Scrapbook Layout - Demo Timesavers

One of my favorite parts of my job is something called “Demos.”  Basically this is where I sit at a table in the front of my store and do a quick project while talking up customers about our products and my classes.  If you’ve ever been to a major craft store on a busy Saturday afternoon you have probably seen a Demo in action.  These can be a great resource for customers, and are not just limited to scrapbooking.  I have also done mixed media and general crafting demos.  Other instructors also have demos.  You could catch some great baking tips or learn a new jewelry making technique.  There are schedules of these available online at www.Michaels.com, but the best way to find ones that catch your interest are to check the in-store calendars.

As an instructor there are many challenges that a demo project can present.  You rarely have an electrical outlet or sink, your workspace is very limited, and there can often be messy materials like paint or mod podge involved.  However, I find with scrapbooking demos the biggest limitation I have is time.  This leads me to plan my layouts in advance thinking of impactful techniques that are super speedy.  Here is the layout that I created during my in store demo time this past Saturday:

Meet my cutie niece!

A few products helped make this complicated looking border and color blocked matting technique go quickly. 

They include a white acid free gel pen, glitter roll tape by Recollections, and cardstock stack pad that is pre-cut to border size with the adhesive pre applied.  Since the back is peel and stick you aren’t wasting any time with a messy glue stick.  I am using DCWV brand Textured Cardstock Adhesive Border Stack in the brights color palette for this layout.  They are relatively inexpensive and come with 36 border sheets in a variety of colors.  I also have a neutrals pack which is nice to use for bases in more elaborate border techniques.  The borders are 12” x 2”, but they can be punched or cut to any size.  The color blocked matting featured on the photos is simply border pieces cut to size and adhered to a single mat under the photo.  The white gel pen dashes add a faux stitched look quickly.  The border for this page was created by layering two border strips together, then adding a strip of glitter tape on top.  The glitter roll tape also has a simple peel and stick back and can be cut easily to any length.  It gives an embellishment an extra little pop when used as a border:

In between assisting customers and talking up classes there just simply isn’t much time to complete a demo project in the hour we are allotted.  This layout was put together in under thirty minutes, including stamping and a couple minutes of ink drying.  You still say you don’t have time for scrapbooking?  I bet you really do!    

The Beer Cake!

I am not an expert baker.  Not even close.  I’m just a mom who got sick of buying birthday cakes from a big box bakery that looked and tasted so… average.  However, I do come from a long line of gifted home cooks.  My Mamaw is an amazing baker, and I love for us to work together in the kitchen.  After we struggled to produce Mickey Mouse cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday last year, I was ready to sign us up for professional help.  Oh don’t get me wrong, they tasted divine, they just looked horrific.  So we set out to take a Wilton cake decorating class at Michael’s, which I LOVED.  Now I make lots of cake for my friends and family.  I have even sold one!  I have only had the time to take the first section of the four cake decorating classes offered, but would love to have the opportunity to take more. 

The Wilton website is an amazing resource, and I refer to it often when baking, especially for recipes.  It is in the links section of this blog.  There are also tons of instructional cake decorating videos available on Youtube.  My other favorite cake site for instruction is www.designmeacake.com.  This link is also in the links section here on my blog.  This is the site of Edna De La Cruz, an amazing cake artist.  She’s so good she’s even been on Food Network’s “Challenge.”  She has wonderful recipes that include instructional videos with great tips.  I much prefer her buttercream recipe to Wilton’s because it contains actual butter instead of all shortening.

Whenever I set out to make a birthday cake I am reminded of this Disney gem from my childhood:

Poor Goofy.  Baking is such an arduous process for him!  Why can’t he just be dancing with the others?  But alas, his cake turns out all right in the end.

I know what you’re thinking.  When are we getting to the beer cake?  Well folks, here it is:

My father makes home brewed beer as a pastime and this was his 50^th birthday cake.

So, you’re gonna make a cake, eh?  Well, where do you start?  In this case my mom specifically requested that the cake look like a beer, so I started with that idea.  After searching the Wilton website I find they did make a beer mug shaped cake pan called “Good Cheer,” but it has been long discontinued, and I didn’t have the time to scour eBay, so I decided to make my own shape by carving the sides of a sheet cake down to look like a pint glass.  So here was my basic plan, bake a regular sheet cake (actually a half sheet in this case), carve it, ice it in a beer colored frosting, and then pipe foam and other details in white.  I sketched a glass on a piece of paper the get a feel for the shape and then measured a real one to get the dimensions right between the top and the bottom.

Baking the actual cake part is very simple.  I use a kicked-up box recipe I got from my Wilton teacher.  Here are the ingredients:

A box of cake mix.  I like Duncan Hines the best.  I do NOT like Pillsbury.  Just don’t get a mix that says “pudding in the mix.”  *Don’t pay a lick of attention to the recipe on the box!*

A small box of pudding in a coordinating flavor.  For example, if you are using white cake use vanilla pudding.  You can get creative with your flavor combos here in a yummy way.  I love to use butterscotch pudding mix with yellow cake.

4 eggs.  If you want white cake use whites only.  I use the whole egg for all other flavors.

1 cup of sour cream.

½ cup of water.

½ cup of vegetable oil.

Before you get to mixin’ you need to prep your pan.  I am using a product by Wilton called cake release.  It’s like greasing and flouring all in one step.  You just brush it on with a pastry brush, covering the full pan, making sure to get your corners well coated. 

After combining your ingredients pour your batter into your pan, making sure not to fill it more than half full.  If your pan is more than half full going in it could over flow or rise above the edge making a round place.  Basically, it could make your finished cake ugly, so don’t do it.  Throw that last half cup of batter away if you have to.  I bake my cake at a lower temperature, 325 for a longer time (50 minutes in the case of this cake).  This helps it to not hump up or fall in the middle.  Remember our dear friend Goofy?  Another lesson we learned from him:  You will WANT to look at the cake before it is done, but DO NOT LOOK AT THE CAKE!  Every time you open the door you have the risk of the cake falling in the middle, and you reduce the heat in your oven.

When your cake comes out allow it to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then turn it out to a board for complete cooling.  If you prepped your pan like I told you to you will end up with a beauty like this:

Now I set about making it look like a glass.  Using a serrated knife I started cutting away diagonally at the sides.  I ended up with this shape:

For my base frosting I used a recipe I had not used before, but really liked.  It was easy and mixed like a standard buttercream.  Here are the ingredients:

1/3 cup Shortening.  I use Crisco sticks, it makes the measuring a snap.

1/3 cup Butter.  Use REAL butter NOT margarine.  Also, make sure it is super softened.  If it is cold you will have lumpy frosting.

¾ cup Creamy Peanut Butter.
1 tsp. Vanilla.  Again, use the real stuff.  Imitation is just plain ole not as good.

1 pound of powdered sugar. 

4-6 Tablespoons of milk.  Start with 4, then judge your consistency.  If it’s too thick add the milk a tablespoon at a time until it is spreading consistency.   

I added a little yellow color and some brown to darken it up and make it look more like a home brewed beer and less like a Michelob Ultra.  These are Wilton cake colors:

Add them sparingly as a little goes a long way.  Only dip a CLEAN toothpick or knife tip in the jar as to not contaminate the whole thing.   Also, be careful with your clothing and other porous surfaces as they can be extremely staining, especially the darker colors. 

Then I over beat the heck out of this frosting on purpose to give it a bubbly carbonated look:

The foam and piping details are just regular buttercream.  I use this recipe: http://www.designmeacake.com/bcrec.html with one exception, I just use regular shortening, because I have been unable to find any high-ratio at my grocery store.  Edna also has a great video on this page to walk you through the process.  I mixed a portion of my plain buttercream with a couple teaspoons of piping gel to make it easy to make outlines and letters. 

Homemade buttercream is easy and takes just a few basic ingredients.  It really kicks the can frosting’s artificial booty.  One ingredient worth seeking out at your craft store is meringue powder.  I think its addition really helps to stiffen the icing and allow it to be piped more easily.  However, if you or someone eating your cake has an egg allergy you need to skip it.

