Distressability

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T09:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween my fellow readers. I woke up this morning with sleepy eyes and a numb thumb and forefinger which makes for interesting typing. Yesterday was pumpkin carving day at our house. We love to carve and usually end up buying way too many pumpkins each year. I thought you'd enjoy our selection for this year.

Having 2 young kiddos, we are big on the Dreamworks/Pixar/Disney deal here. So a montage of this year's character winners in our house.

Current favorite movie: How to Train Your Dragon. Toothless is just plain adorable and how could you not like Hiccup.

Next up: Monsters vs. Aliens It's such a hard choice between the characters because we love them all but B.O.B. is highlarious. Next year, we may have to do Dr. Cockroach...because his Mwah ha ha cackle is just perfect for Halloween.

But so far, our all time house favorite is Ice Age 3 and the one oft most quoted. It was the original intention of this carver to do Buck, but he was too many shades of white to work well in Pumpkin Carving...at least for my current set of skills. So we have our second favorite...Scrat aka Crazy Squirrel.

Next up, my dear daughters' pumpkins. They got to pick their pattern choice this year and this is what they came up with.

Conversation with my youngest:
Me: So, you're picking a Spooooky Ghost.
Youngest: No Mom, he's a friendly ghost. See, he's smiling!

Oldest: Not quite sure yet why she picked a skull but it's the one she wanted. So here it is.

And finally, I was going to attempt another Twilight themed pumpkin this year. But my plans were thwarted when one of my friends was trying to guess what my How To Train Your Dragon pumpkin was and she guessed, in jest I hope, Jon Bon Jovi. LOL Um....No. So I decided in honor of her to do one JBJ just for her. Enjoy!!

Hopefully, I'll get some Halloween layouts up soon!! Be safe tonight and please watch out for the kiddos!!

Babies are brewing in a Tea for Two Baby Shower

2010-10-17T23:20:00.000-04:00

What a fun yet busy weekend. I was a shared hostess of a double baby shower. And truly this was unlike any other shower I've been too. When it involves my Diva Buddies, whom I've scrapped about before on here, then you know it's going to be a good time.

To start off with, my friend Jeannine is a world class decorator. Here are some of the Martha Stewart-y decorations she and her sister came up with.

Some blinged out pumpkins for the coming babies.

I made a set of teapots for the a guest drawing. Brown and pink for the girl team and brown and blue for the boy team. More details on the teapots/teacups below.

Each Mommy-to-be received a baby buggy for their baby rooms at home.

We had a Onesie Decorating Station for the guests to make for the babies. Here are two I made for them.

And the greatest station at the baby shower. The Cara-tini and Tina-tini stations. Ha ha ha. The Mommies-to-be couldn't join in but all the guests were able to toast to the coming bundles of joy.

Truly, it was great fun and I had a wonderful time helping with the decorations. Below is a closer look at what I made.

The Pink buggy was made using the DCWV Luxury Stack. The borders are Martha Stewart border punches. The buggy template is from My Time Made Easy. The Brown/Blue buggy was made using the DCWV Linen Stack.

The teapots were also made using the same DCWV stacks. Both teapots, cups and phrases were all from My Time Made Easy.

The flower design is Tim Holtz's Grunge Flower technique that I used with paper instead of grunge board. I also used his Alterations Flower Sizzix die .

The cups, designs and phrases are digital elements from My Time Made Easy. I colored the cups with Copic Markers. After completing the cup, I traced a second cup on paper, glued only the edges to the Colored cup and inserted a Gift Card in the slot at the top. They made great gift card holders for the Guest prizes.

So that's what I did this weekend. How about you?

Birds of a Feather.....

2010-10-01T12:10:00.000-04:00

I cannot begin to tell you how much my girls make me laugh. And it's a good thing, because it certainly helps them out big time when they're supposed to be in trouble. Anyway, this day below, was their 2nd visit to the dentist's office. Thankfully, their first visit was incredibly fun and they don't have irrational fears of dentists like ~~my husband~~ someone I won't mention. Now, a quick background point for all my readers: My husband is a musician and as we all know, musicians usually beat to a different drum. Often times their sense of fashion goes hand in hand with their creative musical flair. So, I must submit, that my two daughters incredible sense of fashion comes from their Daddy. ; )

Isn't this how EVERYONE dresses up to go to the dentist? Do notice that my youngest carries a penguin in her purse instead of the requisite yippy dog. THAT, she got from me and it makes me proud. So looking at how my two birds of a feather flock together...I now know that I have years of interesting outfits and fun times to look forward too.

Now on to the deets. I picked up the Cosmo Cricket Togetherness Deluxe Kit, from Lil' Lambs Boutique for this one. It is a very whimsical line with birds, butterflies, clouds and kites. I used all paper for this layout and will use the embellies, Glimmer Mist and Flocking Powder for my next project....coming up soon.

The edges all have faux stitching inspired by one of my favorite scrappers, Mireille. The look is quick and easy. First, punch holes around the edge of your piecing with a hole piercer. Second, with a black marker, run around the edges of your piecing over top of the punched holes. Third, use a white marker (Sharpie Fine Point used here) to draw tiny white lines in between the punched holes. And there you go, easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Happy Fall everyone....my favorite season of the year!!!

Sketchin' it out with Halloween

2010-09-26T01:40:00.000-04:00

More Halloween goodness up tonight....or this morning. I picked out the sketch from today on the I heart 2 Stamp blog for this card. Whenever you run low on mojo, go for the sketches. There are so many wonderful sketch artists out there. I picked up the Honey Bear from my Inkadinkado stamps. Isn't he a cutie? I worked on more shading techniques for the Copic Challenge #35 going through September 30th .

For the background squares, I used Fiskar embossing folders to dry emboss spider webs. The spider web at the bottom is a Tim Holtz mask rubbed over with Tea Dye Distress Ink.

I wanted to create a white border around my stamped image and am usually unsuccessful at keeping the embossed edge of my nestabilites clean when I try to free hand it with my Copic markers. So tonight, I decided to keep the image nested inside my die and color my shaded background. After completing all the shading work, I popped out the image and had my white border.

Copic Sketch Markers
Bear: E11, E21,E33, E53, E25, E29, R20
Bear Clothes/Hat: C1, C3, C7, C9, V04, V06, V09, YR21, YR24 white highlights, colorless blender
Honey/Pot: YR21, YR23,YR24, R22, R24, E09, white highlights, colorless blender
Label Edge: E00, E21, YR21, Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Card Paper: Basic Grey Fusion Line
Spellbinders Nestabilities: Large Scalloped/Large Standard Circles, Large Labels
Distress Ink by Ranger: Walnut Stain, Black Soot, Tea Dye Stamps: Inkadinkadoo
Mask: Advantus Tim Holtz
Embossing Plates: Fiskars

One more fun Halloween image coming up soon. Stay tuned!

Boo! Popping in for a card challenge or two.

2010-09-24T15:39:00.001-04:00

It's been a few weeks since I've done a card challenge. So I thought I'd pop in today with a Halloween card for you since I've been posting so many Christmas projects. I was walking through my local craft store on a construction paper mission for my girls. Get in...get paper...get out. Curses...the store employees had to stick these adorable Inkadinkadoo Halloween stamps in the aisle on my way to the cash register. Honestly as I was walking past the end cap, my basket bumped the edge and into my basket the stamps fell. Clearly I was meant to have them.

Copic Creation's Challenge #35 - Shading in or around images: There was no doubt I would enter this one since it's the Copic skill technique I'm trying to improve...and have plenty of room for improvement too. ; )

Flutter by Wednesday's Challenge #123 - All winged things: It's a perfect time of year for the butterfly/fairy/angel rule to be relaxed. For you can't have Halloween without little winged bats, right? I did an emboss resist of little bats in the upper right corner (a wonderful trick I picked up from Mr. Holtz himself).

To create an emboss resist image on your project, you need the following: Image Stamp, Clear Embossing Ink, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Distress Ink Pads, wet paper towel.
1. Stamp your image using clear embossing ink. (Distress Embossing Ink used here but you can also use Versamark ink).
2. Sprinkle with clear embossing powder and heat emboss using your heat tool.
3. Use a make up sponge and rub your colored Distress ink over and around your image in a circular motion. You will see your image pop up through the ink.
4. After you have completed your colored distressing, take a damp paper towel and gently rub across your embossed image to take off any Distress Ink left on top. You have now have an embossed resist image on your project.

Here's a close up of my Inkadinkadoo Kitty cutie.

Copic Sketch Markers
Pumpkins/Leaves: YR12, YR21, YR23, E25, YG03, G21, G82
Cat: C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, R85, white highlights, colorless blender
Cat Hat: V04, V06, V09, YR24, E5, white highlights, colorless blender
Label Edge: YR00, YR12, YR21, YR23, V00, V04, V06, C1, C3, C9, colorless blender
Card Paper: Cosmo Cricket, black cardstock
Spellbinders Nestabilities: Labels 1
Punches: Martha Stewart Iron Gate Around the Page Combo
Distress Ink by Ranger: Concord Grape, Spiced Marmalade, Walnut Stain, Black Soot
Stamps: Inkadinkadoo

I'm worse than the Grocery Stores!

2010-09-21T12:32:00.000-04:00

We haven't even had Halloween yet and I have my Christmas stuff out already. It always irked me when the day after Halloween, ALL the Christmas candy started coming out in the grocery stores. And now they just have an aisle for Halloween and an aisle for Christmas at the same time. It also really annoyed me when Christmas decorations were displayed in shopping malls before we even had Thanksgiving finished. Ah, the joys of marketing. Anything to get you to panic and start shopping because surely, Christmas is just around the bend!!

So look at me doing the same thing. Ha ha ha. I guess I'll have to forgive the retail industry and if not forgive, at least understand. For as all we scrappers know, the Christmas lines have been released on the scrapping world and woo boy are there a bunch to choose from this year. Let me introduce you to the Tis the Season line by Kasiercraft...yes, the company that makes all the wood mdf projects we love to alter. Tammy, from Lil' Lambs Boutique, created a wonderful Deluxe Scrapping Kit with this paper line. So after receiving my kit, I went in search of some Christmasy goodies to go with it. I'm sure most East Coasters will remember the blizzard of 2010...my girls certainly did. And even though it was way past Christmas, it did not bother them to keep wearing their favorite Christmas outfits. The photos below were taken from a "dress up" day where they were Santa's Helpers during our blizzard that caused cabin fever to set in. It's a bit hard for 3 1/2 foot kids to play in 5 feet of snow. But in this case, I took them outside and captured a little North Pole action with all the snow.

My first step, since I wanted to pick up the red of the dress in the photograph was to cut the tan background off the sheet with the scrolling die cut. I cut around the edges and used a dark red background to replace the old one. The edges of the red cardstock are inked with the Mudslide Colorbok pad included in the kit.

TIP: Since the Colorbok pad is ink instead of Chalk ink, you can dab a makeup sponge onto the ink pad and use the sponge to ink your edges for more of a brushed and softer look. Using the ink pad directly on the edges of your paper can give harsh, dark lines that do not give an aged look to your project.

Next, I created a Christmas tree of sorts by cutting out wavy triangles out of the green damask paper and distressing the edges with the Mudslide ink using the tip above. I wanted the scrolling die cut to work as a frame, so I used my Swivel Exacto knife to cut out an edge on the inner part of the die cut...this is known as fussy cutting. I set my Christmas tree inside the cut and removed any green edges sticking out the other side.

The mat for the bigger photo was created using the Martha Stewart Deco Fan around the page punches. I only did two sides since I was tucking the photo behind the tree and another cut edge of the die cut at the bottom. The snowflakes are made with the St Nick/Newspaper sheet and Joys of the Season Cricut cartridge.

To give the snowflakes a more vintage and finished look, I inked the edges with the Mudslide ink. I used both sides of the St Nick paper to create the snowflakes. The fatter ones above were made with the Newsprint side and the skinnier ones were made with the St Nick side. I used Mudslide over the skinny snowflakes to darken them up a bit to contrast with the fatter snowflakes and yet still keep the design visable underneath. My next step for all the snowflakes was to coat them with Rock Candy Crackle Paint. While the paint was still wet, I grabbed some translucent sparkly embossing powder between my thumb and index finger, and gently rubbed my fingers together over the snowflakes as it lightly dusted them with the powder. Using your fingers to rub the powder over top of your snowflakes will keep it light and even. I used my heat gun lightly over the snowflakes to just melt the embossing powder so it wouldn't leave a milky sheen on the snowflakes and Crackle Paint, then I let the rest air dry to create the crackling effect.

So now I feel obligated to go buy some Halloween and Christmas candy today.

May we never forget!

2010-09-11T10:23:00.001-04:00

I'm going to post a throwback today. I know I have quite a few crafters from all over the world and if you'll permit me some leeway, today I'm bringing it close to home.

9 years ago this day, almost any American you ask will know down to the detail what they were doing and where they were. Me, I was standing in the lobby area, on the 28th floor of my work building, watching in disbelief and then horror as two planes hit the two World Trade Center buildings. We all watched stunned, for what seemed like forever, but in reality was only about 15 minutes, and then finally walked back to our offices. I sat down in my chair and looked out my window over the District of Columbia and thought, "Could that happen here?" Not moments after I had those thoughts I heard loud running all over the floor of our building. For although our building had a wonderful front view of the District of Columbia, it's stunning architecture and beautiful monuments, the backside of our building now had a horrific view of a plane that had just flow into the Pentagon. Amazing that one building can produce two amazingly different pictures depending upon which side you stood. I, to this day have never seen a building clear so fast, as we grabbed purses, bags and friends and flew out of the building. My friend and I traveled away from DC that day, watching numerous fire engines, police cars and ambulances heading the opposite way into chaos. How eerily quiet the trip home was.

I remember sitting on my couch trying to get through to my husband, that was still in DC. No use...phone lines clogged. After 2 hours, I was able to finally reach worried friends and family and assure them that we were okay. My Mother worked in the building immediately up the hill from the Pentagon and she ended up walking halfway home and then finally was able to catch a bus the rest of the way.

It was a sad day, a scary day and one that will certainly be forever etched in my memory. I will be able to tell my granchildren someday, "I remember when..." But, that's not then end of the story. I also remember that day watching story after story of heroic effort and incredible feats of one American after another helping each other. 9/11 was a day where there was no racial boundary or strife. 9/11 was a day when Americans all over the country turned back to the God they often forgot and prayed for their fellow man. 9/11 and the days after did not contain a country that was split in political strife. There was not a Democrat and Republican party...there was the American party. American flags flew off the store shelves in a show of human solidarity unlike I have ever witnessed before. The rich elite and the common man were on equal ground.

Out of the rubble of 9/11 rose countless heroes. Countless stories of selfless actions and reactions. May their stories never die. A couple years ago, I put my feelings into my art and created this tribute to those men, women..fellow Americans that gave us all a reason to cry and yet hope on such a tragic day. May we never forget.... that we as a country can unite in one Spirit in a bond that cannot be broken. We've proven that we can. May it not take another tragedy to prove it again.

May God bless this country and extend His gracious hand over us.

Not done yet...more this week.

