Tag: Brand New Ending

Hi, everyone! I wanted to quickly share with you a simple tag I finished last night. I started it during my afternoon UStream, but I finished it during a late night crafting session. It's totally grungy, which is kind of a first for me. I like distressing but have kind of steered clear of the grungy look.



I used the Tim Holtz "Lost & Found" paper stack for the background paper. I adhered it to a 3"x6" piece of chipboard for extra weight. Then I used my "Stub" Corner Chomper to punch the top two corners & inked the edges in "Black Soot" Distress Ink.

After I prepared my background, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark Watermark Ink Pad on vanilla cardstock and embossed it in black. I tore around the edges of the sentiment and used "Vintage Photo", "Antique Linen" and "Black Soot" distress inks to grunge it up even more. Then I stuck it down with dimensional adhesive.

The black lace is from my stash {Prima? Maybe?} and I wrapped it all the way around the bottom of the tag with sticky tape. I added black and gold fibers from my stash & the black rose is hanging from a Making Memories garment pin.

I hope you enjoy it! It was a little outside my box, but I still have fun with it!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

P.S. For those of you who were waiting for a tutorial on how to assemble paper lunch sacks for an album like my two Prima "Pastiche" paper bag albums, I posted a quick tutorial on YouTube last night with the basic construction. You can check it out here: Paper Bag Album Assembly.

Olga Opens a RAK from Rina

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick video share for you today. I hung out with Olga and Marlene on last Friday and filmed a video of Olga opening a box from Rina. Here's the vid: Olga + Rina.



The obnoxious comments are courtesy of me. You get a chance to hear my "normal" talking voice and not my "classy YouTube narration" voice. I hope you enjoy it!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

New Video: "Let's Do Coffee!"

Hi, everyone! I was up late last night/early this morning finishing my cards for Jade's card fundraiser for Claudia. For those of you who don't know, Claudia is one of our online scrapping friends who has lost her husband suddenly from pneumonia. She is left to raise six children on her own.

Jade organized a card swap fundraiser through her YouTube channel with proceeds to benefit Claudia and her family. You can check out the video about how this works here: Card Swap Fundraiser for Claudia.

I just finished uploading the video of the card I made over on my YouTube Channel. I wanted to do a fun card, so I broke out the Cosmo Cricket and went to town. You can view the card coming together below, or watch it on YouTube here: Let's Do Coffee!



Thanks so much for watching! I hope you enjoyed it!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Help for Claudia

Hi, everyone! Lately, I have been getting questions from readers asking about what they can do to help Claudia D'Alessandro & I have some information and suggestions for you below.

For those of you who don't know, Claudia is one of our YouTube friends who has lost her husband suddenly from pneumonia. She is left to raise six children on her own.

Claudia is currently selling all of her scrapbook supplies to raise money for her family. One of the ways that you can help is by going to Claudia's YouTube Channel, viewing some of the videos she has made with products for sale & purchasing anything that you would like in your own scraproom.

Jade {JadedStudios on YouTube} is also organizing a card swap fundraiser through her channel with proceeds to benefit Claudia and her family. You can check out the video about how this will work here: Card Swap Fundraiser for Claudia.

For those of you who are members of The Beach, I also have Claudia's mailing address posted in the "Non-Scrapbook Related" section of the forum for those of you who would like to send her a sympathy/condolence card. I am sure the sentiment will be greatly appreciated.

That's all the info I have, guys! I hope that helps those of you who were asking me for more info! It's awesome how many of you wanted to support Claudia & I am glad I finally have more info for you!

~Kathryn

Winner + New Video: "World of Wonder, Part Six"

Hi, everyone! I am back with another video in the "World of Wonder" mini album video series! {Raise your hand if you thought I forgot about that album!} I also have the winner of the Seventh Month of Christmas giveaway!

First, the video: World of Wonder, Part Six



Thanks so much for watching! :D I hope you enjoy it!

I also have the winner of the Seventh Month of Christmas Giveaway, chosen for me by Random.org!

::drumroll, please::

The winner of the "Life's a Beach" Fancy Pants Designs mini album is Comment #30:

Pretty Little Things said...
Super cute mini and fun giveaway! Thanks for the opportunity!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 10:19:00 PM

CONGRATULATIONS, Jolaine!!! :D :D :D Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, July 23, 2010 with the address where you'd like me to send the mini. If you do not contact me before Friday, July 23, 2010, the mini will go to another entrant.

If you didn't win this time around, there are still five months of Christmas left to go! See you the first Monday in August for the Eighth Month of Christmas!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning ...

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}Beach!

It's time for the second of my twice annual scrap purges. ::insert giant dramatic sigh here:: I tend to go through my scrap stuff twice a year. There are a couple reasons why I do this. The first, and most important reason, is that I am making room for new stuff from the trade shows {I normally go through the room in January and July right around CHA}. I know I will want to shop when I see all the new goodies hitting the stores, and I don't want my scrap stash to just increase exponentially through the years until it buries me in a paper avalanche.

