creatologie from carol wingert studio

A few extra kits...just in time for the holidays!

 I created a few extra kits of each of the two classes I taught in New Jersey and thought that I'd offer them to you for immediate shipment within the US...just in time for the holidays.

In most parts of the country, it's cold (blustery and snowy, too!) and I can't think of a better way to spend time between Christmas and New Years than to be working on a brand new project in the warmth and comfort of my home...can you relate?

The first project that is available is a home book built from scratch.  There are 10 surfaces for your pictures and journaling included in the kit and because it's a ringed book, you can definitely add more pages. 

This book comes complete with all of the papers (including beautiful flocked papers), embellishments and ribbons you need to build the cover and interior pages.

This is one of my very favorite books...the cover features a vintage or antique bottle, a metal key, and a hand made little glittered "peep", along with beautiful paper roses, tinsel and a vintage silk rose.  The interior features a textured chipboard key, a transluscent page, a pocket page and an envelope page.

Here's one of the interior pages...between the pockets and envelope, this book will hold a lot!

The book kit is available for $50, plus $9.00 shipping within the US only.

It will be available to ship right away.

You will see this kit on the last row of products in the PayPal storefront.

Quantities are VERY limited...

The second project being offered today is one that I have called "The Journey Journal".  It is a combination of three book structures and it includes some fabulous metal art accents that you create from scratch.  There's also some misting involved...you can use Glimmer Mist, Maya Road mist, Adirondack ink sprays or even walnut ink in a spray bottle.  One Tattered Angels screen wil be included with your kit.

This is the project that I taught at Inspired in May of 2009...it was really well received at that event so I decided to rekit it for the New Jersey event.

 This kit is available for $45, plus $9.00 shipping within the US only, for a total of $54.00.  You will find this kit in the very last box in the PayPal storefront.

Each of the kits comes with instructions and photos of the interior pages.  Because the kits were designed for in-class use, the instructions aren't quite as detailed but if you have any questions, you can feel free to email me.

Thanks for looking...and for your orders.

From my studio to yours,

THE TRAVEL JOURNAL HAS SOLD OUT...WOW, THAT WAS FAST!  I'VE REMOVED IT FROM THE STOREFRONT BECAUSE PAYPAL THINKS THAT THERE ARE OVER A MILLION KITS AVAILABLE!!!!!  :)

 

BOTH KITS ARE NOW SOLD OUT...IF YOU CLICK ON PAYPAL AND IT ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE A SALE, I'LL BE REFUNDING YOUR MONEY AS THERE ARE NO MORE OF THESE TWO KITS.  SOMETIMES, PAYPAL COMES UP WITH RANDOM INVENTORY NUMBERS...DON'T KNOW WHY.  THANKS SO MUCH...AS ALWAYS, YOUR RESPONSE HAS BEEN AMAZING!

"A Journal For Anything"!

Hello and Happy December to you!

 

It's hard to believe that this month marks the 24th creatologie kit that I have released since starting the online "classroom delivered to your door" kits  in January of 2008.   Your loyalty and support are totally appreciated...you are the reason that I create these projects each month!  I also appreciate the feedback that you send my way...whether or not you purchase a kit, your input helps me format future projects and gives me a sense of what you would like.

 

This month's project is a direct result of feedback that I received.  Back in July of 2008, I created a book called "A Trip To Remember".  It was a heavy duty, multi paged file folder into which I built a tag flag book.  The kit sold out faster than usual and, just like other months, once the project was gone, it was totally gone.  Since that time, I have received countless requests for either the instructions, or for another book like that one.  The project was displayed during the trunk show at Creative Escape this year and the response to it was amazing.

 

I have been reading and listening to your requests and I have to tell you that I usually have a hard time repeating projects that are duplicates of something I already did.   So, what I decided to do was to incorporate a similar style of folder and a tag flag book but to change out pretty much everything else...papers, embellishments, presentation, adding a sewn in die cut inclusion, etc., etc.  I have just returned from New Jersey/New York after several days of teaching, shopping and just flat out being inspired.  That inspiration has produced this month's project, which I am calling "A Journal for Anything".

 

This is a generic journal that's definitely good for anything...think about a book to document the highlights of 2009, or maybe a travel journal, or a way to capture an event...I created mine as a combination of a travel journal/inspiration journal from my trip this past week.  

 

The colors are bright and happy, and there are some fun flowers and twigs that will bring a smile to your face.

 

Because of the inclusion and the tags, there are lots and lots of surfaces for your pictures and journaling.

 

I had a ton of fun putting this one together...I've even added some of my photos from the trip!

 

This "classroom delivered to your door" is available for pre-order right now.  Shipping of this fabulous project will begin on December 30th.

