I May Have Gotten A Little Crazy With The Mini Alphas.....

*This will be featured in an upcoming issue of Scrapbooking and Beyond*

You think? LOL.

This was my first acrylic page I've ever made. Also my first pictureless layout. Now I need advice on how to photograph the darn thing! I took some pictures with and without paper in the background. The papers are from Scrap Within Reach's The Cottage line, acrylic page is from Clear Scraps XL Deco pack, chipboard flowers, butterflies and gems are K and Company, My Mind's Eye rubon sentiment that says "We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing," American Crafts Thickers and a WHOLE bunch of Making Memories mini alphas. Towards the end I had to get creative with a couple of the blue ones as I've used them a ton and am mostly down to the weird letters. It's amazing what a black pen can change a letter into! (You can click on the pictures to read everything better).

This got a BOB (Best of Blogosphere) mention over at Card of the Week - yeah!

2S4U Laura #27 - Scenic Route Garden Grove

Here is my take on Laura's sketch this week. I used some Scenic Route's newer Garden Grove line for the paper and stickers. Imaginesce star rubons and Paper Studio glitter brads completed the project.

Emma and Mommy crafting weekend has officially begun. Daddy and Parker are off on a Scout camping trip and Emma is already at her desk working on her first project. She already asked if I'd take a picture of it and put it on the computer...lol... The camera went with the campers so the Emma fans will have to wait a day or two :-)

American Crafts Thickers Birthday Card Challenge

Who doesn't have an addiction to Thickers? I will fully admit that I do! When I saw this challenge on the American Crafts Blog, I knew it wouldn't be a struggle to use a Thicker or too. I debated foam, vinyl, puffy, glitter, chipboard, foam, felt.... I ended up using Vinyl Poolside (grapefruit) for the letters and Puffy Umbrella Accents (grapefruit) for the photo corners. I see they have the Puffy ones in Cricket (lime green) and I'm thinking I will have to hunt those down the next time I go shopping! The papers are from the Spring and Summer line. I love bright colors and flowers, so I have used this quite a bit. I threw on a few Paper Studio gems for some sparkle.

A Moxie Fab Giveaway - Scrap Within Reach!!!

*Card to be featured in July issue of Scrapbook News and Review.

Be sure to stop by Paper Crafts' Moxie Fab blog - Scrap Within Reach's Industrial Park line is being featured. Cath has an AWESOME giveaway so be sure to check it out and enter your name! I am re-sharing a layout and card I made recently using Industrial Park papers, rubons, ribbons and die cuts. Be sure to also check out the Scrap Within Reach site as their June kit features this line - perfect for Father's Day cards and creations!

A Bottle of Primas and a box of Glue Dots Later...Here is Miss Emma's 1st Mini Album!

You go girl! She was picked as a Best of the Blogosphere over at Card of the Week!

She was in a creative mood this morning and asked if she could do an album. I picked up a bunch of Colorbok Crayola chipboard albums for $1 at Michael's recently and am trying to tell myself I don't need to hoard! She has been bugging me to make more crafts lately and my room is still in shambles and so I've been stalling. She especially has been asking for the glitter! On this project she did 95 percent of the work herself. I cut the pictures out for her (although she picked out all of the pictures, decided where in the album she wanted them and how I should trim them) and cut and tied the ribbons on for her (although she picked them out). Poor girl can't tie her shoes very well yet, although she's reading at an early 3rd grade level - go figure! She did all of the painting, blinging and decorating. As you can see - she's even wearing some of the paint :-) Maybe I'm just biased, but I think she rocked the mini album...especially for only being 6 years old!

Supplies include:

Chipboard Album: Colorbok Crayloa

Paints: All Plaid, except purple Making Memories

Gems: Darice
Flowers: Prima

ABC Stickers: Doodlebug

Glue Dots

Size: approx 6x6

(click on pictures for a better look - I also included some of her during her creative process. Ignore the disaster in the background!)

