Quiet lately...

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!

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

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...

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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...

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

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....

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!