2010-09-06T23:06:00.001-04:00

I've been knee deep in tax numbers and photographing all my huge amount of extra scrap supplies that are starting to creep out the Guest Room door. I can't hold it all back any longer. I've a couple more auctions up tonight with these items below. You can find them here.

And hopefully, I'll post a few more tomorrow or Wednesday. I promise, promise, promise, I'll get back to scrapping. My tax deadline is this week and I'm auctioning out a path to my scrap table. Heh heh heh.

I have more Christmas projects that I'm working on and also the new Togetherness line by Cosmo Cricket. So keep an eye out for later on in the week. I'll be a scrapping fiend!!

Boy ~ Girl ~ Kid grouping of tag, stickers, rub-ons, etc.

All Occasion tags, definition labels, quotes, flower rub-ons, etc.

Regularly scheduled scrapping coming soon!!

But wait...there's more...

2010-09-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Okay all you newbie scrappers that need a kickstart to your new Scrapbooking addiction. I've just added more auctions tonight...all starting at 99 cents!!! Scrapbooking hoarders...you are also welcome to peek in. Ha!

You can find all the current running auctions here.

Tonight's listings include:

Another huge lot of My Mind's Eye papers (Wild Asparagus collections)

Technique and Idea Books

Cardmaking Quotes

Happy shopping!

Cleaning Out my Stash.....

2010-08-31T07:44:00.000-04:00

I'm cleaning out my stash before I get lost in my craft room and never able to find my way out again. I'll be listing new lots of scrapbook items on eBay all week. All auctions starting at 99 cents!!! If you or anyone you know is looking to fill out their scrapbook supplies, just send them along to my auctions here.

Here are some of things I have listed currently.

There are close up pictures in my auctions.

Not Lost...Some Cosmo Cricket for you...

2010-08-29T20:08:00.001-04:00

I'm not lost fellow crafty gurus. Just a reminder for those newly following my blog...every quarter I get bogged down in a crunch time with my tax work. It's a bummer on the craft mojo BUT it helps keep me in my craft room and not out on the street. So if I disappear for a couple of weeks, you know I'm just up late at night crunching numbers instead of paper.

Tammy from Lil' Lambs Boutique just sent me a whole passel full of new kits and joy, joy, joy...I've got Christmas goodies for you. I've seen quite a few cute Christmas lines so far. Tammy is carrying both the Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather paper line or if you like matching embellies, take a look at her Mitten Weather Deluxe Kit. Here is layout number 1 using the Deluxe kit. I made it for a challenge on a scrapping forum I frequent. The challenge was to scraplift a layout from Suzanne S seen here. Below is my take on her layout.

I used the Martha Stewart Layered Arches border punch to add some red to the edges. The border around the outer part of the page was created using a SandyLion border stamp that my friend Donna blessed me with (including a bunch more stamps which I hope to use soon, thanks Lady!!). After stamping the edge in Sepia Ink, I added Ruby Red Liquid Pearls in between the arches.

I have to say that I really love the purple that Cosmo added into this standard Christmas color line. I think it makes it stand out from your average Christmas line. It gives you that alternative to go full on Christmas or just a more wintry type of layout. Either way, I think you'll enjoy using it.

This layout is dedicated to all of you that have been sportin' a 100+ degrees the past couple of months!!!

Monday's Treasure Find

2010-08-10T12:55:00.001-04:00

Hmmm, so somebody forgot to remind me that yesterday was Monday. That means Monday Treasure Find day on the great world wide web. Sorry, I completely blanked. Today's treasure is for all you ATC makers, vintage clip art, shabby chic, collage artists. The Graphics Fairy posts a new find everyday of royalty free vintage clip art. She really has something for everyone and is worth checking out. She even has Request it Thursdays where you can leave your requests. If she can find them, she fills them.

Here are some of her graphics that I've captured for later use. You can find these and more at The Graphics Fairy blog.

Happy ~~Monday~~ Tuesday!

Let's make Christmas Cards on the hottest day of the year!

2010-08-05T12:43:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like having your snowman melting while you're coloring him, right? We are heating up, up, up the thermometer here on the East Coast. I have nothing to complain about though, because this is much better than 3 feet of snow. However, it does make working on Christmas cards a touch interesting. I created this little guy from a new challenge website I found called Christmas Stampin' All Year Long. I love it! What better way to get half of your Chritmas cards made then to do one a week and have someone else provide you with the inspiration. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge.

I'm plowing through all my older papers and using my stash of "must haves" from years gone by. It's hard but you can do it too! I will be sending this card off to Operation Write Home. Will I get any of my own Christmas cards done? Probably not many, but this gives me happies in my heart to send this off for a soldier to use.

The sketch challenge ends today, so if you hurry, you can still get one in.

Copic Sketch Markers
Background: W1, W3, W5, W7, colorless blender
Stars: E11, E21, E33, colorless blender
Snowmen: C1, B02, B14, BG05, R22, E09, E21, E33, colorless blender, Inkssentials White Pen
Digital Stamp: Sassy Cheryl's
Paper: KI Memories (Alpine Collection)
Ranger: Inkssential's White Opaque Marker
Sentiment: Studio G
Brads: Queen & Co, Creative Impressions (Stars)

Monochrome Mania

2010-08-03T15:33:00.001-04:00

Ever since I found the My Cardz blog, that I mentioned in last week's Treasure Find, I've been dreaming of trying a monochromatic card. So here it is...my first attempt. I definitely need practice but I'm not completely appalled with my first try. It wasn't easy but it was fun. I will mention I did a practice run first before doing the card. The Pixie Cottage challenge for this past week was to create a card using a sketch by Jay Jay, with a twist of stamping twice...which I managed to get in.

I will try this again. If you have done any monochromatic work, please leave me a link so I can check it out. This is one of the cards going into a batch for Operation Write Home. If you are a cardmaker and have some time and too many supplies like me, then this a great organization to work with.

Copic Sketch Markers: C1, C3, C5, C7, colorless blender
Stamp: Sandra Hammer
Paper: Basic Grey Ambrosia
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities
Punches: McGill Flower Punch
Ranger: Inkssential's White Opaque Marker, Distress Inks (Black Soot), Clear Embossing Powder
Sentiment: Maker Unknown

Now what page was I on?

2010-08-02T12:48:00.000-04:00

If you're a reader like me, then you typically have 3-5 books going at one time, around the house. I usually have a devotional, a non-fiction, a drama and one of my kids school books going all at once. So bookmarks are needed a plenty here. Even the girls usually have a chapter book or two going at the same time.

So guess how delighted I was to see that the new Copic Creations challenge involved my favorite thing...reading. Yes, I think I even like reading better than scrapping...but only by a smidge. If you have children, may I encourage to pick up a book with them daily. Not only does it make great snuggle time, but increases their vocabulary and love for learning. Copic Creations is featurning Elizabeth O. Dulemba, children's author and illustrator. So what could their theme be this month? Why anything related to reading of course: bookmarks, book gift card holders, book charts, etc... Elizabeth even has a page full of free downloads for coloring and boy are they cute. When I was looking through all the images, I saw the one below and instantly knew this one was the one for my bookmark. I can just see this happening at our house somedays.

Since it was one of the few non-cutsey illustrations, I wanted to dress up the bookmark by using a clear background. I grabbed some Basic Grey Cappella Scraps, did some fussy cutting and adhered the flower design to the clear tag. I added the journal tag and backed it with a border. Finally, I dotted the edges with Liquid Pearls.

This one will promptly go into my current read: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle.

Copic Sketch Markers
Couples' skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, E33, R20
Lady hair: E09, E11, E33, YR24, white highlights
Lady dress: G21, G40, G82, G99, C7, colorless blender
Man Hair/Hat/Shoes: C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, colorless blender, white highlights
Man Suit: E09, E25, E59, C9
Paper: Basic Grey Cappella
Ranger: Inkssential's White Opaque Marker, Liquid Pearls (Petal Pink)
Illustration by Elizabeth O Dulemba
Punches: Fiskars (Threading Water)

Monday's Treasure Find

2010-08-02T12:22:00.000-04:00

Today is a heartwarming treasure find for you all. As I've been making a lot of cards lately, I've been perusing many card related blogs. I ran into a link for this page for Operation Write Home.

Their Mission: Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

What an incredible service these ladies are coordinating and completing. I've decided to send all the cards I make in the next two weeks to OWH. There is still time to send Christmas cards for the servicemen to use. I have family and friends that are far from home, fighting for the freedoms this country has today. I absolutely want to be a part of something to help brighten their day or make life a bit easier for them. I challenge my readers to join with me. Even if it's only one card. Here is a link with detailed information about what can and cannot be on the card, what works best and where to send them.

God bless each and every country that has served us past and present.

Wedded Bliss

2010-07-29T01:37:00.005-04:00

Tonight, or this morning, whichever it may be wherever you are, I bring you a card of wedded bliss. So remember, way back when, earlier this summer when I posted a wedding album for my friend? Well, I finally finished the card for it. Hah...am I slow this summer or what? Must be the intense heat of summer. I managed to weave back through my leftovers and found some scraps from the Cappella Album Kit. Since I had the Loving Thoughts JustRite stamp set handy, I married the two together for quite a nice coupling, I think.

The photo on the card is a picture of their rings and I had wanted to use this in the album but ran out of pages. Who here has ever run into that problem? Well wouldn't you know, the lovely team over at the JustRite blog challenged everyone to make a card with a photo on it (Challenge #28). Perfect timing, I say.

To create this shape card, you need cardstock (folded in half) and a set of the large scalloped Nestabilities. First, place the largest nestability die over the folded cardstock, leaving the top edge off the folded seam, as seen in the photo below. After running it through your die cut machine, you now have a folded scalloped card for your base. Next, cut out a full scalloped circle, embellish it and then glue it down to the base.

Paper: Patterned Paper (Capella Album Kit)
Stamp: JustRite Stamps - Loving Thoughts Set
Flowers: Prima
Ink: Distress Inks by Ranger (Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, Walnut Stain)
Dies: Spellbinder Nestabilities (Large Scallop Circle, Large Label), Quickutz Flourish

Facebook Candy?

2010-07-28T14:36:00.001-04:00

I've heard of and participated in some wonderful blog candy before but here is some Facebook Candy for you all. Lil' Lambs Boutique is handing out a chance to win this kit below. If you aren't already a fan of their Facebook page, join in. Inspirational pieces from kits in the Shoppe, are posted there, as well as annoucements of current sales and contests.

For your chance to win this Basic Grey Olivia Deluxe Kit above, go to their Facebook Fan page and leave a comment about what CHA Summer item is exciting you the most? What can't you wait to get your hands on?

I know for me personally, I cannot wait to get my hands on all things Tim Holtz. His new On the Edge dies, the new Liquid Pearl colors, the stamps...oh my. Thankfully he's parsing out his stuff over the next few months so I don't go into full blown debt in one month. Hah! So get on over and leave your comment. This is such a great kit. Specific kit details can be found here. Facebook fan page here.

This week's card challenge brought to you by...

2010-07-28T00:55:00.000-04:00

Here's another 3 in 1 challenge for your viewing pleasure.

Copic Sketch Markers
Girl skin: E000, E00, E11
Girl hair: E09, E33, YR24, white highlights
Girl dress/bow/socks/shoes: B02, BG05, BG09, G21, G40, YR04, YR12, YR18, colorless blender
Bear: E25, E29, E59, V04, C9, colorless blender, white highlights
Paper: DCWV Old World Stack, Bo Bunny Paradise, Bazill Cardstock
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities, Quickutz Flourish
Ranger: Inkssential's White Opaque Marker, Various Distress Inks
Digi Stamp: Sassy Cheryl's
Sentiment: Studio G Stamps

Entered for the following challenges:
#1. Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #22: "Thinking of You"

#2. Mojo Monday #149

#3. colorQ challenge #43: Hmmm, I seemed to have gotten a touch color blind when I got to the Bermuda Bay color, but what can you do. I was sure the colors were closer when I picked them out.

Thanks for taking a gander....

Monday's Treasure Find

2010-07-26T11:46:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday everyone! Today's treasure find out on the big world wide web comes from a cardmaker that started her scrapping journey in 2008. Well, I must say her work is just beautiful. She is Copic Certified and it clearly shows in her designs. Her blog is My Cardz...My Passion...My Therapy. Note: All photos below belong to Mary Giemza and are her creations and designs.

If you are interested at all in delving into the world of Copics, color and shading, then this is definitely a blog to peruse. She even does some amazing monochromatic cards, as seen below. I'm Copic-skilled jealous!!

She intersperses her card blog, with informative tutorials and links to great challenges. Be sure to check her out.

One Card...Three Challenges...

2010-07-23T00:53:00.000-04:00

As I was perusing the blog I mentioned on Monday, it lead me to a digi stamp maker. Don't things always lead to other things! Sassy Cheryl's digi stamps are just plain cute. I ended my night with 3 new digi stamps in my collection and decided to try out her Challenge for the week.

Unfortunately, our house is still inhabited by those nasty sick germs and they finally caught me as well. I only had the energy to do one card this week, so I chose to combine 3 challenges into one. And I'm proud to say the whole card was made with scraps.

Copic Sketch Markers
Girl skin: E000, E00, E21, R20
Girl hair: E00, YR21, YR24, white highlights
Girl dress/socks/shoes: R22, R24, R27, YR00, YR04, YR12, YR21, E11, E53, colorless blender
Bear: E25, E29, E33, YR21, YR24, W7, colorless blender, white highlights
Paper: Various Scraps
Sizzix Alterations: On the Edge Die
Spellbinders Nestabilities: Various
Stickles by Ranger: Black
Digi Stamp: Sassy Cheryl's

Challenges Entered:

1. Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #21: Cut It Out. The challenge is to use one of her digital stamps and then cut all or some portion of it out.
2. Mojo Monday #148 sketch challenge. Here's the sketch, which I turned sideways.

3. The Color Q Challenge #42: Loved these color choices this week. It reminds of Fall, which is my favorite season of the year.

Weather is calling for 105 degrees tomorrow....I think everything is going to be a fall color alright. Brown...as in withered. Woo hee, it's hot. But it's certainly better than 3 feet of snow that I posted about here back in February. Happy Friday everyone!

Monday's Treasure Find

2010-07-19T23:31:00.001-04:00

So I think I'll try something new. I'll be cruising around the internet throughout the week and come each Monday I'll post a neat or interesting website I've run across. Or in this case, cool blog candy. If you're a stamper, you'll want to check this out. Not to shabby of a birthday prize she's handing out. Below is just one of the 5 different prizes be given away at the end of this month over at Inked Inspirations.

Get to hoppin' and good luck.

On a Roll with the Bo Bunny's Layout Challenge Friday

2010-07-17T23:31:00.001-04:00

Bo Bunny's challenge this week is to create a layout using the title of your Favorite Movie or TV Show. Just one movie or show? Impossible. I've enjoyed so many shows over my life but for this layout I jumped backed to my childhood. I mean seriously, what girl my age didn't have a crush on Chachi or the Fonz. I definitely enjoyed my weekly fix of Happy Days although I was never a big fan of Richie's friends. Anyone else remember the Karate Kid master as the lovable "Arnold?"

