Katie Piotrowski

CHA Previews....

2012-01-26T10:16:00.000-06:00

CHA is right around the corner and is my favorite time of year! I love seeing what my favorite manufacturers are releasing and while I'm not attending CHA this time around, I am certainly ready to get my hands on some new goodies.

So, for the next few days I thought it would be fun to share the products I am most excited about. Today I'll start with Simple Stories. I LOVE Simple Stories products. I love the concept behind their product line and while I haven't tried using their products as they intended, I still love working with it in the traditional scrapbooking manner. Simple Stories has released their new Mix & Match 6&8 Album and Page Protectors. They also have coordinating This and That album pages and various sizes of Odds and Ends memorabilia pockets. You can read all about the Mix & Match release and see photos HERE.

Another new release from Simple Stories I am very excited about is the new all boy collection, Awesome. As a mom to 3 boys ranging in age from 6 to 15, this collection would definitely help me get going on my boys' pages. You can read all about Awesome HERE...and even leave a comment for a chance to win the new collection!

So what do you think of the new Simple Stories collections?

Playing with new goodies!

2012-01-25T06:00:00.001-06:00

One of the things I'm most excited about this CHA is the new Spellbinders M-Bossabilities. If you haven't heard about them, they are double-sided embossing folders and they are available in two sizes. Here are a few intro videos by Spellbinders...

Now, are you as excited about these as I am? Stacey sent some very generous packages full of the NEW Spellbinders CHA releases to our entire design team. I couldn't wait to play so here's a quick and easy Valentine themed card I created with some of my newest goodies...

After making my card base, I cut and embossed the bottom with the *NEW* Classic Edges One and the *NEW* Classic Decorative Inserts One. Next I cut the pink layer, cut out the center with my Heart Nestabilities then embossed it with the *NEW* Imperial M-Bossabilities. After embossing, I inked all over to help the embossing stand out. Before adhering the pink frame with dimensional adhesive I added a bit of Want2Scrap bling to the card base. To finish off the card, I added a seam binding bow and two *NEW* Bitty Blossoms. I added a bit of Distress Stickles and a smidge of glitter.

This card could be easily altered for any occasion...wedding, anniversary and last but not least Valentine's Day.

Scrap-Mart has the new Spellbinders available for pre-order. They always go fast when the shipments arrive so if you want them pre-order them NOW!

Scrap Your Stash: 10 Minute Valentine Tags

2012-01-23T06:00:00.007-06:00

If you are anything like me, you have hoards of products hiding in your scrap space and plenty that you have and probably have never touched. With CHA looming in the very near future, now would be a great time to pull out that "old" product and put it to use.

I did just that this weekend. Here are two tags I made to tuck into Cody's and Shelby's lunchboxes on Valentines Day.

I used ONLY product I already had on hand and once I had it all picked out, it only took me 10 minutes to complete the tags. Seriously, 10 minutes. The tags themselves I have had in my stash for at least 4 years. Yes, that long. They had belly bands on them and I removed them. I liked them because they already had the red stitching around them. The rub-ons I received in a package from Making Memories at CHA Winter 2009!! I purchased an embellishment package from Creative Charms in the summer of 2010 and that's where I got the 3-d heart embellishment. The stamps were a more recent acquisition...JustRite's Just Because Mini Sentiments. Next I added some crinkled ribbons and tied them off with some We R Memory Keepers twine. See, super fast and super easy! And my kids will LOVE that they get an extra special treat in their lunches.

So, have at it. Go check out your stash and see what you have that you can use up!

Video: Airbrushing Copics with an Air Compressor

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hello friends and TGIF!! I recently got a new toy, an air compressor, and thought I'd do a video to show you how easy it is to airbrush with Copics and an air compressor.

Check it out:

As I noted in the video, Scrap-Mart has the Windstorm Air Compressor. The Scrap-Mart price is $247.49 and you get free shipping. The ABS3, which contains the air adaptor and air grip is $27.71 and would also ship for free. If you have any questions regarding any of the info I shared in the video or about Copics in general email me at katie@scrap-mart.com and I'd be happy to answer them for you!

Thanks for stoppin' by today! Have a great weekend!

Sweet Nothin's

2012-01-19T10:36:00.000-06:00

Have you seen the new Doily files from Boss Kut? SWOON!! Doilies are super trendy right now and so fun to work with. Here's a sweet Valentine card I made to send to my mom...

I really like making square cards so I made this one 5x5. After adding a few layers of patterned paper I sized and cut the new Heart Doily file. I trimmed a bit off the edge and layered it, adding some crinkled ribbon trim. I thought it needed some sparkle so I covered the doily with some Smooch ink. Next, I colored Sugar 'n Spice Marci with my Copic markers, fussy cut her then adhered her with dimensional adhesive. After stamping the sentiment I thought it needed a bit more so I took a few of the hearts that were leftover from the doily cut and colored them with Copics and Smooch and added one to the bow and one to the sentiment. Tip: Always look at your negatives after cutting...you'd be surprised at how many "usable" pieces you will find!!

Copics used:
skin: R00, R02, E00, E04, W1
hair: YR31, E55, E59
hearts: RV29, R83
clothes: (dress, bow, cupcake top) R81, R83, R85, (shoes) BV23, BV29, (apron and cupcake wrapper) Y21, Y23, Y26, (spoon) E35, E39

Hope you're having a great week!! I'll be back tomorrow with a video sharing how to airbrush with Copics using a compressor. Hope you'll stop by!

2012-01-17T09:58:00.000-06:00

Hi friends! I hope your week is off to a great start. It's become a pretty hot trend to share your favorite projects from the year before so I thought I'd take a minute to share a few of my favorite projects from 2011 with you. I just chose 5, which was not easy. ;)

We'll start with this...

This was my mom's birthday card. I really loved the fold-out banner and this card was so fun to make.

Next up is...

This was a card I made for a dear friend. Purple is her favorite color and she, like me, is in to zebra print!! I love all the sparkle and bling.

This layout also made it into my top 5 favs...

I really adore the simplicity of this layout. The photo in this layout was taken at my daughter's field trip to the pumpkin patch.

This layout also made it to my favs list...

These pics were from Father's Day last year. We took the youngest two to the lake for the day and had so much fun! This layout was based on a sketch and I really loved how it turned out.

And last, but not least, my 5th favorite project from 2011 was my grand-nephew Dax's mini album...

This project was made for a JustRite challenge and the album "cover" is actually upcycled Spellbinders die packaging. :) I won grand prize with this project...and it was hard to let it go but I did. I hope my niece treasures it.

Well, there you have it, my top 5 favs. I had many more projects I loved but these just took top spot. I love my little hobby and am thankful everyday that I found work (that pays!!) doing something I LOVE to do. My family, while they may not completely understand my passion, supports me and encourages me. I am truly blessed. Thanks to each of you who visit my blog. I appreciate you and your sweet comments. Here's to a fabulous 2012!!

Come crop with me!

2012-01-16T11:15:00.000-06:00

Hi friends!! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! It is unusually warm here today and we are supposed to reach into the 70's!! Um, think I'm gonna have to pull out some flip flops for today! :)

This year is bringing some exciting things for me already! First off, show season has already kicked off!! I went to an Heirloom stamp show in Grapevine, TX January 4th & 5th. Great show and it was nice to see some familiar faces. My next show is the Heirloom stamp show in Lawrenceville, GA next month.

