Saturday, February 28, 2009

Teaching in my own backyard...


... well, not literally, but I am excited about the opportunity store owner Christy at ScrapHappy here in Pensacola has given me: I will be teaching two classes at her store in the coming months! For more info, log on to the Kits2Remember Calendar. I am also looking for more teaching opportunities near West Florida. Please email me if you have a store, or crop or scrappy event coming up... jessica@kits2remember.com...

Thursday, February 26, 2009

20 percent off and FREE shipping!

Are you ready for March Madness?

Maybe you're one of the ones watching the college basketball games... or maybe you'll be one of the ones to use the time away from the hubby to scrapbook! If you're the latter, get your supplies now!

Kits2Remember is happy to offer you 20 percent off your entire order at the store through Monday March 2 at 5 p.m. CST. Just use promo code madness20 when you check out. And if you spend $75 or more (before taxes and after frequent shopper point discounts) you'll get free shipping anywhere in the continental U.S.! So start shopping now!

Don't forget to check out our new metal and acrylic panel sizes, or our project kits on sale! This is also a great time to stock up on your favorite acrylic, chipboard and metal sizes!

Note: March Madness discount applies to new online orders only and must be used at the time the order is placed. Shipping charges will be removed from your order when the order ships.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I YuDu, do you?

The group on the SoCal 2 Provo Bus Tour to CKU Provo this summer were the first "civilians" to get a look at the YuDu, an inexpensive, do-it-yourself screen printing system developed by ProvoCraft, a company famous in papercrafting circles for the Cricut system.

The YuDu has since been released at the Craft and Hobby Association show in January in Anaheim and JoAnn's actually has it on sale this week for about $200. You might be thinking, "You call that inexpensive?!" Well, yes, when you consider the alternative machines out there are thousands of dollars. My parents actually have one of these expensive systems collecting dust in their garage, but I have never used it, so I am new to screen printing.

A handful of us on the bus tour were selected to receive a YuDu system free, so we could try it out, inspire others and work out any kinks. Since I had been in California for a few weeks while my YuDu was being shipped to Pensacola, yesterday was the first chance I had to break the YuDu out of its box. I had, of course, seen it months before when the bus stopped at ProvoCraft. And then again at CHA where I was able to screen print a heart on a black t-shirt. Kimberly from ProvoCraft happened to be one of the demonstrators - she is one of the ProvoCrafters in charge of us YuDu testers/bloggers. I was able to ask her some questions and she was kind enough to give me some pointers.

But yesterday was the first time I was going to embark on the YuDu experience from start to finish, all by my lonesome. A little nerve wracking, but I was looking forward to it. I love trying new things and inspiring others in different ways.

Without getting into too much detail, here are the basic steps:

1. Create an image in a computer program and print it out on a transparency. (You can line-draw right on to the emulsion sheet, if you like, but I am definitely not that artistic!)
2. Prepare the emulsion on the YuDu printing screen. This requires water. I set up shop in my kitchen.


3. Dry the emulsion/screen in the YuDu dryer.


4. Tape your transparency to the glass top of the YuDu
5. Burn the image into the emulsion screen.
6. Rinse the exposed screen so that the emulsion rises away from the design you exposed.
7. Dry the emulsion/screen in the YuDu dryer.
8. Put a shirt (or whatever else) on the platen and put the platen in the YuDu
9. Use the YuDu inks and squeegee to smooth paint over your shirt


10. Allow the ink to dry
11. Heat set the ink with an iron.

Note: If you get a YuDu system, DO NOT (I repeat, gentlemen, if you happen to be reading this, DO NOT) skip over the instructions. You will truly save yourself a ton of time, and ultimately, money, if you follow the good instructions included with the system!)

The toughest parts for me? Printing the computer image on the transparency and burning the image in the emulsion properly.

The YuDu transparencies are thicker than the kind you can get at an office supply store and my printer liked to eat them. They kept jamming because of the slight curl the transparency naturally had. I decided to go for broke and so I broke out my printable transparencies from Avery. I was able to print on them without jamming my printer and they seemed to work just fine for their purpose with the YuDu.

As for the emulsion part, you have to be careful to have the screen just wet enough so there are no dry spots and no drips. (Emulsion mess up No. 1) And you DEFINITELY need to prepare the emulsion in a LOW-LIGHT room. I must have missed that statement when I was reading the instructions the first time, so that is how I messed up emulsion attempt number 2. Here is a photo of what NOT to do!


And here is what the design looked like when I tried to use that screen:


But emulsion No. 3 turned out quite well!

