Random Thoughts & Tidbits

Canada and some new classes

In just a little over a week we'll be heading up to Canada again to teach at 3 different stores.  Yup, I'll  have some company this time because Mike is coming with me! Well, as long as he gets his renewed passport in time...

We'll be packing up the van with my Mom, both kids a whole LOT of scrapping goodies plus us and stopping along the way to visit my Aunt in Up-State, NY...gotta love having relatives around the country!  My Mom and the kids will be spending a few days with her while Mike and I are only staying overnight and heading across the border in to Toronto.

First stop:  Bizzy B's Stamp & Scrap in Toronto for 5 classes over 3 days

Friday 7/17    THE FLIRTY BOOK     

You willl create this colorful and dimensional 9 page chipboard and transparent mini-book using Prima's latest and greatest products!  With their brand new "Flirty Little Secret" line, you'll learn stamping and inking techniques with coordinating inks to intensify the beauty of these patterned, flocked or glittered papers.  In addition, you'll explore some fun tips and techniques for using Alcohol Inks to added pre-printed transparency pages!  This class is packed with great great products and loads of gorgeous techniques!!

Saturday 7/18    10am-12    SIMPLY ALTERED

 

Explore the art of working with multi-media by altering some of our favorite Prima products to create this one of a kind embossed chipboard layout (or make it a wall hanging!)

I'll teach you some great layering effects to add to Prima's gorgeous 12x12 embossed chipboard while we'll also learn to customize their fabulous embellishments like felt voila, paper, ribbon and even crystals!  We'll be using things like Alcohol Inks, colorwash, inks, paints, gesso, Perfect Pearls, Distress Stickles and some fun techniques with sandpaper!  You will leave this class inspired to use any of these techniques on all of your Prima projects!  The possibilities are endless and you will look at Prima's alterable products in a brand new way!

Saturday 7/18   12:30-2:30    RANGER STUDIO

Discover your inner artist while I show you how easy and fun it is to create with mixed media! Claudine Hellmuth (Ranger’s newest designer) has come up with a gorgeous signature product line including highly pigmented paints, gesso, gel mediums and sticky back canvas that I LOVE!  You’ll learn over a dozen techniques using acrylic paint and mediums that look advanced such as photo transfers, resists and collage in this mini-book masterpiece!

Saturday 7/18   3-6pm   CANVAS TREASURE BOX

Come and play with Canvas, beeswax, dangling memory glass, inks, masks and stamps in this unique multi-media collage project where we will create the perfect place to hide your secret “treasure” inside!  You won’t want to miss this one!!

Sunday 7/19  12-5pm   STAMP YOUR MEMORIES

(2 of 6 pages you'll make)

Clear stamps are all the rage right now in scrapbooking but what else can you do with them?? This extensive workshop will walk you through all of it while you create 3 DOUBLE page layouts! We'll start with some basics of stamping and inks and play with some really fun and unique techniques to make your pages amazing. Most importantly, you will leave with your creative juices flowing and an extensive knowledge that you will be able to use over and over again in all your future projects. Lots of great Ranger products of course including the new Pigment inks! (This is like part 2 to the Ranger Extravaganza for those of you who took that last time!)
*please bring to class: heat gun if you have one, trimmer, scizzors, pencil, heat gun if you have one, black pen and variety of adhesive including foam squares/pop-dots if you have them.

The second stop on the trip will be THE SCRAPPING TURTLE in St. Jacobs, Ontario

Monday, 7/20
INKY TECHNIQUES LAYOUT

During this brand new class, you'll discover unique and fun ways to incorporate pigment inks as well as the NEW Alcohol ink colors into your layouts!  We'll create this detailed 2-page layout using a variety of products including transparencies and some of the best new products from Ranger!  Most importantly, you'll learn about the products and WHY you would choose one type of ink over another for various surfaces or techniques.  So many possibilities when you get a little inky!! 