Another exciting thing happening for me is that I have been hired by a local Michael's store (41st & Yale across from Promenade Mall, for my locals) to host crops, teach classes and conduct product demos. Super fun! My first crop is this Friday, January 20th from 3 pm to 9 pm. If you're in the area I hope you can make it. The cost is only $5!!! If you can't make that, I will be demoing the Spellbinders Grand Calibur die cutting machine and Nestabilities die templates on January 28th from 12 to 2 pm. Stop by and say hi!!

I'm off to take my sick daughter to see her ENT, AGAIN!! Four sets of tubes and an adenoidectomy later we are STILL having issues. Sigh. Poor Shelbs. When I told her teacher that she wouldn't be at school today because she wasn't feeling well and had an appointment she responded first to tell Shelby she hopes she feels better soon then, quietly tells me that it won't hurt her to miss today because she is ahead of the entire class anyway. :) So proud of my girl!!! I am contemplating getting her a LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Touch Pad for her birthday. I would appreciate any feedback if you have experience with them!

Have a GREAT Monday everyone!

Spellbinders Design Team Contest Round 2 Winners Announced!!

2012-01-09T11:35:00.000-06:00

Early this morning Spellbinders announced the 26 finalists chosen that will continue on to Round 3 of the design team contest. Here's the official announcement...

After another round has passed and the fantastic level of designs continued to astound us! Because of the difficult decision... the Spellbinders team has decided to pass through 26 participants, rather than 20, to the final round!

This talented group of designers will receive specific dies to use and will be assigned a project in the final round. In addition... they will be required to write an essay about themselves and why they think they'd be a good fit for the Spellbinders Design Team.

The final projects are due February 6th. Those chosen for the Spellbinders Design Team will receive a personal phone call from Spellbinders President, Stacey Caron, on February 13th. The final Design Team list will be posted here, on the Spellbinders blog, after all the chosen designers have been notified. The final Design Team members will be flown to Arizona for a special educational retreat to learn about Spellbinders and to grow as a team!

For a list of the official rules... click here.

And now... the moment we've all been waiting for! Join me in congratulating our third round finalists:

Marisa Job - Santa Clarita, CA
Astrid Maclean - Edinburgh, Scotland
Sylvia Blum - Grenzach-Wyhlen, Germany
Lesley Langdon - Ontario Canada
Michelle Woerner - Aloha, OR
Darsie Bruno - Elmira, NY
Tina McDonald - New Brunswick Canada
Christine Emberson - England
Kim Nath - Valencia, PA
Heidi Van Laar - Trout Lake, WA
Windy Robinson - Loveland, OH
Kathy Roney - Corona, CA
Iwona Palamountain - Australia
Katie Piotrowski - Prue, OK <---------- THAT'S ME!!!Susie Bentz - Centreville, VATeresa Horner - Covina, CAShanna Vineyard - Madison, MSTheresa Momber - Redding, CADebbie Seyer - Arnold, MOYvonne van de Grijp - NetherlandsAshley Harris - Peoria, AZTrina McClune - Auckland, New ZealandTonya Dirk - Portland, ORJudy Hayes - Tracy, MNAngela Ploegman - Bettendorf, IAMonika Martinsen - Sodertalje, Sweden

I can't even begin to tell you how exciting this is for me!! I am beyond THRILLED to have made it this far, among such talented and well-known designers. Spellibinders is sending packages and has assigned us all a specific project and I can't wait to get started on it. I suppose I could work on my essay while I'm awaiting the arrival of the dies. :) Thanks to everyone for the sweet comments and your support! It is greatly appreciated!

Office renovation continues...

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

So, in late August my hubby decided to renovate our 2 car garage and turn it into my scrapbook room. When the garage was built the walls were insulated. The previous owners had installed a nice, double-hung window and insulated doors and we installed an insulated overhead door when we purchased the home. There were built-ins along the wall and Rocky had filled with with tools and such.

The sheetrock on the walls was actually in good shape, we just used a sander to knock off the dust and rough spaces and shot some texture then painted. It has a concrete floor and in the event that we sell the house or need to get our cars in the garage I opted to go for an epoxy floor coating instead of the hardwood that I really wanted. ;)

So after all the work was done it was time for me to move in. I got money for my birthday and visited Ikea and picked up a large Expedit system. I also purchased a BIG rolling kitchen island from Overstock.com. Earlier this week, Rocky saw some cabinets for sale on Craigslist and went to check them out. Turns out they were custom built a few years ago for a law firm. He bought me 6 of them. Here's what they look like...

These cabinets are solid wood and very sturdy. I am going to span four of them on this wall with a 12 foot workspace and the other 2 will go on the opposite wall for another 6 foot workspace. I intend to use one end of the 12 foot workspace for my sewing set up and the other half will be my personal workspace. The 6 foot area will be my office space where I'll house my files and such. All I need to do is clean them up and pick out my countertops.

Here's a peek at my Expedit shelves all filled up...well, almost filled up :)

And here's a peek at the wall with my Making Memories shelf and kitchen cart...

I still have tons of space left, even with as much as I have in there now.

Well, there you have it...a peek into my studio. I am so thankful to have this space and enjoy every minute in there! I love looking at other people's spaces for ideas so feel free to leave a link to your space in the comment section so I can check out your space too!

The Smash Book trend

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

So last year K & Co released the new Smash Book which is a spiral bound book that is used like older style memory books. The ideas is that you don't have to follow the rules behind scrapbooking...like colors, lines and the rule of three's...you just fill your pages and smash the book closed.

I was hired my one of my local Michael's stores to teach classes, assist during crops and conduct product demos. Luckily, I can set my own schedule so I can continue to enjoy my relaxed, work from home lifestyle. ;) Anywho, K & Co. is sponsoring a crop in January and it is called the Smash Bash. Teachers were given a Smash Book to create a store sample and I thought I'd share what I've done so far.

The book comes with a plastic cover on it. If you're careful, you could remove the stickers and keep the cover on to preserve the book.

Since I have to turn this book over to the store when I'm done, I was careful not to put anything in it I couldn't live without. I kept the pages pretty simple and used my Slice to help me work with titles.

If you live in the Tulsa area, the Smash Bash Crop will be on Friday, January 20 from 3-9 pm at the Michael's at 41st & Yale. The cost is only $5!

I'll be back tomorrow with some photos and updates from my office renovation.

Sending Love

2012-01-04T06:00:00.002-06:00

Today is my first post for the new year for Scrap-Mart! We have a new design team this year and have transitioned our old blog to Facebook! Be sure to find and like Scrap-Mart on Facebook so you can keep up with all the fun! We'll have special coupon codes just for our FB friends, advance notice on sales and perhaps even some prizes along the way!

I know that we are just barely past Christmas but I couldn't wait to start working on some Valentine projects!

I started this card by using the die cutting on the fold technique and my Spellbinders Grand Rectangles. Next I cut and embossed a smaller rectangle layer. Using Spellbinders Classic Scallop and Classic Petal Edgeabilities, I cut and embossed a decorative edge. The edge was covered with some misted seam binding which was tied off in a bow and embellished with some paper flowers. I cut and embossed Spellbinders Scallop Heart Nestabilities and Heart Nestabilities, layered them then topped them off with a button and twine bow. I stamped the sentiment from JustRite's Just Because mini sentiments set then cut and embossed it using the pennant from Spellbinders Lacey Pennants.

To finish it off, I tucked two mini heart pins behind my die cut hearts and added a little xoxo flat back button to the lower right corner. I had lots of fun creating this card and actually used some stuff I've had in my stash for quite some time.

Thanks for stoppin' by today! Join me tomorrow for a peek at my Smashbook!

