Inspired by Pinterest {The Twinery}

The Twinery is at it again with another great challenge...and this one is a perfect one to inspire you to do something with those hundreds (or maybe thousands) of pins you have on your Pinterest boards.

For my project, I took inspiration from this pin on Pinterest that shows how to create a gift bag from a newspaper:

{Source}

Instead of using newspaper, I decided to try another medium - a manila file folder. I thought a file folder would be nice and sturdy for a gift bag and it would also be a clean slate for one of my favorite things to pair with twine...mists. 

I started by scoring the folder to create 3" and 4 1/2" panels, a 1 1/4" flap for the rim of the bag, and a 2" flap for the bottom of the bag. I didn't trim my folder down height-wise, just length-wise in order to create a rectangle (trimming off the tab areas of the folder).

{Tip: You can easily adjust the measurements of your bag to create a custom fit for your gift.}

At this point (before assembling your bag) you will want to decorate your bag with mists, stamps, washi tape...whatever your crafty heart desires. I chose a few colors of mists to create a nice gradient effect on the bag.

I then used The Twinery's Solid Caribbean twine to create a handle:

And voila! 

A sturdy, custom-made gift bag!

You can find all the details about how to join in on The Twinery's Inspired By Pinterest Challenge here.

And if inspiration isn't enough to make you want to join in...how about this Solid Twine Sampler Pack?

I can't wait to see what you create for this challenge!

Supplies:
Folder: Smead (Manila File Folder);
Twine: The Twinery (Solid Caribbean);
Mists: Heidi Swapp (Color Shine - Mustard, Mint Green, Teal);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

I'm a cover girl!

For me, this really is Christmas in July (okay...August)!
I am beyond thrilled to have one of my projects featured on the front cover of the newest special issue from Paper Crafts Magazine - Holiday Card & More: Volume 8.

It was very exciting for me to receive my JOY Tag back and get a little sneak peek at the issue a couple days ago.

This issue should be hitting the stores near you starting today...be sure to pick one up and get a jump on all those holiday projects!

Thanks for stopping by - have a great day!

Love U Mini Album

Today I wanted to share with you the cover of a mini album I created. I haven't added any pictures to the inside of the book yet, but I had a lot of fun doing the cover.

For this album I cut my own covers from chipboard, then covered it with a vintage ledger paper and some various embellishments. The houndstooth on the bottom is fabric (FabRips from American Crafts) - it's the first time I've used FabRips and I love how easy it is to work with! It's already sticky on the back, so the pleating was simple to do. I cut some various patterned papers for the pages inside and bound it all together with my Cinch. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies: 
Embellishments: Vintage (Mini Playing Card, Sunshine Candy Co. Paper); Recollections (Peach Flower); Seam Binding; American Crafts (FabRips); Studio Calico (Wood Veneer Hearts, Grid Label); Maya Road (Envelope);
Stamps: Market Street Stamps (Believing Butterfly); 
Ink: Ranger (Archival - Jet Black);
Other: Canvas; Chipboard;
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors); We R Memory Keepers (Cinch Binding Tool, Cinch Binding Wires);

Cinch Photo Book {Video}

Today I am going to try something new (for me) - a video. Eek!
I wanted to share this book I created, but didn't want to take a bunch of pictures, so I thought a video would be best.

This is my first try with video...go easy on me. :o)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Teresa Collins Designs (Fabrications Collection - 8x8 Pad);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors, Border Punches); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board); We R Memory Keepers (Cinch);

Book Review :: Unveiling Grace by Lynn K. Wilder

Unveiling Grace by Lynn K. Wilder

Unveiling Grace was a very intriguing book to read. I was first interested in it because I went to school with quite a few Mormon kids, worked for a small, Mormon-owned company, and have also had a several studies with some Mormon missionaries. I felt like I was fairly familiar with Mormon doctrine and was interested to read about a family who had been faithful Mormons for so long (30 years) leaving the LDS church.

Being able to read about the Wilder's family journey into the LDS church was interesting, but I do feel like it may have been worded in places like they were already seeing that they needed to get out. This was probably due to the fact that this book was written after they left the LDS church, but in the middle of the story it almost seemed to me to undermine the credibility of what was a truly devoted Mormon family. (I see the same issue with the subtitle of the book.)

Other than that one minor issue, I felt the book was interesting and easy to read, but more importantly it was truly eye-opening to the real doctrines and practices of the LDS church. The author is respectful when she discusses Mormonism, but still brings the truth to light in an open, honest way. There were things I don't recall ever hearing about their beliefs - major beliefs - and that was not for a lack of trying on my part. I had studied quite a bit about the LDS church so that I could better study with and relate to Mormons, but that study didn't reveal how they talk about a different God than I know as a Christian. A different Jesus. You wouldn't think that things would be so different on a basic level when they read the Bible, but it is.

I think this book would be helpful for many groups of people: current Mormons (if they would read it), anyone who knows someone from the LDS church, and especially those who are looking into joining the LDS church. I highly recommend reading it.
FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Blog Hop {The Twinery & Ruby Rock-It}

The Introduction:

If you are hopping along with us today: You should have come here from Ro Philippsen's blog. If you did, you are in the right place! Welcome!

If you aren't already a follower, I'd love to have you follow my blog!

If you are one of my regular readers: Thanks for coming back! I love having you! Please join along in the hop - you can start at The Twinery's blog.

The Prizes:
The Twinery is giving away a Solid Twine Sampler Pack (retail value $30).

And check out what Ruby Rock-It is giving away: 

The Details:

Leave a comment on each blog along the hop. {Please include your e-mail address.}

Blog comments close on Friday, July 12th at 11:59pm (Eastern). The winners will be announced on The Twinery's blog and the Ruby Rock-It blog on Monday, July 15th.

The Project:
I was inspired by the Pockets in Ruby Rock-It's Carnival Queen collection and thought they would be perfect for a mini album.
And yes...I did an Easter album with a carnival-themed collection.

Sometimes I just can't follow the rules. ;o)

As always The Twinery's twine is the perfect way to accent - I used Buttercream and Solid Caribbean for this album.

I used the flap from each of the pockets for binding the album together and left the rest of the pocket-area open, which created a lot of space for pictures. (I have 17-18 photos in the album, with plenty of additional room for journaling.) 

I created a band (from the Sunshine paper) to keep the pages together and then tied on some twine to give it an extra pop of color.

I used the cut outs in the pockets to highlight a few pictures and then on the remaining areas I placed additional photos or decorative cards. I also did a bit of embellishing on the pages using the Pocket stickers and Project Card die cuts from the collection.

Thanks for stopping by today!

The Next Stop:

Linda Kretz's blog

Supplies:
Twine: The Twinery (Buttercream, Solid Caribbean);
Patterned Paper: Ruby Rock-It (Carnival Queen Collection: Sunshine Paper); 
Other: Ruby Rock-It (Carnival Queen Collection: Project Cards - die cuts and cards, Pockets - pockets, cards, and stickers);
Stickers: American Crafts (Thickers: Delight Fabric Letter Stickers - White);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer, Scissors, Round N Round Squeeze Punch - Medium); We R Memory Keepers (Crop-A-Dile); Scor-Pal (Scoring Board);

Book Review :: A Dream So Big by Steve Peifer

A Dream So Big: Our Unlikely Journey to End the Tears of Hunger by Steve Peifer

A Dream So Big automatically piqued my interest because my husband lived 5 of his pre-teen years in Africa and African missions are interesting (and somewhat familiar) to me. Although my husband lived in a different country in Africa (because Africa is a continent, not a country), there were many things that were familiar to me from my husband's family's experience, which I believe did slightly enhance my enjoyment in reading the book.

With that being said, I believe that anyone would enjoy and be inspired by the Peifer's story in A Dream So Big. The book is laid out mostly chronologically (so it is easy to follow along in the story) and is almost diary-like - with small snippets of information, not a completely continuous flow of the story.

The story does come from a sad beginning but follows a truly inspiring path - one that makes me want to give more and do more. It shows the amazing ways that God can use our lives - in the things that may seem unimportant to us but can come to a place where they make an impact later. As Steve Peifer says in the book:
"...there are no little things, [but] if we give ourselves to what we've been called to do, it's always big." (p. 236)

This is a wonderful book and I absolutely recommend that you read it.

