Thursday 28 March 2013

At the Beach

This layout may take the prize for "The Best Paper and Photo Match Ever."
I took these pictures of my girls in their matching cherry bathing suits when we were camping last summer. When I spotted this cherry paper at my local scrapbook store, in exactly the same colors as in my pictures, I could not believe my luck. It was the perfect paper.

The paper is by Glitz and is the same paper that I used to make my cherry cards.

I found all of the embellishments that I used in my stash. The red photo corners are from Scenic Route. The buttons are from Basic Grey. The "I Adore You" sentiment is from My Mind's Eye.
The scalloped die cut is from Jillibean Soup and the "smile" sentiment is from October Afternoon.
I love how I was able to embellish this page using tidbits from several companies.

I cut the title out with my Silhouette - my go-to for titles because it is so simple and custom, and I never have to worry about missing a needed letter from a sticker sheet. The font I used is called 'Ravie' and it is one of my favorite fonts.
Can you believe how well these pictures and this paper go together? Incredible isn't it?

Tuesday 26 March 2013

Family

Today I am over at The Memory Nest sharing this layout that I made for the Color Challenge.
When I saw the color grouping to be used for this challenge, I immediately thought of the Brook Collection from Crate Paper. I used this same line of paper a few weeks back when I made five cards in one week

To make my picture coordinate better with my patterned paper, I converted it to sepia. I love how it ‘pops’ against the colored background.
I cut out the title using my Silhouette – the design/word was one that I bought from the online store.
As for embellishments, I was thrilled to find the sparkly birds in a bag of stuff I bought at a scrapbooking garage sale. I could not believe how perfectly they coordinated with this page – love when that happens! A brown paper flower from Bazzill was another perfect addition.

I invite you to head on over to The Memory Nest Color Challenge Link Party to see what other crafters were inspired to make for this challenge. It is really incredible to see how differently people are inspired when they all look at the same thing for inspiration.  

Monday 25 March 2013

Card of the Week: With a Cherry on Top

This week I made cards with the most adorable cherry paper.

First this blank card.
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Glitz; Cardstock: Bazzill; Border Punch: Fiskars; Jeweled Cherry: Mary Engelbreit; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, 3D Foam Squares

The cherry paper, the jeweled cherry embellishment - there was no doubt in my mind that these two things belonged together. Could it be more perfect? I don't think so.

I tried adding a sentiment to this card, but it just did not work. So it stayed blank, making it ready for any occasion.

With the small pieces of cherry paper that were left on my table, I made these two small note cards.
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Cashmere Dame; Cardstock: Bazzill; Border Punch: Fiskars; Sentiment Rub-Ons: American Crafts, Pebbles Inc.; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, 3D Foam Squares

Aren't they sweet?

I absolutely love this paper - so fresh and cheerful.

In addition to these cards, I also made a scrapbook layout with this paper. You would not believe how perfect it was for the pictures I wanted to scrap! Please check back later in the week to see my page.

Thursday 21 March 2013

Three Things

Three things that are making me smile this week....even though it is snowing and cold outside.

My new house shoes. We have ceramic tile in the main part of our house and it is so hard; being on this floor all day really hurts my feet. These shoes have been a lifesaver...honestly, by the end of the day I have no pain at all and I used to be very uncomfortable. At first I felt a little like an old woman wearing sandals in the house, but never mind that - not having sore feet at the end of the day is so much better. Plus, my sandals are a cool peacock feather pattern!
Two great thrift store finds: a classic story for the girls, and a framed ceramic tile for the kitchen. Best part - the total price for both items was only $2.50.
An afternoon spent drinking hot coffee from a pretty mug while putting together some cards.
What has made you smile this week?

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Snow

This week myself and the other members of The Memory Nest Design Team were asked to create a layout using Winter Frost by We R Memory Keepers.
I had this picture of my girls in the snow and was having a really hard time finding paper to coordinate with it; the number of colors in their winter jackets, hats, boots, and pants made it very hard. When I saw the Winter Frost papers I was so relieved - I could call off the hunt because suitable paper had been found.

The blue/grey tones in this paper collection made for the perfect neutral background for my picture allowing it to really 'pop'.

From the coordinating sticker sheet I used two snowflakes as embellishments and the word “snow” as a title - I attached them all to my page using foam squares to give them some added dimension.
I usually try to match my pictures to my patterned paper when I am scrapbooking, so going with a neutral background and having my picture stand out so much is a little out of my comfort zone. But that is good, right? A creative challenge - the best kind if you ask me!

Winter Frost is a lovely line of paper - perfect for winter pictures, especially those where people are uncoordinated in their outdoor clothing choices.

The other girls on the design team have created some incredible layouts using this paper line. You can check out their work here.

