Mimmers Scrapbooks

Unique Birthday Gift Card Holder

2010-12-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Today I am sharing with you a gift card holder that I purchased at a local grocery store which I converted into a card/gift/money holder!

I tied the finished product in a green ribbon.
This is what it looks like when you first open the container. All papers are from the Colorbok Bright Punch-out pack, patterned ribbons are from American crafts, blue and green chipboard alphas by K&Co., flowers by Prima and Petaloo.

This card doubles as a wall hanging, making it a unique gift! It is double sided so you can hang it 2 different ways. Cupcake stamp by Inkadinkado.

Heart gem brad by Oriental Trading.

Thanks for coming by today!!!

So Thankful!

2010-11-24T21:26:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! There is so much to be thankful in each and every one of our lives. I am thankful you are here reading my blog, and I am most definitely thankful for being able to craft, and having the talent to do it!!!

Patterned papers by The paper loft, and Little Yellow Bicycle, leaf die-cuts by Accu-cut, iridescent papers, buttons, twine and ribbons.

All cards were made using the Card Maker KOTM (Kit of the month)

Patterned paper by Paper Loft and Little Yellow Bicycle, iridescent paper, alpha stamps by Hero Arts, wood grain stamp by Hampton Art, bronze brads by Creative Impressions, brown in by Color Box, misc. fiber, leaf die cuts by Accu-Cut.

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Birthday Card Bonanza!!!

2010-11-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

Paper from DCWV The Stack 6, flowers from Creative Impressions, stamps by Hampton Art , yellow brad by Oriental Trading.

Paper from DCWV The Stack 6, border punch by Martha Stewart Crafts, misc. red ribbon, stamp by Inkadinkado, holographic embossing powder by Ranger, red stars from confetti pack.

I made the bookmark by adhering a Rev3 brochure to a piece of coordinating paper scrap!

Paper from DCWV The Stack 6, flowers by Prima, clear acrylic sheet from misc. saved sticker backing, green glitter, scalloped frame traced from clothing tag, stamp by Imaginisce, green pompom by Berwick, green brad by Oriental Trading.

Littlest Pet Shop Birthday Card for my youngest daughter!! I used a bunch of scrap papers, American Crafts ribbon, colored staples, and cut out a Littlest Pet Shop dog from her invitation cards I purchased.

To make the dog have a bobble head, I pulled the wire out of a wired piece of ribbon, coiled it into a spring and adhered with a 3D Pop Dot!

Paper by Provo Craft Super Slab 10, pink foam, pinking scissors, flowers by Prima, stamp by Autumn Leaves, border punch by Martha Stewart Crafts.

Patterned paper by Provo Craft Super Slab 10, green Magic Mesh, flowers and yellow gem by Petaloo, blue suede rickrack by American Crafts, deco scissors by Provo craft and Fiskars, border punch by Martha Stewart Crafts, stamp by Card Maker KOTM.

I hot glued the Petaloo flowers to a hair clip, cut a slit in the card and inserted the clip inside.

Here is one of my girls wearing the flower clip in her hair!

Paper from Provo Craft Super Slab 10, border punch by Martha Stewart Crafts, Happy Birthday and stitching stamp by Card Maker KOTM, holographic and white ultra thick embossing powder by Ranger, swirl stamp by Autumn Leaves, flowers by Prima, gems.

Welcome Home Album

2010-08-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

I just spent a few days (about 9 hours total) scrapping with a friend!! It was such a blast, we made an album for her step-daughter!!

Most of the papers are from the "Welcome Home" line by Teresa Collins.

It always feels so good to finish a whole project!!! Thanks for stopping by today, I hope to get a bunch of cards I have made up here soon!!

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

2010-04-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

I believe cardmaking has taken priority of scrapbooking lately! I just enjoy making handmade cards so much, it is instant satisfaction to watch someone enjoy my creations! Best of all, cardmaking is a great way to use up scrap papers! Scallop and cupcake punch my Martha Stewart, birthday ribbon by American Crafts, Happy Birthday stamp by Inkadinkado, sheer leafs by Creative Impressions, heart gem by Oriental Trading Co.

Happy Birthday stamp by Inkadinkado, scallop edge punch by Martha Stewart Crafts, DAD stamped letters by Clear Impressions, bracket stamp by My Minds Eye, staples, black bungee ribbon.

This card is perforated in the center so that the bottom half can be removed and used as a bookmark! The letter stickers on top of the checkered circles are actually gold, but do not show up in this scan. Scallop circle punch by Martha Stewart Crafts, letter stickers by Making Memories.

This card also is perforated in the bottom 1/3 of the card to make a bookmark. Letter stickers by Making Memories, Happy Birthday stamp by Inkadinkado, chipboard by Maya Road.

There are many many more Birthday cards to come!

Spite and Malice

2010-03-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not on an evil kick...lol. This is a super fun card game my sister-in-law taught me! It requires 4 decks of cards, so I thought of a cool way to store them together...inside a metal tin! I've had these around for awhile and didn't know what I was going to do with them. I made two, 1 as a gift, and 1 to keep!! The tin is colored with Tim Holtz denim, red pepper and gold alcohol inks! They are so fun to play with and they work great on metals! The grungeboard skulls are also by Tim Holtz, and were painted with his black soot cracklepaint !

I printed the club, spade, heart and diamond images out on the computer, traced them onto Cricut vinyl, and cut them out. I applied the gold alcohol ink first, and then used the shapes as a mask on the tins. I then used the red pepper and denim alcohol inks over the top of the masks.

Next I stamped the swirls (acrylic stamp) by Autumn Leaves, with jet black StazOn ink. I dipped the skull stamps by Inkadinkado, in the alcohol solution (which removes the ink) giving the skulls a ghost appearance!

The alphabet stickers are by Making Memories.

The tin holds all 4 decks of cards nicely!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Going Green...Making Dinner Napkins!!

2010-03-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

I started making my own napkins over a year ago since I'm always looking for ways to become "greener"!!! I typically buy 1 yard of fabric and cut it evenly into 8 pieces. I then sew 2 pieces back to back with a fun stitch on my sewing machine. I leave the ends frayed, a) because it is easier, and b) because it gives them a rustic look, that goes well with my Watermelon kitchen!

This is a stack of my completed napkins, a few of them are watermelon prints, and the others are a patriotic/primitive print.
Watermelon napkins with squiggly stitch.

Patriotic/Primitive napkins with varying stitches.

Watermelon napkins with varying stitches.

Thanks for stopping by today!!!

Masquerade Party Decor & Food!!

2009-12-05T15:20:00.000-08:00

To "finally" finish my posts about the Masquerade Party...we'll start with the decorations!

About 3 bolts of pink and burgundy tulle was draped across the room surrounding the dance floor area. The dance floor was covered in 6,000 pink and burgundy silk rose petals. The tables were also sprinkled with confetti with the #"50"; and 12,000 pink, white and black acrylic diamonds.

I added silver table runners, glass mirrors and hand painted topiary's.

A stack of pink take-out boxes to go to the guests!!On to the Food!!!! The food tables were also decorated with lighted black rose vines, diamonds and masks (from the invitations). A nice veggie tray. Gotta have a meat and cheese tray!

And the fruit tray...that was my first pineapple to cut myself!! Let me tell you fresh pineapple makes canned taste like junk.

A few trays of deviled eggs, I made about 72 deviled eggs!

A condiment tray!

And last but not least...the beautiful cake!!

Masquerade Party!!!

2009-08-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

My Mom's 50th Birthday was this year and I was struggling to pick a theme for the party. I already did the "over the hill/graveyard/dress in black" 50th Bday party for my Dad 2 years prior. Plus I didn't think the morbidity goes over as well with women..how fickle we are! Well my Mom just so happened to e-mail me a video that had dance clips from tons of movies and the Labryinth ballroom scene came up. I have loved that movie since it came out and always dreamed of attending a Masquerade Ball. So I replied back to my Mom asking if she liked Masquerades and if she ever wanted to go to one...and she replied YES!!

I began the frantic search to find the perfect decorations, and supplies for the invitations too! We only have two scrapbook stores in our town and I love them both, but Pearl Printing had just what I needed this time around! This silver cardstock was perfect for creating a glamorous mask which I hand drew and cut. I added lots of glitter, some bling, and don't forget the fabulous feather!

The invitations were placed inside a clear envelope, which was inside a white envelope!

I used Versamark on the pink paper to create a watermarked-glitter-embossed swirls under the mask.

The glitter on the mask was extra thick and super glamourous!

The room was booked, the date was set, the invitations went out and then I realized (after noone could make it) that I planned it on graduation night...dur. SOOOO I made a re-invitation, LOL. This time around I designed it digitally and printed them out on cardstock. The digital masks are from Princess Sophie Design (P.S!) that I purchased at The Little Scrap Garden. The swirls are Dainty Swirl brushes that I purchased at Scrap N' Fonts.

More to come on the food and decorations I made for the party, so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by today!

Birthdays, oh, birthdays!!

2009-07-28T13:04:00.001-07:00

This first card was made with the Card Maker birthday kit. I love having materials on hand to make a 10 minute card, most of my other cards take me a minimum of 3o minutes to design and create. Some take up to an hour, but I don't fret about the time, it's totally worth it to me (and hopefully the recipient)!This card was for a Broncos fan, so I folded a piece of brown cardstock and cut it to a football shape, then I sanded the folded edges, marked the "threads" with a white marker and added two strips of white paper.

My oldest daughter LOVES monkeys and I found this super cute digi-kit at http://www.designerdigitals.com/ called Monkey Do by Mindy Terasawa. I used both the kit and the stickers to make this fun monkey birthday invitation!
Acrylic, or acetate, cards are so much fun too!! It is hard to see the acrylic piece, but if you look closely you can see the outline of it. Remember this acrylic card I did? The blue mesh at the top of the card was cut from body poof material, this one happened to come as a liner in a gift basket, but you could cut up a regular poof just the same!

I attached the smaller white card that came with the acrylic card by punching holes in the fold of both cards and tying a soft fiber through them.

Thanks for coming by today!!! I hope your having a wonderful summer!

CREATE

2009-07-22T12:25:00.001-07:00

I'm always in the process of trying to liven up my craft room. I've seen wooden words of inspiration in many crafters' rooms and enjoyed the feeling it made! So I grabbed me some wooden letters, some Tim Holtz crackle paint and created my "CREATE"!!! lol :P
Up close you can see I did not paint them solid, I wanted a shabby feel to the letters.The inside of the letters I left white. These pictures really don't show the crackle texture very well. I just zoomed in with my camera and snapped these close-ups. Opposed to standing on the counter top to take a better pic.I certainly have made WAY more cards lately than anything. I haven't actually scrapbooked in a very long time...it sort of saddens me, where does my time go??? REALLY? This card is full of lace, vintage trims, stitches and frilly goodness!! It is so hard to loose a loved one and I wanted a card that was comforting to touch and filled with lots of Love. The rose is a remnant of the arched lace at the top of the card and I bundled it and hand stitched it to a sheer leaf by Creative Impressions. The yellow paper lace trim at the bottom was from one of the super cute packages that Shelly wrapped my purchase in. She always puts lots of love and care into her customers packages!! You should check her out...I squealed when I saw her cute alphabet soup kit, I didn't win the giveaway...harrumph, and when I went to her shop to purchase one...they were already sold out, that Chicky is one HOT commodity!!To mimic the cute yellow trim on the front of the card, I used a Fiskars lace border punch on a piece of yellow paper on the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope to hear from you!!!

Oh, Baby Pt. 2

2009-07-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm still here...just haven't been feeling in the mood to post a blog. Well, that, and the time too! I'm sure you all understand.

I can't believe it...but I sewed a crib bumper....yay me!!! (Too much Zach and Cody for me) I used a pattern and checkered fabric I bought from Wal-Mart. It goes perfectly with their Disney Cars Nursery theme! I was a bit disappointed that the fabric faded considerably with the first washing after I was done sewing, even using the oh-so-gentle and yummy-smelling Dreft baby soap.

I had to make my cutie-patootie nephews these super cute banners to hang in their nursery! They were a "Peachy-Cheap Deal" that I took advantage of a while back!! You gotta love that site...I could almost buy the daily deal....daily! I used leftover fabric from the crib bumper and some cute "racing" themed striped material.

The first Banner is for Carson.

The second banner is for Camron.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Many Thanks....and the winner is!!!!

2009-05-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, school is out already...it's almost hard to believe. In appreciation for how much my girls' teachers have done for them (and all their students), I created a few handmade items for them! First up we have some cards, not only for their teachers, but the secretaries and also their bus driver!

Pencil holders were a must!!!

Then I thought, clipboards are such a cool idea!! Clipped to the board is a patterned paper notepad.

But I went even further than that! I added a piece of acrylic to the back and attached them by ribbons at the top and Velcro closures at the bottom. That way they can open it up and add papers and pictures underneath....as an extra bonus, acrylic makes a great dry-erase surface!!! How cool is that???

Then I used up lots of scraps from the cool patterned paper and shaped brads I purchased to make some super easy bookmarks!!!

To top it off I decorated some over sized wooden clips and added a picture!

I hope they feel super appreciated.....cause they are!!!!

So are you ready to see who won my huge blogaversary giveaway??? The odds were pretty good for those that left comments in the last week. I wrote the 4 names down on papers, sat them in front of Shaylie.....and let her pick one!

and the winner is.......Congratulations PaperTree Designs!!!!

Just send me your addy and it will be on its way to your home!!!

