still me

i kinda can't believe it.

it's here. CHA 2012. i have been anticipating this for a long time. it's been a major 'thing' to make it happen, and i am so excited. i really love this show's release. it looks so good all up on the walls, together with everything- of course it's the first time i have seen it all together, all packaged-- and it's so amazing to see the pencil sketches, of everything from the products themselves, to the signage and displays all come to life. that is a delightful part of my job! so the CHA show starts tomorrow, and it's it's late- but i wanted to share a couple pics-- these are taken w/ my phone in crummy light, so hopefully i will get better ones tomorrow:

 

ok, that is all i have for now... but i will give you a little sneak of something...this is something that will be launching on monday, so check back and i'll fill you in! i'll be sharing more show pics etc. as well!  ok! wish me luck! 

and...i'm off!

ok, i'm packed!

getting in all in involved the master packing skills of mr. swapp! there has been a lot of preparation for this show... perhapse the MOST prep ever! the creative process has been easy--mostly because i have been able to see these products in my head for months...i have been imagining how i would use them. it's been so much fun to make those little dreams into realities! so cute. i banged out quite a few samples featuring the newness:

and this is the mess i made... it was epic!

and now...it's all clean. all my samples are wrapped up neatly and zipped up in my bags-along with these:

i love owning a button maker! it's just hours of fun! these are for the lovely ladies that will be taking orders in my booth for the show... along with these:

these flowers are much larger than they appear! so cute!

the show starts on sunday... between now and then we will be in booth set up zone and making it all look fabulous! i am so excited to see how it comes together...i have some fun surprizes up my sleeve...crazy good!  each day i'm making changes to the booth--as well as featuring a different make n take each day as well! so if you will be at the show ... please stop by!

hopefully you have been keeping up with the little sneaks! and one of my favorite part of this new line are the bows! you probably already know this about me... i love bows!

these are nothing short of fabulous! i love them!...well, i was discussing my obession with bows with my Aunt KJ, and she said to me, "i think i know where you get  your love of bows" and moments later i rec'd this image in my inbox:

this beautiful girl is my Great Grandma when she was 16.  i love this so much!

ok, need to get just a little sleep tonight!  i am going to TRY to keep my blog updated with insider show stuff...we'll see how it goes! night, night...zzzzzzzzzz

my jumpstart...

i hope that you have been following alongwith the creative jumpstarts each day! what an AMAZING month of daily inspiration right in my inbox. i have loved it so much! HUGE HUGS To Nathalie Kalbach for the  SIGNIICANT amount of work that she put into this endeavor!  TODAY is my day... and i have been laughing at myself since i re-watched the video -- i remembered how many problems i had with my video! 

i was experimenting with the idea of melting tissue into wax -- similar to the way that i have been melting tissue paper onto  candles to decorate: 

so... i got out one of these really cool chipboard binders from Bazzill.  it' s such a nice thick chipboard with a 3 ring binder inside- called "Totally Exposed".  I then designed a cute quote sheet and printed it onto tissue paper... turned out so cute!  you can grab it off of here if you want to play with it.

 

here's a little write up i did for the project:  

I find that creative PLAY is the most effective way for me to jumpstart my creativity! For this challenge, I decided to experiment with a technique I love on candles… and create a cover for an Art Journal.

By using a heat tool, and a piece of tissue paper, you can melt the tissue paper right onto the candle, thus adding color, art and design right onto the surface of the candle- Here’s how I created the cover using wax, tissue, a heat tool and photoshop.

1. design or type what you want to use as the art for your collage
2. print the art onto white tissue paper by cutting the tissue to 8x11 and taping it to a piece of cardstock to feed it through your printer.
3. Cover the surface of your book or chipboard with a bottom layer- I used old book paper
4. Paint the melted wax all over the surface, with 2-3 coats.
5. The surface with be rough, with brush strokes and varying thicknesses; using a heat tool, smooth out the surface so it’s nice and even
6. Begin to place your tissue pieces as you wish- you can layer them- they will be transparent layers.
7. To add glitter, heat to melt a portion of the wax, and sprinkle glitter on melted portion; allow to cool.

