Ready to Spark and Sparkle into February?

I am!  February can be such a loving and fun month--and one that will zip by with warmer days only a few short weeks away.  This month we have 2 fabulous issues and one outstanding free kit.  Come and peek with me!

First up is the second issue of our GingerScrapStreet Magazine.  It is filled with love and pretties for digital, hybrid, and traditional scrappers.  Check it out:

Next, we have our original mag--ScrapStreet.com Magazine with two cool new columns and a ton of ideas to spark your scrapping mojo.  Whether you are grabbing hearts, arrows, lace, stars, or ribbon, we have inspiration just for your next project.  Come and see!

Ready for your Wednesday freebie a little early?  I know I am!  This month we are featuring the amazing designs of Chelsea of Caged Bird Designs.  She created a special kit just for our readers called Sparky Connection.  You can download it free for the entire month.

Downloads {elements}  {papers}
Please understand that this kit is for you to download and enjoy.  As with all of our freebies, you may NOT upload them and post them in any other location.  I know it seems horrible that I have to type this, but our site is being pirated with each freebie we post.  Please download with respect.  Thanks.

We hope you have a super month!  May it be filled with love and warmth!

It's getting closer...

It's once again almost time to start the ScrapStreet Operation Write Home Card Drive!

If you are not familiar with this organization, here is their mission:

"Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending

blank handmade greeting cards to write home on,

as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them."

For the past two years, ScrapStreet has held a card drive for this organization that is very near and dear to my heart. My husband is currently serving active duty for the US Army and with another upcoming deployment, every card created and sent through OWH means another card received by a military family back at home.

Last year we almost met our goal of 1000 cards! 859 cards were sent to OWH from ScrapStreet's awesome crafters and 2011 will put that number to shame!

We have already begun planning the two-week drive and you can be sure that it will be filled with amazing guest appearances and many prizes to be received!

What can you do to start preparing for this drive? Here are a few basic guidelines direct from OWH:

1. No Glitter!
2. A2 Sized Cards (4.25 x5.5)
3. Line cards made with dark cardstock.
4. Limit Multiples
5. Any quantity is just fine.
6. Some lumpiness is ok.
7. Do NOT handwrite sentiments.
8. Use quality supplies.
9. Kids should make AnyHero cards only.
10. Absolutely NO storebought cards!

Click here to read more detailed information regarding the card making guidelines.

Keep an eye out on our blog and Facebook page for more upcoming information regarding the drive!

Free Sunny Wednesday

Hi all!  Are you ready for the last piece of the Sweet Sunshine digi kit?  Today we are having a "heat wave" here in Chicagoland.  Which simply means that the temps have almost reached 40.  Clearly the weather dudes and I have COMPLETELY different definitions of the word "heat".  I did pick up a bunch of tulips at Target this week to try and trick myself into believing that spring really is right around the corner.

I will let you know when it starts working.

Until then, here are the elements for my Sweet Sunshine kit. I hope you enjoy playing with it as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Sweet Sunshine

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Today we have the elements filled with flowers and sunshine!.  The link is good until next Wednesday when it is time for a new freebie!.  

I hope you enjoy a little bit of sunshine from my world to yours!

National Thank You Month

Source

Did you know that January is National Thank You Month? As crafters, this gives us a great excuse (as we really need one) to create beautiful cards or projects to thank those that mean so much to us.

In honor of this, I challenge you to create/say as many thank yous to people in your life. Two simple words that can mean so much to someone who is having a bad day or who is feeling unappreciated.


I created this small token to give to my Mother-in-law. We do not always see eye-to-eye but I am thankful for her wisdom and advice.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, The Paper Studio, Stickers: SRM Stickers,Felt: Jillibean Soup,

Glitter: Ranger (Stickles), Adhesive: GlueDots, Ink: Clearsnap, Other: floral wire.

A big thank you to our readers! Your submissions to our magazines keep us smiling and continue to fuel our passion for this amazing past-time!

Have a wonderful week!

I've Been Going Crazy Over Canvas!!!

Happy Thursday Everyone! Scrapstreet DT member, Aymee Gandy, here with you today. How are you doing today? I hope you all are having a fabulous day! I have to confess...I have a new scrappy obsession!!! Altering canvases!!! I had never even purchased a blank canvas and while visiting my Mom in Alabama, I spied a package of these 11x14 canvases! Well I immediately pulled one out and got to work. I had so much fun, I had to create 3 more!

First up, I created a canvas for my scrappy studio. My husband and I just moved into a new home and I am in the process of re-doing my scrappy area. I want to go with a new color theme of pink and green. So I made this canvas for me. I started with a base of green paint that I diluted a tad. I then created my own argyle patterned stencil and went over the green with some brown paint to create my patterned background. Next, I cut all of my elements either out of patterned paper or through the use of my Cricut Die Cutting machine, cartridges, and SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot Software). Of course, I had to add my southernbelle silhouette (since I am known as the scraphappy southernbelle) to my canvas. I also added my initials. Here is my finished project:

Next up, I made this canvas as a birthday gift for my sister in law. I again painted the base in a blue color and then added the argyle pattern on top. The chandelier and initials are all cut with adhesive vinyl. I also added some butterflies and rhinestones for added dimension.