I hate paper avalanches. So many paper cuts.

The second reason why I like to go through everything is to optimize my storage and think about what I have, what I forgot I have, and all those sorts of things. This can help me make better decisions in what to purchase throughout the coming months. It also helps me scrap faster because I spend less time looking for things as I have reminded myself of what I have and where it is. And I can also take things I know I am not going to use and hopefully find them a new home with someone who will use them.

So, that's what I'm doing today! Should be fun ... yeah, fun ... :D How many of you get bitten by the organizing bug a couple times a year? I actually like purging my supplies. Well, I don't like purging my supplies, but I like the way the room looks and functions AFTER I do it.

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapboook it.

On the Seventh Month of Christmas ...

Hi, everyone! Welcome to the seventh of my "12 Months of Christmas" giveaways!

This month's giveaway is inspired by the hot July weather. The heat has been brutal the last month & I know I'd like to cool off at the beach. This thinking inspired a "Summer Fun" mini album with the Faancy Pants Designs "Rusted Sun" collection. I used a Cosmo Crickt "Blackboard" album as the base.

Front Cover:




First Layout:




Page One:




Page Two:




Second Layout:




Page Three:




Page Four:




Third Layout:




Page Five:




Page Six:




Fourth Layout:




Page Seven:




Page Eight:




Fifth Layout:




Page Nine:




Page Ten:




Back Cover:




The winner will receive the completed mini to do with as they please. To be entered to win the "Summer Fun" mini, simply leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. Miami, FL USA time {GMT/UTC-4} on Thursday, July 15th. I will post the winner first thing on Friday morning! The winner must check back here to claim the prize.

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

July 2010 Virtual Crop Challenge #6!

July 2010 Crop Challenge #6: All My Memories

The prize for this challenge is the All My Memories Tote-Ally Cool Tote.

The sixth challenge is simply to go through your photos, choose one {or more} that triggers a memory and makes you smile, and put them on a layout! Scrapbooking is about preserving all our memories, so just go for it!

To participate, create a layout or project using photos that brings back happy memories. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW THIS POST by 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 12, 2010. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in the gallery here, or to a video on YouTube or to your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 9:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL USA time which is GMT/UTC-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be announced Monday and posted on a new "July 2010 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! This is the last challenge of the night, so have fun and good luck!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

July 2010 Virtual Crop Challenge #5!

July 2010 Crop Challenge #5: Raise Your Glass!

The prize for this challenge is the Tonic Studios Glass Mat.

The fifth challenge is to make a layout using some kind of clear dimensional glaze such as Diamond Glaze, Glossy Accents or Triple Thick.

To participate, create a layout or project using a clear dimensional glaze. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout. This challenge also lends itself to tags, cards, ATCs and other projects.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW THIS POST by 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 12, 2010. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in the gallery here, or to a video on YouTube or to your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 9:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL USA time which is GMT/UTC-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be announced Monday and posted on a new "July 2010 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 2:00 a.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

July 2010 Virtual Crop Challenge #4!

July 2010 Crop Challenge #4: The First Cut is the Deepest

The prize for this challenge is the Martha Stewart Crafts Craft Knife.

The fourth challenge is to make a layout with a sheet of patterned paper that you've been saving for the "perfect" layout.

To participate, create a layout by cutting into one of you "too good to use" pieces of patterned paper. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW THIS POST by 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 12, 2010. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in the gallery here, or to a video on YouTube or to your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 9:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL USA time which is GMT/UTC-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be announced Monday and posted on a new "July 2010 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 1:00 a.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

July 2010 Virtual Crop Challenge #3!

July 2011 Crop Challenge #3: Stars and Stripes Forever

The prize for this challenge is Zandra Cudney's etal embellishment grab bag.

We all love flowers, but soometimes it's just a little too easy to put a flower on a page or project and call it done. The third challenge is to make a layout or other project using stars, stripes, buttons and other embellishments to tell your story ~ NO FLOWERS ALLOWED! :D

To participate, create a layout or other project using embellishments other than flowers. To be eligible there can be NO FLOWERS anywhere on the layout. Layouts may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW THIS POST by 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 5, 2010. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in the gallery here, or to a video on YouTube or to your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 9:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL USA time which is GMT/UTC-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be chosen randomly and announced here on the blog.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 9:00 PM Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

July 2010 Virtual Crop Challenge #2!

July 2010 Crop Challenge #2: Back to Basics

The prize for this challenge is the Basic Grey "Basics" 12x12 paper pack in Manilla.

The second challenge is to make a layout without any fancy pre-made embellishments. You can use cardstock, patterned paper, stamps, ink, paint and all those sorts of goodies, but set aside the Primas!

To participate, create a layout or project using basic supplies. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW THIS POST by 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 12, 2010. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in the gallery here, or to a video on YouTube or to your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 9:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL USA time which is GMT/UTC-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be announced Monday and posted on a new "July 2010 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 11:00 p.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

July 2010 Virtual Crop Challlenge #1!