Ah, good times. I wonder what my kids' go to favorite will be when they get older. So here we have my husband and my oldest at 9 months old. We flew out to San Diego for one my good friend's wedding and stayed with my Sister. I loved her back yard. We just don't get blue like this on the East Coast. My daughter had a grand time playing around in the water and chewing on her ducky. I had to reminisce about all the "Happy Days" to try and compete with all the sickness we've been dealing with this past week. This certainly was a nice switch. Check out more Summery Goodness from the Bo Bunny Paradise Collection.

I free handed the sun and then pieced it back together on the layout. The edges are inked with Fired Brick Distress Ink and the top decorated with Liquid Pearls, Lemon Yellow (I think I see a need of more Liquid Pearls in my future).

To add variety to the bottom and give sort of a land/sky effect, I added the striped paper to the bottom. To keep the flow of the scalloped die cut, I traced the edge onto transparency paper. After cutting out the border edge, I traced it onto the striped paper, cut and adhered to the scalloped die cut. The little seagull was from the cream paper and is colored in with Copic markers.

The title tag is created using 3 different Spellbinder Nestabilities shapes. The middle is inked with 3 Distress Inks (Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain). The edges are dotted with Liquid Pearls Baby Blue. And check out the crab underneath the tag. I'm proud of him. He was cream colored when I started working with him, but all day in the sun and look how colorful he is now.

Thanks for stopping by. And just for kicks, I'm curious what your favorite Movie or TV Show is. Can't pick just one can you?

Wish I was there right now...

2010-07-17T11:44:00.001-04:00

Rough week here at Camp Gramling. My youngest has been sick all week with a bacterial infection and I think we're all pretty much over doctors, bad tasting medicine, blood tests, ER rooms and stomach pains. I'm ready for a tropical getaway. When I was able to get my youngest to sleep, I would slip into my craft room and dive into the Paradise collection from Bo Bunny. Frankly, it was quite soothing just to sit and look at the papers untouched...but then time stops for no one.

We tend to vacation in Spring and Fall, up in the mountains typically and it's not exactly beach weather then. So, I really don't have any tropical, beachy pictures unless I go way back to when my oldest was 9 months old...um, so be on the lookout for that in the coming week. Ha ha. But my parents did go out to San Diego a couple summers ago to see my Sisters and that is certainly a beachy place. Did I mention that I don't scrap chronologically? Yeah, I do it more for the artistic pleasure of working with paper, ink and glue, then to create a history of my family's life. But I figure someday, it'll all get done one way or another. I'm rambling...see...tired Mommies that have worn every hat in their repetoire in the past week tend to ramble.
Let's see if I can locate a picture or two here....

There we go. There's my cute parents. I love this photograph of them with the ocean in the background. You know, ocean waves are one of the most soothing sounds I've ever heard. The shirt colors were perfectly lit up by the camera flash as the sun was setting into a darker background. I wish I had taken this picture...but I can't take credit for it.

On the blue circle, I attempted to capture the idea of ocean spray that leaves a leftover salty residue. The Smooch Spritz seemed to do the trick pretty well. I let it run down in a rivulet and then dried it quick. The background paper I used was pretty heavily covered in pictures that if you're like me, don't like to cover up. So here, I used my Swivel Exacto knife and cut out a portion of the palm tree so I could slide my circle in behind it. For the part running over the edge of the circle, I used pop dots to give the illusion that the tree was far in front of my circle. The edge of the blue circle and photo mat are ornamented with Liquid Pearls (Lemon Yellow used here).

And finally, I got a little border punch crazy at the bottom. The top two are the Deep Edge Daisy Fan and the Doily Lace Trim punches by Martha Stewart. The bottom two are from my handy, dandy packaging template that I traced onto the back and cut out. I'll mention here that I grabbed my Copic markers and ran the edges of the Daisy Fan border. (C1, C3 and C5 on the inner parts of the fan and white inkssentials pen to highlight some of the edges).

Well...there is my nice, long, rambly post for today. I'm sure I'll come back tomorrow, read it and laugh but that's the fun of this little thing we call life.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Silly Bandz no longer on the loose...

2010-07-14T11:38:00.000-04:00

Have the Silly Bandz craze invaded your home yet? I tried to keep them from our home in a passive way but alas, they have creeped in. My girls receive them from friends, from Sunday School teachers and now they have convinced me to purchase a set for them...on sale of course. Rule #1: If I see a Silly Bandz left on the floor...it's next home is the trash can. Rule #2: Make sure the first part of rule #1 doesn't happen.

So I thought I'd help the girls out a bit on their quest to collect and keep their Silly Bandz. I found these two little boxes in a clearance pile at a local craft store and decided to dress them up and offer them to the girls for their new wrist fad. They each picked out a picture from the Die Cut Card sheet of my Delovely Deluxe kit and I colored it in and dressed up their boxes. I'll seal them with acrylic spray to hopefully prevent some wear and tear from the use they'll get.

Here's another top view.

And the Copic colors I used.

So, had the Silly Bandz craze hit your house yet? What is the latest fad where you are?

Wood boxes: AC Moore
Copic Sketch Markers
Paper: Patterned Paper (Cosmo Cricket Delovely)
Flower: Prima
Punch: Arched Lattice Martha Stewart border punch
Ranger Ink Liquid Pearls: Lemon Yellow
Misc: Ribbon, Pop Dots, Glossy Accents

The Pixie Cottage Challenge #26

2010-07-14T01:27:00.000-04:00

Not only was there a sketch challenge at The Pixie Cottage but the twist was to create a window in the card. I've never done one of these before...but I can say, it was successful, thanks in great part to my Spellbinder Nestabilities. Here is the sketch below.

I opted to pull my sketch into a rectangle shape instead of the square shape. The border punch turned out to be the biggest challenge of the whole card but I think I managed to accomplish it. Check out that cute Tina Wenke stamp I got from The Pixie Cottage. He made the most whimsical little addition to my birthday card.

Card: Die Cuts With a View
Paper: Patterned Paper (Cosmo Cricket Delovely)
Dies: Large Labels, Nestabilites by Spellbinders
Copic Sketch Markers
Stamps: Mouse - Tina Wenke, Celebrate - Studio G
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
Ranger Ink Distress Ink - various colors
Pop Dots, Glossy Accents

Copic Creations Challenge #31 ~ Birds ~

2010-07-14T01:09:00.000-04:00

Copic Creations had a great challege this week...birds. The girls and I just installed a bird feeder on our back deck and have been having a wonderful time watching the birds this summer. Our hummingbird feeder has attracted a few of these beautiful, tiny creations and are therefore the inspiration for this card. I made this card with Delovely Deluxe kit leftovers.

Card: Die Cuts With a View
Copic Sketch Markers
Paper: Patterned Paper (Cosmo Cricket Delovely)
Stamp: Inkadinkado
Flower: Prima
Ranger Ink Liquid Pearls - Lemon Yellow
Pop Dots, Glossy Accents

Blog Candy at The Pixie Cottage

2010-07-10T01:46:00.000-04:00

3 posts in 24 hours. Wow! Someone must be done with her tax work. I was running around tonight catching up on all my scrapping blogs and ran across this great blog candy at the Pixie Cottage. In this prize pack, Michelle has included the newest Hannah stamp by Sandra Hammer. If the prize was only that stamp it would be a great one...but wait, there's more. Check this out...I see a Tim Holtz embossing plate too. Color me giddy. The blog candy ends July 21st.

The Color Throwdown celebrates its 100th challenge!!

2010-07-09T17:16:00.000-04:00

My friends, I'm not even sure I have 100 items in my gallery but I'm jumping on the bandwagon celebration. The ladies over at The Color Throwdown are throwing a huge party this week. There's an amazing blog hop that contains hundreds of dollars in prizes...no kidding. Not to mention some fantastic cards.

The color scheme for this 100th Throwdown is below. Pretty great colors huh?

I told you I had a few more projects coming from my Delovely Deluxe kit...well, here's another. The kit is filled with the green and blues of this challenge so I only need to add my pinks and reds. I snagged another element from the die cut card sheet to hold my sentiment and embellish with the pear. I ran the tag through my printer to create the saying. The edge is finished off with faux stitching. I wish my sewing machine was working...but this will work in a pinch.

And there's my Color Throwdown. Take a gander over at the challenge and enter yourself.

Card: Die Cuts With a View
Paper: Patterned Paper (Cosmo Cricket Delovely), Solid cardstock (AC Cardstock)
Dies: Nestabilities by Spellbinders
Ranger Ink Distress Ink - various colors
Pop Dots, Glossy Accents, Ribbon

Summer is here and I think it's Delovely!

2010-07-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

It's hot, hot, hot and so I'm indoors scrapping away. The girls have been begging me to decorate a bird house for them and I've been so inspired by bird tags my friend Donna has been creating, so I paired this wooden birdhouse with the Cosmo Cricket Delovely Deluxe kit from Lil' Lambs Boutique and stayed up until 3:00am to finish it. I know...I just couldn't stop once I had started. The bright, vibrant, Summer colors in this kit were perfect for our Avian Abode. Thanks to my lovely daughters for the use of their "peepers" for the photo shoot.

To create the roof shingles, I punched the small floral paper with the Threading Water punch by Fiskars. The edges are inked with Distress ink (Worn Lipstick used here). Tip...Tip...Tip...I got this awesome tip from my Swirly Sister Jan on using border punches in a circular pattern. I can't believe I never thought of this. You can read her full tip here. Basically, I snipped the back edge of the border punch so I could slightly fold the scallops as I adhered around the circular roof. Thanks Jan! I plucked the birdie from the die cut card sheet, backed him with the yellow floral paper and attached him to the roof. Isn't he so whimsical?

The bigger scalloped roof shingles are made using template packaging of all things. You never know what you can reuse. I grabbed the packaging and traced the edge onto the small floral paper, cut and inked the edges. This line has wonderful floral patterns and I used the big floral pattern to cut out flower flourishes. They are backed with the yellow floral patterned paper and then pop dotted to the walls of the bird house.

The tiny fence was created using a border punch by Martha Stewart. It made a wonderful bottom border for my faux bird bath. The kit comes with Doodlebug Sugar Coating that I used to create my sparkly water around the bottom.

Finally, to finish off the project, I grabbed this Summery sentiment from my JustRite Seeds of Kindness stamp collection. To create the dual tone impression, first place your sentiment on the JustRite Wood Block stamper and ink with Black Archival ink. Next, place your border onto the Wood Block and then ink with Prussian Blue Chalk ink being careful not to touch the center. Stamp your impression and there you have it...dual colors. I attached a sparkly dragonfly charm and the JustRite tag to the roof with jump rings.

I'm not done with this kit yet. I sitll have plenty left for several more projects which I hope to get put up this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Martial Arts World on a collision course with the Scrapping World...

2010-06-30T21:56:00.000-04:00

....And it's a beautiful thing. My sweet "Tae Kwon Do-Dos" have earned their first belt and boy, were they excited. I'd officially like to note that they've been training as long as that Ralph Macchio Karate Kid trained and gosh, would you believe they just couldn't get that tournament winning fly kick down?? I don't get it. Must be because I didn't have them "Wax On...Wax Off" or "paint the fence...up... down...up...down... side...side." Ah, the 80's were a great decade of memorable movies. Anyway, I digress.

Back to the present. At my girls' tender young age, they are not yet embarrassed by Mom "Scrapacizing" everything. So when they got these cookie cutter Tae Kwon Do back packs with all their gear...that looks like every other kid's cookie cutter back pack...Scrapping Mommy got to work. No way were my kids going to have a generic luggage tag attached to the top. I picked up my pals, Mr. Holtz and Ms. Copic and created my version of an ID tag (colors chosen by the TK Do-Dos, of course).

I wanted to capture the flavor of Tae Kwon Do along with our spiritual beliefs. We chose II Timothy 4:7 as their motto verse to strive for: "I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." I picked the beautiful Mugunghwa (the Official Korean flower) to draw and fill in with my Copic markers for the corner of the tag. And then of course, their names on the back to complete.

So there you have it...East meets West.

JustRite Sketch Challenge #024

2010-06-28T23:53:00.000-04:00

Ah, it feels good to get back in the groove again. If you ever hit a slump, I highly recommend sketch challenges. They provide just enough boost to get your creative burners flowing again. This week, at JustRite, we were given the following sketch challenge with the requirement to use an Americana color scheme.

Fitting that I just received 2 batches of JustRite stamps from Lil' Lambs Boutique. I decided to rotate the sketch for my card. The stamp is from the Seeds of Kindness collection. I created the white borders using the Doily Lace Trim Martha Stewart punch.

I decided to create my own patterned paper for the red strip. Here's a quick tutorial on creating your own patterned paper. First, cut out a small flower using a die machine or stencil (Tattered Florals Alterations Die used here). Take a blank ink pen and trace around the flower onto the red paper strip. Set white flower randomly about when tracing.

Next, take a white opaque pen (Inkssentials used here) and draw white dots around the inner edge of your traced flowers. It's as simple as that. You now have your own patterned paper.

If you get a chance, stop by JustRite and join the challenge. You have until Friday.

Paper: AC Cardstock
Stamp: JustRite - Seeds of Kindness collection
Dies: Tattered Floral Alterations Die by Sizzix, Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders
Punch: Doily Lace Trim by Martha Stewart
Inkssentials Opaque Pen
Stickles by Ranger Ink: Christmas Red

Is anyone else broke this month?

2010-06-26T10:58:00.000-04:00

You know, I always think, next year, surely there won't be THAT many people graduating, but sure enough, we always happen to know 3 or 4. However, I must say, it's money well spent. Where else in the year of bills, birthdays and Christmas, can you say, I've invested in someone's future.

So, off to the fun! I just received the already sold out Tim Holtz Lost & Found Paper Stack from Lil' Lambs Boutique and oh, what fun it's been to play with. He is a creative genius. I have quite the pot pourri of "Tim stuff" in this post.

For Card #1, to create the background, stamp your card with a big Harlequin stamp, using Embossing Ink. Emboss with Clear Embossing powder and then ink around the edges with your favorite Distress Inks. Don't worry about covering up your embossed design, because a damp paper towel will wipe it clean, leaving the Distress Ink in the crannies. You can see the process clearly in the lower right corner of the card. Cut out the calendar 6x6 sheet (Lost & Found paper stack) into 3 strips, rough up the edges and ink with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Adhere in a descending fan onto the your card background.

Cut out an oval and print on your sentiment. Adhere with pop dots for dimension. Use punches or dies to create a 2 layer flower with a light and dark layer (Tattered Floral Alterations die used here) and a flourish (Sizzlet die used here). Before popping out your flourish from the paper, ink it with Distress Ink. It's easier to ink flourishes and swirls before popping them out. Layer the light flower behind the dark to separate the background from the top flower layer. Curl the top edges of your flower and add the center. Here I used a glass ornament fragment with the Graduating Year glued on underneath and a charm attached to the top. Adhere everything and your done.

