A Walk Down Memory Lane

Did you know we've got classes?

 Last week I spent a lot of time updating AWDML's Google calendar and  Facebook Page with all the great classes we have coming up. Let me tell you, the calendar is packed with some amazing classes taught by some really talented ladies. The picture on the left is just a taste of what's going on. We've got Cricut, Card, Copic,and Mini Album Classes, so there's something for everyone. If you want to check out all the details for the classes and crops offered you can click here to check out the Google calendar, here for the Facebook Events page (which is my personal favorite way to check classes because you get to see a picture with the class info), or you can click here to sign up for the newsletter to have class info delivered straight to your in box. Enjoy!

What's In Store?

I'm going to be honest with you, I shop at AWDML a lot. I can't seem to walk into the store without leaving with more than I intended to.  With all that shopping, you'd think the only things that are new to me would be the things that have come in since the last time I shopped. I found out Saturday, however, that is definitely not the case.  I went in to the store to photograph some projects to share with you all on the blog, and when I picked up this layout, I thought, "wow I love those alphas," so I took the layout to Lisa (who just happens to be the creator) to ask about them. Lo and behold I have walked past them dozens of times without giving them a second look.

They are from Making Memories' Pitter Patter and come in the lovely pink you see here or blue. Of course, I will need them in blue, because, as I'm sure you know, you can never have too many cute alphas!

Monday Manufacturer Highlight - Graphic 45 and Stampendous

With a new month comes 2 new featured manufacturers: Graphic 45 and Stampendous. Since today is the first Monday Manufacturer highlight  of the month, I thought I'd share a project that features both Graphic 45 and Stampendous. The papers here are Graphic 45 Boardwalk She Sells Sea Shells, Boardwalk Malt Shop, and Le Romantique Enamored Embrace. The stamp is Stampendous Romans 8:28. Stampendous does a lot of really fantastic stamps, but I especially love their Bible verse stamps. They are so beautifully done that the words can act as focal points on a card, just like they do in today's example.

The design team has created a ton of great stuff with Graphic 45 and Stampendous. You can check out their creations on the DT blog, here.

Latest Newsletter

If you haven't yet seen our newsletter in your inbox you can click here for the archived copy. The Design Team has done a great job, once again, with some fabulous inspiration! Also, meet the team behind Graphic 45 and what the design team is creating with it.

Fan Friday!

   Today's Fan Friday project comes to us from Facebook Fan Emily. Her project grabbed my attention for a few reasons. First off, it's just darn cute. Can you ever go wrong with pink and brown? I also have a thing forframes; they make great gifts, add a personal touch to your home, and are fun to make. Finally, I really love how Emily used those pretty Prima flowers. I've put brads in the centers of my Primas before, but I've never tried putting little Primas in the center of a larger one. I can't wait to try this pretty technique. Thanks, Emily, for sharing this fun project with us!

 I hope you all have a very crafty weekend. I'll see you Monday to chat a little about this month's featured manufacturers: Graphic 45 and Stampendous.

Back to School and a Sneak Peak

I can't believe it's September 1st already. That means back to school for many, so how about a fun back to school project? To make the candy pencil pictured on the left, you'll need: 1 Hershey's Kiss, a roll of candy (I used Sweet Tarts, but Rolos, Mentos, or any other roll of candy would work), strong adhesive, a large glue dot, and pencil colored paper. The paper I used is from Pink Paislee's Old School collection, and will be shipping to AWDML later this month. The specific piece of paper is called Prep School (it just happens to be yellow on one side and red on the other).

Once you've gathered your supplies you will need to measure your roll of candy and cut a yellow piece of paper to that size. I cut my paper to the exact length of the sweet tarts, but added 1/4" to the circumference so I had room for overlap when wrapping. For example, the Sweet Tarts are 6 3/4" long and 3" in circumference, so my yellow paper is cut to 6 3/4" x 3 1/4".

Next, you will need to cut a 3/4" strip of red paper. Use the same circumference as you did for the yellow paper. So, my red paper is 3/4" x 3 1/4".

Place your larger (yellow) sheet of paper in front of you wrong side up. Put a strong adhesive on the 2 long edges of the wrong side of the paper. Put your candy directly on top of one of the long sides of the paper, press down so the adhesive sticks firmly to the candy. Roll the candy up in the paper. This will form the body of your pencil.

  Place your smaller (red) sheet of paper in front of you wrong side up. Put a strong adhesive on the 2 short edges of the wrong side of the paper. Put your candy directly on top of one of the short edges of the paper, press down so the adhesive sticks firmly to the candy. Roll the candy up in the paper. This will be your eraser.

  Stick a large Glue Dot on the end of the pencil opposite the eraser. Attach the flat side of a Hershey's Kiss to the glue dot, and ta da, you've got a candy pencil. These can be cute handed out alone, or paired with a matching card.

Did you know?

Did you know that A Walk Down Memory Lane carries Core'dinations card stock? I was thrilled when AWDML started carrying this card stock. What's the difference between Core'dinations and regular card stock?  Core'dinations is card stock that has a colored core.  This means that the color you see when you look at the card stock is actually the second color. The first color is a complimentary or contrasting core color. Why is this cool? You can emboss, sand, tear, or antique the cards stock to reveal the core color on your layout or card. It comes in a variety of color combinations too. The photo on the left is just one of the collections (The Chocolate Box), but there is a similar collection in black (Black Magic), one in white (Whitewash), and a number of tone on tone collections.

Here's an example of what you can do with Core'dinatios Black Magic, an embossing folder, and a sanding block (I like Tim Holtz' sanding block the best).  I ran my Black Magic Core'dinations through my cuttlebug with an embossing folder and sanded it to reveal the red core. Then, I used it as a layering piece on my card. And, just in case you're wondering, that cute stamped image is from Lizzie Anne Designs High Hellos stamp set. If you want to learn more about Core'dinations, and you live in the area of the B&M store,  AWDML is having Cards with Texture class that will feature Core'dinations on October 2nd. You can click here for more information.

I'll see you tomorrow for a fun back to school project that you can even do with your kids!