ビーチアルバム

Canvas Beach Album

I love making things for my mom. I know she will appreciate them and cherish them. I also know I will put 150% into it and be totally satisfied with the finished product. So for this year's mother's day gift, I knew I could make her something she couldn't wait to get her hands on.

お母さんのため、特別ビーチアルバムを作ってあげました。

Both of my parents are big scuba divers. They travel all over the globe having amazing experiences on the water and in the deep. So what better idea than a beach/sea-themed album. I knew she'd have a zillion pics from each of her trips, so I'd better include enough space for them.
お母さんとお父さんがスキューバダイバーです。世界のいろんな所に行ったり海の生き物をたくさん見たり楽しんでます。それでこのアルバムを作っていっぱい写真を入れるようにしました。

I went to Enoshima island to get some shells and the starfish which I used on the front. It made the book and actually was my mom's fav part.
江の島に行った時、海の貝殻とヒトデを買って来ました。これはお母さんが大好きだった。

The binding was completed after I finished it all.  I wasn't sure what I would do until the very end.  and then decided on rope.  I found a good selection at Yuzawaya, a craft store, in Terrace Mall.  I sprayed it to make it look worn.
テッラスモールにあるユザワヤ店にロープを見つけて買いました。Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Sprayをかけて古くみせました。

I used a glass pendant along with a few wooden beads as a charm.

Each page relates to the theme.  There is hand-stitching and machine stitching done throughout.  The pockets and backing are made with burlap, canvas and transparencies. 

全ページの内容がテーマに関連してます。手縫いとミシン縫いもしました。このアルバムのベースはキャンバスです。その中は多くキャンバス、バーラップとトランスペアレンシーを使いました。

Below the Sea　－　海の下: 

 I used trims and fibers on the tags and attached tiny beads with baker's twine and floss to the holes. 

 I added stamping that looked reminded me of waves. 

I found these clear plastic seahorses at the hundred yen store and randomly stitched him to the page with floss. 

Beach Fun　-　楽しいビーチ:

I created a Beach banner using Maya Road canvas flags and tied some jellewry pieces in between. 

There are gold and silver ocean and nautical charms throughout the album. 

Some of the tags are stamped with mermaids.  I used Adirondack Color Wash in Stream and Lettuce to stain them. 

There are real shells in the book.  This big one was a shell I saved from a restaurant (I washed it well when I got home).  There are little baby shells in this sticky sand too.

Here's a better view of this page. 

Another mermaid tag with a seashell charm.

Our Cabin　－私たちのキャビン:

You can see the stitching up close.

These buttons were stitched in place as a border between the photo mats.

 Good Times　－　グッド・タイムス　:

The corner of the pocket was jazzed up with a clear button, spacer charm, and shell. 

Another mermaid tag. 

I used different coloured inks on one stamp to get the graduated colour. 

I experimented with different stitching techniques.  I used a memo pin to hold this seahorse.

Scenic Route　－観光ルート:

I added a skull and crossbones charm for fun.  I found this memo pin with the word treasure on it too.  I thought it would be fun to make this the adventure/pirate side. 

 My friend sent me some homemade paper and made smaller bits from it for journalling spots. 

(Underwater) Beauty　―　（海の）ビューティ:

This is a pull-out booklet.  You unwrap the mermaid from the button by pulling to the right.  I stamped and arrow so there was no confusion. 

Here is an up-close of the charm.

Life Cycle　－　ライフサイクル:  

I crumpled up this tag and distressed it and then used it as a pocket.  You can see the stitching in the corner.  

This was just a sticker, but I attached to some canvas and stitched around the edges and frayed them to look like an old worn patch.

These was a silver phone strap that my mom gave to my boyfriend.  It lost its shine and broke.  We were going to throw it out, but I saved it for something like this.  It looks perfect now that the silver has worn off.

Remember this Moment / You&Me　ー　ユー・アンド・ミー:

I love how these flat pieces look as a decoration.  My mom used to have a white windchime full of these pieces when I was younger.  She picked these up on a vacation and sent these home with me to use in an album for her.

You can see art glitter up close and the sticky sand behind.  The flower looks stained or dirty by dripping Lindy's Stamp Gang stain directly onto it. 

Paradise　－　パラダイス:  

In a few places throughout the album, I've used transparencies as pockets.  They are very versatile and using it as a pocket allows you see to see what you put inside, while mainting space to stamp or journal on the outside.  On this page, the 'you and me' was stamped directly on the transparency with Staz-On ink.  Attaching the shape clips to the transparency allows you to see the full detail that you wouldn't normally see if it were attached to paper.  