The most difficult part of the cake process for me is applying the base icing to the cake.  The best tips that I have are to apply more icing than needed and remove little by little with your spatula as you go.  Make sure you are pushing the icing and not the cake.  After the basic icing is applied I piped the beer glass outline using a small #3 tip.  I swirled the bag as I heavily piped with a larger #13 tip to make the foam, making sure to “spill” a little down the sides of the glass. 

Pretzels were added as a border to add to the beer theme.  I have to admit I didn't come up with that myself, but saw it on the Wilton message boards after searching for "beer cake."

Writing on a finished cake can be absolutely nerve racking.  The first time you do it, it will most likely not look as good as you hoped.  I recommend practicing on a practice board or paper plate first.  You don’t want to end up on www.cakewrecks.com, so check your spelling first by writing your message down on a scrap of paper first. 

So there you have it folks, my super basic cake tips!  Remember when it comes to cake, even when it looks like crap, it can still taste wonderful, so keep on baking for practice, and share those tasty treats!

Foam Party - Crafting with Kids

     If you are a parent and you aren’t crafting with your kids, you’re missing out.  Regardless of their age or skill level, there is a project out there to engage every child.  I was speaking with the Wilton cake teacher at my store about how much our kids love being with us in the kitchen.  Even if they are too little to measure they can still stir and be a part of the process.  She even gives her two year old a piping bag with a little buttercream for practice.  For the youngest kids, crafting helps build fine motor skills, and brings up countless lessons about shapes, colors, and numbers.  For older kids it can help build confidence and perseverance by instilling a sense of pride when a project is completed.  Here are some tips for crafting with your kid:

• Have an open mind and relax.  This really goes for all crafting, but especially children’s projects.  Your child may not want to do things exactly the way the instructions say.  That’s ok.  Depending on the project, it could get messy.  That’s ok, too. 
• Pick an age appropriate project.  Your three year old is not ready for glass etching.  Conversely, your eleven year old may be bored to death cutting felt shapes.  Make sure that the materials required can be used by them safely, especially cutting tools and adhesives.
• Pick a project your kid shows interest in.  Maybe your son wants to learn cross stitch, or your daughter is into models.  Let them have at it.  You never know, if they really love it you could be instilling in them a lifelong past time.
• Pick a good time.  Right before nap time is not a good time.  When you are distracted by a huge pile of work emails or house cleaning it is not a good time.  If you have to be somewhere in 30 minutes it’s not a good time either.  Lazy Sunday afternoon?  Good time.  Instead of TV in the evening?  Good time.  Snow day?  Good time.    
• Take breaks.  Your project may require several sittings.  Maybe you need to let the glue dry.  Maybe your child is getting frustrated with a difficult step.  Maybe both have just been concentrating for a while and are getting the wiggles.  Stop for a while and do something else.  Just remember to come back and finish what you started! 
• SUPERVISE.  Crafts are not a babysitter.  If you are trying to get your kid into crafts so they will be occupied on their own you are missing out on the fun.  Even if you have the most responsible tween ever, it’s still not a good idea to let them handle most crafting tools without adult supervision.  Accidents can happen, so always be careful.
• Remember, the more excited you are about something, the more excited your child will be.  Don’t ever think, “They’ll never be able to complete this.”  My kid surprises me with her abilities daily.

My daughter is not quite three, and we try craft projects a couple of times a week.  Some are more successful than others.  I tend to theme her project around the seasons and holidays.  With less than a month until Valentine’s Day, we have turned our craft time attention to making valentine cards for our preschool class and other special people.  When it comes to the under-five folks, I like to turn to two fun and friendly fibers, felt and foam.  To make it even easier, there are tons of kits available in your local Michael’s with pre-cut, adhesive-backed pieces that you just peel and stick together.  Here is the kit we started working on today:

It contains enough foam pieces to make a dozen valentines.  We need a couple more than that, so we are going to assemble two kits. 

The only item we are using that is not included in the kit is the pen to write the names on the valentines (an adult’s job if your kid is still learning their letters).  The pen I am using is one of my favorites, a Pitt artist pen by Faber Castell.  It has a brush nib.  I am using pink because, hey, they’re Valentines. 