 

If you have time off after the New Year, or if you will be attending a retreat or crop in January, this would be a fabulous project to work on or to bring along with you.

 

For those of you who wrote or asked about a journal with a tag flag book, this is your opportunity to learn how to create this amazingly fun book...you won't want to miss out!

 

To pre-order your kit, simply head over to the storefront on the left sidebar, and click on the box that decribes where the kit will be shipped.  PayPal will walk you through the steps and will notify me of your order.  I will then start shipping out the kits on December 30th.

 

The pre-order price for the kit is $45, and shipping charges are $9 within the US, $14 to Canada and $20 to all other international locations.   After kits ship out, the price will go up to $49 per kit, plus shipping.

 

I have put together a limited number of kits for my class at Scrapbooks, Etc. on Friday, December 11th...the remainder will be constructed in the coming weeks and shipping of those kits will begin December 30th.

 

 I am really excited about being able to share this "journal for anything" with you, especially because so many of you have asked for it!  In the busyness of the season, it can be easy to put things off or forget, but I just wanted to mention that kit quantities are limited so head on over to the storefront and pre-order your kit today.

 

 

As always, thanks for your orders and your referrals to friends and family.

 

I hope that you and your families have a wonderful holiday season filled with wonderful memories!

 

From my studio to yours,

 

P.S.  After you order your kit, be on the lookout for a small branch (no leaves) to incorporate into your journal...something with a "Y" shape, about 10" long :).  

 

I'm crying...

...because I am just overwhelmed with emotion right now.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who ordered. 

I actually almost tripled the number of kits this time...and thought it would at least be enough to last through the day, but you have amazed and astounded (and humbled) me again.  Gone in less than an hour and 45 minutes...WOW!

Every month when I post a new kit (and especially with the Heirlooms), I get a severe case of the jitters, sort of like a key note speaker at an event, or an artist or performer on stage...just ask Vern--he will attest to that!  Art can be such a personal and subjective thing...and each time I post something new, the same thoughts of "Will they like it?  Will they like it enough to buy it?" start running through my brain.  So, when something like this happens...well, the emotions run pretty high...hence, the crying.

From the bottom of my heart, thanks for your support and loyalty!

Hugs and tears,

Carol 

Le Bon Vivant...from the Heirloom Collection!

Bienvenue!

Welcome to The Heirloom Collection, Series II! 

Several months ago, I had the privilege of introducing a new type of project kit- one that featured products that were unique and not readily found in scrapbooking stores, one that took some time to put together, one that focused on pages with layers and details, one that would be passed down in the family and one that was available in very limited quantities.  Your response was simply amazing and the kits sold out in less than two hours.  Because I had never done anything like this before, there was no way for me to anticipate that this was going to happen.  It was an exhilarating and enlightening experience and it definitely cemented in my mind that you really want and need kits like these.

Just about a week after the first Heirloom Collection kit sold out, I began visualizing the second project.  During the almost two years I’ve been doing kits, you have been telling me what you like through your comments and emails, as well as your purchases of creatologie kits.  I know that many of you LOVE textiles.  Metal is a popular embellishment, but just here and there because too much of it takes away from a soft and shabby look.  You love details and just can’t get enough of layers and textures.  “Vintage- Shabby” could be your middle name.   You really get into learning new things.   And, finally, you adore all things French, n’est pas?

With that framework in mind, I began making lists of possibilities.  The elements would be French in style and the theme would be something to focus on the positive aspects of life—celebrations, traditions, friends and family, good food, travel, and your passions and collections—all good things. 

Enter “Le Bon Vivant”…The Good Life.

A book with such a grand theme certainly deserves the best of materials and embellishments, doesn’t it?  With a sense of excitement and anticipation, I began the next step of this journey-- hunting and gathering, searching and rescuing—finding and combining unique pieces and materials that aren’t readily available to make the project different from anything else out there.

I grew up in a home surrounded by textiles.  My dad was a men’s clothing designer, my grandmother loved old lace, notions and buttons, and my mom was an accomplished seamstress, so I guess I come by my love of fabrics and notions quite honestly.  Just like the first project, this book was going to have a lot of textures and fabrics.  For starters, I had my eye on a line of vintage style French fabrics from French General which was scheduled to be released in October.   Think linen and hemp, think Turkish red and faded, washed red, think stripes, think small vine and floral patterns, think ticking – is it any wonder that I was calling my local quilt shop several times a week starting October 1^st?  I think they got tired of my calls—do you think they were giving me a hint when they said that the owner would send an email blast as soon as the fabrics arrived? 

When the email hit my inbox, I was out of the house and in my truck in a flash.  I couldn’t wait to see these fabrics up close and personal and guess what, I wasn’t disappointed at all.  They were exactly what I was looking for and they set the tone for the book.  You will find some of the fabrics on the book cover and spine—aren’t they totally gorgeous?