Get Organized Edition: 2012 Planner/Organizer

2012-01-03T06:00:00.001-06:00

Hello friends! What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. With the kids home I have had NO mojo whatsoever. No desire to be in my office. That is VERY unusual for me. I struggled with it and even though I am facing deadlines...like a MAJOR one tomorrow...I just had to let myself NOT create. It was difficult but my kids went back to school today and I am ready to get back to work.

The down time, however, did give me lots of time to think. Every year I create a calendar of sorts for myself. It is a tradition actually started by my friend, Deb (5treasures), who gave me a wonderful handmade calendar a few years ago. I LOVED it and was amazed at how I was able to keep 4 kids, jobs and dr visits all together easily. Each year they get a little more involved.

This year, I am making my calendar into a binder system with a store bought (gasp!) 3 ring binder. I have a few reasons for doing this. I want ONE place where I can keep notes for work things like The Button Farm Club, Scrap-Mart and the design team as well as have a calendar to track my travel schedule. And, since I started creating 8.5x11 layouts, it is a great way for me to keep my favorite layouts where I can see them and they are still protected. Plus, I can easily change them out. ;)

The first thing I'm going to share about my organizer is my calendar pages. I am going to have two types of calendars. A quick reference one that I will make with my Stamps of Life Calendar2Build stamp set and a full-size calendar where I can make notes for each day and have plenty of room. I was going to print off basic google calendars then I saw THIS is my email.

Moneysavingmom.com is one of the coupon and recipe sites I visit often. I am thrilled that she shared this just in time for me to make my calendar.

So there's my step one. I'll be sharing something about my 2012 Planner/Organizer once a week until it's complete. I hope you enjoy it and maybe even find some inspiration to create one for yourself.

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T13:04:00.000-06:00

Hello friends! I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a safe and Happy New Year!! We are celebrating tonight at home with the kids. Please be safe and have fun! I'll see you all next year!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Hello friends, this is the last post for me before Christmas! I thought I would share an easy box that you could make quickly for any occasion!

This box came together really quickly! The front and back were created by simply cutting and embossing two Spellbinders Grand Big Scallop Circles. Then I cut and embossed a regular Spellbinders Grand Circle to fit inside the front panel. The box inside measures 4"x4"x4.25".

After scoring the box, I simply scored the scallop panels then glued them all together. I used elements from October Afternoon's Holiday Style collection to bring the box together. All edges were inked with Tim Holtz Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Next, I added a black swirly bling from Want2Scrap and cut and embossed two Heartfelt Creations Spellbinders Holly leaves.

To finish it off, I added some white seam binding and mini jingle bells tied off with some red twine.

I am tucking an OU cup/mug and Starbuck's giftcard inside for my mother-in-law. I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May you be surrounded by family and friends! God bless you all and don't forget the real reason for the season!

Did you see this???

2011-12-19T06:00:00.002-06:00

Spellbinders has announced the 40 designers that will continue on to round 2 of their 2012 design team contest. Here's the excerpt from the Spellbinders blog...

Wow! What a first round it has been! The entries poured in from all over... not just the country... but from all over the world! The amount of talent that was showcased just blows our minds. We had all sorts of entries from cards, to scrapbook layouts, to mixed media projects. Each one of them was unique and truly showed the spirit of the person who created it. Thank you to everyone who participated in round one!

And now... to announce the 40 creative souls moving on to round 2! Congratulations to...

AJ Otto

Angela Fehr

Angela Ploegman

Ashley Harris

Astrid Maclean

Christine Emberson

Darsie Bruno

Debbie Seyer

Giovanna Smith

Heidi Van Laar

Iwona Palamountain

Jamie Cripps

Judy Hayes

Kalyn Kepner

Katarina Damm-Blomberg

Kathy Roney

Katie Piotrowski <--- that's ME!!!

Kendra Sand

Kim Nath

Kimberly Crawford

Latisha Yoast

Lesley Langdon

Linda Lucas

Lisa Fish

Marisa Job

Michelle Woerner

Monika Martinson

Sarah Mullanix

Shanna Vineyard

Stacy Rodriguez

Susie Bentz

Sylvia Blum

Teresa Horner

Terrance Doxie

Theresa Momber

Tina McDonald

Tonya Dirk

Trina McClune

Windy Robinson

Yvonne von de Grijp

The second round of submissions for these 40 people are due by 11:59pm CST on January 4th, 2012. Design submissions should be sent to designteam@spellbinders.us. The second round submissions will narrow it down to 20 people for the third round! We're very excited to see how this unfolds. Good luck to all second round participants!

I cannot even begin to tell you how exciting it is just to make it through the first round! I have about 100 ideas swirling in my head for my round 2 project! I appreciate everyone who has emailed me and left comments! I feel so blessed!

O Christmas Tree...

2011-12-16T09:00:00.000-06:00

A few years ago I bought a white 4' pre-lit Christmas tree at a Black Friday sale for $12. I thought it was a pretty good deal. Then, I hit Hobby Lobby and purchased some mini tree pink ornaments, some silver bead garland, a star for the top and a tree skirt. Little did I know at the time that my daughter would think it was the BEST tree in the world!

Shelby spent hours entertaining herself decorating the tree. Now that we have purchased a 7.5' tree we have given Shelby the pink/white one for her bedroom. Talk about one happy little girl! ;) I created this layout with some pics I had taken of her the first time she decorated the tree...

I started out with a 12x12 Canvas Corp canvas fabric page. LOVE these pages! They are so fun to work with! Before adding anything to the page, I spritzed it a few times with some Peppermint Glimmer Mist. Since i still had plenty of the new October Afternoon Holiday Style collection, I decided to use it for my layout. I chose my pics and Journal Card then cut and embossed a mat with my Spellbinders Grand Calibur and Grand Labels Twenty-Three die template. Then I arranged my pieces and added the ribbon trim below them. The embellishment cluster above the photos was created with pieces from the Miscellany Pack, Flower Sack, Work Stickers and Label Stickers. Next, I decided to make a little candy cane by wrapping some twine around on of the pipe cleaners from the Miscellany Pack.

This layout was based on the 12x12 sketch in this post and I really wanted to keep the banner in the design. So, I took some of the twine and strung it across my page then started adding embellishments. I used pieces from the Flower Sack, Buttons, Word Stickers, Label Stickers and even die cut some of my pieces using my Spellbinders Nested Pennants die templates. Here's a close-up view of the banner...

I just LOVE how it all came together!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

It's my turn...

2011-12-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

on the Scrap-Mart blog.

Hop on over to see what this is all about!

Personalized Home Decor

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

Do you Pinterest? It is my newest addiction. ;) There's so much to see there...I can get lost there for hours. Lately, I've seen a lot of framed home decor projects and I decided to make one like I had seen on Pinterest before.

We are working, room by room, to personalize our home and make it ours. The foyer is our next project. We will be adding some family photos and I thought a monogrammed frame would be the perfect item to bring our photo collage together.

Glass etching may sound daunting but trust me, it really is easy! And your Gazelle does all, well almost all, of the work for you! I set my project size to the size of the glass insert for the frame, 8x10. Then, I chose my font and entered my text for the monogram and centered it where I wanted it. Then, I chose a second script font and entered the 'est.' and year and adjusted it's placement. Be sure you are using a vinyl blade when working with the vinyl. You don't want jagged edges or tears...especially when using it for glass etching. After changing out my blade, I loaded my vinyl on my mat and cut it out. So easy! It doesn't matter what color vinyl you choose because you're just using it as a tool this time. Scraps work great for this type of project. After cutting the vinyl, I had to "weed" out the parts I didn't need. In this case, I wanted the negative so I weeded out the actual letters. Here's what it looked like when I was done...

