Making Memories

Sharing Traditions

If you received the MM Insider newsletter today you will notice that we asked you to share some of your favorite holiday traditions with us.  Make a comment and tell us what your favorite holiday tradition is.  We are going to pick 5 winners to win MMs Wall Text.  The winners will be drawn tomorrow.  We are going to post the 5 winners on Monday.

So let us know what traditions you have for the holidays.  You could win for sharing.

If you didn't receive the newsletter and want to, you can sign up here. 

Kraft Paper Challenge

I am definitely in love with MM's the new Kraft line so I had to create a challenge with that as the focus. The papers are so versatile and so fresh and funky!! I can't get enough of them!!

This week's challenge is to "keep it simple." I wanted to show you that you can create a layout with just one sheet of paper and a few other supplies. I really wanted my photo to take center stage so I kept the embellishments to a minimum.

So, grab a photo, one sheet of paper and a couple other "essentials" (for me that's ribbon and rub-ons) and get creating!! You will be surprised at how quickly it will come together and you have another great page finished!!  Upload your creation when finished so we can all see.

Remember to "keep it simple" and have fun!!

Maggie

Poster Profile – Sarah McKelvey

We haven’t done a profile in a long time, so we thought it was about time.

Everyone say hello to Sarah McKelvey!

   

Sarah began scrapbooking after the birth of her first daughter.  She has been very passionate about it ever since.  Her family is often the subjects of her work.  It consists of Paul, who is a very talented photographer and her two daughters, Laura (7) and Maggie (4).   In her own words Sarah says, “I love all the elements that scrapbooking brings together, art, photography, connecting people and telling stories.  Since childhood, I have always collected papers, stickers and stationary type items. In high school, I was editor of my yearbook and that got me really interested in graphic design. I have had a love for art, paper and photography for many years. Scrapbooking brings all these elements together perfectly for me.”

Sarah describes her style as clean and simple.  She tries hard to make her photos the center of the page.  “When I first begin a page, it is usually the photos that inspire where my design is headed. When deciding on which embellishments to use, I look for those who will compliment the emotions and theme of the photos.”  Right now she loves MM’s Kraft Collection. She loves how it gives a little hint of color on her projects.  She also love tags and ribbon because they add a special touch to her designs. 

Her clean style also translates into the décor of her home.  Her design area shares a space with her office where the photography business is run.  It is made up of mostly Ikea furniture.  “My desk is from the Ikea Galant Series which is height adjustable. I love to stand and work so it works perfect for me.  It is definitely the center of our home. With three computers in one room, you will find one of the four of us in there at some point daily.” 

A craft apron bought on Etsy.com, one of her favorites.

Sarah, like most of use, is always seeking inspiration for her work.  She hangs out in the bookstore for hours looking through all kinds of magazines.  She loves getting inspired by good design.  One of her favorite design blogs is decor8.  It’s a great way for her to recharge her creative energy.  She also seeks inspiration through Japanese craft magazines. Her favorites are Cotton & Paint and Cotton Time.

Thanks Sarah for sharing a little bit about you with all of us!

Decorating for the holidays

Here is another wonderful idea for decorating your home for the holidays.  Showcase your favorite photos in a wall clock.  This clock is something that will be looked at over and over again by you and all your guests.  This idea comes from Erin Terrell and is featured in MM’s Celebrations book. 

How to:

1. Remove click apparatus, then cover matte board with textured paper
2. Add decorative ribbon through photo openings
3. Add decorative label, flowers and rub-ons
4. Insert photos
5. Spray paint clock dial black and allow to dry
6. Trim decorative paper and matte to create background
7. Add numbers to clock, then reassemble clock dial and background

You can purchase the photo clock kit at your local retailer or online.

Give it a try.

Margie's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

If you haven’t tried Margie’s famous pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe, you must put that on your list of to-do’s this weekend. 

This is one of my favorites! I only make these during October and November...These are fall muffins to me! Their color is a beautiful fall brownish orange, and I love to make them when it's Chilly outside! When I make them it feels like fall to me...I love them warm so that the Chocolate chips are melted...When I make these my house smells like I am a little Suzy Homemaker! I am not a baker, but I can make some mean chocolate chip muffins!
Enjoy!
kiss kiss
Margie

Margie's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
2 cups oil
2 cups brown sugar
4 cups sugar
(beat together)
8 beaten eggs
1 1/2 TBS baking soda dissolved in 1/3 cup warm water
(add while mixing)
4 cups canned pumpkin
(add to mixture)
Slowly add:
7 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp cinnamon
(mix)
1 cup warm water
3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (milk chocolate chips work well also)

Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes; check on them at 15 minutes.
This recipe makes a BUTT load...I cut it in half and get 4 dozen muffins...