Next in this grand adventure was finding actual vintage or antique French linens—from France, of course!  You know all about supply and demand—well, antique French linens are in fairly high demand and the supplies are beginning to dwindle, which means you may need to sell your firstborn to purchase one hand made sheet.  After weeks of searching online, I came across a sheet that fit the bill (and the budget).  It was handmade linen, from the late 1800’s, and was advertised to be in near perfect condition.  I purchased the sheet and stalked the mail guy until the package arrived.  When I opened it up, I was so excited—actually overwhelmed with emotion would be a better way to put it.  First, it was better than promised, which was good in that the seller had not misrepresented the goods, but bad in that there was no way in the world I could cut up that piece of history.  I love to repurpose and give new life to old things, but this piece had to stay intact.  Just a bit of the story behind these sheets—they were primarily woven by women in their homes, and they could do about 24” during one evening.  Isn’t that amazing—and all the more reason why scissors wouldn’t touch that piece!

OK, what to do?  I contacted the seller and asked if she might have some other goods—something in less than perfect condition.  She emailed me her phone number and asked me to call, which resulted in a conversation pretty close to 2 hours in length.  She is the owner of a Bed & Breakfast in the Deep South, is from England (where she still has a home), and she is an antiques dealer—quite an interesting and eclectic mix—we definitely hit it off!  She told me that she had several trunks filled with old linens (be still my oh so pounding heart, you can’t have a heart attack before the book is done!) and that she would check to see what she had.  Her next email just made my heart sing.  She found two mended sheets that she thought would fit the bill—and they did!  What’s so funny is that the sheets were mended in beautiful blocks and if you didn’t know that they were mended, you would have thought that it was part of a design.  Gotta love the French!  Anyway, each kit has a piece of history—a handmade linen sheet, soft from use and washes and just perfect for the book.

With the fabrics setting the tone for the book, I set out to incorporate bits of metal, exquisite pieces of French lace and trim, unique papers and fun baubles to light up every page. 

Here’s some of what you will find in this kit:

• Metal accents including a funky spoon handle, hand made fleur-de-lis accent, vintage style and antique keys, fabulous metal charms and trinkets, a rusted metal bird and old fashioned hanger
• Unique art papers that you won’t find in most scrapbooking or craft stores—some are made out of old papers and illustrations from my personal collection
• Vintage mother of pearl buttons, antique china buttons and an amazing crocheted fringed button trim
• Vintage millinery flowers
• Hand made fabric flowers
• Exquisite vintage French trims (many made with linen and cotton)—I had been saving these for just such an occasion
• French inspired fabrics such as hemp, jacquard, matelasse, and homespun cotton
• Antique chandelier crystals in a hard to find square shape, plus antique French dimpled cranberry glass

Is your heart pounding yet?  This is just part of what you will find in this book.  The structure is a 14” x 9 3/4” landscape profile chipboard 3 ring binder (which you won’t recognize by the time you finish the book), filled to the brim with beautifully appointed pages, pages where no detail has been left undone.  Through the years, I’ve been studying French décor and something that consistently comes up in books and articles that I’ve read is that the French decorate and accessorize a room (or themselves) and then remove one item.  They believe that there is an art to having things “just right” and you know what?  I think they are on to something!  I tried it in this book and on most of the pages, it really worked.  As a result, there are actually more things in your kit than you will use in this book—wouldn’t it be fun to use some of them to create a smaller version as a gift for someone?  Oh, the possibilities!

I thought you might want to see a little of the interior pages so my daughter, Ashley, shot a little video of me going through the book, page by page.  Check it out...but don't be too tough on me...I'm really an amateur at this but love the opportunity to share the contents of the book with you!

 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Because of the limited nature of this book, and your requests, I decided to give some advance notice of when it would become available in my PayPal storefront. 

 

Look for it to appear on Thursday morning, November 19^th, at 7:00 a.m., Arizona time (which is Mountain Time Zone right now).  So set your clock, program your iPhone, Blackberry, or PDA; after all, Thursday morning is just around the corner!

Somewhere along the line of building the interior pages, I began calling the book “an event in a box”.  Like many of you, I love events (and love teaching at events), but, for various and sundry reasons, can’t always attend each and every one that appeals to me.  Many of you can probably relate—circumstances such as previous commitments, the need to take care of family, the job, disabilities or difficulty in travel to get there, and finances to pay for the total package of food, hotel and travel often stand in the way of being at one of the coveted events.  Consider this book as a substitute for an event.  It’s delivered to your door (so no travel), it’s comprehensive enough to fill all the creative time at an event (plus you know what you are getting ahead of time so there are no surprises-like making something you’ll never use), it is unique and filled with products that take time to search out, AND, you get to create in the comfort of your home or in the friendly company of your cropping buddies (in your jammies if you want--woo hoo).

And, bottom line, you are paying far less than you would for an event.

This unique, limited edition Heirloom Collection kit will be available for pre-order on Thursday morning for just $187.  Shipping, at the cost of $12, is limited to within the US.  If you are outside of the US, and this is a MUST HAVE kit, please contact me by email at carolwingertaz@msn.com.  Because of the size and weight of the kit, it is in a different category than most of the creatologie kits and shipping costs are increased significantly.

Imagine, for less than $200, you will have a beautifully appointed, wonderfully touchable, and often looked at project that will satisfy your creative and artistic side, will focus on the good and positive aspects of your life and will become an heirloom to pass down to future generations.  What more could you ask for...well, maybe a Caribbean crop vacation in January so you could build your kit...a girl can dream, right? 

This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity because once the kits are gone, they are really and truly gone, not to be repeated again.

To pre-order your kit, simply head over to left sidebar of this blog, look for the PayPal storefront and click on the box with the picture of the Heirloom book.   PayPal will walk you through the steps and will notify me of your order.

Kits will begin shipping on December 1st, just in time for it to be a gift from hubby to you, or a much deserved gift to yourself, or a fabulous “event” that you schedule whenever it suits you!  Pull out the munchies, make some hot chocolate, load up your favorite CD’s and get prepared for a creative adventure and an appreciation for “le bon vivant”! 

As always, thanks for your orders and your referrals to family and friends.

From my studio to yours, celebrating the good life,

 
 

P.S.  I keep opening up the book and touching—does that make me obsessive? J

P.P.S.  Here’s what Kathie O. wrote to me after receiving the first Heirloom Collections kit:  “I can't say enough, it’s all so beautiful. I want to leave it just like you packaged it.  Thank you.”

 

SOLD OUT

 

 

 

TODAY'S RENAISSANCE WOMAN...THAT'S YOU!

Months ago, when I first saw the release of graphic 45's Renaissance Women line, I knew that I had a do a book around this theme.  The colors were gorgeous, and the images, simply stunning.  What I needed to do was to take the beauty of a past  era and make it relevant to us today...hence Today's Renaissance Woman.   I'm sure that you've probably heard the term "Renaissance Man" used occasionally-probably used in the context of describing a guy who has a variety of interests and talents and who can do many things well.   I wonder why we don't hear that term applied to women, especially women in this era?  After all,  today's woman could be running a company, or running a marathon, or running a power saw, or running the kids around... or she could be doing ALL of those things...and in one week, too!  When my hubby and I were talking about this subject, he said that although most guys don't go on and on to another guy about the myriad of things their wives or partners do, they certainly know it and usually sum it up by saying something like "I don't know how she does it all!"  With all the balls we juggle,  I'm sure that once in a while (or many once in a whiles) we think that too!   In this season of gratitude, giving and preparing for a new year, I thought that it would be so appropriate to do a generic, untitled book about women.  Consider these applications: a celebratory gift for a woman in your life who has achieved something special a supportive gift for a friend going through hard times in memory of someone who has greatly impacted you a Mother's Day gift, for those of you who love to plan ahead a thank you to a female mentor a girlfriends' book a tangible way to express your feelings to a special girl or woman in your life-maybe a daughter, daughter-in-law, mom, or granddaughter...or a compendium of all of those special women in your life...and you get to keep the book! (smile). Does that get the ideas flowing yet?  Are you thinking that maybe you need to make more than one?  Well, that's exactly what I thought when I decided to make the structure one that you build from scratch, so that you can do it over and over again.  (Or, of course, you can just order more than one kit...huge grin.) The binding of this book is an old one...very, very old in the world of book making, but totally new to me.  It's called a Tacket Binding and it's dated back to the second century.  In fact, the very first totally intact bound books, found in Egypt in the third century, were tacket bound books.  Tacket bindings are usually done with one signature, but since this is a five signature structure (which means LOTS of pages for you!), I had to figure out how to hold them together.  For that, I went to a binding that those of you who regularly buy kits may already know...so it's combining something you already know how to do with something totally new...LOVE that!  If you'd like to see a picture of the spine and binding, check out the picture in this post.   If you can't tell by now, I'm really excited to be sharing this project with you.  In addition to the beautiful graphic 45 papers, your kits will include fabulous trims and embellishments that are reminiscent of an Old World style and, you know that we have to incorporate cool techniques, like a brand new combo structure or creating exciting textured interior elements.  Of course,  your kit will come with an "instruction manual" complete with step by step instructions and color images.   This kit is available for pre-order immediately and will begin shipping November 24th.    This month's kit will be offered at $49.00.  HOWEVER FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO PRE-ORDER YOUR KIT OR KITS, THERE WILL BE A DISCOUNT AND KITS WILL BE OFFERED AT $45.00, PLUS SHIPPING.   Once kits have shipped out, the price will then become $49.00, plus shipping.  Here's why you get the discount for pre-ordering:  Pre-ordered kits get readied for shipment in assembly line fashion...boxes are set up and filled at the same time, labeling gets done in large batches and the Postal Service comes and picks up everything at once (given the unpredictability of pickups, someone needs to be around for most of the day).  Once those kits go out, each subsequent order is handled individually, which takes a lot more time.  YOU DEFINITELY BENEFIT FROM THE TIME SAVINGS BY PRE-ORDERING YOUR KIT.   Shipping charges are as follows:  $9.00 within the US, $14.00 to Canada and $20.00 to all other international locations.   When you click on the PayPal photo, that price is for the kit as well as the shipping.    TO PRE-ORDER YOUR KIT, SIMPLY LOOK FOR THE PAYPAL STOREFRONT ON THE SIDEBAR, CLICK ON THE PICTURE THAT DESCRIBES WHERE THE KIT WILL BE SHIPPED, AND PAYPAL WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THE STEPS AND THEN NOTIFY ME OF YOUR ORDER.  KITS WILL THEN BEGIN SHIPPING NOVEMBER 24TH.   For those of you in the Phoenix area, I will be teaching this project in my November class (the printer's tray will be taught a different month due to product not being available in time).  The class will be Friday, November 20th at 10:30 a.m.  To sign up, just call Scrapbooks, Etc. at 480-854-2303.  I'm looking forward to seeing you there!   I can't wait to ship this project out to you.  So many of you crave new techniques and new ways of doing things...that's part of what makes you Renaissance women.  I know that you will LOVE putting this book together...and that those special women in your life will LOVE getting one from you.   Of course, you may fit into the category of "the first for me, the second for a gift"...I hear that one a lot!  (grin)   As always, thanks for your orders and your referrals to friends and family.  I have a tremendous respect for each of you...you are the women for whom this book is designed...YOU are today's Renaissance Woman.    From my studio to yours,   P.S.  By the way, just in case you missed out last month, I've put several Holiday kits back in the storefront. And, for those of you who ordered this morning before the email blast went out, or this post went up, thanks!  I appreciate your confidence!

Redux with a makeover...

Redux with a makeover?  What in the world is that?

 

As you probably know, redux means to bring back something and of course, we all know about makeovers.  I don't know about you, but I LOVE makeovers! It's fun (and inspiring) to see before and after pictures in hair style and fashion magazines, home décor books and television shows. When I look at the after picture, I often think, "How did they DO that?"

 

Today, I am unveiling a redux with a makeover.  The project that I'm bringing back is the summer white book kit called "A Glovely Garden Party"-- and it has been made over into a project which I've called "Winter Wonderland".  How exciting is that?

 

When I was ordering product for the summer white book, I had to order a very large quantity of white gloves in order to get wholesale pricing.  I ended up making way more kits than I usually do, and that resulted in a much larger inventory than I usually have.

 

 

 

 

I thought about putting the summer white kits on sale but since the majority of kit buyers are in the US and we are heading into winter, I'm guessing that most of you aren't thinking about gardens, linen fabrics and pretty white flowers.  Instead, you are probably thinking about hot tea and cocoa, pumpkin spiced lattes, fires in the fireplace, warm clothes, and, in some parts of the country, snow shovels!  So, bottom line, a summer white book, even at a sale price, probably wouldn't be on the top of the list of purchases you want to make.  But, what about a book that features the color white and is all about winter --glittery snowflakes, gloves with fur trims, branches covered with ice, sparkly leaves?   What about a book that looks like Winter Wonderland?  Ahhh, now we're talking! 

 

It's fascinating to me to read the behind-the-scenes in a room makeover...moving a few pieces around to a different location, repurposing a few things and then adding some new things all contribute to a fresh and new look.  This is exactly what I've done with this kit.

 

I started with the original kit, shifted a couple of papers around, added a brand new paper, changed out the paint color, added some new embellishments and repurposed others, and voila, what you see is a brand new, bright and fresh hand made book, perfect for the winter season.  Just as an aside, I built this sample with one of the creatologie kits (which is the first time I've actually used one of my kits...no kidding!).  It was GREAT, if I might say so myself.  Instead of the normal hunting, gathering and more hunting that I do when I'm building a prototype, everything was right there.   I LOVED it and can see why you get excited about the kits.