The next step is to get the vinyl onto my glass. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use transfer paper. When you're adhering the transfer paper to your vinyl, be sure you are burnishing it good all the way around so you don't have any bubbles or gaps. Then gently pull the transfer paper toward you, starting from the farthest corner, ensuring you're getting all the vinyl as you go. Here's what it should look like...

Now you're ready to apply the vinyl to the glass. Now, I cut my vinyl piece to 8x10 as well so I wouldn't have to worry about centering it on the glass. So I started by setting the vinyl along the very top edge of the glass, making sure my corners matched up perfectly. As I laid the vinyl, I burnished it as I went, like using a squeegee on your car windows then carefully removed the transfer paper, ensuring I didn't pick up any of the small pieces that fill my letters. I applied the Etch All Cream according to the directions on the bottle, waited about 15 or so minutes, rinsed and removed the vinyl. That's it!!

This would be a great project for a childs room, a perfect wedding gift or an easy accent for your own home decor!

Burnished Velvet Snowman Tag

2011-12-13T06:00:00.002-06:00

I don't know about you but I LOVE glitter! A little sparkle on a project can make a big difference! Are you familiar with the Burnished Velvet technique? Terri with Boss Kut has done a series of videos that tell you what you'll need and just how to do it. You can view them HERE in Terri's YouTube channel.

Here's a fun little snowman tag I made for Boss Kut for the blog hop last week using this technique...

I chose to work with the new Melting Snowman Tag. After I opened the file in Funtime, I simply pulled the "arms" off (cause I wanted them as a layer, not cut as part of the design) and changed the line colors so the pieces could all be cut separately without disassembling the shape. I added my adhesive to my cardstock and loaded my mat. Be sure you do test cuts, as Terri suggests in the video. You don't want to wast a bunch of your adhesive, or time! I cut the inside pieces on Pressure 1 then cut the outside on the highest pressure. That was it!

So after I got it cut it was time to glitter! I used my paper piercer to "weed" the pieces...just like you would a garden, you remove the cover to expose the area you want to work on. I glittered one color at a time...the hat band, the nose then all my black pieces. After I applied each section of giltter, I pulled out my Copic to color the sections. Yes, you read that right! I colored the glitter with my Copics! The hat band was colored with R29, the nose YR18 and the rest with 100 Black. Super easy! Here's a pic of what the process looks like...

So fun! After I was done coloring, I cut the charm mat (included in the file) and the arms and finished assembling the tag. I added some Canvas Corp Cord to the top and tied it to a gift bag. Here's a closer view of the tag so you can see all the sparkle and shine...

Isn't he cute?! I had a lot of fun with this technique and will definitely be trying it again in the future!

Snow much Fun!!

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hello friends! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! You know, last year in the Midwest we got slammed with TONS of snow! And I mean T.O.N.S.! The sketch I shared with you last week with the little snowman was just what I needed for some of the photos I took of my kids playing in the snow last year.

As you can see I followed the sketch all the way. I just really liked all the aspects of it. All items used on this layout are from the October Afternoon Holiday Style collection.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope your Monday is the start of a fabulous week!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today is my mom's 70th birthday! I live in OK and she lives in MS. I really miss her, especially on days like today. Oh how I wish she were here with me! Since she's not, I sent her a handmade card and a spoon I for her spoon collection. I try to grab her one from the airports when I travel. Not much, but at least she knows I'm thinking of her.

I wanted to do something fun and different for her card this year so I grabbed my Spellbinders Hexagon Petal Envelope die templates and went to work.

The outside is pretty simple. I cut and embossed then added some colored "dots" by stenciling my Pink Copic Spica Glitter Pen while the paper was still in the die. Next, I folded it up and created a belly band by cutting a 4"x2" strip of paper. I cut the decorative edges using Spellbinders Classic Petal Edgeabilities and added some crinkled seam binding to tie it closed. Using the flowers in the die template set, I created a multi-layer flower and topped it off with some Prima Gems. For the sentiment, I stamped the "happy birthday" from JustRite Stampers Just Ducky Cling set then cut and embossed it with the banner from Spellbinders Nested Lacey Pennants die template set. Here's what it looks like when you remove the ribbon and open it up...

I used October Afternoons Sidewalks 8x8 Paper pad and these sheets are single sided so I cut another Hexagon Petal Envelope and glued it inside my other so I'd have a patterned paper inside too. This is what it looks like all opened up...

I cut a layer for the inside so I could handwrite a note using Spellbinders Labels One die template, embossed and inked the edges then added some pink Want2Scrap Labels One Nestabling. For the banner, I cut six of the smallest Spellbinders Nested Pennants twice, one from plain cardstock and one from patterned paper. I layered some pink We R Memory Keepers Twine between the layers then punched a hole on either side of the envelope with my Crop-a-Dile and tucked the twine ends through the holes. This way, when the envelope is opened up, the banner pulls out! LOVE IT!

To spice it up a bit, I added some clear bling across the top of each banner piece. For the rest of the sentiment, I added alpha stickers from the Simple Stories Life Documented collection kit. This card was super fun to make and I can't wait to hear from my mom after she opens it!

Tomorrow is the last day of the Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop! Be sure you visit the Scrap-Mart Blog to find out how you could enter to win some fabulous prizes like an autographed Tim Holtz Vagabond machine, a Boss Kut Gazelle digital die cutter or a $500 Spellbinders Bundle!!

Thursday Sketch Inspiration

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

The December Page Maps are up so I went browsing. This one caught my eye because of the little snowman.

We got TONS of snow here in NE Oklahoma last year and I have plenty of pics to prove it! I also have a cute little die cut sticker from the new OA Holiday Style collection that will work perfectly!

And for my 12x12 friends, here's one that I liked a lot...

This one called to me for the simple fact that I could easily use up some of those scraps I've been hoarding. :)

What do you think?! I'd love for you to share a link if you create with either of these sketches.

Today's my day...

2011-12-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

on the Scrap-Mart blog! We're on day 3 of the blog hop. Are you following it? There's tons of great inspiration and each of the manufacturers have some fun prizes up for grabs!

Stocking Gift Card Boxes

2011-12-06T06:00:00.002-06:00

My two oldest are getting to where they want money and gift cards for Christmas. As a mommy, I sometimes struggle with this because I feel like I should find them something great, just for them, that they’ll enjoy. But, this year, I figured if that’s what they want that’s what I should give them. I CAN personalize the packaging though, which makes me feel a little better.

I picked them each up an iTunes gift card. The cards are taller than regular credit card sized gift cards so a simple gift card envelope wouldn’t work. I decided to make them little gift card boxes (which were featured on the Boss Kut blog yesterday)…

My Gazelle, of course, was my go to tool for this project! I used the Holly Stocking, enlarged it to the size I needed, duplicated the shape then mirrored one of them. That way I have a front and a back. After cutting the stocking pieces, I created a spine by simply cutting an 8.5″ x 2″ strip of cardstock and scoring 1/2″ on either long side. Then all I had to do was snip little “v’s” so that the strip would bend without cracking. I glued the strip to both stocking pieces and added the tops. To personalize them, I cut a monogram letter and little hollys from the Holly Stocking and added them to a burlap heart. I am thinking I *might* be able to reuse the boxes (if my kids don’t destroy them) so instead of gluing the hearts on, I used a mini clothes pin to pin the hearts to the boxes. Then, I added a bit of cord to the spine of the box to create a little hanger. The burlap heart, mini clothes pin and cord are products from Canvas Corp. Here’s a pic of the inside of the box…

So I can add the gift cards and tuck a little tissue paper in there and I’m good to go. These were super easy to create and you could have them whipped up in no time! This design is also great for assembly line projects so if you have more than one you need, you can do all your cutting first then assemble!