Would you like to see what I put together for you????

oh yeah!!! I told you it would be good! You walk away with all these goodies:

1 package Autumn Leaves flourish acrylic stamps

31 types of fibers, each 5 ft. long (by the way this looks super cute as a scarf!)

a huge stack of mat stacks, mostly DCWV

a stack of DCWV vellum quotes from the sports, baby and girl packs

1 pack of black rub-ons "thanks" themed

1 pack of embellished tags

1 pack of Colorbok chipboard shapes, elements, quotes, and alphas

1 pack of Maya Road chipboard swirls

1 pack of buttons in tons of shapes and colors...including a few super cool metal buttons!

1 pack of eyelets in lots of colors in round, heart and flower shapes

1 pack of Prima paper flowers in tons of colors

1 pack with 2 silver and 2 gold "2007" brads

1 pack of adhesive backed bling in pink, blue, green, and white

1 pack of purple daisy flower punches

1 pack of baby confetti

1 pack of Easter confetti

1 pack of Wedding confetti

1 pack of Patriotic confetti

and 1 pack of Christmas confetti

WOW, I HOPE YOU CAN FIND LOTS OF CLEVER USES FOR ALL THIS STUFF!!!
Thanks to everyone who left comments...and keep coming back...you never know when I might decide to do another giveaway....this destashing thing is kind of liberating!! I get to go through stacks of things I forgot about, get the creative juices flowing...and share some of my "overstocked" supplies!!!! It's a Win-Win scenario!!!

Until next time!!!

Oh, Baby!

2009-05-22T08:31:00.001-07:00

First off... Wow I haven't blogged in a while! I've been so busy crafting that I don't know if I've even blinked in the last 2 months. So I need to cram a few items per post just to catch up!! Yay for you!

One of the main reasons, I've been so busy is my 2 new nephews!! Which they are the highlight of today's post! First up is their birth announcement! I created these in Photoshop Elements using some digital scrapbook supplies. I printed 60 of these using my Epson R1800 and Luster photo paper, it was the first time I used the roll attachment!!

Next up is the Baby Shower Invitations! The main paper is Coordinations, which is fun paper because when you sand or tear it, the core color of the paper is a lighter color. You can see it where I sanded the embossed scallop edge. The wording was cut by my Cricut and adhered with my Xyron sticker maker. The circle was cut with Fiskars shape template and then I sanded the edges. The dark brown flower was stamped with white ink and cut out by hand. The cutest part (in my opinion) are the giraffes, which I stamped, colored with pencil, hand cut, and glued yellow flocking to the spots.

Last but certainly not least, I made some custom Onsies! I finally tried using the vinyl for my Cricut, it was so fun, and let me tell you...it was a lot easier than I thought!!! I spent some time looking for cute "twin" sayings and this was my absolute favorite!

Here are all 3 sets of Onsies I created! The pear I hand drew, and cut with a craft knife from a piece of vinyl.

For the "womb mates" I added a top coat of glitter paint to give them some *sparkle*!!

This is just a little sampling of what I have been working on lately!!! More to come soon! Oohhh I almost forgot.....

Today is my 1st Blogaversary!!!

One year ago I made my first post, which also had a giraffe theme!!! How fitting! In the last year I have made 58 posts about what I love to do.....craft! I certainly have had a blast sharing my creations with everyone and thank those of you who stop by to see what I've been up to, especially if you left me some blog love (comments). That is what makes it all worth it!

SOOOOOO, just as a special treat to YOU my blog readers I have a super duper cool giveaway!!! I am putting a packet together with a brand spanking new package of Autumn Leaves "flourishes v2" acrylic stamps, some paper, stickers, embellies....and who knows what else...a defiantly cool gift to a lucky blog reader! I will draw the winner to this freebie giveaway one week from today! To qualify leave me a comment on this post! To increase your chances of winning, leave me a comment on one of my other 57 posts....giving you a total of 58 entries!!! So what are you waiting for????? Start spreading the blog love baby!!!!

Easter Recap

2009-04-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Well it's been almost a week since Easter already..wow, where does time go.....really? On Easter day I handed out some super fun bags to all the grownups at our Easter egg hunt. I found the super cool bag template at House of 3. I printed the image directly on the bag and then embellished it with a paper doilie and attached them with flowers and a brad at the top.

Inside the bag was also a card that I made from the House of 3 Easter Bag download kit. Instead of printing the design on a bag I printed it on regular paper, cut it down, then in half. One half was used as the front on the card and the other was used for the inside of the card. I topped them off with some cute Easter stamps and voilla a super easy gift...six super easy gifts that is!!

Traveling the World!!!

2009-04-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

I am in total awe right now. I added the FEEDJIT to my blog last night, (which is in the sidebar) and I can't believe that my creations have been seen in 7 countries in less than 24 hours!!! I am so stoked!!! I was beginning to think that no one even came to my blog and then this really lifted my spirits! France, China, Vietnam, Poland, South Africa, Italy, and of course the U.S.!!!

I'm on cloud 9!

So if your ever stopping by, leave me a comment.....some "blog love" as they call it.....I am sure to return the favor and visit your blog as well!

Just for fun I will share with you an image of myself I altered in Photoshop and added some digital scrapbooking elements to.

Because I care....

2009-04-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

I made up 6 of these bags to keep in my car. I plan on giving them to those less fortunate that I pass along on the streets. Instead of giving the people with the signs money...I want to give them something that I hope they would buy if I gave them money.

I often think of how someone would wind up traveling around like they do...homeless and alone. How hard it must be to not have a friend or family member to take you in and help care for you (or at least choose not to be helped upon). Cold winter nights, hot summer days, no bed, no toilet, no shower, no food. It's really hard for me not to feel compassion for them. I give them money when I actually do have some cash on me (which is very rare). When I don't I can't even look into their eyes....and then I feel guilty and think "did they really ask for this path in life?". Yet I am afraid for my own safety and my families to do anything but hand them something out the window of my vehicle. I don't pick up hitchhikers and I don't actually give them "work for food", even though I wish it was safe enough to do so. I know that I personally have enough family and friends to keep me afloat if something tragic happened and I lost everything. But seeing them makes me wonder where I would wind up if I didn't?

OK, OK, enough negative ramble....off to the good stuff!! In the bags I have a roll of toilet paper, toothbrush (in a ziploc), toothpaste, bar of soap, carmex, and a mini deck of cards. It cost me roughly $6-7 per bag to make including the decorations.

I also put in a little note printed on balloon stationary paper with a matching envelope. I have had this stationary for quite some time and finally have a use for it!!! The note says:

For you I hope:

your path leads you the right way,

your mind gives you peace,

your heart gives you joy,

your mistakes give you knowledge,

your kindness is appreciated,

your evils are forgiven,

your stomach never aches,

your pain is short,

your health is well,

your happiness is abundant,

your strength is never ending,

your sleep is replenishing,

your courage is great,

your laugh is heard often,

your purpose is fulfilled.

My goal is to brighten their day, and hope to give them a little faith in the human race. Some of us do care out here and they need to know that.

Plastic Challenge!

2009-04-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

I participated in my first Challenge last month!! It was so fun to use my out-of-the-box ideas that I have stored in my head! There are so many things from around the house that I spare from having to go into the trash, with the idea that "hey I could use that for scrapbooking". I have stashes of what some may consider "junk" but they are all endless possibilities to create something fab in my mind!

My example of my trash to treasure today is many plastic items I have saved from the circular file!!! Donna Downey has a monthly newsletter that you can sign up for here. The March "Trash to Treasure" challenge was to use plastic! Here was my take on the challenge!

I <3>
The album is made out of floppy disks and the binding rings were cut from plastic gift bags that had hair accessories in them (dollar store find!). I cut the handles to the size I needed and sewed the ends together with clear necklace thread (plastic maybe?).

The binding strap is made out of a ribbon, a plastic loop from a bra strap, and a plastic piece from toy packaging (you know the ones with the wire ties through it).

The metal sliders have hidden surprised in them!!

I removed the inner disk from some of the floppy’s and used them as pages. This one I wrote on with a white pen.

Peek-a-boo window with ribbon hidden inside.

I utilized this open hole and added some plastic beads!! I used the same necklace thread.

The floppy film on this page was inked with Tim Holtz alcohol inks and gives it more of a vinyl record look. A mini white…plastic button in the center as well!

The alcohol inks really showed up on the metal piece to the floppy film.

I used the hole in this disk as a frame. The Cricut image is actually inside the disk.
I added glitter to the floppy film with diamond glaze glue.

More glitter on the floppy film, and white text. There is another surprise on this page!

It is magic!!! Sorry for sloppy writing…but it’s mine!!!

This floppy film I had a layer of alcohol inks and then dabbed yellow acrylic paint on top. The pink alcohol ink blended with the acrylic paint!!! Prima flowers added on top with a plastic jem!

Another peek-a-boo window!

I punched an extra hole on the last page to tie the ribbon for the binding clasp.

On the final page I filled the empty hole with 4 scalloped circle punches that I chalked and adorned with a big plastic jem.

The ribbon charm is the adjustment strap from a bra!

Well that's it!!! I didn't win, but that's OK...I am totally proud of this baby and I am up for this month's challenge!! I will report to you next month on my recycled creation!!! Wish me luck!

Birthday Boys

2009-04-03T15:59:00.001-07:00

Today I will share with you 2 Birthday cards that I made specifically for "boys" *ahem* well I guess I should say "men"!!!! :D

The first (as you may guess) was for my Daddy-O! To get the unique shaped papers that have the "Happy Birthday" sentiment on it, I cut the two rectangular papers to the size I wanted and then used a corner rounder on the opposite corners! I used Nostalgiques stamps for the "DAD", and Stampin' Up for the "Happy Birthday" which are embossed with white ultra thick powder. The edges are all inked in brown.

This one was for my bro-in-law!! I just love the retro paper and was lucky to find papers that matched the colors of the Kurio chipboard letters perfectly!!! It's so bright and artsy!!! LOVE IT! Not to mention it took me about 10 min. to conceive and create this puppy!

Bright Birthday

2009-04-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

The birthday girl who received this card, loves purple, so I found a two coordinating purple papers in the Provo Craft Super Slab 10. I also had a purple piece of mulberry that went well with the ensemble. I used a 6x6 page that had the flourish cut on it already and traced it onto the back of the flower patterned paper. With an embossing pen I traced the outline of the papers and used Stamp N Stuff Starry Night embossing powder.

As an extra bonus in the card I used a piece of acrylic and made a tag with 3 cute birdies that tucked into the front of the card.

Wedding Cards

2009-03-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

While I am in the mood for posting wedding projects, I will share with you the Bridal Shower card and wedding card I created for the wonderful Bride and Groom to be! I found a similar card in Card Maker magazine and this is my take on it. (When I find the issue I will credit it here!)

I even made my own envelope that I was pretty proud of!!

The Winning Wedding Invitation!!

2009-03-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

In my last post I covered the spec wedding invitations I made. Well without further ado, here is the winning spec. It was modified very slightly from it's original state, but this is it!

This is what the invitation looks like fully open.

This is an insert card that was inside.

It is white Bazzil, gatefold with a flap. The black tile that hangs over one of the flaps is a black shiny (patent leather like) paper. The top maroon paper is WorldWin Dark Berry Red Paper. I used black Stazon Black ink and then re-inked the same image with embossing ink and topped it off with with Ranger Polysparkle embossing powder. The inside panel and insert card text was printed on my Epson R1800. The swirl stamps are Flourishes by Autumn Leaves and the heart stamp is Hearts & Flourishes by Clearly Inspired. I adorned the outer stamped flourishes with diamond jems.

*Edit 4/1/09* I forgot to mention that I made 170 of these babies!!! and I wanted to show the detail of the embossing. I want to give credit to the double embossing lining up perfectly to the fact that acrylic stamps rock!!! I would have never been able to do it with a traditional stamp and would have lost my mind trying :P

The Wedding Runner Ups....

2009-03-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

In the process of designing a wedding invitation for a family member, I created 9 specs first. These are the 8 runner-ups in no particular order. I was testing different textures of papers, ribbons, colors, folds, and techniques throughout.

Spec#1: White paper, fold on 1/3 with maroon overlay over flap.

Spec #2: Black paper, fold on 1/3 with purple mulberry paper over flap, 2 jewels

Spec #2 inside: test of white and maroon paper with a vellum overlay.

Spec #3: Black paper, gatefold, purple mulberry accent, and gold heart wax seal

Spec #4: Black paper, triangle gatefold with punched holes and maroon ribbon tied through, inside has white overlay.

Spec #5: Black paper, gatefold with punched holes and maroon sheer ribbon tied through.

Spec #6: White paper, gatefold with purple mulberry accent, and black ribbon tied around entire invitation.

Spec #7: Black paper, gatefold with maroon sheer/satin ribbon tied around entire invitation.

Spec #7 inside: natural fiber paper matted with maroon. (Tested paper successfully in printer!!)

Spec #8: Black paper, double-gatefold (gatefold with flaps) with maroon ribbon tied around entire invitation.

Spec #8 inside: white overlays on panels, minus the "flap" panels.

I will post the "winning" spec invitation very soon!!

Get Well Soon

2009-03-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

With flu season and other illnesses going around it is a good idea to keep a few "get well" cards on hand....of course I tell myself this "after" I didn't have one prepared for a friend who needed it. Luckily! I can whip one up PDQ!! Hypocrite is the name...procrastination is my game!!

The way this card came out reminds me of a style that this wonderful cardmaker does!!! Her cards are always gorgeous and I really run out of compliments to tell her...because she is SOOOO good! I found the flowers at Peachy Cheap!!!

I had a lot of fun sewing this card. My sewing machine has become a big part of my crafting lately!
This super cute bird stamp by Inkadinkado is sooo cute...I will definitely get a lot of use out of this one!

Pregnancy Journal

2009-03-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

I had such a blast making this adorable pregnancy journal for someone special!! It is 6x6 and full of notebook lined pages for tons of journaling, calendar pages for tracking dates and memories, and has plenty of room for pictures and even some pockets for keepsakes, appointment reminders and those kind of things. I have the book temporarily bound with 3 jump rings, but when the mother-to-be is finished filling it out I will put the final binding in with my Bind-It-All!! The Bind-It-All is what I used to punch the holes in all the pages.

The pocket pages are filled with tags that have ribbons attached on the ends...ultimately making this book nice and thick!

I will give a quick run through of the types of pages within!! I would love to share every page (which I did take a picture of), but there are 70 pictures. On the inside cover I used a large 7 Gypsies sticker and punched animals from the Making Memories Jack line. Each notebook journal page was cut with either a border punch or a decorative scissor. This page was designed for the mother-to-be to talk about the journey into her pregnancy!!

For the next page I found a sticker that fit the tone of the book!!

Next is a small paper bag that holds a journal tag/card. This is a great place for her to place her OB's business card and maybe a note of how she came to choose that doctor.

Each page with a solid color cardstock was designed to adhere photos or mementos to. In the back of the book I supplied clear photo corners to make it quick and easy to add ultrasound photos in a flash!!!

This is a "pocket" page where journal tags are tucked within. It is another pattern from the Making Memories Jack line and has stars cut from the page revealing a teaser of the tags within.

I pulled the tags 1/2 way out so you can see their design. I stamped them with Autumn Leaves "Doodle Tagged" acrylic stamps, chalked the borders and then tied on the super cute American Crafts ribbon in tons of bright patterns!

You can see the stitching from the "pocket" page better on the backside! I put the 2 patterned cardstocks together with the patterns facing out, and sewed up 3 of the sides!

On this page I used a small left-over piece of the polka dot paper (used on the cover) to create a fun laced edge over the next page.

I love the pre-cut journal pages I found at my local scrapbook store! They are 12x12 so I was able to make 4 pages out of each one!

I found some "pregnancy" vellum stickers that even matched the colors of my cardstock!

These cute tabs separate the journal into trimesters! I attached them with complimentary colored eyelets.

After each trimester tab I inserted calendars for her to fill out. This is a great place to mark Dr. appointments and pregnancy milestones (i.e. felt first kick, found out sex of baby, had craving for ? food, etc.) that she may want to remember later.

More cute patterned paper and notebook paper.

On some of the solid cardstock pages I attached a couple of mini binder clips to hold papers or photos with.

Again I used a piece of the left over polka dot cardstock to use as an art element. I punched 3 holes in it with the same scalloped Martha Stewart punch that I used to cut the animals out. I think a couple photos behind the circles and maybe a journaled word like "love" or "baby" would look cute through the holes!!!

More super cute journaling pages and a new trimester tab! The look of the pages after each trimester tab are pretty similar to all the previous ones, but I mixed up the color combinations and patterns to edges of the notebook pages.

I will skip to the very end of the book where I created a pocket that holds all the extra journaling tags, clear sticker photo corners and things. I also included the left over 7 Gypsies stickers that I did not use, so that she may add them to the pages as she likes! The jumbo paper clip keeps everything from falling out.

This is a picture of the tags, photo corners and extra calendars.

As much as us Mommies like to think that these special moments will be locked in our memories forever......the memories DO unfortunately fade. That is why it is so important to take notes, write the quotes from things people have said, thoughts you may have had, good advice and even the "not so good" advice too! You will thank yourself later for it!

Thinking of you

2009-02-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

When I made this card I was unable to scan it like my others, so I took a quick picture of it. So please ignore the shadows in the background. When I made this card I couldn't find blue letter stickers in the color I wanted.....so I tried a new technique by adding the letter stickers to the bottom of the card and painting over them with acrylic paint. After it dried I pulled the stickers off and put them back on the sticker sheet! Yay, I'll get to use them again!

The ribbon from the front of the card is tied in a bow on the inside of the card.

Supplies: flowers and brad by Imaginisce.

It's your Birthday!!!

2009-02-26T10:07:00.000-08:00

Birthdays, Birthdays....I've made a card or two for the occasion! Here I used two similar products but made them have a completely different look and feel by using different techniques.

The first was for my brother so I gave it a grungy, distressed and morbid feeling. I ghost stamped skulls all over the card and inked it extra dark to fit his personal style.

The second card was for my hubby! I used lots of bright colored ribbon to give it an extra celebratory feel. The holographic cardstock was from a toy package (Princess I believe).

Supplies: patterned paper by DCWV, ribbon by American Crafts.

Birthdays

2009-02-18T09:28:00.001-08:00

Birthdays are always a fun time to make a handmade card!!! I may not come up with the super-mushy or oober funny sentiments....but I can put a good amount of Love in my cards by creating them myself!

Valentines

2009-02-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

Of course I will be playing catch-up on my blog, so everything will be "late". I think in an effort to save me some time I will minimize my descriptions of products. If you want to know what a product is you can leave me a comment asking for a products manufacturer.

I usually leave out the sentiments in my cards...but here it is in all it's mushy glory!

Supplies and design from the Card Makers February card kit.

GUILTY AS CHARGED

2009-02-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

I have not been on my blog in 6 months...OMG. I literally fell off the face of the blogging world. Well I'm back...and hopefully with a vengance. A new year...a new me!!! I have so many projects to post on here...many of them the ones I mentioned in my last post.

Shelly my sweet bloggy friend the winner of my first giveaway I promise I have not forgotten you and I think about mailing your prize away....so very often...the problem is I lost your addy. I pinky swear I will add it to my address book this time and I will never loose you again.

After my last post within a week I had to reformat my laptops hard drive..and last month after re-arranging my craft room I had a boo-b00 and dropped a speaker on my laptop and ruined my hard drive. I had to install a new one. I've had a bit of the bad luck with my computer in the last months...but I promise I will be a better blogger!

I have so much to share with you all and I can't wait to start again! So here is to a new year of sharing my crafty creations to you all(holding glass of water high), may you forgive my past, and may you enjoy mine.... and your own future!!! CHEERS!

I'm here!

2008-08-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry, for those of you patiently waiting to see if you were the Freebie Friday Winner on Monday. This week is just flying by. Soo, yesterday I had the 3 names wrote on paper and folded up in my hand. Mya drew a name for me and this is who she picked.

Big congrats to Shelly!! If you could e-mail me your addy, I will try and get the package out A.S.A.P.

I have some great projects that I have finished and I am just dying to get up here, I just need to give them out first!!! Hopefully this weekend, (fingers crossed) I will be able to give them out so it is safe for me to post them here so you can see them!! (wow that sound funny, did that make sense?)

I can't wait for our 4 day weekend to begin!!! Friday is "Fair Day" and Monday is "Labor Day"....it's like a mini vacay!!! Hope you all have a fun filled weekend!

Freebie Friday!!!

2008-08-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks for stopping by! I am taking this idea from the wonderful Shelly! I always enjoy joining in her Freebie Friday giveaways...so I thought hey I could do that!! Up for grabs is 1 self inking 7 Gypsies "Congratulations" stamp!!!!! I stamped a piece of cardstock (which I won from one of Shelly's giveaways!) so that you can see how nice and juicy mine comes out!!

Leave a comment on this or the previous post about scrapbook rooms and I will have one of my girls draw a name on Sunday night!!! I'm excited are you?

*Update for previous post* The room is almost done!!! I just have the countertops and bills left!! My large fold up table is completely bare and there is nothing under it now!!! Yay!!

Creative Chaos...todays task

2008-08-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is a bit on the embarrassing side, but it is total reality. My scraphaven is UNorganized right now....I have SO many projects that are in mid-stride that all of my workspace is completely covered in projects. I got this idea from Susan Weinroth's blog...I liked the honesty (which is SO me) and thought I would give it a try! So here is what I am tackling today...wish me luck! Lets break it down here:

MY POOR ROOM...

you can see how it used to look in the upper left corner of my blog

EXHIBIT A:

1. decorative scissors pouch needs to find a better home. 2. stacks of yarns egg crates and other supplies that need to be put away. 3. Scrap paper binder out for current projects 4. Box FULL of manuals from electronics-toys-appliances-etc. I got this out yesterday to find my sewing machine manual because I could not get my machine to sew vinyl without snagging (still struggling a bit). 5. My purse...not sure why it is here? 6. (bottom left corner of pic..I had a hard time finding it just now too) Mya's Christmas frame from last year...it suddenly surfaced in the dining room, so it wound up here. 7. Gift bags and more gift bags..um these should be in the closet where the rest of the decorations are...but my stash is getting so big it is hard to fit it in there. 8. In the purple bag is a project that never got off the ground VBS books for the kids I bought enough supplies to make 25-30 mini books from Oriental Trading and the supplies did not come in until after VBS ended...sigh. In the bottom of the basket...um is magazines, books, pencils, receipts and things from around the house that needed to be put away. OK so this was a good idea at the time to clean the house and bring this with me from room to room, putting things in here that did not belong in each particular room, but then I didn't unload it after I was done (good intentions gone bad!) 9. Another basket that is full of birthday cards, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia that I plan on stuffing into scrapbooks. Oh, how does my hubby put up with my pack-rat behavior??? I can't help it everything feels so special to me...it is hard to let go.

EXHIBIT B:

Oh yes there is more. 1. A recently and mostly-completed super-mini album. 2. A stack of items that I am getting rid of everything but the Caboodle was NOT claimed so it is going to the thrift store....goodbye junk! Hey look I can purge items...yay for me!!! 3. Stack of mail-receipts-bills-magazines that need to be put away (starting to feel like crying now) 4. Sewing machine is out and being used for the last few days....need to get a ton of sewing projects done! 5. Yard of vinyl, my newest project!!! Can't wait to show everyone....Shelly already knows though (wink, and thanks for the super cute idea)! 6. Wooden organizer full of stamping inks which is supposed to be in the armoire, but I need it out for current projects. 7. On top of the counter is a few projects in the making (a gift, wedding invitations, and a project to make and attempt to sell) plus a few items that need put away or find a new home 8. The girls' purple and pink laundry hamper that the stitching is coming out of...needs sewed back together.

EXHIBIT C:

Oh yes, here is the finale. 1. Stack of bills-receipts-printed craft projects 2. VCR- You may ask why? Well I was trying out this software that connects a VCR to your computer so that you can burn all your VHS to DVD...yes a novel idea, but it wouldn't install on my Windows Vista...so luckily by neighbor let me borrow her laptop!! But seriously I need to buy the upgraded software so I can finish this project on my own laptop. 3. Box of wedding photos. I was making a DVD for our wedding which I am going to include all these too!!! It's going to be so cool when I'm done! 4. The stack of mini-VHS from our video camera, I went through every single one of these last Friday trying to find our Wedding videos....and nothing was labeled at the time. Well everything is labeled now..pheew. 5. Stack of clothes that need mending and a poster to return to my boss. 6. Under the desk is a bag with more clothes that need mending not to mention did you look at my Jerry-rigged curtains (hanging by 2 safety pins off of the curtain rod brackets)...tisk tisk. Yes, I need to sew a lot.... that's a lot, a lot, a lot!

Eeek, everyone please tell me your creative space gets a bit chaotic. I'll admit mine is beyond being OUT OF CONTROL, but not for long. Does anyone have tips for hoarders and pack-rats??? Your help would be great!!

School is in!!!

2008-08-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Well, the first day of school has come and gone! The girls wore their new outfits and toted brand new backpacks full of new school supplies. Shaylie was fortunate enough to find her best friend Keely from Kindergarten last year! To my excitement they are in the same class again this year!! I am so happy for her, Keely is a super sweet girl and I am glad that they will be able to blossom their friendship some more this year!

Supplies: School Days Quick page by Christy Skaggs at godigitalscrapbooking.com; and font Scrapkids.

Mya looked totally fashionable in her new Hannah Montanna get-up, with detached sleeves and all! I think it is pretty cute...I don't know how I feel about the barely laced Etnies though??? They look like they can fall off of her feet at any second.

Supplies: School Days Quick page by Christy Skaggs at godigitalscrapbooking.com; and font Scrapkids.

If you have kids in school, go grab todays freebie at GDS, I provided the links above...you can finish 2 layouts in under 10 min!!! SWEEEET!

Just for my neighbors!!

2008-08-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

My neighbors have the cutest two little girls and I couldn't help but make them a scrapbook page after I was given a couple pictures of them!! They are both 6"x4" perfect for printing and slipping into a brag book!

Supplies: Natures Breath GDS Aug. 08 Collab Kit from GoDigitalScrapbooking.com; and Appendix3 font.

Techniques: I layered 3 frames over the picture (wooden, green flowers, and twigs), added drop shadows to 2 of the frames and bracket, added a flower in her hair and then lightened it and desaturated it until it matched the lighting on her forehead.

Supplies: Angel Of Mine Freebie Kit by Lori; Allembert, and Bookman Old Style fonts.

Techniques: I lightened and lightened the saturation and color on the photo. I added an outer glow and drop shadow to the title of the page.

I have a ton of projects that I am working on and getting ready to start....arggh if I just could complete a few of them to get em' up here....you'll know when they are done though...I promise!!

I'm Gettin Digi with it!!

2008-08-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

I kind of stole the title of my post from the T-shirt a scrapbook store retailer gave me...I think you can see it in this post here or just scroll to the "Feeling" some Love post below.

You may have noticed I have posted a few digital products recently. Well it was only a matter of time before I became addicted to this. And with GoDigitalScrapbooking having a free daily download every day...how can I not afford to do a quick digital page every day!!! The problem is I want a bigger hard drive...ooooh or a server, ah that would be awesome! But we can all dream right? Speaking of dreaming, I stopped by Office Max yesterday and they had a computer I WANTED. It was an HP 22" touch screen oh, wow, me and the girls had fun playing with it!!! It was HUGE and so fun to touch the screen...I wonder how doing graphic design would be with it?? I could draw items with my finger!! Hehee, that thought makes me giddy!