Once the surface has cooled completely, it will be similar to the surface of a candle. Keep it out of extreme heat!

 

this is the first layer, you want to put down a background and then really coat it with wax. -- when you brush on the wax (i used a melting pot and bees wax, but you could totally just melt chunks of candle.)  i then smoothed out all the wax by heating with an embssing gun. 

then you just layer on the wax- it's SO easy, and SO fun! i lOved the process so much!  i had more technical difficulties with the video for this than i EVER have! one of my lights bit the dust, so it was dark, and then the video was like 15 minutes long and i was annoying myself watching it... so then i really edited it down--and i decided that what i was doing spoke for itself, and added music to drown myself out-- LOL turns out, maybe people would want to hear what i had to say! IDK... SOOOO big apologies for the music, and hopefully the technique will speak for itself!! please forgive me!:)

i do want to express sincere gratitude to Nathalie for inviting me to participate- i needed that little jump! i knew that all the jumpstart artists would totally 'bring it' (which they so totally have), and so it really caused me to push myself, which i am SO glad i did! i have a goal (after cha) to do some art journaling, and i am thrilled to have so many fresh and interesting techniques to explore from these amazing women all over the world. it's humbling, and exhillerating. thanks to each one of you who have participated and shared- i feel like i got to spend time with you, in your creative space--and learn. THANKS!! 

with CHA coming SOON, i have been working, working-- lots to do! be sure to check my fb page, and follow me on twitter and instagram...i've been letting some sneaks trickle out a bit.  also, there will be a sneak peek email going out each day this week, if you aren't signed up to recieve them, head over to www.heidiswapp.com and sign up!

 

 

FRINGE!!

be sure to catch my show at My Craft Channel today, and then get your hands on some FRINGE scissors! they are so much fuN! i am addicted! this is a MUST WATCH to the end so you can check out how to make these KILLER HUGE tissue paper bows:

just FYI... here is the link to the Christmas book shown on the show: HERE

 

i have been SO SICK the last few days- well, almost a week now! and there still so much left to do to get ready for the CHA show! i have been dragging... i hate to be sick. i have had NO energy and it just seems like everything is going at slow motion! i felt a little better today... started my day off w/ a little mixture of Musinex, Excederine, Vitamin C and a protein shake-- did me right, i feel like a human today and actually got a bunch of HAVE-TO-Do's done. yay!  Sorry that i have been so lame at sharing on my blog and on FB etc. For the next week, i will be in hyperdrive to get my stuff ready for the CHA show. CHA stands for 'Craft and Hobby Show' and the Winter installment is the biggest and best show of the year. It's held in Anaheim and starts on Jan 29. I really can't believe it's almost here. i leave in about a week... and i have a long list of preparations! 

i will have a booth and be showing off my new products...3 collections of papers, embellishments, stamps, and stuff-- all sparkly, and happy goodness, perfect for 'making pretty things'.  The booth has been so much fun to plan; it will be interesting to see how it all comes together- i have these beautiful window displays that i will be changing each day of the show- so hopefully everyone will come by everyday to check them out!  in celebration of the BIG debut, next week i will be sending out some 'Sneak Peek' emails each day-- if you are intersted in seeing what i have been working on be sure to join my Newsletter list, and then expect an email everyday next week. (the emails will tapper off drastially after next week, i assure you!) you can sign up on my website  (that is still under construction, but almost readY!) www.heidiswapp.com

don't miss a thing!

 

Make this fab Valentine book in a BOX!

Well, let me be among the first to wish you a HAPPY valentines day! A bit pre-mature, i do agree, but I think that what we can also agree on is that a month will be here, and gone before we know it. it’s indeed hard to believe that we are already 2 weeks deep into this new year!