As a small business owner, I thought that this would be a great way for me to affordably promote my business. As a matter of fact, Kits2Remember is coming out with it's own flourish rubber stamps that look lovely on non-porous surfaces like acrylic and metal ( mor eon that in a future post!). I plan to launch them at the Pleasanton Scrapbook Expo next month and wanted a promotional T-shirt to wear there. So, I took part of one of our actual new stamp designs and printed it out on a transparency. Then I created a message in Microsoft Word and printed that out on a transparency. Never one to waste materials, I burned both images into one emulsion screen.

First I tested it out on the back of one of my T-shirts. I learned how to (and how not to) squeegee the paint properly over the screen.


I then took the design to one of my plain bright green t-shirts. I put the blue flourish designs first, allowing them to air dry before I did the brown message over it. I am letting it dry as I write this, and then I will heat-set it with an iron. Not bad for my first complete project!


Of course, once I started screen printing successfully, it got addictive. I wanted to try it on everything. So, today, I tried it on K2R metal and acrylic (the jury is still out because the ink is still wet)


and on canvas. I have a big canvas wall hanging I did about a year ago


and I have been planning some more in my head for different walls in my house, I thought I would feature some of my new YuDu-ing on a piece or two. The YuDu did really well on the canvas.


So, in all, it took me about a day, off and on between drying times and exposures, housework and "real work" to get the hang of the YuDu, but I feel pretty successful and I am looking forward to my next challenge: Getting a group of men to successfully create something. Thanks to my husband's profession, I have access to a number of marines and sailors, so I'll see of they'll bring over some T-shirts and a design idea to give this a try in the next week or two. I'll be sure to give you the full report once I have it!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Some new products in the K2R store and samples on eBay...

Well, I have made it home and have spent some time with the family. And cleaning my sons' bedroom. And paying bills and doing all the fun catching-up that goes along with being one for three weeks. I have also gotten some new products up on the web site. Our 8 x 10 frame-able metal and our new 4 x 8 and 6 x 12 acrylic panels (perfect to go with Teresa Collins' new lines!) are now available online and will ship next week. Here are two projects I made with them:



Don't have the time to create an album from scratch? I have four of my project samples up on eBay this week, giving them a starting bid of $1.00. Once you land on one of the auction pages you can click on "View Seller's Other Items" to see the other albums. You might be able to get a pretty good deal on one. Here's photos of the covers:





I am just trying to clean up my scrap studio office. But first, I have to tackle the boys' play room! A Mom's work never ends!

A number of you asked how my husband, Rodney, was fairing woth me being gone so long. He faired just fine, although he was pretty tired. In fact, he came home for lunch yesterday, just to crash out on the couch for 45 minutes. Poor guy!


And here's proof that the Orange County Scrapbook Expo inspired at least one new scrapbooker: My sister-in-law fell in love with my class project "Great Times, Good Memories" and just had to create one for herself!


Don't forget that the Bay Area Scrapbook Expo is coming up March 20 and 21. Hope to see you there!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

OC Scrapbook Expo: Day Three ...

... Thanks to all my scrappy friends for making this weekend so much fun! I am exhausted, and my feet are killing me, but I had a great time! I am heading off to bed in a few minutes, bit here are some photos from today:


Kits2Remember metal was a huge hit ... we sold out of our new 11 x 14 size, as well as our popular 8 x 12. It looks like there will be some great new message board up in people's homes!


As usual, the make and take table was busy for most of the day. Jen and Cheryl did a fabulous job of teaching people how to use acrylic, rub-ons and the Bind-it-All.


SoCal 2 Provo Bus Tour buddy stopped by the booth to say, 'hi,' and gave me a great new scarf she knitted herself. She even made it my favorite color! K2R green! :)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

OC Scrapbook Expo Day 2 ...

... Don't have much time to write tonight, but I wanted to thank my volunteers today... you guys were great! Kathi, Jen, Cheryl, Mom, Andrea (and her fabulous Valentine chocolates she brought to us!) and my sister-in-law Gina ... thanks for your help!

Here are some pictures from today...






One more day to go... hope to see you there!

Friday, February 13, 2009

OC Scrapbook Expo Day One...

... Whew! I am sitting here with my feet up on the 'rents coffee table, relaxing after a VERY busy day! But it was an incredibly fun day for me. I saw so many familiar faces, was given countless hugs and was reminded again of why I love this industry... forget handshakes... gimme a hug, girl! And a HUGE thank you to my volunteer Krew: Cheryl, my make and take guru, Kathi and Jen, my fabulous classroom experts, my Dad, Mark, who was gracious enough to put in a few hours when my booth was busier than we could handle ourselves, and my Mom, Nancy, my cashier comerade. I couldn' have done it without you guys!

Here are some of the photos I managed to shoot today:



The "Imaginative Magnetic Metal class today at 9 a.m.


The "Great Times, Good Memories" class was overfilled! WOW!


Part of the K2R booth, featuring Clear Scraps and Petaloo flowers.


My Mom at her post.