Also on 7/20   THAT'S MY... BOOK

This is a 5x12" chipboard tiered "Stadium Book" from my signature product line with Zsiage. We will be
covering, layering, embellishing, stamping on, painting and inking to your hearts content in class!
The focus of the class is that special someone or something in your life and your favorite photos that capture your
favorite qualities in them...you'll have a choice of paint colors (copper or raspberry pink - my 2 favorite colors
to use with my New England line to create a gorgeous contrast). You will also receive a full set of my
Chipboard "Chippies" to use throughout the book.  (Title can be "That's my..." whatever you want - boy, girl, dog, home, honey, baby...just some ideas, we'll stamp it in class!)
You'll learn some fun painting and distressing techniques with Ranger's Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabbers
with Distress Inks as well as some great stamping ideas and tricks.

**Please bring to class a basic tool kit including 12" trimmer, small sharp scissors or x-acto knife and cutting matte,
several of your favorite pictures, your favorite paper adhesive plus a wet adhesive such as Glossy Accents, sand paper
or favorite sanding tool, pencil and a black pen.


The final stop in Canada will be at A SCRAPBOOKER'S DREAM in Bolton, Ontario

Tuesday, 7/21   BEYOND THE BASICS WITH PRIMA

Explore some fun techniques to step your layouts up a notch!  We'll be using some of my favorite products and stamps from Prima plus learn how to incorporate Ranger products such as Adirondack Pigment Inks, Alcohol Inks, Distress Inks, Distress Embossing Powders, Stickles and Glossy Accents and more while you create 2 double page layouts in class.
*please bring to class a thick black pen/marker (like a Sharpie), fine tip scissors, pencil, adhesive and paper trimmer






Contact the stores directly to register...Hope to see you in Canada!!

jen

 

Fun on the 4th

No fireworks for us this year (thunderstorm during our yearly town display) but we had an awesome 4th anyway!

I flew in from Florida Thursday night...apparently the crazy Florida thunderstorms were getting ready to greet me in NJ because we sat in the plane in NC for 2 hours before we were allowed to take off because of the weather at Newark airport - I was not thrilled.  BUT was happy to see my grinning kids as they jumped out of the van to give me big hugs and welcome me home...it's nice to be missed : )
They must have REALLY missed me because I didn't hear "what did you GET us?" for at least an hour!

The past week of classes in Florida was fabulous, despite the rain.  I had a blast hanging out with my Aunt Joan (although she may not have thought so after I fell asleep a few nights in her overly comfy recliner while she was still talking!  Ooops, guess the heat got to me a bit, LOL)

The classes all went great and I have to thank Jill at Whim-So-Doodle in St. Petersburg for a perfect 3 days of classes and Ade at Made for Memories in Sarasota for a fabulous day as well!  Both stores are awesome and I met so many fun ladies who were eager to learn and get a bit inky with me!  Thanks ladies for all your hospitality and a fun week...can't wait to come back!!

So back to the 4th...I HAVE  A NEW NEPHEW!!!!  Meet Chase Edwin Starr!!

How cute is he?!  Ryan was really in to holding him and asked when he can have a baby brother.....yikes.....and no : )

And besides that excitement, our niece Skye was up from NC, who we haven't seen in a few years.  Maya has a new BFF and I feel extremely short! It was so much fun to see her, we wish she lived closer.  We had a great BBQ at my Mother-in-Law's house.

AND I was actually able to get some good pictures of Ryan, which has pretty impossible lately since he discovered he can immediately see his goofy faces on the camera.

And then here are the typical Ryan pics...

I have to go through a few dozen of these to get a few good ones...but I guess that's what comes with having a 7 year old boy!

So the 4th was a great day...then I had to come home and hit the ground running with the CHA crunch and a ton of projects to make...plus getting all of the details finalized for my teaching trip up to Canada at the end of the month.  More on that tomorrow though...good night for now : )

jen

BONUS classes added at Whim-so-doodle tomorrow!!

We had so much fun at the Doodle over the weekend, we decided to add 2 more bonus classes for Tuesday!

3-6pm - Distress Techniques - hands on technique class to teach you everything I know about the FULL Distress Line (inks, crackle paints, embossing powder, stickles, etc!)

