The Paper Intervention

Ugh.

2012-03-05T04:44:00.000-08:00

Since I've been working on my stack of unfinished quilting projects, I haven't really done much scrapbooking. Last night I decided to take a fabric break and get some scrapbooking done, but man, it was sooooooooooooo hard. I feel like I won't be able to make really great pages until those quilts are finished. They sit in the corner, staring at me... Then to top that off, my 2 year old just can't stand to let me get anything done. He's really good at getting into things like embossing powder and ribbon rolls when you're not looking- which means I'm spending more time cleaning up after him then actually putting anything together. =)
I'm not totally happy with it (you know how some things just look better in your head?), but I do really love that background shape I cut with my Sil. I'll likely be trying that again!

That's all for now- Luke is about done being in here, better go before something gets broken!
Have a great Monday!

Eeep!

2012-03-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

I received some exciting news today; I will be a part of Simple Stories' 2012 Design Team! I usually check my emails as soon as I wake up in the morning (it helps me wake up instead of falling back asleep like my body begs me to do) and there was the email! I don't think I've gotten out of bed that fast in a long time! I'm so excited to be a part of this team and can't wait to work with their great new releases, the Awesome line especially.
And can I make a confession? I think I still need to be pinched over the fact that, along with the really great list of designers who made this call, I get to work with Emily Pitts. She has been one of my scrapping idols for a really long time. Actually, I'm pretty sure she's the reason I became a Studio Calico subscriber and am so sad (still) to not see her gallery every month.
For a list of all the other talented ladies that are on the team, head on over to the Simple Stories blog!

Scraplift

2012-02-28T02:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Sorry for my being so quiet lately, I've been working on a lot of quilting projects still. I now have 6 quilt tops that need put together, just waiting on my thread to arrive in the mail so I can get going on them! I will also be debuting my etsy shop soon so I'm working on goodies to fill it up!
Last week on the Pebbles blog we were asked to scraplift a fellow design team member. I chose to lift a page by Sarah Webb who always has the most beautiful embellishment clusters. You can see her original layout on this post and here is what I came up with:

I'm getting so sad that my stash of Fresh Goods has been whittled away... I only have a few scraps left over!
Also, I've been trying really hard to catch back up on Project Life. At the end of January we had a lot going on- two families came to visit us back to back and then we all got sick with the stomach flu so I just didn't have the time. Then from there it just kept getting put on the backburner so when it was time to get back to it I was already four weeks behind. I was also a little weary about posting it here because well, let's be honest, PL is everywhere already. I'm not doing anything earth-shattering here- this is for my family to be able to look back on in a few years, not so much a gallery project. But, I figured I may as well, because occasionally I may have something fun to show.
Here are my first two (and only) fully completed weeks.

I decided that this is a really good way to use up supplies, so rather than have an underlying theme throughout my album, I'm choosing a scrapbook line for each spread. I have a lot of 6x6 pads that need some love, along with a lot of collection packs that need broken into so this works out really well for me!

Week 2 uses some old OA, Thrift Shop, I think.

I'm also getting a lot of use out of my Silhouette!

Next, I wanted to show you how I'm catching up. I emailed myself all of my cell phone photos and then sifted through my memory card from my camera to find all the photos I wanted to use. Since I'm using the Type A page protectors, I randomly resized my photos to either 4x6 or 3x4 not really worrying about what slot they'd go in. (If I needed to change it, I reprinted later). Then, I wrote the date on the back of each photo.
Then, I filled my album with a bunch of empty page protectors. Going through each two page spread, I labeled a sticky note with that week's date range.

Then I started putting my photos in according to their corresponding dates. Since I pre-labeled, it was really easy and fast.
At this point, I found that some of my weeks had only a little bit going on, so I decided that rather than try to fill a million slots with randomness, I'd dedicate only one page to them. I moved the stickies around and started being more particular with where my photos were going.
In under fifteen minutes, I had all my photos in place, ready for embellishment!

Now I'm in the process of finding the paper I want to use for each spread. Even though I may have two separate weeks facing each other, I plan on using the same line or color scheme just to make this part a bit easier. Once I choose them, I start cutting them down to fit the empty spaces, pop my journaling cards in where I want them and then begin figuring out what extras I want to add.
I think I actually prefer this batch method to doing a single week at a time. This way, I can also write down which Silhouette shapes I want to find, make, or use and can cut several at a time. I can also throw my notes for the happenings that week into an empty slot until I get to finishing it- this way I don't forget anything if I happen to take a little longer than usual to get them done!
I'll be working on filling the rest of the weeks up shortly, so I'll be back to share those eventually.

Scrapbook Therapy

2012-02-17T03:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't really played with paper very much in the last few weeks- I've been really trying to focus on de-stashing fabric-wise by making up a bunch of quilt tops. I had a Pebbles assignment that needed done though, so I pulled out my scissors and got to work. I was on such a roll, I decided to keep going, and I came up with another page.
I've had these pictures of my great-grandparents printed and sitting in a pile for a long time. I just couldn't find any papers that I thought went very well with them, and I wasn't sure I could do them any justice. I just got my Studio Calico Daydream Believer kit a few days ago though, and the muted colors in the kit were perfect.

Isn't my grandmother beautiful?
I had to really fight back tears when putting this page together. We lost the two of them back in November- it was rough for everyone but also a relief- they were both going through a lot physically and it was really hard. Being overseas, I'm far-removed from a lot that happens in my family- so much so that it really just never hit me that their health was really failing like it was. I just wasn't there to witness, so naively I didn't think about ever losing them.

My grandfather went first, my grandma a week later. They were so in love, so in tuned to each other- I'm sure it was because my grandma just couldn't live without him.
I only hope that someday I can pass along the goodness they gave to me and my family, pay it forward. I miss them every single day.
I was so glad to finish this page as it was really great to sit and think about them as I was putting it together- remember all the silly jokes my grandpa used to say, how you knew you were in trouble when my grandma pursed her lips and put her hand on her hips, how their house always smelled like home, and how every memorable vacation I had as a child involved them. It was therapeutic to be able to write it all down, tuck it in that little envelope, and hope that I was able to convey just how special they were to Luke, who will hopefully want to know who they were in the future.
Have you made a page that was difficult? Did you feel better after "getting it off your chest"?

Spring Time

2012-02-13T04:20:00.000-08:00

I made this page for the spring Scrapbook Cards and Today call but it didn't get picked up- it was for the Becky Fleck sketch. I cut the flower with my Silhouette (the petals stand up a bit, didn't get a close up though) and added a bit of hand stitching.

This was such a great day! There is a small field near my village that has seasonal flowers- you pick as many flowers as you want and leave your euro in a small box near the entrance. They have at least three kinds of flowers at a time and they change out every few months. Super cute! Luke loved running through the rows, stopping to smell them here and there. I can't wait until spring comes back and we can visit again.
Now that I have two more quilt tops finished (I'll share those as soon as they're quilted) I'm getting back to Project Life. I have had weeks 1 & 2 done for a long time, but we got busy and sick and then I didn't touch it again. I'm hoping to get all caught up today as this should be an interesting week- I don't want this project to fall through just yet!
Have you been keeping up with your Project Life? If you're not doing PL, what other ways do you use to keep track of your day to day activities?

More Valentines!

2012-02-06T05:26:00.000-08:00

I've got a set of cards made with Pebbles With Love collection- created to showcase their cute little shaped paper clips.

They are seriously adorable, right?
We're getting awful close to Valentine's day, do you have any plans with your loved ones? I think my husband and I will be seeing Star Wars in 3D, but that's for his birthday. I'm not sure if he has any VDay surprises or not, but I'm excited to find out!
In other news, I haven't really scrapbooked in a while- I've been trying to finish some fabric projects that I started long ago and then stuffed away.
First is this one, made for my sister.

It's from a tutorial posted by Elizabeth Hartman (called the New Wave quilt). I made one of these a while back for my couch and love how fast it comes together. The fabric is a mix of Parisville and Innocent Crush- very flirty! Now I need to decide what to bind and back it in.
The other quilt top I finished this weekend is another one of Elizabeth's patterns- the Nine-Patch Lattice.

It's another quick and easy quilt. I started the blocks for this one almost a year ago and finally decided it was time to make some progress! I have the backing finished and the binding all cut and ready- and then I discovered I'm out of batting. Oops! (Side note: I'll be selling this one as soon as I get it all quilted, let me know if you're interested!)
And, since I was on such a roll this weekend I picked up ANOTHER quilt top- City Weekend.

This was one of the first quilt patterns I ever bought. I made a few blocks (it's all paper pieced) and then I guess got burned out and put it away. I'm really loving this one though, glad I found it hidden in my stash!
I hope to get back to playing with paper soon (and catching up on Project Life), but I'm going to press ahead with fabric while I've got some steam!

Valentine Decor

2012-01-31T03:44:00.000-08:00

Hi friends! It's been a crazy hectic week for me (out of town guests, finals week, plus the stomach flu) so I haven't gotten many crafty things done. I've got a pile of cut fabric waiting to be sewn together, a relatively untouched Studio Calico kit calling my name, and homework for a new class I'm really interested in, so I've got a busy week ahead of me.
What I DO have is a project that went up on the Pebbles blog for "Inspired By" week. I found this on Pinterest:

Source

and knew I had to have it! I made myself a paper version as a place to store Valentine's and love notes. Right now it is hanging up on the wall by my front door, but I like that I can also hang it on a door handle. It would be a cute alternative to the typical shoebox that kids usually make in school.

I also got a chance to do an SC challenge to scraplift the person above us. I got Stacey (slsattler) and I chose to lift this layout of hers: http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/projects/challenges/1779452-pumpkin-patch/.

I haven't done a two pager in a long time, this was just the push I needed! (Please excuse the photo glare). I kept it pretty simple- with so much going on I didn't want to get too crazy and then not get it finished. Love that it came out like a placemat!
Hopefully I'll get some more done this week and will have another post soon, thanks for stopping by!

And don't forget- if you're planning on pre-ordering any of the new CHA lines, visit Stop & Scrap! You can use coupon: INTERVENTION for 12% their already low prices! Sweet deal, right?

Be Mine Always

2012-01-20T03:53:00.000-08:00

We don't really celebrate Valentine's day around here. It's my husband's birthday so we focus on that instead, rightfully so. I still love Valentine's day decorations and papers though, so when Pebbles introduced their With Love line I was so excited! Really, how can you NOT love this paper:

I really could have at least 10 sheets of this.
This page using the With Love line went up on the Pebbles blog yesterday:

It was based on a sketch by Becky Fleck. Sidenote: that woman amazes me with her ability to constantly dream up new layout ideas.
Anyway, I love this line and if it were appropriate, I'd make lovey dovey pages every time. =)
And speaking of Pebbles, have you seen the new lines they revealed for CHA Winter? Ahh!
Here are some of my favorites:

This line, Let Freedom Ring, is so perfect for me, I've got an air force husband at home and haven't really scrapped any of his photos in uniform. Can't wait!
And this is from the Hip Hip Hooray! line:

Do you see those little pinwheels?! How cute!
And last but not least, actually it is what I'm most excited about:

Corrugated Alphas in three colors. OMG. I need many packs of each. And be forewarned- they WILL be on every page I make until they run out.

Have you been pre-ordering any of the new lines that have been released? If you are, I've got a coupon for Stop & Scrap that will give you a 12% on your pre-orders! Just use coupon code: INTERVENTION at checkout! Easy peasy!

