pulling out the sewing machine

quick. go here. then come right back. i was the guest blogger on the scrapbook and cards today blog and am rather proud of my project. it has to do with sewing, so it fits into this post. :)

you don't need one, but if you at all fond of machine stitching, march is the month for you at studio calico! with a name like quilting bee, how could you not want to sew. then there's the project kit, patchwork. while april is making sure you don't necessarily need a sewing machine to complete this project, i was more than happy to get mine out and sew on fabric. i made mine a little differently than suggested. i have a thing against banners right now. not sure why, they are adorable, and i actually have one in my front room right now that makes me very happy. but i decided to make mine into a mini album about why we love the beach (thanks to my good friend, paula). i loved what i came up with. there's a little trick to getting the look i did, you'll need some claudine hellmuth blank canvas paint. i'll explain why later. also, if you make a mini like i did, you'll want to add some zip dry glue to your shopping cart because while the MM flutter felt shapes have a sticky adhesive, they will come off in no time when you've got a well loved mini. the zip dry will eliminate that problem. it holds like nobody's business! any way, here are my sneaks, starting with the patchwork project kit:


this one uses the main and honeycomb. i think this month's studio calico exclusive papers are some of my very favorite. ever. at first, no, but once i started using them, i fell in love. i also fell in love with tim holtz's crackle paint by ranger. oh boy. cool stuff. i think you might be seeing it often in the future. i'm begging april to add it to the shop, cross your fingers for me...


this last one was fun to put together. i used the main and honeycomb, and there's a TON of stuff on it, very not my style, but very good to do. the topic cracks me up...



again, i wish i'd had more time this month, but there's only so many hours in a day, right?

come back next week to see the full layouts and mini.

ETA:
1. for lacey: the pinked edges are not a punch, it's actually pinking shears. stay tuned for more exciting information on pinking shears...

2. for angela: that pinkish red is not a rubon, it's paper, it turned out to be one of my favorites from this kit...