7-9pm  Simply Altered...this is the one you all requested over the weekend.  Call the store quickly! space is very limited for this one!!

Hope to see you all again tomorrow : )

jen 

HI from Florida

I've had a great day and a half in Florida so far...hanging out with my Aunt, having a lazy, relaxing day of chatting and got stuck in a crazy rain storm. We met my cousin and his wife for a fabulous dinner tonight.  I have to get the camera out tomorrow.  The cranes here are HUGE and walk down the street like they own the neighborhood - amazing!  Geckos are running all over which cracks me up because they are freakishly fast and she actually lives at the base of a little river that  has alligators in it...I'm a little scared, but dying to see one! LOL

The car is all packed up and ready to head out to St. Petersburg in the morning to teach at Whim-So-Doodle all weekend.  I was here to teach a few years ago so this will be my second visit to Whim-So-Doodle. It is definitely one of the best stores I have been to!  If you are ever in the area, you MUST check it out : )  Looking forward to tomorrow!!

jen 

Florida Schedule & a NEW class!

I'm leaving rainy NJ bright and early tomorrow morning for sunny Florida and to visit my Aunt Joan and cousins in the Tampa area!  Gotta love relatives near great Scrapbook Stores because I have a fun, jam packed teaching schedule over the next week!

Friday 6/26    Scraptopia - Brandon, FL 
6:30-9:30pm  CLEARLY LOVE
 

Saturday 6/27   Whim-So-Doodle - St. Petersburg, FL

GLIMMER DECOR

RANGER SAMPLER CANVAS *NEW*!!

Sunday 6/28    Whim-So-Doodle - St. Petersburg, FL

THAT'S MY... 6x12" book

Monday 6/29  (JUST ADDED!!!)  Whim-So-Doodle - St. Petersburg, FL

CLEARLY LOVE  (afternoon class)

Tuesday 6/30   Scraptopia - Brandon, FL

6:30-8:30PM   GLIMMER DECOR

Wednesday 7/1    Made For Memories - Sarasota, FL

11am-1pm    SIMPLY ALTERED

AND

2pm-5pm    RANGER DISTRESS TECHNIQUES

Hope to see you all there!!

Coloring just for fun!

I don't know about everyone else, but one of my favorite activities to do with my kids is coloring!  OK, so I'm a big kid when someone whips out that giant box of crayons, I admit it. Since pre-school ended almost 2 weeks ago for Maya and Ryan just had his last day of 1st grade today, Maya and I have spent a lot of the last 2 weeks coloring in her giant coloring books together...so I guess it's put me in that playing mood...

My Aunt Bonnie (my most artistic Aunt) popped over yesterday for some play time in my studio.  She loves to go through all of my Ranger treasures trying everything out and seeing how it works.  Among my bins of treasure she came across a little tin filled with Cut & Dry nibs with a half tinted photo of a butterfly..."Oooooohhhh, what's this??" she asked.  Now I have to digress for a minute to tell you Aunt Bonnie is the one who taught me how to oil paint when I was 8 years old, she's extremely talented, so it cracks me up when what I think is some of the simplest things totally impresses her, LOL  So I grabbed the photo and finished it up and thought I would share it, since she was so excited about how this works.

   This is the picture we started with, it's one I took in my backyard a few years ago and I use it to teach this technique sometimes...it's a good one for tinting : )
I need to say that all photo papers do not work well for this.  Some say that the cheaper the photo paper the better it works, what I found is that the papers which are really good for vibrant colors on your photos such as Kodak and HP photo paper that I use in my printer are the worst for tinting because it just sucks the inks in and they do not blend well.  I swear by www.Snapfish.com.  I have used them for years to print my photos and they use Fuji paper...in my opinion, it works the best with Distress Inks.  That being said, if you have other papers, just test it first...and please don't do this on you great-grandparents original photos : )

