Happy Halloween Banner - New Etsy Listing

So happy with how this turned out, super cute!  I love Halloween!!!!

Find Me Here at Meadow's Brook Etsy Shop

Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business

How cool is this!?! Such a great feeling! :)

Click the link below to view the blog that featured my Teacher's Banner.  Super excited!

Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business: Look What I Won- You Can Have One, Too!

Facebook

I have set a goal to reach 100 Facebook Fans by October 1st.  Please visit our Facebook Page and click the like button - Meadow's Brook Facebook Page :)  Thank you so much to all of my current fans, I truly appreciate all of your support on this new venture!!

Halloween Decorations Coming Right Up!

Halloween Door Hanger / Decoration:

Check me out! :)

Cupcake Toppers!

Introducing the latest additions to the Cupcake Topper Family!!!

Precious Pink Owl Toppers

 

So Cute - Blue Owl Toppers

Brontosaurus

T-Rex



 And last but not least, our fall friends...:)



Fall Pumpkin Toppers

 

Turkey Toppers :)

More Toppers coming soon!  Gotta go, time to get to work!

A New Fall Banner

So busy in the "lab"!  Lot's of new creations getting ready to hit the shop.  Here is the latest:

Click me to view the Etsy listing for more info.

Some super cool Cupcake Toppers will be hitting the shop this week too!  Turkeys, Frogs and Owls OH MY!  Visit my shop on Etsy - Meadow's Brook  for up to date listings.  :)

What a Great Feeling!

It is truly a great feeling when customers send you photos of your creations being put to use!  I received these photos today from a customer that bought 50 Whale Cupcake Toppers.  This was my 3rd sale on Etsy and I was a little stressed about having my 1st Custom Order.  The final product was definitely well worth it!!  I wish I could take credit for the cake too, hahaha!  How cool is this:

Behind the Scene’s – A Teacher Banner

First and foremost, congratulations to Krissy!!!  She was the winner of the Queen of the First Grade Jungle Giveaway!  I was so excited to have been given the opportunity to be a part of such a cool thing, I can't wait to start her banner! 

With that said, it sparked an idea, a “Behind the Scene’s Glimpse” of what goes into making a banner.   Some banners can be made fairly quickly and some take a little more time.  I think there are 3 main things that go into making a banner….

1. Planning

2. Patience

3. Some good ole’ fashion TLC. 

It starts with the order.  Once I get the name for the banner I plan out how many squares I will need, solid colors with coordinating patterns, what letters I need and finally what embellishments will be used.   It kind of looks a little something like this

(Well…this is the clean-cut version, my workshop gets a little crazy sometimes!)

 I like the way layered letters look (with an outline) so on most of my banners you will see layering.   Not only is each square layered, but each letter and embellishment as well.  I lay everything out to make sure it all flows and then get to work on getting everything adhered and put together.   Once everything is adhered and while it is “setting”, I place all the letters at the bottom of each square, it is pretty time consuming but it adds a super cute touch to the bottom of the Teacher Banner.  I used to break out the ruler and measure everything out but I finally got smart enough to make a mock banner that I use as a guide for spacing out the letters.  ;)  Once everything has set and is ready to go I use a punch for the holes for the ribbon.  After the ribbon is strung I hang it up and tie additional ribbon between each square.   It does take some time to get everything together and planned out, but well worth the outcome!

Do you agree???  Suggestions welcome!  J

Fall Banner

Fall Banners are hitting the shop!  More to come later in the week.  :)  Meadow's Brook

Looking forward to that crisp fall air!

Some of my Favorite Adhesives

Being a scrapbooker (is that even a word) I have had my fair share of being an "adhesive tester"!  And I think I have finally found my main go to adhesive!  Zip Dry Paper Glue by Beacon.  It is a little expensive, as I think most scrapbook supplies are, but it is well worth it. 

I love this adhesive for several reasons -

1. It dries FAST!  5-10 minute dry time!!
2. It won't wrinkle your papers. 
3. It is easy to remove any of the glue that may seep out from the sides of your work.
4. It dries clear.
5. It's Acid and Lignin free.

I really only use it for layering paper, especially layering letters, but according to the package it will bond, beads, glitter, wire and metal to paper.  I have another adhesive that I use for those things and when that runs out I am gonna give this adhesive a try and see how it works on those things too.  I'll report back when that time comes.  :)  I do recommend following the instructions on the package and using only a thin line to the edges.  Sometimes if you go over board and you adhere thin paper to a darker paper the darker color can bleed thru your top layer, so just go easy on your application.

My Thermo-Web Adhesive Pick-up goes hand in hand with my Zip Dry.  Even when the Zip Dry has passed the 5-10 minute dry time I can use my Pick-up square to remove anything that may have seeped thru.  I actually prefer to wait until the glue has dried before I use it, then I don't have try and remove wet glue and create an even bigger mess.  I wouldn't recommend waiting any longer than 10 - 15 minutes because the one down fall of the Zip Dry is that if you do wait to long it may leave a stain on your paper that almost looks like a grease spot. 



My Second go to adhesive is my Scotch ATG Gun.  It is great for bigger projects.  Since my biggest thing is banners, this works great for layering banner panels / pennants.  It's easy to use and the adhesive is no joke!  If you try to remove what you bonded, you are definitely going to rip something!  To me, that's one awesome adhesive!

Happy Scrapbooking!!!!



Trash to Treasure

So I guess that's enough about how Meadow's Brook started.  Lets move on to a crafty storage idea!  Last year my mother-in-law was going to yard sale a cute little wooden cabinet with shelves.  I saw it and had to have it.  At the time I wanted to hang it somewhere in my home.  Well, at least that was the intention.  Instead it ended up stored in my basement with all the other "future" home decor items that I eventually wanted to display.  So here I am with all of this scrapbook stuff and limited space to store it.  Banners are my biggest thing and I use ribbon on a daily basis.  Normally I would keep my ribbon in little containers all separated by color and would have to dig thru to find the perfect ribbon to match the banner I was working on.  So I went on another mission to find a ribbon shelf so that I could have my ribbon right in front of me and know exactly what I had.  What I found was a shelf with 2 dowel rods for holding all the ribbon spools.  Only problem was most of the ones I came across were well over $30.00.  I couldn't see spending $30.00 on a little shelf with dowel rods.  So feeling defeated I made my way back home and sat and tried to think of an easier way to display my ribbon.  Then I remembered that cute little wooden cabinet with the shelves!  There it was all along, the perfect thing to keep all this ribbon in.  All I needed was a dowel rod that was long enough to run in thru the sides of the shelf and I found it at a local hardware store for less than $1.00!!!  I put my wonderful husband to work and after a few minutes of measuring and drilling I now had the perfect display for my ribbon.  I not only saved myself $29.00, but I got a much larger and cuter display!  :)

What do you think???