Card: Die Cuts With a View
Stamp: Harlequin Stamp by Fiskars
Paper: Tim Holtz Lost & Found Paper Stack
Dies: Alterations and Sizzlets by Sizzix, Nestabilities by Spellbinders

Flower Center: Glass Ornament Fragments by Tim Holtz Idea-Ology
Ranger Ink Distress Ink - various colors
Pop Dots, Glossy Accents, Charms

The bottom edge of card #2 is created by using an Alterations On The Edge die by Sizzix. Run your card through your die cut machine and two pieces of paper, one solid color and one patterned (Lost & Found Stack used here). Adhere the solid color on your card along the bottom edge. Then add the patterned paper on top about 1/2" higher. Write the Graduating Year in the lower right side. Cut out a scalloped rectangle, ink the edges (Walnut Stain used here) and add your sentiment. Do not adhere the sentiment yet.

Cut out the Extra Large and Medium flower from the Tattered Florals Alterations die in two colors and a small punched flower. If using solid colored paper, set a stenciling template or mask on top of the large flower (Spellbinders Flower Impressabilities used here), and ink lightly with Walnut Stain ink. Add the mask/stencil to the second flower and ink with a coordinating color (Broken China used here). Cut out a flourish or swirl and ink the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Layer and adhere your items as follows: Large flower, flourish, scalloped rectangle, medium flower, small flower. Add a center for your flower (Gold Liquid Pearls used here).

Card: Die Cuts With a View
Paper: Tim Holtz Lost & Found Paper Stack
Dies: Alterations On the Edge by Sizzix, Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Flourish by Quickutz

Stencil: Spellbinders Floral Impressabilities
Ranger Ink Distress Ink - various colors
Ranger Ink Liquid Pearls: Gold
Pop Dots, Glossy Accents,

For card #3, cut your background paper to the size of your card. Rip a small edge away around the entire piece, and then rip off one corner. Ink the edges with Distress Ink (Walnut Stain used here). Adhere to your card. The flourish is from the Prima Say It in Pearls collection. If you don't have the right color, then you can change the flourish using Alcohol Inks by Ranger. The flourish below was light pink. I sponged on Red Pepper Alcohol Ink to create the red color instead. You can add as many layers of Alcohol Ink you would like, just remember to let each layer dry first. Simply blowing on the alcohol ink will dry it. Adhere your flourish to the card.

Cut out an oval die cut and print sentiment. Ink the edges (Antique Linen used here) and pop dot the sentiment to your card. Add coordinating punched flowers using solid color paper. Layer and adhere your flowers and add flower details (Liquid Pearls used for the center). Finally, add the year in the upper corner using rub-ons.

Card: Die Cuts With a View
Paper: Tim Holtz Lost & Found Paper Stack
Flowers: Stacked Punches by Family Treasures, Prima
Flouish: Say It in Pearls by Prima
Rub Ons: Autumn Leaves

Ranger Ink Distress Ink - various colors
Ranger Ink Alcohol Inks - Red Pepper
Ranger Ink Liquid Pearls: Ruby Red

Glossy Accents,

Some people are just made for each other

2010-06-19T02:36:00.000-04:00

I received the Basic Grey Cappella Mini Album Kit from Lil' Lambs Boutique and I went in search of photos to go with it. Unfortunately, I had just finished a wedding album as a gift and my wedding photos were long done...so what to do...what to do. I just happened to remember seeing a friend's wedding photos that she posted to Facebook and thought how fun it would be to use her photos for the album and then give them the finished product as a wedding gift...albeit a touch late. Their photos struck me because you can literally tell how in love they are with each other...not to mention they're so cute when they post on Facebook too. Anyway, let's head off to the races because this turned out not to be so mini an album afterall.

The Cappella line is a rather subdued line with cream, light yellows, pale pinks and greys. This makes it perfect to accent with any color cardstock that picks up the colors used in the wedding.

I created my only real big 3D embellishment, making the cardstock rose, using Tim Holtz's tutorial here.

The flourish at the bottom is created using liquid pearls. You can see my tutorial here.

All edges of the mini album were punched using Martha Stewart border punches. I used the same border punch for the front and back of each individual page and then glued the punched edges together. I opted for only 2 sides because of the unusal size of the tag album, which didn't fit the standard around the page measurements for the border punches.

The kit comes with a tremendous amount of tags that can be cut up to use as embellishments.

It also came with complete instructions for finishing each page. You can opt to follow them or throw caution to the wind along with the directions and do your own thing. Their version put mini tags in between the bigger pages and I didn't care for the look of the mini tag covering part of the photo, so I opted to pop up some of the photographs and create a tag insert instead.

Don't be afraid to run over the edges a bit when you add embellishments. That's half the fun with mini albums is chocking them full of embellishments. If you do have one hang over the edge, such as a tag, ink the back of it with a neutral/dark color and it will be less obvious than stark white (see photo above for back of tag sticking out).

These flowers are from the new Tim Holtz Alteration dies...oh my, I love his stuff! I stamped the background, of the big flower, with a stamp from his Stamper's Anonymous collection.

What's a project without butterlies? Here, I transfered a rub-on buttefly onto transparency paper. After cutting out around the edges of the butterfly, I heated it with a heat gun. This curls up the wings and lifts it off the paper, when glued down.

For the tag at the bottom, I cut out an additional heart shape and the internal wings, inked the edges and then popped them up with pop dots for a dimensional tag.

This is absolutely my favorite photo of all of them. All the wedding photos used in the album are courtesy of the very talented Julie Dreelin, from Beach Productions.

Here are the tags I inserted throughout the album for the Bride to complete of her treasured day.

And finally....the end. Understated...but hey, something should be.

And there you have it! Congratulations Beth & George. May you have many incredible years of happiness, blessed by the Lord!

Sneak Peek into the Case of the Missing Mojo

2010-06-17T12:02:00.000-04:00

So if you have been following me at all you know Spring was not the easiest season for me and it was also the season that my creative mojo was stolen, swiped, hijacked, or just decided to take a vacation. Anyway, it appears to have decided to revisit my humble scraproom. Last night, I was a flurry of scrapping activity and it felt so good to wake up with Vintage Photo ink stained fingers and a patch of Glossy Accents stuck to my thumb. Summer is here and I'm a scrappy girl again.

I didn't finish my project last night because...well, I'm just slow or fussy or picky or don't know when to stop...take your pick. But I did want to post some sneak peeks for you all of a project I'm desparately hoping to finish in the next couple days. So...enjoy!!

I can't wait to show you the rest.

A few things....

2010-06-01T17:25:00.000-04:00

My dear crafty friends...I apologize for the big time lapse since my last post. We have had mutlitple family situations that have frankly ripped my desire to be creative. Although, we are all healthy now, it has certainly been a trying last 6 weeks.

I did manage to get a few projects completed in the last 6 weeks and they are below. They are all made from the wonderful kits I receive from Lil' Lambs Boutique. I am hoping to light a new creative fire in my system soon so I can get back to my scrappy therapy. : )

This interesting layout used the Pink Paislee Bayberry Deluxe Kit. If you have toddlers, then you can understand that digital cameras are a must when trying to take their picture. Smile...Look Up...Together...Over here...don't blink...it never ends.

Edges of the photo mat are Martha Stewart border punches.

Next up is some fun with the Basic Grey Green at Heart Class Kit. This kit contains a great 2 page layout with instructions, but here is my take using half of the products if you like to do single page layouts.

I created the circle by pleating strips of the striped patterned paper and then gluing around the back edges of a pre-cut circle.

Finally, we have a quickie layout using the 365 Degree Deluxe Kit with Pink Paislee papers.

I created a back pattern for the photo mat using the white side of some old patterned paper. I created the frame for my pictures and then layed the pictures out on top. Remember to leave a bit of space in between the photos. After adhering them, cut the edges down to match your frame. You can cut additional strips for top and bottom if you desire.

And that's it folks....not much but at least it's a post.

Hopefully, I'll jump back in the saddle again soon.

Tis a nasty week...

2010-04-13T08:23:00.001-04:00

Hi followers of this bit o' blog of mine. I have not disappeared into the Etherland. See that little itty, bitty profile of mine over there on the left hand side? And see the part that says, Accountant by night? Well, that plus it being tax week has contributed to two weeks of never-ending work. I have barely been able to walk in my craft room, much less play. So I most likely won't have anything new this week, unless I can squeak in a couple of crocheted flowers I've been trying. (I work on those when I'm outside with the girls during the day).

Never fear, I have some more Pink Paislee goodness...Bayberry collection and more 365 Degrees. I also have my spin on Basic Grey's Page Kit using the Green at Heart collection. AND...I just got word from Tammy, at Lil' Lambs Boutique, that a package is on it's way lickety split to my house with some new Martha Stewart border punches AND some of the new Tim Holtz paper....swoon...swoon...swoon. Keep half an eye out...and after I file my own extension (think...the cobbler's own family never has shoes), I'll jump right back into my layouts for some much needed stress relief.

ACH-OOO!!! (Oh yeah, and pollen is apparently not my friend at the moment)

Here comes the bride....

2010-04-02T02:55:00.000-04:00

I can't tell you how excited I was to get the Graphic 45 Deluxe Kit in the mail from Lil' Lambs Boutique. My neighbor's daughter is getting married and her wedding shower is this month! Where has the time gone? I cannot believe it's already April. Anyway, this kit was just perfection for a keepsake advice album for her.

On the following 8 page album, I listed various Bible references that would quite serve a young, new marriage. I know they've helped in my 13 years.

For the album cover, I distressed the right edge with Tarnished Brass Crackle paint and adhered Idea-Ology Photo corners. All flourishes throughout the album are made using Liquid Pearls on transparency paper. The pull out tag is a monogrammed card with their name & wedding date. The book rings are covered in the gorgeous brass satin fabric. I cut 2 strips of fabric and sewed along the edges of the longer sides. After turning the fabric right side out, I slipped them onto the book rings.

I love that this kit catered as much to the masculine papers and embellishments as the feminine. The black and cream flower was created using a 2 sizes of a 6 petal flower die. After snipping the petal seams, I curled the top half of the petals backward using a paint brush stick.

This page is just loaded with die cuts from the various papers. The pearl string pink background paper is just divine. I did add pop up dots to the backs of various rose flowers to make the bouquet look dimensional.

I just love the Deep Edge Daisy fan border punch from Martha Stewart. It adds such elegance to any project. The chandelier stamp is by Inkadinkadoo.

The pull out tag:

The photo matting is made using the Iron Gate Martha Stewart border punch.

Finally, you can never think of weddings without thinking of the famous "love" chapter in the Bible. I Corinthians 13. Aren't these vintage photos stunning? It's all a part of the paper line.

And finally the back page that I found I couldn't do anything to, because I didn't want to mess up the gorgeous paper...Crackle Paint and Photo Corners notwithstanding.

I hope you enjoyed the album. If you have any questions, leave me a comment and I'll be sure to get back to you. Have a most blessed Easter.

Time to take a challenge break...

2010-03-28T02:06:00.005-04:00

Today has definitely been a challenge. Unexpected car repair AND the kitchen pipes, under the sink, decided to spring a leak and create a lake in my kitchen....sigh. So, I decided to take a break from the hassels of life and create a card for a couple of blogs I follow. And what better way to deal with challenges than do some challenges.

The Pixie Cottage challenge #12 this week is all about circles...big, small, one, many...we decide...round and round we go.

Over on the Color Q blog, challenge #25 presents us with this week's color challenge: Celery, Banana, Turquoise, Chocolate Chip and White...why am I hungry all of a sudden.

Because I'm usually strapped for spare scrapping time, I thought, why not combine both challenges into one Thank You card for my dear Mom...who did not know that in sending me a care package earlier this week, it would arrive on this very day when I needed it most. God bless Moms!! So without any further chit chatter, here it is:

I think I have the circle thing down for Pixie Cottage. I decided to pick up most of the color scheme, for the Color Q challenge, in my stamp as well as the card itself. Here I have a close up of the Inkadinkadoo stamp that I've practiced, yet again, with my foray into Copic markers. I embossed the white background using a Fiskars template and then lightly swiped the top with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, to catch the raised dots. The brown center circle has been glazed with Crackle Accents by Ranger.

Thanks again Mom! Love you!

Mojo Monday with a little 365 Degrees

2010-03-26T00:09:00.000-04:00

356 Degrees? What am I talking about? Why it's the new Pink Paislee line and Lil' Lambs Boutique has set up an awesome kit with these papers. The Deluxe kit can be found here. Of course, there was no way I was going to pass up the long card sketch from Mojo Monday this week.

My favorite part of the sketch was the 3 panel series on the card. I knew right off that I wanted to stamp a scene and split it across the 3 panels. What perfect timing too...I received my box from Lil' Lambs Boutique with my set of Copic markers. I might have done a little happy dance when no one was looking. I kept hearing about these wonderments and I can honestly say, I may never go back to pencil coloring again. They are that easy and fun to work with. I definitely need some more technique work with them, but I'll keep practicing for sure!

I embossed the blue background field with my Cuttlebug embossing folder. The edges are inked with Faded Blue Distress Ink and the White Bazzill Bling cardstock is inked around the edges with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink.

I grabbed my Scalloped Oval Spellbinders to create the birthday tag. After cutting and embossing the edge, I grabbed my Copic markers in 2 shades of Orange and colored the outer rim and outer edge. Instant double matting!

After seeing the sketch this week at Mojo Monday, I knew I had to make this envelope for the card. I saw this tutorial for long envelopes using only one entire 12x12 sheet of double sided paper. Isn't this cool? You can see the tutorial here. I used one of the sheets from the 365 Degree Collection that went quite nicely with the card above. I edged the envelope flap with the gorgeous lace found in the Deluxe kit.

I cut out the flourish using the Quickutz Cookie Cutter 12" Border Die and the White Bazzill Bling Cardstock. The flourish is edged with a blue Copic marker and then spritzed with Frost Sheer Shimmer Spritz by Tsukineko (included in the Deluxe kit).

Finally I picked the gorgeous cream and orange Prima blossom from the kit, inked the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and attached it to the point of the envelope flap. I also spritzed it with the Frost Sheer Shimmer Spritz for a shinier look in the light.

Here you can see how nicely the card fits inside the envelope.

A perfect gift for my Mother-in-Law for her birthday.

Some final layouts from my Prima Stash

2010-03-23T09:42:00.000-04:00

I have a few layouts left from my Deluxe Pastiche Prima kit from Lil' Lambs Boutique. I'm not sure I've enjoyed a line of paper more than this one. It could be the crazy winter we've had here and I just love the bright, cheery colors. Or it could be the incredible combination of Distressed Vintage to Victorian patterns that I liked so much. Either way, I was thrilled to get so many projects done with it.

I entered a Paint and Distressing challenge on scrapbooking forum I participate in, and this is what became of that challenge. The process was interesting to say the least.

We were called to use paint on our layouts somewhere and the twist was to distress it by using a hole punch. I figured why not do both on my big circle in the corner. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten how many layers of paint are on that circle, but I ended up with Gold paint, which I liked the best of all of them. That's the fun thing with paints...you can just keep painting over it until you get what you like. I did have a layer of crackle paint underneath which gives it that rough, distressed finish. I then took my hole punch and punched, punched, punched all over.

For the scallop border, I cut out 11 circles and then fanned them around the outer edge of the circle. After gluing the circle on top, I inked the scalloped border with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

Finally, I blotted dots of Gold paint around the two opposing corners. I've tried many things to make my dots but have found that a good old, non used pencil eraser does the best job for me. If you wash it off immediately after using, then it's ready for the next time you paint with it.