Silhouette Tutorial

2012-01-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I promised I'd be back with a Project Life update but I'm having some issues getting decent photos. Maybe I'll show it next week along with Week 2.
I did, however, figure out how to put together a video tutorial! Yay! I have a few ideas in mind for helping out new Silhouette users with building custom shapes. There are a lot of really great images in the Silhouette store so my goal is to help you save your money for the really good shapes by building your own basics.
Today's video is about how to create your own borders. A few days ago, I posted a page that used a large scallop border:

I made that really quickly with just a few circles in Silhouette. Here's my super quick video tutorial (it's best viewed full screen):

I hope that makes you see your basic shapes in a new way and that you'll experiment with borders yourself. Why buy these basics when you can make them yourself? =)
Let me know if you found this video helpful, had trouble viewing, or if you have any ideas for things you want to learn how to do!

I Do

2012-01-12T03:39:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make. I've been married for 3 1/2 years and this is the first page I've done with our wedding photos.

I know, I know. I didn't really come across any papers that I thought "fit" our wedding so they got put on the back burner. These papers I finally chose don't follow our color scheme (it was Tiffany blue and brown) but they work well for these photos without the colors in them.
I really love how it came out- probably one of my favorite pages in a long time. The photos on the side crack me up- we were having such a hard time keeping straight faces for pictures so we decided to "box" to get rid of our giggles. It really didn't help. =) Love that they capture our personalities though, we're always play fighting or being goofy.
And I managed to follow my resolution here too- I used something old from my stash (the K&Co. photo frame). I'm also finding that I really like 8.5"x11" pages, I feel like I don't have to worry about "filling" the space as much. I'm not a big gal for layering or for a lot of embellishment- this makes it more manageable for me!
I'll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with my first week of Project Life and I've got a Silhouette tutorial in the works for sometime next week. See you then!

Out with the old...

2012-01-11T06:23:00.000-08:00

...so I have room for the new! I'm making it a point this week to use up my Memoir and Autumn Press lines from Studio Calico, so I can justify buying any new lines that I fall in love with after CHA. I'm guilty of hoarding a lot of papers I love and for some reason, when they're in collection packs they tend to stay that way. Actually, I might have forgotten I had them until I went looking for something else last weekend...
Anyway, I pulled together the "baby" colors out of each of those lines and came up with this page:

These pictures are too funny but heartbreaking at the same time. Those clippers really scared the heck out of poor Luke! It was a really stressful outing and we dread having to take him to get his hair cut because it's still the same. (You should see his hair right now, it's crazy long.)
I used the brads on the title after seeing this cute tutorial on the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog:
http://scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/scrapbook_cards_today_blo/2012/01/have-a-brad-or-two-in-your-stash-have-a-look.html. Love this idea and will definitely be using it again!
I'm also trying to stick with a New Year's resolution I made for myself this year and that is to use up as much of the "old" items in my stash as possible. The buttons on this page part of that- they are Cosmo Cricket from the Joyride line. That's pretty old, right? I'll be sneaking old things onto each and every page this year *fingers crossed I keep up with it* in an effort to declutter.
Did you make any crafty resolutions? Are you keeping up with them?

Pocket Pillow

2012-01-04T04:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided to start on one of my New Year's resolutions- to use up my fabric stash as much as possible. I found this pattern from Nova at a Cuppa and a Catch Up and I knew it would be perfect for small scraps.

The pattern was really easy to follow and it came together in just a day. I didn't baste the dresden section as it stated so my petals are a bit loose so I'll make sure to do that part next time. I did some hand quilting like her example and had a lot of fun with it. Next time I'll embroider a name on the pocket section or maybe add a button just for kicks. Super cute! Maybe I'll work up a stash of these for gifts!

Project Life

2012-01-03T03:45:00.000-08:00

I've been slowly working on my PL title page and finally finished it today! It's really getting me in the mood to start organizing the things I will use, but I think I like randomly pulling things from my stash on a whim so we'll see how it goes.

I did a lot of Photoshopping with Pink Paislee's newest digital line and used my Silhouette for a few pieces as well. That little bathroom guy cracks me up- I just cut his legs off a little bit and then stamped the rounded part back on... hahaha
Anyway, that's all for today- just wanted to quickly share! Be back later in the week!

Old Times

2011-12-30T02:31:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts about not scrapbooking chronologically is that I get to flip through years of photos to find something new to scrap about- and I discover old pictures and stories that I get to reminisce over! These pictures make my husband and I laugh because of that stupid swing... We found out we were pregnant when we lived in Idaho- just months before moving to Turkey. We knew that it would be slim pickin's as far as baby supplies go so we scrambled at the last minute to buy as much baby furniture as possible before the movers came to pack up our house. It was stressful but totally worth it as we were so right- there was hardly anything to choose from once we got there.
Anyway, with all that, we were so glad to have the swing- because every baby needs one! Well, except Luke who absolutely HATED it. We tried and tried but it would take five minutes and he wanted OUT! It's funny now, but when you're an exhausted mother running on no sleep and recovering from a c-section it was a paaaaain. =) It really just sat in our living room the entire time we lived in Turkey laughing at us.

Oh, that Luke.
Anyway, I'm working on some Project Life goodness and hope to have that up this weekend! If I'm not back before then, Happy New Year!

Christmas Recap

2011-12-29T05:17:00.000-08:00

I had a fun advent calendar page go up on the Pebbles blog yesterday- just my quick way to recap the holiday with a lot of photos and journaling without a lot of work.

This way I can continue to focus on my December Daily but still include a little glimpse in our regular albums as well.
I've also been working on a lot of cards- I haven't been able to get good photos lately without my flash bounce so I'll just share the one for now:

(This uses American Craft's Garden Cafe line and the stamp is from Papertrey Ink.)
Anyway, just this quick post today so I can get back to scrapbooking while my son is still entertaining himself! Have a great day!

Gearing up for Project Life

2011-12-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas! We had such a good time- this year Luke was actually excited to see what was under the wrapping paper, rather than just playing with the bows! We made the mistake of getting too many things that were just a little bit too old for him, so our day was spent trying to repeatedly show him how everything worked. =)
Anyway, with the new year approaching, I have decided to jump on board with Project Life. However, I'll tell you up front- we are NOT exciting people. We prefer routine around here, so it may end up being sparse. Yeah, we are in Germany so there might be the occasional travel opportunity, but I'll take pajamas and sleeping over an event any day!
Even so, I've come up with a few things to focus on to help me fill in some of those spots from week to week. The first thing is funny things Luke says. He's 2 so I'm sure there will be plenty of that! I will make one card a week specifically for this and I'll keep it laying around the living room so I can fill it in as soon as something is said. The things that Luke is learning will be really great to have as well- I just haven't been so good at writing down his milestones but PL will help remind me to do so.
The next thing is our weekly menu. We have a tendency to fall in a food rut so I'm hoping this will encourage me to branch out a few times a week and try something new. I know seeing tacos repeated so often will definitely help snap me out of it!
So once I convinced myself that this is a worthy project regardless of how "not busy" we are, I began putting together my supplies. Here are some of the things I will be using:

We R Memory Keepers Page Protectors - Multi Pack

I wanted a good variety of page protectors to choose from, so I will also be adding in the occasional 6"x12" protector as well- these will be good for memorabilia, menus, programs, etc.
For papers, I thought long and hard trying to figure out which line I wanted to work with all year long. First I thought about American Craft's Chap line because it's my absolute favorite right now, but I didn't want to have to buy a lot up front or have to worry about running out near the end. My solution? Digital papers. This way, I'll always have them around, can print them as needed, and can even make some modifications to make my own journaling cards or embellishments. I've picked Pink Paislee's Circa 2012:

(You can pick this up at JessicaSprague.com). Isn't this perfect? The journaling spots alone will make the process really easy and I love that the papers are neutral enough for any time of year. I'll be printing as needed, rather than keeping a collection somewhere- just so I don't have to worry about storing anything I don't need to.
I'll also be trying my hardest to pull items from my stash. I have plenty of small embellishments that should work well and it will help me to declutter this year.
I'll check back with you in a couple days to show you some more of my Project Life beginning stages!

Christmastime slump.

2011-12-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

I started my DD, have a page or two done and I'm already feeling burnt out. Anyone else?
So, rather than stare blankly at it, I decided to get back to making pages. It feels like it's been a long time!
I put this together really quickly, even pulled out my sewing machine.

(Sorry for the bad photo, I've seem to have lost my beloved flash bounce).
Anyway, about my DD, I think I've decided that I'll keep taking photos for it, but I likely won't get back to it until after Christmas. I feel like that way I can focus on the holiday and be more committed later!

Whew, I'm back!

2011-12-08T04:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being SO quiet last month- I'm finally home, settled in, and getting back to crafting! We've been getting into the holiday spirit around here with decorating, baking, and shopping- and I've opted to do a December Daily this year. I'm taking more of a loose approach- I won't organize it by day as we don't do something Christmasy EVERY day, but I'll be sure to capture the important things like our family traditions. I'm already late to the party as we're already a week into December, but I'm hoping to catch up this weekend. Today, I finished the cover to give me a little more motivation to get crackin'.

Nothing too fancy, but simple and clean- just my style. I wanted to make sure I didn't layer too much, that way it will be able to sit next to other albums on a shelf nicely.
I started with a single coat of Modge Podge just to give it a bit of a finished shine, then adhered the Crate paper (my favorite Christmas paper EVER).

I'm not usually big on glitter, but I think it works nicely here and helps tie everything together. (By the way, I'm using the December Daily kit from Studio Calico, plus a lot of other bits and pieces I ordered online).
I'd probably have a little more of this album done if it weren't for this other project I've been working on...

This is the Silhouette Advent calendar (sorry, they're sold out now!) and it was so much fun to put together! I just started going for it without much of a plan, putting together boxes as I had time. I used mostly American Crafts' Hollyday line for this, as well as Pebbles Welcome Christmas and Crate's Peppermint. I love how it came together. The best part about this, though, is that since I have all the templates for the boxes on my computer now, I can change this up every year if I want to! Now to fill it with goodies...
Well friends, thanks for stopping by and being patient with my infrequent posts. I promise- I'm back and will post more often now!

Ready for Valentine's Day??

2011-12-01T00:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't even put Christmas decorations up yet but man, I'm itching to get some Valentine's made. This new Pebbles line is TOO cute. Seriously. The heart paper I used on this page is my favorite ever.

And, I used my Cameo for the first time with that swirly heart border on the top- man I love that thing and can see many hours in my future glued to the Silhouette. Hopefully I can get some scrap time when I'm home from vacation!

Grateful Mini

2011-11-25T15:08:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends!
Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving, got to do some Black Friday shopping, and are starting to pull out your Christmas decorations! I'm still on vacation enjoying my break from real life. =) We are headed back next week and once we're over jet lag, I should be back to posting regularly.

Yesterday I had a mini album go up on the Pebbles blog featuring the last little bits of the Fresh Goods line that I still had. I love making minis that use up scraps!

For this album, I decided to share some things that I am thankful for this year. I have a lot of blank pages in the back so as something else comes up, I can add it in. I dated it with 2011 so I can make one of these each year and continue to document the things I am thankful for year 'round.
Thanks for stopping by!

All is quiet, but not so calm...

