Lynda's Den

Start to look at this next months events...birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving, or other type of things like this that are pertinent to your family.  Spend a little time today putting things down on a calendar...pretty soon we will be working on a monthly type of calendar to keep track of the events in your life, so you do not miss a thing!   If you do not celebrate holidays or birthdays, look at basic cards that you might need to get done...is there someone who is sick, a kid who needs a perk me up, or someone who is moving....make a card for them!!!    As you look at your calendar, make sure you pencil in a time to get the cards done.  Spend one 30 minute session on putting things together such as the papers and embellishments needed to finish them up.   Start to look at card designs for the cards you need to make, or sketches that you want to recreate.   This way, you break things down a bit more to get things done as y...

My first site that I want to showcase has a lot going for it.  Purchase by the 31st, use code CURE10 for an extra 10% off your order.  This has by far is becoming a fast favorite of mine, and can't wait until I have a bit of extra money to spend!  Oh My Crafts.com  not only has Cricut cartridges for $22.22, but their clearance section is wonderful!  This is a Utah based company, which means they are from Scrapbooking Heaven!   Having lived there myself from the time I was born until 3 years ago, I will vouch for companies in which are founded in Utah.  Most of the people who are involved in the scrapbooking business are scrapbookers themselves!  Make sure you check out their site and get their newsletter too!  Make sure you check out Paper Wishes for their Weekly Webisodes , especially checking out their latest webisodes for help with Christmas cards!  They have great products too, with kits and templates that will help you along ...

Christmas comes once a year...are you like me, and usually finish projects up the night before...or do you carefully plan each and every project that you make?  Each month I will take a bit of time, to help you to spend a bit of time in planning the next months events!   I will be right there with you, planning out the events I need to look at and make things for!    The first project I am sharing is one I have shared before...a composition notebook!   Notebooks, paired with a coordinating bookmark make a great gift.  I made a notebook in Christmas colors, so I could plan things out a bit for Christmas.  I put things in there such as my Christmas card list, designs for the cards, what I want to get for who, and sizes/information about each person.  With the notebook, find a book your gift recipient wants...or get a gift certificate to go with the notebook!  I use my notebook for planning, or just as a simple journal to keep...

New Tuesday edition of the shopping alert...site alert posts I have been doing!  I wanted to give you another day's worth of sites, each post will give you different sites for you to choose from!  So, lets get started with this new edition!  This is my favorite site pick....Make sure you check out Two Peas In A Bucket  for so many great things this week!  If you want to learn to stamp, check out their stamp overstock selection, with over 500 different items available on this link alone!  You also have to check out their Halloween sale page, with everything Halloween related on sale!  Even I want to purchase a few things, and I don't really like Halloween a lot!  Make sure to sign up as a user, and have them send you their newsletter so you can see the fun ideas they have!    My favorite product pick is the Sizzix Outlet  which features Sizzix die cuts - cheap!  Not only do you want to sign up as a user, make sure ...

For those of you who have been following me since July, you know each month I talk about Christmas...  We are now 2 months before the blessed event, so I am kicking things up a notch or two.  By now, I hope you have at least started looking at things...I have a few things started for my Christmas cards, now will spend the time designing with what I have!  As for the gifts you want to make...I hope you are looking at that a bit seriously...  I am finishing up the gifts I started a long time ago!   For whatever reason, the creativity just wasn't there for me, but now has started to come back a bit more!  Look at different things for your own personal inspiration!  You might like how someone made a particular item, but have a kit already in other things.  Make that item in what you do have, it will help for the cost factor using up what you already have!  Take a look at back posts for Shopping Alerts...there are a lot of great places th...

As you can tell, I am not a Halloween person...  I have really never been a "Halloween person" much of my life, stemming from an accident that happened to my sister when we were little.  She was carving a pumpkin and ended up slicing her hand and had to have surgery on it.  From that point forward we did not do much for THAT holiday!  Fast forward to me having kids.....it wasn't about me, it turned to them instead.  I still am not into that holiday much, but I do enjoy the decorations this time of the year!  Halloween cards are quick and easy to make, use a few stickers to add to it, find a saying and you are done.  In the examples here, I used stickers I already had, scraps of paper, and freebies when I went to the Scrapbook Expo in Utah one year!  As with anything I do, when you make a layout, learn to make a quick card too, so you do not have to spend a lot of time in that one little detail.  With the card above, I used a simple r...

