Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Treasure this Time Tuesday: Capturing a little Girl's Spunk

As I have said in previous weeks my goal is to capture the day to day in this weekly feature.  So for today's layout I asked my daughter to pose and show me some of her funny faces. Posed but still capturing who she is! They were especially cute in black & white so I went with that!  I paired the black and white with a colorful line from Simple Stories!

I had about 10 shots of her that I could have used but decided I liked these three the best!  The bottom right hand corner of the paper had the circles already printed on it.  The trick was to figure out how to make it original and incorporate it into my design.  I opted to cut into the chevron paper and add that in the opposite corner so they would play off each other.  Once things started coming together the pictures were getting a little lost in all the color. Adding some Core'dinations tags under the pictures helped those to pop a little more and then outlining them really helped!  

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Simple Stories
Stickers: Simple Stories
Chipboard: Simple Stories
Stamp: American Crafts
Tags: Core'dinations

Monday, February 23, 2015

Leprechaun Hat Shaped Card Tutorial

I don't know if it's the colors involved or the whimsical nature of the holiday but I love making St. Patrick's Day paper crafts.  It may be my favorite of all the holidays!  Today I am sharing a shaped card hat looks like a Leprechaun hat over at the Core'dinations blog along with the tutorial on how to make it! 

Lucky-CardLeprechaun Hat Card Supplies:
Now on to the fun part of how to make this card!

Step 1: Cut out a Leprechaun Hat shape and one in it's mirror image.  I used my Silhouette Cameo for the cut and you can find the file here.  The file will give you most of the pieces you need to cut out the hat and the accessories. For the piece that will be your back score a line about 1/4 inch from the top of it.

Lucky Closeup 4

Step 2: Add adhesive to the scored part and stick your two pieces together.  The scored part will now allow the back of the card to fold back.

Lucky Closeup 3

Step 3: Cut out a stripe from the black Tillie Dot cardstock to be the sash on the hat.  Sand it to bring out the core.

Lucky Closeup 5

Step 4: Cut out a Shamrock out of the Tillie Dot cardstock also but don't sand it this time.  Add the sash to the card. Cut out a belt buckle from the Gold Adhesive Cardstock. Add that and the Shamrock to the sash.

Lucky Closeup 2

Step 5: Cut out a sentiment from the Gold Adhesive Cardstock and attach it to the card. I also used a Silhouette cut file for this and you can find it here. Outline the whole card with faux stitching or dots.

Lucky-Closeup-1



Sunday, February 22, 2015

DIY Spring Tree Branches

It's a DIY weekend around here! Today I have another Core'dinations project to share that you will have so much fun making! Despite the fact that it is like 5 degrees out here - bear with me - spring will be here SOON!

Spring-Tree-Coredinations
Spring Branches Supply List:
Putting the tree together is simple!
Step 1: Cut out leaves from various pastel colors - you can use a die cut machine for this or just trace some simple ones by hand.

Spring Tree Closeup 1

Step 2: Dry emboss the leaves to give them some texture.

Spring Tree Closeup 2

Step 3:  Sand the leaves to bring out the core and add some extra color.

Spring Tree Closeup 3

Step 4: Attach the leaves to the branches using Washi Tape and making them go different directions.

Spring-Tree-Coredinations1



Saturday, February 21, 2015

DIY Paper Fortune Cookies

Core'dinations has this great new Polka Dot Pop paper out that has flocked dots all over it.  Today I am going to use some of it and their vellum quotes to show you how to make your own Paper Fortune Cookies.
Paper-Fortune-Cookies-2 (1)

Paper Fortune Cookie Supplies:
  • Polka Dot Pop Kraft Cardstock
  • Vellum Quotes -Inspirational Motivations
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Scissors
Here's how to make your own Paper Fortune Cookies:
Step 1: Cut out a 4 inch circle and bend it over like this - you don't want to fold it!

PFC Closeup 2

Step 2: Push on the cardstock along the backside to weaken the fibers so that you can easily bend the ends forward. Secure with hot glue.

PFC Closeup

Paper-Fortune-Cookies-3

Step 3:  Trim down some inspirational or fortune type quotes.

Vellum Quotes Closeup


Step 4:  Slide the quote in your Fortune Cookie
Paper-Fortune-Cookie

Wouldn't this be a fun project for any kind of a party or shower?



Friday, February 20, 2015

St. Patrick's Day Banner

I have always wanted to make a banner using doilies and when I saw the new green ones that SRM has I knew it was gonna have to be a St. Patrick's Day banner!  This project makes me really wish I had a beautiful fireplace mantle - since I don't we have it hanging up in our kitchen entryway.