Ranger's Cut & Dry Nibs remind me of a naked magic marker tip.  They come in packs of 10 and I keep my used nibs in a toothpick holder.  I tend to dedicate one to a color family so I re-use them over and over.  Simply rub the side of the tip of the nib in to a Distress Ink pad to pick up some color and use it to color in small areas on your photo.  The nibs transfer the color, so when it seems to be drying out, just pick up some more ink from the Distress Inks.  You can get very details with these and I even like to blend colors.  You want to work quickly with this and to avoid streaking, I use the nibs in a small circular motion (just what works for me).  For larger areas or to blend some in on to the edges of the photo, use some Cut & Dry foam and start with a SMALL amount of ink.  You can always add more, but it's harder to blend out and I find dries faster on photo paper than it does on regular paper.
So this was out finished tinted photo...
I could have stopped at just tinting the butterfly, but like I said...I have been in the mood to color!!  Since I was playing and just having fun with this I added a tiny bit of Diamond Stickles on the dots of the butterfly wings and inthe centers of some of the flowers...why not?  Just for fun!!

This one of my nephew Jack at a park near my house is one of my favorites.  When I learned this technique from Tim Holtz at my first Ranger U, it quickly became one of my favorites...once again, I LIKE to color!  This one is a 5x7 that I liked so much I have a smaller version in a frame in my living room.  I started with just Jacks denim overalls and shirt and just kept playing.

This technique is perfect for heritage pictures, but from a modern scrapbooking perspective here's one of my favorite fun tips...you know when you have a great picture and the colors in the photo just clash with the paper you want to work with?  My solution...print the picture in black & white and tint it any color that works with your project.  Use inks to MAKE it work!

Here's one side of a 2page layout I did as part of my Ranger Extravaganza class last year.  The background is all made on watercolor paper using Colorwash (my all time favorite Ranger product!).  I wanted to use these photos of my nephew Jack, but his bathing suit was navy with bright red flowers on it...it completely clashed with the colors on my background.  So the center picture I changed to black & white on snapfish and used Spiced Marmalade Distress inks to make the flowers on his shorts work for my project...fun, right?! 

On a side note to this layout, here's the rest of the details...this part of the class was focused on learning to control the colorwash with water, adding texture, using it with an embossed resist (the flourishes on the left side are embossed with clear embossing powder which resists the colorwash) plus using the coordinating Adirondack color pallette - different products in the same colors for different purposes.  For example, all of the background paper was created with colorwash.  The blue I used in the paper is Stream.  I wanted the acrylic film "J" and white chipboard (covered with Crackle accents) to match, yet the colorwash would not be my best option for those surfaces.  So for the edges of the "J" I used the Stream Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber (the Dabber tip is great for this!) and to add color to the cracks on the rest of his name, I used the Stream Adirondack Dye Ink pad with Cut & Dry foam to go in to the cracks and really make them pop. I love that Ranger makes the same colors in different products so that no matter what surface I'm working on I can still bring it all together to match...love it!

jen

BERMUDA SCRAPPING CRUISE!!!

I am SO excited to announce that Scrapper's Cove and I are teaming up with Crafting Cruises to offer you a SCRAPPING CRUISE ADVENTURE TO BERMUDA April 10-16, 2010!!!!!!

 

Registration just started and the best part is that Royal Caribbean's beautiful Explorer of the Seas is departing locally from Bayonne, NJ! 

 

Crafting Cruises offers an easy payment plan and prices start from just $955 including all port taxes and fees, cropping space while at sea, 2 classes from me (Jen Starr), make & take and plenty of fun and goodies!  I will also be offering a good mix of additional fun classes for you to choose from if you're interested. 

Space is limited to be sure to sign up early!

 

You can see more details and register with Lorelle on Crafting Cruise's website
http://craftingcruises.com/cruisepdf/BermudaApril2010.pdf

 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at any time!  Hope to see you there!!

 

ps - the cruise leaves on my birthday so come and party with me!!!  It's going to be a really fun trip : ))


jen

These are the moments I love to scrap...

Yesterday was Maya's field day at Pre-school.  My nephew goes to the same pre-school so my sister and her kids were there too.  Instead of just taking pictures of them playing each game, etc Maya decided to run around and get her best friends to have their picture taken with her so she can make a scrapbook over the summer (yup, she's a little scrapper in training, LOL).  So since the kids were all in a good mood, I took some great close ups while I was on bubble duty...

I love this picture of Maya...it's such a typical face for her and the look in her eyes reveals her self confidence and pure "Jersey Girl Attitude".  I have to admit, it also makes me a little nervous...I'm SO not looking forward to High School!  We're SO screwed : )

My nephew Jack (that's spiderman on his cheek, lol) Look at those perfect little lips, I could eat him he's so damn cute!

I love this shot...Mrs. Earl is not only Maya's favorite pre-school teacher, but was also one of my girl scout leaders when I was a kid! 

Maya & Jack...so many people are surprized that they are only cousins and not brother & sister!
They look so much alike!

 
These completely cracked me up! My niece Julia decided she would rather lick the bubbles and then the face she made once the soap taste kicked in was priceless!!!  (note the bubble hanging on that pitiful bottom lip - hee hee)

So there you go, I'm not so in to scrapping every "event" really...more the great moments that happen during those events.  It was the perfect overcast, almost rainy day for pictures...no shadows, great for face shots!

Now I just need to find some time to scrap them : )

jen

This is what I love most about my town...

Meet "Jerry" the bear!

Don't ask...my kinds named him Jerry and I just go with it!
Jerry is a regular visitor in my neighborhood.  Most people who don't live here are freaked out by this and wonder why I would live in such a place where black bears are such a normal part of our lives...in all honestly, the fact that we randomly see these gorgeous animals just hanging out in our neighborhood still amazes me and it's my favorite thing about West Milford.  Jerry is HUGE and I would guess about 7-8 feet tall standing on his hind legs (I missed that picture, lol)...he's absolutely beautiful.  It truly is such a surreal and majestic experience to see them so close.
Last night Jerry must have been in a good mood because he seemed amused with me for a while.  My very funny neighbor, Rich banged on our front window around 7pm yelling for the kids to look out the window because he was in our back yard.  Mike and the kids ran for the back door to look out the windows and being the psycho I am, I ran in the opposite direction for my crocs, car keys and my camera with the big zoom lens.  Normally, when it's just a small bear, I would just hang out on the deck, keeping my distance to get some pictures...but Jerry has been too quick for me and is a little too big to follow around on foot (I'm not THAT crazy).  I followed him around the neighborhood in my van for about an hour.  He even stopped several times seeming to pose for my camera and listening to me talk to him.  I think he was just as curious about me as I was about him.  Almost amused.  I hopped out of the van a few times while he was laying down to get some closer pictures and he was very patient with me while I snapped away...I have to add that Mike was standing on the deck yelling at me the whole time to get my crazy ass back in to the van (he didn't grow up in West Milford, so he's not quite as used to this, lol) Of course I am respectful enough to keep a good distance and I kept my car running with the door open just in case I needed a quick escape...he is still a VERY big wild animal after all, no matter how docile and gentle he seems.  So he wondered in to the neighbors yard, had a snack from her garbage and had his nightly stroll on his way to the stream in the nearby woods. 
Here's some more of my favorite shots...although I need to play with the rest a little more on photoshop.

These pictures really don't do any justice to his impressive size.  I'd have to say, when he was up on his feet and walking around, the top of head was probably level with my shoulders and I'm short, a little over 5 feet, but that's a pretty big bear.  There's an even bigger one nearby that I saw last Fall...that would be "Brutus".  He was almost the size of a small car!

Anyway, I just wanted to share my favorite part of where I live with you.

Until next time,
jen

Last, but not least...back to Holland!

So I started and ended my 3 week trip in Holland.  Again we were greeted at the airport by my friends Hetty and Lida was with her too this time.  When I left Holland a few weeks ago it was raining and only the daffodils were blooming.  It's been one of those little dreams of mine to just "tiptoe through the tulips" in Holland and in the 14 or so times I have been there to teach, I have NEVER been lucky enough to be there at the right time.  I usually just miss them or I'm there in the fall...well THIS time, I walked out of the airport to see this...

