Tag: Xyron

Remembering Grandpa Doyle

On By lindaIn Scrapbooking, Uncategorized, Xyron4 Comments

Dennis and I were talking this morning in his room about junk that needs to be sorted and gotten rid of. As I was looking around he mentioned the stack of his mom’s pictures. They were sitting under a shelf in a storage cabinet, just out in the open. Under the pile of photos was a little brag book of photos called ‘Grandma’s Show-and-Tell. We opened it as we turned the pages we could see our two youngest kids grow up right before our eyes.

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Those photos brought back a flood of happy memories as both of our parents are gone now. We were fortunate our kids were able to spend a lot of time with both sets of grandparents as they were growing up.

This morning I also read an article that says in 10 years the most photographed generation will have no pictures. I actually read the whole article and it really hit home. My photos are very precious to me and the thought of my children not having those photos down the road to jog their memory of all the good times they shared with family and friends really made me want to get back to my scrapbooking.

This photo was in the little brag book and I really just wanted to get it out and onto a page. It’s amazing all the memories that flood back when I’m scrapping the older photos. My youngest is turning 33-years-old this month; she was much younger here. My in-laws had retired to Florida and we were able to fly Kevin and Rachel down so grandma and grandpa could take them to Disney. They had the best time and couldn’t wait to tell us all about it!

close up photo

I really tried to use fun, festive papers but that old nostalgia thing just kept creeping in and I settled on a vintage paper with a printed nursery rhyme. It seemed to fit my mood and the photo. I added some glittered hearts to represent all the love and cherished memories of this time. The layout also called out for a piece of delicate vintage lace I had collected on a recent road trip. I kept the title simple – grandpa – it says it all.

vintage lace

This layout is the sample for Scrap your Stash, a class offered in the Studio from 10 a.m. to noon and from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 18. I’d rather document my memories in a scrapbook that can be enjoyed and looked at over and over, how about you? To get started, call (517) 618-7700 to register for class; $12.

Grandpa Doyle

This mini makes me happy

On By lindaIn mini album, tutorial, Uncategorized, Xyron12 Comments

Linda_Neff_mini_mug_shotI’m often asked which Xyron machine is my favorite and for this assignment that’s exactly what the Xyron people wanted to know. Such a difficult question to answer – especially for me. I own, love and use them all and have for all my crafting years. My Xyron 1.5″ Sticker Maker was purchased on my very first night of scrapbooking at a crop. I had no idea what I was doing back then but realized quickly this was one little special tool! It didn’t take me long to purchase the 5″ Creative Station then before I knew it I just had to have the 9″ Creative Station because I make a load of mini books. So, for this tutorial I chose the 9″ Creative Station as my favorite (though I did bring in the my 5″ and 1.5″ machine as well).

I’ve wanted to make a little book like this ever since I seen the one, Heather Conklin, fellow Xyron Design Team member made last year. So here’s my version!

I began with a paper pad from KaiserCraft – Telegraph Road. I also used craft-colored paper to cut my own tags to make the pages.

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The papers were cut, punched and inked before running them through the Xyron 9″ Creative Station. Love my Xyron machines! Xyron makes it so easy to create beautiful mini books. The papers are secure on the backgrounds and I never worry of any of them lifting.

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Then just remove the top covering of cellophane, peel and stick.

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When the pages were all decorated I stitched them around the edges a bit randomly. Half the finished pages were processed through the Xyron 9″ Creative Station so I could stick them back-to-back with the remaining pages.

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This book contains five pages back-to-back with room for photos on both sides. Holes punched in the top allow book rings to hold it together and hang from the Ikea Tolsby frame. I added photos of my adorable grand-dogs, punched flowers, some ribbons and punch-outs from the paper pack to finish it off.

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This is a wonderful way to display some of your favorite photos and Xyron makes it so easy to make!

Quick & easy last minute holiday ideas

On By lindaIn home decor, tutorial, Uncategorized, Xyron5 Comments

It’s time for more holiday ideas through Xyron’s 30 days of Holidays!10372750_10153350649544251_5810699339160766702_nThere is nothing I like more than a home-made Christmas. Brings back great childhood memories of making ornaments and decorations with my mother and siblings. I’ve come up – with some help from Pinterest – with some quick and easy decorations that really lend that home-made look to the home and gift items that are equally fun to do with the kids.

First up is a book mark. This was so easy to make with Xyron’s laminate cartridge and it’s a great way to preserve your art or that of a child – show me a grandma or grandpa who reads who wouldn’t love their grandchild’s art work done up in a useful gift. I sliced up an art journal page to about 1 1/2″ by 7″ sections. I ran them through my Xryon 5″ Creative Station with the Laminate/Permanent Adhesive.20141204_133816Then I stuck them together back-to-back and trimmed around the edges, punched a hole with the Crop-a-Dile and tied a pretty ribbon through the hole.20141204_134754My next project is one I found on Pinterest but revised it to make it even easier to assemble. I started with an empty toilet paper tube and flattened it with a bone folder. I wanted to print some holiday clip art onto a book page so after finding some free downloadable art I printed the two pictures on office paper to line up placement.

I was able to add just a tad of adhesive with the Xyron Mega Runner to all four sides of the book pages to hold them in place on the office paper. The paper (with the adhered book pages) was reinserted into my printer so the images could be printed on the book pages. I ran the printed book pages through the Xyron Creatopia with permanent adhesive and gently peeled it off the backing. Lay the toilet tube on the sticky side of the book page so the image is centered in the front of the tube. Wrap the page around the tube, fold up the bottom and clip the top sides of the book pages so you can tuck the top flaps down inside the tube.
linda_neff_Xyron_ornamentUse the Teresa Collins Stapler to secure the bottom of the tube. 20141204_131417Pierce a hole on each side of the tube top and add some wire. I added a jingle bell to one and white-washed one with a dilution of gesso. Stuff with special candies, candy canes, or other small items and hang on the tree as a special treat for visitors.20141204_142800My next project uses Xyron Laminate Magnet refill in my Xyron 5″ Creative Station. I took a piece of red glitter paper from DCWV Christmas & Winter Glitter Cardstock Stack and ran it through the Creative Station to put full-coverage magnet on the back and laminate on the top. Then I die cut it using a Christmas ornament die. I added the word ‘JOY’ that was die cut and run through the Xyron 1.5″ Sticker Maker. A pretty ribbon finishes the look. I also die cut letters to spell ‘peace’ from the scraps. It looks so cute hanging on the fridge!

linda_neff_Xyron_Christmas_Fridge_Magnets_blogFor the final hooray I grabbed my bag full of last year’s Christmas cards. How many years have I saved Christmas cards always intending to do something with them – well, this is the year! This actually was the easiest and my favorite.

I cut the card fronts just a hair smaller than the manilla tags I wanted to use, inked the edges and ran them through the Xyron 5″ Creative Station with permanent adhesive.

linda_neff_Xyron_tags_swagMy original plan was to make gift tags from these, but once I got them all done and laid out they looked pretty enough to hang so that’s what I did. I simply strung them some twine and hung them from a shelf. Aren’t they cute! When I actually get around to Christmas shopping I can slip the tags off the twine one-by-one and use them on the packages.

20141204_171327Make sure to visit the Xyron Facebook page to check out other great projects from the rest of the designers. There’s been some great ones and we ain’t done yet!