Here is todays Free daily download at GDS (Go Digital Scrapbooking)! The only thing I had to do was plop the pictures into the 4 holes and I typed all the text....that's it!! If you want to try out digital scrapbooking this is the best way to go! Quick Pages are already put together and all you do is ad the text and pictures. This one normally retails for $1.5o, so even if you paid for it, it would still be cheaper than "regular" scrapbooking!!!

Supplies: Sunkissed Honey Quick Page by Lori Giles at GoDigitalScrapbooking.com; Papyrus, Pristina, Ruritania, and SA-Eckles fonts; and Photoshop Elements 2.0.

I recently made a card digitally for a fellow blogger friend Shelly!! I made it in Photoshop Elements 2.0 printed it out, cut the two pieces apart and adhered it to a blank card. The top section is actuall the inside of the card, and the bottom is the front of the card. You can kind of see the actual card in her post here!! If you have never been to her blog you have to go right now...she makes the cutest tags and cards and has an adorable addiction to owls (hence the theme to the card ;)

Supplies: Bliss of Happiness Page Kit by Verena Karolyi
at godigitalscrapbooking.com; Owl made with DB Animal Occasions font from Scrapnfonts.com; Decaying Kuntry font; Photoshop Elements 2.0.

Techniques: I added drop shadows on the owl and frame to give them more dimension. I also put a Wood pattern overlay and a bevel on the owl.

Do you like to scrapbook digitally? You should give it a try and let me know what you think of it!

Busy busy bee!!

2008-08-13T07:46:00.001-07:00

For starters, I began making a journal to track my accomplishments each day, in an effort to feel better about myself (since I am an evil critic and killer to my own self esteem). It is a horrible habit that at the end of the each day I reflect on all the things I "DIDN'T" get done and never look at how much I really DID get done.

I got the idea for this wonderful journal from Donna Downey's Blog where she made her amazing art journal. Which mine is Kindergarten grade compared to hers, but I am not naturally artistic (bummer). However I made it work for my own needs...which is just to pick myself up after "I am kicking my @#$ do ya mind?" (movie quote from Liar Liar..hahaha) Sorry I digress...bad tendencies to put in every little detail and thought (still rambling).

So if you go to Donna Downey's website there is a video on how to make this book, and she does a much better job, but this is just a quick rundown. First you take a stack of newspaper and I even used the sale inserts. I used an 8x8 piece of acrylic to hold down over the newspaper and tore the pages into 8x8 pieces. You can tear about 3-5 pages at a time.

Then you use just a plain glue stick to glue about 10 pages together. I went through about 1 glue stick per completed page (3 total) but it could be that they were older and drying out. I like the look of the rugged edges, so I don't line them up "perfectly". What was extra cool is I finally used my brayer, by rolling it on each page after gluing it to get the wrinkles and air bubbles out!!! I have had this for about 3 years and never had a use for it until now!!!

Here is 3 pages (3o sheets of newsprint) all completed, they are nice and thick now, kind of like cardstock.

Donna suggests to paint them first with a white acrylic paint, which I did. Then just add whatever colors you want to your page.
Here are some more painted pages.
And a couple more painted pages.
This is the index or first page in the book. I do not have a cover yet, I would like to get some of that sheet metal like Donna shows on her blog, but we don't have any in town that I know of yet. I will be checking the new art supply store in town later today. I just used my handwriting on the pages with markers.
Here is yesterday's journal page!! I am pretty stoked about it, I know it is kind of boring, but they are just things that I accomplished yesterday written randomly across the page. There are a couple of doodles, but the point is to document my accomplishments. I am sure over time they will get a little more artsy, especially if I don't have a ton of things written down.

Totally cool idea huh!?! Big HUGE thanks Donna for being so creative!!

Next up I downloaded another freebie today at GoDigitalScrapbooking.com and put a 2 page digital layout together. I found the quotes on the internet and used pictures from last months vacation at CJ Strike. It was such a beautiful sunset, I'm glad I had my camera with me!!

Supplies: Natural Inspiration Add-On kit by Verena Karolyi at GoDigitalScrapbooking.com; Pristina font.

And last but certainly not least...I just had to share this awesome pic that I took at the races last weekend. It is the whole Team 49 Racing all together...which let me tell you is a rare shot. I am so proud of all of them, they work so so so stinkin hard on their cars and really...if you ask me...I think they are all very talented drivers. Sniff sniff, Love you guys and I'm so VERY proud of you all even if you don't get the respect you so very well deserve!! So here they are from left to right (which is youngest to oldest) in their I.M.C.A. modifieds; 49S Bobby Steensen, 49C Chris Steensen (my hubby!!), 49T Corey Steensen, and 49K Scott Steensen.

If you are ever near Elko, NV during April-September you have to come watch these guys at Summit Raceway...it's nail biting and butt clenching enjoyment (not kidding) let me tell ya!!

Vacation Freebie Template

2008-08-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

I found this freebie template for a digital word page in a vacation theme!!! As soon as I was done downloading it, I whipped out last years vacation pics and put these all together in less than a half hour!!!! How cool is that?

The template came from godigitalscrapbooking.com and the direct link to the kit. It was created by Jilly Beans. Isn't that a cute name? I actually saw a license plate here in town that says that....hmm wonder if there is any affiliation or if it is just coincidence?

I also made a card the other day....you ever do something that makes you feel retarded!!! I hope I'm not the only one!! Not telling why, but I made this for someone special!!! I threw all this together with some of my paper scraps....I have a LARGE paper scrap collection, that is pack rat in me again, but hey they are all organized in folders by color. That is organized pack rat...thank you very much :P

Supplies: misc purple scrap papers; purple fibers; purple ink by pretty colors; and swirl alpha stamps by Stamp Craft.

Tinkerbell and a little decor

2008-08-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

I just recently finished this Tinkerbell album which contains pictures that are almost 6 years old.

If you only knew how far behind I am scrapbooking....eek it makes me cringe. OK, so I technically have been a scrapbooker for 9 years (since my first daughter was born), but I haven't had any time to really work on anything between children, work, school and all the normal things that go on in life. So now that I am finally working part time from home, I have the freedom to start to catch up...pheeew!!!

Anyways this is an EK Success accordion album. I think Mya (who was 3 and is now 9) looks so stinkin cute in these pictures dressed as Tinkerbell! Shaylie didn't make a bad ballerina for her first Halloween either! I will more than likely journal on the book soon so that we can remember this all better 20 years from now when they fade from our minds!

If you look super close you may notice that some of the pictures have a seam in the middle where I have digitally overlapped 2 different scans of the album (This is the same for any other 2 page layouts I post). I do not alter the scrapbook in any way when I do this, it is just that I can't scan 2 pages at the same time, so I use Photoshop to seam the 2 scans together!!! Supplies: 6x6 accordion Tinkerbell album by EK Success; and white pom-pom's.
Supplies: Fairy Glow (green), Tinker Bell Phrase and Bubbles paper by Sandylion; Light Perfectly Plum and Dark Pretty Pink paper by WorldWin Papers; blue chipboard flower by Colorbok; yellow/blue polka dot paper flower by Prima; blue sticker button by Button Ups; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.
Supplies: Fairy Garden (purple), Tinker Bell Phrase and Butterflies paper by Sandylion; Dark Belgium Blue and Dark Luscious Lime paper by WorldWin Papers; pink iridescent paper; purple paper flower by Prima; pink and green button; green embroidery floss; purple fiber; Tinkerbell ribbon charm and purple sheer ribbon by EK Success; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.
Supplies: Fairy Garden (purple), Tinker Bell Phrase and Butterflies paper by Sandylion; Dark Belgium Blue and Dark Pretty Pink paper by WorldWin Papers; green chipboard flower by Colorbok; Tinkerbell chipboard cut from package (MacGuyver scrapbooking again!); green fiber; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.

Psst, by the way isn't that an amazing painting in the background? It is about 4'x4'! My Mommy painted it!!! She is sooooooo soooo talented....Mom you should paint more!!!

Supplies: Bubbles, Tinker Bell Phrase and Fairy Glow paper by Sandylion; Dark Luscious Lime and Light Perfect Plum paper by WorldWin Papers; pink and orange chipboard flowers by Colorbok; gem ribbon brad by Oriental Trading; pink rick rack by American Crafts; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.

Supplies: Fairy Glow (green), Tinker Bell Phrase and Bubbles paper by Sandylion; Light Perfectly Plum and Dark Pretty Pink paper by WorldWin Papers; blue chipboard flower by Colorbok; yellow/blue polka dot paper flower by Prima; blue sticker button by Button Ups; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.
Supplies: Fairy Garden (purple), Tinker Bell Phrase and Butterflies paper by Sandylion; Dark Belgium Blue and Dark Luscious Lime paper by WorldWin Papers; pink iridescent paper; purple paper flower by Prima; pink and green button; green embroidery floss; purple fiber; Tinkerbell ribbon charm and purple sheer ribbon by EK Success; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.
Supplies: Fairy Garden (purple), Tinker Bell Phrase and Butterflies paper by Sandylion; Dark Belgium Blue and Dark Pretty Pink paper by WorldWin Papers; green chipboard flower by Colorbok; Tinkerbell chipboard cut from package (MacGuyver scrapbooking again!); green fiber; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.
Supplies: Bubbles, Tinker Bell Phrase and Fairy Glow paper by Sandylion; Dark Luscious Lime and Light Perfect Plum paper by WorldWin Papers; pink and orange chipboard flowers by Colorbok; gem ribbon brad by Oriental Trading; pink rick rack by American Crafts; green and purple ink by Pretty Color; zig-zag deco scissors; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.
Supplies: 6x6 accordion Tinkerbell album by EK Success; and Tinkerbell ribbon charm and ribbon by EK Success.

I feel like I have gotten a lot done today!! Not only did we look at 9 houses today, but I got these pots done also!! If you look back to this blog entry where I show my scrapbook room you will notice them sitting there on the floor (4th pic down), unpainted. That picture was taken back in January, yes, it is about time I got these blasted things painted!

Supplies: spouncer brushes; paint brush; burnt umber and teddy bear tan by Plaid; and Varnish by Delta Ceramcoat. Yes I only used 2 colors!!!
The leftmost pot I painted with the Burnt Umber and then used a stiff spouncer brush to stroke the Teddy Bear Tan paint on. The middle pot I used a sponge spouncer to but the Teddy Bear Tan on and then I used a paintbrush that had uneven stray hairs on the tip to brush the Burnt Umber up and down about 3 brush widths. I then took the brush and stroked it side to side to give it kind of a denim look. The pot on the right I used the sponge spouncer and dabbed both colors on randomly (both individually and then mixed). I didn't like the look of it enough, so I went back over the whole thing with the stiff spouncer and did the Teddy Bear Tan first and went back over it with the Burnt Umber. I topped them all off with a coat of Varnish to keep the acrylic paint on when they get watered, so now they are nice and shiny!!!

I wanted them to match, but be different. Does this look like something you would buy in the store or does it look totally homemade??? Sometimes it is hard to tell when you made it yourself. What do you think?

What's on my playlist

2008-08-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

After reading Donna Downeys post on what's on your playlist. I decided to post what I like to workout to. I copied 3 snapshots of my playlist and pasted them together here!!

I currently have 80 songs (6.4 hours) on my workout playlist and the songs are mostly techno/dance and R&B/Hip Hop. Some songs are to inspire me to want to look hot and sexy therefore driving me to workout harder (i.e. Thong Song, Glamorous, Milkshake, Wait, All Night...etc.) to break a sweat and drop them pounds. These I usually play while stretching, walking, and warming up.

Some songs I like because they have an excellent beat for running (Get Down, You Make Me Feel 2002, Float Away (which sounds kind of slow, but I loose every thought in my mind when this is playing and my feet hit the treadmill with the bass beat...this song brings me total body and mind cohesion!!!), Light, Without You, etc. All the faster beat songs I listen to while running on the treadmill or riding my stationary bike.

The remainder songs, which are usually popular hits give me something fun to focus on and bob my head to while I lift weights (4 Minutes, Don't Stop the Music, Stronger, It's like that, my Humps, etc.)

Well that's about it!! What do you listen to when you work out? If you don't workout what kind of music inspires you to get your body moving?

New Header!!

2008-08-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Finally!! So after a few months of this blogging experience I have finally designed my own header!!! I used the Bliss of Happiness page kit from godigitalscrapbooking.com. It was designed by Verena Karolyi! Then I added pictures of Chris, Mya, Shaylie and myself. The little birdies represent each of us.

I thought this kit was super cute and it is about time that I start using some of my digital scrapbooking supplies.

Feeling Some LOVE!!!!

2008-08-05T05:18:00.000-07:00

This 'LOVE' album was a gift to my husband for Valentine's Day. Making this book helped me to realize that we do not get our picture taken together very often...it contains almost every picture of us together that we have (minus our wedding photos). Since I am often the only photographer I am missing from our families photos (not that I like my picture taken :P).

Supplies: LOVE word album by BoBunny; misc yarns and fibers; book rings; pictures printed on Epson R1800; and Scotch ATG 714 tape gun.
Supplies: XOXO Expressions paper by Carolees Creations; word sticker (red) by 7 Gypsies; 'MY' silver glitter chipboard letters by K and Company; black Sharpie fine point marker; 'I Love you' vellum word runner by Around the Block; and black and Port Wine ink by Memories.
Supplies: All Dressed up (dot) paper by DCWV; Loves Me paper; pink flower index card by Mead collections; black cardstock by EK Success; word stickers (red) by 7 Gypsies; black Sharpie fine point marker for journaling; various stickers and glitter heart brad by Making Memories; paper flower by Prima; lace (cut from my girls' old baby socks); white thread stitched with Singer sewing machine; blue chalk; and black and Port Wine ink by Memories.

