MTL Blog

On Tuesday we welcome in the final month of the year.  We all know what December is like, racing here and there and  trying to get those last minute presents made in time for the big day.  So this year we are winding down our classes in December and replacing them with a few Free Crop days, so check out our class time table for when they are on, then pop on in to finish off or start any of those projects your need done by Christmas.

They are on during school days and we are even holding one on a Saturday, so keep them in mind, especially if you need that well earned break from all that Christmas hussle and bussle.

Keep an eye out on our blog and in store because our Christmas Make and Takes are on their way, from the middle of December we will be running Make and Takes several times a week in our Class room.  There will be a minimal fee involved but you will walk away with a great little Christmas project and some great ideas for Christmas presents.

So next time you are in the store, enquire about them and maybe pop your name on the list to come along.

Let’s face it ladies, Christmas is now only 35 sleeps away, scary isn’t it.  Well here at MTL we already have a great selection of Christmas Papers out on the shelf, including Fancy Pants, Bo Bunny and Kaiser. 

So for all of you out there that still intend on making a few handmade items for Christmas don’t leave it too much longer to get in and get your papers.  Unfortunately come January we quiet often run out of the popular Christmas papers, and also don’t forget that we will be closed from 23rd December 2009 until 4th January 2010, so if you plan on doing some scrapbooking during this time you might want to stock up on supplies before we close for a well earned break.

Larissa has been crafting in various forms for many years and took up scrapbooking about 6 year ago with a group of friends where she was living and finally joined the MTL team 3 years ago, when her and the family relocated to the city.  Larissa works in the store on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays so next time you’re in say hello.

Larissa is the mother of two beautiful boys Jack 4 and Ben 1 and the wife of Tim, and her three boys are the main inspiration in her life and her scrapbooking.

Larissa’s favourite technique at the moment is distressing, you will often see her pages around the store with this lovely technique.

For those of you who have Foxtel, the Aurora channel will be screening Scrap It TV’s 1 hour Christmas Special from 12th December until 25th December.  At present the special is scheduled to air at 3pm and 6pm but this may change so don’t forget to check your guide.  I’m sure that Anne will once again show us how to make some beautiful projects.

Scrap It TV have advised that they will be making a third series, which will start taping in February 2010.

If you love making your own presents for people and want something to give as a baby gift – look no further.  Corina has made this lovely flower pot using bibs, ribbons and her Sizzix Machine.

All you need to do is fold your bib or face washer until you have a thin strip and then roll to form a scroll, then cover with a small plastic bag for protection.  Using a balloon stick or piece of dowel poke it into the bag and tie up with a ribbon (it should now look like a lollypop).

Decorate a terrocota pot with paint (you can pick these up from Flower Power for a $1 or $2), and punch out some Sizzix animals or shapes to decorate your washers/bibs.  Corina has used dry florist foam in the base of the pot to hold the ‘lollypops’ in place, then gathered some ribbon and secured it with florist wire and poke it into the foam.  You can put in as many or as few ‘lollypops’ as you like, it all depends on what size pot you start with.

Our October Scrap Challenge Winner is Lynne Breuer.  This months voting was very close but in the end Lynne’s beautiful wedding dance page won through.

Congratulations Lynne, don’t forget to pick up your prize when you are next in the store.

Last Sunday MTL ran our second annual Breast Cancer Fundraiser at Wattle Grove community centre.  This year we had 30 women attend, all eager to scrapbook and have fun whilst helping raise money for a very worthy cause. 

Rita and I spent the day trying to get everyone to part with as much money as we could,  but we couldn’t believe our eyes when we sold out of  lucky dips within 30min, we had 90 to begin with so that was a huge effort.  We also had throw your money at the bottle of alcohol which was very popular and of course our raffle.  So now for the exciting part, drum roll please, we are very happy to announce that we raised $2,365 in total,  this amount even exceeded our expectations.

At this time I’d like to thank everyone who helped with the organising of the day and all those people and companies who donated raffle prizes, silent auction items and our lucky door prizes.