Responding to comments (giveaway at bottom)

I'll be on vacation for a few days next week so I'm saving my scrappy posts for then.

I know Blogger has the option to reply to comments but for some reason, my blog will not let me add that feature.

I read every comment and visit the blogs that stop by and I noticed a few comments over the past couple of weeks.  Just wanted to respond to them.
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Abbey said...

Those look perfect for December Daily. Oh, and have you seen Marcy Penner's badges?

Yep!  I own a few sets too but they are SO hard to get.  She ran out of them 3 times before I snagged some.  

Hester said...

Love the potty people, would love to see flair with kitchen stuff

Good thing she loves special requests!  I'm sure she would love to hear your suggestions.  I asked for potty people and she had them listed in less than 48 hours.

Karen said...

I wouldn't call it feeble! I like both layouts despite the fact that I don't particularly care for that paper line for whatever reason so- great job!! :)

You know, I didn't like those papers either BUT I bought the paper pack to make it easy on myself and I couldn't let these papers go.  They matched my sons outfit so I went with it.  Totally not my favorite.  I used all the good papers on my mini!  ;)

Busygirl said...

Wow, 7 generations of women? He must be the most spoiled grandson on the face of the planet! Woo hoo!

He's so cute and adorable. Seeing these pics bring a smile to my face. I have a baby boy too, and I often wonder what innate talents he has. So far he doesn't look very athletic, so we'll see haha!

Yes he is!  We are all guilty of it.  6 months ago my cousin had a boy so now there are two.  We like to think we're the pioneers of the family.  ;)  

scrappymo! said...

Lots of fun and interesting things on your desk this week. Love the look of the mini...I have one very similar and have never actually done a mini. What do you cover the chipboard with...is it paint?

Doesn't the paint make the paper fibers sort of swell from the moisture?

Boy, I sure have lots of questions this week!!! I guess you can tell that I would like to try one of my mini's but don't know where to start.

Here's a tip on these.  I took a class with Christine Middlecamp once and she loves details.  She said in the class that there are things she's willing to spend time on and things that just need to get done.  Painting the edges of mini albums makes for a cool look and more time to focus on the pages.

We used an odd shaped mini in her class and she had us paint the edges.  It was that or sit for hours and cut out the scallops around EACH page.  By doing that, we were able to just cut circles that fit inside (does that make sense).  Now I do this on every mini album.  

You have to use the right paints.  I've tried the regular acrylic from the craft store and it works.  But you have to put multiple coats on and I hate that.  And sometimes I can see the foam brush strokes.  I use the Claudine Helmuth paints.  They go on nice and thick in one coat and dry pretty quickly.  They are thick, not watered down so it does not warp the chipboard.  Then I just cut a shape to fit inside.  This time, I spent a little more time because the pages were going to be really simple and cut the artisan shape.   

Another tip I just read somewhere (wish I could find the blog again) is to lay out each piece of your mini and work on it one layer at a time.  Start with the base.  Paint it, cover it with paper - whatever.  Then add pictures.  Then embellishments.  Build up from the base.  I tried that with this mini and was very happy with the results.  I've always tried to start from the cover and work my way through each page.  By the time I get to the middle I'm ready to trash it.

Wow - that was long!  Sorry.

WillieburgScrapper said...

WOW!!!! Love all the details I see in your PL! Great color combo and I'm SO tempted to buy those Shabby Chic items-they are so darned cute!!! I'm supposed to be on a budget- yeah right!!! Great combination of patterns in your pages as well- really fun to look at all the details.

I really wanted to stick to a budget for this and not seek out new items.  I really wanted to use my collection of stuff but there were a few things I just had to have.  Veronica makes some amazingly fun tags and I love her shop!

Mary Jo Rhoda said...

Really great layouts!
And I hope you don't mind if I pin the top one on Pinterest!! :)

Pin away!  I'm flattered actually.  And that reminds me, I need to add the Pin It code to my blog.

Thank you for the comments.  I enjoy reading each one and checking out your blogs.  

Also, I have the giveaway from yesterday.  You still have a few days to leave a comment.  Click here for details and to leave a comment for a chance to win a prize pack from The Stringery.