 

OK, so what do you get in your kit?  You get all of the original parts and pieces (and there are a lot of them), the original instruction manual, PLUS, a make over pack with pictures of the made over cover and inside pages and brief instructions about what's different.  Your make over kit includes a silver toned 12x12 paper, a vintage chandelier crystal, a vintage sequin appliqué, chipboard snowflakes, faux lamb's wool fur, some new trinkets for the cover, silver trims (most of which are vintage trims made in France--yummmm), and brand new satin cut out snowflake ribbon--really COOL stuff. 

 

When I taught the summer white book class locally, I had a couple of women asking about why I chose to use a glove on the cover.  The glove is a novelty, and it acts as a receptacle to hold things, like a vase to ground and hold flowers in a table setting.  In the winter book, the glove is trimmed in faux fur and it holds glittery branches and trims in its opening, as well as a sequined appliqué and vintage chandelier crystal in its palm--definitely a fun accent and great conversation starter!

 

 

The flavor of the winter book is a blend between French and Gustavian (Swedish) style, which is becoming quite popular in home décor these days.  Swedish rooms are clean and bright, the whiteness almost dazzling because of the light reflected from the snowy outdoors.  Accent pieces of furniture are sometimes painted a light dove grey color, which helps to tone down the white, and the result is a beautiful and peaceful setting, perfect to overcome the winter doldrums.  The Winter Wonderland book is primarily white, with dove grey paint here and there and silver trims and accents, all tied together with sparkling clear glass glitter.  I wish I could convey to you  how beautiful the book really is since the pictures just can't capture the reflected light and many layers of the book.

  

This is an amazing value!  You get ideas and instructions for two different books and product to make one of them, with extra product to put toward another, all for the same price as the original kit.  For those of us who love to create, this is better than a sale, right?   In fact, if you bought an original white book kit, you may love the made over book so much you will want to buy another!  Tee hee.  What is it about us artists and crafters that we just can't resist?

 

To order your redux with a makeover Winter Wonderland kit, simply look for the PayPal storefront on the left sidebar of this blog.  One the second row, you will see updated images of the white book kit.  Simply choose the box that describes where the kit will be shipped, click on that image, and PayPal will walk you through the steps.

 

The price for all of this inspiration and product is the same as it was in June--$40, plus $9.00 to ship to the US (total of $49), $14 to ship to Canada (total of $54) and $19 to all other international locations (total of $59).  What a great deal!

 

THESE KITS WILL BEGIN SHIPPING OCTOBER 31^ST, AND IF YOU ORDERED A HOLIDAY BOOK KIT, I WILL SHIP THIS KIT TOGETHER AND REFUND ANY EXCESS POSTAGE AFTER SHIPPING.

 

I am seriously thrilled with this makeover and am so excited to share it with you.  Quantities are limited, so you don't want to wait to get this "pretty" ordered.  Winter Wonderland kits are available for pre-order right now--with a shipping date of October 31^st.  For those of you who are local, this is an online offer only.  There won't be a class for this one. 

 

As always, thanks for your orders, and your enthusiastic referrals to friends and family.  I appreciate you...and I can't wait to see what you do with your Winter Wonderland book.

 

Happy Creating!

 

From my studio to yours,

 

P.S.  Just like for the summer kit, you will need a hardback book to repurpose into this hand stitched book.  Consider thrift stores, garage/yard sales, or your local library clearance section for great buys.  The size of my sample is approximately 6 1/4 x 9 1/2".  

 

 

SOLD OUT
 

"A Star Studded Holiday"

 

The phrase “star studded” conjures up images in my mind of a gathering of celebrities…and that’s why I chose to describe this month’s featured book kit that way.  So maybe you don’t have a lot of well known celebrities gathering at your home for the holidays (then again, maybe you do!), but most of us have our families and our friends…definitely stars in our world, right?  This hand made book is perfect for showcasing those people in our lives who help make the holiday season so special, those “stars” who make the celebrations so bright, happy and full of life. 

The book is a hand made velvet ribbon bound structure, 6”x9” in size, with 30+ interior pages for all the photos and stories that you want to keep alive in your memories.  Some of the inside pages are solid cardstock and others are made from patterned paper.

Not only is the book meant to focus on those special people in your life, it is literally studded with stars throughout.  From the dimensional star on the cover to the handmade star garland, to the glittery stars which dot various pages, to the special stars which are the focus of a page, you will have so much fun creating and displaying those bright and shiny little pieces of art.  One of the techniques that you will learn is what I’m calling “One Star, Three Looks”.  You start with one star shape…and from that one shape, you will create three different stars with three different looks.  There’s one with old book paper and wire, one made from canvas and finally, one that I’m calling faux French enamel. 