This was super easy to create - let me share with you how I did it!  I used foam adhesive and layered a Gold Lace Doily on top of a Green Lace Doily.  They layer perfectly because the Gold ones are four inches and the Green ones are six inches.  

I used gold vellum to cut out stars and attached those to Large White Punched Pieces.  These again layered perfectly onto the doilies as they are 2 1/2 inches in size.  Adding letters to spell out LUCKY and some gemstones was the final touch.

I hung them on a piece of Solid Peapod Twine using clothespins. If the look of clothespins isn't your thing or you don't have any - you could just string the twine through the doilies and make a great banner too!

I love it when companies make such versatile products - good for not just paper crafts but home decor too 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Collage Sunshine Layout - Paper House Productions

Today I have one of my favorite layouts that I have ever created to share!  Paper House Productions has a new and fabulous line called Cork'd.  They are cork stickers that have themes and are a mixture of colored and plain cork.  I absolutely LOVE them and used them in a big way on my layout today!  

Melinda Spinks has long been one the people I look to for inspiration - she has such a unique style and comes up with lots of brilliant ideas.  She has done several collage items over the past year (or so) and I wanted to give it a whirl with my own style and Paper House Cork'd stickers.  
First I lightly traced an 8 ½ inch circle onto the center of my paper.  I then laid out where my picture would go. From there I started with putting in my biggest cork pieces so there was some strategic design placement to them.


I then filled in around it with smaller Cork’d stickers. One tip I have is to try to have parts of stickers touching around a lot of the edge of the circle so that it keeps clear that it is a circle.


I used my die cut machine to cut out a cardstock sunshine border and title.  I kept those bright to match up with the theme of the layout and made the title spread out so it would have that whimsical feeling to it!

The supply list for which Cork'd Stickers I used is available on this link http://www.paperhouseproductions.com/community/cork-sun-christine/

AND you definitely want to head there and enter this giveaway for ALL of the Cork'd Stickers!


Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Springs Cards from SRM Stickers

It's almost March and that means Spring is in the air, right? I mean it's 10 degrees out here, so I am seriously hoping so! Today I am up on the SRM Stickers blog with a couple of Spring cards!
I'm still crazy about the gorgeous gold doilies from SRM and so I decided to combine them with some pink to spring it up!  I added a flower from the We've Got Your Stickers Plus/Thanks set.  Putting that onto vellum and cutting it out allowed me to keep it from blending in with the whites too much.

A "Happy Spring" circle from the Sentiment/Spring set atop a Small White Punched Piece help make it even more clear what season this is for.  Although with a few color changes and swapping out the stickers you could totally make this into a Valentine's card or for just about any season!

SRM has so many great stamps now - I just had to play with one set for a Spring card.  I chose to use the Doodle Flower Stamp Set.  I stamped with black onto subtle patterned paper.

I then fussy cut the flowers out and layered them onto each other with foam adhesive so I'd have some dimension.  The simple sentiment comes again from the Sentiment/Spring set!  



Sunshine and warmth are on the horizon - in the meantime I'll keep crafting it!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Treasure this Time Tuesday: The Four Year Old and this month's challenges!

So my four year old, well, he's been a challenge lately.  Moody, irritable, grumpy...very unlike who we've grown accustomed to.  So this week's Treasure this Time was a bit of a challenge.  Like, I kept crying while I made it challenge.  We've made some good progress with him since I made this but it's still a little less happy of a layout than the others so far have been.  And that is okay with me - life isn't always easy and I don't want the kids to look back on their layouts and think they were angels and never gave us trouble...I want them to know that we loved them thru the hard times and came out on the other side.  So here it is an authentic layout about my four year old.


As I was creating this, I realized my stash is beginning to dwindle for good boy stuff.  I added some to it from The Scrapbooking Studio today but if you have some boy lines you've loved - do share the info with me! I ended up using an older Fancy Pants line and some other odds and ends. I added the patterned paper square to the already fabulous base that had the frame on it.  I then did a cross of patterned papers before topping it with my picture.  I like the way the cross draws the eye in and I will definitely be doing that again.  Simple embellishments of stickers and wood going diagonally from one corner to the next made for quick embellishing!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants
Stickers: Jillibean Soup, Bella Blvd, & Simple Stories


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Sketchy Saturday - Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  We don't celebrate this day real big at our house but do add some special little touches of love to our every day routine!  Since it's Saturday that means it's time for a new sketch!  This is a nice and simple one that I know you'll enjoy!

And as promised I have a layout to share that uses "Hugs & Kisses" from Simple Stories.
There isn't a big story behind this picture - it was just one I blew up because I loved the expression of my son on it!  I hadn't had a chance to scrap it yet and this seemed like the perfect occasion.  I added in lots of fussy cut hearts and letters but primarily worked from the Hugs & Kisses Collection!  I'm off to get some more Xs and Os from this little sweetie!  Enjoy this fun day with your loved ones!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Simple Stories
Stickers: Simple Stories & Pebbles Inc

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Last Minute Valentine's Day Card Ideas

I FINALLY got to playing with the Simple Stories "Hugs & Kisses" Simple Set.  I have had it for over a month with every intention of doing Valentine projects but I have been busy playing with lots of other goodies!  I have a fun layout to share with you on Saturday featuring that line!  When I got done with the layout I had lots of bits and pieces laying around and decided to create a few Valentines to use them up!

This one is my favorite of the three - I love the classic colors of it!  I used two different journaling cards and layered them to create the base.  I then just added three hearts with the middle one popped up and finished it with faux stitching.  Super quick and simple!

More hearts! You can probably guess what part of my layout on Saturday is gonna look like.  After using the hearts from Simple Stories I added some stickers from them and some enamel hearts from Pebbles.

And more hearts :) I once again used a journaling card for the base and then added letter stickers, a border, and some words to personalize it.

All three of these came together super fast - less than 30 minutes because I was working with leftovers and just sliding things together.  I'll be back Saturday with a layout from this fun line!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Simple Stories
Stickers: Simple Stories & Pebbles
Wood: Studio Calico





Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Treasure This Time Tuesday - Tips for Scrapping Boys

My scrapbooking hobby began with my oldest son and today I think my ten year old is my biggest challenge to get good pictures of and tell stories about. He's much more stable and not changing nearly as much as the others and definitely doesn't love having his picture taken. For this week's edition of Treasure This Time Tuesday I am sharing a layout I created about him.

I have three sons so I have gotten pretty experienced with telling the stories of boys.  
Here's some tips I have for approaching scrapping a boy:
1) Stick with some traditional boy colors but throw in something for an extra pop of color to make it interesting.  The orange helps achieve that in the layout above.
2) Stars and circles make great embellishments and are a staple in my scrapping style.  I have metal dies and punches to take advantage of for stars and circles.
3) Take the elements that you like from a feminine layout and replace them with masculine ones - this layout about could easily be made for a girl if you change the colors and switch out stars for hearts. The same can be done for boys!  
4) If your boys don't like having their picture taken (my daughter definitely prefers it) then try to get at least one good shot of them a month.  Watch as they are doing something and shoot - it doesn't have to be posed.  The picture in the layout above was from my son playing with his brothers and he just happened to look up. Had it been posed the smile would have been much more forced.
5) Don't forget to tell the story of who they are beyond the picture!  My goal with Treasure This Time Tuesday is to do that.  I included three circles that tell three little things about him here and now.

What are some of your favorite tips for scrapping boys? I'd love to hear them!  

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Core'dinations
Stickers: Jillibean Soup & Bella Blvd

Monday, February 9, 2015

My Creative Scrapbook - Sketch & Card

In addition to their monthly kit club, My Creative Scrapbook also hosts a monthly sketch challenge. The sketch for January is still going (you can check out my entry here) and the new one for February will be coming up on the 15th.  Today you are gonna get a little sneak of that upcoming sketch as I share a card with you based on that sketch! I'll share the sketch with you when it comes out!
For now you get a little tease ...
Wait until you see this fun sketch and get to join in the fun too! Hope you've enjoyed all the projects I shared from the Creative Kit this month - for even more inspiration head on over to the Design Team Gallery at My Creative Scrapbook.



Saturday, February 7, 2015

Scrapping MY Story - February Layout & Sketchy Saturday

Last month I started a new monthly series where I do one layout about myself each month.  I have rarely scrapped much about just me and decided it was time.  I'd like to remember who I was at this time in life too and I am sure it will be fun to look back at.  I am definitely making 2015 a year of being more intentional about scrapping the little things!  Using the Through The Year Collection from Echo Park has made it an easy start.  

One of the topics I have wanted to record for a long time is television shows that I like to watch.  I tend to spend my late evenings cruising the internet and catching up on shows that don't involve cartoons.  Now as I look at my list I already realize a few I forgot :). 

Since it's Saturday and Saturday here is usually Sketchy Saturday I am also sharing a sketch that I created and based my layout around.

I'm not usually a one picture on a layout person - but that's the way things have been shaking out a lot lately and it works on these kinds of layouts!

