Stamp Organization Using Xyron Laminate Magnet Refills

I have to say that one of my late night obsessions is watching stamp videos from Jennifer McQuire and Kristina Werner. They have some amazing technique videos, and I love watching their projects come together. One of my goals for next year is to get myself a bit more organized so that I'm not trying to look for the products that I want for my projects. This includes stamp organization. I grabbed most of my inspiration from Jennifer McQuire's stamp organization post HERE. She has an amazing system that works for my growing collections of clear stamps and manual dies.

I followed Jennifer McQuire's whole system (minus the fridge container... I used a basket instead) for her stamp storage. However, the floating metal dies were driving me nuts. So I pulled out my Xyron 9" Creative Station and tossed in the Laminate Magnet Refill.

To start, I cut down some cardstock to fit in the envelopes and fit the dies that I wanted to store. It really doesn't matter what color or style, you won't see this anyway.

Run those through your Xyron Creative Station, then cut the edges down to the size of the paper.

Place your metal dies on the magnet side of the sheet, and place inside your envelopes as if they were the clear stamps. For my stamps with matching dies, I placed the dies on the back of the envelope.

This even works with the leftover strips and smaller die sets.

I will admit, that once I did this, I realized that I could have saved a few steps by just running and entire sheet of 8.5x11" cardstock through my Xyron using the Laminate Magnet Refill. I then, would have cut that into sized pieces as I went. Hope this helps keep your matching dies more organized!

Products Used:
Xyron 9" Creative Station, Xyron Laminate Magnet Refill, Target Room Essentials Branch Weave Small Bin, Avery Elle Stamp and Die Storage Pockets, Brother P-Touch Label Maker, white cardstock

December Pocket Pages Kit and Covered Christmas Notebook using Xyron Products

For thirty days, the Xyron Design Team is creating and sharing various tutorials focused on the holidays. Today, I have two projects: my December Pocket Pages kit that I created to document the holiday season, and a Christmas notebook that I can use to keep myself organized throughout the season. Make sure that you keep checking back on the Xyron Facebook page daily for more inspiration.

To start today's post, I want to share my December Pocket Pages kit that I created. I love all of those fantastic kits that are all around, but really wanted to create my own. I had a few pieces of amazing Christmas paper from the Gossamer Blue Get Happy line, and a great mini kit from Paper Issues.  

The kit is pretty basic. I really wanted to have something that I could take with  me, so kept everything fairly easy to work with and portable. If we do something great over the holiday, I wanted to be able to write about it in the moment. This means that I also kept my Xyron products portable as well. The Iris 12x12 Portable Project Case was a great holder for everything. From my Xyron items, I included  my Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape, Xyron 3" Sticker Maker, and Xyron Wedge Shaped Glue Stick. 

I also found some great things in the Target $1 Spot that I could add to my kit. I LOVE the gold!

 And some fun, bright papers!

So to make this fun cover, I pulled out my Xyron 9" Creative Station and got to work. The thing that I really love about Xyron products, is that because the adhesives are edge-to-edge, they completely cover vellum, without seeing any of the adhesive. So that gorgeous gold vellum is in perfect condition.

I manual die cut the circles, then ran those through my Xyron 9" Creative Station.

Then I stacked those and adhered them to the Simple Stories 8x6 Sn@p Binder. 

To add some interest, I then took the die cut from the Merry Memories Limited Edition Swag Bag and ran that through my Xyron 3" Sticker Maker. This way, it wouldn't peel off of the cover.

Those $1 Spot stickers aren't the greatest sticking stickers, so I took a strip of Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape and placed it on a piece of striped paper. Then I adhered the stickers to the Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape, and cut it out and adhered it to the cover with some more Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape.

Add a quick die cut, some Thickers and a red nose (Liquid Pearls) on the reindeer, and there's my cover!

And of course it needed a title, so to make sure that the little title stuck in place, I made sure that it wouldn't move or shift by adding some Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape to the back of the die cut.