I totally love challenges, and when I found these Ads, I knew I had to do a few Ad Challenges for the week!  This is your take on any of these, either the layout, the colors, or anything else you get out of them...  The ad to the right here, can be done any way you want.  I am planning a black and white layout, will share with you when I finish it up!   Please make sure you share a link with us if you put this on your blog, gallery, or web site!     With the above two ads, I love the blue border on the bottom in a thin strip, and with the above example, I like how the saying is on the left side, with more words on the bottom.  To me, these are more "fun" type of layouts to do with a birthday spread, or other fun event, especially the top layout of the two, using words and pictures!  This would be a great layout where you do not have any pictures to use!  Some of my most powerful layouts are the ones where the...

You will start to see this on Saturdays, with another edition during the week.  I get so many different emails of stuff that is just neat, that once a week is not enough anymore to do this, so watch for another edition during the week!  One of the first places I found that I just had to share with you this past week (and totally fell in love with) is Oh My Crafts .  They have a few really neat specials I just had to share with you all!  They have over 22 Cricut cartridges  for $22.22 each or purchase 4 for $87.00!  They have ideas that are just neat as you can see...Quickutz for 50% off, Sixxiz for 80% off, and a bunch of other wonderful specials.  Use coupon code cure10 for an extra 10% off your order until 10/31/10.  Make sure to check out Paper Wishes Catalog  for 4 free ideas, plus specials for November!  Get a head start of fun projects for your family...make a mini album for everyone to sign for what they are grateful for, or p...

Halloween  Halloween, it is totally not my favorite time of the year, but yet this is one of my favorite layouts of my kids....taken 19 years ago!  The layout was made from a kit I bought a long time ago, but I also added a few things to it such as the brads and Halloween sign at the bottom left side.  This spread uses 5 photos, plus with the space the tags fill up, you could use a couple of other photos if you want to!   The kit had the orange paper plus the tags.  I added the photos, the ribbon for the tags, along with the brads and Halloween sign.   Since I was running short on paper, I trimmed the inside of the black paper to use it for matting my photos.  This way, you couldn't tell by the front of the layout, and I saved money by using the paper I did have, instead of running out and buying more.  Basic supplies to complete the layout: 2 sheets black cardstock 2 sheets orange patterned paper 4 tags 2 brads or eyelets in...

Using a paper piecing pattern to create a one of a kind look for your pages and cards does not have to be hard.  You take the "pattern" ( which can be anything from a free pattern downloaded from the internet, one you purchase, or one you make yourself out of a coloring book or drawing.    If you do not have any patterns but are wanting to try something, check out the endless list at Scrapbooks Etc.  in their printables section.   In the above sample, I used a part of a pattern I had to be able to create the "books", and simply used a black, fine tip marker to finish up the look.   Take a look at what is available to you online, or parts of the patterns you already to have to find that perfect pattern for your items.  In this example, I had to create a book for the main photo and also for the little books on the bottom.  They are raised by using Glue Dots adhesive products (check them out) to make them pop.  I drew out the lo...

Each week I try to give you places to look at for you crafting needs!   Look at the sales and clearance sections of each of the places, for things YOU are attracted to!   Also learn to look at how YOU create...do you need themes, or ideas included in the packet you purchased, or are you the kind of person who will be able to come up with your own ideas?  Look at each aspect of how you create, and learn to look at ways you can save money!  Just because something is on sale does not mean it is a good buy if you have no idea what you are going to use it for!  Here are a few places that have great specials this week:  Make sure to check out My Craftivity Store  for a bunch of great books for you to purchase!  There are a lot on sale, as well as for different types of crafts, so make sure to check them out!   Find a book for that special someone who loves to knit...purchase some supplies like knitting needles, yarn, etc., for th...

