Paisleys Playhouse

A day on the farm

2012-02-01T06:56:00.000-06:00

Blackberry Farm - one of my favorite places to take the little ones. It is just a little local farm with a small petting zoo, some rides, and lots of history. As I was working on these photo's the thing that struck me the most was how tiny Mai was at the beginning of the year compared to the end of the year. In the beginning of 2010 she was still a baby to me and by the end of the year I had no choice but to call her a toddler or a little girl. She will always be my baby though.

My title was done with stickers and my cricut

Just a different view of these fuzzy little flowers.

Do you like to go to local small farms or venues with your family?

Last year this time

2012-01-31T07:17:00.000-06:00

We got a giant snow storm! I was happy as it was the biggest blizzard that we have had in years and years. It may have even broken a record. This year we will hit a high of 50 degree's...in Chicagoland...in January? What?

Personally this time of year I would rather have the snow. Since all of our snow is pretty much gone I thought I would share some of the highlights from last year.

I know we will pay for this unseasonably warm weather but I still hope we get a beautiful spring. Even though I love all the seasons spring is my favorite. What is your favorite season?

Today

2012-01-29T23:32:00.000-06:00

I put all of these into albums an took some photo's of the ones I have not shared with you yet. Soon...soon

Thank you...

2012-01-28T19:20:00.000-06:00

it is always nice to say thank you. Sometimes though, I feel that a card needs to be made. I have a ton pinned over at Pinterest so I thought it would be good if I started actually using the ideas that I pin.

So I found this beautiful card by Jodi Collins. for Taylored Expressions it was not pinned the right way so I don't have a direct link for it but if you do a search I am sure you can find it.

Anyway back to my card. I am trying to use up my stash and came across an old paper pack from 2009 from Close To My Heart - Unforgettable. I also ran across these three flowers with big holes in them. I am not sure what I used them for but when I saw them I knew I had to make the card above. So here is what I came up with

It was fun to use white as a border against the cream I cannot say that I have ever done that before. These buttons fit perfectly in the empty space of the flowers. and I popped up the stamped base for some extra dimension.

I also used some of the double stitched cocoa ribbon and the sentiment is from Say it in Style one of my go to sets.

I know the new trend is to finish the insides of your cards but I have been doing it all along otherwise it just feels a little naked.

So that is it for today I hope you like the card. I will probably have a few more to share soon.

How time flies...

2012-01-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

I keep getting asked if I am ever going to update my blog so apparently I still have a reader or two out there even though I have been neglecting you, dear reader.

Every year when it is winding down I always say I am going to make a scrapbook calender and guess what? This year I DID IT!! Well half of it ;) my friend Lisa is always designing great sketches over at PersonalScrapper. I decided to take all of them and turn them into a calender. Quite a few of the pages below feature paper from the PS kits.

Do you love the font? I used my CTMH Cricut Cartridge along with the new Cricut Craft Room. I love it! I am so happy that after several years of having my crucuit machine I am using it! Wahoo!!

This February page uses some paper from a Stampin Up kit that I have had forever and a day...nice to use my stash.

Here I also used my cricuit to make my shamrock. I love these pics of my daughter I think it looks like an ad in a magazine for bedding.

More cricuit action these eggs are layered so fancy.

Here I used another old set of Stampin Up papers. Seriously I have had these for about 6 years. Do you use your stash? I try to keep my stuff fresh and use my stash as well.

These are some CTMH papers that had robots and gears on them. I used the backsides and you would never know that is what it was. I love using paper out side of its target audience when I can.

So there it is the first 6 months to my calender. I promise you won't have to wait that long for another post from me.

Boo!

2011-10-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

So I wanted to make a few Halloween cards and send one to my daughter who moved out over the summer. I was super excited to share this card because I thought I was also going to be able to tell you that I used something I pinned over at pinterest...which is why we pin things. But anyway I swear I had this card pinned or saw it in a magazine but I cannot for the life of me remember so I might have just taken bits and pieces of a card here and a card there. So I was inspired but...

I love this witch from Wicked as soon as I saw this SOTM in the catalog I knew I had to order something to get it. Well I have not been disappointed that I bought it. I have a pretty big list of ideas for some more cards but considering that Halloween is already Monday I might have to make some of them up for next year :)

The stamping on this one is pretty easy just in black. I also edged the papers to age them a little and I also colored around the witch to pop her out a little.

I have a scrapbook page to share too but I have to fix the title. I misspelled an easy word....ooops. So me.

Supplies: 

Stamps - Wicked - August SOTM CTMH, Tiny Tags SU
Cardstock - Autumn Terracotta CTMH
Ink - Black
Designer Paper - Mischievous from My Minds Eye

Everybody's doing it...

2011-10-10T21:05:00.000-05:00

Pinning. Are you on Pinterest? I love it, I mean a place to keep all of the awesome ideas that I find all over the Internet. You know stuff to inspire me to make later, decorate later, buy later. You can follow me here

So once you pin...do you actually use the inspiration? I did!!

I saw this adorable card from Booth 32 one of my favorite blogs...seriously have you seen her cards? Adorable! Here is the card I saw earlier this week and pinned. Here is my version. I changed out the colors and only used 5 monsters instead of 6 but the layout I used is the same.

Supplies: 

Stamps - CTMH The Boo Crew, Party Animal

Cardstock - Burnt Seina from my stash, Black CTMH

Designer Paper - Mischievous from My Minds Eye

Copics - V91, V95, V99, Y21, Y23, Y26, YG91, YG95, BG72, BG78, R81, R83, R85

Other- Buttons, Waxy Flax, Pop dots

A simple thanks

2011-08-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share a favorite set today of mine from Inspired Stamps. I love this flower because it is so simple and so much fun to color. The possibilities with it are endless. I used it here...and here...and here...and that is just the beginning with this Flowers set. I also used the cute little thanks from More Perfect Sentiments.

What is your favorite stamp set of the moment?

and now here is a NEW page for you!

2011-08-24T07:48:00.001-05:00

Did you feel like you had de`ja`vu` when you saw my last scrapbooking post of my girls at the park

well it was not you it was me. I had already blogged that a few weeks ago. The funniest part is I even gave them the same title!!! Summer fun here it is the first time. So before I posted this page I looked and looked and looked and it has not been blogged before. Yay.

I again used that adorable line from Simple Stories called 100 days of Summer.

I have really been trying to amp up all the little details when I scrapbook. That is why I love the Internet I see pages I love and discover why I love them it is all of those little added details. The punch, the popped up title. The bling here and there...this page over all is pretty simple but I think it came together pretty good.

The title is one of my favorite things about this page....It is the smile that keeps me outta trouble! Ha no truer words have ever been spoken!

How cute are these twisted flowers?

Bazil makes them.

So have you ever blogged the same thing before?

Supplies -

Pattern Paper- Simple Stories line - 100 days of summer, simple pleasures, hello sunshine, expressions cardstock stickers, and fundamental cardstock stickers.

Sketch by Julie Bonner.

Cardstock - Kraft, Colonial White from CTMH

How about a little more Christmas?

2011-08-23T06:59:00.000-05:00

I have been scrapbooking and making cards forever and I almost always make my Christmas cards each year. One thing I have never made is a photo card for the Christmas season. I thought that the new 1.5" inch Christmas Circles would be perfect for a photo card to send out this year! I was right. This card will be easy to duplicate and cute enough to save.

Here is a close up of the circle and the details around it. I kept it simple. Added a faux ribbon and popped the image up.

I hope you enjoy this quick card.

What abour you - Have you started on your Christmas cards? Do you send out photo cards or do you hand make your cards?

Summer Fun

2011-08-19T22:51:00.000-05:00

Well summer is wrapping up. It goes fast doesn't it? I thought I would share some fun pages that I did using some park photos from last summer. This page came together rather quickly as I used a pattern straight out of the Magic idea book from CTMH. If you have been to my blog before you know I adore sketches so how could I not absolutely love a whole book of them. If you don't have one of these books run to your nearest consultant and pick on up you won't regret it.

Isn't this paper fun? It screams summer doesn't it? It is from one of my new loves...Paper Posies.

Here is the left page.

Do you love to layer pattern paper? I find it a great way to mix in a lot of patterns. I have always loved patterned paper but like to find a good balance with solid card stock. I don't want to overwhelm the photo's I want to accent them.

I also did some faux stitching. I really need a sewing machine...but today I picked up the new Sew Easy Tool I will let you know if I like it soon.

...oh summer you are not my favorite season but I will miss you so...

Here is the other page. My girls in all their tye dye glory. Tons of fun to be had by all.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer time?

Circling around Christmas

2011-08-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

Here is a little peek of what is coming your way via Inspired Stamps. Have you started thinking about Christmas yet? The shopping the card making the hustle and bustle. I thought I would make some fun cards that you can produce fairly quickly whether you have 5, 55, or 105 cards to make. This is also a GREAT way to use up those little bits and pieces of that pattern paper you love so much.

This stamp set 1.5 inch Circle Christmas is just so sweet and very versatile. It makes great cards. It would also be great on a scrapbook page or on the back of your envelope as a seal.

Here are some close ups of each card. I stamped each stamp in a cranberry and an olive ink and then I just cut part of one out and layered it on the other. You could also use markers but I like the added dimension fancy cutting brings to the table.

I also added a little texture to the card base just to make it pop a little.

I also used the cardstock to make a mock ribbon. I scored it and sanded it down. If you don't have white core cardstock you can use some white ink or a white gel pen for this effect.

I threaded each button.

Over all I just wanted to keep things quick and simple.

I also distressed the pattern paper with white ink.

The card base is standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/5" the top piece of paper is 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" and the bottom is 2" x 3 1/2". The mock ribbon is 1/2"

Merry Christmas Card making! If you start now you can really enjoy the season and remember the reason for the season instead of getting caught up in the hustle and bustle.

