a sneak from me

so, I'm getting my post ready, and then I see Flo made the same one! ha ha.
oh well.
so, prepare yourself for more january kit sneaks!


a project using the kits will be going up soon (I forgot to pick up my pictures).

Need help Christmas shopping?

I just wanted to take the time to highlight some non-scrappy stuff at the shoppe.

If you made it to our open house, then you've seen it.
We made room in the front of the shoppe to highlight handmade goods from local artists! It's small now, but it will grow (I hope!)


(I've been trying to upload more pics for the last 15 minutes, but blogger's having none of it, you'll have to make due with the link at the top of the post)

Along with paper and memory-making kits you'll find...

- embroidery patterns

- coasters

- handbound books and journals

- knit phone cozies

- knit hats

- knit wrist cuffs (which work great as Tim's cup cozies)

- fabric wrist cuffs

- pencil case wraps

- crocheted flowers

- camera strap covers

- paper embellishments

Coming soon...

- mittens

- knit toys
- a new 2010 planner kit

- new snowflake embellishments

- aprons

... and more

Perfect for teacher gifts and stocking stuffers!

What would you like to see in our handmade section?

open house - oct. 31

First of all... bad indoor lighting.


I'm narrowing down the details, but this year we're going to have to go with Saturday, October 31st for our holiday open house. Yes. I know it's Halloween. 10am - 2pm... so you can still hit the shoppe and get all your Halloween-y stuff in. This is what we have planned so far...

- special sales (also available online at http://www.myscrapshoppe.com/). More details coming soon.

- enter a draw to attend our "12 days of Christmas" holiday class (details on this online class will go up on Monday, hopefully).

- the November kit released a day early... and a project kit or two (for sure one).

- a section of the shoppe devoted to homemade goods. Great for gift giving. This section will remain indefinately (we've got a lot more planned for Red Star Studio). We'll be revealing bits and pieces of this on the blog as we go. There was already a little peek here.

- possibly some cupcakes. ;) and some decorations.

- blog posts featuring holiday ideas the following week, topped off by an online crop (Nov. 6 and 7th). I'm hoping to share pictures of the open house on the blog as well.

So. Clearly I have a LOT of work to do and I'm just hoping I can get everything ready in time.
What would you like to see at our open house?

Stamping on your Layouts #1

One of the things I love about the Red Star kits is the stamp Marcy designs each month to work with the kit. This week on the blog, I thought I'd share some ways you can incorporate stamping into your layouts. I'll also share some basic stamping tips along the way.

One of the reasons I love stamps is because you can choose the colours to work with different layouts, you can use them over and over again after the initial investment and they give a handmade (not quite perfect) finish. I usually handwrite my journaling, but sometimes that's not quite the look I want, but I also don't want the perfection of computer journaling. Using small alphabet stamps to journal gives me just the look I'm going for! I have a few different sets and use them to label photos, make small words in my titles, or to stamp a whole quote as I did on this layout.

I also love using stamps to create a co-ordinating journaling block, as I did on this layout using the stamp from the April kit:

*tip: When stamping, you don't want to rock back and forth, or push to hard. Doing either of these things will create a wonky image. Ink up your stamp, put it down on the paper and press evenly on the block. Then lift straight back up.

March kits

March Main Kit

Eight Days a Week

The March kit is FULL of new CHA releases from Cosmo Cricket, My Mind's Eye and Jenni Bowlin! A fun and bright kit that will hopefully have you thinking of spring being right around the corner. And have I mentioned how much I love that stamp? ;)

And some closeups...

A cardstock add-on...

The Project Add-on

Binder Mini Book.

When you purchase the kit you will need to email me the password to gain access to the private class forum. This forum will remain open indefinately for you to to complete the project whenever you want. You will receive a instructional PDF as well.

(note: the "charms" dangling from the book and the hardcover book itself are not included in the kit)

You'll find both these kits available for purchase here.

2 days till Monday

* I don't have the images for the November kits yet. Look for those online and instore on Monday. This month we have a main kit, add-on kit and a project kit (to make a December Journal)... as well as some new Red Star Studio embellishments! It's a fun month.

* Layouts using the November kit should be popping up in the gallery any day now. (Another thing I have to take pictures of! LOL)

* December Journal. So, how's it going for everyone?

Here's some ideas to get you going...

designed by Tanya Dery

click to view larger

designed by Marcy Penner

click to view larger

... and if you're not sure where to start... you can wait till Monday and get the kit to create this journal...

designed by Marcy Penner/Red Star Studio

click to view larger

The kit will include all kinds of goodies... 31 papers, vintage book pages, tons of embellishments (including some exclusive Red Star Studio button/felt embellishments), labels, numbers 1-31, red book rings, envelopes and more!

Lots of great kits and new stuff popping up in a couple days!