Are you intrigued yet?  If not, how about this?  Vintage looking graphic 45 papers, Creative Imaginations papers that fit right it, tinsel-vintage style, metal buttons, velvet ribbon, feathers, clear glass glitter, stamped images, French and metallic trims, wings, jingle bells, Prima pearls, wire…wow, these are all part of your kit!  The styling of the book is fairly generic, with stars and angels dominating the scene.  There are Christmas images included in each kit but as always, because these books are personally yours, you can make whatever changes you’d like to suit your style and your holiday celebration. 

There isn’t a month that goes by where someone who is looking at the sample in person doesn’t say “your pictures just don’t do this project justice”.   I would agree!  It’s hard to capture the actual look and feel of these books in photos…the textures, the dimensional aspects, the interactive aspects…so, I will just say that the photos don’t do this project justice either!

As always, the project comes with an instruction manual, complete with color photos and detailed, step by step instructions.

 

 

The holiday book kit is available for pre-order right now…and it will begin shipping October 31^st, which will give you lots of time to put it together!

This month's kit will be offered at $49.00.  HOWEVER FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO PRE-ORDER YOUR KIT OR KITS, THERE WILL BE A DISCOUNT AND KITS WILL BE OFFERED AT $45.00, PLUS SHIPPING.

Once kits have shipped out, the price will then become $49.00, plus shipping.  Here's why you get the discount for pre-ordering:  Pre-ordered kits get readied for shipment in assembly line fashion...boxes are set up and filled at the same time, labeling gets done in large batches and the Postal Service comes and picks up everything at once (given the unpredictability of pickups, someone needs to be around for most of the day).  Once those kits go out, each subsequent order is handled individually, which takes a lot more time.  YOU DEFINITELY BENEFIT FROM THE TIME SAVINGS BY PRE-ORDERING YOUR KIT.

Shipping charges are as follows:  $9.00 within the US, $14.00 to Canada and $20.00 to all other international locations.   When you click on the PayPal photo, that price is for the kit as well as the shipping.  If you order multiple kits and have them shipped together at the same time, I will issue a refund for any excess postage after kits have been shipped.

To pre-order your kit, simply go to the PayPal storefront on the left sidebar.  You will see three boxes with pictures of the cover...just look for the one that says where it will be shipped.  Then click on the picture and PayPal will walk you through the steps and email me your order. 

For those of you in the Phoenix area, I will be teaching this project at Scrapbooks, Etc. on Thursday , October 29^th from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. and on Friday, October 30^th, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.   In addition to the glitter and glitz to build the book, we’ll have some holiday goodies for snacking…getting you in the mood for the season!  Just call the store at 480-854-2303 and reserve your spot today.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

Don’t miss out on your very own star studded holiday album…get yours pre-ordered today!  It was exciting for me to put this book together and I hope that you get just as excited about adding this one to your collection of creatologie projects.

As always, thanks for your orders, and for your referrals to friends and family.  I appreciate you…you are definitely stars in my world!

From my studio to yours,

 

 

SOLD OUT

If you ordered a September creatologie kit, please read this before starting your project.

Hello, hello, hello!

It's been an exciting month in the creatologie world and I wanted to say thanks to all of you who pre-ordered kits.  The last of them were picked up on Saturday, so you should have them by the middle of the week.

There have been some orders trickling in this weekend and those kits will go out today.  Tomorrow, I'll be changing the price to the regular kit price of $49, plus shipping, rather than the pre-order price of $45, plus shipping.  So, if you'd like a kit at the pre-order price, you can still do that today.

There are definitely some benefits to teaching a class that is also the online kit...if there is a glitch somewhere, it's bound to come out in class.  This month, there was a creative opportunity that showed up in Thursday's class.  Each kit has an old piece of music paper in it...I guess I didn't realize just how old.  Some of the papers were so old that they were brittle and cracked when they were folded.  Thanks to Ernestine, we had a solution to the challenge and that was to build a little stitching spine, either on the outside of the music page, or on the inside.  While it probably won't make a lot of sense right now...hopefully it will when you get that point in the project.

Here are a couple of pictures to illustrate:

To make your stitching spine, just cut a piece of kraft or brown cardstock from your kit to 2" x 7".  Fold it in half (hot dog fold) and burnish well.  Adhere to the music paper, either on the outside as shown in the first photo, or on the inside as shown in the second photo.  Stitch the music paper into the fold line through the cardstock spine you created.  Hope that helps!!!!!

Also, just wanted to mention that your little hardware goodie bags contain a Maya Road trinket pin so be careful pulling out the elements...and, be careful when removing the glass from the bubble wrap and when working with it since the edges are raw until you wrap them.

OK, hope this helps...the ladies (and gentleman) in class had fun putting their accordions together...hope you enjoy the process as well!  Thanks again.

 

 

 

"un bello autunno"

Several weeks ago, I came across a great quote for fall that I incorporated into my banner.