Make sure you keep your eye out this week over at the Inspired Stamps Blog for the rest of the countdown and the big release!

Saturday is for Scrapbooking.

2011-08-13T13:35:00.000-05:00

I guess if I keep telling myself that I will get up there and enjoy my day. I probably would already be up there but I can't see my desk so before I can scrapbook I have to find it. LOL Here are a few shots from my last scrapbooking adventure a few weeks ago.

Savannah enjoying cake. It is hard to get a good shot with cake since the candles are usually lit and you have to try and get a few different shots.

Here is a little collage of fun.

some close ups of my flowers

my journalling

I can't believe how fast the years go it is good to get them documented for sure.

Supplies all came from the July Paper Posies kit. Are you scrapbooking today?

Sweet little girls

2011-08-08T22:05:00.000-05:00

These little ones are just so incredibly sweet and i just love to work with them. I have had this paper laying around forever and decided it would make a cute little pair of pj's I decided to paper piece His Little One: girl praying I colored her hair and like the way it turned out. I have been working the hair lately. :) Added a little faux stitching along the side of the card.

here is the over all card. Do you see those little flowers in the middle of the banners? Those little flowers are cut out and popped up and they are from Comfort I just took the little flower pot and cut out one of the main flowers. Love the way it turned out.

I also added a little bling to the middle of the flowers. Here you can also see the lovely scripture used as well - John 14:6

I also added some bling to the bottom right corner.

another view of some of the layering

one final look at those cute flowers and those eyes...don't they just melt your heart?

I hope you can find some time to stamp this week. Tune in next week for some really exciting stuff happening with Inspired Stamps and if you have been wanting to try out for a Design Team - Click on the link in the upper right hand corner or visit this post. You will really have a great time working with Antoinette and her team...we rock!

In the near future I might be working on a scrapbook page with my little sweets as I had a really adorable idea. Hopefully I can find some scrapping time in the near future.

Flower power

2011-08-03T23:39:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to visit my dear grandmother. She is 91 and doesn't feel a day over 60. She always brings a smile to my face she is never afraid to try new things. We took over some sushi and flowers. She liked the sushi and loved the flowers. We also got to see her beautiful flower garden. All of these flowers inspired me to make a simple card to have on hand when a friend needs a little pick me up.

I grabbed a few sets from Inspired Stamps - Flowers (one of my favorites) Comfort and picked out some pretty pinks and some green and got busy coloring and cutting. I adore this quick and easy way that everything just seems to come together. After I colored and cut I popped up the stem and tied a ribbon on it for the leaves. I also popped the flower up and added some stickles to the middle.

Did you notice the long stem? The stem in the flower set is not quite that long so I stamped it twice and that is where the ribbon is tied. Simple solution. I love to keep things simple when I can. :)

I normally make the inside of the card similar to the front but this card just called for a clean simple sentiment also from the Comfort set

I hope you are inspired to make a card, pick some flowers or visit a loved one.

Need more inspiration? Make sure you visit the Store other Inspired Stamps Design Team members (they are located along the right sidebar), the Facebook page, or the Blog. All of those will be sure to Inspire.

Hugs and Blessings

Fun summer mini album

2011-07-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

So I love to see altered stuff and mini books and always have the best intentions of making all these fun cute little things but then never end up doing it. Until now. I got this fun little book in a kit and decided I was going to make it right away before it ended up in my huge to be made pile. By huge I mean a whole dresser full (blush)

Here is the front

On one side of the slices I put recent photos of my family

On the other I just did fun little vignettes

Here are some close ups

Love is a fruit in season at all times

One last view

Supplies

Simple Stories - 100 Days of Summer, Jillibean Soup - Gazpacho Soup Watermelon

CTMH Black cardstock

Summer Fun

2011-07-29T10:59:00.000-05:00

When we bought our house one of the big selling points was the close proximity to the park. It is just one house away and since we have a toddler it was a win win. So off we go to the park. I was not on this trip to the park her big sister took her. I was happy to see that she took a few fun photos.

I thought that these papers from the June Paper Posies kit would be perfect.

I added some journalling around the circle and did a little cluster of embellishments

Did some faux stitching

and used some dies to make a boarder. I also pieced together some stickers to make the title

Supplies

Cardstock - Bazil -Apple Crush & Tropical Breeze, CTMH - Cocoa

Pattern Paper - Simple Stories - 100 Days of Summer, Jillibean Soup - Watermelon Gazpacho Soup, My Minds Eye - Lime Twist, Fly a "kite" Spring Star & Wish Confetti

Stickers - 100 Days of Summer Expressions & Fundamental

Other - Bo Bunny Jewels, Marvy Gel Pen & ruler, MFT scallop die

Sketch - CTMH Wishes - Backstage Pattern

Winner!!

2011-07-25T22:47:00.000-05:00

So we have a winner but before I let you know who it is I wanted to share this cute little card celebrating the fun giveaway first! I used some left over paper that I had from a scrapbook kit. The very best part of this card though are these versatile stamps from Inspired Stamps I used the flower pot from Comfort and the little YAY You from 1" Circle Sentiments

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-07-24 22:23:12 UTC

so who is random number 20???? - *Alison*

WOW.. this is stunning... I love the colors you used.. and the whole design of your creation.. Making a bookmark to match is such a wonderful idea.. super creative.. thanks so much for the chance to win.. HUGs

So Alison email me your email and your snail mail at paisleyscraps@gmail.com and the rest of don't forget to visit the Inspired Stamps Facebook Page and Blog

Too much sun

2011-07-25T07:43:00.000-05:00

It has been HOT here and after to many days in the sun my little one was feeling a little under the weather. As I was scrapbooking this weekend while she was napping I saw that she had the same thing happen last year as well.

Some time on the couch with a cool treat and some cartoons always makes everything better right?

Did a fun list with some words - pretty much sums up the day.

I am loving the little clothes line...hello fun!

Supplies - Paper Posies June Kit for this page I used paper from Simple Stories - 100 Days of summer I can't wait so show you all the other cute projects that I did with this kit.

A little love

2011-07-22T10:34:00.001-05:00

So do you ever just have one of those days, or weeks, or even months where nothing is going right and you just wonder how much more you can handle? Well I made this for just such a time. I know that I have a lot to handle right now but some of my friends have even more going on. I know that if I were to receive a nice little note in the mail it would make my whole day and so I want to make someones day.

I decided I wanted to use the cute little girl from Inspired Stamps - His Little Ones: Patriotic girl with heart only I didn't need her to be patriotic only loving. awww...I {heart} Inspired Stamps. So I gave her a little chipboard heart and covered it with paper. As I was doing this I was trying to decide what else this adorable little one could hold! I wanted to do a sentiment on the front and was trying to decide what I wanted to do with it and decided to do a double banner er or a banner of sorts. I {heart} banners and I am super glad they are all the rage right now because you can just never seem to go wrong with one. So here is my "loved" banner. ;) nice little word play there. I used the "You are Loved" sentiment from More Perfect Sentiments

You can see some of the layers here at this angle. I decided to color with my Copics I {heart} Copics. I cut her out for added oomph and popped her up to give a little added dimension. Adding the three little red pearls added just a little something extra.

Question: What do you think of her hair? I am pretty confident with my coloring skills as I have established many times I love love love to color with all mediums. What I have noticed though with my Copics is I am not so confident with hair and I need to practice practice practice.

Well I hope you enjoyed my little pick me up...my little love. Also we learned a lot about me in this post ;)

I {heart} Inspired Stamps
I {heart} Banners
I {heart} Copics

I also {heart} free stuff and comments so don't forget to go to this post because today is the last day to enter to win a FREE Inspired Stamp set of your choice (minus the colorable alphabet) you can also increase your chances to win by visiting the Inspired Stamps blog as well as the other DT members Belinda, Deneen, Jan, Jenn, Lynn, Melissa, Shana, and Sylvia. Don't forget to also like the Inspired Stamps Facebook Page and visit the store to start dreaming of what stamp you would pick out if you are the lucky winner!

Supplies

Stamps - (Inspired Stamps) His Little Ones- Patriotic girl with heart, More Perfect Sentiments

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Markers - (Copics) R35, R39, YG95, YG99, B21, E50, R20, Y21, Y23, E31, E 57, E55

Cardstock -(Close to my Heart) Colonial White, Cocoa

Pattern Paper - Echo Park For the Record Line

Other: Heart Chipboard, Queen & Co Classy Red Pearls, Pop Dots

Leave your mark and win FREE stamps

2011-07-16T11:00:00.001-05:00

My daughter is going on a missions trip tomorrow. She loves it, the working with kids, the volunteering, the hard work, the fellowship. She is such an inspiration to me in embracing faith and walking the talk. She has been wanting a new Bible and I thought it would be the perfect time to gift her with the one she has been wanting. When I was younger my mom crochet me a cross for my Bible and I have always cherished it. I wanted to do make something special for her but I do not crochet...but I do love paper so I got down to business making her something to cherish and use while she is gone.

I decided to use the scripture stamp from Inspired Stamps - John 14:6

I made a card to go with it and wanted to make the bold words stand out even more so I stamped them onto some celery cardstock and put it over the white cardstock. I pieced the whole card together and added some bling and there I had it a quick simple card that goes along with the book marker.

Here they are side by side.

On the book mark I also used the Flowers set and added a button for the center

Since my Scripture was a little to wide for my book mark die I decided to cut the words apart and put them back together again. I do this a lot in scrapbooking just to give my design a little something extra. I like the way it turned out here as well.

Now about the free stamps. How would you like to win your very own stamp set from Inspired Stamps? It has never been easier to win a contest all you need to do is leave a little love...leave a comment...in other words leave your mark by midnight on Friday July 26th and then I will pick a winner announce it on my blog next week. Now what stamp sets will you win???? That is the best part YOU get to pick - you can choose any stamp set except the colorable alphabet from Inspired Stamps.

One last thing...visit the other DT blogs for more chances to win. You will find a link to their blogs on the right. Good luck...and don't forget to leave some love

Prayer changes things

2011-07-12T08:27:00.001-05:00

How would you like this darling little one to be praying for you? Isn't she so cute. She reminds me of little kids saying "Now I lay me down to sleep..."

You can find her as well as the sentiment over at Inspired Stamps

I inked her up with my tuxedo black in and then colored her with my Copics. BG72, BG78, E50, R20, G21, G24, E 31, E55, E57

I used the rest of my Personal Scrapper kit featuring the adorable For the Record line from Echo Park along with some random dictionary pages that came with my kit.

I also broke out my nesties. Cute little labels oh and then I added buttons with my beloved waxy flax. Mix all of these cute things together and you have a great card to send to a friend to let them know that they are being prayed for.

Supplies used:

Stamps - Inspired Stamps - 1" circle sentiments, His Little Ones: girl praying.

Cardstock - Whisper White SU, Light teal cardstock from my stash, Echo Park For the Record line

Embellishments - buttons, waxy flax

Other - pop dots, nesties,ticket die from PTI

Some sketchy birthday fun

2011-07-10T22:03:00.000-05:00

It is time for another fun challenge over at Scraptivations and it is a sketch by Lisa. I adore Lisa's sketches and this one is another winner. I took some photo's I had from some time spent with my grandma and used up the rest of my March 2011 kit from Personal Scrapper and it just all came together.

I even broke out my cricut. I know some of you who know me in real life just fell over so I will give you a moment to dust yourself off.

buttons who doesn't love em?

another view point

smile and say cheese

and here is the page again.

Supplies - My Minds Eye - Stella and Rose line

come on over and join us if you can

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-02T09:15:00.000-05:00

More beautiful stamps from Inspired Stamps His Little Ones: Patriotic girl with heart and a nice sentiment from More Perfect Sentiments the paper is some stuff I have had for a few years from Scenic Route. She is paper pieced and colored with my lovely Copics. Don't forget to check out some other great projects from the Inspired Stamps Design Team over at the IS Blog.

Have a Happy 4th of July weekend! I will see you next week sometime.

One good friend is worth a 1000 relatives!

2011-06-29T14:56:00.001-05:00

Ha this stamp set has made me giggle ever since I first saw it in the Stampin' Up! catalog. It makes my friend laugh out loud. I heard it is retiring at the end of this month and so I broke down and got it as it was said friends birthday. I knew I could find other uses for it because it is so hilarious and it has those cute little lanterns too.

I decided to color the little girls with my Copics and then after I was done I would spray Luminer on them and cut the dresses to make them pop.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

I also added some stickles to these little circle flowers and to the flowers in their hair and their dresses. I mean come on can you ever have to much sparkle?

Here is the whole card.

I used some retired paper from CTMH it goes perfect with the little girls as the paper has an Asian feel to it.

Here you can see the shimmer a little more and a close up of my coloring.

I kept the lanterns simple

Here are all the colors I used.

Supplies - CTMH Cocoa Cardstock, CTMH Pattern Paper - Unforgettable (I couldn't remember the name LOL), Unforgettable my stickease, SU Whisper White cardstock, memento tuxedo black ink, Copics, SU stamp Kimono Kids

Something old...something new

2011-06-27T08:46:00.000-05:00

but nothing borrowed and nothing blue.

So I have not used twinkling H2o's in forever and ever. I remember when I first saw them I had to have them and I wanted them all. For once I had a little self control and only bought a little 6 pack and I have to say I am so glad I used restraint as once I gt them home they sat...and they sat...and they sat some more.

When I got my goodies a few weeks ago from Inspired Stamps I was looking over the stamp sets and trying to decide what I wanted to play with first. They were all adorable and I just wasn't sure what I was in the mood to do. I still had a tiny tiny bit of paper left from an old kit and so I at least knew that I wanted to do something with scraps. It is funny as I am always tossing scraps into the recycle bin but with kits I feel like I have to use every last piece. I guess I like to just challenge myself. Haha!

I decided I would make a Thank You card and use Comfort and the 1" circle sentiments and so I started playing and this is what I came up with.

I lay down the color on the twinkling H2o's and it didn't have any depth but it had some nice shine. I decided to add Prisma color pencils to add shadows. Wow am I glad I thought of that. The result make a lot of texture and gave the pot and the flowers the depth I was looking for. The pot ended up looking just like a real terra cotta planter and the flowers were shiny and pretty. I decided to add some bling to the middle to make them even happier and brighter.

Here is the full card.

I popped the flowers up off the square.

Here you can see a little more of the shading.

Have a great day. Do you have old stuff that you hardly ever use? What is it? Try and use it this week!

An Awesome Ride

2011-06-24T22:29:00.000-05:00

So started goofing around using up my old kits making cards and ran across this paper from Crate Paper Static line and thought mmm what can I do with this. I pulled out a Hero Arts banner set. This might be the best stamp ever I have used it SO much! I also use this PTI Enjoy the Ride stamp all the time. Another great set. My friend Patti gave me that when she was the grand prize winner over there for a year. Anyway back to the card. I absolutely love how it turned out. Masculine cards are so hard. I am starting to ramble and this card really speaks for itself so I will let you err "Enjoy the Ride"

Here is the simple inside. I stamped off and ended up with this strange pattern but I like it as it looks more like an old car that way.

Have you been successful when you make masculine cards?

Inspired by sunshine

2011-06-23T07:55:00.002-05:00

We have been having tons and tons of rain here but yesterday was the first day of summer and in the morning we had lots of sunshine. I guess ~~all that sun~~ the tiny glimpse of sun made me want to work with orange and yellow. Something I never ever do.

I am glad I was inspired before the rain came back as i really like the way this card turned out.

I have not done a long post or a bit of a tutorial in quite some time so I thought I would give it a whirl. First I inked up my new Inspired Stamps stamp set Flowers in some white ink. I love this look.

Then I broke out the embossing stuff. I have not embossed in so long! Can we say fun? I will say it FUN had a blast...not to much of a blast though as I don't want to blow my powder off my project.

Then I inked up a scripture stamp set John 14:6 again in white and added embossing powder.

TIP: I like to hold down my paper with some sort of long object so I don't burn my fingertips when I emboss.

Next up my Copics. I love coloring on color paper it just adds a little more interest to the project.

Once I am done coloring I cut out my flower and move on to some embellishments. This is going to be a sort of paper ribbon so I crinkle it up.

flatten it out and then tear the edge.

Folding it down and securing it. I secured it with staples but you could also sew it or use super strong adhesive. I also added a bauble to the inside of the flower on top of the paper cut circle.

another view

and another so you can see the layers and the dimension

and here it is my card in all it sunny glory. I hope you like it.

Head on over to Inspired Stamps on Facebook and enter your name in a giveaway.

Supplies: Inspired Stamps (Flowers & John 14:6), Bazzill Cardstock (Beeswax & Pinecone), Scenic Route Grafton pattern paper, SU white ink and embossing powder, SU build a brad, CTMH ribbon and waxy flax, buttons, corner rounder, pop dots, Copic markers

Color my world happy -

2011-06-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

Guess what it is time for? Another Scraptivations Challenge yay!

Here is what I came up with for the Split Complementary Color Challenge

Last spring we went to Wrigley Field in Chicago and enjoy a Cubs game. To make things even better they won! Yay!! I decided to use the colors red, green and blue for my page and this turned out to be perfect for the Cubbies as their colors are red and blue.

Here is the double page: I must appologize with the full frontal pages they all look a little oragne but the true colors are on the lcose ups and the side views.

and the left page

notice the details I did some clusters. I really like to do that.

here is the right page

with some close ups of that page.

Here is an example of the color scheme and if you want some more information on what it is all about see below.

Split Complementary Color Scheme Challenge click here to see more samples of what a split complementary color scheme is. Basically it uses a color and two colors adjacent to its complementary. This provides high contrast without the strong tension of the complementary scheme. The split complementary scheme can be difficult to balance but is tons of fun to work with.

I hope you can join us in the challenge

A "CASE" worth sharing

2011-06-18T15:44:00.000-05:00

Normally when I case exactly I don't put it up on my blog but this is such a fun page I had to share. As I was working with this paper that I won as a crop prize and I ran across this at the front of a magazine. I knew I had to make it and it turned out so super cute. Not much more to say other than enjoy the ride.

See...now how could I not case it exactly?

The apple does not fall far from the tree

2011-06-17T15:22:00.000-05:00

and neither does the silly. I LOVE to laugh and have a good time. One of my favorite things about Savannah is that she also loves to have a good time and she is NOT afraid to be silly or goofy or a big ole dork. She is just like her muma in this regard. This is not a good quality when I am trying to be serious she just give me a goofy grin or does something silly and we are both in a fit of giggles. As you can see here we I started out trying to take a cute photo of us and it ends...well see for yourself. LOL

Here is a close up of the left side and you can also see these adorable rub on flowers in the upper corner. Can you believe those intense colors? love it!

the little birdie is oh so cute.

I did a little layering. I try not to get to bulky in my books. This doesn't work very often but this page is pretty flat so yay me.

More of the rub ons and the silly behavior. These papers might look familiar as I have been using them this week for the cards. I still have a few more cards to share and in fact just used up the very last of it last night. I will share that card later in the week.

One last close up and you can see another little tweety bird...adorable.

I hope you liked today's projects. Do you use rub ons? Are you successful and if so what is your favorite brand?

Big News!!!

2011-06-16T08:00:00.003-05:00

I love a good secret! I have been hinting at one for the past few days. Guess what? I get to share it with you today!!!

Last year a fellow blogger, Antoinette, went out on her own and started a new clear stamp company called Inspired Stamps. When she started this company I was so happy for her and her big leap of faith. I never dreamed tat in a few short months she would be making her very first Design Team call. I decided to take my own leap of faith and I applied. I am super excited to tell you that I was selected! Yay!!! I am so happy to join her talented team and to work along side of them to bring you fun projects that showcase these adorable...and I mean adorable stamps.

A little more about Inspired Stamps - They offer an adorable line, and when I say adorable I do mean adorable, line of clear photo-polymer stamps. They have Scripture/Bible Stamps, adorable Character Stamps (Mark, Sara, and Ester just to name a few), super cute Scenery Stamps (whimsical, realistic, builders) and a great set of Sentiments. Make sure you also check out her new stuff. These stamps are all made in the good ol' US of A and are simply perfect for making cards, scrapbook embellishments and other beautiful paper creations.

Please make sure you visit the other DT members blogs and give them a warm welcome. I am really looking forward to working with Belinda, Deneen, Jan, Jenn, Lynn, Melissa, Shana and Sylvia. Of course visit Antoinette as well to see the June Inspired Stamps realease. You might also want to "like" Inspired Stamps on Facebook for a awesome chance to win a free stamp set.

Create~

2011-06-15T09:56:00.000-05:00

So I have been creative again and it feels good to sit down at the end of a long day and just get lost in art supplies. With this card I am still working with the White Out paper from an old PS Kit. This paper is just fun and funky and screams create with me create with me. I have also been wanting to use these cute paint brushes on a card. These brushes are from the PTI stamp Friendship Jar Fillers. It is a great set that is very versatile and it is just fun to work with. Speaking of fun have I mentioned yet that I broke out my colored pencils that have not seen the light of day in over a year! I have been coloring with my Copics for so long I forgot my roots. LOL Anyway I used my Prisma's and some Gamasol as that is always a fun technique.

I hope you enjoy the card as much as I enjoyed making it.

A close up of the brushes

And I always like to make the inside pretty too.

And wala the whole card.

The good time's is on a piece of chip board with a rub on. The rub on's that came with this White Out paper are by far the best that I have ever used. I have some scrapbook pages to share with you soon where I also used these and you can see the fun bold colors on top of the colored cardstock and it doesn't get lost at all. The rub ons also come off the sheet so easy even though they are a few years old as I am pretty sure that this kit is from 2008.

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for my BIG announcement! :)

Bits and Peices

2011-06-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

So if you visit my blog at all you know that I like to work with kits. With these kits I normally start with scrapbook pages and then once I am done making pages I try to use up the rest of the kit by making cards. Well this is one of those cards. Isn't it fun?

When I saw this latest CardMap from the PageMaps Blog I just thought it was so fun and so super cute and wow what a great way to use up those little bits of paper that normally go into the recycle bin.

I am so sorry that this card is turned the wrong way. It is not like that on my computer but is showing up that way in my post. Please humor me and I will see if I can get it replaced soon.

Here is another view. I inked up all of the edges of the bits so that they stood out a little more against the green paper.

Here is the inside...I normally make the inside a little fancier but the pieces were getting really tiny at this point.

Here is a little sneak peek of some more cards from this same paper that I used up over the weekend. I will be sharing these in the near future along with some other super exciting news.

Supplies: Cardstock/Pattern Paper - We R Memory Keepers White Out line, Cocoa Ink (CTMH), Sentiment also from CTMH

Everyone Loves Something Different

2011-06-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

I received a fun paper pack from Erica over at Personal Scrapper for participating in a crop. Double bonus as her crops always motivate me and then I got prizes to boot...jackpot! I thought the paper was soooo adorable but I was not really sure what in the world I was going to do with it as it was with colors I just never use. When I went to the weekend crop with friends I tossed this in the back thinking it might be fun to use. Well let me tell you it was fun to use! This page was one of my favorites. It is so playful and fun and it ended up matching my little ones outfit as well. Who would have thunk it?

Here is a close up of a cluster that I did. I also added some buttons to the circles here and there. It was my favorite tech of the weekend. I did that with various things on most of my pages. See yesterdays post and I also did it on my page here

I also did some hand stitching at the bottom of my journal box

Here is the left page

and the right

and the whole page together. Sorry about the lighting.

Supplies: My Minds Eye - Love Me Do line, Waxy Flax (CTMH) Buttons, Yellow Cardstock

BFF's

2011-06-10T20:48:00.000-05:00

This is my girl and her BFF forever. They have been friends for a loooong time. They met in the second grade and have had each others back's ever since. They can do nothing for hours on end and have the time of their lives. They also have no problem being silly, making each other laugh, and being there when you need a shoulder. I hope you all have a friend or two like this as well.

This is a page that I finished while I was on a weekend get away. I was super happy with the weekend. I have not done a weekend scrap in so long. I was not sure if I packed enough but one thing for sure I did not want to pack to much. This is what I used to do all the time! This time I just tossed some kits in my travel bin, some embellishments, added some stamps, photo's and basic black ink and off I went. I am going to do it the same way the next time I go in October. This is part of a PS kit that is almost gone and now I even have less of it. You will probably see more of this kit in the near future as a set of cards. that is how I usually finish off my paper. In fact I have been making cards all day. I will try to share those with you this weekend. In the mean time enjoy the show.

I popped up my banner to give the page some texture. I also used my favorite fiskars bracket punch.

Did a little stamping with a journal set from PTI

and here you can see these awesome little pebbles I thought they were hard but when I peeled it off the sheet I found that they are flexible. i loved them and wish I had known sooner that they were a little squishy. Since they were blue I added them to all of the blue circles and to the center of the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you again soon with some cards :)

B.I.N.G.O.

2011-06-05T12:20:00.000-05:00

Today I am bringing you a super fun Scraptivations Challenge. BINGO brought to you by Lisa. Here is the card:

So I have some Cardstock -Multiple Photos - Season...burrr winter - and Buttons which make a BINGO second row down.

Last winter we went to Millennium Park and enjoyed the Bean. For those of you who don't live around here you can see more information here it is tons of fun!!

Used my January Kit from Personal Scrapper featuring paper from the Fancy Pants. I also added this brown hounds tooth which ended up matching the kit perfect!

I took lots of time cutting out these snowflakes with the cricut and then only ended up using a couple. I found it pretty comical actually. Sometimes a punch is faster but I do love how these flakes turned out.

I also added little eyelets all over for some added texture.

Here is the whole layout all put together

What kind of BINGO can you come up with. Please join use over at Scraptivations!

If your Happy and you know it...

2011-05-24T17:34:00.000-05:00

clap your hands! That is what I hear in the background as I am trying to decide what to share with you today. Yes folks that is three blog post in three days! Since I have some one happy here I thought I would share a layout with the same dynamic going on.

This page used up the last of my February PS kit. I really loved this kit. It was the Be My Valentine line by we are Memory Keepers

Trying to add lots of little details to my pages like the ticket die from PTI and stamp set from CTMH

Fun little banner stamps from Hero Arts. These are really fun to use with pattern paper. I have already gotten my money's worth out of these.

fun new fiskars punch

oh and the cute little tag punch from Stampin Up

Super Cute

2011-05-23T07:03:00.000-05:00

We say this a lot at our house as we have a toddler and almost everything she does is super cute. I also say this all time to my older to girls as they really are both super cute as well. A few months ago I realized I have tons of photos of them but not a ton of them together. Shortly after this we had a few of those for mentioned super cute moments as you will see in a moment.

I recently signed up for Club Got Sketch I love Valerie's classes. They are always amazing and full of details and great ideas. Here is one of the sketches from the week.

Papers used are the Stella and Rose line from my March 2011 Personal Scrapper kit.

Binky binky...where is my binky.

2011-05-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. Sorry this is a little late. Hopefully it won't disappoint. I was away at a Scrapbook Retreat this weekend which means I scrapbooked a lot and guess what I found there! My MOJO!!! I had so so much fun and I got tons of pages done which means I will be back to blogging on a regular basis. Yay.

Ok so Binky...Over at Scraptivations we have another great challenge. I was really not sure what I was going to do for challenge 5 which was to scrap something inanimate. Now I must say I was like huh...but I went and looked it up and saw that it was just something that doesn't move. Now most of my subjects are kids so you can see the challenge this posed for me.

Once I decided what to scrap I went around the house and collected the binky's and set up a photo shoot.

I finally had a chance to try a new technique that I have admired for a while. Coloring with my copics on color paper. I was doing red letters with an outline alpha from PTI. I matched up the reds and did some shading.

Once I had them shaded the way I wanted I cut them out and layered them.

did a little strip journal and then moved on to paper peicing. Wow so many techniques on this page. I colored her face with my Copics and then stamped her on two sheets of pattern paper.

Here she is ready to assemble

and all together now. When my toddler saw this she said "Maidie" in her cute little voice. Funny thing is she looks just like this little PI girl.

I added some chip board and some other details.

A little more stamping under the embellishments and wala a finished page.

this paper is from an old Stampin' Up! kit that I had. I have been really been trying to use what I have.

Have you ever scrapped an inanimate object? Won't you join us?

Scraptivations Challenge 4 - Make your own embelishment

2011-05-05T11:00:00.002-05:00

For this challenge we got to make our own embellishment. As a stamper this is something that I both love to do and sometimes find hard. I am getting better and better at it all the time and well really anything goes. Right now I have been making lots of flowers for my pages and my cards. I thought I would show you how to do a rolled flower today. You can do this with scissors or if you have a die you can use that. I tried it with scissors last year and it turned out pretty good, I don't have a of my flowers from last year handy but the die is a little faster for me anyway. I got this set of dies from My Favorite Things.

Lay the die down on the paper that you select and run it through your die cut machine

Here is a group of soon to be flowers. I think it is fun to put them on pattern paper as you never quite end up with the same exact flower.

Once you have the cut outs you start at the outside of the flower and roll it tightly until you get to the middle. This can be a little tricky but you will get the hang of it as you do more and more flowers. The middle of the flower actually becomes the base of the flower.

As you can see it gets very tiny from the start to the finish.

Once you are done you can let it loosen up a little bit. I always add some crystal effects to the middle of the flower to hold it together. I set them aside and work on other parts of my project until it is dry.

I also like to add a little pearl or a little bling to the insides of the flowers.

Here you can see a bit of the card along with the adorable little flowers.

A bit more of the card this is a Pure Innocence stamp also from My Favorite Things. I love those little PI girls they remind me of my little girl. I also added a pearl to her shirt.

Here is the finished card. I used the paper from my February scrapbook kit from Personal Scrapper. February's kit featured paper from We R Memory Keepers Be My Valentine cardstock.

Here is another view you can see the pearl on her shirt better.

and the inside of the card. I wanted to keep it simple.

I also like to do Rosette Flowers but you have to use a strong adhesive or they will come apart. You can see an example of those flowers here. Sometimes I like to just fancy cut the pattern paper and add a little extra here and there like I did on this corn here. I also find myself combining several techniques such as the fancy cutting, watercoloring, and stamping like you can see here.

Well I hope you are able to join us the challenge 3 over at Scraptivations. Show us what kind of fun embellishments you like to make!

Scraptivations Challenge 3...all about me

2011-04-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

So this Scraptrivations challenge is perfect for me at this time as I declared this year all about me. I want to put me into the books a little more and I want to take care of myself a lot more. I figure if I am taking care of myself I will feel better and be able to better care for my loved ones.

So yay I made it into the album a few times this year so far and I have been taking better care of myself too. Both of these things are easier said than done but I am a work in progress. Here is the adorable sketch I had to work with. I LOVE sketches they make it so easy to get started on a page.

I didn't stray to far from the sketch. I often stay pretty close to the general layout. I extended the photo's a little and moved the title and journaling around.. I also love to rotate sketches. I might give this sketch another go at a later date and turn it on it's side. I have done that in the past and ended up making a whole vacation album that way. It was so fun and easy to do.

I have been wanting to scrap these photo's of me at the beach for a while but was not sure where I wanted to go with them as I didn't like the way they turned out but since I love the ocean so much I didn't want to not use them. I was so excited when the title just came to me along with the little journaling box that starts off "i love..." I decided to journal about how the ocean gets deep in my soul and make any and all worried away and even though I live thousands of miles from it when I get near it just makes me feel like I am home.

I don't know if you noticed but I also have little black flowers behind my main flowers. I have had these for a long time and have almost tossed them a few times because I said to myself...black flowers when will I ever use those? Ha see it is not always so bad to hoard your scrapbook supplies! LOL This is also something I am working on. Using what I have, I guess I can check that box off too. I am really on a roll with my goals for the year.

One last look.

Scraptivations: Challenge 2

2011-04-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

This time we had a really color challenge. We had to look at a photo and draw inspiration from it. I decided to pull the colors from it. Green, yellow, and brown. I have been trying to decide what I wanted to do with this inspiration and then today as I was going through photo's I came across this one of my oldest daughter Danielle. This was from a fun day when we went and took a ton of photo's for her senior photo shoot. This is the one we put in her graduation invatations.

I pulled this design off of a horizontal 8 1/2 x 11 PageMaps sketch. I don't really do that size so I just motified it to fit my needs.

I popped up a few of the circles to add some deminsion.

some chipboard letters

and some buttons and my new favorite fiskars punch. I also did jounaling in a white gel pen. I also took my journaling to a new level. Normally I just journal about the photo's but here I decided to write a message about how proud and how blessed I am. I think I will try and do this more for each of my girls. I know I would love to have something like that from my mom. I know she feels those things for me but when it is in writing...well it makes me a little mushy.

Here is the inspiration photo.

Won't you come and join us over at Scraptivations?

Dani

Stampin Up Papers and ribbon, Papertrey buttons, thickers letters, white gel pen.

Enjoy the Ride-

2011-04-03T22:40:00.001-05:00

Little Miss Maizie got a brand new bike for her birthday. She is in love. She love things that can help her move. This is extra awesome because it also involves Dora. Poor daddy didn't realize that before you give the gift you have to put it together. Haha! I snapped some fun photo's of him putting it together and Maizie helping. Since she is three now she knew just how to help. I was a little worried at first because there were some extra parts laying around but alas daddy was the hero at the end of the day because Maizie is now the proud owner of something to ride around and around the first floor of our house.

Here is a close up of the title. I also finally found a way to use one of those awesome chipboard circles that I have had forever and a day.

A close up of this adorable felt flower embellishment from Dear Lizzie....so cute!

added a button to the middle with some ribbon and a little bling bling

and just a different view.

I just adore this paper line from My Minds Eye - Erica over at Personal Scrapper has a great way of putting the kits together. I got all this stuff with my march kit. I cannot wait to see what April's brings!

{Ride}

American Crafts Coffee Cardstock
Stella and Rose – Little One Blooms Paper from My Minds Eye
Stella and Rose – Gertie Delightful Sweet Strip Paper from My Minds Eye
Stella and Rose Gertie Little One Label Stickers
Dear Lizzie Chatter Lush Rhinestone Brads – orange from My Minds Eye

Scraptivations - Challenge 1

2011-03-21T18:06:00.000-05:00

Ladies are you ready to join us in our first challenge over at Scraptivations? It is a sketch challenge and I hope you can participate! Lisa does great sketches and this one will not disappoint.

Here is the sketch :

Here is what I came up with - I have been trying to decide what to do with these photo's for a while of Maizie at Christmas. She got a little upset when all the gifts were gone as she had just gotten into a routine.

The paper is from a past kit over at Personal Scrapper. The line is Happy Fall by We r Memory Keepers I believe. I had been using it mainly for school pages so it was nice to use a fall line for something so different like Christmas.

Close up of some of the details

And of the title. I added some brads on the sides as well as at the top.

More close ups

Here you can see some of the layers. I popped up some of the extras

I hope you have time to head over to the Scraptivations blog so that you can see what everyone else has been up to and when show us what you came up with you will have the chance to win a prize!

In CASE you were wondering...

2011-03-17T06:29:00.000-05:00

where I went off to. Here I am. I have been looking for my crafty mojo and I am not sure I have found it yet but my room is all clean. I moved it again, those that know me in real life are very surprised I know. ;)

I do have some scrappy goodness to share. This is a total CASE of my friend Lisa's page that she did a few weeks ago during a Personal Scrapper crop. I had really been struggling with an earlier assignment regarding my one word that I want to focus on this year.

Some SUPER EXCITING Scrappy good news and a card share

2011-03-10T08:47:00.000-06:00

Here is a quick card based off of one of the new MFT Wednesdays sketches. You can see the sketch here

The card came together really quick and off it went into the mail to a friend who is always doing the sweetest things for me. I really don't send her enough cards. Heck I don't send anyone enough cards. I am working on it though it is one of my goals this year.

Speaking of goals this year another one was to be a on a Design Team - well guess what? I applied to Scraptivations who make a DT call last month and I was selected! Yippeee!!! I am super super excited to be a part of this team. Carly has been working hard getting this new challenge blog up and running. Our first challenge is going to be up and running on March 20th and I would love it if all of you come on over and check it out and join in on the fun.

Now to get busy on those other goals on that list. ;)

Doing the Dora Dance

2011-03-02T09:03:00.000-06:00

Well my little one turned 3 in December I was super happy to learn that my mom got her a Dora cookie bouquet as Maizie is all about Dora. I love me some cookies and Maizie was not to interested int he big one so I decided to eat that one. Well they are on a stick and so naturally it was off with her head. The funniest thing happened though as we were sitting around the table I looked at Savannah, who is just as silly as I am, and looked at my mom who was in some deep important conversation and I took the headless Dora and put her in position so it looked like my mom was her head. Savannah and I were laughing so hard and so we started trying to take photo's it was forever before my mom even knew what we were doing. Ha! Anyway after we composed ourselves a little we had to make everyone "Dora" and thus we were all doing the Dora dance. I found this sketch over at Got Sketch it is an older one #76 but I love it. Since I needed a two pager I just turned the photo's for the second page. I am really enjoying how this turned out. So now that you know how we all ended up doing the Dora dance here is the layout I created. These papers are again using the fabulous February Kit from Personal Scrapper.

I love making these rosette flowers. I also trimmed out a conversation heart and added them to the middles.

Some sparkle brads and my favorite new Fiskars punch.

These letters are foam and have the perfect playful feel to them.

Close up of the journaling.

and the two pages together

More to share soon!

Finding Focus

2011-02-28T07:01:00.000-06:00

with scrapbooking. You know I spend a lot of time dreaming about paper and how to use it. I decided that I need to stop dreaming so much and just do it. I finally chosee my word of the year and that word is Transformation. I want to transform my body, my house, my fiances, my time management, my routine. Pretty much everything. I just need a major overhaul. Sometimes it is good just to take a step back and re-focus. Anyway this is a blog about paper crafts right? Yep so lets get to it. I had a busy weekend but still managed to get a few pages done. I ran across this sketch a few weeks ago and then I couldn't remember where I had seen it! It looks so similar to this sketch that I kept seeing everywhere. I finally found the one I had seen when looking for other ideas over at Got Sketch, I just love Valerie's style. Here is my take on Sketch 110

as I was searching for my sketch I noticed a few things at my favorite scrapbooking blogs

It's all in the little details like layers

and the dimension

and the details

and the story

then it all comes together!

The crazy thing is I know all this. I have been scrapping for years but sometimes it is easy to lose your focus.

{My Corny Girls}
Cardstock - Bazzil and We R Memory Keepers line Be My Valentine line from the February Kit at Personal Scrapper
Thickars (also in kit)
Dear Lizzie glitter brads (also in kit)
Waxy Flax from CTMH
Pop Dots
Fiskars boarder punch

California Dreaming...

2011-02-20T13:04:00.002-06:00

Scraptivations is having a really cool challenge that is called

Would you rather...

use a die-cut/punch or fussy cut something?
scrap something hard to scrap about or hardly ever scrapped about?
use a music title or a movie/TV title?

My hardly ever scrapped - my childhood. I always scrap my girls childhood but never my childhood or my brother either. I am actually not sure that I have ever scrapped about my childhood. Here is my die cut...two actually the boarder and the journaling box.

Here is a close up of my flowers and my hand stitching. Fancy huh? This paper with the tree's remind me of some shirts we had when we were little and living in California.

Here is my movie title: Club Paradise

Here is what the journaling says:

When we were young we were so creative! We loved to spend time out in the world collecting things...from the trash. We finally had enough to make an awesome fort. Some of my personal favorites are the stools, his is broken and mine is an over turned crate. We also seem to have a lot of books for me!

{club paradise supplies}

April 2008 Personal Scrapper Kit

Crate Paper Static Collection Road

Felt Flowers & Brads from Kit

Twill from Stampin' Up!

Buttons Chocolate collection from Papertrey Ink

Waxy Flax from Close To My Heart

Die-a-namics scallop die from My Favorite Things

Mat Stack 5 die from Papertrey Ink

Mini Scrapbook Series: Library Ledger stamp

Cocoa ink from Close To My Heart

Got Sketch # 65

Consider it Cased - Valentine's Edition

2011-02-13T09:43:00.001-06:00

So I came across this blog in my hopping and I knew right away that this is what I would do for Maizie's Valentines Day Cards.

First I cut down some Close To My Heart Tulip Cardstock down to 2" x 3" which was nice because out of one piece of cardstock I got 24 cards and I only need 21. Next up a cute little frame I used Fillable Frames #12 from Papertrey Ink and some white craft in from Stampin' Up!

Then I rounded the corners and stamped a variety of cute animals from PTI's Tiny Treats Birthday stamp, punched them out, and colored them in with my Copics. Added a sentiment from CTMH's Stay it in Style stamp set.

About that time two of my girls came up so Savannah helped her little sister sign her name. Melts your heart huh...

Awww my little lefty.

Look mommy! She did that after every one it was so cute!

All set for tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great day.

tons of snow = tons of pages

2011-02-09T10:34:00.000-06:00

I know everyone is done with Christmas but last weekend I got quite a few pages done pre Christmas actually you know the build up...decorating the tree...going to grandma's...wishing for a white Christmas - I have to tell you we did not need to worry about that this year. We have had tons of snow which makes me happy I have said it a million times if I have to be cold I want it to be pretty. Not only did the snow make everything beautiful before Christmas but last week we had a blizzard in the Midwest and I was snowed in for two days. No work, no school, no sports...you know what that means? Yep - scrapbooking!!! Yee haw! Since the house was full the little one had plenty to keep her entertained and I was able to get all of these pages done using...yep you know it my Personal Scrapper stuff. I know I sound like a broken record but I don't know what I love more PaperTrey Ink or Personal Scapper. Seriously I am in crafters heaven lately. Anyway without anymore chit chat let me show you what I got done using only my December kit. (which is on SALE right now with a whole bunch of other cute kits)

After Thanksgiving we always put the tree up some people like to shop on black Friday but I like to get the decorations out. Maizie loved putting up the tree this year.

Love how these photos turned out!

Thickers and Glitter....ahhh

Next up is actually Christmas Eve and we are returning from my grandma's since everyone was looking cute I wanted to get some pretty snow photo's as it was that big pretty stuff with the giant snow flakes. I also discovered I have the perfect photo op place as you head into my back yard.

Notice the little pops of thickers on top of the paper? I thought it looked a little like snow flakes falling and what else do you do with all those periods on your sheet?

Here are some fun shots from my grandma's with my extended family. Awww

I love how these turned out. Every year I take tons of photo's and never know what to do so I am so happy that I found something to do with them and that they turned out so cute. Lots of fun this year.

Could any saying be more true for a couple of toddlers? ;)

More decorating this page should have been up top but you can enjoy it down here too right?

My favorite photo on this page.

More stickles on the ornaments

it took her a while to warm up and gather enough courage to sit on Santa's lap but she did a great job!

Our house all decked out.

This giant C is actually the @ symbol. These thickers were all lower case but I didn't feel right making Christmas all lower case. Clever huh?

This one is my one of my favorites. It highlights what I love about the season.

Here is what I have left from my kit! My goal this year is to use them up. No more hording kits for a special photo. If I have em I use them and then when they look like this I make cards.

Love is in the air

2011-02-06T23:55:00.000-06:00

oh...I am so in love this week. This is going to be a great year I can just feel it!

Papertrey Ink is having an anniversary celebration and today they have a great set of tags that we can download and use to make cards. I am planning a whole set but since it has been a busy weekend I thought tonight I would just make one card up.

I chose to focus on Lisa Johnson's tag with the cute little hearts since Valentines Day is right around the corner.

I used my Copics and colored in the hearts R81,R83.R85, and R89 I really love this color combination. It is one of my favorites. I also wanted to add some other colors so I grabbed YG25 as it matched my cardstock just perfect. For the blue area I used BG72 and then really jumped down the scale to BG13 and finally BG10.

Isn't this paper so gorgeous? Love love love it! I got it yesterday from Personal Scrapper my favorite kit of the month club. This month the paper is from We R Memory Keepers it is the Be My Valentine Sweetness line it just makes me smile when I see it. I was so giddy when I opened the box...love I tell you I am in love.

Have you noticed that cute boarder yet? I have been dying to get that punch since I spotted it on a card several months ago. I finally found it yesterday at Archivers. It is a fiskars punch...in love with that too.

See February is all about love and I am certainly in love so far...I cannot wait to see what the rest of the month brings. Like I said it is going to be a great year!

Hugs all :)

Have you heard the news?

2011-02-03T18:58:00.000-06:00

the new Close To My Heart catalog is live and lovely! Here is a scrapbook page using the new Wings paper. Don't you just think it is so pretty? The other big news is that my daughter got her driving permit! I am not sure when she got so big but here she is as happy as can be ready to "spread her wings and fly"

I added some pop dots under the butterflies

a little journaling

and just a few more close ups

I hope you enjoyed the page. I have lots more to show you as we have been snowed in for a few days and I have gotten a lot of scrapping done :)

Baby....

2011-01-24T06:38:00.000-06:00

It's cold outside....baby love...baby baby....I have not done a baby post in a long time cause that baby girl is now a toddler.

I was really happy when I ran across this picture as I don't have a lot of photo's of her in her little billi blanket. I can still remember the feelings that I had when I found out she was jaundice. I was so scared and sad that she had to go through this. Looking back I know that those feelings are a little crazy especially since my oldest was also jaundice and that more than likely she would be fine. Because I had these feelings that I didn't really know what to do with I didn't take a lot of photos of the set up. So when I came across this one of Danielle and her friend I was so happy that she stopped by to see and hold the new baby.

I stamped the base of the page with sky ink on sky cardstock from Close To My Heart using Snow Flurries

I also added some CTMH chipboard snowflakes - Flurry and some bling...love me some bling. These snowflakes look awesome with glitter too but I just added some CTMH Sparkles

A few thicker letters....love those

and some close ups of the little squares. Those squares are from the December Personal Scrapper Kit featuring Fancy Pants Designs paper. it is the Tradition l

and a last look

How about some cards

2011-01-12T06:25:00.000-06:00

I have been scrapbooking lately and I have also been trying to use up my scraps after I am done. Here are some cards I made recently using up the rest of another PS kit.

This first card is just a fun little card I can send to a friend to say hello. It uses the cute little set from the Twitterpatted Workshop on the Go. I also did that generation stamping with a twist on the hedgehogs back but you can't really tell.

This next card is very busy...I mean really really busy with just little squares all over but I have to say I really like how it turned out. Also my girls loved this one so it would be a great teen card or maybe even a masculine card. I added some glitter to the cupcake and the rest is just basic stamping.

next up a card with no stamping what-so-ever I just covered a chipboard flower and tied on a button and wala fun little card for any occasion.

Week of Wonder- Have you heard of it?

2011-01-11T07:04:00.001-06:00

This year Jeanette Lynton will be doing 52 weeks of wonder at her blog. Each week instead of having a color set to play with she is going to have a stamping technique. Some of them might be simple and some a little more advanced. I can't wait to learn new things and revisit old things.

She featured generational stamping with a twist. Generation stamping is when you ink up your stamp and then stamp on a piece of scratch paper and then on your project. You can get all sorts of shade with a small number of ink pads. The twist is coming back in with a blender pen and coloring parts of the cut out image. I love it! I think it turned out really cool in these leaves.

I added it to a scrapbook page as I have been on a scrapbooking kick and I am so happy to finally be stamping and scrapping at the same time!

Close up of the left page

You can see Mai was not to interested in watching the parade as she was hiding her face in mommy or daddys neck. Maybe next year she will like it more. Here is the right page

doesn't my cousin look so cute? She dressed up like Pippi Longstocking. Then I have one more last look.

The papers came from the November Kit over at Personal Scrapper. The leaves came from the Many Thanks CTMH stamp set a personal favorite.

me on monday

2011-01-10T09:02:00.000-06:00

So I scrapbook. Really you say? I do I really really do I scrapbook about him, and her, and them, and this, and that, and the other. What about me? I hate having my photo taken I am to fat, my hair isn't fixed up, I am not wearing any make up....on and on the list goes. You know who doesn't care about that? My kids, my family, my future grandchildren and great great grandchildren. This is what they want to know. Who am I? What do I like? What do I want? What am I afraid of? What makes me laugh and laugh and laugh? These are things that I would like to know about my ancestors heck some of these things I would even like to know about my own parents and grandparents. I could call them and ask them, I am lucky like that...BUT...they would tell me about those things now, not about when they were young or maybe they might leave some of it out. So for years I have been dabbling in a Me book but I have never really done more than a page or two here or there. This year I decided is going to be all about me. Maybe I should say more about me. I am still going to be scrapbooking them. Not to mention that it sounds horrible as a mother doesn't it? Think about it though if I focus on myself a little won't I actually be a better mother, a better wife, a better friend. My kids and my family will always be first no matter what but this year I am going to start taking care of me. I am going to eat healthier because I matter, I am going to do things that I like because I matter, I am going to buy myself pretty things when I can afford it because I matter...ok enough of that do you see where I am going with all this?

I was blog hopping last week and came across a post from Pamela O'Connor (her blog is adorable BTW) and she had THIS book. She had one last year too and I was intrigued then but even more so now. The challenge theme of log your memory this year is called: This is My Life. Wow what? That is exactly what I have been talking about what I have been wanting to do. So I bought it. I had to do the download version because I am impatient and I wanted to start on the 1st. So I downloaded and followed the instructions and printed it out. Yep I made a mess! So I kept working with it and pieced it all together and got it all printed and fabulous and now I have been using it. I love it. I am tracking my family stuff, I am tracking what cards I made when, I am tracking scrapbook pages, and I am working those challenges. The challenges are broken up into monthly/weekly themes. Which brings me here to "me on monday" the first monthly them is Find Your Focus and week one is to create a list. It could be a bucket list, a list of goals, or a wrap up from the year before. Now I liked all of them but I chose to do a list of goals that I want to accomplish this next year.

I used paper from an old Personal Scrapper kit featuring Basic Grey and some chipboard from Stampin' Up! I was really pleased with ow it turned out. Here are some close ups

Here you can see the chip board a little better

I hope you take time to record you in your scrapbooks. I used to hate writing in my books to and I would type everything but it kind of is that same feeling for me. I love it when I stumble upon a letter from my other grandmother who passed 20 years ago. It makes me feel special and makes me smile.

let me know if you are playing along with something similar I would love to see it.

How about a little Scrapbooking on a Sunday?

2011-01-09T14:05:00.000-06:00

I am hoping to do some more scrapbooking a little later today but have not had the chance yet so I thought I would share a little first and then get busy.

I really do love blogging as I get so many ideas and I love hearing from you when I have a good idea or when you really love a project and leave me a little love. So please leave comments whenever you like cause it will make me smile :) Since I love to go to great blogs and want to have a great blog myself I have been really wanting to improve my blogging adventures. Last year I took a blogging class from Shimile who also does awesome on line scrapbooking classes. I feel like I have gotten a little better about posting regularly and keeping it interesting and interjecting some of my personality at the same time. This year I would like to take better photo's. I was really excited when I saw a post over at Laura Vegas' blog about photographing layouts. The biggest problem with my photo's is the lighting. I do most of my work at night after my little one goes to bed and I work during the day. Since it is winter it gets dark early. When I finish my project I am so excited and want to share right away especially if I am doing it for a contest or a crop. So I am trying to hold off on my projects and take photo's one the weekends. So far so good. Another tip I found to be useful, is to prop up my pages on a piece of chip board. It is a simple tip that just makes you say...oh of course!

Ok so after all that here is a layout using the tips that I read over at Laura's blog. I hope this will make your visit here a little easier on the eyes.

My family and I sure did have fun at the apple orchard this past fall. These supplies came from my November 2010 kit from Personal Scrapper we are having a big crop over there you should stop on over and join in some of the challenges.

Crafty Girl time...

2011-01-08T15:12:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time I used to belong to a stamp club. I met lots of new people and became friends with them. We got together for years and then we all decided it was time to stop meeting because we have all the stuff we would ever need. Now keep in mind we still all buy stuff all the time but...anyway. Haha! After a year or so of just working on our own getting together over summer or here and there I decided I really missed my stamping friends. I asked one of my friends if she would be interested in doing a shoebox no club. We would just get together and make super cute cards and have lots of fun. Well hello who wouldn't want to do that right?

Crafty Girls Shoebox Swap was born. Even though I know that it is going to be every others month I always find myself stamping the week, ok who am I kidding, the night before the big event. My excuse? I work better under pressure. Well this is what I tell myself anyway. Well this month I was right! I love the way my card came out. My life was made much easier because if you read my blog at all you know that I love a great sketch. Well lucky for me My Favorite Things came up with a new Wednesday Stamp Club idea weekly sketches. Here is this weeks:

And here is what I came up with.

I just adore those Pure Innocence girls. They are just too cute!

I also finally got to use this cute paper that I have had forever and ever from Stampin Up! it was from a mini catalog a while back.

Some close up shots for you, here you can see the die-namics scallop

and the little detail button and ribbon combo. This is one of my new favorite things to do.

One more last look

Stamps: Best Medicine

Paper: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Pattern Paper - Stampin' Up!

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics: E00, E02, E55, E57, R00, RV23, RV25, RV 29, Black, Spica Clear glitter pen

Accessories: Rich Razzleberry ribbon, Colonial White Waxy Flax, Black Button, pop dots

Dies: Die-namics Jumbo Scallop Die, Nestabilies Oval, and Scallop Oval

Rawr means...

2011-01-05T12:23:00.000-06:00

Just been working on building up my card stash. I have pretty much depleted it and need more as one of my goals for the year it to send out cards. Specifically birthday cards!

I found this adorable little stamp at the CHA show this summer and had to have him because my middle daughter used to always say Rawr...guess what that means? Then she would say it means I love you in dinosaur. So I was so excited I get home and tell her to look in the bag cause I found something so cute that reminder me of her and she was like "what?" I said "well it says Rawr" and again she was like "what?" Kids...

I used these copics I ma sorry they are a little hard to read.

and the inside

Supplies: We R Memory Keepers Tiffany line, Bazzil cardstock Whirlpool, Martha Stewart Punch, Copics, Stamp from My Favorite Things, Pearls from CTMH

Starting the new year scrappy

2011-01-02T17:59:00.001-06:00

One of my goals this year is to do 52 layouts which is a layout a week. I could have made it more but I wanted to be able to obtain my goal. We always set such high standards, which is good however, when we don't meet them it makes us feel so bad so my ~~resolutions~~ goals are pretty basic and obtainable. Don't get me wrong they are hard but...obtainable. Ok more on this in my next post.

Here is what I have for you today. Last October we went into the city and it was soooo windy. This page just makes me laugh.

Left side: based on a sketch from Personal Scrapper. One of the members Lisa posts one each month.

Right side: I just played with the photo's and this is what I came up with...no sketch amazing!

a few close ups

Supplies:

Cardstock Black from CTMH, Pattern Paper from Basic Grey mantle and back of spiced tea

Chipboard, Thickers: Jewelry Box

Tweet tweet...my vactaion is almost over

2010-12-31T13:48:00.000-06:00

so I am still stamping with furry. I really want to work on doing challenges this next year and I also want to send cards so I stocking my stash as it is pretty much out. Here is what I worked on this morning before Maizie got up.

I saw Curtain Call Color challenge {act 62} and thought I could go for this. It is adorable in fact these are some of my favorite colors.

I gathered my Close To My Heart papers; Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, Cocoa and White Daisy. I also had this cute pattern paper. I forget what level 2 paper pack it is from maybe emporium.

I stamped a little with this cute new Basic Grey set I got yesterday at Hobby Lobby...super fun it is called Basic Notes. I also was playing around with CTMH's cute set Hot Diggity I started with the forg but ended up with the bird. I couldn't come up with a good layout so I went to one of my favs....Mojo Monday. I looked at some old sketches and found one I like.

I just love this little bird. I have never made a card that I didn't like with it. I love the little music notes. fun fun fun. I wanted the bird to have an orange bill and orange feet so I pulled out sunset ink and inked up the feet and beek and did the rest in Crystal Blue. I also stamped another bird totally in Crystal Blue and then cut it out and popped it up

the little worm below cracks me up...under the worm is that basic grey set and in tiny letters it says Bla bla bla. so funny.

I also always like to finish the inside of my cards so I used the stamp of the month from March 2010

Home Sweet Home

2010-12-31T11:16:00.001-06:00

I love a good patwork card. I would say that this is one of my go to designs. I think it stems from my love of one of my favorite books when I was little Patwork Puppy. I could never seem to get enough of that book I loved all the patterns and colors. As you can see I am still playing with the We R Memory Keepers Tiffany line. I do love it so...brigth playful sweet patters everywhere you turn.

I continued on the inside as well.

Here is another view of the house you can see that I pieced it together and popped it up. I also like the way the fence turned out in the background.

Supplies

Cardstock-Cocoa CTMH & Bazzil Pecock, We r memory keepers- Tiffany line various themes.

Ribbon - just soem I had around it has a satin feel

Stamps: Boards & Beams, Framed both from PTI

Mojo Monday on Wednesday :)

2010-12-29T00:31:00.002-06:00

So today's mojo monday card is just a quick simple hello.

Cardstock is some more left over kit...it is all Bazzil so it has some texture to it. The stamp is from PTI Fillable Frames 1. I have also had these flowers laying around forever and ever and finally found a great way to use them.

Enjoy.

Wow 2 in 1 day?

2010-12-28T15:08:00.000-06:00

Can you believe I am posting again? I sure am. I am on Christmas break and so I have a lot more fee time than normal. I have been making cards cards and more cards and had just enough to make a scrapbook page. For some reason the colors turned out a little funny in the main photo but it looks better in the close up's

I saw Becky over at the PageMaps blog was having a contest with a sketch I thought it was a cute sketch. I flipped it and then they layout really started coming together.

I used up the very last paper from my February kit from Personal Scrapper. Again the line is Tiffany's from We are memory keepers. Super cute and girly.

Here is a close up maybe you can see all the sparkles on the papers.

Here is the way to do it....1 wear your pull up on your head. 2 get a good book 3 use the potty.

Another shot where you can see the popped up layers.

Friends are like good books

2010-12-28T12:42:00.026-06:00

Here is a card I made using the All Booked Up set from Papertrey Ink. I have had this stamp set and the for quite some time and when CHA was in Chicago this summer I bought the cool die. Ok so back to my story I have grabbed this set to play many times but just have not found a way to use it on a card until now. It is just something quick and simple. I thought this would be good to send a friend who could use a little pick me up.

Here is another view. Funny side note to the story. The scallop circle is one that I have had laying around forever and ever. I got married in 2007 and my friend and I were just punching those out chatting and laughing when all of a sudden I realized that we didn't need it to be in celery but in chocolate! Whoops...lol I have about 20 of them so I am glad to finally be putting them to good use. I found that they fit perfect behind that die. The nesties are a little small or a little big but the Mavy Punch is just right.

This is officially the last card that I made with my Personal Scrapper February 08 kit. I am both happy and sad to see it is gone. I do love this line of papers.

Supplies:

We R Memory Keepers - Tiffany Line, White Daisy Cardstock from CTMH, Celery Cardstock from SU, Cocoa Cardstock from CTMH, Opaques (CTMH), Pink Ribbon from my stash, Mavy scallop punch, PTI Mat Stack die, nestabilites circle die.

Consider it Cased 2

2010-12-28T12:30:00.001-06:00

Well I am back with what I hope to make a regular thing. I have been on a stamping frenzy and making fun cute cards while still using up my February 2009 kit from Personal Scrapper. I finally broke out this adorable little girl from My Favorite Things. I got her at CHA this past summer and have not really had much of a chance to play with her. I googled Best Medicine and saw this card. I loved it so much that the only thing I really changed was the paper..

I used my Copics to color her in.

Close up...don't you love the sparkles in the paper. Adorable!

The inside of the card. I love to finish them too.

Another thing I learned a while back when coloring with the Copics is to layer the colored in part it give the image even more depth.

I hope you enjoyed today's card. I also wanted to let you know that a friend of mine is having a blogaversary over at her blog. I hope you enjoy all her cute projects.

Luv Bug

2010-12-27T15:57:00.001-06:00

So I mentioned in my post yesterday that I was using up some paper...well here is some more. This little car was pretty fun to make. I just paper pieced the car and for the headlights I only had clear sparkles so I colored them in with my copics. I love doing that it makes my options so endless...

There really isn't much else to tell about this card. I did just kind of made up the ribbon with left over

paper.

It is popped up as you can see here.

and the inside. Not to fancy.

The best thing about this card was it was simple and fun.

Finding my Mojo

2010-12-26T11:34:00.001-06:00

So whenever I can't find my mojo I like to look for sketches. One of my favorite places is Mojo Monday. always a great card layout and when I saw this weeks I knew I wanted to give it a go. I have been working on using up some of my older kits from Personal Scrapper. I love this line of paper and thought they would make such fun cute cards.

Supplies:

We Are Memory Keeper's Tiffany Line pattern paper, Bazzil Cardstock, Nestabilities Scallops (ov:al and circles) Stampin Up Ribbon, CTMH cardstock, Stamps - Papertrey Ink: On My Couch and CTMH: Code It

Enjoy...

2010-12-21T21:24:00.001-06:00

That is what the sign says that I made for a co-worker who recently retired. For the past 7 1/2 years we have worked together side by side. For at least half of those years I have been telling her to retire, she deserves it and will love it. She loves to quilt and so when we decided to make banners for her party I knew what I wanted to do. Make a cool banner that looks like a quilt. After many false starts with all sorts of different papers I finally went with A Perfect Day and the word Enjoy.

After I decided which quilts to use I marked out my grid and cut all my tiny pieces. Mmmm...who's idea was this anyway. Haha

I found my quilts online and used real ones as a guide of where to put what pattern paper

Making progress

Some of the bits hung off the edge but I knew I was going to cut it with the Top Notch Die from Stampin Up

Ok here are the individual letters. I hope you like them.

In the end I decided to put the banner up and down so that if she wanted to she can hang it in her sewing room.

Materials: Perfect Day from CTMH, Die from PaperTrey Ink Mat Stack 2, Buttons and Waxy Flax from CTMH, Cocoa Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock, Tulip Cardstock, Chipboard Letters Stampin Up

Let it snow let it snow let it snow...

2010-12-10T14:10:00.000-06:00

We have been getting a lot of this lately.

I don't know where the time has gone but I have been working on a banner for a party that is comming up. I will be able to share it next week you are going to love it! It is gorgeous and bold and for a co-worker who is leaving us. Tonight I am going to get busy on some cute Christmas tags for a shoebox swap on Sunday. I hope you are all well and have been getting lots of scrapbooking and cards made.

Love cute little silly girls....

2010-11-28T23:40:00.000-06:00

Maizie is at that really fun adorable stage...er well almost always. She does have a feirce indepented streak where she is not afraid to tell you in a very loud maner exactly what she is thinking. But these moments are also so stinking cute. In my silly girl page I was able to capture some of those adorable faces she makes. We had just got done making her hair all pretty when she decided she wanted to play tag so we were chasing each other and she kept saying owww and putting her hand on her head. So funny.

These supplies are all from Close to my Heart. The paper is Top Stitch one of my favorites and the stamp set is called Authentic itis a fun set with a bunch of words to descrite you or other people...adorable.

Love the cute little journal box in the set.

Oh I also used these cute little ballerina girls from a set that I HAD to have and that I have had for the longest time...yep first time I have used it. haha...I still love it though it is called Childhood Portraits.

Notice the touch of blue I added here to tie together the flower and the little tab.

Here is the left page. I love the scallop along the frame

and the right

the layout is from the Wishes book....love it! The letters are just some brown ones I had laying around I can't remember who they are from sorry.

Thanks for stopping by...

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2010-11-28T12:05:00.002-06:00

So I am doing another crop over at Personal Scrapper...I LOVE them they always motivate me to actually use my supplies instead of just collecting them. haha!

I totally cased this first page out of the October 2010 Scrapbooks Etc but really I had to!

I used a bunch of dies from Papertrey Ink on this page too and that cute little journal set from a recent release

A close up of the banner

Supplies:

November 2010 Personal Scrapper Kit featuring the Fine and Dandy line from My Minds Eye

Mini Scrapbook Series: Journaling Circle from Papertrey Ink

Chipboard Alpha - Stampin' Up!

Chocolate Ink and Marker from Close to my Heart

Dies from Papertrey Ink

How about a little studio tour?

2010-11-24T14:24:00.000-06:00

I have had a ton of studio's over the years, usually just a corner in a room. When we moved into this house it started out in the corner of the living room again. I always liked to scrap or stamp where my family is at. I get so much more done if I can interact with them as I enjoy being creative. Well my little one wouldn't stop getting into everything so I took my daughters room when she moved out you can see more on that here well I really didn't like being in the basement and my other teen really wanted the space. I have been coveting the room I am in now since we looked at the house as it has the most amazing views...I {heart} them. Anyway back to the tour.

When you walk in the first thing you see is my table and I even have room for a few friends or sometimes the girls come in to chat, play or hang out

Here is my old desk that I used to scrap on when I had a corner in our tiny cottages. You can see more about those studio's here.

I keep my dies in the top drawer

I keep my CTMH stamps in here...all organized for a change.
and punches

Here I have some more storage for woodie stamps and photo's I am still working on this space.

I have my printers in the closet with some more storage. On the little office bins i have a bin for each of the girls professional photo's it make sit easy when I am working on school albums and such.

more storage on top where I keep things to stamp on or to turn into gifts.

Now my favorite part...next to me all my goodies! Inks ribbons embellishments...ahhh. these are all organized by color. Under the shelf I keep my 12 x 12 paper.

Here I keep my brads and other doohickeys all at the tips of my fingers. I also keep my most used tools here.

Last but certainly not least all my colors. My prisma's, my regular markers and my Copics.

Well thank you for sticking around. I do have a bunch of stuff I want to change but there are many many things to do around the house first. I will keep you posted though when I do decide to do an update. :)

Quick Holiday Cards

2010-11-23T17:02:00.000-06:00

A week or so ago I had some friends over for what we like to call the Crafty Girls Swap. Basically at one time or another all of us have been in stamp clubs and didn't want that commitment anymore BUT missed the relationships that we made there. One day I thought to myself I miss my stamping friends! Thus Crafty Girls was born. We have kept it small and have only met a handful of times but I see this continuing on for a long time because it is so enjoyable and fun. Here is the card that I came up with.

As you can see it is pretty simple but I did pay attention to details. I added some glitter to the swirls on the trees and some liquid glass to the brads. The tree's are popped up and I distressed the edge of the ivory as well as each block the tree's are on.

Another view

Mistletoe level 2 kit CTMH, Chocolate Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock, Cranberry Brads, New England Ivory and Chocolate Ink. Martha Stewart Punch. A Timber stamp set from CTMH

Thankful...

2010-11-22T21:31:00.002-06:00

I have been wanting to make some banners for my fireplace and so now I have finally made one for Thanksgiving. I cannot belive it will be upon us in a few days. I am doing things a little different today and showing you the end project first.

I am not so sure if I would have ever finished this one but if you visit me on a regular basis you know I love a good challenge. Well over at Personal Scrapper they are having another crop I LOVE THEM...both PS and online crops. So so so much fun...tons of challenges to get my creative jucies flowing. So ok banners...so here is what I started with finally used my Cricut, I don't use it enough.

Cut out tons of leaves and scallops as well as acidently cutting a zigzags

As you can see the scallops ended up being used as well as some scallop circle nestie's. The paper is some old travel kit that I had from Stampin Up that used In colors from 07 maybe? I also used that cute swirl stamp The Present from CTMH I love this set. We got it free from convention.

This project really took me all day because I was making it so complicated but in the end I decided less was more.

I also added some cute buttons and some ribbon.

I hope you enjoyed the banner project and head over to PS and join us if you like :)