giving energy they brought to CHA.

Who else wants to make this!

You know you're in Chicago when you're greeted with a bagpipe salute!

The Princess and her Duct tape couture meet beautiful dress couture.

the pretty booth

Lily Pad Cards Tutorial Winners

It's T-I-M-E to announce some winners!

So happy you all enjoyed the beautiful tutorial from Lily Pad Cards.  I actually missed my chance to meet them at CHA Chicago....wouldn't it have been fun to see a pic of me with them at the Charity Wings booth?! 

However, I know that Charity Wings was so happy to meet them - and we are ever so grateful for their generous giveaways this week.  Plural giveaways!  Sooo cool!

Using random.org....this week's tutorial winners are:

1. LadyBird
2. Lynette Evans
3. Chris
4. BreAnn
5. H Barnes

Can you believe that Elena and I both didn't even come up in the random generation of winners despite our comments of encouragement!  

Congratulations to our winners!  

Please email your contact information to nubia@charitywings.org so that we can pass it along to Lily Pad Cards.

Please let us know how you choose to use the InLinkz application on your blogs as many of your fellow readers will surely play along!

Were you at CHA?

Being in Chicago, I was lucky to get treated to a special surprise....a day pass to help at the Charity Wings booth and to glance at the many new products coming our way.  I'll try to post some pictures later tonight of the cute Charity Wings booth!

I caught the tail end of some of the Live from CHA web streaming and am eager to hear about what you all liked the best!  So tell us....what's the thing you were most excited to learn or see?

Also, don't forget to visit this week's past tutorial from Lily Pad Cards for chance to win a giveaway.  We'll be pulling the winners on Wednesday.

Today's Featured Artist: Lily Pad Cards (and multiple giveaways!)

Over the past couple of weeks, I have become obsessed with the fun challenges and video tutorials from Lily Pad Cards.  Though I am an avid scrapbooker, I've really gotten into card making lately, and it's always fun to see the many talented resources out there for inspiration.  This is one of those sites!

I actually used the video below to create a card for a challenge on another site.  It was super quick to make and the impact and texture of the card was great!  Thanks Lily Pad Cards!!

How to Video: Use Your Scraps
Welcome back to another Sunday video! A couple of weeks back I made a card for one of our Friday Challenges and I got many requests for a how-to video. So today I am making a similar card using my scraps. I used strips of cardstock paper, embossing and distressing to make the panels on this card:



I used my favorite color combinations for blending distress inks on each panel. Here they are listed from light to dark:
GREENS: Shabby Shutters,crushed olive,forest moss
ORANGE/REDS: spiced marmalade, barn door, fired brick
BLUES: tumbled glass, broken china, faded jeans
(scroll down at the bottom for a linked list of supplies)

and here is a closer look:

I am sure you’ve seen me using a pillow to wipe the cardstock before I emboss. For those of you new to embossing, this is called embossing pillow/buddy/pal/bag (linked in the supply list at the bottom). It actually helps embossing powder to stick only where it is supposed to. When you don’t use your embossing buddy you might get bad results like the bottom left corner on my card… check out that leaf … Well, the truth is that I used my embossing buddy BUT I was in a rush and I think I missed that spot.

I promise (well, I’ll try…)  to stay away  from my distress inks next Sunday! LOL! Lately I am obsessed with them!  You can enjoy the video here or on YouTube and then scroll down for a list of supplies. If you are inspired by the colors or the layout  then don’t forget to add you card over at Lily Pad Frickr Group using the tag LPCVideo13.




Supplies:

Lily Pad Cards has also graciously agreed to donate

FIVE (five!!!!!) giveaways 

to our very lucky readers.

AS for a prize, the are offering a 3-month InLinkz subscription. If you've ever posted creations for a challenge, then I'm sure you're familiar with the InLinks tool. 

The InLinkz Linking Tool is a widget inserted into your blog post that allows your readers to submit links and is the first linking tool that provides thumbnail links, text links, or both! It can be used for common link-ups, giveaways, voting contests, product displays, image menus and more. 

The InLinkz Linking Tool can be displayed on your blog or website. It also works on RSS feeds and wordpress.com sites. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check us out at www.inlinkz.com to discover all the InLinkz Linking Tool can do for you.

I think the idea of being able to add a sharing tool to your personal blogs is super cool.  Imagine all the co-sharing of ideas and tips you could do with your followers!  

What a generous donation!  

Comment below for a chance to win a 3 month subscription!  We'll announce the winners of the giveaway next Thursday morning!

Last Live Streaming at CHA

(Click on photo to make larger.)

 

Journal wording reads Charity Wings (Charitywings.org) had a Live Streaming Event at CHA in Los Angeles at the beginning of 2011. Now, since I am getting excited about being there for a repeat of the fun next week in Chicago; I reviewed some photos of the last CHA and decided that they were definitely worthy of a scrap layout.

Watching Elena as she pulls this production together is great fun. I'm handicapped, so, I cannot offer manpower; but, I can occasionally run an errand on my scooter (and try not to run folk over).

Getting to see all the new "stuff" up close and personal and reviewing the product with the designers and manufacturers is a very special experience. The format of offering this experience to all who contribute to the charity effort, by live streaming the event, is terrific.

I did spend a little time at the Westcott booth where folk made donations and created duck tape fashions. Such creative and fun folk attend CHA. It was great fun to meet them!

 

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing, Karen!!!

 

Do you want more information about this years CHA Event go to the Charity Wings website for more information!!!

Click here to find out!!!

We announced the winner of the charity that will be benfitting from the LIVE Streaming @ CHA Ebay auction!!

CLICK HERE

thank you to all that voted.

Winner, winner, Chicken Dinner

Well she’s not really getting a chicken dinner but Gina is the winner of the winner of the $10.00 gift certificate to the McMahon Five Designs store.

Have fun shopping Gina!!!