Valentine’s day traditionally is reserved for lovers! Maybe you immediately think of a fancy dinner,  fresh flowers, or the ultimate demise of New Years Resolutions in the form of Chocolate covered everything!  However, Valentine’s are not just for our ‘special someone’, it’s for our special EVERYONE’s!  it’s a wonderful  excuse to blatantly, and cheese-ish-ly proclaim our love and devotion (and even appreciation) to our friends, kiddos, parents, kids’ teachers, and yep—even those we visit teach (wink).  I have a whole variety of ideas and inspirations up my sleeve to share between now and Feb 14^th, so may as well kick things off with this beautiful project. 

AS I mentioned, it snuck up on me—I wasn’t ready!  so thank you so much for your patience! xoxo

 If you haven’t yet, take a few minutes (13 to be exact) to watch the most current episode, and first the second season of ‘Create to Remember’ where I walk through the general steps of creating this project. Click HERE to link to the show! and if you want to grab some gorgeous flowers to enjoy for the Valentine 'season'... i am wearing THIS one and THIS one...    if you type in "LOVES" as a coupon code (you have to sign in to Etsy), you can get 35% off your order). 

***Valentine kit PURCHASING INFO***

As promised on the show, I have a few tips and instructions to share here, but before I do, I have some good news!  I have worked with the folks at Pink Paislee to put together a kit of the things that you will need to create this project!  CLICK HERE The kit will include the exclusive foilo to create the box; the mistable  papers (12 sheets)  and labels (10 labels) and alphas (77 pieces)!...  The kit is: 17.50 +$8.00 shipping: $25.50 (the retail value is $24.50).  

edited:  Pink Paislee is throwing in the Muslin scallop ribbons for FREE!! so those will be included in the kit as well! YAY

*****Pink Paislee Will accept orders until Sunday 1/15/12 - order early****** 

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: (email info@pinkpaislee.com for International Shipping Rates)

 

**with that you can add your own crepe paper, doilies, ribbons and jewels…and any stuff you may have on hand!... additionally, you will need some Glimmer Mist or Distress inks…or even some water colors or paints. Anything that will colorize these gorgeous papers!

 

let’s get started:

1. you will need to download this template that you will print onto some cardstock, cut and use to trace the shape
2. Select the papers that will be the inside pages of your book (4-5 papers) and fold them in ½ (they will be 6”x12”)
3. Trim ¼” off the open edge of the folded paper

4.  Align the template with the folded edge and trace for all inside pages of the book; Trim each page

 

5.Select the paper for the outside/cover

6. Score with ¼” spine directly in the middle of the paper-- check out how i do this on the video! i use the Martha Stewart scoring tool which i love, and i used a pen to score with ... nice bonus to be able to see the score lines! 

7. Align the template with the cover edge(left) and trace; cut to size (in this photo below, you can see the 1/4" spine, and how the pages fit right inside!)

8. For the spine cover, Cut a 2 ¼”x 12” strip and score ¼” exactly in the middle; fold and trim to the height of the book using the template.

9. Glimmer mist all the page, with different valentine colors- or as desired. You can also ink up the pages with distress ink or use water colors! you don't even HAVE to make it a Valentine project!! could be any color! any title! any reason... this is just a great project for anything!

10.  Glue all the inside pages back to back with the patters to the inside of each fold **adhere pages "back to back"

page1:

page 2: 

page 3: 

11.  adhere the cover/outside around the inside pages- lining up all the edges

12. Decorate the book cover as desired. I used the I-rock (with these)  to embellish, and also cut a heart shape from cardboard & covered with paper.  I added some mistable scallop ribbon, along with misted ribbon and a crystal! Anything goes! Search your stash!

For the box:

1. cover all the sections of the box with misted papers before you adhere the box together. i adhered the paper to the box and the cut around the folio with an exacto knife.  Use the glossy accents to glue, or even hot glue!
2. Cut another heart from cardboard for the closure
3. Position the heart so it’s overlapping the cover flap part way.
4. Use hot glue to adhere ½ the cardboard heart, allowing the flap to tuck under the heart to hold the box closed.