This next layout was a quick and simple one. The background paper does most of the work for you. I took my 5x7 photo and punched my matted border with the Arch Lattice Martha Stewart border punch.

I border the bottom corner with the Prima flowers included in the kit. I did ink the edges of the big flower with Aged Mahagoney Distress Ink. The ribbon, in the kit, I used in the upper corner of the photo to create a bow and at the bottom edge of the photo. I used glue dots to create my ruffled border effect.

Prima has indeed become pretty slick with their marketing and packaging. If you'll notice a lot of their packaging for embellishments come with this journal type background. No need to throw that away. Find a way to use it on your layout. I took the packaging material from the brown, felt branches in the upper layout and cut out a small rectangle journaling spot for this layout. 3 of the edges were already cut with a ragged border, so I just cut the 4th edge to match. I added a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the edges, handwrote my title and finished off with a rub-on butterfly. I used my swivel Exacto knife to cut half the flower from the background paper, so I could slip my journaling spot in behind it. Pop it up with a pop dot to give the flower dimension.

Ta-dah. Easy as that.

Mojo Monday this week.

2010-03-19T00:27:00.000-04:00

I was finishing up some projects this week using the Pastiche Deluxe kit from Lil' Lambs Boutique. What do you do with the leftover scraps of paper from your kits? Why you make cards of course. If you're stumped for card ideas, Mojo Monday always has a new sketch every Monday. You have a chance to see some great work from fellow artists and you get a handmade card to give to someone special. You can see this week's sketch here and then my interpretation below.

I'm never one to just use a bunch of shapes on a card, although I love the look, my fingers just never seem to want to do that. So I cut out some of the patterns and flowers to add to mine, just for something different.

Everything but the solid cardstock is from the Deluxe Kit.

Leave them in God's Hands

2010-03-12T23:26:00.000-05:00

I know I'm not the only Mom out there that worries about their children. What will they be like? A Child of Character or a Wild Child? Will they come to know their Saviour or will the seeds sown fall on dry ground? These thoughts run through my head throughout the days, weeks and years. I have to continually give the precious charges God has given me back to Him...usually daily.

These thoughts provoked this layout of my two increasingly independent girls. I used Websters Pages Life's Portrait line from Lil' Lambs Boutique. Ah, this paper line makes me want to go plant a bunch of flowers.

I printed my journaling onto transparency paper and adhered with vellum adhesive.

I can't seem to do a layout without a border punch and this is no exception. I used Martha Stewart's Double Loop Combo punch set for the photo mat. The flower I made with wired ribbon. It's a bit hard to explain without photos so I'll try to take some next week. To make room for my photo, I sliced into the corner design with my swivel exacto knife. There's no need to cut the whole corner out; just slice enough to slip your photo mat inside.

I've been on quite the butterfly bender lately. I think it's the springy-ness of all the papers. They want butterflies. These are more of my rub on butterflies that are adhered to transparency paper, heated to curl and decorated with crystals for bodies. The butterfly trails are made with the Flourish stamp from Stampers Anonymous. I can't seem to do a layout without a Tim Holtz product either.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Be sure to get some scrapping done!

Caardvarks Photo Inspiration Challenge

2010-03-11T10:59:00.001-05:00

This week I have been finishing up a few projects. But I wanted to fit in this wonderful one from Caardvarks. They come up with such great card challenges. The challenge this time is to create a card based on what inspires you from this photo from Kids Pottery Barn.

I looked at this picture for quite a while, went away, came back and looked at it again. About 2:00am last night I finally got inspired...maybe it was the fully caffienated Diet Coke my husband bought for me instead of my Caffiene free. Well, whatever it was, it worked. I worked mainly off the color scheme and then chose to go with butterflies instead of the bird and birdcage.

Here's the instructions on how I made this card:

The card is a 5x7 white textured card from AC Cardstock. I used a Stamp by Inque Boutique, covered it with Gesso (which is a white based primer) and stamped my butterfly in the corner. I then inked the edges of my card with Distress Ink (Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint used here). Finally I randomly spritzed with my Mini Mister mix (Coffee shop Glimmer Mist, 1 tiny scoop Gold Perfect Pearls). After you are done inking and spritzing, wet a paper towel and lightly rub over your butterfly to remove the colored inks. Gesso works as an ink resist.

Next, choose paper for your background piece. I used Websters Pages Life's Portrait line. Cut the paper slighltly smaller than 5x7 and then tear the edges all around. In the corner with the butterfly, tear out a V shape, so the butterfly can peep through from underneath. In the back edges and front edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Roll up the edges slightly all the way around.

Cut out an oval shape and then cut out the middle section to make an oval ring. You can emboss your ring with any type of embossing folder (Cuttlebug script folder used here). Ink your ring any color you desire (Tea Dye and Vintage photo used here). Glue your oval down on the background and then stamp your sentiment in the upper right middle section (Studio G stamp used here).

Choose some type of floral paper and cut around the stems and flowers. Use an exacto swivel knife to cut the smaller inside pieces. More floral paper from the Life's Portrait collection was used here. The fence is a border punch from Martha Stewart. Adhere these items to your card. I suggest using pop dots for part of the floral work and the fence post. It adds nice dimension.

Finally finish off with a small flower in the corner of your V and some butterfly embellishments. Items used here are a itty bitty Got Milk flower with a Basic Grey Opaline Pearl Center. The butterfly is a rub-on that I adhered to transparency paper, cut out and then heated up to curl a bit. It's pop dotted onto the card and then Opaline Pearl Butterfly trails to finish.

Now it's your turn! If you have any questions about technique or product, just let me know in the comments section.

Bouncing Baby Buggies

2010-03-08T12:05:00.001-05:00

I'm a paper piecer. I have loved it and always will. Due to lack of time, I don't get to do it as often as I used too. But now, I've found a new timesaver and still just as fun. Lauren, from My Time Made Easy has come up with the cutest templates. They're so versatile and easy to use. I just love them! I snagged up her Baby Buggy which was just released this month for this layout of my youngest. I loved these baby pictures of her and my Swirlydoos kit for March arrived with the perfect papers. The kit this month has the beautiful Flight of Fancy Prima papers and oh, they are delish.

Lauren's template is actually for a full Baby Buggy but I wanted to put it on my layout instead of free standing. Easy enough. After making the template I cut it in half and trimmed it down to about 1/2" wide and folded in about 1/4" so I would have tabs to glue it to my layout. Isn't it too cute? I decorated it with the Prima papers and used the Doily Lace Trim punch from Martha Stewart for the edges.

I picked up a neat tip from Lisa at Swirlydoos. I scanned the butterflies off of one of the Prima patterned papers, so I would have them to print and use as embellishments instead of cutting up the patterned paper. I imported the photos into a word document and made 2 copies of each butterfly. I sized one a touch smaller than the other, printed out on cardstock and cut them out. I glued the smaller butterfly body on top of the bigger one and bent the wings up to give it dimension.

Finally, I doodled a black dot outline around the photos and doodled some dot flourishes around the butterflies. Oh and just because you went crazy and bought a MILLION of the baby photos you had done, doesn't mean they need to go to waste. Using 3 of the same photo in different sizes and arrangement is a great way to use up the leftover photos.

Happy Monday to everyone!

On the Streets of Paris

2010-03-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

Okay, they're not really on the streets of Paris, but these studio photos of the girls remind me of a Paris street every time I see them. I waited a long time to scrap these because there didn't seem to be the perfect papers until I received my Prima Pastiche Deluxe Kit from Lil' Lambs Boutique. Oh my word, the colors in this collection are just stunning. I have a couple more layouts coming soon using this kit, but first onto Paris!!

Everything on the layout was included in the Deluxe kit except for the stamped collage below. I've had this Paris stamp forever waiting to use and don't you know, I dug into my stamp stash and pulled this baby out for this layout. The collage is a technique I found on Split Coast Stampers. I'll put up some tutorials soon of the collage and the paper flowers. I wish I could tell you who made the Paris Collage stamp but alas, it's an unmounted stamp that I've had for a while and I cannot locate the maker online. If you know which company made this stamp, please leave me a note in the comment section and I'll edit the post to credit the stamp maker.

The French title is translated "My Cute Babies" and the sub title along the left side of the photo is translated "on the streets of Paris." This paper screams for the lovely French language, n'est-ce pas? I used my tiny scalloped deco scissors to create the mat borders and then dotted them with my white pen from Inkssentials.

I used an exacto knife to cut a slit into the border along the bottom, so I could slip my photo part way underneath.

And finally here's a close up of some the wonderful Prima Pearls/Crystal bling and Prima pebbles included in the kit. I made the paper flowers using a tutorial from Split Coast Stampers and some of the paper from the Kit.

Happy Scrapping and....au revoir mes amis!

A Time to Raise...A Time to Spoil

2010-02-27T16:30:00.002-05:00

Me...I'm in the raising time. And believe me, there are days when I can't wait until the spoiling time. My In-Laws, are thoroughly entrenched in the "time to spoil." With 4 grandkids and 1 great grandson, they have had plenty of practice. The Life Portrait Collection from Websters Pages fit the bill for this family layout. The 12 piece paper collection can be found at Lil' Lambs Boutique here.

I cut out the frames from the patterned paper and sized all the grandkid photos to fit. I enhanced the yellow frame with a tan colored pencil to give it a bit more visible dimension. For the background, I used some masks from the Tim Holtz Idea-Ology collection and stamps from See Dee's. The stamps I embossed with clear embossing powder. After the stamps were embossed, the background was inked with Distress Ink (Tattered Rose, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo used here.) You can see the embossed areas popping through as they resist the Distress Ink.

I love these chandelier stamps from Inkadinkado. It made a perfect filler for the this space beneath the Life Portrait die cut. You can also see a great close up of the new Martha Stewart Iron Gate border punch here. There is a corner punch with the set too. You can find them both here. Notice that even though I covered the background with Distress Inks, the underlying pattern still shows through.

The sentiment is printed on transparency paper (again, once the layout is in a page protector in your album, the transparency seams disappear). The stamp on the right is from Mirkwood Stamps. I stamped it on cream colored paper and then used Distress Embossing Powder on the top. Distress Powder is different from regular embossing powder in that it does not melt to a sheen. It will leave a rough, textured surface, which makes for a nice change. (Weathered Wood, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo used here).

After adding all the photos to my layout and inking, I thought it needed just a touch more. Normally I would have stamped the little hour glass before I glued my photos down but I didn't realize I wanted it until after everything was adhered. So what do you do? You don't want to stamp over the frame because you want the illusion of it being behind. Easy as this:

1. Get a scrap piece of transparency paper and lay it over the area where you want the stamp.

2. Take a Sharpie or some type of permanent marker and outline the edges of the area where you do NOT want your stamp to show. In the picture below, I outlined the edges of the two frames.

3. Cut out the center of your transparency paper (where the stamp will go) following your guidelines.

4. Lay your transparency cut out back on your layout. Now the transparency should be covering any part that you do not want stamped.

5. Ink your stamp and press down on top of the opening in your transparency. You now have a stamped image that is in back of your photos.

Try something new with your background, whether it's stamping images, or doing the emboss resist technique or just inking your background with several colors.

Finishing up with some Basic Grey

2010-02-21T16:54:00.003-05:00

I wanted to post my other Basic Grey project before the weekend was over because next week...Websters Pages....woo hoo! I finished up working with the Origins line I got from Lil Lambs Boutique. Here I used one of their Laser Cut doilies. They are very nice and heavy weight Laser Cuts. And beautiful too.

Because I had used the similar cut paper on my last project, I opted to cut my Doily into 4 pieces. The curved edges suited my purposes for turning this into a giant flower.

I used of the leftovers of the big flower patterned paper to make my flower grouping below. I left the darker flowers on bottom and popped up the lighter ones on top.

The itty bitty flowers came in handy to use around my stem flourish.

For the center ring on the flower below, I used the checked green paper in the collection. I grabbed a journal stamp from Stampers Anonymous and used Ranger Embossing ink to stamp over the entire ring. I covered with embossing powder and finished it with my heat gun. After embossing I inked the ring with Shabby Shutters Distress ink and then Tea Dye Distress ink. See how the embossed area resisted the Distress ink and created a different pattern atop of the checked pattern. I love doing this Emboss Resist technique.

I finished up the layout with journaling my title and the stitched edges with my White Inksessentials pen.

Fast, easy and fun.

Multi-tasking is my life

2010-02-18T09:55:00.003-05:00

Basic Grey does it again with their Origins paper line. This line is a wonderful collection of springy patterns with fall colors. Lil' Lambs Boutique is carrying the 11 piece Origins paper kit which I used below (this includes one of their laser cut doilies), or if you prefer to have design ideas created for you, they are also carrying the 4 page Origins Scrapbook kit.

The title of the layout says it all. This is my life wrapped up in 11 journaling strips. The time of day depends on which hat I'm wearing at the moment and sometimes I have 4-5 hats thrown my way at one time. I just know there is someone else out there that can relate.

To create this layout, I cut out the middle section of the background paper and backloaded it with a different pattern. I brushed up on my hand sewing skills and sewed a zig zag stitch all around to separate the patterns. To complete the layout, I added the photo, all the journaling strips and cut flowers from one of the papers.

Basic Grey always offers papers in their collections that are perfect for die cuts. I grabbed the big floral patterned paper and cut many of the flowers out to put around the edge of the photo. Remember to pop a few of the flowers up on top of others to give your layout some dimension.

I inked around the edges of the journaling strips with Distress Ink from Ranger (Shabby Shutters and Tea Dye used here). The blend of these goes very well with the flower colors in the papers, no? Strip journaling is one of my favorite ways to journal. I'm not a big journaler to begin with, so bullet points seem to work very well for my style.

Don't forget to do a page about you every once in a while. Your kids and grandkids will appreciate a peek into your own self-reflection.

Ready to get crafty?

2010-02-11T08:09:00.005-05:00

Our blizzard has now stopped and the thing called "Sun" seems to be rising in the sky this morning. Makes for a good day for some tutorials. How about it? Are you up for it? Both tutorials are from the layout below.

First up, is the "Quilted Background" technique. I created my Quilted Heart directly onto my die cut page. You can do this with any shape.

1. Create a mask for your quilted shape. If you are making an oversize mask, this a good time to get some of that old, old paper that you know you will never use. Draw your shape onto your paper and carefully cut it out. Keep the negative image.

2. Tape your mask over your paper where the image is to appear. Taping prevents the mask from moving and gives a clean end result.

3. Next, ink completely over your mask area. I used Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick) and inked with a makeup sponge in a circular motion. I like using the Distress Inks because they give a nice mottled effect using just the one color. Continue to ink over the mask until the background color is just as you like it.

4. To create the quilted effect, you need to prep your back ground with guidelines. I used General's Chalk pencils to do this. Create a very light criss cross pattern over your masked area. It's a good idea to leave the mask outline in place so you can draw over the edge without messing up your final product. Since we want the end result to look dimensional, you should slighty curve your lines as if the material is going around behind your shape.

5. After your guidelines are on your masked area, create little buttons, with the chalk pencil, in all the "crossed" areas.

6. Now draw darker stitching lines over your guide lines. Trust me, the guide lines virtually disappear, as long as you draw them lightly to begin with.