Kathi and Jen were all smiles - even at the end of the day!


Cheryl, the make and take queen!

More photos later!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Coupon link and more projects...

... I have a had a few people ask me where they can find the Kits2Remember Scrapbook Expo coupon. Click this link and print it off...

This week I played with some acrylic, Liquid Pearls, pink StazOn ink, Petaloo flowers and more to create these projects. I felt like doing some girl stuff, which doesn't happen a lot, since I have boys...


This is a 12 x 12 album I created using some beautiful appers from Creative Imaginations. A photo really doesn't do it justice since the cover is actually created from four different layers.


This small gatefold album was creted with a 4 x 6 acrylic panels as the back cover, and then 3 x 4 acrylic panels as the pages and cover. I, of course, used my favorite flourish stamp from Tim Holtz' collection by Stampers Anonymous.


And then, last but not least, my nod to my favorite book series right now, "Twilight" (can you say 'guilty pleasure'?). I needed a girl's name for this sample, so I chose Bella...

Hope to see some of you at the Expo this weekend...

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Gotta write fast ...

... tomorrow is move-in day for the Orange County Scrapbook Expo, so I need to get these photos up and get to bed! I had a great class at Scrapbook Boulevard in Victorville tonight, The ladies really seemed to enjoy the "Love Letters" kit. I do have a few left over and they will be available at the Expo. Here are some photos from tonight:




A great group of ladies ... by the way, Scrapbook Boulevard will be at the Expo, too, with plenty of 7Gypsies and Glimmer Mist, so be sure to check them out!

Here is a sneak peek at the make and take we will have in the Kits2Remember booth. It's only $4 and it is similar to our very popular make and take last year, but with some differences, so come check it out! Valentine themes available while supplies last!


As promised, here is a photo of our new frame-happy metal panels. The new sizes are 8 x 10 and 11 x 14. This is one of the 11 x 14's in an inexpensive frame from JoAnn's. The magnets are created from Teresa Collins' chipboard charms and Petaloo's faux leather flowers. K2R will have a large selection of Petloo's products, so if you're into flowers (and who isn't?) stop by and have a look at what we've got!

And, last, but not least, a huge thanks to my hubby, who arranged (with the 'rents help!) to have a rose delivered to me... thank you, baby! You made my day!



Check back tomorrow for more previews of the new samples that will be on display in the K2R booth this weekend!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

KrewTip: Scratch-resistant paint!


Christy H. from San Diego was kind enough to email in a great KrewTip for acrylic - one I've never used, but am looking forward to trying. The photo above is one of her acrylic projects. Here is what she had to say:

"My tip....I love to mix Diamond Glaze with the acrylic paint or even powdered pigment inks. When they're "painted" onto acrylic they will never scratch like just paint will. You don't need very much Diamond Glaze, it dries very quickly, and you can still custom mix your colors. That's my favorite technique."

Thanks, Christy! If you want to learn more about Christy and her ideas, check out her blog at www.christyscloset.blogspot.com. To thank her for her idea, I will be sending her a sampling of Kits2Remember products. Do you have a KrewTip to share? Just email it to me at jessica@kits2remember.com, with "KrewTip" in the subject line. If your KrewTip is selected to be published on this blog, I will snail mail you some product!

Monday, February 09, 2009

More project ideas featuring new K2R products...

... as promised, here are some more project samples I have been working on for the upcoming Orange County Scrapbook Expo this weekend.

The Kits2Remember acrylic stadium albums are back in stock! Here is an album I created using the 8-inch stadium album:

But the stadium albums don't just have to be used for albums... here is a wall hanging I created with a 6-inch stadium album and o-rings ... perfect for any home's decor!


While we're on acrylic, Kits2Remember will be debuting two new acrylic panel sizes: 6 x 12 (scroll down to a previous post to see some project ideas) and 4 x 8. These pair perfectly with Teresa Collins' new paper and transparency lines. This is a 4 x 8 album using Teresa's line "Family Matters":



Two new sizes of metal will also be debuted this weekend: 8 x 10 and 11 x 14, perfect for using in standard frames. Just remove the glass and add magnets for great message boards! Plus, we have all the same scrappy sizes we launched this fall. Here are two albums I created mixing the metal with acrylic and chipboard. I really like the mirror effect the metal gives in the "Today" album.



I really fell in live with this owl paper from My Little Shoebox and thought it would be a great theme for a message board... so I took a piece of 12 x 12 metal and created "Who? Who? Who called?" The acrylic owl in the corner came from a Clear Scraps Mini, which will also debut at the Scrapbook Expo.


And speaking of Clear Scraps, I had time to play with the Clear Scraps Clear-n-Chip "Abbey's Love" collection. These mixed media and mis-matched shapes were just way too much fun! And I did have enough product left over from this project to create a second one.