2011-11-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

So I just wanted to pop in and apologize for being quiet this last week. I worked on the quilt I talked about in the last post- but halfway through quilting it I noticed I had a serious tension problem and now I have to take all that free-motion quilting OUT. So, since I have no patience for that at the moment, the quilt is going back on the shelf for a while.
And, I've been working on a few projects but my printer ran out of photo black in the middle of a mini album.... and my local American store has been completely out of this ink for months now. I tried going to a German electronics store but I guess Euro and American inks aren't recognized together in my printer as being compatible. Talk about a pain!
Thursday we leave for vacation- a looooooong 11.5 hour flight from Frankfurt to San Francisco and then from there to Boise. We've been missing our families a lot lately so this is a much needed trip- but there will be lots of alcohol consumed on the plane, I assure you. I can already imagine Luke kicking the seat in front of him, not wanting to sit still, and screaming at the top of his lungs because he's cranky... Okay, so maybe it won't be THAT bad but prepare for the worst and then be surprised, I guess! I'm going to take a few supplies with me so I can have a few posts here and there (hopefully).
And with that, I'll leave you with Luke as Luke Skywalker for Halloween this weekend... =)

Punkin' Patch!

2011-10-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

This year we visited a local pumpkin festival- complete with corn maze, pumpkin brats, and the best part- pumpkin soup! Mmmmmm. We had a lot of fun checking out the local vendors, enjoying some beer, and letting Luke run around all the pumpkins. He just loved that he could pick them up (or at least try!).

I tried to pull as much out of my stash as possible- I'm really up to my ears in stuff I've had for over a year so I'm trying to sneak things on here and there. All the patterned paper is old- the only new things I brought out here were the alphas and the Studio Calico tag.

I took a cue from the Pebbles butterflies from the Fresh Goods line and use three layers to build my little pumpkin. I used corrugated sheets from a very old 7 Gypsies ephemera pack, inked up the raised portions and the edges, sandwiched the orange paper in between them, and then sewed down the center. Easy and dimensional!
And while we're on the subject of fall activities, I forgot to post this page I did for Pebbles last week!

I used a few different lines for this page. I hand-stitched the leaves in the background and then built the page around them. I'm starting to hand-stitch a lot more lately- I love that I can keep my hands busy while still be out with the family, rather than alone in my scrap room.

Today I'm working on that quilt I started way back when.... Hopefully I'll have progress to share with you tomorrow! Thanks for visiting!

Little Yellow Bicycle - Cycling Team

2011-10-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

I have a post over at Little Yellow Bicycle today! I was chosen to be part of their cycling team and man, was I excited! I got to play with one of their latest collections, Head of the Class. I used the line to create a page, some lunch box notes, and a card.

I had so much fun with this line and can definitely see reaching for it a lot- not only is it great for back to school, but also boys- those primaries are great!
For more projects from this line be sure to head over to Little Yellow Bicycle and check out what the other gals did!

Thank You - Memoir

2011-10-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Just a quick post today to share some cards I made with Studio Calico's Memoir line (and a bit of alphas from Autumn Press). I finally got this order in and needed to start cutting right away and this is what came out.

I needed some thank you cards to send out for family and these were quick and easy. Now if actually mailing them were as easy...
Be sure to check out the Pebbles blog today, I have a fall themed page up over there!

Too fast...

2011-10-18T05:10:00.000-07:00

My son is growing like a weed. It's hard to really notice until I sit down and look through past photos, or realize that everything in his drawers is suddenly too small for him. It IS easy to see how much he is learning though, like when I listened in on his "pre-naptime talk" to himself and heard him successfully count to 8. He's only been 2 for a month and I know that all these changes will just keep on coming at a rapid pace. Still, it's hard as I want him to stay my little guy forever, but it is also exciting to watch him grow and learn- and be proud of himself for his accomplishments.

I found this photo the other day and knew I wanted to enlarge it on a page. I also thought it would be fun to do the title ON it, so I cropped it with that in mind. I did something similar on this page: Road Trip. I think I'll be doing this more often as I really like the look!
I'm also working on Christmas blocks for a quilt that I've had sitting around for a year now. I kept meaning to get it together this summer, but it's summer- so why would I be inspired to do anything Christmasy that early? =) I'm paying for it now though- if I don't get it done in the next two weeks it will likely sit another year- we're going on vacation for the month of November and I know I won't have time to do it with the hustle and bustle of December.

So far I have 3/12 blocks finished and it takes me about an hour and a half per block. Better get crackin!

Another quick page!

2011-10-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

I'm really on a roll this week- I've managed a page a day, just like I planned. This weekend I'm hoping to move onto some cards. I need to send out thank you's for my birthday presents! =)
This is the page I whipped up last night, using Pebble's Fresh Goods line.

You can just barely tell but I used a Studio Calico stamp behind the title- it's the confetti stamp from a couple months ago. I used champagne Versamark and it gives it a really cool but subtle shine. I needed something there because there was no texture in the cardstock I used and I think it was the perfect solution! I also embossed my thickers- love that they were "nekkid" so I didn't have to worry about finding the right font/color combo, I could just make them whatever I wanted!
Thanks for coming by, enjoy your weekend!

What time is it?

2011-10-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

Beer:30!

I was working on a few different pages last night and neither were really going well for me. I put them to the side and pulled out my latest SC kit instead. Somehow I just started throwing things on the page and had this done in 15 minutes. I know- a record for me. Normally my "simple" pages still take an hour or two because I'm indecisive. These pictures are from "Oktoberfest"- the quotation marks because it wasn't what you're thinking, it was my small village's version of it. Still with good beer and good food and lots of people though! The best part about this day was the fact that we could just walk home afterwards!
And friends, I've made it a bit easier to subscribe to my blog- just click that blue button on the left. You can also get updates to your inbox by putting your email address in that little box over there as well! (And who doesn't like getting crafty emails?)
I'll be back tomorrow with another page!

A whirlwind week

2011-10-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

I've been busier this week than I thought I would be, that's for sure! But I've made it a point to finish a page a day, no matter how late I have to stay up. =)
Last night I finished this one to document some of the things I'm "into" right now at my age, things I'm thankful for, how proud I am to be where I am. I really just started cutting and gluing without a plan, which is why you don't see the journaling- I just wasn't sure where to put it.

My solution was the envelope behind the picture. I actually went through my supplies yesterday to do some organizing (with my new Ikea drawers!) and found that I have about 20 of these Maya Road envelopes- guess I'd better start using them up!
And this page went up on the Pebbles blog on Monday:

I had a lot of fun using pink on a page- with all boys around here, pink rarely makes an appearance in my scrap room!
And yesterday, some of our good friends came by to help me celebrate my birthday and brought me this:

Yes friends, that's right, a SWISS CAKE ROLL cake! It had ice cream and chocolate syrup inside too. (Swiss cake rolls are my weakness). There's a bit waiting in my freezer for me right now...

Poorman's Ribbon Organizer

2011-10-10T03:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Today is my birthday- the big 2-5! So far I've had an amazing breakfast made by my husband- potatoes o'brien, sausage, eggs, and toast, complete with a candle and birthday song, I'm going to Ikea in a hot minute to get some things to better organize my scrap room, and then I get to come home and spend the rest of the night in here making some more pretty things. It's going to be a good day!
Sorry I've been quiet lately, I've been working on a lot of pages and projects lately but nothing I can show you quite yet- hopefully sometime this week though! I've also been doing a lot of homework. I'm taking an introductory drawing course and have been learning about still-life drawings- here's my latest assignment:

Not too bad for never really being a drawer I'd say! I know there are a lot of graphic designers that don't draw or never took any drawing classes, so I hope getting better in this aspect will help me tremendously later and maybe give me a slight edge. It has been challenging but fun so far!
And, I've gotten a start on better organizing my scrap space. I'm really bad about using product I have if I can't see it. Right now, most everything is divided into large categories and put into bins on my expedit shelves. It works to keep things uncluttered, but I rarely feel like digging around to find something that will work on a page. So, I've decided to add some drawer units in here to help me further classify items and I feel like drawers will be easier to rummage through than bins. I started on getting my ribbon out of bins first, and my solution was this easy ribbon rack.

I used two curtain rod hangers that I had laying around the house and then strung my ribbon rolls onto a dowel rod.

It bows slightly without a support in the middle but I think I've accomplished my goal- the ribbon is out of the bin, I can see it all, and it's easy to pull out whatever length in whatever color I need. And for $1.59, you can't beat it! I still have about 15 rolls of ribbon that don't quite fit so I'm going to have to pick up another dowel rod to hang another below this. I also have some clips from Ikea that will hang from the second one to hold loose ribbon I've acquired.
And lastly, I have a page up at the Pebbles blog today, make sure you check it out! Here's a little sneak peek-

Well friends, it's Ikea time! I'll be back tomorrow with some more projects to share!

Pinterest Inspired v2.0

2011-09-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

I pinned this beautiful wedding invitation the other day and KNEW I had to scraplift it.

Photo Credit

The colors, the title work- everything in it is perfect and totally my style. I actually pinned it, ran from the computer and immediately started figuring out how I was going to get it done. This is what I came up with:

I know, I know, I JUST did a page about my husband and I but that was lovey-dovey and this is just some quick facts about us. =)
And, on Wednesday, I had a few cards up over at Pebbles. I used the Fresh Goods line for all three cards but tried to make them a little different in style.

The last one is my favorite- I love that honeycomb paper! AND, Pebbles just announced a new line called With Love. It's back to basics for Valentine's day with traditional red and pink PLUS kraft- sounds perfect, right? I'm already drumming up some ideas for valentines...
Anyway, I need to finish up some homework so I can have my weekend entirely free. I'm feeling like I could use a nap too; we'll see. Have a good weekend!!

Being Festive!

2011-09-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it might be a tad early, but I made this blog banner a few weeks ago and have been itching to get it up ever since. Really makes me want to run out and buy some candy corn...

I've been busy with homework and such this week, but I've been a page making fool too- I just can't show you anything just yet. ;)
I DO, however, have a few cards that I made a while back that I haven't posted yet...

I made this for my husband on our anniversary back in August. We were married on 8-8-08, so this is me being witty. =)

And this one is a really quick card I made just because. I'm really into the yellow/mustard and navy blue combo right now- trying to find a cute, comfortable fall outfit with the colors- no such luck yet.
I also have some cards up over at the Pebbles blog today, pop over there and tell me what you think!

Wine Fest!

2011-09-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend I got to take a little break from homework and we headed out to Bad Durkheim and their annual Wine Fest. It was a huge fair with lots of food vendors, rides, games, and best of all- BEER TENTS. We let the kids ride some rides, rode some ourselves, ate lots of sweets, and then had a huge glass of wine to top it all off. Good times were had by all!

We will definitely be making a trip out there next year- probably sans children so we can enjoy the alcohol a little more... =)
I made this page with a September PageMap as I'm always short on time. I pulled out a lot of the oranges from the kit this time as festivals in Germany = fall, so I put a little seasonal spin in it. I added a MME brad and some vellum from my stash, too. I'm on a kit roll this week (I normally make one page with a kit once I get it and then don't look at the kit again for a few months...) so hopefully I can keep it going!

Sushi Love

2011-09-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

I've been super swamped with school work as we enter the last week of the session so my scrap supplies have been sadly neglected. I decided last night that enough was enough- I put my homework to the side and pulled out my latest SC kit. I already had these pictures printed so I fought really hard with that kit to make this work- it was late and didn't want to make noise with the printer for new photos, and I think this worked out great!

Just a super simple but fun page! These photos aren't really the greatest quality but I think sometimes we get too caught up in trying to use only studio quality pictures. It's a shame really, there are a lot of stories you can tell whether the pictures are good or not! I'm trying to make a conscious effort to use a lot of these not-so-great, shadows behind heads, camera on the wrong setting photos. =)
Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

You & Me

2011-09-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

We've been introducing the new Pebbles design team for the last few weeks and yesterday was my turn! This is the page I created to "showcase my style" that went live on the blog yesterday.