7. To create the indented effect for the buttons, I did the following: First I took a darker chalk pencil (charcoal black) and lightly outlined each button. For the crease lines, I used the same chalk pencil that I used to draw the buttons and drew one slightly taller curved line and one shorter curved line on the four sides of the button. Finally, I took a very light colored pencil (Cream or white) and added little highlights on the top parts of the buttons and the top of the button curve lines. This last step is optional.

8. Finally, lift off the outer mask and there is your quilted image right on your background paper. I added the ruffled paper edges which I described in my earlier post, here.

Next up: "Faux Pearl Swirls" For this technique you need transparency paper, Liquid Pearls or some type of dimensional paint like Puffy Paint (I prefer Liquid Pearls because of the fine tip to create small dots), and a swirl/flourish pattern.

I used my Prima flourishes to replicate. Small tip: Scan your flourishes onto paper and then you can use them over and over again. You can stamp a flourish onto paper and use it or find flourishes in some fonts that specialize in flourishes. Google "free fonts" and there are many websites that offer free fonts for download to your computer.

1. Place transparency over your flourish/swirl and tape one edge down so it will not move.

2. The Prima flourish example above is a great one to use two colors on. Start with the bigger pearls first and your darker color creating small dots following the pattern beneath (Ruby Red used here). Notice I only used part of the flourish/swirl here. You can follow as much or as little of the pattern as you like.

3. Take your second, light color (Petal Pink used) and follow the tiny pearl pattern.

4. Let dry thoroughly.

5. Cut transparency close to your new pearl pattern.

6. Adhere to your layout with adhesive. I used Vellum adhesive which shows clear behind the transparencies. Note: When photographing, you can see some of the edges of the transparencies, however once they are behind your page protector in your albums, they disappear.

I hope you try one or both of these techniques on your next project. Happy Scrapping!!

Snow, Super Bowl and a whole lotta love.

2010-02-07T22:48:00.007-05:00

I really did not fall off the face of the earth...but I am about 26" under it. Yes, we just received another blizzard and all the shoveling fun that comes with it. I actually saw some Penguins waddling into the area yesterday morning. So, because the last thing I want to see is another snow storm, I decided to get some summer pics out and scrap them.

As you all know, Valentine's is fast approaching and I now have all the goodies and cards completed for my dear husband and darling daughters. I even had some kit product leftover for a layout. All of these items below were made using the Bo Bunny Love Bandit Deluxe kit from Lil' Lambs Boutique.

I decided to make the die cut sheet my whole layout this time instead of backing it with 12x12 cardstock...oooo dare to be different I am. I also did two new techniques for me that I have seen around the scrapping world. I'll be putting up pictorial technique explanations in the next day or two.

Like those two tone flourishes...well you can make them yourself. The "faux pearl swirl" explanation coming soon. And look, there's some more of those dual colored paper roses.

Last month, Bo Bunny listed a free transparency title for download. I saw so many beautiful uses of it with winter themed layouts and thought the title fit well for Valentine/Heart themes as well. The "You Melt My Heart" phrase can be found here. I thought it would be cute to shrink my kiddos and add them to the background scenery. I used a swivel exacto knife to cut around the flower so it could sit on top of the added photograph. Neat little effect huh?

The background on my heart was a lot of fun to make and I'll be posting a pic by pic tutorial soon.

I used faux stitching along the ruffled edge of the heart. To create this ruffled edge, I cut 3/4" strips and used my scalloped deco scissors along one side. I then pleated the strips at various intervals. It took about 4-5 twelve inch strips to complete the heart. After gluing the pleated strips around the edge, I added the faux stitching on top.

Here's another look at both the background and the pleated strips around the edge.

Last week, I posted the 3 cards I did for the Lil' Lambs Boutique card challenge. Since I made coordinating gift bags/boxes to go with the cards, I added them back into the photos here, for the full collection.

The bag was part of the Deluxe kit and it's a decent sized bag, so that one goes to Dear Hubby. I used the Martha Stewart Deep Edge Daisy Fan punch for the top and bottom border and grabbed a tag/card from the Love Bandit Cut Out page.

Next up, are candy holders for my girls. The gift boxes were made with the Shutt-erfly template from My Time Made Easy™. Aren't they too cute?

I created this one below with one of the Love Bandit sheets.

I picked up the pink, faux stitched background from the card and added it to the gift box. The embellishments are cut outs from the tag sheet and a punched flower from the paper line.

Here's a view of the top. The packaging makes a butterfly closure at the top, so I added some matching accent paper and added the layered flower by gluing down only one petal to one of the butterfly tabs. (Note: do not glue the whole flower down or you will be unable to open the package.)

More cute cut outs from the tag page and hand punched flowers.

The kit had a sheet of Bo Bunny double dot paper. This "solid" colored cardstock is very sturdy and makes a nice gift box.

The Love Bandit line has so many adorable critters that make perfect accents for kiddie gifts.

I followed the card theme using the Martha Stewart Lattice Heart and Scallop Heart punch to add a border and top accents to the gift box. The flower is a combination of flowers and brads from the kit and a hand punched flower using the paper line. Again, I only glued part of the flower to one section of the top to allow for easy opening.

Here's a view of the opened box where you can see the attached flower.

Don't forget your honey or loved ones this coming Valentine's Day. And be on the look out for my tutorial posts this week.

And finally, a "heart-y" congratualtions to the New Orleans Saints!! A wonderful comeback and fantastic victory!

Need ideas? Work from a sketch...

2010-01-27T15:53:00.005-05:00

What do you do when you're stuck in a rut or have no scrapping mojo? I, personally, don't like to stay in those situations long, because it's very easy to just stop. Some things I like to do: run through my list of blogs to see if anyone has come up with some new techniques to try, filter through my scrapping magazines to try a different style of layout or I look through sketches of some of my favorite artists. Every month at Swirlydoos, there is a sketch of the month challenge. The one below is from Beggahuna made specifically for Swirlydoos. She creates many beautiful sketches which you can find here.

Here is my take on her sketch using the January Swirlydoos kit. Sketches can be followed closely, loosely, whatever it means to you. You can flip it, rotate it or just take certain elements. Sketches are used to engage your creative process and interpret it how it works for you.

We received a gorgeous die cut snowflake paper in our kit this month, which you can see in the picture below. I decided, to mask it for my background, since I wanted the paper for a different layout. I used 3 colors of blue Distress Ink (Faded Jeans, Broken China, Weathered Wood) to create my mask. The die cut paper has a glossy, embossed side and a plain side. I flipped the paper, plain side up, and used the makeup sponge to dab, dab, dab (do not rub on) the ink onto my background paper. Below you can see where I sponged on the Weathered Wood color. Do the three colors randomly over the section you are trying to mask and then lift the mask. With this type of die cut, if you rub the ink on, you have a good chance of ripping the die cut paper.

Here you can see the outcome. I did sponge on more color all the way to the edges of the background paper to give some continuity. Here's a fun little trick from Tim Holtz: before your Distress Ink dries, spritz some water onto your fingers and then flick your fingers at your background paper. It makes little water dots that look like snow falling.

I created the 3 vertical strips using the Doily Lace Trim Punch by Martha Stewart and the Double Loop punch to create the photo mat. After cutting my purple circle and inking the edges, I stamped the circle with a Manuscript stamp by Hero Arts. I like the Prima pearls along the edge of the circle too...gives it a nice romantic touch I think.

This gorgeous butterfly was included in the kit. I created a purple shadowed background for it and then used an Inkadinkadoo Snowflake flourish for the Butterfly trails.

The snowflake border below is a woodcut border included in the kit. I painted it with Pickett Fence Crackle Paint.

And finally lots and lots of flowers, along with some snowflakes. I inked a lot of my white flowers with coordinating colors of blue and purple. The centers are created with a dab of glue and micro beads. Be prepared for them to get everywhere.....

And there is my take on the sketch for this month. I've already seen the one for February and it's just as pretty. Can't wait to work with it.

Caardvarks Challenge for Lil' Lambs Boutique

2010-01-21T15:36:00.004-05:00

Attention all my Cardmaking friends: Here's a double bonus for you: a chance to win $25 gift certificate from Lil' Lambs Boutique and a chance to get those Valentine cards done early. We are hosting a heart challenge over at Caardvarks. You can find all the challenge details here.

I wanted to jump into the action and used the Bo Bunny Love Bandit Deluxe Kit , seen below, to make 3 cards for my dear husband and two girls.

I used the faux stitching on dear hubby's card. I took some of the green trim from the kit and pleated it in a little circle, tacked down the middle with some thread and used it for the center layer of my flower.

I cut one of the little premade tag sentiments from the sheet of Bo Bunny tags to use here and then picked up my Martha Stewart punches for the bottom. I used the Deep Edge Lattice heart punch (which is beyond cool) and the Doily Lace Edge punch. The center of flower is one of beautiful glittery brads from the kit.

And finally another tag card used here from the Bo Bunny tag sheet, some more faux stitching and green trim from the kit. The big glazed brad in the flower section is also from the kit. I still have plenty left over from the kit to make a layout, which you'll get to see later and a treat bag.

Get on the move...you have until February 1st to submit your entries.

All is Calm.....well not exactly

2010-01-18T13:28:00.004-05:00

My layout states A Calm Winter's Night but our house is anything but calm. With two young kiddos, it stays pretty hopping. However, when I need a moment's peace, I can come and gander at my serene snowy photos from our last big snowstorm. I wasn't sure how the night pictures would turn out but I really like them.

And so the beautiful papers keep on coming and this is not the end...oh no. This again from the January Swirlydoos kit. I think I still have 2-3 more layouts sketched out using this kit. Good thing I have a couple more weeks in January. My next kit will be here before I know it.

I stiched lines down the top and added gems at the bottom to represent icicles. The flourishes and snowflakes were cut from the Home Accents Cricut cartridge. I inked the them both with shades of Faded Jeans, Aged Mahogany and/or Antique Linen.

Quick Tip/Trick:
1. I set up a 6x6" piece of cream paper on my Circut mat and then set all my snowflakes to cut.
2. Before I removed them from the Cricut mat, I sponged on all my inks. This helps with the tiny details not ripping because they're still stuck to the mat.
3. I used the snowflake stamp from Tim Holtz and some little ones from Inkadinkadoo and stamped over top of the cut snowflakes.
4. Then, I lifted all of them off the mat, inked around the edges with Walnut Stain distress ink and assembled.

I also used the trick above to ink my flourishes.

The purple paper is from Creative Imaginations. I tore around the edges and then inked with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain distress inks. The edges of the photo mats are also inked with Walnut Stain.

At the top I ripped away enough of one corner so I could peep a snowflake through. It's a little hard to tell from the photo but I inked the snowflake with Vintage Photo distress ink and then poured Sterling Silver embossing powder over top. Distress ink picks up embossing powder in some areas but not all so the heated effect is pretty neat looking...kind of sprayed on. I then added Glossy Accents over top, let dry and then put on white marks with my white pen.

For the doily, I cut the middle section out and then set up two Mini Misters:

Mister #1: 2/3 water, 10 drops Caramel and 2 drops Latte Alcohol ink, 1 pea size scoop of White Perfect pearls. Shake well.
Mister #2: 2/3 water, 10 drops Cranberry and 2 drops Egg Plant Alcohol ink, 1 pea size scoop of Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls. Shake well.

On my Craft Sheet, I sprayed randomly on the doily with Mister #1 and then filled in the spots with Mister #2. I dried the entire doily thoroughly with my Heat Tool and then remisted again. The second round enhanced/darkened the colors. After drying again I was satisfied with my colors but additional rounds of misting/drying can be done to darken the colors to desired effect. After the doily was dry, I inked around the outer/inner edges with Vintage Photo distress ink to set it apart from the background paper.

Are you thankful this Monday? Find one thing to be truly grateful for and you'll find your day suddenly is a bit brighter.

Daddy is the Hero

2010-01-16T11:35:00.003-05:00

I finally had the opportunity to scrap some of our blizzard pictures. Now I know, 22" is nothing for some but it's the most we've had in quite a long time. The last big one I remember was 1996. Back then, I didn't have a handsome, strapping husband to help shovel the snow. This time, I did and boy did we pamper him with hot chocolate, a yummy meal (and quite possibly a few beers) for all the work he did. Wouldn't you know all 3 snow blowers on our street went down and so it was each neighbor for themselves. And yet, I still observed the caring quality on our street, that I love so much. Neighbor helping neighbor to finish off their driveway or sidewalk.

So below is more goodies from my Swirlydoos kit. The top left picture was just halfway through the storm. You should have seen how tall our vehicles looked the next day. The second picture - 20 something degrees...oh man it was cold.

Add insult to injury....we have a double driveway. Every other day of the year, it's just fabulous. In 22 inches of snow, it can cause quite a few aches and pains.

The letters above and the purple snowflakes strip below are from the Bo Bunny Snow Serenade sticker sheet. I have never been one to just put stickers directly on my layout, because I like to move things around until I get the placement just right. The letters are easy because I usually back my title letters in an opposing color (light - white in this instance) so they are easily seen on the layout. The other elements I put on transparency paper. Typically, I will cut carefully around all the edges but as you can see these have a lot of detail. Since it is transparency, I cut close to the edges. You can see it along the bottom in the photograph below but once you get your layout into your photo album and page protector, they disappear. Also notice, I mangaged to sneek in a Martha Stewart border punch....the partial snowflake strip along the bottom.

The icicle border at the top was my favorite part of this layout. Tattered Angels sells packages of Glimmer Screens, which are in effect masks for their sprays. However, they can also make good stencils to create your own shapes on paper. I took a plain 12x12 sheet of purple paper and on the back lay down the Icicle Glimmer Screen and traced around the whole thing. Now, this Glimmer Screen is not 12 inches long, so I placed it at the end of the one I finished tracing at a similar point and continued tracing. It took about 2 1/2 tracings to cover the full 12 inches. Once you cut it out, flip it over and you can never tell that it wasn't one long border to begin with.

I inked it with Dusty Concord and Broken China distress inks and then for the fun part. I used a paint brush to spread glue on the icicle border and then liberally sprinkled Martha Stewarts Crystal Coarse Glitter all over it. The glitter is clear so it still brings out the color beneath while capturing the sparkle from the light.

More to come soon....

Hanging with my girls

2010-01-13T21:59:00.005-05:00

As a Mom and a Scrapper, it's not often that I get to be in front of the camera. And to get a picture of myself with both my girls is a real treat...even if we were freezing. I may have to make that a goal this year...to get in front of the camera more. Someday, when my grandkids are looking through my scrapbooks, I want them to know that Grandma was around "in those days."

This month you'll be seeing a few layouts using the gorgeous Bo Bunny Snowy Serenade line. My January kit from Swirlydoos was jam packed with wintery goodness and I can't wait to do some more layouts. I used the gorgeous Die Cut sheet from the kit and cut the center portion out to be used on another layout.

I wanted to show you a close up of the quote. It's such a great one and so true. I picked it up from LilAngelzMom in a Quote Challenge I've entered. The snowflake is a woodcut snowflake that I inked with Dusty Concord distress ink and then brushed with Perfect Pearls (Pearl color).