Don't forget today is day two of the Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop. Lots of inspiration and some AMAZING prizes!!!

Let the hoppin' begin!

2011-12-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

Good Monday morning! Today is the first day of the Scrap-Mart holiday blog hop! Scrap-Mart has teamed up with these fabulous manufacturers to bring you a week long blog hop dedicated to Christmas-themed projects!

Boss Kut

October Afternoon

The Rubber Cafe

Canvas Corp

Heartfelt Creations (Dec. 7th)

Want2Scrap

LaLa Land Crafts

Sizzix

Each of the generous manufacturers will have prizes for you along the way, so be sure visit and complete the hop each day from today (December 5) through December 10 to be eligible to win.

Scrap-Mart is giving away an autographed Tim Holtz Vagabond die cutting machine, Boss Kut Gazelle digital die cutter AND a $500 Spellbinders Bundle!!! To be eligible to win, you MUST like/fan us on Facebook AND follow the giveaway link on the left side of our page. The Gazelle was generously donated by Boss Kut. To be eligible to win the Gazelle, you must also like Bosskut on Facebook! Winners will be chosen from those who sign up through the Facebook Giveaway page...not by blog comments!

Click HERE to begin the hop! Mindy and Gini have some fabulous projects and inspiration to share with you!

Oh Christmas tree...

2011-12-02T10:45:00.001-06:00

Hello and TGIF!!! Have you played with Flower Soft? It is a fun embellishment to add to your projects. It adds great texture and is really fun to work with.

With the Christmas season upon us I thought I'd share with you a fun way to use Flower Soft. Use it to "make" a Christmas tree element for your projects!! Check it out..

Cute, eh?! This is a super easy process to do. Simply die cut your tree...I used my Slice but any die cut will work. Next, I covered the tree with adhesive pearls as "ornaments". Then I covered all the area with Flower Soft Glue then sprinkled my Flower Soft all over, pressing it slightly as I went along. Allow it to dry and that's it! Here's a side view so you can see the texture...

A super easy embellishment for any project.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday Sketch Inspiration

2011-12-01T08:54:00.000-06:00

Wow, Thursday already?! Where has this week gone?! I have been super busy preparing for the Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop next week! Not only will I be sharing projects for Scrap-Mart, but I have also created 3 projects for Boss Kut!

In between projects and drying time, I was perusing Page Maps for some new sketches to work with. I LOVE working from sketches. Sometimes I draw my own and sometimes I find them online. Here is one I'll be working with shortly...

And this one is just screaming for some October Afternoon Holiday Style. Don't you think???

Christmas pennants, um, yes please!

I hope you're having a great week! Another hour or so in my office then I'm off for some grocery shopping! See ya soon!

Holiday Style layout...

2011-11-30T09:42:00.000-06:00

I have had a blast playing with the new Holiday Style collection from October Afternoon. I must confess, I am a BIG OA collector! I LOVE their stuff! So when I opened up the box of goodies they sent us for the blog hop, you can bet I was thrilled! I already shared a quick tag I made and here's the layout...

I know there's no pictures yet, I just couldn't wait to create this layout. The pictures will be mounted on red cardstock and added to the pocket. I started out with the Ring-a-Ling patterned paper. I was really drawn to the grid style of this paper. Next, I tore a wide strip of the Santa Clause Lane b side and adhered it. The pocket was created with the Feliz Navidad paper and I added the 'Nice list' tab from the Word Stickers sheet to the top corner. Then, I wrapped the edge with some twine and added some mini jingle bells. I added the Santa from the Miscellany Pack on one side and a Journaling Card on the other. The journaling card was covered with little word stickers from the Word Sticker sheet. I added a star and circle from the Flower Sack and topped it with a Button, tied off with some twine and jingle bells. After all that was done, I took the snowflake Rub-Ons and added them all over the page. I couldn't resist stringing some pom pom ribbon across the bottom of the pocket.

I have a few more ideas for this collection. It really is fabulous! I hope you'll join us next week for the Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop and see what our design team has done with the collection as well.

Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop

2011-11-28T11:20:00.000-06:00

Hello and happy Monday! I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I know we did. Are you still eating turkey? We are, reluctantly. But we're almost done.

Did you notice the little blinkie under my blog header?? It is time again for the Scrap-Mart holiday blog hop! The hop will take place beginning Monday, Dec. 5th and will continue through Saturday, Dec. 10th. The following manufacturers are participating...

Boss Kut
October Afternoon
The Rubber Cafe
Canvas Corp
Heartfelt Creations
Want2Scrap
LaLa Land Crafts
Sizzix
JustRite Stampers

Each manufacturer will be giving out prizes along the way as well so there's tons of chances to win some new goodies!! I also have prizes to give out from Spellbinders!! Who wouldn't like some new dies for Christmas?!

I'd like to thank our generous sponsors, Canvas Corp, October Afternoon and Heartfelt Creations. Each of these fabulous companies sent product for our designers to work with and I can't wait to see what everybody comes up with!

The hop will begin next Monday on the Scrap-Mart blog at 9 am! See you there!!

Oops,

2011-11-23T10:40:00.000-06:00

I was supposed to share my Holiday Style layout today and Rocky and I went to the movies last night so I didn't get my post done. :( Sorry! But, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Breaking Dawn! Can't wait for part 2.

Since I don't have my layout ready for you today, I wanted to share this...

I originally saw this on Pinterest and followed it to Kristen's blog. Isnt't that the cutest darned wreath?! I LOVE snowmen too so this one is really top of my list of favs.

This year, Rocky and I finally bought a full-sized Christmas tree. When we first got together, our place wasn't big enough for a big one so we just used his little bitty one on top of the entertainment center. We always did Christmas at his mom's so we helped put up her tree and all the presents went there...it was only across the yard, after all. But, we've moved and she's moved and now we're kinda on our own. Last year, our first Christmas in the new house, we bought a white 4' tree and pink ornaments. Needless to say, Shelby was thrilled!! LOL! This year, we bought a 7.5' tree with white lights. Then we hand picked a varitey of coordinating ornaments in the bronze/red/gold color scheme. I am super excited because growing up, our tree was very eclectic. Different ornaments collected over the years...some hand crocheted, some glass, some handmade by my brother and I in school. I have always wanted a "themed" tree where everything coordinated. I can't wait for Friday so we can put the tree up. I'll share those pics with you when it's done.

So, back to the wreath. I have decided that I am going to make one of these for our front door. I REALLY want to make a whimsical one like the one Kristen made. Red/white/green and a cutesly little snowman. But, I am really thinking I should make one that coordinates with our tree. I think I have enough ornaments to pull it off so I just need to buy a wreath and get some mesh and picks.

I am prepping for my big day of cooking tomorrow. Cornbread is in the oven, eggs are already hard boiled and I have a bit of work to do for the Scrap-Mart blog hop that's coming up. So, I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving full of family and love! I will see you sometime later this week!