9 times out of 10 I start with a basic grid to figure out where I want to stick things down. In order to keep it from being too boxy, I tilted the corner photo and added some extra wave in the clothesline. I think it helps keep things balanced but interesting.
For the title, I didn't have the right color alphas so I embossed them with Denim Zing- and voila! The perfect blue. I'll definitely be using this technique again- I have 29987329472 Thickers and never seem to have the right color.
Thanks for looking!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Yummies...

2011-09-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

I broke out the fall decorations yesterday. I had to. Summer has been like a constant fall in Germany but it was depressing then- while everyone was out at the beach, or even just wearing shorts, we were gloomily looking out our windows at rain. Now though, since it's SUPPOSED to be that way, I'm suddenly in a better mood! Nothing says fall to me like this recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies though, so tonight I finally got down to my monthly double-batch.

And because I want to share my fabulous fall mood, I'm going to give you the recipe! Actually, I found this on allrecipes.com a few years ago. You can see the original recipe right here. I've changed some things here to make it even more awesome...

1 cup Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chip

There's not a whole lot of difference here but I'll explain why I made the changes. First, for whatever reason, my grocery store doesn't carry canned pumpkin. A travesty. Instead, this pumpkin pie filling does the trick and adds a little something more. However, because it already has a lot of spice in it, I cut back a bit on the vanilla. It tends to overpower the pumpkin taste, especially when combined with the semisweet chocolate. Next, I add more cinnamon. I like my cookies, coffee, anything, with EXTRA cinnamon. You won't be sorry you added more, I promise.
Then there are a couple things to note with this recipe. Like I mentioned, the vanilla and semisweets tend to fight a bit. If you find it is just too much, go with milk chocolate chips instead. I love this version even better- I'm not a huge chocolate enthusiast so milk is more tame for me. You'll be tempted to eat these right out of the oven but be warned- there is a LOT of chocolate in there so that will be mostly what you taste. I think it tastes a lot better to let them sit out and get to room temperature- the pumpkin and cinnamon is more evident that way. The recipe mentions refrigerating them and that way is good too! Mmmm. Can you tell that I'm really passionate about these cookies? =)

In other news, check out my first ever design team post with Pebbles today! I'm so excited to be a part of this team; there are some talented ladies this year!
Anyway, thanks for letting me share this yummy goodness- now go! Run to the grocery store to pick up some pumpkin!

I'm back!!

2011-09-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

I'm finally home from vacation and have had some time to get back into our normal routine over here. I've made it a point to get some scrapbooking in a little at a time (why is it that after only 2 weeks I feel like I'm a little rusty?) and got a page done, along with some things you'll be seeing on the Pebbles blog shortly!

I pulled a few of my favorite pictures from the trip and slapped them down in this page. Sometimes I think a quick and easy page is just what you need to "get feeling it" again- and I'm definitely feeling it! I could use about 10 more hours in a day to craft though...
Anyway, I can't stick around long today, I have a LOT of homework to do, but I'll be back in a few days with some of the other things I've been up to!
PS- I'll be messing around with the layout of my blog in the coming days so please bear with me as things look a little funky.

Vacation!

2011-08-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

I've been in England for a week visiting my sister and nephew. We've been really busy wandering around while she plays Tour Guide Barbie for us! I've been to London for a concert, seen some beautiful cathedrals, and am visiting Stonehenge tomorrow. It's been a lot of fun but hectic too- I'm trying to get homework done in between the little trips here and there. Luke has been a trooper though- he's definitely a good travel companion!

Big Ben is RIGHT in your face once you get off the tubes- it was very cool to be so close! There was a lot of foot traffic around though, so getting pictures was tricky.

The Eye was right across the street. We didn't ride it, but it was a gorgeous day and would have been perfect for it!

This was taken right outside the Hard Rock Cafe- it seemed fitting to eat there before heading to our concert!

This was our tube stop- it was a long ride into town but definitely worth it! We have another week here and will be taking another trip into London for some more sight-seeing. I'm worn out but am so glad to be able to see all of this!
I'm definitely missing crafting though. I can't wait to break into my box of Pebbles goodies waiting for me at home!

Be You

2011-08-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

I've got a page to share today that I made last night. I basically just started cutting out random rectangles and squares and positioning them around- there are a lot of different patterns going on here but in a strange way, it works.

Sorry for the poor photo quality- I'm in a huge hurry. We just found out today that I may be able to make a flight to England tomorrow so I'm trying to finish homework and pack so we can be out the door at 4AM. So far I can check homework off the list, packing though... that's a different story. I still have 6 hours! =)

Anyway, I'll be pretty quiet this next week or so but I'll try to get on and post some travel photos!

Wanderlust

2011-08-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

I finished a page with Studio Calico's Boardwalk (same kit as the cards from yesterday) and thought I'd go through my 'scrap process'.
I tend to spend a lot more time staring at paper than actually making anything, truth be told. So for this page, I thought it best that I sketch out what I wanted to do first, so I wouldn't have to worry about where to start. I came up with this:

Granted, I'm no Becky Fleck, but using a sketch saves a ton of that "pre-scrapping" phase and allows me to get directly to cutting up paper! I also usually have a problem knowing what size photos I want to use- seeing it all laid out in a sketch gives me a better idea. You can definitely try this with a hand-drawn sketch too, don't be afraid to test something out on paper before you get to it.
While coming up with the sketch I thought it would be fun to try small pieces of patterned paper (the 2.5X3.5" pieces) that are embellished separately. This is another technique I try to use when I'm not sure of the final outcome- getting started on a small section usually helps spark some more creativity and gets my steam going!
From there it was smooth sailing. I'm a very literal sketch user so I didn't deviate at all. I printed my photo, started embellishing my rectangular pieces and the rest just came together!

Click to view larger

I paper pieced the globe in the center too- that was a lot of fun. I just punched the circle from patterned paper, drew out the continents while looking at a reference photo and then cut them out. Easy!
I'm really happy with this one, even though I messed up my journaling and had to re-do it. Twice.
Anyway, feel free to use the sketch however you want. If you make something, link me up so I can see it!

Quick Cards

2011-08-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

I just got Studio Calico's August kit in the mail so I was anxious to start cutting into it! I love the color combination in it- lots of teal, green, and gray with little splashes of color from the add-on I got. Often times when I first get a new paper collection or a kit I start with cards- that way I can just start cutting and don't have to worry about which photos I want to use, what size I need them, etc.
I recently bought this hexagon die after seeing Jennifer Maguire use it (man that girl could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo). I had the Jenni Bowlin butterfly stuck to my corkboard as a reject from a recent project (it's misted with SC bluegrass) and the round element is a Studio Calico stamp from this month. I probably should have matted it with a solid instead of another stripe, but I love it anyway.

This next little guy is probably my favorite. I say that a lot, I know. He's so cute though! I started with the die cut shape and was initially going to use this off-center on a regular sized card but it wasn't going too well. I kept cutting it down until I got this and I love it!

Truth be told though, I photoshopped the mat on this one. The lighting in my scrap room is horrendous (think single light bulb in a closet type lighting). I grabbed this PTI chartreuse cardstock thinking it would go really well and then today with the windows open I noticed it definitely didn't. I changed up the color until I can fix it. =) And you might notice I used some glitter- remember the Stickles craze, anyone? Yeah, I jumped on that bandwagon and then hardly used any of them so I thought I'd give them some attention.

I have a few more cards in the making so I should be back tomorrow with some more things to share!

Pebbles Design Team!

2011-08-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

If you came here from Pebbles, welcome! I'm so excited to be a part of their design team this year- it's my first ever and I can't wait to dive in. When I got the email from Lynn I just about died... then I asked my husband to join hands with me and skip around in circles in the kitchen screaming like little girls, but he wasn't really keen on that idea.
Anyway, I can't wait to share some Pebbles goodness with you- keep an eye out on the blog!

Mind the Gap SC Page

2011-08-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie- the Mind the Gap kit has been the least inspiring kit I've gotten to date. Every time I pull out the papers I'm at a loss. However, after a lot of paper pushing last night, I managed to put this one together and am happy with the results.

I even machine stitched on it, which I haven't done in ages. I used an old Prima texture stamp on the Sass paper- reminds me how much I love this little guy so you might be seeing it again in the near future!

Pinterest Inspiration

2011-08-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Studio Calico does a Pinterest inspiration challenge every few weeks and I finally got a chance to take part. I'm a giant lover of typography and digital art, especially those made for local concerts and four color prints for screen printing. When I saw this image, it went immediately onto my "scrapbook inspiration board", even without prior knowledge of the challenge.

Pin is located here: http://pinterest.com/pin/52543252/, along with source info.

A few things really jumped out at me on this piece. For one, the color scheme is great- teal is really calling to me lately. Next, the typography. There are a ton of different fonts here but they work together very well, adding interest in all the right places. Next, the distressing around the edges- I love the worn look! And last, the shape is something I really wanted to incorporate in a page- it's different, visually interesting, and I'm not sure I've ever seen it on a page before!
So here's my take:

You can see I went very literal with my interpretation- sticking with the colors, the shape, the varied typography, I even added paint and ink around the page to wear it a bit. All I had to do for the basic shape was enlarge a bracket - ( } ) in photoshop, flip it, print it and trace it! It's very simple but I really love this one. And here's a little insider note- this is my first time using that Martha butterfly punch. I know, WHAAAAT??? Yeah, I live in a house of boys, what can I say.
Anyway, I have a lot of other pins waiting to be scraplifted- if I can ever pull myself away from Pinterest long enough to play.
Have a great day!

Short attention span

2011-08-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

I sewed a few rows of the quilt in my previous post and then realized I had no idea what I was going to back or bind it with. Made me not as anxious to work on it- I hate not being able to completely finish something. So, it will sit until I can make some decisions- any input would be greatly appreciated!!
I did have a chance to participate in a Studio Calico challenge. Designer Laura Kurz asked us to try using photo enlargements on our pages. I knew immediately what photo I was going to use but figuring out placement took me a while.

It looks like this would qualify for a 30 minute or less page, but in reality, I put a few things here and there, stepped away for a few hours, came back and changed my mind- for three days. I wanted to make sure I did the photo justice as it means so much to me.
Actually, I'm not really much of a sentimental person. Yeah, some movies make me cry, and I'm a sucker for a really good Extreme Home Makeover, but other than that- I'm pretty down to earth. This photo though, makes me teary eyed EVERY time I look at it. There are so many things that this photo represents- my son, getting older every day, moving away from being my little baby to being almost 2, him looking back, almost for reassurance, my strong husband who keeps our family together and is an amazing father... it just goes on and on. This is definitely my most treasured photo.
In other news, two more weeks of boring classes and then my ART SCHOOL classes start! Yessss! My love for paper started early- new notebooks for school, freshly sharpened pencils, pink erasers, and other office supplies waiting to be used- but that is nothing compared to new art supplies. I got a drawing board, a t-square, a new exacto knife, some sketching pencils- it's amazing. My husband thinks I'm crazy but I can't wait to start putting it to good use!
Well loves, thanks for stopping by!

Putting down the glossy accents....

2011-07-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

to concentrate on some fabric love. My husband says I have too many hobbies. Bah!

This will either be too loud or super chic- I'll withhold judgement until I start laying the blocks down. Feels good to get this cutting done, though!

Pink for boys?!

2011-07-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

I broke out Candy Shoppe (which I haven't even touched yet) and started cutting without a plan. I basically had the whole thing laid out before I even knew what photos to use- but I think these bright colors really work against such a dark photo. And get this- when my husband saw the page, he didn't mention the fact that it was pink. Phew.

Please excuse the big dark spot on the right- I scanned it rather than fuss with my camera. =)

And, in case you're wondering- you can use a border punch on sticky-back canvas. But, expect your punch to stick each.and.every.time. And be prepared to use any tools you might have laying about (a ball point pen, scissors, tweezers, a paint brush) to attempt getting it unstuck. Totally worth it.
I used SC Piglet to give it some color and wouldn't you know, its *almost* like Pink Paislee's mistable trim.

I keep getting little ideas for pages right before I fall asleep at night. I saw on the SC message boards a thread about this; some people jump out of bed to jot down these ideas. I wish I did, but man, once I'm in bed, I'M IN BED. I wouldn't get out if the house was on fire. Okay, maybe I would. My alternative is to think about it endlessly until I finally fall asleep and then hope I remember what it was the next day.
I had one such idea last night and immediately started working on it (so I wouldn't forget)- when a second idea hit me. So I left my first project on my table and started with the second on the floor. Then, I ended up on my second desk, and among the mess on the floor I got a NEW idea for a card. I know, I must have gotten a visit from the scrap fairy. In the midst of all this creative madness, I had run some errands- so imagine my surprise when I came back into my room to find this:

Yeah, I guess it's easy to get carried away in here! Better get to cleaning this in the morning!

Busy Busy!

2011-07-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

I've been spending all week getting paperwork together for school... only a few more weeks until it starts and I can't wait. That being said, I'm still taking classes at my original school, taking finals, doing homework, attending class, etc. and it's just taking up more time than I'd like. I finally got a chance to hang out in my scrap room today and made this quick page:

I LOVE those two papers together. I wanted to add in a third paper but nothing was really jiving with it. I'm glad I didn't- I love this color harmony. And I think this is one of my favorite pictures of Luke- he's just so stinkin' happy!

Other than school, we've been in a rut. It's been rainy all the time and I can't seem to get used to it. So, instead of planning fun things to do, we sit here and pretend it's going to be sunny one day. It probably won't, so we should brave the rain and go outside. Until then, we find other ways to pass the time, like ride Luke's toys:

Walk around in diapers:

And eat lots of food:

In all, it's not too bad a way to spend our time!
Well, I better get off the computer before I get sucked in and don't get any more scrapping done!!

Lots of Cards, and a Challenge Winner!

2011-07-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

I've been crafting my little fingers to the bone recently (and have been working hard to get my homework done early so I have the time) and I've managed to break a personal record- 5 cards in two days. Yesss. I think I'm mostly working on cards right now because I don't have any pictures that are begging to be scrapbooked just yet- we've been stuck in a rut around here and haven't gone out much or done anything exciting.
All these cards are quick and easy so you can reproduce them without worrying too much about techniques or supplies. So first up, I inked up these circle stamps from Papertrey Ink for the first time. I opted for a custom background on this one:

And then I tried just a strip. Both of these are SUPER simple, and great for boy cards. I think it would look great in a more pastel color scheme as well.

And, here's a secret: I don't know any boys turning 12. I was just in a groove so I went with it. =)

More Peachy Keen?! I know, I know. I'm telling you- it's an addiction. My love for Peachy Keen will never leave me. I started with the bicycle stamped background and flipped through the Remarks stickers until I found a few stickers I thought went well together. Added the strips, the flower and some ribbon and voila! Super easy.

I like that bicycle so much I stamped another background. I knew I wanted to use that bicycle sticker too, but wasn't sure just where to put it. I actually was "auditioning" it when it stuck down before I was ready- so I had to build the rest of the card around it where it was. I peeled up the wheels to add the strip, then added the 'hi'. The clouds and twine came later- it was too out of balance without it.

I have been browsing various websites to see if any of my recent pages fit any pub calls and I came across the Papercrafts blog where they have color combo challenges. I had some time, so I decided to play along with this one:

And here's what I came up with:

As soon as I saw those colors I instantly thought sherbet! I hand cut the dish and the ice cream scoops after roughly sketching them out first. Makes you wish summer wasn't coming to an end soon, right?

Last, I made this page in order to get out of my comfort zone a little and try a shabby/vintage/distressed page. I'm not smitten with it but I liked the process so I may try it again. And, actually I just realized that my biggest bowtie flower is missing from the page... hmmm... must have fallen off en-route to be photographed. Bummer.

Oh yeah, and I have some lucky winners to announce, don't I? Thanks to the trusty random number generator, Jenny A. and Jen (plasticlight) you are my winners! I'll PM you via SC with your $10 promo codes. Thanks for playing!

CHA Challenge #1

2011-07-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! In preparation for all the amazing CHA goodies we've seen so far, I've decided to come up with a good way to clear some room for it all.
Introducting:

The rules of this challenge are pretty simple- choose a collection or individual pieces from your stash that came out ~~LAST summer CHA~~. Don't remember which ones came out? Here's a helpful link: CHA 2010 List. Don't have anything left from last year? Good for you! In that case, just pick some of the oldest product you have.
ETA: In going through my stash to create my layout to share, I'm realizing that this might be a bit hard as there weren't as many great lines last year. Soooo, I'm not limiting this to specifically CHA last year- just choose anything you've had sitting on your shelf for a while that needs used! I'm also extending the deadline until Wednesday, just in case you have a full weekend!
Then, link up your projects here for a chance to win something reeeal good! What is you ask?? I'm selecting TWO participants who will each receive a $10 Studio Calico gift certificate. Awesome, right?
You have until ~~Sunday~~ Wednesday at midnight eastern time.
Don't forget to subscribe to my blog on the left side there so you don't miss when I announce the winners.
Here's what I came up with for the challenge:

I got the chance to hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey this year and never got around to scrapbooking the pictures- probably because the balloons were such an off-color combo for me. I used up a lot of things that have been sitting around unused in my stash for a while- some MME papers, Pink Paislee 365 degrees (which I NEVER touched), that Jenni Bowlin button (I have two packages somehow and never used a single one) and, among other things, a roll of washi tape that just doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. And, while I'm a little sad to say this, that Studio Calico hot air balloon stamped got inked up for the first time today- he's been gathering dust for a long while!
This was a good opportunity for me to go through and see all the things I'm not using- I may keep going and see what else I can use up today!

Geralyn Sy agreed to help me out on the challenge, too- she created an awesome layout that you can find on her blog here: In a Creative Bubble. Her skill with patterned paper never ceases to amaze me.

Hoping some more people join us for the challenge!

Blog Love.

2011-07-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

My blog needed a facelift. And no, not the do it yourself botox type. I've been playing around with Photoshop all night and I'm liking where this is going! I'll have a few more changes in the next couple days- let me know what you think!

And BIG HUGE thanks for the font inspiration from PuglyPixel. I could explore her blog for hours.

Peachy Keen, I love you.

2011-07-13T15:22:00.001-07:00

So I might be obsessed. Should I change my blog to American Crafts Intervention?? I'm not sure I've used a single collection as extensively as I have this one... and I still have lots of product left and a lot of ideas!

And, after seeing a few layouts in the SC gallery with circles I decided I needed to try it out for myself. I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit with the misting but I love the color combination.

At least I'm not hoarding it, right?

In other news, I got Illustrator CS5 and haven't really used it much before so I'm looking at a lot of online tutorials. This blog header was one of them- I like it. I'll be adding to it periodically- once I get a little more comfortable with the software.

My Scrap Room... Finally

2011-07-13T07:06:00.001-07:00

It's a rainy day here in Germany (what's new?) so a good one for cleaning. I've had a mess on my desk for a week now, but it's an okay side-effect for a scrapping frenzy that doesn't come around very much. Anyway, I cleaned my room so now I can share it with you! (You can click the photos to enlarge them.)

The best part about this room is my desk. That big, beautiful, custom-made monstrosity there in the center. It has shelving on both sides and drawers on the other sides. It's almost like having two regular sized desks put together. Somehow, though, I still manage to fill the entire thing up as I'm working on a project. So glad to have it. Oh and you can just BARELY see it, but to the left of this photo is another window. I'm very proud of the curtains I made for it using my favorite fabric ever- Joel Dewberry's Herringbone print. If I could make a shirt out of it I would. And I'd wear it everyday.

On the left there is one of my Expedits. I used standard paper trays on top for my 8.5" x 11" paper (mostly Papertrey Ink solids) and then 12x12 trays with solid cardstock are in the shelves. My albums sit here, those with pages, those with stamps, and my color inspiration and ink pad swatches. The basket on the top row has my 8x8 and 6x6 pads and the cubby next to it is full of my full collections that I like to keep together. Next to that are a couple bins with sewing notions and books. The basket on the far right cubby on the second row has brads. Yep. And it's almost full. (I may be crazy). The other bins have containers for Copics, foam stamps, mini albums, etc.

Next to this expedit is where I keep my SC kits- in Iris scrapbook containers. I have 7 of them, so once they are all full I start picking kits to break down and put into the rest of my stash. Fancy wiring I've got there, eh? If you need the name of my electrician, I'd be happy to pass his info along.

I took this one from the back of the room looking in so you can see this side of my desk. It's full of fabric, batting, plastic bags with scraps (attractive, I know), and pillow forms. This has been a challenge- it's hard to keep the fabric lined up pretty when you have to rifle through it.

This message board was one of my first ever sewing projects. I heart it so. Anyway, I recently went through and purged a lot of paper so I could utilize my cropper hoppers a lot better. The first holds newish paper that I don't want to forget I bought. If I need to do a project, I'll check here first to help me remember what I've got. The second holds dividers with holiday themed papers that can't really be used for other things- this will help me out a lot when I go to mass produce cards. The next few are my regular patterned paper organized by manufacturer. The next is my scrap paper used to protect my desk in case me and Mr. Huey get a little crazy... And the last is all the scraps from the side of my paper trimmer- I go through this occasionally to size it down to only what I really love.
The left side is more paper trays but these hold my Thickers. That's a LOT of thickers... They're organized by color so I can find what I need quickly.

The drawers underneath this hold buttons, thread, washi, chipboard shapes, envelopes, and some more sewing notions.

This is the other side of the desk. Again, there are some not so pretty things in here (my house has no closets and we don't have a garage so pretty much every room has to have some ugly stored items in it!) but it's so nice to be able to have quick access to things I use regularly. The closest basket has my versamark ink, stazon, and more Stampin' Up! ink that didn't fit into the boxes up top. I have my paints organized in here, camera supplies, small tools, and various other things in the other baskets.

Now this might be my next favorite part about my room. Yeah, the containers don't all match each other and things sort of look messy in them but I know exactly where everything is and I love to be able to see it. If I feel like rifling for some inspiration, I can just pop the basket off the shelf and have at it. From left to right (top row) I have my rubber stamps, my scoring board and basket with stickers and labels, the next basket (red one) is all my rubons, the last on the top holds all my "non-flat" embellishments. Seriously, that's how I remember it- "non flat". haha
Second row has flowers (fabric, chipboard, brads, etc), next one is ribbon (I have too much ribbon and it's overflowing a bit), then cheap $1 acrylic stamps that I may or may not ever use, and the last basket has some of my acrylic stamps (those that never made it into binders). After all the work of the binder method, I've found I use these in the basket more- they're just easier to get to and find.

Here's a better view of the top. The left basket has all my Big Shot dies. I can rummage around in there too- love that. The purple container has the border dies. The middle basket is most of my SC stamps. Yep, they get their own special place. If I could temperature control these babies I would. You can see that my embossing powder and mist baskets are pretty full- I'm not sure what I'm going to do once my new ones get here... I might need to make a trip to Ikea to get a few more.

The other side of the room is my husband's. The shelves have his finished and unfinished Lego sets he builds and collects. Neat hobby, right? He has some work to do there still; maybe he'll finish it one day.
We both sit at the desk, me on the right side at the Mac and him on the other side with his laptop. I like when he actually decides to come up here- we each get to do our hobbies but still hang out.

Anyway, there's my space. Thanks for checking it out!

Aha!

2011-07-11T23:41:00.000-07:00

After sitting here for an hour playing with my camera settings, I think I've figured out what it "likes" when taking pictures of my layouts. Yessss. I can make a great page every now and again, but if I can't take a good photo of it, it just looks blah still, right?
Well, take that NIKON.

Much better, don't you think?
And, while I'm at it, here's a card I made with Peachy Keen since it was already out on my desk.

I heart it so. I'll be making a few more while it's out; I've got some ideas churning...

Catching my eye, CHA style...

2011-07-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

I've been keeping up with most of the new CHA releases and here are a few things I know I'm bound to end up with.
Rather than listing each item from Studio Calico's new release, I'm going to just say it- I'm getting ALL of it. To include the Hero Arts collaboration stamps. Seriously. If you want to see them all, go here: www.studiocalico.com.
Amy Tan's new line for American Crafts is to die for. The color combos are very fashion forward, I can't wait to play with all the new goodies!!

Pebble's release, Fresh Goods is another must-have. The colors are great- loving that we don't have to move straight to fall lines yet.

Another plus? They've done a traditional color combo for their Christmas line- none of this weird purple/pink/navy stuff I've been seeing.

On the Christmas note, I about died when I saw these thickers. Seriously. If you didn't know, I have probably 987239874 sets of thickers that are piling up and this will definitely get added to it.
BoBunny isn't normally a go-to company for me but this Et Cetera line is cute. I won't get the full line but there are some staple items here for sure.
And more Pebbles. I'm in love with these teensy tiny little buttons. They're so cute and usable on just about everything.
I was a little on the fence about American Craft's Garden Cafe until I saw these:
Not to mention all the super cute cards you can make with this line of paper. I love the colors together and the patterns are true to AC form- easy enough to use on just about anything.

Another shocker for me is some of the new Prima. I am usually majorly turned off by their flowers and papers- they just aren't my style. However, the color combo on this line is one of my favorites right now.

And this layout, the colors, the cushy fabric flowers all remind me of an Anthro ad...

Whoever created these marketing layouts for them (the frames, the labels, etc.) is my hero. Gorgeous.
These boxes from Graphic 45 are pretty neat, too. Not exactly sure what I'd do with them, but might make a good gift box? Hmm, the wheels are turning...
Anyway, thanks to The Scrap Review for having all these images laid out in one place!

What are YOU looking forward to from CHA?

Following my dreams...

2011-07-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

This has been a whirlwind month for me. I've been going back and forth about whether or not I should ditch my business degree plans to go to school for graphic design (which has been a big dream of mine for a long time now). I kept thinking of excuses: it's too expensive, what if I'm not as good as I need to be, etc. But finally I took the plunge anyway. Life is too short to miss out on the things we want to do. We'll make it work somehow and I'm so glad I decided to just go for it. I can't wait until school starts officially in September- for now, I have to finish up the classes I started for the business degree.
I got a new iMac yesterday (as a requirement for school) and man, this is a beautiful machine. I have to constantly remind myself that there are other things that need done other than messing with my computer! I have CS5 on the way too- I'll be glued to my computer chair eventually. =)
Anyway, here's a page I got finished today. I heart it so- it may end up in a frame to put up in my scrap room. That Luke, he'll be a chick magnet soon enough.

I used mostly American Craft's Peachy Keen- I am madly in love with the remarks stickers. The photo was printed on just regular cardstock- gives it a nice soft feel. The colors are a little off- I had to edit in my printer software since I don't have PS on this yet.
And, maybe since my house is squeaky clean from all the hard work we put in this morning, maybe I'll take some pictures and share my scrap room tomorrow.
Happy Sunday!

My 4th of July Weekend

2011-07-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

The base put on a 4th of July event on Saturday so we spent some time enjoying all the activities, eating, and hearing some good music.
First, we put Luke on the toddler roller coaster. I was nervous he'd try to climb out while it was moving but he rode like a champ and enjoyed it a lot!

Then we decided to grab some cotton candy. Turns out, Luke wasn't too keen on it. Go figure. His face is hilarious:I think he just didn't like how it stuck to his fingers. Then, we rode the Ferris wheel.

He really didn't care about it. He mostly just wanted to walk around inside it.
Then, it was time for some food that is TERRIBLE for you- chili cheese fries and hot dogs. Mmmm.

Luke watched the bumper cars with interest so we thought, hey, why not?

Well, this is why not:

Scared the hell out of the poor guy. =( Lesson learned.

So, we cheered him up with some ice cream. He went to town! Ate the whole thing, too!

Then we laid out our blanket and waited for the fireworks! He oooh'd and aaah'd and pointed at them, said, "AWESOME!" and had a giant smile on his face. All in all, it was a good day!

I also got some scrappin' time in this weekend with my first 8.5" x 11" page. I recently bought these buttons from Ormolu (you can find them here: 2-Day Hooray buttons) and created the page around them. I love how it turned out! I'll definitely be buying another set of these guys.

There's also some American Crafts, October Afternoon, Pebbles, and Studio Calico in there.
Thanks for looking!

Paris Mini

2011-07-02T04:59:00.001-07:00

Josh is cleaning up downstairs and my mini album has been sitting on the dining room table for two weeks now. He asked me to bring it upstairs- so hey! Why not take some pictures of it and share it so far??
I'm missing a jump ring... Oh well. And I'm only on day 2 of 7 but hey, I'll get it done eventually. It's sort of my "in-between projects" project.

I made the cover something like 3 months before I even started the pages as we were in the middle of a move.
Remember, you can click the pictures to enlarge them if you want to read the journaling.

These two (^) are my favorite pages so far. I just started rummaging through my paper stash, found some old Studio Calico papers I have been hoarding and just starting throwing stuff together.
It's turning out to be very eclectic, nothing is too matchy-matchy and I love that I can just do little bits at a time!Sorry, pictures aren't the greatest, it's a little dark in here.

The right page has a transparency over it- you'll see in the next picture.

And that's it for now! I'll post the rest when I get it done and I'll work on taking better pictures. ;)

Glorious Saturday...

2011-07-02T04:08:00.001-07:00

This morning the hubs decided it was a pancake, eggs, and bacon sort of morning. And I'm okay with that. So I had my favorite coffee- cinnamon roll, mmmm, ate some yummies and now I'm free to do as I please in my scrap room while they boys watch Star Wars (again, for the 13546468 time). So... what to do ?! I don't really feel like editing/printing photos but I would like to scrap- maybe a photo free page is in order.
Anywho, I made this page yesterday:

and the poor thing is falling apart. I took it apart at least 10 times because I wasn't liking where things were. Still think it could use some fixing but it's time to put this one to bed.

And today is the fireworks show for the 4th but it's chilly/cloudy outside so we may not go- poor Luke might freeze. We'll see if the weather changes its mind later today.
Anyway, hope everyone has a good 4th of July weekend!

Merci Card - Summer Card Camp

2011-06-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

I signed up for Kristina Werner and Jennifer Maguire's Summer Card Camp 2011- and it's chock full of inspiration! We get sketches, videos, and color combos.
I've been really busy with school but managed to put together a card. The colors were tough for me- I hardly have any purple paper and I had to sneak small bits of pink in (the background text and the diamonds in the purple paper are a little pink). It's a fun and summery combo, though!

Can't wait to see what next week's will look like!

Luke's Quilt

2011-06-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt in December for Luke's "big boy bed". I didn't follow a pattern, wasn't too particular about things lining up perfectly, and I love it. Fits his toddler bed like a glove. I also really enjoyed making the pillow with hexies, great project for idle hands!

More pages...

2011-06-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

Homework has been rough the past two weeks. Made even more so by the fact that my son is still not in daycare. With juggling him, the housework, the dogs (which have to be taken out on a leash everytime they need to go out since we don't have a fence), cooking meals, and then all three classes- I hardly have any me time. When I do get some time, though, I'm in my haven turning out pages!! Here are a few I've done recently.

Studio Calico's Paper Moon kit:

More Paper Moon:

Echo Park's For the Record:

And this was made using Studio Calico's Lawn Party, plus some bits from my stash:

All in all, I'd say I'm getting them made a fairly decent pace, all things considered! We also made some time to visit Trier, Germany on Sunday since the weather was nice. Makes me want to go back and get a nice tan...
Well, its past my bedtime, got lots to do tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

Paris

2011-06-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

I took a TON of pictures from Paris but the one in this layout was my favorite. I love it so much, I even had a canvas print made to hang in my living room. For whatever reason, none of the papers I had were jiving with it- until this new Sassafras paper from their Hello Sunshine line came to my mailbox. LOVE it.

I lifted the stitching from SC design team member Sasha found here: Love.
Everything looks a little crooked, but really it's not. I just need to get better at photographing layouts. =/

I tried some emboss resist on the next page- it came out way messier than expected and the page is sort of blah but I love these two pictures so it's a keeper.You can't really see it in the photo, but I embossed different clocks with white embossing powder and then rubbed blue ink with a sponge on top of it. Looks cooler in person, I promise. =)
Then, I did this last week and forgot to post:

From SC's Lawn Party kit plus some SC stamps, washi tape from my stash and a few My Mind's Eye Stella Rose brads.
Thanks for looking!

The oooother pages.

2011-05-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here are the others I've finished recently. It feels so good to be making pages again!

In a rush, but here are some new pages!

2011-05-24T04:17:00.003-07:00

Oops!

2011-05-24T03:22:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly a year since I posted last... well, 9 months. Things have been very busy for me since the last post. I got a new job in August and I didn't have a lot of extra time to scrapbook- nor did I have the room in our house in Turkey. But we moved to Germany in March and I have a dedicated ROOM now! I have tons of space, a huge new desk, and it's inspiring to be in! (I'll post pictures soon.) I'm also not working but I am going to school full-time. I've been trying to squeeze some pages in between homework and have a few done so bear with me and I'll get the posted ASAP!

Sketchbook 2 Sketch 1

2010-08-03T00:45:00.000-07:00

Yay! I did it! I started this last night and squeezed it in this morning while Luke watched some Mickey Mouse house.

Hopefully I can keep up with this and do EVERY sketch.

In other news, I actually ran this morning. Granted, it wasn't for very long, but hey, it's something, right? I know I'm going to be sore in the morning; I can already feel it. But I'm sticking with it- gotta get skinny before we go to Paris so I feel comfortable actually being IN pictures!

I'm off to get the baby to nap and hopefully work on some cards for Studio Calico's blog challenge! See you tomorrow!

Nothing new...

2010-08-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

...well, not really. I don't have any cards or new pages to share today. I haven't really been in the mood to make anything over the weekend so I've been taking it easy.

I did join Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook 2 class which started today and I'm anxious to get making the page for the first sketch. I'm going to try and stick with it for the entire thing so I don't get behind and not do any of the pages (woops, Sketchbook 1). I also have to remember to do my Project 12 for July.

In the meantime, I've decided I don't like the way I'm looking these days. Well, for the past three years I haven't liked it. It's time I start doing something about it- starting tomorrow morning, bright and early. I'm waking up at 4:30AM (MUCH earlier than my usual 9AM LOL) to run as long as I can. And I'm going to stick with it and do it every day. I'll come back tomorrow and tell you how miserable I am. My usual self is saying blow it off and use the excuse that Hubs didn't load up the ipod with my songs, but I'm ignoring her for a while.