Check out the shimmer on this die cut paper. Glittered edges and shimmery embossing everywhere. After cutting out the center portion of the Die Cut sheet, I used Tea Dye and Dusty Concord Distress Inks to create an internal border. I also used Dusty Concord to sponge some color onto the White Prima flowers and edges of the Hydrangea Flowers.

The inner photo mat was created using Martha Stewart's Loop Combo punch set. I used a Tattered Angels Snowflake Glimmer Screen in the corner and then spritzed on Raven Glimmer Mist. The heart flourish is from Autumn Leaves and the flourishes around the photo are from Inkadinkadoo.

Before gluing down the Die Cut sheet, I stamped on the background cardstock with Inkadinkadoo flourishes, so they would peep out from behind.

Remember, make an effort to step out in front of the camera this year. You owe it to your descendents.

My take on Basic Grey's Page of the Month

2010-01-12T22:50:00.007-05:00

Did you know that Basic Grey creates a Page of the Month kit, which Lil' Lambs Boutique offers to their customers. Below is the December Page of the Month kit, available here. Kellie Goree creates a sample layout that you can follow using current Basic Grey papers and embellies. While her creations are quite beautiful, we on the design team for LLB thought it would be neat to offer up some additional alternatives for the customers using the exact same kit.

Below, I have created 2 different layouts using only materials from the kit except for Distress Ink and Stickles.

First up are my two cuties enjoying everything there is in life...and there's usually nothing better than our adventure walks. They always have a great time collecting items together. This time...pinecones! We used them for a table centerpiece over the Christmas season. They look like they don't have a care in the world, don't they?

I used my Double Loop Martha Stewart border combo punch to create an inner workspace and mat for my photo. I love it!

Did you know you could make Tim Holtz's grunge flowers with regular pattern paper as well? Yes, you can!! I love how these roses came out with the 2 different papers.

Scrapping TIP/TRICK: Here's a scrapping tip for those of you purchasing the Around the Page border punch combos (ie. Corner punch and Border punch like the double loop below). In the package they provide measurements for paper sizes that work well with the Around the Page punches. For any size you pick, here is what I found typically works best for punching the actual paper.

Instructions for one side (just repeat on all four)

1. Punch the corners first.
2. Use the innermost punch marker on your tool for punching the first side border punch. Do this to both sides first.
3. Continue on either side to punch, now using the outermost punch marker, until you are ready to punch your last side punch (ie. your 2 sides have now almost met together). I have found that the measurements, whether slightly off or just my punching skills, are not quite exact. So for the last side punch, I use the outermost marker on BOTH sides of the tool and attempt to get as close as I can to an exact punch. When you divide the minute overage to both sides of the tool, it really comes out as if you have perfectly punched the whole border.

(Let me know if you'd like to see this with pictures, in the comment section below. I didn't think about taking pictures as I was punching.)

Since I was working with the letters provided in the kit, I outlined them in black so I could set them against a similar color background and still read the title.

I think I might have gone a touch punch crazy on my second layout! This is my youngest in all her dress up finery working it for the camera. The left hand edge is the Deep Edge Daisy shell punch. On the right side are the Deco Fan Edge punch and the Doily Lace Trim punch.

There are plenty of chipboard designs available in this kit. I made a virtual garden of flowers in the upper part of my layout. Small tip: Even though they have a sticky back, I would strongly advise gluing them down anyway.

Here's a closer picture of some of the punch work. I think I might be as addicted to these as Tim Holtz products...oh dear.

Happy Scrapping everyone!!

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday

2010-01-05T11:36:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year everyone. My wish for you is that your 2010 is Blessed beyond measure. I also want to put a shout out to my best friend, Tina who is celebrating the big 4-0 today. Happy, Happy Birthday. And since we're talking birthdays, I decided to do a layout of my oldest's 5th birthday. Sort of fitting, I think.

I used Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry line from Lil' Lambs Boutique. Not only are these great papers for recipe cards, they do a great job for a birthday page too. The cupcakes look mighty yummy.

You'll never believe what I fished out of the bottom of one of my scrap drawers. Shape scissors!! Yes, I know...those ancient tools but hopefully you all didn't throw them out with the last yard sale. With the mania of new punch tools coming out, some of those dandy little scissors can come in quite handy. I used the tiny scallop scissors to create the mats for all the photos and then used my punch tool to create the little holes. I was looking at some layouts from a friend's gallery and I noticed that she popped up her photos and I loved the look so I tried it here.

I wanted a stark color to separate the top half and bottom half of my layout but didn't want to use any more patterned paper, so I found this maroon ribbon that accents the paper.

I also used Worn Lipstick and Aged Mahogany Distress Ink around the edges to soften the look of the darker ribbon along the middle. The big 5 is grunge board by Tim Holtz that I colored with Broken China distress ink and then spritzed with my Blue Mister (has Denim glimmer mist, Stream Alcohol Ink and Blue Patina Perfect pearls mixed together). Alas the shimmer is indeed hard to photograph but it's there.

Coming up this month is LOTS of goodies. I do hope I have time to complete them all. I have some more Basic Grey, lots of Bo Bunny and possibly some Webster's Pages projects. So stay tuned....

Short Christmas Break

2009-12-23T20:15:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! What a wonderfully busy season this has been. I'm putting the blog on a short break while I spend Christmas with family and friends and very little time in my scrap room. I just wanted to put one more Christmas item out there for any of you last minute gift givers.

If you're a baker or treat maker, then this is for you. I made this adorable little Stocking Stuffer treat holder using a template by Lauren Meader. She currently has this one up as a free gift at Paper Trey Ink.

You could conceivably make this entire Stocking from one piece of 12x12 paper, if you have double sided paper and work all the patterns on just right. I however wanted to make the box part in the middle from red cardstock, but still, for about $1 worth of paper, these make adorable treat holders. Paper is from the Figgy Pudding collection by Basic Grey, stamp from Inkadinkadoo, tag shapes made using Nestabilities and the textured white trim at the top is made using a snow writer.

Have a wonderfully blessed Christmas and I'll catch all of you in the next week or two.

Christmas Tag techniques rub off onto my canvas.

2009-12-23T08:42:00.003-05:00

I think Tim would be proud of me. I utilized several ideas from his 12 Days of Christmas tags to make this gift for my best friend. Yes, there is a reason to go through the whole process of making all 12 tags, because you come out the other side with a lot of fresh new ideas that are bound to find their way into your projects.

This was my first attempt at working with a canvas block and I must say canvas is fairly forgiving and nice to work with. I really loved the canvas brads, that Tim created, that I wondered what working with a photograph would be like. This is a 5x7 canvas block, that you can find at most craft stores. I printed the photograph on Sticky Back Canvas by Ranger Ink (this is my new favorite craft item...I love it!!). Since I was not adding paper layers with the photo, I cut enough of the canvas to cover the whole canvas block instead of cutting out just the picture.

I will attempt to describe the various things I did, in case you want to try one. Unfortunately, I didn't take step by step pictures.

Since the canvas is close to white, I covered the whole canvas around the photo with Antique Linen Distress Ink (sponged it on) to give it a cream base. I wanted to carry the feel of the photo to the ends of the canvas, so I started with my "sky colors" of distress ink at the top (Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans and Broken China) coloring various parts of the upper area. I tried to leave the lightest distress ink (Weathered Wood) around the photo graph for a soft highlight area and went darker blues toward the edges.

Next, I grabbed my earth tones (Tea Dye and Vintage Photo) and started adding layers to the bottom using the same concept as the blues, darker toward the edges. These colors started off a nice base to my canvas. But I wanted a bit more intense color, especially around the edges, so I grabbed my color spritzers that I used on the roses in Tag #12.

To make my color spritzers, I added the following to a Mini Mister bottle: whatever base color Glimmer Mist I had on hand (used Denim Blue for blue and Coffee Shop for brown) and then added a tiny scoop, the size of a pea, of Perfect Pearls to the Mister (used the Blue Pantina for the blue and Gold for the brown) Perfect Pearls has a bit more shimmery intensity than just Glimmer Mist by itself. Note: my blue spritzer was just not bright enough for me so I added 4-5 drops of Alcohol Ink (Color was Stream) and the blue came out a bit better. Always test your spritzers on scrap paper, until you get the intensity of color you want.

For the right side of my canvas, I grabbed a Mini Mask from the Idea-Ology collection and stuck it in the upper right corner (note, masks do not stick to canvas but if you spray straight down instead of at an angle, they should work fine). I put a square piece of paper over the photo part of the canvas to block the spray from hitting it and then spritzed the whole mask area.

I used different cut or ragged edges of paper to work as a mask for my spritzers. The blue above the photo is just a jagged edge piece of paper to create an uneven sky color. For the brown spritzer, I just covered the photo section of the canvas and sprayed at the bottom corner with no other mask. I love how it sprayed little brown droplets in the lighter brown part.

Finally, I added my accents. I cut the flourish from the Home Accents Cricut cartridge and sprayed it with my brown and blue misters. It has that nice metallic finish. I added flowers by Prima and the Phrase bars are by All My Memories.

I did my best to explain the process I used to create this and hope you try a canvas project soon too. If you have any questions about what I did or used, just ask me in the comment section and I'll leave an answer for you.

12 Days of Christmas ~ Tags 11 & 12

2009-12-22T00:55:00.005-05:00

And so we come to the final 2 "Tim tags." I have thoroughly enjoyed doing all these inspired tags but I can truly say, these last two were my favorites. That rose technique alone was worth the whole thing. I also enjoyed making my own "faux brads." I don't have the tool Tim used to create them so I showed you how I did them with buttons below.

Here is a close up of the flowers. My flowers are covered in Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist. I added some Gold Perfect Pearls to a Mini Mister and poured in the Glimmer Mist. Before spraying the flowers that beautiful shimmery red color, I used a make up sponge and sponged on darker highlight along the flower ridges. I then sprayed the flowers and dried.

Below are the steps I used to make my "faux brads." First I chose my vintage photo and printed it off on the canvas paper. You can find free Vintage clip art here.

Place the smooth side of your button on the sticky part of the canvas. Make sure you have cut out your picture and button in a circle and leave a litle over 1/4" all the way around. Proceed to make small cuts all the way around the circle.

Take one strip at a time and fold it over the back of the button.

Here is the finished result.

Below is a picture of Tim's day #11. The photo and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only posted here to show a comparison of inspiration. To get complete instructions for this tag, please go here.

Next up we have tag #12 and probably my favorite. Those roses are divine. They're not too incredibly difficult to make and with practice could become a lot easier.

Here is a close up of the roses.

Thanks for joining me on the 12 tag journey.

Cousins are a wonderful thing.

2009-12-21T02:55:00.003-05:00

Family is certainly a wonderful thing but it's really special when there is a close bond between family members. It's even better when it's 5 people. Below are my 4 cousins and me on my Mother's side. 5 girls...and close today as we were as kids. We all still live within 45 minutes of one another and make it a point to see each throughout the year. Someday, I will have to do a 2 page layout of all the photos we have taken over the years of the 5 of us.

I captured us using the Nature's Storybook Paper kit by Webster's Pages. I love the many details that you can find and use in Webster's Pages. In particular, I think this Collection has such rich colors choices.

I used the Martha Stewart Doily punch to create this double layered photo mat. The butterfly, I cut out from the patterned papers and bent the wings up to bring it up off the page.

I added the dark purple and light purple paper from my cardstock, took the rest of the pattern scraps and cut out all these different flowers. The shapes are various flower punches and Sizzix dies, layered together. On the light purple, you can see where I used a word stamp to add details to the petals.

Happy Monday everyone.

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Days 9 & 10

2009-12-20T00:53:00.004-05:00

Nothing like a snow storm to help you hunker down and scrap. I finished up tags 9 & 10 tonight. #9 is my favorite of the two. I didn't have any of his film strips, so I made my own version. These photos are of my Mom, her two siblings and her parents at Christmas. I don't scrap too many heritage items but this seemed a perfect opportunity too.

Here we have Tim's tag which the photo and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only posted here to show comparison of inspiration. Full instructions to complete Tim's tag can be found here.

This one was a lot harder technique-wise. I'm not over the top thrilled with my version but it turned out okay. I didn't have the Adirondack Pens that he used so I sponged on my Alcohol Ink with the Ink dabbers. I love the vibrancy of the purple part of my tag and wish the other colors had turned out as vibrant, but I suppose it's something I'll have to try again another time.

Tomorrow, I hopefully will be finishing a Webster's Pages project for Lil' Lambs Boutique. Keep an eye out.

Snowed In Scrappy Weekend

2009-12-19T12:51:00.005-05:00

Howdy from our blizzardous region fellow scrappers. This is what our neighborhood looked like at 11:30 this morning. Yes, that's almost a foot of snow. And while you Buffalo, New Yorkers and North Dakotans laugh at us pathetic Southern folk, this is a HUGE deal here. We haven't had a snow like this in over 10 years and it's supposed to continue all day. Woo hoo, looks like a scrapping weekend to me.

Those poor little bumps in my front yard are my penguin family and I think they are destined for igloo life for the rest of this weekend. We won't be seeing them for a few days.

So on to scrappy goodness. I enjoyed the Mojo Monday sketch so much this week that I used it to make a bunch of more Christmas cards....of which I mailed before this white stuff above came in last night. All papers are from the Figgy Pudding collection by Basic Grey and stamps by Inkadinkadoo. The border edge punches are from Fiskars and Martha Stewart.

Keep watching this weekend because I should be getting 2 more Tim tags done and a new project for Lil' Lambs Boutique.

I just had to edit this post to add a couple more pictures. The snow is finally slowing down. I don't think I remember a snow this big since I was a kid. This is my oldest standing next to the drifted snow. My husband has added a several shovel fulls on top but it wasn't too many.

There are my cute little penguin bumps who have gone into hibernation.

Mojo Monday #117

2009-12-15T17:16:00.003-05:00

So it appears I'm just making Christmas cards on the fly as I need them. I really must do one a week for a year, so I have them all done by the time Christmas comes. I'm on my way tonight to a Christmas party and whipped this one up this afternoon for the gift. Thanks Mojo Monday for the great sketch. It makes the limited brain power setting during Christmas work much easier.

The green card is from the Christmas DCWV boxed set, the snowflake embossed background is a Cuttlebug folder. The patterned papers are from the Figgy Pudding collection by Basic Grey and the stamp is by Inkadinkadoo.

Quick & Easy Christmas Gift

2009-12-13T21:10:00.002-05:00

Here is a fun, quick & easy Christmas gift idea. My friend Patti, sent me a link for making these glittery Christmas balls. You can find the instructions here. They are easy and great projects for young kids as well.

The supply list is pretty short.
Clear Christmas ornaments - Michael's has a set of 8 for half price right now (around $4.50).
Fine Glitter
Pledge Future Shine Floor Finish (yes, you read that right. Walmart has it for around $6 and if you have a Shopper's Food Warehouse, you can snag it for about $4.25)
Ribbon
Plastic Wrap

Now go read the directions and pop out some great teacher gifts. This one below is for my girls' Awana teacher. The Cubbie is their class mascot. You can add any decorations to the front of your Christmas bulb or make a set of just the glittery bulbs with fancy bow tops...the choices are endless.