Next up, I created this canvas for my Mom. She teaches 5th grade and always likes to have hand made items hanging outside her door at school or in her classroom. So I thought this canvas would be pretty for spring. I cut some patterned paper for the design on this one.

Last, this one is for my 5 year old nephew, Carter. He is quite the crafter himself. He loves to come in the scrap room with his Aunt Mamie and create. He helped me to do this one. He wanted a canvas with a blue background to match his room. He then wanted his name spelled out in a LEGO looking font and then colored circles. I cut the name and circles with adhesive vinyl. So this one is completely from his imagination. He wants to add some LEGO pieces to it...of course he tells me this after the fact....LOL!

Also, I wanted to mention that I sealed each of these so that they would be protected.

I hope you have enjoyed these and that it will inspire you to do some canvas creating of your own!

Happy Scrappin'!

Aymee Gandy

Wednesday Sunshine!

Hi all!  Are you ready for the next piece of the Sweet Sunshine digi kit?  I am looking out my window watching sleet fall on top of snow and wishing I could see a pretty sunflower peeking back into my window at me.  I know I should embrace the frozen day, but when it is so gray outside I crave color.  I am happy to share my little bit of sunshine.

Sweet Sunshine

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Today we have the alphabet--sure to brighten your day.  The link is good until next Wednesday when it is time for the elements.  

I hope you enjoy a little bit of sunshine from my world to yours!

Wednesday Freebie!

Happy New Year all!  Did you start 2011 off with a bang?  Or at least a photo opportunity?  I hope it is a banner year for you!

I am a one month winter girl.  I love a nice snowy December filled with carols, hot cocoa, and big white flakes.  And then when the new year hits, I am ready for new flowers and warm weather.  Sadly, I have yet to find a location with just one month of winter.  Here in Chicagoland, we can work those snowflakes from October to May without any trouble.

Since in my heart it is already spring, I took to my design space and started scrapping and creating with bright colors and garden tools.  I captured a bit of sunshine and am happy to share.  For the next three Wednesday freebies, you can download pieces of my kit Sweet Sunshine for free!

Sweet Sunshine

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We start with the papers today--a dozen textured ones sure to brighten your day.  The link is good until next Wednesday when it is time for the alphabet.  

I hope you enjoy a little bit of sunshine from my world to yours!

They say it's your birthday...

Right?  Or is it my birthday?  Oh yes... yes it is.  It's MY birthday!  I think it's a sweet gift to just be able to come spend some time with all of you!  Have you had a chance to view our new sister magazine GingerScrapStreet??  How exciting right???  I'm not a digital scrapper but I'm dipping my toes into the hybrid world and having a blast with that.

Anyway... in case you haven't figured it out yet, this is Melissa and I'm so happy to be the first of the pit crew to share a blog post with you this year.  Have you made any resolutions?  Perhaps you are participating in One Little Word this year.  I'm not taking the class but I do make a point to come up with a word that I feel will be my focus for the year.  My word is Reflect.  The reason I chose this word is so that I will remember to take my time.  To enjoy the moments and take time to reflect on what I'm learning and how I'm growing.  I also want to take into consideration areas of my life that need changing and maybe areas that I've been too afraid to dive deeper into.  I love that my birthday is at the beginning of the year too because it makes it extra momentous.  A new year, a new age, a new word and a redefined outlook on life!

While I have you here I wanted to share with you a shaped card I whipped up the other night.

Supplies:  Paper:  Lily Bee Design, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Recollections, Ribbon: Pink Paislee, Sticker: SRM Press, Adhesive: Helmar, Other: bling, Tools: Electronic Cutter: Silhouette SD (Shapes: 8_piece_mini_scalloped_round_corner_rectangle, card_kit_icecreamcone)

I love the look of shaped cards.  This card was fairly simple to put together.  After cutting out the shapes on my Silhouette (LOVE that machine!!!) I layered them all with the patterned paper and ribbon and sticker.  Threw on some bling to make it look like sprinkles and here you have what I like to call a simply made shaped card.  The great thing about shaped cards is that you know they were easy to make but they look like it took you hours to create. 

Are you a card maker?  Do you love to make shaped cards??  Check out the current call that's going on for Card Corner:

Card Corner: Get into shape! Share with us your shaped cards and the tools you used to create them.

Send your submissions to submissions@scrapstreet.com by January 31st!  Can't wait to see them.

OH!  And before I let you go, make sure you check out the beautiful projects showcasing Unity Stamp Company!  We are very delighted to be featuring them this month in The Showroom.  You won't want to miss it!  And a very special thank you to Unity for so generously sponsoring us this month.  We absolutely adore you!

Hugs,
Melissa