Monday 18 March 2013

Card of the Week: ( I Love You ) x 2

This week I made two "I love you" cards:
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Pebbles Inc.; Cardstock: Bazzill; Border Punch: Fiskars; Sentiment Rub-On: Pebbles Inc.; Flower: Bazzill; Button: my craft stash; Ink: Ranger Inks; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, Glue Dots, 3D Foam Squares
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Pebbles Inc.; Cardstock: Bazzill; Border Punch: Fiskars; Sentiment Rub-On: Pebbles Inc.; Ink: Ranger Inks; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, 3D Foam Squares

I really like this patterned paper - Lil' Miss Collection by Pebbles Inc. It is a little funky and because it is double sided there are some awesome and unexpected coordinating patterns to work with. So fun!

Thursday 14 March 2013

The Next Generation of Scrapbookers

This week I have been home with both my girls for Spring Break.

The week started off very full - a family birthday party, appointments, loads of errands - but is ending on a slower note which is fine with me.

Our time at home has been lovely. I've really enjoyed listening to the girls playing together; they make up the most intricate games and play at them for hours. We've read stories, baked, watched Tinkerbell movies, done crafts...and just enjoyed being together.

But there was one thing this week that made me so very happy and proud that I actually jumped for joy. What happened you ask? Well, quite unexpectedly and totally unannounced, both girls came into the kitchen to show me the scrapbook pages that they had made. That's right, they both made scrapbook pages!

Their pages were complete with photos, patterned paper, embellishments, and, in the case of my oldest daughter Bridget, journalling. What was even better was that they used these terms - patterned paper, embellishments, journalling - when they were talking to me about their creations.

My two little girls have definitely been watching and listening as I work on and talk about my scrapbooking.

I have successfully inspired my next generation of scrapbookers and I could not be happier or prouder.

Bridget told me that her page is called "Snow". She added a foam snowflake and some pom-poms as embellishments. Her journalling reads "I love snow. I love snow. Snow is pretty. I love snow. Snow is nice. I love snow."
Claire used a pom-pom and several Tinkerbell stickers as embellishments. She also added some coloring to her page. 
Both girls were incredibly excited to show me their work and were so proud of their creations. 

I am so happy to see my girls interested in scrapbooking at such a young age. It has always been a wish of mine that they enjoy creating as much as I do...and it certainly looks like we are on that path.  Hooray!

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Love in Every Stitch

Today marks the debut of The Memory Nest Design Team. I am so excited to be part of this group of talented and creative ladies - these girls have created some truly incredible layouts which you can check out here.

This week we were asked to create a layout using the True Love paper line from Basic Grey. It is a beautiful line mixing fun and whimsical patterns with some that have a more vintage vibe.

As soon as I saw this paper, I knew that it would be perfect for the pictures I have of my daughter with the pink and white blanket that I crocheted for her.
I titled my page "Love in Every Stitch" to keep the whole "handmade/stitch" theme going. I also cut out some knitting/crochet needles using my Silhouette - the perfect embellishment for this page.
Of course I added some flowers..a staple for any layout of my girl. The centers of the flowers are buttons from the True Love line; I love how some of the buttons in this line are in the shape of flowers (shown in the second picture below).
This is a beautiful line of paper and I really enjoyed working with it.

Please check out the work of the other design team members and be ready to be inspired.

Monday 11 March 2013

Card of the Week: Flowers & Swirls

This past weekend my entire family gathered together at a local Chinese restaurant to celebrate my grandparents' birthdays. Their birthdays are only days apart so we always combine the celebration.

To mark the occasion, I made them each a card...because that is what I do!

For my Oma, this floral patterned paper was perfect as she loves flowers and gardening. Since the pattern on this paper is so beautiful, I did not add many embellishments, just a few simple rhinestones, in order to let the pattern shine through.
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: SEI; Cardstock: Bazzill; Rub-On Sentiment: Bazzill; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, 3D Foam Squares

For my Opa, I have to be honest, I struggled as I always do when it comes to making cards for men. With two girls, my scrapbooking supplies are overrun with pink and purple paper, ribbons, jewels, flowers; there is not much in there that would be suitable for an older man's card. I spent quite a bit of time rummaging through things in order to find supplies for this card. In the end, I went with this blue swirl paper, accenting it with a complimentary yellow and maroon...and I do think that it looks quite manly.
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Making Memories; Cardstock: Bazzill; Rub-On Sentiment: Bazzill; Border Punch: Fiskars; Button: my craft stash; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, 3D Foam Squares

My Oma and Opa loved their cards and loved celebrating their birthdays with the entire family together. It was a great evening.

How was your weekend? Celebrate any special occasions? Make any cards?

Wednesday 6 March 2013

The Abandoned Snake

Back in the fall I looked at the large bin of cotton yarn that I have in the basement with complete and utter disbelief. I have a lot of cotton yarn and for the most part have no idea what I am going to do with it.