 

have fun creating this project!! it's gorgeous-- i LOVE to use the Cadillac Pink Glimmer mist and love the Polk-a-dot Pink Chalk board color as well!  you can probably see from my close up shot that i did use my sewing machine on the spine-cover... that is just cause i love the look!.. you don't have to sew.  be patient, it should take you a couple of hours. try to be detailed on the cutting and glueing for best results! GOOD LUCK! 

it's coming:

hello friends! i have to apologize!  ACK! you just might be visiting here today expecting to find instructions and information about this week's Valentine project from My Craft Channel!

PLEASE CHECK BACK TOMORROW!! i'll have more info, and instructions as well as a little surprise... thanks for your patience! xoxo

 

happy new year wallpaper...

i did post one of these on my facebook wall...but i thought i'd share them here as well! there's just something about having a fresh and fun wallpaper on your mobile devices! i had posted one or 2 for Christmas, and so here is one to celebreate the NEW year!?

here is another one... i like to change them up! these are high enough res so they will work on the tablets as well:

you can pull them right from here, and if you need instructions to load them to your iphone or ipad, click here ... if you have some of the other devices, maybe you can google for instructions to add them. i only have an iphone.

 

these just **might** be a little sign of something to come for  V A L E N T I N E S   D A Y from THE jessica sprague and me!

new years, new years resolutions get a bad rep!  you know... yea, i think that it's normal to get caught up in that 'NEW YEAR' feeling, where you want to fix ALL the things that are wrong... you want to be BETTER!! last night i was at the gym for one of the classes that Eric and i like to attend, and even the instructor was illuding to the fact that after a week or 2 things would be 'back to normal' at the gym (since the class was packed with those who maybe this instructor considered only in it for the 'resolution' grace period of what, 2 weeks?)  i love 'the middle'... do you watch it? it's on before 'Modern Family' on ABC Wed nights. it's a favorite of ours for sure! last night, the family went so far as choosing RESOLUTIONS for each other! (anonymously) and then were rewarded when they went a week KEEPING that resolution!  so funny! it made me wonder what my family would encourage ME to do for a resolution!  i have setteled for sure on TWO resolutions.  and i have resolved NOT to make weight loss one of them! ..... :) never works fo me!... however, one of my resolutions is to take 4 online classes this year. I want to take them from 4 different people, on 4 different things that i WANT to learn. SKILLS that will push the envelope for me personally.  online classes are awesome-- do at your own pace, in your own home. i LOVE to teach classes online- i love being able to film in my studio, and do things that you just can't do in one or 2 or even 3 hour hands-on-workshop!  i have been in full swing working like crazy on my next online class "The Art of Observation" that will kick off in April --that will be a 12 week course. i hope you will plan on joining me!

for this first quarter of the new year, i have signed up for Jessica Sprague's Digital Art Journaling class.

this i copied from her website:

Art journaling is the process of creating a visual diary - a very personal look at your own inner landscape, but also a place to experiment with art and mixed-media techniques that you can use in other projects, or that become an art form in and of themselves. For the first time ever, Jessica is teaming up with renowned artist & designer Nancie Rowe Janitz to bring you a class that combines traditional art journaling techinques with the ease and sophistication of a digital format! In this four-week instructor-led class, complete with an exclusive 200+ piece kit designed by Nancie, you'll jump-start your creativity and learn gorgeous mixed media techniques to add to your digital projects.

In our class, we'll experiment with adding brushwork from various media, including acrylics and watercolor, as well as combining traditional mixed-media techniques such as painting with bubble wrap with our all-digital format. At the end of class, you'll have 12 artist journal pages you've created yourself using brushes, stamps, vintage and modern collage imagery, stitches, type, photographs, as well as a special surprise! You'll be adding your own handwriting in a font we'll help you make in class!

As a framework for the class, Jessica will provide journaling prompts for each project to help guide your writing and sharpen the focus of your pages.

What You'll Learn in Class:

• Writing journaling using prompts
• Design theories related to art journaling
• How to Install & stamp brushes
• Blending multiple layers together
• Digital painting
• Create a font from handwriting
• Use painterly backgrounds
• Create a font with your own handwriting

Prerequisite: I strongly recommend that you begin your Photoshop journey with the Up and Running with Photoshop class, which walks you through the basics of Photoshop and will make this Instructor-led class more enjoyable for you with those skills under your belt. 