July 2010 Crop Challenge #1: Head in the Clouds

The prize for this challenge is the Hero Arts "Clouds" Wood Mounted Background Stamp.

Do you remember when you were younger and you spent the summers lying in the grass and watching the clouds? Well, the first challenge is to make a layout that captures that feeling. A layout about the lazy days of summer. It can be a layout about your childhood summers, or your kids playing in the sprinkler ~ whatever!

To participate, create a layout about the lazy days of summer. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW THIS POST by 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 12, 2010. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in the gallery here, or to a video on YouTube or to your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 9:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL USA time which is GMT/UTC-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be announced Monday and posted on a new "July 2010 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 10:00 p.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Be Still, My Heart *Now With Video*

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}Beach!

So I was surfing the web this morning {the only kind of surfing I partake in, due to my very poor balancing skills} and I came across this post from Teresa Collins's blog: Introducing the Stampmaker.

You can read the entire blog post linked above for more details and ideas on how to use it, but here is the gist of it:

It is a machine that you can [use to] create your OWN stamps (from ANY image or design), embossing dies and stencils in only 5 minutes from the comforts of your own home!!!! These are high quality, detailed stamps. You would NEVER know that you had made them at home.

This is what it looks like & it will retail for $169.99:



And Teresa Collins has put up a YouTube Video about the Stampmaker as well:



On her blog, Teresa Collins mentioned that she is working with Photocentric, the UK Manufacturer of her photopolymer clear stamps on this project. I have a set of her photopolymer clear stamps and they are quite nice. They are very firm and have very little, if any, image distortion when stamping.

A little exploring on the Photocentric website reveals that they already make a commercial UV lightbox for the creation of photopolymer clear stamps. This UV lightbox retails for 249.00 GBP or around 380.00 USD with current exchange.



This is just my guess, but I'm guessing Photocentric has redesigned their already existing commercial grade lightbox for the scrapbook and stamping community. I just hope that the quality remains the same & that their modifications have been primarily in cosmetics or size. {You guys know how I feel about companies that take an already excellent commercial grade product & make it pink, cute & crappy to cheaply market it to scrapbookers.} I think this is a cool concept, so fingers crossed that the quality is strong as well!

I think this will be one of the hotter items this CHA & I am excited to see what the people who attend CHA have to say about the machine. Assuming it works as promised, it would really open up new doors in scrapping and stamping. I am excited to see what the buzz about the machine is during and after the show.

What do you guys think? Look cool? Look complicated? Let me know!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick post to let you know that the July "12 Months of Christmas" Giveaway will be posted on Monday. I totally forgot about it because of the holiday, so we'll be getting to that next week.

Today is my birthday, and we went to Butterfly World, which is a butterfly aviary and sanctuary. It was so cool! There is something about butterflies flying everywhere that just puts a smile on your face!

I am off to relax with some water & then we are going out to dinner later! Remember that my birthday crop is this Saturday and that I am giving away some of my favorite things as present for you guys, so check us out over on my UStream Channel at 9:00 p.m. EDT {GMT/UTC-4} on Saturday: Kathryn's UStream Channel.

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

The DMV and Costco ...

... on the same day! Could I be any luckier!? Yay! No, I don't think I could.

So, one of the bad things about turning 30 {my birthday is in a week on July 8th ~ yay, me!} is that in Virginia you have to renew your license during your birthday month in years where you turn ages that end in 0. Which means that my VA driver's license will expire on July 31. And if I don't get a Florida driver's license before the VA one expires than I will have to retake all the tests.

So, as much as I really don't want to go to the DMV today, I really don't want to take those tests again either. With my luck I would actually fail the written one or something & then not be able to drive for six months.

What is making this an even better day, though, is that Mr. Lifeguard found a DMV office right next to the Costco! So that we can go to Costco right after we go to the DMV! Isn't that awesome!?

I really hate going to Costco.

I recognize that it's a necessity since a tumbleweed actually blew out of my fridge this morning when I opened it to get a cream for my coffee, but I cannot imagine that anyone in his right mind {ahem, Mr. Lifeguard} would think combining the DMV with Costco in the same outing was a good idea.

So, that's how I'm jump-starting my holiday weekend. What about you guys? Got any big plans? If they're better than the DMV + Costco, please post them here so I can live vicariously through you. :D

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Acrylic Album Series Starts Today!

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap} Beach!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am going to be starting an acrylic album series during today's Euro Chat on my UStream Channel. The show is live from 2:00 p.m. EDT {GMT/UTC-4} to 4:00 p.m. EDT, and will be recorded for those of you who can't make it. I will continue the series during all regularly scheduled Euro Chats and Scrap Chats until it is complete. All the shows will be recorded, so if you can't make one, you can always catch up later.

I uploaded a video over on my YouTube channel with all the details: UStream Class Video.



I hope to see you all there this affternoon!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.