Back again after a long week...

2010-07-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

I've had a few job interviews and some impatient waiting in between for a call back and finally got one today! So, YAY! Back in the workforce. I starting thinking about how I'm going to miss having Luke all to myself everyday while Josh is at work, but this will be great for us and will provide us with some more money to travel while in Europe. I'm SO ready!

Thought I'd share this picture of Luke we took a few days ago, probably my favorite one to date.

And, I pulled a few papers from my stash that have been in there a while (Jenni Bowlin and Lily Bee) and grabbed everything I could that matched. I put this one together and couldn't be happier.I think I've decided that I'm a "grid" scrapper. I like things to be grouped together and I feel like I'm the most comfortable that way.
I've been thinking about scrapbooking lately. Been down in the dumps about some design team calls I didn't make, publications I didn't get chosen for. But then I dusted myself off and thought, WAIT. I don't do this to showcase product. I don't do this to impress anyone. I'm preserving my photos and telling my stories. I just don't get the single 2x2 photo on paper with a messy mist spray in the background. It's just not me. I want people to SEE my pictures and cherish them, not squint their eyes to try to even tell who was even in the picture... haha.
Okay, rant over; sorry about that.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to starting my job as an accountant with my own OFFICE! Now, I'm on the hunt for some cute office supplies and things for my desk! YAY!

Dinner at Uptown, and my new favorite layout!

2010-07-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

So it figures, I forgot my camera when we went to dinner last night. But Fatos was thinking and she brought hers so I borrowed this picture:

The food was awesome, the weather was perfect, and the view was gorgeous. I wish I had a picture of my dinner- I had spicey kebap wrapped in a sort of bread with roasted tomatoes. MMmmm. It was amazing.
And just a little bit ago, I decided I needed to use up some of my Studio Calico Documentary papers. (I always buy two of everything SC makes and then I selfishly hoard it, so, since Elementary is coming out soon I need to use up what I have to justify my next purchase!) I tuned out the babe, my husband playing video games, the dishes in the sink and I put this together.
And, I LOVE it. It's my favorite one to date. I love it so much, I took a picture of it on my kitchen floor at 11PM instead of waiting for the better lighting in the morning. haha
Anyway, if you don't have this line- get it. It's not just for travel themed layouts either- the geometric prints alone are awesome, and the colors... oui. It's yummy.

SUPPLIES:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Studio Calico
Stickers: Studio Calico
Ink: Stazon, Stampin Up!
Pen: Uniball Signo, Zig

Travel Page

2010-07-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I missed posting this to my blog for some reason so I'm going to share it today.

Over 2 days and 24 hours and this is the ONLY picture I took throughout the whole thing. And ya know what? I made my husband lug the DSLR in his carry-on because I just HAD to get pictures of Luke on the airplane. Good thing he ended up being as exhausted as I was and didn't notice I hadn't taken it out the whole time. =)

Tomorrow night we're going to dinner with our Turkish friends out by the lake so I'll be sure to take some pictures and share them tomorrow. (I won't make the husband carry the camera this time, though.) The region we are in is so beautiful, it's just too bad it's so hot outside all day or I'd be taking pictures of everything!

I'll leave you with my favorite pictures I've taken here so far. Aren't the colors amazing?

New techniques!

2010-07-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

I'm going to share my first ever tutorial with you!
In this layout, I did a couple new things that I had never tried before.

First, the stamped title for my page is partially cut out of the cardstock so the photo can be tucked in behind it.
Also, I used my slice to cut out the heart shape from strips of paper and then used another cut out for a mist mask.
First, for the text, cut your cardstock down to the size you want.

Line your photo up, and once you have it in its position, draw a line underneath it.
Here's one of my favorite tips ever: Use your paper trimmer to help you draw straight lines! It's great for journaling since you can space your lines evenly and it's super fast!
Next, line your stamps up on top of your photo, making sure that the bottom of the stamp is on the cardstock base and the top overlaps your photo.

Next, draw another straight line underneath your stamps.

Now, you can remove the photo. Line your stamps back up and trace around them- only where they extend above your top line (or where they are going to overlap the photo). The SC stamps work really well for this because they are cut nice and close to the actual image. If you are using a stamp that is not cut this way, you can eyeball it and get pretty close. It doesn't have to be perfect.You should have something like this now: (please excuse it being so dark...)
Now, use your craft knife to cut around the lines you have drawn. Just keep in mind for the curved lines to always keep your hand moving and go slow! If you have a nice and sharp knife, this part should be pretty easy.

Now that you have it all cut out, stamp your letters, lining them up with your bottom line. (I slipped a bit trying to take a picture and stamp at the same time haha)

Now, erase your pencil lines and slip your picture in behind your letters and voila!

Now, for the misted hearts. I used strips as my background for my page. Once I knew about how far apart they were going to be spread out, I laid them on my Slice glass mat the same distance apart.
Here's another awesome tip for Slice users: instead of the messy adhesive Making Memories sells (and that you can sometimes put too much on and then end up with your paper super glued to your mat), I use a restickable glue stick! The application is easier, it's less messy, and I've never had a problem with it being "too sticky".

Anyway, I cut out a 2" heart a little sideways from my background strips. Then, I cut out a 1.5" heart from some scrap paper.

Then, I lined the heart from the scrap paper up with the heart on my strips and misted over the top of it.
I'm really not the greatest mister and I didn't like how messy mine came out looking so I just added a few faux stitching lines with my white pen.

Here's what my finished page looks like again:

And there you have it! I hope you learned something new and if you decide to try either of these techniques out, I'd love to see what you came up with!
Thanks for stopping by!

June Project 12 and Cards

2010-07-20T00:48:00.001-07:00

Hello again! I've been busy making birthday cards (have a few coming up in August!) so I'll share some with you!This is the first card I did. I used Papertrey Ink's Color Couture paper download for the background on this. I started out only using Orange Zest and Hibiscus but I threw the green in at the last minute and I love these colors paired together.For the next card, I ran back and grabbed these papers randomly and put this one together. I wanted to try the sentiment on a circle and rest came later. I don't like the bunched ribbon- it looks thrown in there. Originally, more of the ribbon showed through so it wasn't so bad but once I started sticking things down I guess I moved over too much. Still a cute color combo though!
The last one is for my sister. I had a pre-cut piece of Hibiscus and thought pink and black was perfect for Whitney. I used a flower center from Beautiful Blooms II and embossed it with black. Papertrey Ink came out with a new notebook paper die and I haven't received mine yet, so I winged it and made my own. I just border punched the top with my EK punch and then, with my Martha scoring board, I scored a line across the top. Super easy!
I made my June layout for Project 12, and of course, the lighting is terrible so the colors are all wonky. Oh well, you get the jist! I used Studio Calico's Continental kit for this one.
I have a layout to share tomorrow. I started it last night and have been trying a few new techniques that I'll show you. I'm using mist on this guy, and now I know why I don't use mist more- I've almost ruined my background paper and will have to try something to cover up my uh-ohs. Frustrating. =)

Supplies:
Birthday Wishes
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink - Stamper's Select, Hibiscus Burst
Patterned Paper: PTI- Color Couture
Stamps: PTI- Beautiful Blooms II & Up Up & Away
Ribbon: PTI- Simply Chartreuse
Button: PTI- Simply Chartreuse
Other: DMC Floss

Paper Lantern Birthday
Cardstock: PTI
Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye (Abbey Road)
Stamps: PTI- Giga Guide Lines, Vintage Labels, Circles
Chipboard: My Mind's Eye
Ribbon: PTI- Hibiscus
Punch: EK
Other: DMC Floss

Birthday 21
Cardstock: PTI
Stamps: PTI- Beautiful Blooms I & II, Giga Guide Lines
Ribbon: PTI
Chipboard Alphas: American Crafts
Other: Prima Pearls

4th of July and Kindergarten Graduation

2010-07-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of layouts I've done in the past two days to share really quick- then I must get back to dinner on the stove!
For my 4th of July layout, I got the idea for the trails on the fireworks from the July issue of Creating Keepsakes. I had the doilies sitting out and thought, wow, there's my fireworks! I just jazzed them up with some mists and some bling.The sketch is from July's Pagemaps. I love using Becky Fleck's sketches for photo sizes, it really takes a lot of the work out of the process.

Since I already had these papers out, I made a quick 6x6 page for a mini album. This might be my favorite picture of Luke ever.

Then, as I was going through my June pictures, I had all of these from my brother's graduation. figured I'd better get a page done before he graduates high school. =P I got the idea of the tearing and layering the background papers from a 2Peas Garden Girl.

Thanks for looking, now I better make sure dinner isn't burning!
Oh and before I forget, I tried another doily the other night and it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted. I looks pretty forced to me. Oh well, I'll try another one soon!

Embellished Paper Doilys

2010-07-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I managed to stumble upon Christine Middlecamp's Embellished Paper Doily tutorial and WOW, I was amazed. I finally had some time last night and decided I'd try my hand at them. I followed her examples very closely, substituting what I didn't have with things in my stash. I'm in love with these and can't wait to put them on cards.

I love the color scheme on this one. It's an awesome "summery" feeling doily.

This second one is definitely my favorite. Too bad I only have one of those chipboard flowers and that Vintage Findings button or I'd make 20 of them.

I plan on doing a few more of these tonight, but I'm going to see what I can come up with on my own. I love that I can use things from my stash that I didn't really know what to do with before!

Thanks for looking!

Project 12 - May

2010-07-10T05:59:00.001-07:00

Well, I've FINALLY managed to scrap May. With all that's been going on in the last two months I didn't think I'd ever get to it. I still haven't even touched June- and that's because GASP! I'm out of kraft paper. And I can't just run to the LSS anymore. Hard times, I know.

Here's the sketch:

This is what I came up with. I wasn't sure exactly how to incorporate the circle in the background so i just added some handstitched circles here and there. I LOVE these colors together. Everything is from Studio Calico's kit "Granny's Cupboard".

Btw, I'm getting super lazy lately. I'm liking totally bypassing the supply lists! =)

Printer Tray

2010-07-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

I bought this 7 Gypsies printer tray from a local scrapbook store while in Boise. They've been selling them on Studio Calico and I've seen a lot of them turn out really good but wasn't exactly sure what to use mine for. Then, after settling in back home in Turkey I broke this guy out and my Studio Calico kit for the month and went to town. I really loved this impromptu photo shoot we did at the Depot and these are photos I'm really glad to have. I love that I can look at them everyday hanging on my wall now!

Newness

2010-07-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm going to forgo the supply lists here and just show you all the things I haven't posted yet!

I'm not very happy with how this one came out. Seems a little plain and just tossed together. But it's a cute picture, anyway.

Went a little outside my comfort zone on this one. I'm not really big on flowers and butterflies but wanted to use them on this cute yellow paper.

This is one of my favorites. I love the blue and red together! I believe I used a Studio Calico sketch for the layout.

I love the honeycomb paper from Studio Calico- it's one of my favorites from them.
Anyway, thanks for looking!

Home Again!

2010-06-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Turkey after 24 hours of being on a plane with little 8 month old Luke and I have survived. =)
It will be a little while before I can get to actually posting regularly- internet won't be hooked up until next week. I have a lot to share with you once I get back to it, though- can't wait!
Thanks for being patient with me!

Quiet lately...