I stuck with the Valentine's theme of February for my design but obviously strayed from that topic in my actual topic.  I also added some gold pieces from Teresa Collins and some aqua pieces from Teresa Collins & Core'dinations.  Changes up that traditional color scheme a bit from just red and pink.  I also made sure to have a new picture from the month of February of myself.  Don't think I've changed too much from last month :)

If you want to check out the start of this series you can find the January post here.  If you are scrapping about yourself too or use today's sketch I'd love to have you share them with me either here or on my Facebook Page!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Echo Park, Core'dinations
Die Cuts: Teresa Collins
Chipboard: Teresa Collins
Stickers: Echo Park
Enamel Hearts: Teresa Collins & Pebbles Inc




Friday, February 6, 2015

My Creative Scrapbook Kit Layouts - One for a boy & One for a girl

As promised I am back today to share additional projects I made using the Creative Kit from My Creative Scrapbook this month. I had so much fun playing this month and I think that probably shows in the projects!


This was actually the first layout I made from the kit.  I was definitely focused on bringing out the boy colors here.  I also loved the diamond shapes in the light blue paper and decided to build an argyle style embellishment into the background.

I love the color combination that came out of the picture and kit colors combining - very unique but perfect for boys!

 
This one actually falls into the category of my "Treasure this Time Tuesday" feature but I am going to share it today anyway. The numbered journaling cards were perfect for documenting three special things about my daughter this month as well as snagging some pretty pictures of her. Since it is February I aimed to make this one have a Valentine's feel to it.  This kit isn't geared towards Valentine's but the Main Kit is so if you are looking for that - grab the Main Kit ;)

I used different heart punches and metal dies to create my cascade of hearts.  Adding faux stitching and outlining to them helped to bring out the black in the journaling words too

I'll have one more card from this kit to share with you on Sunday!

Thursday, February 5, 2015

My Creative Scrapbook Guest Designer - Creative Kit Layouts

I am so excited to be guest designing this month for My Creative Scrapbook Kits!  I had an absolute blast working with their kits and have some great work to share with you over the next couple days!  AND I have some even bigger news to share with you at the end of this post so keep reading!!!

I worked with their Creative Kit this month and it is a fun, colorful kit that works great for projects of all kinds!  

 February Creative Kit
Echo Park, Heidi Swapp, Kaisercraft, Bella Blvd, Prima, and more!
 
I thought I'd share my favorite of all the layouts I created first!  I hadn't yet created a layout about my youngest sons first ice cream cone on his birthday.   Later this month I will be sharing a tutorial on how I made these little ice cream cones!  I love how this kit works so beautifully for little boy layouts!  I don't think you'd think that upon first look - but it definitely does!

I love the Kaisercraft sentiments from this line too!

My second layout for today shows the more feminine side of the kit!  I'm kind of crazy in love with using geometric shapes for designing and I really pulled a lot of that into my kit designs!  To help make the colors pop more I did a lot of outlining and faux stitching.

The pen work also helps tie in the black word stickers!  I love the silver accents And what can I say about my sweet daughter and nieces - love them so so much!  

Make sure you head on over to the My Creative Scrapbook blog and check out the reveal of all the other kits. They are limited in number so snag the ones that you like quickly!  You can also see a lot more examples for all the kits in the design team gallery!

And now for my even bigger news! 
 I am guest designer this month but....
I have officially been asked and accepted as a regular design team member at My Creative Scrapbook so you will be seeing a lot more of their gorgeous kits in the upcoming months!!!

Basketball Cupcake Toppers - SRM Stickers

I love great sports stickers and have been having so much fun playing with SRM Stickers newest sports releases!  My son recently had his first ever basketball tournament - I thought some team cupcakes were in order and I had just the right stuff to make them!  Today I am going to share with you how I used the new Take 2 Stickers by the Dozen - Basketball stickers to create cupcake toppers.
SRM Stickers has all the supplies you need to make these cupcake toppers and even personalize them with the kids numbers! #4 just happens to be my favorite because it's my kiddo :)

First off attach a basketball from the Take2: Stickers By The Dozen/Basketball Stickers to a Medium White Punched Piece. Put some adhesive on the back of the punched piece and add a toothpick to it and then top it with another plain punched piece.

Use a border from the  Take2: Stickers By The Dozen/Basketball Stickers and put it onto cardstock.  Cut it out and separate each "Basketball is Life" saying.  Adding the cardstock to it makes it easier to add to the topper without a sticky part hanging over.  I added mine all at different angles just for some added interest for myself (I am not an assembly line crafter...I do not enjoy that at all!)

Use We've Got Your Number Small/White to add each kiddos number to the toppers. As I was making them my son asked why they had random numbers on them.  He felt like a goofball after I explained that they were there actual numbers.

My son's team enjoyed having these at a special basketball tournament and I know your kids will enjoy them too! The SRM Store has stickers like these that can work for several different sports!

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