*** the $48 class also includes a 200 pc digi kit. designed by Nancie Rowe Janitz (HELLO!)

 

**the reason i am taking this class is because i want to push what i know so far of photoshop. Photoshop is an amazing LIFE SKILL-- whether you use those skills for digital scrapbooking or for every other area of your life (making cards, handouts, announcements, advertisements, business cards, note cards, calendars, chore charts, invites......and the list goes on...) Photoshop is a daily use operation for me, and not just in my work, but in my life! i LOVE learning each and every new thing. i am not really a 'digital scrapbooker'...hybrid, yes... i like to make things i can USE on a scrapbook page. but  i feel that my photoshop skills are some of my most valuable. for 2012, i really want to grow my photoshop skills!  sounds like the class will be rewarding and challenging-- but more important to me- valuable in the CREATIVE skills of photoshop. Jess is an amazing teacher. This class starts January 9th and goes until the 29th. Frankly, with CHA this month, i won't be able to keep up with the class. but the beauty of the classes on JS.com... is that they are ALWAYS available to you- you can do them REALLY at your own pace. anwyay... i think that learning these skills are going to totally up my game. it's a resolution i can't screw up!

i must admit...i have seen the class samples, and i am looking forward to the creative push!  take a look at it, and consider jumping in! 2012 is looking bright!  This year, for me is all about having Courage.  2012 is Courage Bright!

 

oh... jessica is giving away a FREE CLASS on her blog... go enter to win!

 

a look at our christmas card...

Must admit, highlight of the holiday season is always the Christmas Cards!  They make me so happy… in fact a couple of days ago, I took all my trees and decorations down but haven’t been able to bring myself to take down the cards! Love them! I love seeing the photos of families we have met along our way, seeing the smiling faces of some of our oldest and dearest friends, and catching up just a little! Everyone that comes to my house also enjoys looking at the cards…and asking who is who, and how we know people. It’s just a delight! This year I had so much fun planning and making my family’s card! I just wanted to show you what I did…and how I used my phone to make it happen!  If you are like me, you don’t wander too far from your phone, and use it for everything! Who knew that I’d be using my phone to make my card!

The best part of a Christmas card is the photo… and I like the photo when it’s the whole family! What is up with the people that think that they don’t have to be in the photo w/ their kids? I like to see everyone!! So… I was stressed cause I didn’t really have a current family photo, and time and energy was short to try to make one happen!  I was contemplating a photo collage instead of a group shot, which is still super cute.  I decided to at least try for a photo- I didn’t want to go to the expense of new clothes, or the effort of haircuts or even hair at all… so, I opted for an outside shot and just put everyone in their coats and hats.  I did pick up a couple hats (that we needed anyway) and I think that Colton scored a new sweatshirt as well…I called my sister,  and she came over and we pulled over off the side of the road in a field by our house.   I gave her my phone, and had to snap away.  If there would have been a video, you would have heard my oldest 2 boys arguing everything, “why do we have to do this”, “this is so dumb”, “why do you send out Christmas cards anyway”, “ I am not standing by Quincy”, “ok, 5 pictures that is all”  etc, etc, etc. I mean- c’mon, it was torture!  I did have a vision of what I wanted the photos to look like and the outcome wasn’t really what I hoped for, but it worked!

Once I had about 40 images on my phone, I got home and sat on the couch and put my favorite images though my ‘PictureShow’ app. And then dropped them into my photoshop file for the card. 

you can't believe what a difference it made to do these simple little photo editing actions... this is before, and it was super cute... could have been a usable image- no one crying! 

but look at how great they look after a trip through PictureShow:

As you know, I love to print at Staples- the quality is great, and they take the time to figure out even tricky print jobs.  

My card was 2 pieces, it was a sleeve with a photo tag inside that was double sided.