I also wanted to share my fun way to keep organized throughout the Christmas season. I love small Moleskine cahiers, as they have enough pages for a larger event, but not too much that I don't use most of the pages. Plus, if I see something I really like, I can always sketch something out.

These are super easy and quick to cover and decorate. I started by running a piece of paper through my Xyron 9" Creative Station. Once that was sticky, I adhered it to the journal, making sure that it would still open easily and lay flat.

Once it was positioned correctly, I trimmed the edges with a kraft knife. If you overcut, just scrape the knife around the edges to rough them up and hide any imperfections.

To start decorating the book, I cut a strip of paper, ran it through my Xyron 3" Sticker Maker, and attached it to the book. 

To add some decoration, and again play with some non-traditional papers, I ran a die cut and a piece of glassine envelope through my Xyron 9" Creative Station. Just like the vellum, the glassine can be difficult to work with as most other adhesives you would notice. 

Once that was attached to the book, I tied it off with some Lawn Fawn (Lawn Trimmings-Gold Sparkle Single Cord) and stamped a sentiment using the Catslife Press stamp (1185B). 

Thank you for stopping by to see today's tutorial. Make sure that you check out all of the Xyron's Design Team member's blogs (links are to your right), and the Xyron Facebook page regularly this season to see all 30 Days of Holiday!

Supplies Used:

December Pocket Pages Kit

Xyron 9" Creative Station, Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape, Xyron 3" Sticker Maker, We R Memory Keepers Nesting Circles Die Set, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Target $1 Spot (tags, striped tags, mini gold alphas), American Crafts (Shimelle-Haynes, Daiquiri gold Thickers), Elle's Studio (Good Cheer paper), Crate Paper (Notes and Things-So Simple; Maggie Holmes-Openbook), My Mind's Eye (Necessities-Metallic Stripe), Gossamer Blue (Get Happy papers and envelopes), Liquid Pearls (Rouge), Catslife Press stamp (1185B), Paper Issues (Merry Memories Limited Edition Swag Bag), Iris 12x12 Portable Project Case, Simple Stories 8x6 Sn@p Binder

Covered Christmas Notebook

Xyron 9" Creative Station, Crate Paper-Sleigh Ride (papers and chipboard), glassine envelope, Catslife Press stamp (1185B), Lawn Fawn (Lawn Trimmings-Gold Sparkle Single Cord), Moleskine cahier

Shop Your Stash Kit - November 2014

I know I may be a little late in showing this month's Shop Your Stash kit that I created... But it's been a busy (and exciting!) month! I have a few layouts that I will share later that go more into this.

Here's my fun (and super warm-toned) kit. I didn't really have a direction with this, but really wanted to play with some warmer and darker tones than I may normally use. I pulled some dark, warm browns, reds, and teals to add some more color. I didn't want to create something super warm-toned, but wanted to enhance the Fall-esque nature of some of the items that have been kicking around my stash for too long.

Paper Top Row L-R:
Daily Details (Hello Autumn) – Bella Blvd.

Worldwide (Vintage Chic) – Heidi Swapp

Victorian (Random Collection) – Crate Paper

Oh Joy (Jolly by Golly) – Cosmo Cricket

Crisp (Suave Collection) – Authentique

Paper Bottom Row L-R:

You & Me (Gertie-Stella & Rose) – My Mind’s Eye

Accent Cuts (Random Collection) – Crate Paper

Bridesmaids (Portrait Collection) – Crate Paper

In Print (Kraft Funday) – My Mind’s Eye

Flour Sack (Nook & Pantry) – Basic Grey

Partial Pieces

Pioneer (Thankful Collection) – Authentique

Storytime Street (5^th & Frolic) – American Crafts

Sycamore (Into the woods) – Lawn Fawn

Vellum

Cardstock
orange – Core’dinations
kraft - American Crafts

brown - American Crafts

forest green - Core’dinations

Embellishments:

Everyday Fun (Kraft Funday) – My Mind's Eye

Vintage Mini Memories Cameras – Maya Road

Chipboard Heart Mini Album – Maya Road

Flowers – Heidi Swapp & Petaloo

In a Stitch Blooms (kraft) – Sassafras Lass

Mini Envelopes – SMASH

Various die cuts – My Minds Eye

Border Stickers (Acorn Avenue) – Crate Paper

Hexagon Confetti – Um Wow Studio

Thickers (burlap, Hello) – American Crafts

Alpha Stickers (Woodland Park) – October Afternoon

A is for Autumn (Sweater Weather) – Simple Stories

Badges – Studio Calico

Ribbon – May Arts

Sticky Keys (Ghoul Green) – October Afternoon
Buttons (The Sweetest Thing) – My Mind’s Eye

Polaroid frames - Maya Road

I also included a few pocket page cards that I printed so round out my pocket scrapbooking this month. The six cards to the left are from Paper Issues, and the Fall card is a printable that I sized down from Studio Calico. I also am including, but they aren't pictured a couple of Elle's Studio Die Cuts... 

 

Xyron's 30 Days of Holiday: Decorative Wrapped Frames

For thirty days, the Xyron Design Team is creating and sharing various tutorials focused on the holidays. Today, I am sharing how you can change up your current decor to be more festive with minimum cost. Make sure that you keep checking back on the Xyron Facebook page daily for more inspiration.

I have some amazing art, but not all of it is the right color for my Christmas decor. This is a take on the "present wrapped frames" that many people do around the holidays. I started by taking my framed picture, and tracing the edges in pencil onto some kraft wrapping paper that I have.

I then found the center of the rectangle, and lightly penciled in a triangle. This will become my "tree".

I then die cut various sizes of Christmas paper. For this project, all of my papers are from Authentique's Believe Collection. To maintain the tree idea, I used predominately green patterns.

I then used my Silhouette Cameo to cut a large sentiment, which I then ran through my Xyron 9" Creative Station.

I really wanted some sparkle on this project, so lightly adhered a few of the smaller circles to some scratch paper using my Xyron Mega Runner, by tapping the Mega Runner onto your circle instead of dragging it. This way, only a tiny bit of adhesive sticks to the backs of the circles. Then I used some Versamark Ink and Tim Holtz embossing powder in Super Fine Gold to create ornaments.

To finish off each of the circles, and the sentiment, I inked the edges using ImagineCrafts Inks (Bamboo Leaves, London Fog, Pistachio).

Once all of the pieces were inked, I ran all of the larger circles through my Xyron 9" Creative Station. 

Then, I started adding all of the circles, keeping them within the edges of the triangle I had drawn earlier.

To add more detail, I die cut some small red circles and ran those (and the embossed gold circles) through my Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker.

Then I attached all of the small pieces, filling in the gaps with red buttons of various sizes.

Once the piece was complete, I wrapped the frame up as if it was a present, leaving the back open so I could hang it to the wall. Instead of using wrapping paper tape on the artwork, I used Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape so that the seams were hidden.

When the entire piece was wrapped, I used a Uni-ball Signo White pen to add some faux stitching around the edges.

Isn't this just a fun piece to have hanging?!?! I especially love the large sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by to see today's tutorial. Make sure that you check out all of the Xyron's Design Team member's blogs (links are to your right), and the Xyron Facebook page regularly this season to see all 30 Days of Holiday!

Supplies Used:

Xyron 9" Creative Station, Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker, Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron Double-Sided High Tack Tape, Silhouette Cameo, Authentique Believe Collection, We R Memory Keepers Nesting Circles Die Set, Tim Holtz Embossing Powder (Super Fine Gold), ImagineCrafts Inks (Versamark, Bamboo Leaves, London Fog, Pistachio), random buttons, Uniball Signo white pen, kraft wrapping paper, framed picture from my living room

AUTHENTIQUE PAPER: Grateful Table Setting

One of the best things about the holidays are the decorations. I have for you today a few little additions to your table that can help to make your dinner really special using the Grateful Collection by Authentique. Make sure that you check out the entire table setting over at the Authentique Blog today!

And Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

Celebrating 100 Posts for Creating Us!!!

My lovely (and über-talented) friend Jill Keller is celebrating her 100th Blog Post on her blog today! I met her through the Gossamer Blue community, and she has recently started to design for them. She does a fabulous job and is one of the reasons that I decided to re-sub starting next month!! Make sure that you check out her blog today, as I know that she is having a super-fabulous giveaway!

#NBCT Bound (AND I PASSED!!)

I've had this layout completed for the longest time. And just like the National Board for Teaching process, it sat. Waiting to be scored. Ready to be complete. Seriously, the endless hours, the countless moments poring over the same video, are all worth it once you see the words "Congratulations! You are a National Board Certified Teacher!"

I'm still reeling on this one.

Products: American Crafts (paper & alpha), Sassafras Lass (papers, flowers, alphas), Neat & Tangled (sequins), Tim Holtz Distress paint, ink

AUTHENTIQUE PAPER: Merry Christmas Wine Tags with "Believe" & Petaloo

This week over on the AUTHENTIQUE BLOG, we are partnering up with the Petaloo Design Team to showcase some amazing projects featuring Authentique papers and Petaloo products. Today I have a pair of wine tags, featuring the Believe Collection, that can easily spruce up any bottle for a present or hostess gift this season. Come over to the BLOG today and check them out!

AUTHENTIQUE: A "Spirited" Two-Page Layout with Kiwi Lane Designs

Today I have a great two-page layout using Authentique's Spirited Collection and Kiwi Lane Templates. In this layout, I wanted to showcase quite a few photos from last year's pumpkin patch visit.

I started with two sheets of Twisted, then layered Oblique and Labyrinth papers that were cut using the Scallops Templates and Paisley Place Templates from Kiwi Lane. I then added large sections of both Conjure and Ominous as my photo "mats".

I then cut a cute bracket using Caution and the Kiwi Lane Tiny Bracket Templates.

Those pumpkins are actually balloons! I flipped the Kiwi Lane Tiny Celebrate Templates upside down, and then added a die cut stem. to make them more "pumpkin-y". Some of the pieces are popped up using some black craft foam and my Xyron 1.5" sticker maker. I love using foam that matches the colors I'm using in my layouts so that it doesn't stand out.

Then I added a lot of details using Authentique's Details 12x12 cardstock sticker, Components 6x12 paper die cut, Petite Diction mini word sticker, and the Stamp Blocks 4x12 paper die cuts. I also scattered a bunch of die cut sequins and stars around the layout.

I love how each page both works together, but can also work separately as well. The Kiwi Lane Templates make it easy to pull together.

Hope you have a few more ideas on how to make your own fun layouts using Authentique and Kiwi Lane.

 

Supplies Used:

Authentique's Spirited Collection: Labyrinth, Ominous, Twisted, Caution, Dancette, Conjure, Oblique, Foundation One distressed solid, Details 12x12 cardstock sticker, Components 6x12 paper die cut, Petite Diction mini word sticker, Stamp Blocks 4x12 paper die cuts, 6x6 Bundle

Kiwi Lane Templates: Kiwi Lane Scallops Templates, Kiwi Lane Paisley Place Templates, Kiwi Lane Tiny Bracket Templates, Kiwi Lane Tiny Celebrate Templates

Other Supplies: Distress Ink (Black Soot), Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker, Xyron Mega Runner, Xyron Double-Sided High Tack 1/2" Tape, craft foam, Spellbinders Orchard Harvest Tags & Accents (pumpkin leaves), Mama Elephant Creative Cuts (Confetti), Prima Collection (Flower), ZIG Wink of Stella pen