Here's what it says:

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all."

 

I love that description of fall!

 

When I saw the new 7 gypsies release of papers, I knew that they were perfect to create the mosaic that is autumn.

 

In my mind, the papers represented the glorious colors of the beginnings of a Mediterranean fall...the clear bright blue of the sky, red, brown and golden tones of the leaves, the green of the waning grasses and the pink and gold of the fiery sunsets.  A true mosaic, for sure.

 

Creatologie from carol wingert studio presents "un bello autunno", a mini book celebrating the colors of an autumn in Tuscany.  "Un bello autunno", translated from Italian, simply means a beautiful autumn.  Of course, as always, you can create your own title.

 

I love fun covers...don't know about you but I definitely judge a book by its cover so decided to really go all out with this one.  At the center of it all is a piece of glass with an image transfer behind it.  Your kit will contain the glass and the image and I will teach you how to create the transfer...as well as the steps to create your own image if you desire. 

 

I know that we're all looking for lots of value in our purchases these days and together with your kit instructions, I will be giving you the extra value of some gift ideas for transforming thrift store or flea market picture frames into beautiful works of art.  How cool is that?  You know that the holidays are just around the corner and we could use all of the ideas and inspiration we can get, right?

 

It appears that clear glass is a common theme in this book...I didn't set out to make it that way, but throughout the book, there are little accents that you make that have tiny clear glass beads on them...oh so fun because they capture the color of the background paper and just gleam!

 

The structure starts as an ordinary 5x7 accordion...but, as those of you who order kits regularly know, nothing stays ordinary for long!  The transformation includes vintage hardback 7 gypsy covers, vintage music pages, and special sewn in pieces (which aren't meant to be inclusions...which makes it all that much more fun)!

 

There is also a page with stitched accents...and you get your very own flower and leaf "In Stitch'z" templates...to use over and over again.  Cool...another great value for you!

 

 

I'm really excited to be sharing this colorful fall book with you...it's a great (and relatively quick) way to capture those fall photos and stories.

 

Of course, because this is a "classroom delivered to your door" (tm), you will also get one of my infamous instruction manuals...complete with photos of completed pages and step by step instructions.

 

This month's kit will be offered at $49.00.  HOWEVER FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO PRE-ORDER YOUR KIT OR KITS, THERE WILL BE A DISCOUNT AND KITS WILL BE OFFERED AT $45.00

 

Once kits have shipped out, the price will then become $49.00.  Here's why you get the discount for pre-ordering:  Pre-ordered kits get readied for shipment in assembly line fashion...boxes are set up and filled at the same time, labeling gets done in large batches and the Postal Service comes and picks up everything at once (given the unpredictability of pickups, someone needs to be around for most of the day).  Once those kits go out, each subsequent order is handled individually, which takes a lot more time.  YOU DEFINITELY BENEFIT FROM THE TIME SAVINGS BY PRE-ORDERING YOUR KIT.

 

Shipping charges are as follows:  $9.00 within the US, $14.00 to Canada and $20.00 to all other international locations.   When you click on the PayPal photo, that price is for the kit as well as the shipping.

 

To pre-order your kit, simply go to the left sidebar and look for the PayPal storefront.  You will see three boxes with pictures of the cover...just look for the one that says where it will be shipped.  Then click on the picture and PayPal will walk you through the steps and email me your order.  

 

 KITS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER IMMEDIATELY AND WILL BEGIN SHIPPING SEPTEMBER 24TH.

 

For those of you in the Phoenix area who take my classes at Scrapbooks, Etc., I will be teaching this project on Thursday evening, September 24th, at 5:00 p.m. and Friday morning, September 25th at 10:30 a.m.  I will bring some additional FUN samples of glass transfers...can't wait to play!  To reserve your spot in class, simply call the store at 480-854-2303.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing from you...both July and August's kits sold out well before they shipped...so, you don't want to delay and miss out on this one.  Just head over to the storefront and get that pre-order in today!

 

A huge thanks to all of you for your orders, and for spreading the word about creatologie...you are fabulous!

 

From my studio to yours,

 

P.S.  Hope you have "un bello autunno"! :))

 

 

Your response is beyond my wildest expectations...

...and it's left me speechless.  Well, pretty much speechless because I almost always have SOMETHING to say.

The Heirloom Collection kits are sold out...I figured if they sold out in less than a week, then it was a good idea.  But, to be sold out in less than 2 hours...well, that's beyond my wildest expectations.  I'm on this emotional high right now...wow! 

Thanks for your orders!  Love you creatologie girlfriends! 

BTW, August creatologie kits (the travel journal) are boxed up and labeled, waiting for USPS to come today!  Woo Hoo!