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Day 7 & 8

2009-12-13T01:58:00.004-05:00

Nothing like a weekend to help you crank out scrapping projects. Not only did I get 2 more tags done but I also finished a couple of teacher gifts for my girls. I'll try to post those some time tomorrow. You won't want to miss it. It's such a great, quick idea that my friend Patti told me about.

So, basically for lack of a huge Santa face stamp and having to switch to slightly bigger tags for the last 6 tags, I opted for a different look from Tim's tag. I chose one of the big picture stamps from Stampendous of our Saviour come to earth. I didn't want to use the whole stamp, so I made an image of the stamp on paper, cut out (with an exacto knife) the part I wanted to see and left the shell (note you need the shell). I taped the shell onto my stamp, inked it up and stamped my tag. With the mask over my stamp, I only have the part I want on my tag.

I used Antique Linen, Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Broken China and Weather Wood distress inks for the background. The music stamp and stars are from Hampton Arts, the flourish from 7 Gypsies and the Noel stamp from Inkadinkadoo. I used Stickles and Liquid Pearls to add accent colors to the masked stamp.

Blah, blah, blah (for those following all 12 days, here's a repeat of the first 6): Disclaimer - Below is a picture of Tim's Day 7 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

Tag #8 was a lot of fun. Since I don't have a lot of stamps from Stampers Anonymous (not that I wouldn't love them all), I opted for a Frosty tag instead of the lamp post. The snowman and flourish stamps are by Inkadinkadoo.

Most everything was the same except for the items I added to the snowman. I embossed the snowman on grungepaper with black and then I wiped across it with white acrylic paint. After heat drying the paint, I wet a paper towel and scrubbed the paint off of the embossed areas. In the snowman areas, I added Glossy Accents and then covered with Martha Stewart's Course Crystals (I really like this stuff). Note on the crystals: they are pretty clear when they aren't shimmering in the light, so you'll want to use them over some type of colored area. Finally I added Christmas Red stickles to the scarf area and berries to his hat. I think he turned out kinda cute.

Guess what time it is... Disclaimer - Below is a picture of Tim's Day 8 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

Happy crafting everyone. You still have time to get your gifts made before Christmas.

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Days 5 & 6

2009-12-12T02:06:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy week here. I need more hours in a day or more limbs on my body.

I didn't forget the 12 tags of Christmas....here are days 5 & 6. I really loved Tim's Day 5 tag so I stuck pretty close to it. Instead of German Foil, I stamped designs on my edges and embossed with Detail Gold embossing powder. It gives a very similar look and is a bit less expensive for you budget savers.

The pictures inside the ornaments are from Crafty Secrets. The flourish is by 7 Gypsies and the "foil edges" are stamps by See Dee's. Background word stamp is by Hero Arts.

*Typical Disclaimer* Below is a picture of Tim's Day 5 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

For the Day 6 tag, I thought Tim's tag was incredibly creative. Since I didn't have a cool antique car stamp, I did my tag with the tree already delivered. Ha ha. I used a hymn page instead of a dictionary page for my background. The stamps are by Inkadinkadoo.

No Fluff Stuff here, so I embossed my Christmas tree on grungeboard and then covered over with White Acrylic paint to fill in the cracks. I finished off with Icicles Stickles by Ranger for sparkly snow.

Aren't you tired of reading these disclaimers yet?? Below is a picture of Tim's Day 6 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

If you're also doing the 12 tags, don't forget, Tim extended the deadline for the Grand Prize until Dec 31st.

Mojo Monday #116

2009-12-09T12:36:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know it's not Monday but my Mojo must have been hiding until last night. Here is my card for this weeks Mojo Monday challenge.

If you are a cardmaker and love a kickstart in inspiration, I highly recommend the Mojo Monday blog (see left sidebar below for link). Each week they have a new sketch, with card examples produced by their design team, to inspire even the most mojo-less scrapper. There are also plenty of participants for even more creative eye candy. Not to mention, this is really helping me get my Christmas cards done. Ha ha.

Here, I used the Basic Grey Fruitcake line. Wow, do I have a lot of Christmas Basic Grey paper. I may have to make a few more of these. Stamps are by Inkadinkadoo.

Go, get your Mojo on. If you want to participate in the challenge too, here is the link to sketch #116.

Even Dandelions are beautiful things.

2009-12-08T09:06:00.002-05:00

I took a quick break from making "Tim Tags" to work on this layout for Lil' Lambs Boutique. I picked up her Blue Prima Stitched Page Deluxe kit found here, and created this below of my oldest daughter. She's always been a fan of Dandelions and I'm not sure why. I happened to have my camera with me and caught this great picture of her with her Dandelion.

I took some of the blue velvet trim and cut a square piece to put under the clear pebble, on the white flower. Instant blue center! I also folded down the platinum flower to decrease it's size and work as a corner border for the photograph.

I love that lace that was included in the kit. So delicate and beautiful. I used Liquid Pearls by Ranger to create the dots around the photo mat.

Don't you forget to take time for the small things during this busy Christmas season!

12 Tags of Christmas ~ Day 3 & 4

2009-12-07T10:49:00.002-05:00

What do you do when life hands you a bowl of lemons...why you scrap of course.

Below I have Days 3 & 4 inspired tags from Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas. On Day 3, we created a plaid background using Alcohol Inks by Ranger. Very, very cool technique. I can definitely vouch that you need glossy cardstock and not photo paper. I tried both and the alcohol inks just blend in with the photo paper and there is no plaid effect created. Stamps on this tag are by Inkadinkado.

*Disclaimer* Below is a picture of Tim's Day 3 Tags. The photo below and tags are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

The Tag from Day 4 had the most adorable birdhouse created from several of the Inkssentials and Idea-Ology trinkets. I'm not sure how his brain thinks up these things, but I'm glad he does. I used more stamps from Inkadinkado on this tag below. The image in the birdhouse is vintage ephemera from Crafty Secrets. I decided to use a softer background for my tag and create more of a story with the birds and birdhouse, instead of the Christmas collage background that Tim chose. I used Old Paper and Tattered Rose to ink the background with Fired Brick and Walnut Stain for the edges.

*Disclaimer* Below is a picture of Tim's Day 4 Tag. The photo below and tag are the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and are only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

Hope your Christmas season is Merry & Bright!!

Tags of Christmas ~ Day 2

2009-12-02T21:15:00.005-05:00

(NOTE: for those following, I have to step away from my scrap supplies for a couple days...booo....but when I'm back I will catch up on any tags missed and post them here. )

Here is my Day 2 tag. I had most of the items he used on his tag but I did not have those cool metal flowers he created. I settled for stamping some holly leaves on grunge board. I embossed it in Evergreen Embossing powder and then added Antique Gold Perfect Pearls to the vein lines in the leaf. I had a gold wreath charm and added more Perfect Pearls to it, to tarnish it up a bit. Finally, the berries are made using Liquid Pearls Ruby Red. Stamps are by Bo Bunny (Flourish) and Inkadinkado (sentiment/frame)

Below is a picture of Tim's Day 2 Tag. The photo below and tag is the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

He makes this look so darn easy.

Christmas Tag - Day 1

2009-12-01T15:42:00.009-05:00

And we're off...

Here is my First Tag of Christmas inspired by Tim's Creation. As I mentioned previously, I do not own everything Tim-related, so I substituted with what I had on hand. That's the fun part of the creative process....letting other's work inspire you.

You can really see the effect of the Rock Candy Crackle Paint, Glossy Accents Glaze and the Stickles. I loved Tim's technique of creating your own wired ribbon. It works great.

Below is a picture of Tim's Day 1 Tag. The photo below and tag is the intellectual property of Tim Holtz and is only being used here as a comparison of inspiration. If you are following along, complete instructions and detailed photos of Tim's tag below can be found here.

If you are doing the 12 Tags, or any of them, leave me a link in my comments section. I'd love to see your inspired take!

Christmas Bay Window

2009-12-01T12:28:00.004-05:00

Lil' Lambs Boutique has packed this Winter Wings Deluxe Kit chock full of goodies for Christmas. This is my first project using the Bay Window MDF by KaiserCraft, which is also in the Deluxe kit. I made this for my Mom for Christmas and had a grand time cutting out all the fancy prints from the Webster's Pages. Check out more pictures below for closer details.

I cut apart the Holiday Lights Flutter Vine, so I could use a little bit on each panel. I even had some leftover for one of my tags in the post below.

Below you can see the accents I added with Glossy Accents and Stickles to give lots of shimmer and shine to my project. It's a bit hard to photograph shimmer but the butterflies, flowers and berries are glazed and the swan, snowflakes and flower edges are glittered.

Because of the beautiful gold color of the Flutter vine, I chose to accent with Gold Acrylic paint for my title and top borders.

Are you making any Christmas gifts this year? Let me know what you're making in the comments section below.

Gearing up for the 12 tags of Christmas

2009-11-30T23:16:00.002-05:00

What is the 12 tags of Christmas you say? Well, it's certainly not about pied pipers and maids a milkin'. If you are at all a Tim Holtz fan then you'll know exactly what the 12 tags of Christmas is about.

Every year Tim Holtz, the wonderful wizard of all things distressable, uses his products and stamps to create 12 different technique tags....all Christmas of course. You can follow along with the fun here, starting tomorrow. I thought this year, I would attempt to try as many of the tags as I could using my own interpretation (ie. my hubby would kill me if I bought everything Tim made).

So to get my tag brain in gear, I started off with these two tags, using more scraps from my Winter Wings Deluxe Scrapbook Kit. For the first tag, I stamped the Season's Greeting image with VersaMark Ink and embossed with clear powder. I added the green background using Alcohol Inks by Ranger (Meadow and Lettuce used here) and edged with the Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink. I highlighted the snowflakes in white (Inkssentials White Opaque Pen). Next, I added Rangers Stickles (Christmas Red) for the berries. Finally, I accented with the red Poinsetta Prima flower, scraps from the Winter Wings paper, holly leaf and green trim from the Deluxe kit.

For the second tag, I inked the plain background with Distress Ink by Ranger (Antique Linen and Old Paper for the background, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo for the edges). I used a cursive background stamp from Hero Arts to fill in my background with another layer. The stamps were added, both by Inkadinkadoo and then accent items on the bottom of the tag from the Deluxe kit.

Alright Tim, I'm all warmed up. Let's get going!!!

Mojo Monday #115

2009-11-30T17:30:00.002-05:00

I made this card for the challenge blog, Mojo Monday. This is sketch #115. I had some leftovers from my Winter Wings Deluxe Scrapbook kit and came up with this cute little Christmas card.

Below you can see a better picture of the Glossy accent glaze on the berries and Stardust stickles on the flowers, snowflake and hat. I used Metallic Gold acrylic paint to create the dots around the circle. The velvet trim is glued under the circle using Fabri-Tac. I found this adhesive works best with ribbon or trim. The sentiment is a clear stamp by Inkadinkado. The bird and holly were cut from scraps of paper from the Winter Wings collection by Webster's Pages.

Thanks for looking.

Pick of the Patch

2009-11-15T00:32:00.003-05:00

We took the girls to their first pumpkin patch this year. As my journaling states: "I'm not sure whether you both had more fun picking pumpkins or playing with the wagon. Either way, you had a grand time!" They loved it. I can see this turning into an annual event.

I created this using the leftovers I had from my Indian Summer Deluxe Kit. The design of the layout was inspired by a friend's challenge to scraplift one of three layouts. This is the original one I chose to inspire mine. Scraplifiting is a great way to get a kick start if your scrapping mojo is no where to be found. Scraplifting can involve copying a layout exactly, choosing the same color scheme or choosing certain elements and then creating your own layout. It can certainly be a touchy subject, particularly when it involves selling your creations. However, for personal scrapping when giving credit to the original artist, you'll usually find they are quite flattered.

Yes, another new flower technique. This time, I bring you the Paper Roses. The instructions can be found here. Note, after reading the instructions, if you want a smaller Paper Rose, then you can use less heart cut-outs. I used Pearl Glimmer Mist for an overall shimmer to the rose and then Star Dust Stickles to line the edges with sparkles. Beautiful, no?

You can also see some of the Faux Stitching technique around the brown paper.

Paper Pumpkins are one of the easier paper pieced items. For these, I cut out three ovals of similar size, inked the edges and then layered the middle one over the back two. I also added Rock Candy Crackle Paint for a shine and cool crackle effect. I used some of the patterned paper from the kit to easily coordinate them with my layout.

I don't often emboss over photos, but I thought the upper edge really needed something since I didn't choose to run the punched mat border all the way around. The stamp is by Bo Bunny. Note: be very careful when you are using the heat gun to emboss on a photo. Continually run it back and forth or you will burn your photo.

I have seen a lot of people ruffling ribbons lately and I just love the look of it. So I took the gorgeous brown wired ribbon, from the kit and created this border for the bottom of my photo.

And now that I've had fun scrapping as quickly as I could this weekend, I must get back to my other life. The tax world......

Fall is my favorite season!!

2009-11-15T00:04:00.004-05:00

Tammy, from Lil' Lambs Boutique, sent me the Basic Grey Indian Summer Deluxe Kit of the month. What fun items she packed into this kit. All the rich colors of Fall, in the papers, got me to thinking about how much I love the Fall Season. Although there are a lot of leaves to contend with, what joy and pleasure I get out of seeing God painting the trees first. Reds, Oranges, Yellows...I love them all.

Every Fall, our family takes a vacation to the mountains. If we hit the week just right, we're in peak season of fall foliage. Although, even if we're off by a week, it's still great to see the trees start to change and turn more colorful as each day passes of our vacation. Below is a picture of the "fire trees" as we call them. These are 2 trees that we watch every year on our vacation. When the sun hits them just right, they look like they're on fire. They are so beautiful. I told my husband that if we ever moved to a place where we needed to plant some trees, we would have to wait until Fall to pick them, so we would know what colors they would be. :)

If you've been following my blog, you know I've been on a new technique kick for the last month or so. It's been great learning to make new and different things. I wish my brain could come up with all of these. Alas, it often can't so I'll just share with you where I found them.

Below I made a flower called a LeFleur Flower. The instructions on how they are made can be found here. Aren't they cool looking? Extra patterned paper can be used to make wonderful coordinating flowers for your layouts. For an extra boost to my 3 flowers, I added Rock Candy Crackle Paint to them. Not only do they have the shine, but now they have the crackled effect to boot.

I love Crackle Paint and my collection of colors is rapidly increasing. Tammy certainly helped me out by adding some Antique Bronze Crackle paint to the kit. So I decided to make some Antique Bronze leaves.

First, I printed out a picture of a leaf shape from clip art. I carefully cut around the edge lines, leaving the middle in place, so I could create a mask. Second, I lay the mask directly on my layout and then brushed on the Crackle Paint. I lifted the mask very slowly and then let it dry. Third, I used some makeup sponges and different shades of Distress Ink to fill in the inside. Finally, I added some Rock Candy Crackle Paint (clear) on top to finish it off.

Something else to notice in the photo below is my reverse distressed edges. Instead of tearing the outside paper of my layout, I created a distressed edge on scrap paper. I laid the paper onto my layout a bit from the edge and then used sponges to add the Distress Ink. Now I have a "torn edge" but I still have a square layout.

What season do you enjoy the most and why?