TULIPS IN FULL BLOOM!!!!!! WOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, yes...I'm easily excited over little things.  But sometimes it's the little things that make me the happiest of all!
It was Queensday and we decided to stay away from Amsterdam and had a full day planned...boat tour (you know how I love them!) through the tulip fields and then another through a lot of windmills near Rotterdam...I was psyched.  However Tracie and I were both having some allergy issues and took allergy pills which completely knocked us out in the back seat while Lida was driving. We slept for a good hour when they suddenly woke us up yelling for me to get out with my camera as they pulled over to the side of the road.  I did as I was told and just check this out....

I was so happy I almost cried.  But it gets better...
So we fell back asleep in the back seat after that excitement thinking we would be at the windmills soon.  Another hour or so later they woke me up yelling, pulled completely off the road again to see this...

Yes, that is my big butt frolicing, tip toeing and doing a major happy dance in the middle of the most gorgeous flowers I have ever seen.  MY FRIENDS are the most wonderful people in the whole world.  Lida and Hetty drove an hour out of the way while we were sleeping to find this field to surprise me knowing how badly I wanted to experience this.  They searched for a BIG one, mixed with so many variations of tulips that I have never even seen before...I am truly a lucky girl to have such awesome people in my life.  We spent a long time there taking pictures and playing.  It was amazing...I love you guys more than you know! xoxox

these were definitely my favorite!


That's Lida...I love her to pieces!

It was a terrible hair day and I had like no make up on...but I didn't care.  This made me SO happy!
I even made Tracie lay down in her white shirt...it was worth getting a little dirty, wasn't it Trac?!

Ahhh, a perfect day!  We missed the boat tours, but it was SO worth it and I still got some great windmill pictures.

So we sat near the windmills and had some coffee then headed a little further to Rotterdam to meet up with Lida's daughter Loeske and her boyfriend Ronald for a fun, relaxing dinner.
It was so fun to hang out with Loeske.  I didn't see her this time as much as I normally do, but I'm hopeful that Ronald will talk her in to coming to visit us soon...Ryan and Maya miss you "LOOKSA!"

So with our day off behind us and many happy memories, Tracie and I were refreshed, rested and ready for our "grand finale" of classes at ScrapArt in the Netherlands!!  I just need to start by saying Henk and his sisters Petra and Linda are AWESOME!  We had SO much fun spending the day with everyone there!  We had full classes and were full of mixed feelings that this was our last day of classes (I'll get to that in a minute).  The store itself had  a great selection, the teaching areas were perfect and it was just a bright, happy place to be.  I am so glad that Henk's store ended up being our final stop on the tour...the entire day was perfect (well, aside from the milk I splattered all over Petra's sandals...LOL - I still feel so bad about that and I'm SO happy Petra has a great sense of humor!).  Petra, next time I am there, I want to go shopping in Amsterdam with you so I can buy you a new pair of cool sandals : )) 




I have to say that Henk is truly awesome and completely cracks me up! Great guy with a great sense of humor...I can say without a doubt that I will DEFINITELY be back at ScrapArt at the earliest opportunity and I CAN'T WAIT!  We really had a great day there and ScrapArt will be a regular stop for me when I'm in Holland!  Thanks so much Hank, Petra and Linda...you're the best and it was the perfect end to a great teaching tour!

At the end of the day, Tracie and I suddenly realized that we only had one day left together.  I don't know where it came from or who started it, but we both got very choked up and started to cry! Of course being in a room full of scrappers, EVERYONE grabbed their cameras! LOL

Tracie and I have been through a lot together over the last 2 weeks and have truly bonded more than I expected or even realized until that moment.  I wish she didn't live so far away...I miss her terribly already and it hasn't even been a week since I've been home!

It was really an amazing trip full of beautiful places, wonderful people and funny moments, but the best experience of all was forming a true friendship that I will treasure always. 
Thank you to all of the store owners who hosted us, Prima for working with us on this, Tattered Angels for co-sponsoring ScrapEvent, all of the fabulous students who came to the classes, my friends for being awesome and most of all, thank you Tracie for trusting me and sharing this adventure with me.  You are a truly *lovely* person my friend!

jen