Here are a couple others things she made last night on her own. (She gets more done in 2 days, then I've made in weeks...lol) The layout/drawing is for one of her boyfriends, Nathan. She had asked me if she could have a bottle of Primas leaves. I wasn't paying attention and said, sure. Half of them ended up on the layout, but I'm trying to be ok with that :-) I'd had them forever and hadn't used them, so it was a freeing experience! I'm actually hoping I get to keep the layout, as I want to hang it in our scrap room. She also decorated a baby wipe container so that I can hold some of my trinkets. (The polka dotted curtains are what I picked for my scrap room.)

A Couple Core'dination Shares

Here are a couple projects made mostly with Core'dinations cardstock. Their cardstock is so fun to use - not only is it textured, but the core is colored and they have all kind of collections so you can always find something that works for your project. I just received some the Whitewash and Vintage collections the other day and can't wait to play with those! The card includes some Mocha Chica paper and I used my crimper on the blue cardstock to give it some texture. On the layout I used my Martha Stewart border punch and an EK Success heart punch and got crazy with my Clearsnap Chestnut Roan. Even inked the Heidi Swapp chipboard letters.

P.S. Giveaway alert! Who wouldn't love some super cute die cuts? Check out The Scrappy Shack!

Pebbles Inc. Lil' Miss Collection

Pebbles Inc. has another cute collection coming out soon. Loving the flowers and shapes and since I love to fussy cut this line will be perfect for me! And a girl can never have too many girly scrap things when she has a daughter!

Card Sketch using GCD Studios Chic Bebe Line

*This will be featured in an upcoming issue of Paper Creations.*

I had a little time after baseball tonight to get this made and snapped before the sun went completely down. It is is officially hot here in Iowa. 90 today - I'm thinking the air is coming on! Plus as I type my cat is camped out on my lap. Doesn't he get hot wearing fur?

The paper and scalloped die cut are from GCD Studios Chic Bebe line. Cardstock is from Core'dinations, jewels are Paper Studio, teeny alphas are Adornit and a Thicker for the number.

Just My Sketches May 15th Card Reveal

Here is my take on this week's card sketch over at Just My Sketches. Feel free to create your own take on the sketch and post a link on their blog. I used a bunch of Chatterbox Together goodies that I got from That Scrappy Girl while at a crop recently. Also added some American Crafts Vinyl Thickers. Sorry for the cheesy sentiment, but sometimes I just can't help myself :-)

October Afternoon Card - sketchy style

I made this for a sketch challenge (I used the 2nd one) they are having this week on their blog. I used some more of their Night Light line. I just love the dinosaur paper! I haven't shown Emma yet, as I'm afraid she'll claim it :-)

Jillibean Soup - Sketch #2

Here is my take on one of their sketches. I used papers from their Minestrone line, added a few Darice gems and Amercian Crafts thickers and wha...la! I love using butterflies, so of course I had to fussy cut some out :-)

Scrap Within Reach - Emerson, Elliot and Industrial Park Oh My!

*Project will be featured in the April 2010 issue of Crafts N Things*

Papers: Scrap Within Reach - Elliot line
Scalloped Acrylic Page: Clear Scraps XL Deco
Chipboard letters (room): Heidi Swapp
Acrylic Sentiment, Ribbon: Making Memories
Button
Used my Cropodile to make the holes at the top.
Size: 12x12 (not including ribbon)
I feel like my son often gets neglected in my scrap creations. When I saw that I had pictures of him from a couple of his activities that coordinated perfectly with the Elliot line, a wall hanging for his room came to mind. I easily converted the acrylic page into a hanging by punching two holes at the top with my Cropodile and string ribbon thru.

Papers/ABC's: Scrap Within Reach - Emerson
Acrylic Banner: Clear Scraps Banner
(The Clear Scraps blog gave this some love - cool!)

Jewels: Kaisercraft
Ribbon: Bazzill
White Ink: Stazon (inked edges of the banner)
Glittered Flowers: Bazzill
Size: 20x6 (not including addt'l ribbon on the edges to hang)

I put the main piece of paper under the acrylic pieces and then embellished with additonal papers and other embellishments on top. I made for my daughter Emma to hang in her room. I knew if her brother got something and she didn't, she would not be happy...lol.

*This card will be featured in the July issue of Scrapbook News and Review.

Papers/Ribbons/Rubons: Scrap Within Reach - Industrial Park
Staples
Size: 4 1/2 x 6

I layered different papers including some that were fussy cut and applied rubons all over the card. I used the staples to attach the ribbon and thought they added to the industrial, boyish look.

These creations got some love over at Card of the Week :-)

CK & Me Challenge

One of my favorite columns in Creating Keepsakes magazine each month is Jennifer McGuire's Tools and Techniques column. She is just so stinkin' creative! In the May issue (pg 45-47) she talked about circle punches and had a variety of examples on how to use them. One was the flower below.










I used this technique and made this purple card below. I used Core'dinations cardstock so I also did a little sanding and crinkling too. I decided to leave a sentiment off, but you could easily add one to inside if needed.



Today is NSD - National Scrapbooking Day - and I think I've spent most of the day surfing the net instead of up in my scraproom. I was hoping to go to a crop today, but it just wasn't in the cards. Be sure to check out the Creating Keepsakes Blog thru out the day for more challenges and giveaways!

Thank you Megan for featuring this on the CK Blog! Yippee!

Mother Card - a la Fancy Pants!

I made this for a Mother's Challenge over at the Fancy Pants blog. Everything is Fancy Pants with the exception of the Core'dinations cardstock. Weird thing is I didn't even use patterned paper on this which is unlike me! I just bought some Kraft Kuts (sooooo cute)and so wanted to use it, but it didn't happen so look for another card with Kraft Kuts coming soon! With Love Buttons, Aged Floral rubons , and Simple Sentiments Creative Cards are the supplies used. The card is clean and simple, but as you can tell if you look at my blog - that seems to be how I roll style wise. And I've come to accept that and realize that's ok :-)

1st Recital Layout - Scrap Within Reach The Cottage Line

*This will be featured in the July issue of Scrapbook News and Review*

These are the only pictures Emma "allowed" me to take at her first dance recital a couple years ago. These do show her personality though...she can sometimes be a pouty pants! The butterfly circle at the top was a happy accident. I had already punched a butterfly from one of the circles on the paper for another project and realized I could add another circle cut from the paper behind it to give it a new look (kind of like it's a tag). The brown from the circle underneath even shows on the edges of the wings for a neat effect.

Papers/Die Cut ABC's: Scrap Within Reach The Cottage
Cardstock: Core'dinations
Pearls: Mark Richards
Scallop Punch: Martha Stewart
Butterfly Punch: Paper Studio
Tiny ABC Stickers: Making Memories
Size: 12x12

I

Pebbles Inc Lil' Buddy Sneak Peak

Isn't this cute?? This collection by Pebbles Inc. includes 6 double sided printed papers and 3 stickers that are designed for Baby & Toddler Boy. I'm loving the little giraffe that is peeking out!

Is it Water Slide Time?

(Click on for a larger picture)

Not quite here in Iowa, but it did get into the 70's today although overcast. But I guess it's supposed to rain buckets this weekend, yipee (insert sarcasm!) I created this layout for the weekly challenge over at the American Crafts blog - you had to use 6 pictures and of course American Crafts products! I am hooked on their stuff, so I had no shortage of supplies of which to chose from. I used their Moda Bella papers, Mini Marks Rubons Jack Jr Sidekicks (for all the little white summer icons), Vinyl Thickers (Sprinkles) and various Detail stickers. I had hoped to try to get a decent picture of this outside, but instead I scanned (and cussed!) It wasn't so much the scanning or stitching, but since it's been so long since I used Adobe, I couldn't remember how to merge the two pages together. After a few choice cuss words and some time, I am somewhat successful. I hate that scans always cut off some of the edges, so just imagine there is more of an orange border around the page and also between the two pages. But hope you at least get the idea!!

Scrap Within Reach The Cottage - Miss U Card

This was my first attempt at a shapes card and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I used a butterfly page from a Making Memories journaling book to trace the shape and snipped off a little at the bottom so it would sit upright. The papers and die cut U are from Scrap Within Reach "The Cottage" line. Other supplies include jewels from Kaisercraft, Doodlebug glitter, mini ABC stickers from Adorn It, a little Clearsnap Chesnut Roan ink, a felt circle and my Sakura glue pen. I traced the circles with my glue pen and added the glitter, super easy!

Just My Sketches April 15th Reveal - Jillibean Soup

Here is my card for Just My Sketches April 15th sketch. I was really happy with the way this card turned out. It actually came together fairly quickly. Sometimes I can move elements around for an hour until I'm happy. I was trying to figure out what item to put in the rectangle and looked over and saw the raw chipboard Bazzill keys I had bought recently. I then came up with the sentiment, dug in the keys some more and even found one that had a heart on it...perfect! The heart gems are by Martha Stewart and the papers are from Jillibean Soup and the Minestrone line. I have been wanting some of their papers since they came out and hadn't ordered any online yet. No one local has it yet...boo hoo... Lo and behold, I won some goodies and from Creating Keepsake's blog and among other things it included some Jillibean! I distressed all of the edges with my Heidi Swapp sander (love that thing) and inked up the key with my all time fave ink Clearsnap Chestnut Roan.

Scrap Within Reach Full Bloom Mini Album - Puddin Face

My daughter was around 3 when these taken. She has always been messy - if she's eating, playing, crafting, anything! Often when she would eat pudding and other messy foods we would actually make her sit in her diaper. I'm pretty sure it's in her hair in these pictures!

I sassed up my album a bit with glitter. I ended up going a little crazy and so my pictures also have a bit of glitter since there is just so much on the album. I used a glue pen to outline the flowers, letters and draw designs on some of the papers and then I applied the glitter to it. I love glitter, but then I wear it for days after!

Papers/Die Cut ABC's: Scrap Within Reach Full Bloom
Chipboard Album (6x6 inches): Creative Imaginations (4 pages front/back - 8 total)
Flowers: Prima, Petaloo, Imaginesce
Glue Pen: Sakura
Glitter: Doodlebug
Ribbons: Portafolia, May Arts, Others
Jewels: Doodlebug, Petaloo
Brads: Queen and Co.

P.S. This got a BOB (Best of Blogosphere) mention over at Card of the Week!

A Little October Afternoon

I have been wanting some October Afternoon paper for awhile. Unfortunately no one local has had it, but I found some from a vendor at a recent crop...yipee! it :-) They have since come out with some more cute lines, but this paper is still new to me and I still love it!

The papers and ABC stickers are from their Night Light line. The cute fuzzy deer sticker is from the Colorbok Forest Friendzy line and coordinated perfectly. I apologize if the sentiment is a little cheezy, but I don't deny that I can be a little dorky sometimes!

I went to a crop yesterday with the sisters and actually got quite a bit accomplished. I will have more to share later in the week. I even won some prizes! And we all know a girl can never have too many supplies.....

CARDS Pub Shares

I thought I'd post some recent pubs I've had in CARDS magazine since I don't have anything new to share with you today. This was in the February issue.These were in the January issue. I have a thing for butterflies can you tell?

(this is a gift card holder that can be opened up)

These were in the December 08 issue.

The kids are over at the neighbors playing so I'm off to take advantage of some alone time and hit the scrap room!

A Couple of Cards

I have been working long hours at work this week (I'm glad that doesn't happen very often!) and so I'm making this quick as I'm up way past my bedtime. I can't wait to get into my scrap room this weekend. This card features papers from the Full Bloom line from Scrap Within Reach. Also happy to say that my mini album I made lsat month with the Full Bloom line is "Craft of the Week" over at She's Crafty! Also the frills and felt flowers are from a jumbo scrap kit I got from my work gang for my 10 yr work anniversary earlier this year. They know me well :-)

This card features a variety of Bo Bunny papers and brads. Also loving these pink Prima flowers I won awhile ago. I made this for one of their sketch challenges. I apparently misread when the sketch was due so I missed the deadline, but hey I still made a card I'm happy with and so that's what counts.