Extra Mixed Media Canvas Collage kits means a January class!

After teaching this class to a group of Japanese ladies, I have some kits left over, so I thought I would offer them to those aboard MCAS Iwakuni who are interested in creating this project. The class will be 7-9 p.m. at an MCAS Iwakuni building that will be announced. The project kit is $40.

There are only 8 kits available for this class. The kit includes materials for a 10x10 canvas collage frame, 6x6 decorated photo box and a 3x4 canvas frame. Photos shown are 4x6 inches, 5x5 inches and 3x3 inches.

For more information, click on Kits Classes and Events.

Patron mini bottle ornament

What do you get when you have a Patron mini bottle, ribbon and quilled paper? A cheap and easy gift for the tequila-lover in your life! Just seal the hanging ribbon in the cork closure with Glossy Accents. I added an inked tag with the date.... most of the ornaments on my tree are dated.

Small Business Saturday Sale!

Nov. 30 is Small Business Saturday, and shoppers across America are encouraged to shop at the small local retailers in their communities. Tenaciously Remembered is just that - a small, home-based business aboard MCAS Iwakuni! So, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, I invite my Iwakuni friends to my home to shop... and every album is on sale! I gotta get ready for the new albums coming in 2014! A sampling of the albums available are below... along with the savings during the sale!

Christmas and Valentine's Day albums - 50% off!

Baby Albums - 50% off!

All other albums, including the NEW kokeshi albums - 25% off!

Sales prices are only good between 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30. Albums must be purchased in person at that time. Discounts are not valid on custom orders. Free personalization is available with any purchase. For more information, email me or message me on Facebook.

Free class Jan. 9 at the library!

I am excited to announce that I will be a participating instructor in the MCAS Iwakuni library's "New Year, New Hobby" Series. Scrapbooking is the hobby for Thursday, Jan. 9, and I will be teaching how to make "Winter," a 4x4-inch chipboard mini album. Registration begins at the library Dec. 2, on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a free class for SOFA status personnel and their families, 11 years old and older. There are only 10 spots available. If you register, but discover later that you cannot make it on Jan. 9, please be considerate and notify the library so all the spots can be filled. For more information, click on the Kits, Classes and Events page.

Final Crafts and Cocktails Class...

December's Crafts and Cocktails Class is 7 p.m. Dec. 10.  This will be the final monthly craft class Tenaciously Remembered will be hosting. There will be classes quarterly or so, when I get an idea I think it would be fun to share, but a regular, monthly classes will no longer be part of the schedule. I will still have pre-made custom albums and home decor available for purchase, and continue to do spouse events as I'm asked.

I think this final Crafts and Cocktails project really sums up the feel of an American living in Japan, celebrating the holidays.

Using Christmas colors and coordinating paper from an Iwakuni stationery store, this reversible home decor piece is the perfect place to display your unique holiday photos.

For more photos and information about the class, click on Kits, Classes and Events.

Upcoming Spouse Ornament Events

There are a number of MCAS Iwakuni spouse holiday events coming up in the next few weeks, and each group will be making the ornament pictured. For more information about these events, click on Kits, Classes and Events. If you would like to schedule a similar event for your group, please email me ASAP, as my material supply is limited!

November 22, 2013
7 p.m.
MCAS Iwakuni, Bldg. 1209
MACS 4, Det. B Spouse Night - Holiday Ornament ($10 project kit)

December 2, 2013
7 p.m.
MCAS Iwakuni, Bldg. TBD
MAG-12 Spouse Holiday Party - Holiday Ornament ($10 project kit)

December 4, 2013
11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
MCAS Iwakuni, Bldg. 657 Community Room
MWSS-171 Officer Spouse Holiday Party - Holiday Ornament ($10 project kit)

December 5, 2013
7 p.m.
MCAS Iwakuni, Bldg. 655 Community Room
H&HS Spouse Club Night - Holiday Ornament ($10 project kit)

Last two Crafts & Cocktails classes...

After much thought I have decided to discontinue the monthly Crafts & Cocktails events. November's "Remember Good Times" album set and December's "Christmas in Japan" home decor project will be the last two Crafts & Cocktails events. Click here for more information about those classes.

I will continue to plan special events for spouse clubs and other groups, as well as possibly have special crafting events a few times a year. Be sure to "like" my Facebook page so you'll receive announcements about those.

I will also continue to create custom, hand-made scrapbook albums and home decor, so if you have an holiday gift needs, be sure to contact me early.

Thank you to everyone for their support this past year!

November Crafts & Cocktails project unveiled!