I stitched these tickets to the page along with the charm.  You can see the cute hermit crab stamp my friend, Cheri, sent me.  

These charms and buttons were hand stitched randomly in a cluster.

I added an extra pocket on the back for additional photos, etc.

This was an iron-on, but it didn't adhere properly so I used a copic multi-liner to fill in some of the words.  I think it adds to the worn, grungy look.

Here's a close-up of the crazy hand-stitching to suit the theme.

One last check of the album:

Check out my YouTube video on this album and the products I used:    　　

YouTubeの動画をチェックしてください。

Happy Crafting!

料理レッスン

こんにちは。

最近天気がいいですね。

やっぱり晴れると気分が良くなるね。

今日は友達とＡＢＣクッキングスタジオに行ってきました。

私が毎月一回ぐらい料理ルッスンを受けてます。

作って終わったら、皆で話しながら、食べます。

いつも楽しいです。

作るも好き、食べるも大好きです。

今日の習った料理は：

・エビのかき揚げ（2種ープレーンと抹茶）

・ささみとみつ葉のわさびドレシング

・ゆずこしょうの揚げ出し豆腐椀

・小豆水ようかん

初めてかき揚げと揚げ豆腐だった。

これは出来た料理の写真：

全部はすごく美味しかったです。

もう一度家で作ってみたいです！

今度パンのレッスンも頑張ります。

Happy Cooking (and Crafting)!

-Sherri　

Mojo Monday Sketch - In My Thoughts

Making a sympathy card can be very sad,.  It's something we don't normally do and look forward to making.  But it can make times a little easier for the recipient and should not be overlooked.  A friend of mine lost her dear grandmother, so I made her a card that was elegant and respectful to send my condolences.    

I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch for this:

This is what I created:

It was hard to choose something and not make it look too sombre or dreary.  I choose to use white cardstock with purple and dark gray as my accent colours.  I had a simple grey and white patterned paper that I thought looked a bit plain but was enough to add some kind of pattern.  Then I wanted to add a few elegant pearls to my respectable flowers.  Instead of choosing something with the word 'sympathy', which is reminds me of sadness, I chose 'You Are in My Thoughts'.  On the inside, I tried to be a little bright for her, something that might give her a pick-me-up, even just for a passing moment - 'Sending Big Hugs'.  I thought that if someone had sent me a card with that, I would feel they cared and would feel a tiny bit better.  My heart goes out to her.

I hope this gives you the strength to make a card for someone even in hard times.  If you have a good sketch, it will make it a lot easier.  

  

オルタード単語カード(カードリングとじ)

This is a fun project for yourself or someone else.  Get a word ring pad from the hundred yen store or dollar store.  This word ring pad came in a pack of two.

100ショップで売っている単語カード(カードリングとじ）を使いました。二つで100円。

Remove the cover from the ring and cover with adhesive.  You can use any kind you like.

カバーをとって、あなたの好みの接着剤を塗ります。

Stick the cover onto a paper of your choice.  Don't worry if it's not completely lined up.

カバーを好みの紙にくっつけます。完璧に貼らなくてもいいです。

Take your craft scissors and cut along the edge of the pad removing the excess paper.  

クラフトはさみで紙の端を沿って切ります。

Punch the hole out.  Remember to do this before you cover both sides!

道具で穴を開けます。両面に用紙を貼る前に穴を開けないと穴の場所を分からなくなります。

I'm using leftover pieces of paper to finish off my cover.  These craft scissors by Kuretake are my favourite.  I use them a lot!  

この写真では私が残っている紙をギザギザクラフトはさみで切ってます。呉竹のクラフトはさみの中このはさみは私の一番使っています。

Before I stick down my letters, I use a clear ruler to line them up.  I can also adjust my letters to fit my cover.  

文字シールをおくまえに、透明定規を並べて位置をチェックします。場所の長さに合わせられるのでとても便利です。

You can see how close together my letters are place in this picture.  I wanted them all on the flower patterned paper.  Then I took a copic multiliner pen and handwrote　"sketch" above the alphas. 

全部の文字が花模様の用紙に載せるため、 近くくつけないと置けなかったです。上にコッピクペンで「スケッチ」を書きました。

Here is my finished ring pad.  I added a leftover star and a bling, stickles to the letters, and tied ribbon to the ring.  

リボンをリングに結んで､エンベッリシュメントを付けて、これで終わりです。

Now I have my book to draw sketches for cards and more!  

私はカードのスケッチなど書く時、これは便利です。

Happy Crafting!  

Berry Sweet - Domo Arigato

I made this card for MFT Wednesday Stamp Club #70 and I couldn't resist using my Pure Innocence Berry Sweet stamp again.
ＭＦＴの水曜日スケッチクラブのためにPure InnocenceのＢｅｒｒｙ　Ｓｗｅｅｔカードを作りました。

I went with red, green, and white...not just for Christmas! I had this die-cut envelope left over and decided to use it as my focal point along with the PＩ Berry Sweet ｇirl.  The edges have been taped with some masking tape.  I layered it all on top of a Decorative Doily.  Instead of using paper or ribbon on the left-hand side, I used some baker's twine and tied a bow.
赤、緑、白はクリスマスの色だけでなく...イチゴのテーマに合わせてかわいいノートカードまでつけました。封筒の端はマスキングテープを貼ってドイリーの上にのせました。左下はbaker's twineを結びました。

Inside is a card with a heart and the word hugs.  I cut a piece from a die-cut to show two friends holding hands.
中身をとったら、ハートに二人の女の子が手をつないでます。

The back shows a Mini Doily Circle with the sentiment "Domo Arigato'' - perfect for a friend here, since I live in Japan!
裏面がMini Doily Circleに「どもありがとう」ー私は日本に住んでるから友達にあげる時に便利だと思いました。

I also used the Mini Ticket Strip Border to stamp my main sentiment.  This is one of my favorite dies!
Mini Ticket Strip Borderダイは 私の気に入りの一つです。スタンプはちょうど入ります。

I did some stitching on my machine around the edges and on the one strip.  You can see how I used more washi tape and also added some brads to balance out the red.
ミシンで端を縫いました。ここにもマスキングテープを貼りました。ブラッズを付けて、右側に赤を加えました。

I wanted to use more washi tape inside my card.  I really like how it looks layered.
カードの中にもマスキングテープを使いたくて、二つのテープをレーヤーしました。

Here is the sketch I used.  Hope you give it a try!
今週のスケッチはこれです。是非作って見て下さい！

Products Used:
Cardstock:  MFT - Gumdrop Green; Recollections; MME - Fly a Kite
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black, Pear Tart; Brilliance - Graphite Black; Stampin Up - Pure Poppy
Stamps:  Pure Innocence - Berry Sweet; Good Fortune; Holiday Hugs Snowman
Dies:  Sizzix - Envelope Die; MFT - Decorative Doily, Mini Ticket Strip Border, Mini Doily Circles, Hearts a Plenty, Paper Doll Border
Other:  Copic Markers, Doodlebug Christmas Assortment Doodle Twine; BG- brads: Masking Tape

Ａｐｒｉｌ Ｅｖｅｎｔｓ

Hi, everyone!  How fast does time fly...it's already May?! Last month I had a couple fun events that I wanted to share with you.
皆さん、こんにちは。もう5月...早いですね！先月、私は少し楽しいイベントの事を話したいです。

The first thing I enjoyed doing was dying Easter eggs.  It's a big custom to decorate eggs for Easter.  As every year, I dyed eggs using food colouring.  But this year I decided to use Masking Tape/Washi Tape.  You can see the cool designs it left on my eggs when I took it off.  On some eggs, I cut the tape into circles and left it on.  The eggs taste even better when they are cute!  Maybe you can try this sometime.  :)
毎年私はかならずイースター(復活際）の卵に色を塗って祝います。北アメリカではよく子供に人気があります。私は大人になったのに、まだ楽しいです。今年ははじめてマスキングテープを使って見ました。色を塗ってテープをはがしたら、きれいな卵ができました。テープを切って色んなデザインを作って見て、小さい丸もそのまま飾りました。 かわいくて美味しかったです。作って見ませんか？

Ａｐｒｉｌ was also o-hanami (お花見） or cherry blossom viewing time.  So I wanted to go on a picnic and make a super cute Japanese-style picnic box.  I found this heart bento box at Passport in Terrace Mall.  It was so cute I had to buy it!
4月もお花見ピクニックに行きたかった。初めてピクニック用の弁当を作りました。(＾_＾)ｖ　テラスモールのPassport店Ｓでかわいいハート弁当箱を見つかて買いました。またマスキングテープを使って、楊枝を付けて切ってお弁当のピックも入りました。

The cherry blossoms weren't fully in bloom.  But it was a beautiful warm day and it was so nice being under the beautiful flowers enjoying my homemade picnic lunch.  I love cherry blossom time!  Looking forward to next year...
まだ桜は満開ではなかったが、晴れて暖かくてゆっくりピクニックを楽しみました。お花見が大好きです。来年はまた行きたいと思います。

I wanted to make my own flowers that reminded me of sakura or cherry blossoms. 　So I die-cut a ton of flowers and pieced them all together and made them pretty.  Then I took my leftover chocolate box from White Day and placed them all in the spaces neatly (I actually put a glue-dot behind them all so they wouldn't move).  I'm sending them to a friend as a gift.  Don't you think it's better than chocolate?
お花見の影響で自分で花を作りたかった。フェルトをダイカットして、たくさんかわいい花が出来ました。White Dayのもらったチョコ箱できれいに入りって飾りました。チョコよりいいプレゼントになりました。

And now it's May and it's so warm now.  Let's hope for many sunny days.  :)
今は5月になって毎日暖かいです。天気が晴れたらいいですね。

Sherri

ＹｏｕＴｕｂｅ　Ｖｉｄｅｏ　ｆｏｒ　ｍｙ　ｆｌｏｗｅｒ－ｃｈｏｃｏｌａｔｅ　ｂｏｘ：

MFT Guest Designer Entries

My Favorite Things is having a guest designer contest right now.  The winner chosen will be able to participate on the design team for the month of June.  I decided that I would give it a shot and created a bunch of fun products using MFT stamps and dies.  It was a ton of fun!  The theme was ``Teacher's Pet'', so I thought of things that could be used at school as well as gifts that could be given to the teacher.
Ｍｙ　Ｆａｖｏｒｉｔｅ　Ｔｈｉｎｇｓのゲストデザイナーコンテストが行われてます。
選ばれたら、6月のデザインチームに参加出来ます。‘Ｔｅａｃｈｅｒ’ｓ　Ｐｅｔ’のテーマなんので、学校に使える物とか先生にあげるものを考えました。

First I created a simple and cute card.  I love how I made the apple green to match the card.  Isn't this teacher's skirt a bit short?
最初は青りんごのカードです。赤じゃなく、青にしてよかったです。この先生のスカートはちょっと短いでしょう。

I created a matching banner to be displayed at school. I used my new Fishtail Flags Stax and cut 13 of everything (one more for my card) and trimmed them to 5 inches to make a perfect banner.
カードに揃えて、バナーもつくりました。　新しいＦｉｓｈｔａｉｌ　Flags Ｓｔａｘを使って13個を切りました。

Next, I made a candy jar as a teacher's gift.  So happy I found these strawberry candies.  I made a card to match.  My first blonde girl (seriously!).
次はキャンディ瓶とカードです。かわいいイチゴ飴を見つかってうれしいです。

I had fun playing with my By the Letter Uppercase die and used them on a card as well as a clipboard.  the clipboard was a lot of fun to make.  Love the MFT felt which I used for the scallop trim.  It's so soft and cuts really easily.
ＭＦＴの新しいダイ「By the Letter Uppercase」を使って、クリップボードとカードを作りました。ＭＦＴフェルトは柔らかくて切りやすいです。 （クリップボードの下に付けました」。

I had fun using my new mini doily circles to alter a notepad and make a super sweet card.  This yellow and black combination is so pretty.  

Mini Doily Circlesダイは超可愛い！ノートとカードを使って見ました。黄色と黒はgood combinationと思います。

My last project was using an older stamp, Bling Bet, which I chose not to add bling to, lol.  I really wanted to add rhinestones, but liked how it looked without them.  For my pencil holder, I used my rolled daisy die and added a tiny topper to the pencil heads.  Aren't they cute?  

最後の作品は古いＡＢＣスタンプを使って見ました（Ｂｌｉｎｇ　Ｂｅｔ）。鉛筆も可愛くしました。

I used so many dies for these projects.  MFT Dies used: Open Scallop Doily, Dizzy Doily Duo, Well-Worn Greetings, By the Letters Uppercase, First Place Award Ribbon, Fishtail Flags Stax, Vertical Greetings, Botanical Beauty, Rolled Daisy, Flower Trio, Mini Doily Circles, Scallop Ribbon Border,Open Scallop Edge, Scallop Medium, Crown Border, Mini Monarch Border, Royal Leaves (not shown here). たくさんダイを使いましたね。

（スタンプ）　Here are the stamps I used:  (All MFT - Tag You're It, Well-Worn Greetings, Bling Bet,  Talk Nerdy to Me, An Apple for Teacher, You Rule)

（ペーパー）　Thanks for the lovely paper:  (MFT Cardstock- Gumdrop Green, Sweet Tooth, Red Hot; Basic Grey - Life of the Party, Piccadilly, Oxford; Authentique - Blissful; MME, Lost&Found - Rosy)
素適なペーパーを使いました。　(^_^)v


I hope you enjoy these projects.  I super enjoyed participating!!!
皆さん、見てくれてありがとうございました。私はコンテストに参加してすごく楽しかった！




では、Happy Crafting!

Sherri


Check out my YouTube Video: