The Fun Has Arrived

New papers, and stamp sets, and embellishments... oh my! The Autumn/Winter 2012 Idea Book is a paper crafters dream! You can view the idea book online here. If you'd like your very own copy (and I know you will), send me a message and I'll get one to you

Later this month I will have a display set up at the county fair.  When a patron donates to Operation Smile, they can make this cute 3 x 3 card.

I used the Dakota paper pack, Artiste Cricut Cartridge, and the coordinating Kudos stamp set included in the Artiste bundle.  To add a bit of extra flair, I embossed the Pacifica cardstock with my Cuttlebug.



I cut the band, circles, and the star using Artiste.

I will have a few more projects to post in the next few days.  Thanks for stopping by.

Graduation Day

We've been busy around here with final exams and end of the school year activities.  Tomorrow we will be celebrating Kayleigh's graduation from high school, and, of course, I waited until the last minute to make her card.  I sat down in my scrap room yesterday without a clear picture in my mind of what I wanted to create, so I turned to my favorite blogs for inspiration.  As soon as I saw this card (thank you Connie!), I knew exactly what I would make.  When I finished the card, I realized that it fits this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge too.  The challenge is to use ribbon on your project.

Kayleigh loves plaid (she chose navy blue plaid bedding for her dorm room), so I knew I would use the Victory Papers for her card.  She also loved the camo print in the pack, which I used it to make the medallion.

To give the card a touch of femininity, I replaced the buttons with pearls and used an outdoor denim organdy ribbon. The color ready cork numbers add another layer of texture.

Since the card base is dark, I finished off the inside with a piece of the ledger paper.  I can hardly wait to see her open it.  Being an artist, I know she will appreciate every detail.

Footloose Beach Layout

I worked on this layout on and off for a couple weeks in between all of the end of the school year activities.  My oldest daughter, just 10 months old in the layout, is graduating from high school this year.  They grow up so fast.  The left page is missing the large photo (a cropped 8x10) because somehow I lost the original photo that I was going to have enlarged.  We are creating a simple version (no seaside wooden shapes) of this layout in the June Asbury Scrapbooking class on the 16th.  We chose to make the layout featured on page 40 of the spring/summer idea book using stamped embellishments in place of the Complements Dimensional Elements.  I incorporated elements featured in the artwork on pages 41 and 42 as well. While the Footloose papers are perfect for water and beach themed photos, they are neutral enough to use for other occasions too.

A Bowwow

I love this little dog.

My very talented friend, Lisa, designed a 3x3 card using the A Bowwow stamp set and let me make one too. I made the card front with Lisa and designed a larger card around it using papers from the Cruisin' Paper Pack.  It doesn't show well in the picture, but the collar has a bit of Glitz glitter glue on it and then liquid glass to make it shine.  His nose and tongue also have a dab of liquid glass.  I added a small border of cranberry cardstock and popped it up off the card.

I used retired black textured cardstock for the base. The back of the carstock is grey which allowed me to write inside the card without adding extra paper.

Sending Warm Wishes

The Heart 2 Heart Challenge this week is to make something for Mom. While poking around the Scrapbook & Cards website, I stumbled upon the Create Today Video Series.  I watched the Just Because Card video and immediately thought of the Beautiful Friendship stamp set.  Wasting no time, I pulled out the Lucy paper packet and cut the pieces for my card.  It's the perfect card for Mom.  She'll just receive it a little late.

The card came together fairly quickly and, I must admit, the tag turned out stunning.  I curved the sentiment from the A Garden stamp set around the floral shape, popped up the layers, added a bit of ribbon for softness, and opaque pearls to dress it up.  These pictures really don't do it justice.

Owl be a Monkey's Uncle...

Sorry, I couldn't resist.  I can see my girls doing the face palm and hear the groans.  I haven't been feeling very creative lately, but over the weekend two very talented friends inspired me. Since we are in the midst of the Dotty For You promotion, I decided to make some dotty cards.  I created a sweet family of owls and an adorable sock monkey (hence the corny post title).

How cute are these owls?  They make me smile every time I look at them.  My friend Lisa made an owl card using the Elemental Paper Pack and the Wild Card Cricut cartridge.  I own that cartridge and knew as soon as I saw her owl that I needed to make some of my own.  Check out Lisa's Blog when you get a chance.  You won't be disappointed.

