Texana Designs Mini Catalog

Ever wonder how to remember which of the cool Texana Designs Stamps that you already own? How about taking the catalog and creating a mini catalog that you can notate and drop in your purse for easy reference when shopping. Below are instructions for making this great tag-along.

Materials:

Download and print 2 pg catalog

            16 on a page

Print cover or make your own 2 ¾” x 4 ½”

18” of ¼” ribbon

Tools:

Scissors

Paper Trimmer

Scotch Tape

Dry Adhesive

Instructions:

1)  PDF can be downloaded here

2) Cut ¼” off all four sides of 8 ½” x 11” page 1

3) Now cut the top row, horizontally between the lines creating a strip of 4 mini pages.

4) First fold the strip in half with the printed sides facing each other (2 5/8” x 4”).  Then fold back the first page and the last page to the center fold line (2 5/8” x 2”).  You have the first signature or section.  A signature is a sheet of paper printed with four or more pages and folded one or more times to the approximate size of one page and in a manner which puts the pages in proper numbered order.

5) Now cut your second strip and fold it as you did above. 

When you have both folded, attach the sequential pages with tape on the back side.  This taped splice will be at the inside bound portion of your mini catalog.  Refold your first two signatures and begin the third signature.  You will repeat this until you have connected all eight strips (or signatures).  The first two pages will be blank and the last three pages will be blank.  The cover will be adhered to the outside pages.

6) To keep your mini catalog together, you will put adhesive between the insides of each folded page at the spine edge. 

 This will keep your pages from falling out in an accordion fashion.

7) Secure 18” of ribbon around the middle of your mini catalog with tape or adhesive, but don’t pull it too tight.

8)  Now put adhesive on the top most page of your mini catalog and attach it to the title cover of your cardstock leaving about 1/16” from the top, bottom and edge..  The title cover is cut 2 ¾” x 4 ½”, just slightly larger than the inside pages and long enough to wrap around from the front to the back. 

 I like to leave the spine rounded, but you could score it if you wanted (approx 2 1/8” from front edge and 2 3/8”.)  Put adhesive on the back page of the last signature and line it up on the back portion of the cover.

Decorate the back of your book using one of several "Made by" stamps from Texana Desings.

9)  Next comes the fun!  Mark the catalog with Texana stamps that you  have at home.  Carry the mini catalog with you when you go shopping and  you’ll never end up with duplicates again.  The pages correspond to the large catalog online or the one your local scrapbook store has.  If your lss doesn’t have the stamps you want, ask them to order it for you or visit the Texana Etsy site.

I store my Texana cling mounted stamps on the full size catalog printed on transparencies, then backed with a colored paper so that I can easily see what stamps I don't have (or haven't yet put back).

Hope you enjoyed this fun mini book.

Brayering

Last weekend I had the honor of taking a couple of brayering classes from the Master Brayer herself, Michelle Z. The classes were fabulous and she made it look so easy! I promptly displayed my six sample cards in my office and what a wonderful distraction! Finally, I got my nerve up to try it on my own today. Evidenced in the two pictures above I can tell it's gonna take lots of practice. Also the designing is very challenging because the technique is so very different than my "comfort zone".

Things I learned today...

1) Smooth papers are not all the same!
2) Not all inks are the same... still trying to determine which inks I have that will give me the desired effects.
3) Fingerprints show up... I need to be more careful!!!

But with great samples for inspiration and practice I'm sure to get the hang of it! Any comments or recommendations freely accepted. I feel like such a novice!

Where are the flowers?

It won't be long before spring has sprung in Texas. Hopefully the winter rains will give our beautiful bluebonnets the boost they need to flower this spring. If not, there are always stamps for coloring and sharing. Texana Designs has a new Bluebonnet Frame designed by Joyce Meyer. I decided to fill my frame with bluebonnets so I paper pieced the same bluebonnet twice and popped the middle one for a little dimension.

I have been playing with my favorite gel pens - Sakura Stardust Pens. I found instructions for blending the colors with a water pen. It's amazing what a little blending will do. And the mica stardust is simply stunning!



I used it here on a stamp from Holly Berry House. You can see the real deal at Stamp Salado. If you want me to show you how to blend the stardust pens, come make Easter Cards with us on April 8, 2012.

Happy Heart Day

This was a fun card full of several firsts. I finally got my hands on the Framelits by Sizzix and Hero Arts. There are stamps and coordinating wafer dies. With all firsts, there are things I would do differently next time. I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't secure the die to the paper (a little tape on the edge of the die and onto the scrap paper would have helped keep things more centered). When I ran the paper through the Vagabond, the wafer die slipped a little, but that's okay. Next time will be better (not perfect, just better).

Next I was trying to figure out what to put in the oval. I thought a big 1 4 would be sweet for valentines day, but I couldn't get motivated to do that. After sleeping on it, I decided to try the string art Spirelli technique. I really like the way it turned out!

I think I'll post this one on the Catered Crop Challenge "I Heart Recipe Swap". Jump over there and check out all the hearts.

Here's my product list:

Sizzix/Hero Arts Framelits – Happy Birthday Cupcake Set
Martha Stewart Garden Trellis Deep Edge Punch
BoBunny 6” x 6” Paper Pad – Crazy Love
Stamp – Texana Designs – Happy Heart Day
Stampendous Dots & Gems – Gold & Red
Smooch – Siren & Snickerdoodle
Versamark & Brown Embossing Powder
Spirelli made with Precious Metal Effects Floss - Gold

Holly Berry House Layed Kilkenny Crosses

Look at the fun I've been having. I love the different looks of this card depending on the colors of paper and embossing powder and number of layers. Okay, I didn't really have to make this many, but I get a little bit obsessive when designing a class. I want to be able to demonstrate the best cards, but sometimes the colors just don't do what I am hoping. Individually each card is beautiful, but when you look at all of them together, you can see the differences. With all of the embossing and detail cutting, I've been able to make the simple card in 30 - 45 minutes. The more detailed card with 5 or 6 layers and no glitter will take me 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. If you want to further enhance the beauty of the cross you can add time for coloring with Sakura Stardust Pens or by adding glitter.

On Saturday, February 25th, I will be teaching a class at Stamp Salado using the Holly Berry small Kilkenny Cross. This beautiful cross is so very versatile. You can make it with a few layers or many layers. You can mat and frame it or create a beautiful card. It will make a fabulous Easter card or a heartfelt sympathy card. Contact Stamp Salado to sign up today at 254-947-8848. Below are the two actual cards we will make in the class. Be sure to bring pop dots and detail scissors in your basic class supply kit.

Another Double Heart Card

Here is another card I created using Wright Papers and Texana Designs Stamps. You can see the actual card at Stamp Salado sometime next week and pick up a pack of Kraft Glassine. Here's a YouTube with Tim Holtz demonstrating the Kraft Glassine at CHA Winter 2011.

Catered Crop Recipe Swap - Newsprint

Texana Designs is sponsoring the Catered Crop challenge and I wanna play! You can play too - click for more detail. This week's theme is "newsprint".

Here is my first challenge submittion:

Stamps:
Texana Designs - TX023 Barbed Wire Heart,
TX031 Texas Cities, and TX044 Love ya with all my Texas heart
Cardstock:
White & Red
Patterned Paper:
Doodlebug Designs - Beetle Black It's About Time
and Reminisce - Set the Table
Versamark Ink
Black & White Embossing Powders
Martha Stewart Border Punch - Cherished

pssstttt.... Linda I just HAD to borrow your idea of paper piecing this heart. I would have never thought of that!!! You go girl!