I also recommend that you consider giving financial support to the Peifers & Kenya Kids Can (through Africa Inland Mission) to help further their school lunch program and computer center program, or just support their family directly as they live and work in Kenya.


FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Book Review :: These Are The Days Of Elijah by R. T. Kendall

I was intrigued to read These Are The Days Of Elijah by R. T. Kendall - the idea of God using "ordinary people to do extraordinary things" (and the beautiful cover) caught my eye.

I'm just going to get it out there now - that's where the excitement ended for me.

Once I started reading the book, I realized that this is basically just a collection of expository sermons on the passages in 1 and 2 Kings that have to do with Elijah. Although that in itself is not a bad thing, it was just not what I was expecting/hoping for.

I found it pretty dry with very little new insight into the life of Elijah. When there was new information, it seemed to always be stated like it was a fact and with no back story for how the author came to that conclusion. I found that interesting in light of the fact that the author states in the book: "When I preach or write I need to know it is God's Word I am teaching - not my silly point of view - and that the purity of His Word is at stake." (p. 99) The last few chapters were the most interesting to me - but I almost didn't make it to them.

Overall I felt like the book didn't live up to what I was expecting, but if you are looking for a review of the life of Elijah this may be just what you are looking for.


FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through Chosen Books. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.

Distress Stain/Shaving Cream Tutorial {Marbled Cardstock}

I've got a fun technique to share - I haven't seen this particular combo anywhere yet, folks!

To begin, you will need:

• Tim Holtz Distress Stains
• Barbasol Shaving Cream (or another white foam shaving cream)
• Wax Paper
• A paintbrush (or something you can 'stir' with)
• Heavy white cardstock (You can find my favorite here) 

Start by placing a sheet of wax paper on your work surface and squeezing out some of the Distress Stains - you just want a little puddle of color. For this tutorial I worked with the following Distress Stains: Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Spun Sugar, and Victorian Velvet.

{Tip: If you are working with more than one color of Distress Stain, leave a little space between the puddles.}

Now you can shake up your can of shaving cream and squirt a bit on!

I like to add another sheet of wax paper on top to help flatten it out a bit, but I bet if you like to get really messy you could just use your hands. {The bonus about using a second sheet of wax paper is that you will end up having two portions to work with. Just peel them apart and set one aside for a second round.}

Use the end of a paintbrush (or whatever other handy stirring device you may have close by) and swirl the shaving cream and Distress Stains. You will start to see the color swirling into the shaving cream - it already looks beautiful!

Take your cardstock (I've cut mine down to a standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" - perfect to fill the front of a card) and press it into the shaving cream mixture. {I prefer to press it down to make sure the entire front is covered.}
Lift your cardstock panel out of the shaving cream and scrape it off or wipe it away with a paper towel. You will be left with a beautifully marbled piece of cardstock. (You can even try smashing two cardstock panels together here to get two marbled pieces in one shot.)

{For the pictures above I have placed my cardstock panel only into the side of my work surface containing the Spiced Marmalade and Wild Honey Distress Stains.}

You should be able to use your shaving cream mixture a few times - I was able to get about 4-6 panels when I was doing mine. Sometimes I would scrape the mixture back into a pile to work with - it created a more subtle marbling, but provided great all-over color.
When you are done with the first round, go back and do it all over again with the wax paper you used to help flatten it all out previously - have fun with it!

Be sure to stay tuned - I've got a few projects I created using this technique that I will be sharing.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock (Brilliant White 130#); 
Ink: Ranger (Distress Stains - Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Spun Sugar, Victorian Velvet);
Tools: Fiskars (Trimmer);

WINNER {Lupus Awareness Month Giveaway}

Thanks to all who entered my recent giveaway...and a very special thanks to each of you who are followers of this blog.

marg0006

Congratulations!

marg0006: please send me an e-mail with your US mailing address so I can get your prize package out to you.
{You can find my e-mail address in my blog header or on my Blogger profile.}

{Winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their information.}

If you didn't win - stay tuned! Looks like it is almost time for a 600 follower giveaway!