So we sit down and go through out kit contents.  We talk about the circles and heart shapes.  We talk about the colors, and my daughter is happy because her two favorite colors are pink and red.  We count the circles.  There are twelve.  We talk about the shapes that are bigger and the shapes that are smaller.  We work as we talk.  I peel the adhesive backs and she sticks.  I tell her to aim for the center on the big shapes when sticking the smaller shapes, and she does a pretty good job.  If one gets badly miss-stuck we just peel it off and try again.  That’s how we learn.

After about 30 minutes of peeling, sticking, and talking, I can tell she is fidgety.  She starts sticking hearts on herself and the table.  Basically, she quits paying attention.  So I ask her, “Are you ready to stop?”  She nods, and says she wants to play with play-doh now.  So that’s what we do. 

This is what we got done:

And that’s ok.  We set our valentines aside and move on to shaping little birthday cakes out of the blue dough.

Super Easy Decorative Candles

This quick, easy project makes a great gift and is endlessly customizable, just choose whatever color or pattern of tissue paper fits your needs and select a matching ribbon to finish it off.

Here's a list of materials needed:

• A plain white pillar candle.  I used 3"x6" size, but you could use any size.  You are going to cover over it, so get a cheap one.
• A heat gun.  My heat gun is a whopper.  It's actually for shrink wrapping gift baskets, but I use it for everything from embossing to melting wax for envelope seals.  You don't have to pack as much heat as I do, a simple small heat embossing tool would work equally well for this project.
• Tissue paper.  Pick a pretty, decorative one.
• Ribbon. Coordinate it with your tissue paper.
• Adhesive glue dots.  I got mine in the scrapbook aisle at Michael's.  They are by Recollections.  Pick the size appropriate for the width of your ribbon.  I am using small. 
• Scissors.

Cut the tissue to fit your candle.  You want the white of your candle to peak around your tissue, so allow yourself a little bit of room for this.  Since I am using a candle six inches tall, I have cut my tissue to a width of five inches.  Allow enough length for the entire circumference of the candle plus a little overlap.

Lay the candle down on the table with the tissue under it, design side down.  Like this:

Make sure your tissue is smoothed out, and give a it couple practice rolls.  When you feel comfortable with the alignment of your tissue fire up your heat tool.  Heat the tissue wrapped candle holding the gun about 4 inches away from the candle.  The idea is to encase the candle with the tissue, adhering it by melting the wax slightly.  Start with a couple inches then roll the candle and move onto the next few inches of tissue.  The tissue will slightly darken when the wax adheres to it.  As your work wipe any excess wax or bubble out with your free hand, but BE CAREFUL, it's called a HEAT GUN because it's HOT.  When you get to the end you may need to hold the heat to the seam a little longer to get both sides of the tissue at the overlap to adhere.

Now you have this: 

 That's cute on its own, but let's take it up a notch.  Cut your decorative ribbon long enough to wrap around your candle.  Place a glue dot on the seam of your candle, and adhere one end of the ribbon.  Wrap the ribbon tightly around the candle, and then adhere it again on the back seam with another glue dot.  For the bow I just cut the ribbon longer, placed my glue dot in the back and wrapped my open ends to the front.  Then I tied a basic bow.  A gift tag could also be attached that way.

The Back Seam

That's it!  You're all done!  I told you it was fast! 

These make a perfect gift, especially when done in wedding or sorority colors.  A pink or blue set would make a cute centerpiece for a baby shower.  Here is a variation I did using a darker tissue with watercolor effect print and a natural hemp cord:

Just keep in mind that once you decorate your candle, you shouldn't actually burn it.  Who would want to destroy such cute decor anyway? 

Have questions?  Leave me a comment!  Good luck with your project and happy crafting!

Crop It Out!

I have finally wrapped up my online classes with spotted canary school, and I am now an officially certified instructor with Scrapbook Design U.  In addition to the four week scrap booking basics class that I will be teaching at my store beginning in February, I also host demos, specialty one time technique classes, and crops.  Here is the flyer info for my next event:

Attention Tri-Cities Crafters!

We know you took a ton of photos this past year.

Come put them to good use at Michael’s 1st CROP NIGHT event of 2012!

1 p.m. – 7 p.m. on SATURDAY JANUARY 28^th

At Michael’s of Johnson City - ONLY $5 to attend!