Detail of stitching on the black photo mats, not to mention a cute close up of us ;)

Supplies: XOXO Expressions paper by Carolees Creations; Heart Quotes paper; pink flower index card by Mead collections; black cardstock by EK Success; word stickers (red) by 7 Gypsies; black Sharpie fine point marker for journaling; various stickers and glitter heart brads by Making Memories; paper flower by Prima; lace (cut from my girls' old baby socks); white thread stitched with Singer sewing machine; 'I Love you' vellum word runner by Around the Block; heart sticker and 'I Love you' brads by nameless $1 store brand; pewter country heart brad by Creative Impressions; blue chalk; and black and Port Wine ink by Memories.

Supplies: Heart Quotes paper; Red quote paper; pink flower index card by Mead collections; black cardstock by EK Success; word stickers (red) and circle stickers by 7 Gypsies; black Sharpie fine point marker for journaling; various stickers and glitter heart brads by Making Memories; paper flower by Prima; white thread stitched with Singer sewing machine; metallic red country heart brad by Creative Impressions; wine colored light and lofty yarn by Red Heart; black and white polka dot flower by Petaloo; blue chalk; black plastic ribbon holder from toy packaging; and black and Port Wine ink by Memories.

The black plastic piece that is holding the yarn came from the packaging of one of the kids' toys!! You know those annoying things that have a wire twisty in them...yup that is my Mac Guyver scrapbooking skills again!!!

Supplies: Loves Me paper; All Dressed up (dot) paper by DCWV; pink flower index card by Mead collections; black cardstock by EK Success; red corrugated cardboard from a scrap pack; word stickers (red) by 7 Gypsies; black Sharpie fine point marker for journaling; red and pink gel pens to highlight 'loves me' on the paper; various stickers and glitter heart brads by Making Memories; paper flowers by Prima; white thread stitched with Singer sewing machine; 'Kiss' brads by nameless $1 store brand; lips and chocolate kisses brads by Eyelet Outlet; red heart felt stickers by Queen and Company; and black and Port Wine ink by Memories.

Techniques: I used the black Sharpie and red and pink gel pens to highlight the words "loves me" on the background paper.

Techniques: To highlight us in the photo, I used Photoshop CS3 to to outline the background image of our kitchen. I then desaturated the selection and put a filter on it (I believe pencil) to take the detail out of the selection.

Supplies: red quote paper; pink flower index card by Mead collections; word stickers (red) by 7 Gypsies; black Sharpie fine point marker for journaling; black swirl felt stickers by Queen and Company; various ribbons by American Crafts, coin charms; and black and Port Wine ink by Memories.

Techniques: I used these cute coin/token/charms that were sold with the intention of putting them on necklaces or key chains, but I thought they would be better served on my scrapbook!!

OK....Somebody Stop Me!!!!

.....Cause I've been shopping again. OK, in my defense, my main purpose was to go buy some supplies for an upcoming gift album (can't tell you yet) and to buy some paper and ribbon for some wedding invitations I am working on. And then one thing let to another and I have this pile laying before you...and some others that didn't make the shot. Three stores later and thankfully in a reasonable $$ amount thanks to the dollar store I came home with all this. The best part???? that T-shirt was FREEEEEEE!!! Yay, Thanks Marcia!!! The owner of my local scrapbook store is so sweet and generous you can check out the store I shop at most...Cherished Friends!!

In the spirit of love here is a link that is sure to inspire some tears of joy (at least it did in me!) I got it in an e-mail and I loved it so much that I had to post it here!!!

Log Cabin Frames and some shopping!

2008-07-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

I made these Log Cabin frames as a thank you gift to my brother-in-law & sister-in-law. They are always generous in letting us bunk with them in their camper during vacation and this is just a tiny way for us to say 'thanks'!! Supplies: wooden cabin frames by Don Mechanic; Old Ivy, Bright Red and Burnt Umber acrylic paint by Plaid; Dymo red and green cartridges; and pictures printed on Epson R1800.
The detail of the brown cabin. I did not paint every spot completely giving it more of a rustic/grungy feel! I also dabbed some of the red paint with a textured brush (don't know the name of it).
The detail of the green cabin. I also dabbed brown paint over this one to give it that extra worn look.

*Shopping Alert*

I just can't seem to help myself, but you are going to squeal just like I did in the store... the dollar store that is!!!! Oh yeah, I found these 7 Gypsies stamps in the dollar store. I snagged up the congratulations (self inking) $5.95, proof $8.95, note to self $8.95, events $4.95, and baby $4.95 (which unfortunately was the events wrongly packaged so now I have 2...no harm though it was only $1). I also got the leather braided eyeglass holder (for binding purposes!) and this cute 10 picture accordion picture frame by Candlewick Press. That's nearly $28 savings on the 7 Gypsies alone!!

I don't know about you, but I think I made out like a bandit....yeeehaaaw!!

Fresh Watermelon

2008-07-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ah, Sweet sweet summer! I made this watermelon tag shaped sign for a few reasons.

1. I was preparing for a Cricut demonstration at my local scrapbook store.
2. My kitchen is watermelon themed.
3. I wanted to try out the Tim Holtz crackle paint.

Strangely enough this sign has it's home in my craft room and not my kitchen...I think it is time I move it!

*Update on the fridge situation** Well speaking of our kitchen....we bought a new Kitchen Aid bottom mount freezer today, it is plugged in and already cold!! Yeah! It has a water dispenser inside the fridge, kinda weird, but I hope it feels nice and comfortable in our home and it plans on staying for a loooong time! Now I just need to go grocery shopping because we only own condiments at this time...hahaha. Really I just have to laugh at this whole situation, because who has luck as horrible as us??? I do have to thank God our bad luck is with materials and not our family and our health....Yup that's me always looking for the bright side!

Supplies: Tag shaped chipboard; dark green, light green, magenta, and black cardstock; black acrylic paint; Tim Holtz Distress crackle paint in 'antique linen'; 'Fresh' die cut from Opposites attract Cricut cartridge; 'Melon 5 cents' and watermelon shape (circles cut in 1/2) cut from George and Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge; tear drop punch by Fiskars; embossing ink; Fuchia ultra thick embossing enamel by Ranger; black ink by Memories; green embroidery floss; pink sheer ribbon by Offray; black & white gingham ribbon; and Stampin' Up embossing gun.
I love how the embossing powder came out a little textured like a real watermelon slice!! It looks so shiny and moist that I want to eat it!!! Don't you just LOVE crackle paint...so much texture it sure looks great on top of that black acrylic paint!

On a lighter note I went shopping on Tuesday and here are my goodies I just had to have!

The Zutter Bind-It-All and 2 sizes and colors of combs. I have been eyeing this for some time because I collect tons of stuff sain person would throw away just for a scrapping opportunity (i.e. clothing tags, cards, packaging, boxes, etc) I need to give a special thanks to Elizabeth Kartchner's blog especially this post and this post where she used her Bind-It-All and made it look super duper cute I was SOLD and I wanted it even more!!! Thanks Elizabeth, you are such an inspiration to us all!

Last but certainly not least on my purchase extravaganza was another color of the Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in "Spiced Marmalade". I now own 6 colors and just yesterday requested my local scrapbook store to purchase me 4 other colors I need for a project, along with 2 Paint Dabber colors! Tim, you are the only male who really ROCKS this industry...you are such a staple and I hope to see you and your awesomely grungy products for tons of years to come!!!

Vacation Album

2008-07-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ahh vacations, we all look forward to them all year long. I helped my cousin make this vacation album as a gift to her mother-in-law. We bought this kit a few weeks ago in Wal-Mart which I am sad to say when I went in Wal-Mart a couple of days ago the scrapbook section no longer carries Kurio or EK Success it is ALL Martha Stewart. I don't have a problem with her, it is just I LOVE Kurio and the Disney products from EK Success. C'mon what happened here???

Back to the subject at hand, my cousin brought a stack of her vacation pictures over to my scrap haven and we picked her 10 favorites to use in the album. It took us about 4 hours to put it all together, not too shabby (time wise) I think.

Like many children on road trips the infamous question "are we there yet" was asked numerous times. So these little words on the page over their Duragno really has a significant meaning. I absolutely love that her daughter Hannah came up with the idea of making a wig out of seaweed. I found an eyelash fiber in my stash that matched perfectly to flow from the picture, giving it a 3-Dimensional feel. Ha! sometimes I surprise myself....my cousin was thinking the same idea as I pulled the fiber out and laid it over the page!! Great minds think alike, thanks for sharing my love of Scrabooking Corina!! We liked that the suitcase album looks like a cluttered suitcase with lots of odds and ends hanging out!

Unless otherwise noted all the supplies came from the Kurio "Wish you were here mini book kit".

Supplies: Red staple

Supplies: page anchor and brown brad by Creative Impressions; and black eyelash fiber.
Supplies: Blue washed frame from Colorbok's Neutral Scrap Pack.Supplies: Green washed paper from Colorbok's Neutral Scrap Pack; eyelet; white embroidery floss; and metal tree charm by Colorbok.
Supplies: Gray patterned paper (with train tracks) from Colorbok's Neutral Scrap Pack.

I tell you little mini scrap kits like this really save some time to make a quick and easy album. Which is super nice when they are for a gift like this one was!

Another Goodbye

2008-07-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, It has been a while since my last post. In that time, I have said farewell to another friend who is off to another state to make new adventures in her life. I also worked my hiney off for a week pulling 1:30AM nights of graphic design just so I could go on vacation. Then I went on vacation and I am still a little on the vacation recovery process right now (laundry, cleaning, organizing).

Vacation was a blast, however when we got back our bubble was burst by our fridge dying and we lost a ton of food. I would like to say that this is the first time this has happened to us, but it was actually the fourth. Yes that's right the FOURTH, and this is in a 3 year period and 2 Brand new fridges. Sigh, I would like to think I am too young to say this, but they sure don't make things like they used to. We've had this fridge fixed last year (forking out $400) but now it is time to decide if we should try our luck with a 3rd new fridge or just fix it again for another $400 buckaroos???

So any-whoo. How about another card creation of mine? This farewell card goes with the friendship album in the previous post. You will notice I used the scraps from the book to make the card ... so they match!!!

Supplies: Patterned papers by K and Co.; rub on letters by Making Memories; chipboard letters by Kurio, paper flowers by Prima; jewel ribbon brad by Oriental Trading; black sheer ribbon; green gemstone stickers; and black ink by Versa Color.

Supplies: Patterned papers by K and Co.; blue paper; brown cardstock; black sheer ribbon; "Where there is great love.." quote by My Minds Eye; corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft, and black ink by Versa Color.Supplies: brown cardstock; black sheer ribbon; "Where there is great love.." quote by My Minds Eye; corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft; and black ink by Versa Color.

Friendship Album

2008-06-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

Having a friend is such a wonderful gift. It is so very rare to find a friend that you can always count on no matter what. It is even rarer to find one to stand the test of time. This gift album was made to celebrate our friendship and 10 things I love about her. Unfortunately our paths are moving in separate directions again as she moves to Colorado. I wish her the best of luck in all things life has to offer her and her son!

Supplies: purple paisley patterned paper; album by Maya Road; friend rub on by 7 gypsies; 'riends' my handwriting with a Sharpie; silk flower by Petaloo; various ribbons and fibers; and black ink by Memories.

Supplies: patterned paper by K and Co.; silver glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; 'A' chipboard tile; hand journaling with Sharpie; glue; glitter; black ink by Memories; '1' circle sticker by 7 Gypsies; magenta ink, pink swirl clip by Creative Impressions; and blue marker.
Supplies: Breeze Paisley patterned paper by K and Co.; blue pearl paper; '2' round sticker and black rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; silver glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; "laughter" quote by K and Co.; vellum envelope by Hot Off The Press; colored staples; black ink by Memories; '2' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstone; embossing pen; starry night opaque embossing powder by Stampin Stuff; and purple pen.
Supplies: blue swirl patterned paper from Super Slab 10 by Provo Craft; pictures scanned with Epson 4490 and printed with Epson R1800; '3' round sticker by 7 Gypsies; green glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; "Talent is a Flame" quote by K and Co.; black page anchor; black brad by Creative Impressions; black ink by Memories; '3' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstone; "Artistic Talent" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff.
Supplies: Classic K McKenna Pink Swirls Flat Paper and quote by K and Co.; '4' round sticker and black rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; lavender glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; blue ribbon anchor brads by Oriental Trading; black and white ribbon by Making Memories; black ink by Memories; '4' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstone; "Your the Queen of Altruism" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff; altruism quote printed from Internet on Epson R1800.
Supplies: patterned paper; '5' round sticker by 7 Gypsies; vellum friendship quote by Stickopotamus; "memories" quote by K and Co.; blue plaid photo corner epoxy stickers; green glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; green ribbon; black ink by Memories; '5' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstone; "Devoted Mother" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff; photo printed from Epson R1800.
Supplies: Pink Paisley glitter paper by K and Co.; '6' round sticker, "Friend" sticker tag and black rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; blue glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; black ink by Memories; '6' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; pink ribbon by Making Memories; pink feather; silver and holographic stickers by Sticker King; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstone; "A singing voice fit for" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff.
Supplies: Classic K McKenna Green Damask Floral Swirls Flat Paper by K and Co.; '7' round sticker and black rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; pink glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; magenta eyelet; black ink by Memories; '7' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; other paper and silk flowers; pink heart brad by Oriental Trading; pink, green and white sticker gemstones; "Your radiant beauty" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff; unicorn stickers by Mrs. Grossman; and 'beauty' epoxy sticker.
Supplies: Peabody Green stars patterned paper by K and Co.; '8' round sticker and black rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; silver glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; blue star brad Gary M. Burlin and Co.; black ink by Memories; '8' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstones; "Your thirst for knowledge" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff; and 'College' sticker by Me and My Big Ideas.
Supplies: green swirl and floral patterned paper from Super Slab 10 by Provo Craft; "the road" quote by K and Co.; '9' round sticker by 7 Gypsies; blue glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; gold star clip by American Tag Co.; black ink by Memories; '9' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstone; "Your phenominal energy" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff; blue paper tag; square brad; "FRIENDS" vellum sticker by Stickopotamus; and 'Forever Friends' epoxy sticker.

