2000 Member Party - Let's Go To the Hop!

Wow! Hey everybody! Thanks to you, we have reached 2000 members over at The Outlawz! So welcome to the party! If you aren't already a member of The Outlawz, just hop on over there and join up - it's easy, and we're just a bunch of fun folks who happen to be paper crafters, so come on over and hang out with us! We have members from all around the world. Someone even counted up all the countries recently, and it was a LOT! So our THEME for the 2000 Member Party is "Where In the World". This week I am representing the Design Team for the Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenges. Our goal each week is to 1) have fun and 2) make projects of all types and try to bring different ideas and techniques to the table and 3) have fun! (I think there's another theme going on here) We have lots of prizes to share this week. Each of the blogs in the hop has a prize to offer. The prize from our group is 5 Digi Images from Sandi's Samples! Sandi is a queen of talent, and if you haven't seen her wonderful work, you can check it out over at her blog:

 

 On behalf of Rona, Sharon, Elaine, Karen, Jenny, and myself, we welcome you to our tutorial. So, what goodies do we have to share today? Well, our challenge is to MAKE A PROJECT THAT REFLECTS THE COLORS OF YOUR COUNTRY, or even maybe where you would like to live someday, or your favorite country to visit if you are a globetrotter! Rona put together a fabulous project and tutorial to share with you today, and this one is a doozie!!!

 

Tutorial for a Loopy Flower by Rona Mallard
Items needed: Twine or String; 12 straight pins; cork or cardboard; scissors; needle

 First you will need to make your loom. I used a thick cork board cut to a 2 1/4 circle. You can also use cardboard (or two pieces of chipboard glued together) as long as you can stick the pins in the edges. You will stick your 12 pins in at equal distances around the circle. I placed a red pin (which is my starting place across from black) then matching colors opposite each other all the way around. It does not have to be perfect as long as you get all 12 pins in.

 
 Next, Take your twine and leaving a 2 inch tail; wrap around the pins from top to bottom (this is why I placed the colored pins opposite each other it helps remember where you are) My first wrap is always around the red with the tail hanging by the black. Go around the loom twice (if you are using a single string of twinery twine you may want to go around 3 times).

 

 Once you are finished wrapping, cut your twine with 12 – 14 inches out and thread through your needle.

 

 You will then “backstitch” around the circle. I always start at the red pin going under all of the twine wrapped around that pin. From then on you will go under two of the sets of twine (two pins). This will make a loop over each of the “petals”. I like to squish those stitches down to the center of the circle as close as you can for a nice loopy petaled flower. I go around the circle twice because it ends up with a nice braided look when you flip it over.

 

 After you have gone around twice you should be back at the red pin and have a tail left to tie to the tail you had in the beginning (by the black pin). Tie a knot to secure. Then you will begin pulling out your pins to release each petal. I pull it out then replace it right back in the same place so it will be ready for your next flower. Go all the way around to release the entire flower and then flip it over. Your loopy flower is finished!!

 

 I hope you have lots of fun with these. I certainly have!!! I have made several for wreaths and cards. I have even seen these on banners 

 

 Woo hoo! Look at THAT beautiful creation! Rona certainly outdid herself on this tutorial and that gorgeous wreath! Rona says she was inspired by a Pinterest project from Meridian Road. Thanks so much for stopping by and joining us on the 2000 Member Party and Blog Hop! If you started at the beginning and made it all the way to me, I should be the last one on your blog trip. If you finished up here, you can jump back over to The Outlawz and click on the 2000 Member Party tab at the top of the main page. If you still haven't visited everybody yet, here is the list and the links: 

Blog Hop Order

 The Outlawz Host: Colleen Holmes
 CAS Host: Pryn Garritan
 Greetings Host: Tina Gilliland
 Color Host: Teresa Arsenault
 Sketch Host: Cindy Potentier
 Twisted Thursdays Host: Patricia St. Martin
 Copic/Promarkers Host: Darlene Lyons
 Paper Ala Mode: Theresa Lee (you are here)

 Don't forget to do a few things:
1. Leave a comment here on this blog.
2. Head back over to The Outlawz and click on the 2000 Member Party tab at the top of the Main Page. Click on the Tutorial Blog Hop thread and follow the instructions there And if you make a project, please post it in the Inlinkz.
3. Join in playing some of our games and challenges throughout the week.
4. Have fun!

 Big hugs to you all, and thanks again for hopping along!

The Proud Mom!

No time for scrappiness this week - been preparing for this big day! My "baby", Chris, graduated from high school today with honors. He's heading off to Virginia Tech in less than two months, and I am so excited for him. The world is his oyster! A lot of my paper crafting friends have followed Chris' progression over the years, and have always been so supportive of both Chris and my daughter Michelle, who is now a doctor, just finishing her first year of residency. Eighteen years ago I fell in love with this little baby, and now here he is all of a sudden a man. Just to say I am proud of him doesn't even begin to describe the feelings I have for this handsome, smart, sweet, lovable guy! This is a picture of Chris and me following the graduation ceremony: I'll be back next week with a new creation, but this little (big) guy is by far my great creation ever! Thanks for stopping by! Big hugs to you!

Anything but a card!

Happy Saturday! It sure is a lot more peaceful around here that it was this time last week. Lots to be thankful for in life! This week our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge at The Outlawz is to make anything but a card. A few years ago, I NEVER made cards - for some reason I found it quite intimidating. I spent all of my creativity making mini albums and scrapbook pages. Now, I make cards most all of the time, and occasionally I venture to something else, like a banner. So what to do? What to do? I decided to make one of these cute little corner bookmarks. I learned how to make these a couple of years ago, and I think they are just darling, and make a great little extra to a book you might give someone as a gift. I used some darling papers and embellishments from Basic Grey, with a few other things thrown in for good measure like the little Tiny Type sticker alphabets from Cosmo Cricket - I own those in every color they have! I also did a little edge stitching. As an avid reader, and with two sisters and a daughter who read as much or more than I do, the book as a gift was always a great option. Now, we have almost exclusively gone to e-readers - Michelle and I both have iPads, and both of my sisters have Kindle Fires. I have to say that I never thought I would enjoy using an e-reader, but now I can't imagine it otherwise. I still like my magazines and catalogs in paper format, but love having my books in electronic format. But I do sometimes miss the smell and feel of a good book! Hope you like my bookmark - I made it for my sister Liz, who we call the Crazy Cat Lady. Thanks for stopping by, and big hugs to you!

A Tornado and a Recipe??? Eek!

Happy Saturday everybody! I'm happy to report that we made is just fine through a tornado yesterday evening - that was quite an experience. Had (thankfully) about 5 minutes advance warning. Michelle and Chris hid in the closet, Boo Kitty hid under the bed, and I gave a running commentary of what was going on to try to keep the kids from being too frightened. Thankfully we only sustained minor damage because we don't have any big trees in our yard, but a lot of my neighbors weren't so fortunate. Been cleaning up debris all morning, so am taking a break to post this. Here's a shot of some of the aftermath - that's my house in the background:

Our Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge over at The Outlawz this week is a recipe from Rona - use 1 image, 2 words, 3 patterned papers, 4 embellishments, and 5 colors. A couple of weekends ago I was fortunate enough to take a couple of Suzanne Dean's Copic classes, so I have been trying to put them to good use. This cute little clown is from A Day for Daisies, and I just couldn't resist getting all bright and cheery with it!

I'm heading back out to clean up some more stuff - say a few prayers for all of us, and especially prayers of thanksgiving that nobody was hurt! Love and hugs to you all!