Come swap ideas, tools, and stories with Certified Instructor Brandi

Have fun and meet other local scrappers while learning new techniques.

Also ask about Scrapbook Design classes starting this February!

So, what is a crop?  Although not limited to women, I like to think of it as a special type of crafting hen party.  A funny thing about scrap booking is that although your main goal is to your share your photos and experiences with others, the actual act of putting your project together is mostly done solo.  I know as a busy mom, I am usually doing my crafting during that precious nap time, or even in the middle of the night when I just can't sleep (hey, it beats those dumb infomercials).  It's certainly not a very social activity at 3 a.m.  A crop event changes that game entirely. 

A crop is basically a social scrap booking session, a place where many crafters gather, under the guidance of a facilitator, and work on individual projects and layouts, together.  A crop is a great motivator to begin and finish layouts you may have been hesitant to complete on your own.  How many times have you thought "Does this embellishment look better blue or green?" or "Does that title look OK?"  At a crop you can get instant feedback from your peers.   

My favorite part about a crop event is the flow of ideas between scrappers.  You can come and inspire others while also being inspired by their work.  You can also share tools, papers, and techniques.  Most crop locations have cabinets of supplies that are accessible to the croppers.  Stepping outside of your personal collection of supplies will also increase the diverse look of your pages and projects.  

Above all, a crop event is FUN.  There is more than a little talking, giggling and story telling to go along with the crafting.   Who doesn't want to meet new, like minded crafters in their area?  This is the perfect place!  A crop is more than an event, it can be a valuable resource to a scrapper, a chance to share their experiences while being enriched with the knowledge and stories of others.

Are you convinced yet?  If so, come CROP IT OUT with me!   

NOW CROP IT OUT
NOW CROP IT OUT

WEST SIDE CROP IT OUT
SOUTH SIDE CROP IT OUT
EAST SIDE CROP IT OUT
NORTH SIDE CROP IT OUT

A Good Beginning is Half Done

  First off, Welcome to my Blog.  I've been thinking about it a lot lately but not really doing anything about it.  More on that later.  Right now that's going to change.  Why?  Because my fortune cookie today said "A Good Beginning is Half Done."  I am taking this as a sign.

 This is going to be a place for me to share my various (mostly) crafting experiences with whomever cares enough to read.  I have contemplated this first post a lot, about which recent project I should kick this off with.  I have noticed with my friends, family, and customers that a lot of times when it comes to crafting, the first step is the hardest step.  So maybe I shouldn't cover a project at all in this post, just make a first baby step.  I know there are lots of folks out there who have empty scrapbooks and piles of photos and supplies, and I can help you. 
 
  I think there is a certain anxiety to starting a new hobby, and I'm here to tell you this:  LIGHTEN UP, IT'S JUST CRAFTING.  Yes, the possibility does exist that you will create the ugliest pile of glued card stock in the history of paper, but that result is highly unlikely.  Keep in mind that crafts are a form of useful art, art is subjective, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Don't get overwhelmed with crafting.  There is really no right or wrong, only techniques and processes which can help to easily produce a desired look or outcome.  

  When people receive cards I've made or a treat from my kitchen they will often say, "Oh I could never do that!"  They're wrong.  They totally could.  You just have to do it.  You have no time for crafts?  You most likely do.  You probably sat down for an hour or two in front of the tube last night.  You probably checked your face book for at least thirty minutes today.  Park your supplies in a room with your TV and craft away.  Write a list of projects you would like to complete monthly, and post it where you see it.  Having this visual nudge helps.  I promise, no elves are going to break into your closet and get to work with your glue sticks.  

  Remember that in addition to having a tangible, useful item as a result; crafting is about the process.  Enjoy that process.  If you have just learned about a new technique, try it out.  If it doesn't work like you thought the first time, try it again, maybe using a different material.  The more you experiment the more you learn.  If you screw something up really badly step away from the craft table and take a deep breath.  Don't cry.  Maybe take a look at www.regretsy.com to see some other people making terrible crafts.  Then have a laugh and come back.  Remember, it's just crafting, LIGHTEN UP.  

  So just do it.  Think about a project that you have had in your brain for ages.  Now, just begin.  Remember that  "A Good Beginning is Half Done."  But no beginning is nothing.