Ahhh, nostalgia.  Can you say Sock Monkey without smiling?  My mentor and up-line, Mary, designed a great sock monkey card using the Dotty For You papers and the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I had a recipient in mind for this card before I even put it together.  Order the Dotty For You paper pack and I will send you the instructions to make your own sock monkey card.  I'm thinking about making a miniature version of him to use as an embellishment on a layout too.

Sock Monkey's arms and legs fold in so he will fit in the envelope.  Mary said opening the sock monkey card is like unwrapping a hug.  Sweet!  But, wait, there's more...

He comes complete with tail.  Can you say Awwwww?

Happy Day- Dotty for You Layout

The month of April is flying by for me.  I hoped to create more so I could post more, but time wasn't on my side.  Well, Happy Day... I found some time to put together a page using the Dotty for You papers.  The design for the layout came directly from the inspiration sheet included in the packet.  The layout would have come together in about 90 minutes if I hadn't run into issues with the photos.  I assumed the photos were printed on 4x6 rectangles (90 degree corners).  To the naked eye, the problem was not noticeable, but when I tried to line them up square with eachother they just wouldn't fit. After much frustration, I discovered the long sides of the photos were slightly askew creating parallelograms. I fixed the problem, finished the layout, and now I get to share it with you.


Supplies Used (All CTMH):
B1400 Beautiful Friendship
D1491 Hooray Bouquet
CC1017 Dotty for You Paper Packet
1388 Colonial White Cardstock
X5762 Lagoon Cardstock
X5911 Balck & Grey Cardstock Shade Pack
Z2168 Colonial White Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z2125 Grey Wool Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z1696 Keepsake Felt Alphabet
Z1701 Bakers Twine Neutral Assortment
Z1466 Bling Assortment
Z1657 Dimensional Elements Monograms "D"
Z1654 Dimensional Elements Monograms "A"
Z1678 Dimensional Elements Monograms "Y"
Z1366 Brads Metal Assortment
Z553 Bonding Memories Glue Pen

Repurpose What You Have

In the quest to find the the perfect container for my supplies, I realized it was right in my hand.  I was sipping from my frappuccino bottle when I had that a-ha moment... this bottle would be perfect for button storage.  After that, I started looking at everything in a different way.  I tried to take decent pictures to share, but can't seem to get rid of the glare.  I think you'll get the idea though.

I discovered the CD rack sitting in the basement, empty and dusty, and decided to haul it up to my scrap room.  The canning jars fit perfectly at the top and the frapp bottles nestle nicely below.  The rack was also perfect for storing all of my bulk ribbon rolls.  Pretty and functional, could I ask for more?  Well.... yeah... :)

 A few years ago I found these shadow boxes on clearance and thought they would be perfect for displaying a current layout or set of cards.  Well, that lasted a little while before I would forget to switch them out or I would leave them empty.  One day I picked up a re-inker and wondered if it would fit inside. The fit was perfect... a few shelves later and another pretty and practical solution was born.  The back of the frames has a piece of plexi so I can put a decorative paper behind the bottles.

So, that's a glimpse into my crafty world.  I plan to get the rest of the room in order over the next few weeks.  I will share when I do.

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May with the oh-so-cut Dotty for You paper packet.  There are three ways to get the Dotty for You paper packet valued at $19.95*:

• Place an order of $35 our more in products from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book between April 17 and May 31 and add the Dotty for You paper pack for just $5.
• Host a Gathering with a sales total of $400 or more (excluding tax, shipping/handling, and Operation Smile donations) between April 17 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.
• Join My Team between April 1 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.

*Taxes, shipping/handling may apply.  Offer good during above-specified dates while supplies last.

The Dotty for You paper packet includes 24 B&T Duos sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and 1 artwork idea insert.  Visit my website and get your Dotty for You paper packet today.

Pemberley Layout

This is the layout we will be making at next month's scrapbooking at Asbury class.  Evenyone in the class fell in love with the Pemberley papers, but not necessarily the featured Workshops on the Go (WOTG) layout.  I found another great sketch on the Let's Scrap blog that allowed me to integrate many of the WOTG elements. 

Sorry for the picture quality... it's the best I could do in order to get them posted today.
Here's the sketch I used:

Supplies Used (All CTMH):
G1033 Pemberley WOTG
Z2118 Desert Sand Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z2162 Honey Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z2140 Outdoor Denim Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge
Z697   Sponge
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Truffles Climbs a Tree

Cappi and Truffles love to chase the squirrels.  I'm not sure what they would do if they ever caught one.  I think they just want to play.  We built a ramp for Truffles to get back onto the deck because, for some reason, she won't climb the stairs.  Imagine my surprise when I saw her climb the tree!