November's Crafts & Cocktails project for November is a three-album set featuring autumn Earth tones. The project kit is $50 and the class will be the evening of Nov. 19 aboard MCAS Iwakuni. For more information, check out the YouTube video, or click on Kits, Classes and Events.

Giving new life in celebration of new life...

As you may know if you've been following this blog, I love to repurpose things... take something and give it new life. That's what I did with these three fames for 5x7 photos. I've given them new life to celebrate a new life. These have been designed with Iwakuni newborns in mind... a fusion of American and Japanese style to display baby's first photo.

Each frame can be personalized with baby's name... and at $20, them make unique, affordable baby shower gifts! Custom orders are also possible, depending upon the baby's room or shower theme. Email me for details!

Special H&HS Ornament Class

I am excited to announce that I will be providing a craft for the MCAS Iwakuni H&HS spouses once again! On Dec. 5, members of this group will create a beautiful, festive holiday ornament in an evening! This glass ornament is filled with holiday-themed paper that has been "quilled," or rolled in coils. Add a little sparkle with high-quality glitter glue, a kanji tag and a ribbon, and you're ready to celebrate the holidays in Japan.

For more information, click on Kits, Classes and Events and scroll down to the December class details.

Video for October's Crafts and Cocktails Project

I can't believe October is just around the corner! That means a new Crafts & Cocktails project! The October Crafts & Cocktails kit is a home decor project that features 3-inch paper boxes adorned with cute embellishments from My Little Shoebox. Arrange these boxes in a number of ways to create the perfect spook-tacular display. These boxes can also be used as favor boxes. The cost of the kit is $30.

I have created a short, 2-minute video preview for you to enjoy:

"Happy Halloween" Preview

If you would like assistance in putting the project together, there is a free Crafts & Cocktails class 7:30-10 p.m., Tuesday, October 8 in Bldg. 655's (mid-rise closest to the front gate) community room. Additional details about the class can be found on the Kits, Classes & Events page.

Vintage patriot custom baby album...

This, album was so much fun to make! Mother-to-be Lauren wanted a unique baby album that would fit right in to the vintage plane theme she had planned for her son, who is due next month. I already had this album created as a standard, three-spread 8x8-inch album, and Lauren loved the way it fit in to her theme. But she wanted more pages, more pockets, more places to be able to put things like ultrasound photos, hand prints and journaling about milestones. She also wanted to use some of the decorations from her baby shower this summer. No problem! Here is the expanded album in a cute patriotic, vintage fighter jet theme.

Monsters Inc. Frame

Carina heard about the Cat in the Hat back-to-school frame and ordered one for her students... in her classroom's Monsters University theme. I think it turned out really cute, if I do say so myself... although the guy modeling it for me may have something to do with it!

Anniversary wall art...

I wanted to do something creative with the photos I shot of my parents on their 40th wedding anniversary this summer. So, I came up with this mixed media collage. I am huge fan of collages! I love that you can check it out, and then come back later and maybe see something you hadn't found before. And the bigger, the better. I have a huge mixed media collage on my living room wall with repurposed thrift-store finds, and photos of my family and friends eating... it used to be in my dining room when we lived in Florida. I blog about it soon.

This collage is much smaller, with the canvas frame being 10x10 inches and the wooden shadow box being 5.5 square inches. But I didn't skimp on detail! I just mad the details smaller!

Picture perfect frame...

Kindergarten teacher Lisa found a cute frame idea for photos of her students this year and asked me to help make it a reality. Her classroom theme is "Cat in the Hat," and, after providing me with an 11x14-inch wooden frame, I was able to find a Dr. Seuss font and the right color paint. Lisa plans to take her students' photos holding up the frame on the first and 100th days of school. Velcro on the backs of the numbers allows for easy number swapping! Parents could easily have one that says "1st Day of ___ Grade" and then change out the grade for each child each year. Could be cute family tradition!

Pocket Full of Posies...

The "Pocket Full of Posies" collection has some fun and colorful pieces in it! I really enjoyed working with this paper line (I seems to like just about anything with lime green in it!) and these albums can cover all sorts of gifting occasions for your favorite females in your life. There are both 6x6 and 8x8-inch albums available, and prices range from $25 to $40.

Sharing my kind of scrapbooking in Japan...

I was fortunate enough to be able to share my love for scrapbooking with more than 20 Japanese children and their Moms yesterday in Hiroshima. It was so much fun to watch the kids learn how to use the binding machine, and see their eyes light up with their mini album was complete. I get to do the same thing with American children today on base. Here are some photos from yesterday: