Tried Something New Lately?

I have! A friend of mine recently showed me a bunch of jewelry she had made. All of it was gorgeous, but a couple of the bracelets really caught me eye. She said they were chain maille. Oooo - right then & there I was determined to learn how to do that! So I took a class, then I looked in books, now I am sharing with you just one of the types of designs you can create with chain maille (jump rings) - it's the Byzantine Knot. You can use this to make a bracelet or necklace, depending on how many jump rings you have and how much time you want to spend! I don't know exactly how many jump rings it took to create the bracelet that I made, but you need a good amount - I think 100 would be a good place to start. So, without further ado, here is how you, too, can make a Byzantine Knot bracelet (or necklace):

1. Start by opening 2 jump rings. Holding both open jump rings together, place four closed jump rings onto the open ones. Close the open jump rings. Your six-ring “chain” should look like this:

2. Wrap a piece of wire or clip a lobster clasp onto one end of your chain (through two rings). This will help keep them out of your way for step three.

 

3. Grasping the chain by the secured end, let the last two rings fall to either side of the middle rings as shown:

4. Next, spread the rings that are now on top to either side. When you do that, the first two rings that you let fall to either side will “pop up” slightly in the middle of the two rings you just spread apart.

5. Use a headpin or a thick needle to go through the two rings in the center of the spread-out ones (this is just so you can keep them together and accessible).

 

6. Your next step will be to thread two more jump rings through both of these now exposed rings.

You’ve completed your first knot! 

Next, attach two more jump rings to the ones you just attached in Step 6.

Repeat steps 3-7 until you’ve reached the length you want.

I found that it feels a lot like sewing – but there’s a lot of opening and closing of jump rings! I hope the instructions & photos are clear enough for you to do this on your own. It really is a beautiful pattern, and you can achieve different looks from different metals and different sized jump rings (I am attempting a bracelet with 4mm jump rings – very difficult!! Yikes!) Please feel free to comment or email me if you have any questions! Have fun with your new project!

It's FREE - Really!

Have you gotten your FREE JPGs from Close To My Heart yet? If not - WHY NOT?!? I just got mine today - I sat down, signed on, uploaded 7 photos of my adorable kitty cat, chose a paper pack, chose a pattern, changed my background paper, added a title and subtitle, chose a color for my pre-placed embellishments, and submitted my order. Fifteen minutes from start to finish. Three minutes after my order was submitted, I received the email letting me know that my JPGs were ready to download. And here it is:

How adorable! Just think how caught up you could get on your scrapbooking at FIFTEEN minutes per layout! As a Studio J Member, you can order just JPGs for $3 a piece (if you'd like), or save 50% on your printed order (with free shipping & Memory Protectors*!)

DON'T MISS this opportunity to try Studio J FOR FREE!! See for yourself just how fast & easy creating layouts can be! Once you have your JPGs, you can print them yourself, or take/send the files to a photo processor. Either way, they are yours forever...FREE! Jump on the Studio J NOW by clicking on this link: "Take Me Away, Studio J!" and enjoy!

(* - Some restrictions may apply.)

Round and Round We Go!

There's just something about circles that's pleasing to the eye. Maybe it's because they are never-ending. Maybe it's because they are more whimsical and energetic that squares or rectangles. Maybe they just remind us of fun things like beach balls and bubbles. Whatever the reason, circles are fun, which is why I chose to make all circle cards at my workshop this month. Each & every design came from Close To My Heart's Card Confidence Program, Wishes. At this point, I will share them with you!

This was the first card we did. We stamped an image from the "Miracle" stamp set in order to create the mini pinwheels. The patterned paper is from the "Miracle" paper pack. ("Way To Go" came from a stamp set that is no longer available.)

This card used the "Mayberry" paper pack along with the "You & Me" stamp set (available THIS MONTH for a very limited time! "Happy Father's Day" came from a stamp set that is no longer available).

I just love the colors in the "Magnifique" paper pack! We used that along with the "Salutation Seals" stamp set to create this cute card. (There is a "Window Charm" over the sentiment circle, making it look glass-like. CTMH no longer sells the Window Charms, but they are readily available at craft stores & scrapbooking stores.)

How pretty is this card?! The background was stamped using the "Universal Backgrounds" stamp set (love it!), the main sentiment square was stamped using the "Thank You" stamp set, and the small circle image is from the "Circle Together" stamp set. The paper is from the "Sweetheart" paper pack.

We had such fun creating our circle cards! Next time you sit down to create a card of your own, think outside the "box", and go round!

More Artwork to Inspire!

Nothing inspires me more than seeing gorgeous handmade, hand-stamped cards. And I was truly inspired at the last all-day crop I attended. Judi Dugas, a Stampin' Up Consultant who had brought lots of gorgeous cards to sell, was the source of my inspiration. More specifically, a card that she had done with a floral embossing folder, a die-cut/embossed butterfly, and a stamped sentiment. So classically simple, yet so gorgeous and fun!

From that moment on, I spend the bulk of my time re-creating this one card - in twelve different colors, each with a different sentiment. My goal was to create an everyday-greetings gift set to give to my mother for Mother's Day (she loved it, by the way!). So without further ado, here is my complete set of butterfly cards:

Gorgeous, right? Here's one close-up so you can see the detail:

I had so much fun making these cards! I then made a coordinating bird card as the Mother's Day card that I gave to my mom:

Oh, yeah - I was inspired alright! I made a few other cards while I was there as well:

This card uses an embossing folder also (Swiss Dots), as well as Close To My Heart's "Salutation Seals" stamp set.

Here's a card using the "Enjoy the Moments" stamp set from CTMH.

And this card was the Stampin' Up Make & Take that we did - it's so much prettier in person! Thank you, Judi!

Well, that's all I have to share from that day. What inspires you? I hope these cards inspired you to have fun & start creating! I would absolutely LOVE to see your creations!

Workshop Cards

If you've ever wondered what we do at the Close To My Heart Card-Making Workshops I hold every month, here are pics of the cards we made this month:

This card was made using the Mayberry Workshop on the Go. I followed the instructions that are included in the kit in order to make this card.

This card uses the "Hooligans" paper pack along with the "Pennant Alphabet", "Piece of Cake", and "Miracle" stamp sets. Fun, huh?!

This was a fun card to do - we stamped the cake image from the "Piece of Cake" stamp set onto the white cardstock. Then we stamped the image again three times on the back of three different pieces of patterned paper from the "Sweetheart" paper pack. After trimming out a different layer of cake from each paper, we adhered them to the original stamped image, then colored in the base & flowers with markers.

It may be hard to see from the picture, but this is a clear card. We started with a clear card base, then adhered a nice patterned paper from the "Miracle" Paper Pack, along with some ribbon and stamped images from the "Star Power" stamp set.

We had a lot of fun making these cards! And, of course, everyone's looked different from mine and each others! Next time, I'll show you the really cool cards I made at the last all-day crop I went to! I was so inspired!

New Studio J Video Posted!

If you're like me, and love Close To My Heart's online scrapbooking tool Studio J, then you will want to watch their newest series of videos called "Love Your Layout". The first video has just been released, and you can view it by clicking HERE.

Even if you don't love Studio J, or have no idea what it is, check out the video - you might find yourself intrigued enough to head on over to Studio J and start playing! I have done so many layouts using this program, and I have LOVED every single one. It's a GREAT way to catch up on your everyday scrapbooking! Have fun!

National Scrapbooking Month!

Were you aware that May is National Scrapbooking Month? The first Saturday in May is National Scrapbooking Day (May 7th this year), when scrapbookers everywhere rejoice and celebrate this rewarding craft. I will be at an all-day crop to benefit the Uxbridge Elementary PTO on May 7th - I can't wait! And as a Close To My Heart Consultant, I will have a make & take for the crop attendees to do as well. I will also be displaying this month's exclusive National Scrapbooking Month Kit - "You & Me". If you were at my card workshop yesterday, you got the first glimpse at this incredibly beautiful kit. Here now are the pages that you will create with the kit:

Aren't they awesome? The kit comes with all the paper you'll need to complete these two, 2-page layouts (with new cardstock-weight B&T Duos!), as well as a package of Opaques Mocha Adhesive Gems, Chocolate-striped ribbon, a sheet of "You & Me" chipboard Irresistibles, and a D-sized Stamp Set created exclusively for this kit! The kit is $34.95 - BUT you can purchase it for only $15 with a $50 purchase!


I hope you will join me in celebrating National Scrapbooking Month by getting some of those photos and memories preserved! Future generations will thank you for it!