Thank goodness my camera was nearby...

Kayleigh Had A Little Lamb...

...it's fleece was marshmallow?!  My girls made a flock of sheep for their after school club today.  The inspiration came from a Land O Lakes coupon ad.  Since they needed so many, they decided to decorate in an assembly line fashion.  They aren't perfect, but all together they look pretty cute.

We improvised a little on the faces.  You can purchase premade candy eyes for about $4 per package.  We didn't think one package would make 30 cupcakes, so we came up with our own solution by using a little icing and cutting the licorice into tiny pieces.  The heads in the inspiration photo were made with black gumdrops, which we couldn't find.  We decided to use mini Oreos instead (yum)!

He's almost too cute to eat!  Our sheep aren't as fluffy as the inspiration photo because we started to run out of marshmallows.  We contemplated leaving one with no marshmallows at all and naming him Shorn (from Wallace and Grommit).

Poor little sheep don't know what they are in for...

Not So Papery

Sorry I've been MIA for the past few weeks.  I've been working on some not-so-papery projects.  One of my regular cleaning days turned into an entire spring cleaning project.  The entire house is clean top to bottom and in every nook and cranny... and just in time for the beautiful spring weather to appear!  I've also been enjoying a lot of quality time with my daughters engaged in some very interesting conversations about anything and everything.  We decorated some very cute cupcakes over the weekend while my aunt, niece and her friend were visiting.

The girls staged these "pie" cupcakes to make them appear to be fresh from the oven.

The sharks were a challenge to make, but the girls were very pleased with the results.  We had to improvise on the teeth since we ran out of frosting.  We took little white heart shaped sprinkles and broke them in half. They are already planning the next cupcake project.

This is a close-up of the sharks.  They are almost too cute to eat!  Perhaps you will see these pictures in a layout or two in the not too distant future.

Get a FREE Cricut^® Art Philosophy Collection in March

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*Offer available March 1—31, 2012. No additional tax is charged on the Cricut® collection when ordered during enrollment.

**Additional requirements and limitations regarding the redemption and shipping of Select Product Credit apply. Select Product Credit is added to new Consultant account following approval of enrollment.</sup>

Stella Layout

Inspired by another sketch... this time a layout from a sketch I found on the Let's Scrap Blog. I saw the sketch last week and immediately thought of the Stella papers. This is my version... without the photos of course (will add some later).  The weather is overcast and dreary today, creating a photo challenge. No matter what I did, I just couldn't get a picture that would do the layout justice.

This is the sketch I followed:

Whew!  Two projects in two weeks time... I'm on a roll (haha)!

Supplies Used (All CTMH unless noted):
X7147B Stella Paper Packet
X7147C Stella Complements Canvas Shapes
Z2114 Cocoa Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z1687 Bohemian Assortment
Z1358 Basic Assortment Buttons
Z341 Mini Glue Dots
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Heartfelt Wonder Felt Shapes (retired)
Chinese Knot Chain Edger Punch (EK Success)

I Whaley Love You

I haven't been feeling very creative lately.  I have so many ideas floating around in my head, but I can't seem to translate them into a finished project.  Yesterday, I decided to challenge myself to make a card.  Simple enough, right?  I selected the Mojo Monday design for this week and decided to incorporate the Heart 2 Heart Challenge into it as well.  Four hours later, I completed my card.  Does creativity always take that long, or is it just me?

The base of the card is clear, so the whale "floats" on top of the background, and I added 3-D foam tape to the waves.  The pieces are attached to the card using liquid glass.  I cut the oval, scallop oval, and background shape using the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.

Maybe I should challenge myself more often...

Supplies Used (All Close to my Heart):

X7151B Footloose Paper Packet

C1500 Under the Sea

Z2118 Desert sand Exclusive Inks pad

Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks Pad

Z2192 Pacifica Exclusive Inks Pad

Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

Z1323 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 Clear Cards

Z1327 Sparkles Blue & Green Assortment

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Z679 Liquid Glass

Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book

Today is the day you can officially order from the new Spring/Summer Idea Book!  Don't you just love the layout on the cover? You can click on the image below to see all the new stuff.

Of course, all of your favorite stamp sets from the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book are still available to order as well.

Unwritten

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined.
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned.
                      ~ Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

In the book Sing You Home, Jodi Picoult writes "Every life has a soundtrack."  So true... and at the top of my playlist is Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. Music speaks to me.  Sometimes the music speaks for me.

This year will be a journey for me - a story unfolding...

A message to the unwritten:

It is never too late to begin the story

~choir345