Holiday Style

2011-11-22T06:00:00.001-06:00

Have you seen the new Holiday Style collection by October Afternoon?? Swoon!!! I LOVE this collection! October Afternoon sent our entire Scrap-Mart design team the Holiday Style collection to showcase in our upcoming Holiday Blog Hop and I just couldn't wait to play with it. I created this quick and easy gift tag...

First I die cut and embossed the ornament from the City Sidewalks patterned paper using the largest Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornament die template. I cut and embossed the top of the ornament again from silver glitter paper then I used the Spellbinders Triple Scallop Edgeabilities template to cut the decorative edge for the topper on the ornament. Here's a pic of what it looked like after I positioned it...

I simply used a piece of Scotch tape to hold the die in place while I cut it. Next, I cut and embossed the medium sized label from Toyland patterned paper using the Spellbinders Orchard Harvest Tags and Accents die template and topped it with a sticker from the Label Stickers sheet. I couldn't resist adding some of the pom pom trim from the Wrap Pack then topped it off with the candy cane sticker from the 12x12 Shape Stickers sheet. For the hanger, I added a piece of one of the pipe cleaners from the Miscellany pack and simply twisted it closed.

I have actually finished a 12x12 layout with this collection already too...but I haven't added pics yet. I wanted to use it for this year's pictures. I will share it with you tomorrow. :)

You can see the reveal of the Holiday Style collection and some projects from the OA design team HERE.

Fall Fun

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hey friends! I am so excited that THIS Thursday is Thanksgiving!!! My favorite holiday! I can almost smell the turkey cooking! ;)

Today's my day on the Scrap-Mart blog. Here's a peek of my project...

Head over HERE to see the full layout and all the details.

Stop by tomorrow to see a cute project I created using the *new* Holiday Style collection by October Afternoon! LOVE this collection! LOVE it! See ya tomorrow!

Warm Winter Wishes...

2011-11-07T06:00:00.002-06:00

The Scrap-Mart design team is preparing for our annual Holiday Blog Hop which will take place the week of Dec. 5-10. I have contacted many of the manufacturers we deal with regularly and invited them to play along with us during that week. Some of the companies have agreed to send our design team product to work with that week as well.

Canvas Corp is one of those companies. If you are not familiar with them, let me tell you that you will LOVE their products. They have their own line of paper as well as tons of embellishments and, as their name suggests, canvases too. Canvas Corp was VERY generous and sent two boxes stuff with goodies for our design team to play with. Oh, and did I mention burlap?! Oh yea! I couldn't wait to dig in and when I saw the pink zebra print skinny cards, I was so happy!! I decided to make a non-traditional winter-themed card with it.

I love the pink/kraft combo! And, I couldn't resist adding a bit of sparkle. After cutting my kraft piece I added 1/4 strips of Scor-Tape along each edge then covered each strip in irridescent glitter. Next, I cut various snowflakes from the Spellbinders 2010 Snowflake collection and the Create-a-Flake Two sets, inked the edges pink and covered them with the glitter. After arranging the snowflakes, I added the ribbon and sprinkled some rhinestones. The sentiment was stamped from PTI's Mailbox Greetings, cut using the ribbon die from the Lacey Pennants set then inke. I added a trio of SU! mini jingle bells and strung all the pieces on some silver cord and tied it around the bow.

Can I tell you how much I LOVE how this card turned out??! It is all of my favorites wrapped into one. I can't thank Canvas Corp enough for their generosity! You will be seeing me use their products LOTS more!

Give thanks....

2011-11-05T06:00:00.003-05:00

Hello friends! Rhinestones are sooooo trendy right now. You can tons in different shapes and sizes and colors everywhere you look. With my Gazelle, I can cut custom rhinestone patters for ANY project with the touch of a button!

For this card, I used the rhinestone tool to create a rhinestone pattern that fit perfectly inside my die cut...

This card is featured on the Scrap-Mart blog today. Hop on over for all the details!

Sew much fun!!

2011-11-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

I am relatively new to sewing. I have tried a few different things and have had some beginner success. My friend's little girl is turning 1 this weekend so I made her a hairbow for her party...

I already had all the ribbon and it worked perfectly because her party theme is cupcakes!! So, when I gave Jennifer the bow she mentioned needing to find an outfit that would match. Um, well, it just so happens that I purchased some fabric at the same time I did the ribbon, with the intention of making a matching set. :) So, I offered to make the birthday dress too. All I needed was a t-shirt to match. Here's a peek at the finished dress...

I made a t-shirt dress with an empire waist and tie back by following THIS tutorial. I love this website. She always has fabulous, easy to follow tutorials. I thought the flowers would be a nice addition. To make them, I cut thin strips from the piece of the shirt that was cut off and twisted and rolled them, hot gluing as I went along. Then, I simply added some pearls to the centers. I cut a circle from felt and glued all three flowers to the felt piece, then glued a safety pin to the back of it. This way, the flowers could be moved to the top like a broach, left on the waistline, added to a headband or removed all together. Here's a closer view of the flowers...

I'm super happy with the way the dress turned out and still have enough fabric left to make Shelby's! Perhaps it will be her birthday dress as well.

Thanks for stoppin' by today! I'll be back Saturday with a warm, Fall inspired card.

Halloween Treats

2011-10-26T09:51:00.000-05:00

Halloween is fast approaching and the kids are celebrating all week at school this week. Tomorrow they have their classroom parties so I am finishing up on the teacher treats. Here's a quick pillow box I made today...

I used some Echo Park Halloween papers to cover the clear pillow box then embellished with some Spellbinders and Nestabling. I cut the largest Beaded Square and added the bling then layered up the blinged out Labels Fourteen with dimensional adhesive. The sentiment was stamped from the American Crafts Halloween Acrylic Stamp Set. I finished it off by adding two Spellbinders pumpkins cut from patterned paper. It came together quickly and now all I have to do is stuff it with some candy. :)

I'm off to Kindergarten today to make some pumpkin face bags with the kiddos that they can use to transport their treats home in after tomorrow's party. I hope you have a great afternoon!

Scrap-Mart 2012 Design Team Call

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

For all of you who may have missed it, the search is on for Scrap-Mart's 2012 Design Team!! You can read all the details and find out how to apply HERE.

If you have any questions regarding the call, please feel free to email me at katie@scrap-mart.com.

Halloween Box in a Bag

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

I found this fun tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers for a Box in a Bag and thought it would make a fun Halloween Treat Bag.

Today's my day on the Scrap-Mart blog. Hop on over for the details on how I made this bag!

JustRite Friday Challenge #060: Sketch

2011-10-18T16:46:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I am about to head out for the Kansas City Creating Keepsakes convention but before I leave I wanted to share my creation for this week's JustRite Friday Challenge. This week's challenge was to create something with this sketch...

And here's my take on it...

This card morphed numerous times before it was actually completed. I knew right away when I saw the sketch that I wanted to work with the new Spellbinders Poinsettia dies and the Flower Pot. After trying a few things, I decided to make my card base clear and I removed the top third of the front so that when you opened the card, some of the poinsettias would remain on the inside of the card. After creating the clear card base, I die cut the second to largest Flower Pot using the die cut on a fold technique. This way, the inside of the clear card front wouldn't show the adhesive from the front. ;) Next I set to work on my poinsettias. First, I cut, embossed and inked each petal layer then used my red Copic Spica Glitter Pen to add some shimmer to the embossed area on each petal. I shaped them with my McGill Paper Blossoms Tool Kit and Mat then assembled each flower. For the poinsettia centers, I used some pearl floral accents from my local craft store, colored them with my Y28 Copic Marker and covered them with Gold Stickles after I adhered them into place. I tied a piece of plain white seam binding to the front of my flower pot, topped it off with a Melissa Frances keyole then added a Poinsettia leaf and the sentiment. The sentimet is from the Happy Everything Tag kit and was cut using a piece from my Scallop Pennants. When opened, the card looks like this...