Glitter Challenge

Today’s challenge is all about glitter.  I have to say that I love glitter, love it!! I love the way that it twinkles from different angles. Whenever I do a page I try to add some sparkle somewhere on my layout.  I like how the Shimmer is sheer with the Ready to Glitter Stickers so I used it as my background to give my layout a hint of sparkle.  To top it off, I added a bit more sparkle to the center of the flower by adding a gem sticker.  Give it a try and upload your pages to the MM idea gallery. 

Here is a list of the other supplies I used:  Cheeky chipboard letters, Cheeky paper Abby(pink) & Emery(red),  MM Kids paper (green dot), Texture tape Emma(gingham), Ready to Glitter stickers-borders, Shimmer-pink & rose, Simply Fabulous gem stickers

Keisha

Leisa’s Getting Married

So……we celebrated.  We tried something different instead of our traditional tortilla party.  Instead, we had a bridal shower and soup bar.  Yum.  It’s starting to get cold in Utah, so lots of different soup flavors hit the spot perfectly.  We also had lots of different treats including Suzi’s carrot cake recipe that we shared last Friday.  We have some great cooks at MM!  I guess I’m not one of them since I brought the cups and napkins.  LOL

Rachel and Amber put this entire event on.  They made the invitations, created the decorations, planned them menu, you name it.  It was lots of fun. 

Just in case you haven’t met Leisa before, she works in the sales department and helps our retail stores.  She does a fabulous job.  We had an advice book at the shower and we’ve shared our advice for Leisa, but we would love to hear your advice also.  All brides-to-be need some great advice right???  Send your best wishes and advice by posting a comment. 

Congrats Leisa.  We’re all excited for you!

   

Giving Tray

Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks.  Have you thought about how you want to decorate your home for your guests?  Here’s an idea to try from the MM Celebrations book.  Erin Terrell took the MM photo tray kit and embellished it with past Thanksgiving Celebration photos. 

Here’s a quick how-to, so you can give it a try also.

How to:

1. Take photos of Thanksgiving decoration and size them
2. Print photos with extra white boarder to fit inside tray
3. Add textured paper and ribbon along bottom boarder
4. Add rub-ons below photos and on ribbon
5. Place sticker in upper left corner and on ribbon boarder

 

What’s Available In November

Just as an FYI, here is a list of MM product that are avalible this month.

Scrapbook Shimmer Kits & Ready-to-Glitter Stickers - Scrapbook shimmer is an ultra-fine, professional quality glitter.  Each kit contains 6 colors of glitter, and a funnel tray to assist in easily replacing extra glitter back in the bottle.  Scrapbook shimmer can be used to add shine to any paper craft, or make your own custom glitter stickers with Making Memories Ready-to-Glitter stickers.  These double-sided adhesive stickers are available in borders, flowers, hearts and stars, and 3 alphabet fonts, and make using glitter fun and easy for every crafter – from advanced to beginner.

 

Wall Text - Read the writing on the walls – or the windows, or any surface for that matter!  Large and lovely adhesive alphabets give creative expression a new spin.  Wall Text alphabets are just the thing for the home decorator, devoted labeler or the inner graffiti artist in all of us.  Available in 3 fonts – in both black and white, these 4 ½” - 5 ½” high alphabets contain more then 80 characters are self-adhesive, repositionable and easily removable from any smooth or lightly textured surface. 

Kraft Paper – Create beautiful fall and winter pages and projects with Making Memories Kraft paper.  This paper is a true text weight craft paper printed with sophisticated stripes, dots, and ornamental designs.  Available in both bold and beautiful colors or soft white patterns, Kraft paper is acid and lignin free and is a one of a kind on the market.  Ask our designers – they just can’t get enough. 

Kraft stickers – To compliment our Kraft paper, we have Kraft paper stickers.  Available in Labels and Ephemeras and Monogram size alphabets in white or mixed colors – or – for those who want to mix up their journaling look – Word Kraft is like magnetic poetry in stickers.  In both memories and travel skus, Word Kraft stickers can be put together to create sentences, paragraphs, titles and more. 

Friday Recipes

Can you believe it’s November already?  It seems like the end of the year is coming so quickly.  For the next few months you will have lots of reasons to celebrate.  On each Friday during November and December, we are going to share a recipe with you.  These are favorite recipes from MM employees and designers so it doesn’t get any better than that.  Give them a try or share your favorites with us. 

This recipe came from Suzi, our HR manager.  She said, “I love this cake made with applesauce instead of oil.  It is much healthier and stays so moist.  There’s something about homemade carrot cake that reminds me of visits to my own grandmas for the holidays.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.”

OLD-FASHIONED CARROT CAKE

4 eggs

2 cups of sugar

3 cups finely shredded carrots

1 package (8 ounces) light cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups apple sauce

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

½ - 1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream cheese frosting

Beat eggs and sugar.  Add carrots, cream cheese and apple sauce.  Add dry ingredients; mix well.  Stir in pineapple and nuts.  Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in x 2-in. baking pan.  Bake 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool.   Frost cake with cream cheese frosting.  Yield: 12-16 servings.