Now I do want to say that I am not against having a yarn stash, in fact I do think it is quite handy. For example, when I came across the pattern to make my crochet hearts, all I needed to do was head downstairs, rummage through what I already had to find a suitable color, and get crocheting. Simple, and no trip to the store needed.

But I do have a lot of cotton, much of it in large 14 ounce balls. I bought all of it at a sale for very cheap (at most, $6 a ball) so there is not a huge financial investment here, but still I felt a little overwhelmed by it all, so I set out to find a project to use up some of my stash.

The project I decided to do was a snake. A long, stripped, colorful snake. Perfect. I selected a collection of coordinating yarns and off I went crocheting round after round, watching as my snake grew longer and longer....
I had to put this project aside before Christmas and when I came back to it in January my excitement had really waned. I thought I just needed to 'get back into it' so I started crocheting round after round again, watching the snake grow longer and longer. And then I stopped.

I suddenly began to think about what the heck I was going to do with the snake after I was finished. The pattern called for 271 rounds, meaning that the finished snake would be over five feet long. Yikes! Where on earth was I going to put him?

Also, because I was single crocheting with cotton yarn using a 4.0mm hook, the snake was very stiff...even with only a little bit of polyester stuffing inside he would not curl up very well which would make him even harder to find a place for. In addition, because he was so stiff I could not hold the project in my lap as I was working on him; I had to hold the working end up near my face and hold the head between my knees. With my arms held up like this while I was crocheting, all the blood ran out of them and they ached; not exactly the outcome I am looking for when I spend an hour or so with my hook.
I came to realize that I was uncomfortably crocheting a long tube with a head on one end. Why? Instead of a bin full of yarn that I didn't know what to do with, I was going to have a really long snake that I did not know what to do with.

So I abandoned my snake.

I pulled out as much of the polyester stuffing as I could, and was going to toss the poor guy into the trash when I visited my yarn loving friend Jill and told her this story. A look of horror flashed across her face at the mention of yarn being thrown in the garbage, and then she suggested a brilliant idea. Unravel the snake, use that yarn, and some of the cotton in your stash, and make a blanket. From there the ideas came pouring out - a stripe blanket, a granny stripe blanket, a ripple blanket. A blanket for the girls to sit on in the yard in summer. A blanket to wrap up in on the deck on a cool summer evening. It was one of those great occasions when two yarn lovers get all excited at the prospect of a new project and the ideas keep coming. I left our conversation feeling like my snake project had not been a complete loss, that out of it a new and better idea had been born.

So that is what I am going to do. I am going to make a Summer Blanket (likely in the summer) to help de-stash my cotton. I am not sure of the stitch details as of yet, but it will be something simple. Something colorful. And something more useful than a 5 foot long tube.

Have you ever abandoned a project? What was it, and why did you decide to stop.

I felt badly at first, giving up on my snake like I did, but now I am glad to be done with him and happy to be dreaming about the more useful blanket I will make once I unravel him.

Monday 4 March 2013

Card of the Week: Five Cards in One Week

I had a really great card making week!

I just love those times when the designs come easily, when the creative energy really flows, and when after a few hours spent crafting there are several completed projects to show. Oh, I love those times of overflowing creativity so much and lately I have had a few...resulting in a few scrapbook layouts, and these cards.

I made these five cards using one piece of patterned paper that I found in my stash (gotta love the stash). The coordinating cardstock was also on hand, as well as the various embellishments. What can I say, the card making stars aligned.

First a grid-style thank you card:
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Crate Paper; Cardstock: Bazzill; Circle Punch: Fiskars; Rub-On: Pebbles Inc.; Butterfly: Studio Calico; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives

And these four birthday cards, after all you can never have too many birthday cards on hand.
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Crate Paper; Cardstock: Bazzill; Circle Punch, Border Punch: Fiskars; Rub-On: Bazzill; Bird: Jillibean Soup; Flower: Prima; Button: my craft stash; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, Glue Dots, 3D Foam Squares
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Crate Paper; Cardstock: Bazzill; Rub-On: Bazzill; Flower: Prima; Button: my craft stash; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, Glue Dots, 3D Foam Squares
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Crate Paper; Cardstock: Bazzill; Border Punch: Fiskars; Rub-On: Bazzill; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, 3D Foam Squares
Card Base: Recollections; Patterned Paper: Crate Paper; Cardstock: Bazzill; Circle Punch, Border Punch: Fiskars; Rub-On: Bazzill; Butterfly: Studio Calico; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives, 3D Foam Squares

Like I said, a good week.

How has the creative energy been flowing for you?

Friday 1 March 2013

One Year Blog Anniversary - Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered my one year blog anniversary giveaway.

Last night I got all scientific and wrote your names on small pieces of paper, put all the pieces of paper in a hat, closed my eyes, reached into the hat, and pulled out the winner's name.

Congratulations Fabrizio!

Five handmade greeting cards are coming your way.

Thanks again to everyone. I am looking forward to sharing many more crafty things with you in the next year.