2010-05-22T12:50:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged in a few days and I think it's because I'm antsy! My husband has finally left Kuwait after 6 1/2 long months and is now on his way back to our home in Turkey. I'm in the states (have been staying with my parents for 5 months now with the baby) waiting for him to get to Turkey, inprocess, and then catch a flight out here. I've been on pins and needles because we aren't sure yet what day he will finally get here. So, I suppose I just haven't really been in the mood to make anything.
Also, Luke and I will have to go back to Turkey after my husband has a chance to visit with family here, so I have to start packing up ALL my scrapbook supplies to send back home. And I did some SERIOUS shopping since I've been here so I'm sort of dreading that. I'll be sure to share some pictures of the crazy amount of boxes once it's all packed!
I did make a page last night and I really love it, I'll share that sometime soon!

Delovely!

2010-05-18T12:43:00.001-07:00

I was shocked when I first saw this collection on Cosmo Cricket's blog. First, I didn't know they had something new in the works, and second, it's LOUD. I thought about it for a while and wasn't sure what the heck I was going to use it for but, it being Cosmo Cricket, I had to have it. Who'd rightfully pass up ANYTHING Cosmo Cricket? =)
So, I went to A's and grabbed it all up as fast as I could. I bought the collection kit, the chipboard, AND a 6x6 paper pad. And still, had no idea what I was going to use it for.
Then, last night, I pulled it all out and stared at it for a while. And I ended up with three super cute cards that I'm really happy with. And, just going through it all, I think I have a few page ideas in mind as well!

It was a lot of fun to play with such a bright color palette, especially since vintage is so in now and that's all you see everywhere.
Moral of the story is- Cosmo Cricket can do no wrong. =) So, if you're on the fence, GO FOR IT!

Project 12 April

2010-05-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

First off, I just want to say, I'm impressed at myself. I've managed to keep up with Project 12 so far! WoohoO! I love using Becky Fleck's sketches and I tend to stick pretty close to them. This month, I used the Girl's Paperie On Holiday papers. They're adorable! Also, there's some Basic Grey Basics in there- I know I'm going to get a LOT of use out of them.

Here are a few close ups of the flowers I did for the page. I used some Papertrey Ink dies, a scalloped punch, and hand cut the leaves.

Thanks for looking!

When it rains...

2010-05-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

I made this card with my aunt and uncle in mind. My uncle has been diagnosed with some medical problems recently, and, along with dealing with my great grandparents in failing health, it seems like everything seems to pile up.
I wanted to use a little brighter a color palette to brighten their spirits a little bit so I started with the blue and pink. I really like how clean and simple it turned out.
Supplies:
Cardstock- Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper- Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon
Stamps- Papertrey Ink
Ink- Stazon, Versamark
Markers- Copic
Other- Ribbon, White embossing powder

Lazy Sunday

2010-05-16T14:13:00.001-07:00

I haven't made anything today but I'll share some things I've done over the weekend.
First up- a card to go with a matching thank you card set I'm giving to a friend getting married.

I really love that car stamp set from Papertrey Ink!
Supplies:
Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Stamper's Select White, Rustic White)
Patterned Paper- American Crafts
Ink- Stampin Up! (Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery), Versamark (Champagne Dazzle), StazOn black
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Other: Ribbon, Pearls

Unfortunately, this next layout looks pretty washed out. I don't really have a spot in the house that gets direct sunlight so I took it outside and WOAH! it was too bright.
Anyway, this page is VERY simple. I usually feel uncomfortable with a lot of embellishments so I tend to shy away from them and most of the time, I'm glad I do. I like to let the pictures do most of the talking. My favorite part of this page is the symmetry.

There are a few touches that you probably can't see from this photo that I think really added a lot. First, I used a green copic to fill in the line around the blue of the page. It helps to unify the green dot and bring out the green in the pattern. Also, the cut circles are all dry embossed with an argyle type impression plate which also brings in the pattern from the background. Like I said, though, not a lot on this page but it works somehow.

Thanks a lot for looking, I'll be back tomorrow with a couple cute cards and some more layouts!

Graduation Cards

2010-05-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law and his wife are graduating from college this weekend so I whipped up some cards for them.I used Papertrey Ink's For the Graduate set and the coordinating mat stack 1 die for each of these. Love how they turned out!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

This is my first mother's day with my son (last year I was pregnant) and my hubs is in Kuwait so this will be just like any other day for me. Maybe I can have a do-over when Josh is back home. =)
Hopefully, at least, I can get some scrapping done.
NOTE TO SELF: Don't forget to do April's Project 12!

Hope everyone enjoys their day!

Mini Golf!

2010-05-07T10:59:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm feeling extra generous today and figured I'd do another post.
First, please excuse this cruddy photo as I'm not the greatest at the pics of layouts yet, especially two pagers. But once this layout was finished, I sat back to look at it, and thought- WOW, this may be my favorite page ever. I'm not really sure why- it's simple, doesn't have a lot to it but somehow, it just makes me happy to look at.

I used nothing but Joyland from Studio Calico (and the coordinating add-ons) for this one. You can't tell from the photo really, but the flags are made with the MR banner chipboard pieces. Also, the golf balls on the page are reverse dry embossed with dots so they look more like golf balls. Love it!

Birthday Book

2010-05-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

So, I mentioned this guy a few posts back and have just gotten around to editing and posting it.
Now that I'm making a bunch more cards, I need a place to write down everyone's birthday so I don't forget. I could carry around a wallet sized calendar but then each year you have to re-write all the birthdays. So, I came up with a better solution that I have dubbed the "Birthday Book".

Papertrey Ink came out with a set last month that included the die for these pages, the die for the tabs, and a coordinating stamp set. (The birthday book label and stamp is also from Papertrey Ink.) So, I created the front and back cover out of chipboard and covered them with patterned paper. Then, each month has two pages with patterned paper and a lined piece that is numbered according to the days in the month. You can see what I'm talking about here:

I used American Crafts rub-ons for the months and also the letters on the tabs. Each month has a different patterned paper theme (all from a DCWV paper stack I got for dirt cheap at Michael's).
Now, I can write in everyone's birthday and can always have a heads-up for making cards! This thing is really going to come in handy and, once I actually write the bdays in, I won't have any excuses for forgetting!

Mother's Day Card

2010-05-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I made this card a couple nights ago:
It was inspired by a card on Nichole from Papertrey Ink's blog. The butterfly is from Studio Calico and the background doily is from Hero Arts.
Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon (Thrift Shop)
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Studio Calico, Papertrey Ink (Sentiments from Women of Life)
Ink: Distress Ink (Antique Linen), Stampin Up! (Always Artichoke, Pretty in Pink)
Ribbon: Studio Calico
Brads: Recollections
Die: Papertrey Ink (Mat Stacks 1 Die)

Bracket Thickers...

2010-05-03T22:10:00.001-07:00

Have a bunch lying around? Here's a fun way to use them:
(Meet Pierre)
Ah, Luke is such a good sport. =) This is definitely going to be a scrapbook page. I have some Hambly mustache rub-ons that would be perfect...

October Afternoon Fly a Kite

2010-05-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hi all! As soon as I finally got the rest of my Fly a Kite order in I wanted to make something using the papers and matching stamp sets. This is what I came up with:

I paper pieced her dress and shoes and used Copics on the rest. I'm not usually a big "character" stamp person but this one is too cute. I didn't have a scalloped border die that was large enough so I hand cut this one. (I know, gasp! But it really didn't take that long.) I just used photoshop to make the size I wanted, and created a stencil.

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon
Stamps: October Afternoon
Markers: Copic
Other: Label, twogirlzstuff Etsy shop

Thanks for looking!

Congratulations, NSD, and thoughts....

2010-05-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling weird about blogging so far. I don't really have any followers so I feel as though I am talking to myself. It's strange, really.
And, I've found that I haven't had ANY problems creating things for my blog, I've been slacking on taking pictures and posting. I have to get better about that.
Anyway, Saturday was National Scrapbook Day and sadly, the pictures I sent off to get printed didn't arrive on time so I didn't get a chance to actually make any pages. I DID, however, get a chance to shop! I finally bought a 7 Gypsies Printer Tray and some Girl's Paperie papers and I can't wait to use them. Now I just need to nail down what exactly I plan to do with them...

Here's a card I made over the weekend and I think it's my favorite one so far. (I'll probably say that a lot as I make more cards; it seems like each one I do is better than the last!)

I really love the Papertrey Ink woodgrain impression plate. I just rubbed a little colorbox chalk ink over it to make it really stand out and love how it came out. For the woodgrain on the car, I used Papertrey's woodgrain stamp set and created a mask over the car so I could just get the center. Super easy!
SUPPLIES:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Die: Nestabilities, Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Other: Impression Plate- Papertrey Ink, Markers- Copic, Twine- unknown, Buttons- JoAnn

On a side note, if anyone really IS reading this and actually wants a breakdown of any of the stamp sets I use, leave me a comment and let me know. I figure if no one cares, I can save myself the typing!

Finally, a scrapbook page...

2010-04-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

I made this page about 5 minutes at a time (Luke hasn't been feeling much like letting me scrap lately) but I like how it turned out. I think I do a lot better when I can sit in the room for a couple hours and shut the door, though.

The big picture is probably my favorite of Luke so far. His chubby cheeks get me every time.

Love you card

2010-04-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

Hello out there! Just wanted to quickly share another card I made last week. I recently got my Distressed Stripes and A Little Argyle stamp sets from Papertrey Ink and I felt like messing around with them. I grabbed three colors of ink and just dove in. Once I had both of my patterned pieces created, I thought I ought to do something with them, and this card is what came out of it:

The sentiment is from Daily Designs, and the background for the sentiment is from For the Graduate with the coordinating Mat Stack Die.

SUPPLIES:
Paper: Bazzill, GP cardstock
Ink: Stampin Up!
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Buttons: craft supply
Twine: craft supply

Thanks for looking! I'll be sharing what I'm dubbing my "birthday book" in a few days...

Yet Again!

2010-04-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm on a card making roll these days. I needed a card for my Uncle's birthday and of course, I forgot to mail it out on time. But here it is anyway, I suppose I can save it for next year!

This one was from Papertrey Ink's "Men of Life" stamp set. I also used their tin types impression plate (for the background of the sailboat), along with the Happy Birthday sentiment from the "Women of Life" set.

SUPPLIES:
Paper: Papertrey Ink, Bazzill
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Stampin Up!, Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Punch: EK Success
Other: Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)

Another card

2010-04-22T16:47:00.003-07:00

Hello to all of you who may or may not be reading. I don't have much to jibjab about yet, just another card to share!

This was another easy one- I just cut strips of my favorite Lush papers by My Mind's Eye and used my border punch on them. Then I layered them on top of each other after inking the edges. The stamp is a $1 find at M's. I just stamped it on two patterns, cut them out, stamped on my base and then reassembled the pieces.
Thanks for looking!

SUPPLIES:
Paper: My Mind's Eye, American Crafts
Stamps: American Crafts, and craft supply
Ink: Colorbox
Buttons, Ribbon: craft supply

Welcome!

2010-04-21T16:36:00.001-07:00

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog! This is my first post and my goal here is to help myself get motivated and stay creative. Hopefully, I'll keep up with this and share some things with whoever follows!

To celebrate my new blog, I have a really easy "hello!" card to share that I made the other day.

ETA: I've posted a lot more since this, but I thought it was perfect for Papertrey Ink's May Blog Hop so this is what I'm sharing with everyone tonight!

SUPPLIES:

Paper: Bazzill, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Stampin Up!, Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Ribbon: Papertrey Ink

Dies: Nestabilities, Papertrey Ink

Stamp: Papertrey Ink

Brad: Basic Grey

Other: Felt- Papertrey Ink

Thanks for looking, I hope you'll come back!