Finally Finished

Ah, the last newsletter of the year is done, well at least the initial draft. The copy still has to be set up and proofed, but the hard part is done. Hooray! Even though it is the double issue, there was too much information so maybe one of the projects will have to be pushed to the next issue. If you entered the tag contest, be sure to check the newsletter to see if you won.
Halloween is only 11 days away and I am still buying supplies. There are so many cute Halloween items at Ben Franklin Crafts that I know I will want to put onto my album pages. Even after Halloween passes, I will still be working on preserving my memories of past Halloweens. With that thought in mind, I purchased Dress It Up Halloween buttons and Making Memories glittered chipboard tags/ embellishments. Also from Making Memories, I found a 12x12 Scrapbook kit that had lots of the cute papers, word stickers, letter stickers, and Halloween buttons. Since I was going to buy all the components anyway, I decided it was more economical to purchase the kit. Another charming Halloween item that I could not resist was the Paper Company Studio accordion booklet stickers. I bought similar Valentine ones and used them successfully in layouts and on cards so I knew the Halloween booklets would be equally useful for journaling in small spaces. The final Halloween item I purchased was the Martha Stewart insects rubber stamp set. I don’t intend to use the stamps for Halloween, but I think their bold graphic style will be useful for future projects, perhaps the giant ant for a picnic invitation or the retro-looking fly for a rebus-type card.
Besides the newsletter, I finished two new projects, which made me very happy. Pictured here is a necklace made from what the Bead Shoppe labeled, ‘new jade’. I don’t think this earth-toned gemstone is jade; perhaps it is serpentine, a stone softer than jade. Regardless of what is the real identity of ‘new jade’, I think it is a beautiful gemstone. The findings for this necklace are from a trunk show, so I won’t be publishing the instructions, but I hope that you may be inspired by the design. The other project, a 15-minute wreath, will be explained on this site. If you need a quick decoration or something to take to a Thanksgiving dinner; try this super easy project. This blog is getting too long, so I’ll write more next time about the holiday items I recently bought.

Lynn