Supplies: purple swirl and floral patterned paper from Super Slab 10 by Provo Craft; '10' round sticker and black rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; silver glitter cardstock by DCWV mat stack; black ink by Memories; '10' cut from Cricut's Opposites Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstone; "Our Friendship" written with my handwriting with Sharpie and embossed with Starry Night Opaque powder by Stampin Stuff; gold swirl clip; blue fiber; and blue and red chalk.

Supplies: pink and purple floral patterned paper from Super Slab 10 by Provo Craft; black rub-ons by 7 Gypsies; black ink by Memories; paper flower by Prima; sticker gemstones; pink floral 3x5 card for journaling by Mead; blue, pink and red chalk; and vellum word sticker.

Supplies: purple paisley swirl patterned paper; "with all my heart" quote by K and Co.; unicorn sticker; "created by" and "belongs to" stickers, and black rub on by 7 Gypsies; and various ribbons and fibers.

Sassy and Sweet

2008-06-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

For the little girls (and even women) in your life who are both sassy and sweet, this door hanging is perfect for them. I took a Halloween plaque from the dollar store and recovered it to my liking.
Luckily it already had the cut black ribbon attached as well!

This is the way it hangs on the front of my girls' bedroom door. In front of a pink wreath I got after Christmas on clearance!

Supplies: Halloween plaque from Honk's; journey and wonder papers by Three Bugs in a Rug from the Tickled Pink collection. Magenta and Black cardstock; 'Sweet and Sassy" cut from Cricuts' Opposite Attract cartridge by Provo Craft; diamond gem stickers; 3D foam squares; Port Wine and Black ink by Memories; and nail sanding block.

Techniques: Line background paper (Wonder) up to plaque and line with pencil, cut out and adhere. Ink edges to cover up any inconsistencies and blend to plaque's color. Cut out text on Cricut and line up where it will be placed on plaque. Sand paper under the word "Sweet" to help it stand out from similar colors. Adhere letters to plaque. Cut out flowers from patterned paper (Journey) and adhere some with regular adhesive and some with 3D foam squares. Add gems to corners of "sassy" text.

Hybrid Scrapbooking

2008-06-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

This was my second hybrid scrapbooking page. It is 6x6 and was created in the hopes of becoming a "flower girl" for Prima. Well, I didn't make it, but that hasn't stopped me from loving their products. The paper (which comes b/w), pictures and fonts were put together in Photoshop and printed out on 6x6 paper. I then added the flowers, lace and gems.

Supplies: IOD paintable Scallywag 2 6x6 by Primahybrid; paper flowers by Prima; white and green diamond stickers; lace; Photoshop Elements 2.0; Loveletter TW and SA-Swirls font.

Purse Birthday Card

2008-06-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

I LOVE my Cricut. There are so many possibilities if you just use a little imagination! I tend to hold on to things that most people would just throw away. Like a package ribbon that was disassembled by your children. When others would see trash, I see treasure!! This is a perfect example, where I turned a little trash into a creative handle for a purse card. I am not sure what kind of ribbon this would be called? It is kind of springy like a slinky, and I just couldn't part with it.

Do you hold onto odd things like this in your household?

I sure would like to hear I am not alone!

Supplies: Pink & brown cardstock; green patterned paper from Super Slab 9 by Provo Craft; purse cut from Cricut's Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge by Provo Craft; 'Birthday Blessings' cut from Cricut's George and Basic Shapes cartridge by Provo Craft; swirl clip by Creative Impressions; antiqued brad by Making Memories, magenta paper flower by Prima; gem brad by Oriental Trading; brown, pink and green chalk; nail sanding block; and sticky Velcro.

Technique: (for purse only) I cut the purse die out in both the pink and green patterned paper using the same size (6). Cut the side and lid flaps off from the green paper and save them for the outside of the purse. Place brad through green flap of purse lid then adhere to the pink paper. Put handle ribbon in holes and adhere in place, then adhere the green paper on what becomes the inside liner of the purse. Fold the purse flaps in place and adhere the pieces together. Adhere the two cut side flaps from the green paper to the outside of the purse. Cut a tiny square from some sticky Velcro and adhere to lid of purse creating a working clasp, I chalked each piece to blend in with the paper around it.

Family Scrapbook

2008-06-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

While my Mother-In-Law was in the University hospital for heart surgery I wanted a special gift that she could look at for years to come. I made a special page for each of her 5 sons and a center spread page to hold a group photo of the entire family. The supplies are centered around the K and Co K-Ology collection. Like I have said before I love all the paper, stickers and embellishments to match!

I hope you enjoy my creations and are able to find some inspiration or at least joy from them. I pour lots of love and creativity into each element, page and craft I create. Show your appreciation by giving me some blog "love" (comments)!!! If you have your own blog or site leave me a link, I would love to see what's out there!

Supplies: gatefold album, 'A Family is a Circle of Love' Grand Adhesion sticker, and patterned papers by K and Co. K-Ology collection; brass 'S' sticker; decorative scissors by Provo Craft; and black ink by Memories.
Supplies: patterened papers, "Remember" Grand Adhesions sticker, "Family Matters", and green paper tag by K and Co. K-Ology collection; "Mother" chipboard by K and Co.; white cross charm; bronze brads by Creative Impressions; white gel pen; black ink by Memories; "Where there is great love.." quote by My Minds Eye; green paper flower; magenta paper flower by Prima; and ribbon by American Crafts.
Supplies: patterened papers, stickers and quotes by K and Co. K-Ology collection; "D" and "S" typewriter key stickers by All My Memories; "AVE" and "COTT" stickers; ampersand white rub-on Revolution and "Family" black dot stickers by Making Memories; black ink by Memories; Fastenater staple and stapler by EK Success; ribbon by American Crafts; brads by Creative Impressions; colored staples; and pictures printed on Epson R1800. Supplies: patterened papers, stickers and quotes by K and Co. K-Ology collection; "TEENSEN" and "AMILY" typewriter key stickers by All My Memories; "S" and "F" stickers; black ink by Memories; ribbon by American Crafts; brads by Creative Impressiohs; and picture printed on Epson R1800.

Supplies: patterened papers, stickers and quotes by K and Co. K-Ology collection; "C" typewriter key stickers by All My Memories; "OREY" and "HRIS" stickers; ampersand white rub-on Revolution and "Family" black dot alpha stickers by Making Memories; black ink by Memories; Fastenater staple and stapler by EK Success; ribbon by American Crafts; brads by Creative Impressions; colored staples; and pictures printed on Epson R1800.

Supplies: patterened papers, stickers and quotes by K and Co. K-Ology collection; "B" typewriter key stickers by All My Memories; "OBBY" stickers; black ink by Memories; Fastenater staple and stapler by EK Success; ribbon by American Crafts; brads by Creative Impressions; colored staples; and picture printed on Epson R1800.

Supplies: patterened papers, stickers and quotes by K and Co. K-Ology collection; Fastenater staple and stapler by EK Success; brads by Creative Impressions; and ribbon by American Crafts.Supplies: patterened papers, stickers and quotes by K and Co. K-Ology collection; Fastenater staple and stapler by EK Success; brads by Creative Impressions; and ribbon by American Crafts.

Miss You Card

2008-06-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

It is oh so very hard to say goodbye to a friend. About 2 weeks ago I said goodbye to the most wonderful young woman in the Steensen family as she traveled back home across the country. This weekend I will need to say goodbye to yet another friend leaving town. Sigh.

So for the good news I made her a handmade card to send her off,

hopefully to a beautiful new beginning.

Miss You card front

Supplies: light blue paper; all other papers from Super Slab 10 and wave decorative scissors by Provo Craft; jet black ink by StazOn; 'miss you samie' white rub on evolution alphas and 'WE' black dot sticker alphas by Making Memories; 'already' black sticker alphas by Stickopotamus; teal shimmery ribbon by American Crafts; black brad by Creative Impressions; circle die cuts from George and Basic shapes cartridge by Cricut; butter flower by lil' Davis Designs; Sweetheart and Wingdings 2 fonts; "I Love You" rubber stamp with the "I" portion not inked; white, blue & green paper clip.

Father's Da-y Cards

2008-06-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

I seem to always be a little off on posting themes relevant to the current dates, but someday I hope to catch up. So if you happen to view my blog for upcoming inspiration I apologize.

For my Father's Day cards I wanted to use some of my Mac Guyver scrapbooking skills to put them together. Since I don't have to worry about the archival safeness of the materials I used some items from here and there that I have been saving for this very type of project.

The corrugated paper fronts of each card came from the packaging of my husbands new BBQ grill. I used each one in a different way making each card unique, just like each man I gave it to.

For my husband, the man who holds the key to my heart, a key was the theme. For my father, fishing was the theme since he, and my mother have been doing a lot of fishing. For my father-in-law, John Deere was the hidden theme because of his love for the tractors.

Husband's Father's Day Card Front

Husband's Father's Day Card Inside
Supplies: Corrugated cardboard from Charbroil Grill box; tan cardstock; vellum; jet black ink by StazOn; Key Grungeboard by Tim Holtz; plus and minus screw top brads by Creative Impressions; grommet & setter by EK Success; white bungee from clothing tag; Antelope H. font; Photoshop Elements 2.0; Epson R1800

Father's Father's Day Card Front (ha that sounds funny)

Father's Father's Day Card Inside
Supplies: Corrugated cardboard from Charbroil Grill box; green cardstock; Brown & Green ink by Colorbox; zipper pull from old clothing; twisty ties from packaging; green Dymo tape and Dymo tagger; date stamp; raffia; fish die-cut altered from Cricut 'Dreams Come True' cartridge image; 'DAD' pre-cut alphas; nail sanding block; Antelope H. font; Photoshop Elements 2.0; Epson R1800

Father-In-Law's Father's Day Card Front
Father-In-Law's Father's Day Card InsideSupplies: Corrugated cardboard from Charbroil Grill box; tan cardstock; yellow paper; raffia; 'DAD' pre-cut alphas painted yellow; Canary Yellow and Old Ivy acrylic paint by Plaid; Green ink by Colorbox; bronze eyelets; Antelope H. font; Photoshop Elements 2.0; Epson R1800

Scrapbook for Nana

2008-06-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

It is always fun to give scrapbooks as gifts! It not only is a great way to share my passion of scrapbooking with others, but it is also a great memento and keepsake for them to enjoy and remember family members.

One of the Birthday/Mother's Day presents for my mom was a "Nana" scrapbook. The pages were designed to hold my two girls' favorites about staying at Nana & Papas house. I scanned them in before I journaled on each tag, but some of the topics were Church, outside, fishing, food and more. I asked my two girls to name 5 things that were their favorites for each topic and wrote them on the journal tags.

I left out the photos because this will be a fun thing for my Mom and the girls to do the next time they stay the night!! Take photos of their favorite toys at her house, the food they ate, the fish they caught and just having fun together. That way it is more personalized to the topic at hand...staying with Nana!!! Mom I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did creating it..Love You!

Somehow I wound up deleting the scan of the cover after I had tied ribbons to the wire binding...I used all of the different pink and brown ribbons you see throughout the book.

Supplies: papillion and eclair patterned paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection; Purple cardstock for letters; 'NANA' letters cut with Jasmine Cricut Cartridge; scroll chipboards by Maya Road; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; gold flower eyelet; maroon and pink paper flower by Prima; nail sanding block; Scotch ATG 714 glue gun; Stampin Up embossing gun; Cropodile to set eyelet & punch holes

Supplies: Cherie patterned butterfly paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection; magenta patterned paper; brown cardstock; 'A Grandmother' and 'Special Tribute' tags by K and Co.; magenta sheer ribbon; magenta brads by Making Memories; Gold pen; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf acrylic stamp; Stampin Up embossing gun; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft; corner rounder by Creative Memories; Cropodile to set brads & punch holes.

Supplies: Mousse and Eclair paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection; brown cardstock; 'Spirit' and 'Favorite Things' chipboard tags by K and Co.; pink and brown gingham ribbon; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf acrylic stamp; Stampin Up embossing gun; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; nail buffing file; Zots glue dots; corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft.

Supplies: Papillion patterned butterfly paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection; brown cardstock; Gold gem heart shaped brads from Oriental Trading; pink ribbed ribbon by American Crafts; 'love' pink/white polka dot button; pink embroidery floss; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf acrylic stamp; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft.

Supplies: maroon, pink and brown cardstock; oval ribbon charms from Making Memories; pink rick rack ribbon by American Crafts; 'Sharing' and 'Memories' chipboard by K and Co.; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf & butterfly acrylic stamps; magenta embossing powder by Ranger; Port Red Dye Ink by Memories; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft.

Supplies: Mousse gray paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection;maroon, brown cardstock; burgundy sheer ribbon; 'Do all things with love' , 'sweet as Sugar' and patterned envelope tags by K and Co.; burgundy flat top brad by Making Memories; pink flower eyelet; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf acrylic stamp; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft.
Supplies: Pink antiqued wood patterned paper; pink/white polka dot ribbon by American Crafts; 'Remember' chipboard by K and Co.; chipboard scroll by Maya Road; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; Stampin Up embossing gun; pink scroll edging by Style-A-Bility; "Love Is" quote ribbon; pink silk flower and petals by Petaloo; pink/silver butterfly bead; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; glue dots by Zot; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft.

Supplies: Cheri butterfly paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection;maroon, magenta and brown cardstock; pink velvet rick rack by American Crafts; 'Butterfly Kisses', pink/brown scalloped photo corner and pink/brown polka dot heart by K and Co.; brown brad by Creative Impressions; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf acrylic stamp; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; 3D glue dot by Zots, corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft.

Supplies: maroon patterned paper; brown cardstock; brown/pink/white double sided and pink/brown gingham ribbon; paper flowers by Prima; sticker silver gems; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf acrylic stamp; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; glue dots by Zots, corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft.

Supplies: Elair pink paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection; brown cardstock; brown velvet rick rack by American Crafts; pink baby soft fiber; pink/brown polka dot ribbon; pink sheer ribbon; pink button; white sheer flower by Creative Impressions; ghost butterfly by Heidi Swapp; Gold pen; 3 hole staple by EK Success; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf and dotted line acrylic stamps; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; dots by Zots, corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft; Fastenater stapler by EK Success.

Supplies: pink patterned paper; brown cardstock; pink/white polka dot ribbon by American Crafts; brown/white polka dot ribbon by Offray; pink paper flowers by Prima; 'So happy together' tag by K and Co.; butterfly stamp by Stampin' Up; Port Red Dye Ink by Memories; white sticker gems; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf and dotted line acrylic stamps; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; dots by Zots, corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft; Fastenater stapler by EK Success.

Supplies: pink patterned paper; brown cardstock; gold paper; 'i love you' ribbon by American Crafts; pink embroidery floss; red heart button; 'Love', brown/pink frame, brown/pink polka dot scalloped photo corner, and pink heart by K and Co.; butterfly stamp punch; Pink notepaper from Scrapbook Answers disk and altered in Photoshop Elements 2.0 to be more pink, printed from Epson R1800, onto white cardstock; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; leaf and dotted line acrylic stamps; Stampin Up embossing gun; nail buffing file; Scotch ATG 714 tape gun; dots by Zots, corner rounder by Creative Memories; scalloped scissors by Provo Craft; Fastenater stapler by EK Success.

Supplies: papillion and eclair patterned paper by S.E.I. the Jolie Chocolat collection; Purple cardstock for letters; 'THE END' letters cut with Jasmine Cricut Cartridge; scroll chipboards by Maya Road; embossing ink pad by Top Boss; gold embossing powder; nail sanding block; Scotch ATG 714 glue gun; Stampin Up embossing gun.

Mother's Day Card

2008-06-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

So this is a really late posting about Mother's Day, but I was late giving out the card as well. Plus I can't put it up on here till I give it out...just in case ;) You will notice that I used the same paper collection for my Mom's Birthday and Mother's Day card.

Front of Card

Inside of Card

Supplies: patterned flower and butterfly, pink crosshatch and pink and white flower paper by S.E.I. Jolie Chocolat collection; brown cardstock; magenta vellum (hand torn and hand cut butterfly window); magenta mulberry paper; pink craft foam by Darice; Sizzix Sizzlits script dies ('Mom' die cuts); pink sticker jewels; Brown and white polka dot ribbon by Offray; Scotch ATG 714 adhesive glue gun; "Happy Mother's Day" stamp by Inkadinkado; Jet Black ink by StazOn; and pink chalk.

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-06-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

Birthdays Birthdays!!!!!

Lots of Birthdays lately...lets face it there are lots of Birthdays in every one's families....It's just a matter of whether I have the time to make a card by hand. I have been making an effort of trying to make more of my cards by hand just because it is more personal!!! I hope they enjoy them as much as I LOVE making them!!! This card was is for my Mom's Birthday!!!

Front of Card

Inside of Card

To line the stickers up as evenly as possible before placing them on the paper I stick them half way on a ruler. I found this at an online video, and forgive me for not remembering who it was from if I think of it, I will come back to give credit where it is due!! I want to say her name was Erin, but I can't be positive.

Supplies: Patterned papers by S.E.I. Jolie Chocolat collection; pink parchment cardstock; magenta linen print paper; pink and brown polka dot ribbon; Gold alpha stickers by Stickopotamus; Iridescent and sheer flowers and leaves by Creative Impressions, 'Happy Birthday' stamp by Stampin' Up; Jet Black ink by StazOn; brown chalk; magenta brads by Making Memories; scalloped edge scissors by Provo Craft; nail sanding block from Wal-Mart; Zots 3-D dots; Scotch ATG 714 adhesive gun.

Easter Scrabook Album

2008-06-07T12:34:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a few days...so I am putting up a MEGA post!!! It is a complete album that I finished about 3-4 years ago. It is a 6x6 postbound album, but I have just provided pictures of the pages. The theme is Juliana designed by Brenda Walton for K and Co. I love being able to purchase tons of papers, stickers and supplies that all match and K and Co was one of the first to do this. I of course was in heaven and was able to complete the album with ease adding other purple, Easter and dragonfly related items!!! Thanks K & Co. for making scrapbooking easier!!!

Supplies: patterned paper and alpha and numeral stickers by K and Co. Juliana collection

Supplies: patterned paper by K and Co. Juliana collection; pastel brads by Creative Impressions; purple gel pen; 'coloring eggs' vellum print; 'fresh color' sticker by Sticko; purple paper; egg stencil by lasting impressions; and white daisy photo corners by Jolee's Boutique.
Supplies: patterned paper, 'J', 'Imagine' clearly yours sticker and checkered journal tag sticker frame by K and Co. Juliana collection; lavender sticker; purple gel pen; purple ink; 'U' 'S' 'T' Jive alpha stamps by Stamp Craft; and star gems.

Supplies: patterned paper by K and Co. Juliana collection; swirl clips by Creative Impressions; 'Mya's Masterpiece Eggs' alpha stickers; 'colored eggs...each year' vellum quote; 4 eggs vellum print; bunny sticker by Stickopotamus; and blue patterned paper.

Supplies: patterned papers, 'Believe' and 'MAGIC' clearly yours stickers, large purple flower Grand Adhesions stickers by K and Co. Juliana collection; purple and blue eyelash fiber; blue gel pen; dragonfly sticker by Jolee's Boutique; and white flower sticker.

Supplies: purple patterned paper and purple cardstock; dragonfly journal tag sticker, 'Dream' and 'Delight' clearly yours stickers by K and Co. Juliana collection; Sizzix tag die; purple gel pen; purple dragonfly brads by Creative Impressions; dragonfly and flower holographic sticker by Sticko; purple ink; 'Our Girls' Swirl alpha stamps by Stamp Craft; and purple chalk.
Supplies: patterned paper, photo corners (Grand Adhesions), and flower stickers by K and Co. Juliana collection; purple silk flower; 'QUEEN' crystal alpha stickers by Mark Richards; Gold rope from Crown Royal mini bag; gold brads by Creative Impressions; purple to pink gradient ribbon; purple lattice ribbon by Offray; purple speckle heart brad; 'FUTURE BEAUTY' Swirl alpha stamp by Stamp Craft; black ink by Stampin' Up!; and holographic dragonfly sticker by Stickopotamus.
Supplies: patterned paper, 'Horsies' alpha stickers and butterfly Grand Adhesion sticker by K and Co. Juliana collection; purple cardstock, Sizzix tag die; purple iridescent flower photo corner by Jolee's Boutique; purple speckle heart brad; purple soft fiber; purple gingham ribbon by Offray, silver pen by Hunt Corp.; and purple gel pen.
Supplies: patterned paper, purple flower and 'believe' Grand Adhesion sticker by K and Co. Juliana Collection; purple swirl embossed cardstock; purple metallic brad by Creative Impressions; sheer purple wired ribbon by Offray; and 'The Easter Bunny Came' 7/16" dot pastel blue alpha stickers by Making Memories.

Supplies: lavender pearlescent swirl paper by WorldWin; lavender Le Fleur Embossed paper by K & Co. Elizabeth Brownd collection; lavender checkered paper tag; 'Girl Talk' vellum quote; gold star paper clip; 'Mya Talking Sweetly To Shaylie' Swirl alpha stamps by Stamp Craft; purple ink; and purple satin ribbon by Making Memories.

Supplies: "forever" and "enchanted" patterned paper by Ever After; "Sister" vellum quote by DCWV; photo corner and photo frame Grand Adhesions by K and Co. Juliana collection; Fleur eyelets from Queen and Co.; and tan chalk.

Supplies: patterned paper by K and Co. Juliana collection; cloud and Easter basket stickers by Stickopotamus; 'Teach me how to FLY daddy' 7/16" Dot pastel pink, sun yellow and pastel blue by Making Memories; pink paper (for kite); purple sticker ribbon with pearl; purple satin ribbon by Offray; and clear circle sticker.

Supplies: blue cloud stationary paper; kite quote poem; blue chalk; blue gel pen; Stamping Station magnet alphas (used as template to cut 'FLY AWAY'); and hand drawn scalloped edge.

Supplies: patterned paper by K and Co. Juliana collection; 'Smiles are springing up all over' and 'Oh Happy Day' sticker by Sticko; purple square stickers by Tiles Play; and egg stickers by Jolee's Boutique.

Supplies: patterned paper, 'Wish' 'Celebrate' 'EASTER' and butterfly Clearly Yours, purple flower Grand Adhesion, "Shaylies" alpha sticker and journal tag sticker by K and Co. Juliana collection; 'FIRST' crystal alpha stickers by Mark Richards; iridescent dragonfly stickers by Stickopotamus; and purple gingham ribbon by Offray.

Supplies: patterned paper, photo corner Grand Adhesions, and alpha stickers by K and Co. Juliana collection; and metallic border stickers by Mrs. Grossman.

Supplies: lavender Le Fleur Embossed paper and 'forever' 'each moment is a gift' quote stickers by K & Co. Elizabeth Brownd collection; 'Family' and Destiny' Clearly Yours and lilac embossed sticker by K and Co. Juliana collection; and Crystal Sticker Elements by Mark Richards.

Supplies: patterned, vellum and embossed paper, lilac and dragonfly charmers, purple flower and lady bug Grand Adhesions, striped border sticker and garden seal sticker by K and Co. Juliana collection; lavender pearlescent swirl paper by WorldWin; 'memories' quote stickers by K & Co. Elizabeth Brownd collection; dragonfly vellum and glitter photo corners by Jolie's Boutique; purple slide frame; purple satin flower stickers; purple ribbon with pearl; bunny sticker by Stickopotamus; basket and egg buttons; tag with paper bag envelope; distress ink kit by Magic Scraps; purple gel pen; and deco scissors by Provo Craft.

Phew that was a long one!!! ;)

Supplies: patterned paper, 'Egg' alpha stickers, 'HUNT' Clearly Yours stickers, purple flower and lady bug Grand Adhesion stickers, flowers and lady bug stickers by K and Co. Juliana collection; purple-green striped and purple checkered border sticker by Mrs. Grossman; iridescent dragonfly sticker by Stickopotamus; 'Hoppy Easter' vellum quote; purple sheer ribbon by Offray; purple brad by Creative Impressions; bunny brass stencil by Lasting Impressions; purple and green chalk; vellum metal framed tag; purple square stickers by Tiles Play; and purple flower basket button.

Supplies: patterned paper, 'It iS EgGsTra SAD' alpha stickers, butterfly and lilac stickers, and flower Clearly Yours stickers by K and Co. Juliana collection; iridescent egg stickers by Sticko; Clear Tag sticker; purple sheer ribbon with pearl; purple gel pen; egg patterned paper; and metallic border stickers by Mrs. Grossman.

Supplies: patterned paper, 'EARTH LAUGHS in FLOWERS' and flower stickers by K and co. Juliana collection; pink gingham and yellow patterned paper; purple square stickers by Tiles Play; green and pink swirl clips by Creative Impressions; dragonfly, and egg and basket stickers by Jolee's Boutique.

Supplies: patterned and vellum paper by K and Co. Juliana collection; purple ribbon by Making Memories; purple fibers; heart charm; egg brass stencil by Lasting Impressions; 'I GOT ONE!' die-cut letters; various inks; purple Magic Mesh; lavender sticker; egg punch; pink, blue, yellow and silver gel pens; and various solid, patterned and vellum papers (for egg punches).

Supplies: patterned paper, striped border stickers, dragonfly Grand Adhesion, and sculptured dragonfly oval charm by K and Co. Juliana collection; plastic purple slide frames; metallic pastel brads by Creative Impressions; white Magic Mesh; purple bungee and purple grosgrain ribbon by Making Memories; 'CARLENE' 'MYA' AND 'RUN' Friendship alpha stamps and 'AND THE RACE IS ON' Party alpha stamps by Stamp Craft; black ink by Stampin' Up!; and purple gel pen.

Supplies: patterned and vellum embossed paper, 'heart' and 'love' Clearly Yours stickers, dragonfly sticker by K and Co. Juliana collection; metallic border stickers by Mrs. Grossman; iridescent dragonfly sticker by Jolee's Boutique; and purple patterned paper.