Alphabet templates can save you a bunch of money in your scrapbooking or paper crafting if you can find the perfect style for you!  I have used this basic template in many different types of layouts and projects with my paper crafting.   In this example, you can see the brads in the letters, in the same colors as the rest of the layout.   This helps to tie the colors used in the entire layout!  On the side of the picture are tags written down with things include why I feel "different"!  Easy layout to recreate using 1 word with definition and 1 picture!     This is another example of alphabet templates, this one is the Coluzzle system with eyelets and matting the letters.  This layout was a lot of fun to do, especially with the pictures of Casey's hair sticking straight up...the title was what his daddy Richie used to say to him all the time, so it was fitting for the layout!   Templates are fun and easy to use, and can custo...

Using templates does not have to be hard...especially when you are using basic shapes that are easy to use, such as the hearts in the layouts below.  Most templates will come with multiple shapes to use in different sizes, or just different shapes.  Look for the type of shapes you are attracted to, at first I started with basic shapes and alphabets such as the layout you see here!  I attached a string of beads to the hearts, and ultimately attaching a ribbon to it, to create a unique look.  The layout was how I felt when I was around my Uncle Vaughn, and how far I felt from the ground when he held me!    With the above layouts, I used a circle template to create the circles above.  You can use just about anything to create a circle, including a bowl, cup, or any other item that has a circle shape.  Look at the basic things you have around you before spending money on something you won't use a lot of.  Using templates along with d...

You cannot miss these specials in the next few days...so if you are on a budget, have money to spend...check out these specials!  Scrapbook.com   has a great special just because today only comes once in a lifetime!  The fun part for me, it's also my husbands birthday today!  Take 10% off everything with coupon code tententen2987 for the next 4 days!!!!  Take advantage of this sale and pick up what you need for your style of scrapbooking!  Mycraftivitystore.com    is also having a wonderful sale on all types of craft books, not just scrapbooking!  They have a great book available for making holiday cards for $12.00, so if you are looking at making your own cards, this looks like a great book!  Have you seen the Sizzix Eclips machine  and the features it has?  This machine lets you create customized shapes and letters for your projects.  They do have a 3 easy pay option for now...so you might want to check this o...

This is Madge, the old lady stamp I have used on a lot of different type of cards.  She is the kind of old lady that just cracks you up, and reminds you of someone you know...either your mom, favorite aunt, or neighbor!  It is fun to use Madge...on a basic notecard such as this card example, or to use on a birthday card adding a fun saying to it for someone who is bent on being attractive their whole life!  You can look at this card, and think of a ton of different sayings you could use with her!   Making cards is not hard, in this example, I used a basic black ink pad, and simple chalks to match the cardstock I chose to use.  For me, I used scraps of cardstock to create the card front.  Also, make sure you get a stamp to use on the back of your cards, designed by...or handmade by....so that you can showcase your creation with people.  You never know what will happen when you start to give cards like this to so...

Time is precious...you are either running here or there, trying to get everything accomplished in your day.  Your work, have kids, and probably have many other things in your life other than just the things already mentioned.  Take 30 minutes to look at this months events...what do you have coming up that needs your attention?  Look at birthdays, holidays, and also the events for your family such as anniversaries, showers, or weddings even.  October for me brings Halloween...a holiday my husband loves more than anything, plus his birthday!  We have a wedding this month we have been invited too...something we have not been to for years...   What do you need to do to get things done?  If you are a procrastinator like me...I am going to be your reminder to help you get things done!  So, at the beginning of each month, you will have a post just to remind you to look at what you need to for the month!  Either start to purchase things, or ma...

It's the beginning of the month, less than 3 months until Christmas!  What are your plans?  I know for me, I am creating wall hangings, to send to a few of my favorite people to hang up...early December.  I have shared the pieces with you, before...but for those of you who missed it (hate the scan...but you can get the idea)  You can't really see the top of the piece, but when it is finished up, framed and ready to go, I will get a picture and show you the finished piece.  It will be matted, and framed in a wood frame that will match the fireplace!  In the square above the fireplace will be a place for me to customize each household's last name that will be getting the gift.  I made them a few years ago, this year will finish them up and actually get them in the mail to people!  How is YOUR list's going?  For me personally, I am struggling with who and what to send.  But I am different, I particularly do not get along with my fam...