First I designed the cover to fold over and have an opening for the photos to show through. I wanted it to be double sided, and so I had to play around with the dimensions. This is what it looked like once it was printed. I used the papers and elements from the 12 days of Christmas Collection.. and did a little ‘re-coloring’. i cut the existing family photo out to make a window:

For the inside tag, I designed it so that there were 3 tags on each printed page, and set it up so that the front and back would be lined up perfectly!  When they were printed, I just had to trim the edges, and then cut each piece apart. It was easy!

This is the front:

This is the back:

I printed the cover on letter weight pearlized paper, and the inside tags on 110 lb. white cardstock- so the sheens were a little different, and so it looked cool on that shiny paper! i did mess up my design a little -- and only noticed after it was printed- but i had to let it go... :)

… no matter what you do, or how you do it… the people you love LOVE to hear from you and remember you! PLAN to send out a card next year!  Plan to learn a new skill… learn to use photoshop or photoshop elements! Get your kids/family involved or even work with a friend or family member to take photos, create the card… have a card addressing night! I’d hate to see the Christmas card tradition to fade away! 

 

welcome 2012!

Welcome 2012! It’s here… it’s shocking- I was thinking back on the entry of 2011, and even 2010… and I can only imagine that a year from now will not go by any slower! So really, you have to just LIVE it up! You have to make the most of everyday! New Years Eve is tricky- don’t you think? Like… do you have a great party? Hope to get invited to a great party? Plan something low-key cause you don’t think you are going to go to a great party- OR, resign yourself to the fact that it’s harder to get the kids arranged and you should just ‘join em’! we added my 2 nephews to our crew (my brother and sister have way more party potential that we do!) Our local ‘rec center’ was having a NYE party, and it looked pretty awesome… on the line up:

Clowns

Carnival Games

Bounce Houses

 

Video games

Swimming

A magician and a hypnotist

As well as a big countdown to midnight

I have to hand it to the organizers- b/c it’s a huge undertaking to pull off a great party, especially for the public, and kids of all ages!  I though it was a hit! We had a really fun time, and the kids were totally entertained and excited the whole time. it was the first time I been there swimming, and the facility is gorgeous- especially the pool. Fabulous! The slide in the kiddy area was holy-cow-fast and so that kept my crew happy!

 

I LOVE the NEW YEAR!   I am ready, and excited and willing to make some changes and make sure that 2012 will be one to remember. Something tells me, it will be! huge thanks to the folks at the Herriman Rec Center-  you did awesome! not sure how many more years that my kids will want to hang out with me on NYE! better make the most of it while they do, (or have no choice!)

 

our christmas eve...

Wow… the blog really took a back seat to all the festivities of this last week! It’s been CRAM PACKED with holiday family fun! We could NOT have had more fun, more food, more action and less sleep. Not possible. I am going to post  some of my favorite memories over the next few days as I start to pack up the trees and take down the decorations…it’s been a wonderful, magical, memorable Christmas!

Today I want to share one of my most favorite memories from this year, and a new-ish tradition. This is the first year in a LONG time that we were all together as a family on Christmas. The last 4 Christmases have all been ‘SKYPE’ Celebrations as we were living in China and my folks were on their mission in Fiji.  NOW, there are 10 grandchildren and the kids are old enough to really understand what is going on, and it’s an important and sacred teaching opportunity on Christmas Eve. Of course we have always read from the Bible, the account of the Savior’s Birth, and gathered around the piano for my dad to play Carols… and we have even acted it out with only my crew… but this year my mom did the coolest thing- she found a narration/poem about the first Christmas Eve, and had assigned each person parts. Then she made very simple little costumes, so each person could get dressed up as their part.  As my dad read from the Bible, we all said our parts and helped the littles with theirs. Its was adorable, and so sweet… and the kids loved dressing up, and being ‘on stage’. It’s a perfect new tradition! I loved it.

 

 

After a present exchange and yummy ham & funeral potatoes dinner we were headed back to our houses to get ready for bed!

when we got home to our house... it was clear we had to whip up a batch of Santa's FAVORITE choc. chip cookies... he leaves a note each year, that they are his all time fav!  so we unwrapped new jammies, and made cookies, and drugged the kids with benedryl and off they were into sweet slumber... and thus christmas eve BEGAN!