Two of the poinsettias remain on the inside of the card front along with another leaf. The inside sentiment is from the JustRite 2 3/8" Something Sweet - Christmas set. It was cut using my Circle Nestabilities then layered on a Fancy Tags Two. Both pieces are adorned with the coordinating Nestabling.

Christmas will be here before you know it!! I am planning a card making day with a friend soon. How 'bout you?

Off again...

2011-10-06T08:13:00.002-05:00

Hello friends! Today, I am off to work again! This time I'm headed to York, PA for the Heirloom Stamp Show. The show is open Friday 10/7/11 from 10 am - 5 pm and Saturday 10/8/11 from 11 am to 4 pm. If you're in the area, stop by. There's always great finds at the stamp shows!

I'll be back next week. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Birthday Brian!!!

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today is our oldest son's birthday! He is 15. I cannot believe how fast time flies, really. Brian was a teeny little 7 yr old when Rocky and I got together. Now, he is almost as big as his dad. Yikes!!

Brian is a super compasionate young man. He is very considerate of other's feelings. He is an amazing big brother. The teachers tell me all the time that he checks on the kids daily and doesn't turn his nose at them when they see him on campus. I don't know what I'd do without him every day. Seriously. He is smart, athletic and has grown into someone we are so very proud of. Brian is also a BIG time gamer. He LOVES his video games. Can't live without them. So, when I found this digital image at Mo's Digital Pencil, I couldn't resist buying it to make his birthday card. Here it is...

See, it's perfect right?! After resizing and printing my image, I colored it with my Copic markers then cut it out with my Spellbinders Square Nestabilities. The background paper is from the Teresa Collins Extreme Boy collection. It's been in my stash a while. ;) To add a little detail, I cut a small border using the new Spellbinders Classic Ric Rac Edgeabilities and adhered it just under my image. Then I cut a tab from the Spellbinders Donna Salazar Tabs collection and added it to the top of the image. I used some Making Memories tiny alpha stickers to create my multi-part sentiment. Shooterpro96 is B's gamer tag and I wanted to add that personalized detail. Then I thought I'd play on the whole gamer thing a little more and add the level 15 for his age. A few tags and a chipboard shape from the Extreme Boy collection finished it off. We got him some gift cards for would you guess, Game Stop!, and I created a pocket to tuck them in on the inside of the card...

To make the pocket easy, I cut the Lifestyle Crafts French Fry box and cut the back piece off. Then I trimmed the sides and bottom so they'd fold flat. Using my JustRite All Occasion Nested Sentiments I stamped happy birthday then adhered the pocket to the card.

He requested Oreo Dirt Cake for his birthday cake so that's what we're having tonight. Yum! Happy Birthday B! We love you!!

Halloween Frame Calendar

2011-10-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have this fun Halloween Fram Calendar on the Scrap-Mart blog today...

Hop on over for the details on how it was made.

Christmas wishes...

2011-10-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

I hope you all enjoyed World Card Making day! I know I sure did!! I decided to play along with my friend Rae's sketch challenge. Here's her sketch...

I decided since I was working on a card sketch that I should make some Christmas cards to send to Operation Write Home. Here's what I created...

Since I had all my supplies out I decided to make 2 cards. I used papers from the Simple Stories 6x6 25 Days of Christmas paper pad. After adhering my layers to my card base, I cut the scallop using my new Spellbinders Classic Scallop Edgeabilities and layered it with the new Spellbinders Holly Accents border. After embossing the border, I stenciled the holly leaves and added red rhinestones for the berries. I didn't have any red ones so I colored my clear ones with my R39 Copic marker. For my focal image, I used my Circle Nesties to cut out words from my paper pad then hooked them inside the motif from the Holly Accents set. I cut a larger circle then added a Petite Circle Nestabling to it then adhered the motif center with American Crafts dimensional adhesive to the center. To create the sentiment, I stamped Christmas wishes from my Unity Joy & Wonder stamp set then cut it out using the banner from Spellbinders Lacey Pennants. I used my Tim Holtz Frayed Burlap Distress Ink to ink all my edges and stamp my sentiment.

If you aren't familiar with Operation Write Home, they are a non-profit organization that sends handmade cards to our soldiers so they have something nice to send home to their families. If you can't create cards to send, please consider making a donation to help pay for postage to get the donated cards to the units. If you would like to get involved and send in some handmade cards, please visit the GUIDELINES page before you send. I am not affiliated with OWH. I'm just a crafter who is thankful for our armed services and wants to help spread the joy.

Happy World Card Making Day! (RRR33)

2011-10-01T16:28:00.003-05:00

Hello friends and happy Saturday! Today is World Card Making Day, a day just for us crafty sorts. There's plenty of fun to be had in the blog and forum community today. Unity Stamps has a challenge thread at Splitcoast Stampers and I decided to play along. Really Reasonable Ribbon also has a challenge going right now to create a Halloween project that must include ribbon/trim.

Here's the list of Unity challenges I combined...

1. Embossing/Distressing

2. Make a Halloween Card

3. Make a card using this sketch...

And here's my card...

I used American Crafts cardstock for my cardbase then layered it up with a little orange. Next, I embossed my purple Core'dinations cardstock with my Tim Holtz spiderweb embossing folder. After stamping my Unity image I cut it out with my Spellbinders Square Nestabilities. The frame was colored with my FYG2 Copic marker. Since I didn't have any orange rhinestones, I colored my clear ones with YR18. I wanted to add a shadow to give the frame a 3D effect so I ran my C1 Copic marker along the inside stamp line. The edges of my square were inked with purple and black Colorbox Chalk ink before I adhered it. I added the Spooky 2x2 Cat to the center of my frame using American Crafts foam adhesive. For the top of the card, I cut a strip of black cardstock and punched the edge with my Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch and tied some ribbon off on top of it before adhereing it to the card base. For my sentiment, I cut three of the smallest Spellbinders Pennants, inked the edges then added my letters cut using my Oatmeal font. I added some Smooch Ink to the frame and my goo to give it some sparkle.

If you're looking for more fun today, my friend Rae is having a sketch challenge on her blog and she has some fun candy up for grabs. Get the sketch and details HERE.

Operation Write Home has a blog hop going on with TONS of Christmas cards to see! You can go HERE to start the hop.

Flower Soft Challenge...Circles

2011-09-23T19:19:00.000-05:00

Ah, it is officially Fall now and that makes me soooo happy!!! Fall is my FAVORITE season! And I am having so much fun creating some Halloween projects, which is so much easier with the help of my Gazelle. I made this fun Halloween Wreath for our front door...

To start, I used the circle function in Funtime and simply drew a large circle and a small circle and positioned them to create the wreath. Then I cut 2 layers of thin chipboard with my deep cut blade and one layer from patterned paper then adhered them all together. I cut some rosettes using my Big Shot Pro and the new Rosettes die. For the challenge, I added Flower Soft to the rosette centers and sprinkled a bit of irridescent glitter over them. For the white rosette center, I wanted to add a bit of color so after my glue dried, I airbrushed it with a Copic Marker then topped it off with a large rhinestone. To further embellish the wreath, I added the Ghost Pumpkin and Bat then enlarged the Boo to fill in the center of the wreath. I removed the center from the second 'o' and replaced it with the *new* Witch file. I used some Silver and Purple glitter paper to add a little zing to the letters and topped the wreath off with a raffia bow.