Supplies: patterned paper and 'M' Clearly Yours sticker by K and Co. Juliana collection; white lace; purple mesh fiber; felt stitched flowers and egg by Jolee's Boutique; pink Magic Mesh; purple patterned paper; purple gel pen; 'YA' 7/16" dot pastel pink and blue alpha stickers by Making Memories; and 'Easter' quote.
Supplies: patterned paper by K and Co. Juliana Collection; Stamping Station magnet alphas (used as template to cut 'HANDSOME BOY'); heart paper clip; green fiber; blue sheer ribbon; 'Race' 7/16" dot teal alpha stickers by Making Memories; checkered border stamp and black ink by Stampin' Up!; square pastel brads by Creative Impressions; and purple gel pen.

Supplies: patterned paper, and flower Grand Adhesion by K and Co. Juliana collection; vellum word stickers by Bo Bunny Press; purple dragonfly brad; purple string; gold heart charm; purple gel pen; 'father' gold tag, and 'LOVE' button sticker by All My Memories.

Supplies: patterened paper, butterfly and purple flower Grand Adhesions stickers, and "THE END" alpha stickers by K and Co. Juliana Collection.

Trip to the Scrapbook Store!!!

2008-06-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a trip to the scrapbook store to hit their monthly special!!! I already knew what I wanted to purchase because I have been eyeing the Tim Holtz unmounted stamp binder. After discovering Tim Holtz blog on Sunday I was inspired and stoked to get it even more. He had a video on how to paint it to make it uniquely yours!! Tim Holtz is so hard not to Love, and happens to be the first scrapbooking celebrity to give me permission to put a link on my blog!!! Hooray and big thanks Tim...You Rock!!! I think you will agree with me, so check him out at http://www.timholtz.typepad.com/

Goodies from the scrapbook store!!!

Tim Holtz idea-ology unmounted stamp binder, Tim Holtz Distress crackle paint in 'shabby shutters' & 'broken china', Airdondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in 'Stream'.

Do you see a theme in my purchases? (teehee) I was just a little bummed out that I couldn't get the paint dabber in a color like the 'broken china' to paint my binder with. I tried the crackle paint...but don't recommend it because the test spot I tried all flaked off after it was dry.... :( bummer. So I will be looking for the bottle I want today online so I can get it painted and uploaded to share with you all! It does look absolutely fabulous without the paint, but if I plan to buy more of these (cheesy grin) I want them to be different colors to go with my colorful theme in the room!!! Plus I just have faith in myself that I can fill them all up nicely with lots of stamps!!!

Digital Scrapbook Layout

2008-06-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

OK, so last night I was surfing the internet on an incredible vast amount of scrapbooking related sites and blogs and came across a site to download a freebie digital layout!! I was stoked not to mention I thought it was totally cute so I downloaded it and within 20 minutes minus some interruptions from the kids I had a finished digital page!!!

Thanks again to Andrea Gold for the freebie!!!

Supplies: Template #223 by Andrea Gold at http://www.godigitalscrabooking.com/, Photoshop Elements 2.0.

Congratulations Graduates

2008-05-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

Graduation, a time to celebrate accomplishment and the end of one journey and the beginning of another. Congratulations to all those graduating in the class of 2008. I have 1 nephew, and 2 friends of the family graduating this year. This is one of the cards I made for the graduates. As you will notice the base for the card is the same as the Graduation Invitation I made last November for my own graduation. I customized this card by adding the Graduates school color .... Red!!

Like any handmade card I wanted it to be unique from what you can purchase in the store. So I created a pullout tag that doubled as a hidding place for the Graduates $$ gift. I used 2 red paper clips to hold money to the pullout tag (not pictured).

Supplies: Patterned Card, envelope, tags, paper ribbon charm, scroll brad & paper quotes by Oriental Trading; "Congrats" & "2 U" from Tear Drop Cricut cartridge, red satin ribbon, white chalk, red marker, silver glitter gel pen by Scribblers, black marker by Sharpie, white gel pen, red mulberry paper, silver/chrome paper, red cardstock, black string, red eyelets

Front of Card

Inside of Card with tag pulled out

Backside of tag

Handmade Acrylic Birthday Card

2008-05-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

I found these Acrylic blank cards at my local scrapbook store, Cherished Friends. It came with a pack of 5 acetate cards, 5 white cards and 5 white envelopes for $5. I think they are 100% worth the price because they are so unique. This is the first one I created for my niece Taylor. I had a blast creating it and I think it came out wonderful!!!

Supplies: Acetate card by Hero Arts, Two Scoops patterned paper by Basic Grey, Sheer & Iridescent flowers & leaves & pastel brads by Creative Impressions, 'Happy Birthday' stamp by Stampin Up!, "Created By" stamp by Hero Arts, Jet Black Ink by StazOn.

Front of Card Closed

Front & Back of Card

Inside of Card

Graduation Invitation

2008-05-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

For my online graduation from AIU Online in November 2007 I wanted a personal invitation for all my family so I knew a hand made invitation would be best. Because the graduation was online, I e-mailed these photos of the invitation to everyone.

Supplies: black, pink & white Prima flowers, large white silk flower, pink textured paper, black & white card stock, white sheer ribbon, black ribbon, white string; patterned paper, envelope, paper charm and jewel brad from Oriental Trading, Cricut Beyond Birthdays cartridge,

Scrapbooking Yourself

2008-05-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

When you are the photographer in the family, you don't wind up in many photos(which I am thankful for). But just as you scrapbook the lives of those around you to prevent them from being forgotten, you should include yourself once and a while, just as I have done here. For the many pictures I have taken and scrapbook pages I have made for everyone else, so far, there is just this one dedicated to me.

Supplies: One Season digital papers by Vera Lim (Prima Hybrid), Prima flowers, Making Memories ribbon charm and glitter brads, tan sheer ribbon, black rick rack, black fringe trim, pink bungee string, various fonts from scrapbook answers, Photoshop Elements 2.0, Fastenater & slotted staples by EK Success.

This was my first "hybrid" 12x12 scrapbook page. Using Photoshop Elements 2.0 I layered the papers and cut them in a scalloped edge. I created the faded eyes at the bottom by cropping an up-close photograph of myself, lowering the transparency on the layer to 49% and using a 'soft round' eraser with a light opacity. The two polka dotted papers (gray & peach) on the left side of the page were each given a shadow effect to look like they pop off of the page. The smaller polka dot paper on the right was actually printed separately, cut out and placed on the page with foam squares to raise it, and give it that dimensional look. This also helps the fringe attached to the bottom swing freely.

2008-05-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Love is in the air...

It doesn't have to be Valentines to enjoy a cute little love note. I made this tin to hold the love notes my husband and I pass between us. They may someday make a cute addition to a scrapbook page about us or maybe I will just look through the tin once and a while to remind me of how great our love is!!!

Supplies: Maya Road chipboard tin, Prima flowers, b&w brads from Oriental Trading, various ribbons, Scallywag IOD Paintables by Prima Hybrid, pink craft foam, Sizzlits Script dies, Cropodile.

I used the Cropodile to punch the holes in the tin, and let me tell you it cuts through this stuff like butta!!! Then I rotated the holes to contain ribbon and flower/brads. In Photoshop Elements 2.0 I opened one of the papers from the Scallywag IOD Paintables collection. I placed a pink heart in the middle using the custom shape tool and had my pink color already selected. I re-sized the canvas to fit perfectly inside the window space and printed it out. Using a craft knife I cut the middle of the heart out to create a window. The pink foam letters were created with the Sizzix Sizzlits Script dies.

First Communion

2008-05-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

My beautiful neice Carlene had her first communion a few weeks ago and I had a blast taking pictures of her. Although the photo shoot was very short, I managed to get some great pictures of her and even her little brother Race. After a recent trip to the dollar store I scored a cute little black metal cross and knew I had to tie in those photos and a crafting opportunity arose!

The supplies include 2 sizes of white sheer ribbon, 2 red eyelets, 2 small white sheer blossoms by Creative Impressions.

I photoshopped the pictures making the background blurry and the subjects pop in the forefront. After I gave the gift to my Sister-In-Law, I realized Race will take his first communion in a couple of years as well, so I had to run back to the dollar store and purchase a second cross for when it is his turn. I want to make sure she has a matching set when the time comes!!!

My Crafting Heaven....Scrapbook room

2008-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

To get a good idea of how obsessed I am with scrapbooking you would have to see my "craft room". Luckily I can share it with everyone here!!

This first picture is the first thing to the left when you walk in the door. This is the side view of my workspace. These convenient little cubbies hold all of my crafting magazines that I read. I love getting inspired by other designers and dream of someday being a "Master" myself.

Everything that you are about to see was built by my Mom & Dad and was a Christmas present in 07'. I know I'm a lucky girl and I feel very greatfull that I am loved and have crafty parents!!!

In the left edge of the picture you can barely see the entry door frame. I wanted lots of shelves to hold glass jars, giving the room a "Candy Store" vibe. I think we accomplished this, and since Christmas, I have filled this area to the max. I know I have issues... I am a hoarder.

Under the countertop are boxes that are sorted and labeled by theme. Each box contains paper, stickers, ribbons, and other embellishments specific to a certain theme.

Most of the jars came from either used candles or the dollar store. The set of 4 antiqued jars and the black antiqued 6 drawer curio on the countertop both came from Mish Mash and Muddle!! They have excellent stuff in there!! The colored buckets on the bottom right shelf came from Wal-Mart $1 each and are filled with pens and markers. Behind the white wooden letter "K" on the countertop are 4 glass straw containers that I also got from Wal-Mart which cleverly store my colored pencils and more markers.

This is a closeup of the boxes on the bottom left side. In the clear file folders I have all my "scraps" or used papers sorted by colors. There is a color theme throughout the room as well. I am obsessisvely organized.

Some of the themes under here are: Princess, wedding, graduation, cheerleading, school, summer/vacation, Harry Potter, and the girl's school years (i.e. Mya 2nd grade, which is full of her artwork and school papers from that school year)

This is a close up of the boxes under the bottom corner (left). Some of the themes under here are: birthday, Christmas, VBS (multiple boxes for each year), Racing, Juliana by K&Co., baby, My Little Pony, Easter/Spring, Valentines/Love, and more VBS themes.

There are also some binders which hold things like stencils. The clay pots I hope to paint soon and put some of my tropical plants in them for the dining room. The theme in that room is "Safari".

This is the right side of the "L" shaped countertops. On top of the counter is my Cricut and its cartridges, Sizzix, stacks of drawers which hold: brads, eyelets, frames (small) embossing powders, acrylic stamps, various mounted stamps, and more.

You can see on the right side of the page my stack of magazines...I haven't figured out how to store these yet...I thought about trying to fit them in the armoire, but it is pretty full.

Under the right side counter top are various plastic drawers. These hold things like: adhesives, wrapping paper, dies (for Sizzix), fabric, ribbons for gift bags, tissue paper and more.

On top of the plastic drawers are mini albums and metal tins to be decorated. In the large licorice bucket I have silk flowers. The right side of the pic shows all of my albums some of which are completed, others are empty and ready to be filled with my creations!!

This is my ribbon/fiber/yarn area!!! It is one of my fav's. On the left I have licorice, peanut & cotton candy buckets stuffed full of yarns and fibers. The cupcake on the countertop was a present from Santa (wink) that had bubble bath in it, but I have filled it with mini spools of ribbon.

The black wire racks on the sides of the door (yes there is a closet door hidden in there) are 4 plate racks that I got from the dollar store. I have hung my floss cards on rings here.

In the center is a over-the-door shoe rack that I turned into a ribbon spool holder.

This armoire is to the right of the closet door. It is cram-packed full of things like: tin soldiers (Christmas craft), Fun with Photos Memories and More Catalogs, wood mounted stamps, pictures, egg crates, cotton fiber for pillows, and more scrapbook themes that I do not have enough white boxes for under the countertops.

On top of the armoire is some more shoeboxes full of themed supplies such as: pet, Bratz, Hannah Montanna, grapes, western and more.

This is my computer desk which I inherited from my grandma. It is big, sturdy and super heavy. On the very top is my acrylic paints, spray paint, paint brushes, glitters and my scanner.

On the desktop I have my Macbook Pro for design work (this belongs to Help Me, Rhonda! the advertising business I do graphic design for). To the right is my Dell laptop, my cell phone docked to the Dell and my Epson R1800 photo printer, which takes up 1/3 of the desk by itself. It can print 12x12 scrapbook pages that I design on the computer!!! In the cubby I have photos and card making supplies.

Here we are almost back to the entry door!! This is my paper station! On the left in the white cubes is my 12x12 paper. On top of that I used black wire CD racks to sort stickers and 8x8 and 6x6 papers. In the large black metal wire racks is my 8.5x11 papers. I won both of these from Cherished Friends (thanks again guys!!!)

In the plastic drawers I have punches, plastic bags, and fabrics.

I hope you enjoyed the tour around my room. I try to keep things extra organized to help the creative process flow better. I really need to add some decorative items to the room though. The overall theme is "candy store" but I am contemplating adding a little shabby chic to it!

2008-05-22T15:29:00.000-07:00

For my first post, I think I will start out by saying that I have been a scrapbooker for almost 9 years now. Of course the thing that got me started was having a child. I wanted to make a cute scrapbook to log all of my first childs every little moment and make it look super cool at the same time. The scrabooking industry was nothing like it is now and my baby scrapbook for my first child was mostly stickers, markers and some cut up wrapping paper from her baby shower.

Over the last 9 years I have become a scrapbooking fanatic. I have always been into crafts thanks to my Mom's wondorous crafting abilities. Her's of course far exceed my own which include painting with oils/acrylic/watercolors, sewing, and many more....thanks MOM for being such a creative example!!! Coming up to date I made a card for my neighbor a couple of days ago and I know that she loves giraffes (a common love we share!), so that set the theme for the card. I am so lucky to have such a cool neighbor....finally...thank heavens!!! I just had to show some gratitude for our newly blossoming friendship, and a thank you for the friendship bread she gave me. So here is my first project for everyone to see!