Now my front door is ready for some little trick-or-treaters!

Stampin' Up! order...YOU could win my hostess benefits!!!!

2011-09-22T10:17:00.002-05:00

Hello all!! I have a dear friend who MUST place a qualifying order next week to stay active. She's been with SU! for quite some time and really doesn't want to quit. I want to help her, as she has been GREAT to me!!! So, I am hosting a "catalog" party and giving away my hostess benefits to ONE lucky winner who places an order for my show!!

Here's how it will work. ALL orders will receive NO TAX!!! Shipping (to me) is FREE!!!! If you live close, I will deliver it to you. If not, I can stuff quite a bit in a Priority Envelope for $5! For every $10 you spend, I will put your name in the hat. IF the party total reaches or exceeds the $150 minimum for hostess benefits, I will draw ONE name from that hat and that person will win my hostess benefits!!! You MUST have your order to me by 2 pm on Tuesday, September 27th!!! You can pay via PayPal, credit card or check! Just let me know and I'll get you the info you need. IF you are the hostess winner you will have to have your order to me by Wednesday, so keep in mind what you may want!!

Visit HERE to view the current catalog online. And feel free to email me at sethdsmom@yahoo.com if you have any questions!

10 Minute Halloween Card...

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

I know we are still in September but Halloween is fast approaching! And, with work and kids and extra curricular activities we're all super busy these days. With the help of your Gazelle, handmade cards CAN be fast and easy and still look great! Check out this 10 minute card I made....

To create the cardbase, I took the *new* Witch Hat file and resized it to my liking, created a blackout shadow then mirrored the blackout. **You must mirror it so that the brim of the hat lines up properly. Next I simply turned the mirrored hat upside down, lined up the tips and welded them together. I cut the cardbase from black cardstock then cut out the layer from the patterened paper. I chose to cut the brim layer from Purple Glitter Paper to give it a little extra umph. You can cut multiple pieces at one time by placing the different papers all on your one mat OR, if you have multiple mats you can prepare each one with a different paper and cut by color. The later is my personal favorite. Here's what all my pieces looked like after they were cut...

After each one was inked I adhered them together, adding dimensional dots under the glittery brim. I tied it off with some delicious crinkled ribbon and added some pins that coordinated with my papers. It still looked a little bare to me so I decided to add the cute little spider from the *new* Spiderweb. And, of course, he HAD to have googly eyes!!

To finish off the card, I used my Gazelle to type the sentiment and "printed" it by simply replacing my cutting blade with a Copic Spica Glitter Pen. Before "printing' I made sure my words would fit inside the layer of the hat then after replacing my blade, I cut it out and used that to line the inside.

See how easy it is to make fast but cute cards?? Give it a try, I just know you'll love it!

JustRite Friday Challenge 057: Frugal Friday, Sponsored by Spellbinders!

2011-09-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

This week's JustRite challenge is to create an inexpensive/frugal gift idea (anything but a card) using something recycled or reused from around your home. I have been collecting new Spellbinders dies and still had the original packaging laying around so I thought I'd do something with them. My oldest niece just had her first baby and I tought I would make a little brag book with the packaging for her. And after seeing the JustRite/Spellbinders/Want2Scrap blog hop last week I was totally inspired!!

I started out by trimming my Spellbinders packaging to 6 1/2".

The inside of the packaging measures about 4.25" x 6" so the Simple Stories 6x6 Baby Steps paper pad was perfect for this project. After choosing my paper and elements for the front cover, I cut out the top banner using the Spellbinders Ribbon Banners then stamped the title with my JustRite Just Because Mini Sentiments set. I added some Silver Heart Nestabling then cut out the Spellbinders Pennants and stamped the baby's name using my JustRite Brayton Font.

The paper pad had a little tag where you could add the baby's birth info so I used my JustRite Brayton Font and stamped the info onto the tag. A few embellies and some ribbon finished this page off. For the next page, I die cut a medium and a small Spellbinders Scallop Heart then topped them both off with some Silver Scallop Heart Nestabling. I stamped the sentiment from the JustRite 1 5/8" Loving Thoughts Set then cut it out with my Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities and added it to the center of the smaller heart.

The Baby Steps mini pad also had great little numbered tags for each month. The 1 was already there but I thought I'd personalize it by adding his name and the word month with my JustRite Brayton Font. This page was easily finished off with a little border strip from the paper pad. On the next page, I layered some papers then added the little ticket. I stamped the sentiment using a border from my JustRite 2 3/8" Stitched with Love set then created a frame with it by cutting it out with my Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities. A little bling added the finishing touch to my frame.

For his 2 month page, I stamped his info again with the Brayton Font then layered the tag onto some baby blue cardstock and tied it off with some We R Memory Keepers Twine and topped it off with a button. A border across the top was all this page needed. For the next page, I simply added a border strip I trimmed and topped it with a mini bingo card.

Here I used the negative piece from a previous page to create the top border, added the 3 month tag stamped and personalized with my Brayton Font and a bit of bling. The next page, I used another mini bingo card and a small label. Some Silver Heart Nestabling and Pink Labels One Nestabling jazz it up a bit.

And finally my last page. Here I added a little tag then stamped the star border from my JustRite 1 5/8" Just a Note set. I cut the star border into a frame with my Spellbinders Circle Nestabilities then used the inside to stamp the sentiment on. The sentiment is from the Kindness Cling set.

After tucking all the pages inside the packaging I pulled out my Cinch and went to town punching the holes. After binding it I tied the wired off with some ribbons and that was that. The wires will be easy enough to pull apart so Kristian can add her pics and pinch 'em closed again. Now she has a little brag book she can keep in the diaper bag and not worry about the pictures and papers getting messed up! LOVE it!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to visit the JustRite blog to see all the projects for this week's challenge and stop by Friday to see what the next challenge is!

Letterpressed Birthday Card

2011-09-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have to admit that the Letterpress was not high on my list of wants when it was first introduced. I figured it was more work and mess than what it was worth. But, I was wrong!!! Lifestyle Crafts recently sent me a Letterpress Starter kit and I pulled it out and made this card with it...

I used the flower template that came with the starter set and Hot Pink Ink to create my custom background and when it dried I simply added rhinestones to the flower centers and randomly placed some around the flowers. Next, I stamped the sentiment, cut it out with the Nesting Squares then adhered it to the new 2x2 Tag. I wanted to create some layers for this card so I took a piece of white cardstock and inked all over the edges with my Letterpress Ink. That way, my background papers perfectly matched my inked images. I added a wide piece of black ribbon and used my pink We R Memory Keepers twine to tie the sentiment to the ribbon. I really love how this card turned out.

I am definitely happy with the Letterpress. The clean up is easy with the cloths and it does NOT make a mess like one might think. I brought home a Christmas plate set and will be sending Letterpressed Christmas cards to family this year.

Welcome home...

2011-09-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

We have a dear family friend who was removed from her family by the state a few years ago. She has special needs and the family was abusing her. It broke our hearts to see the physical abuse she endured and while we were saddened when she was put into a group home, we know it was a far better place for her to live. Rachelle is capable of taking care of herself and actually helps take care of some of the other residents in the group home. She has a big heart and loves to help others. When she was removed from her family, Rocky became her court appointed advocate so we've been continually involved in her life. Rocky works hand in hand with her DHS case worker as well as her case worker at the group home. Since Rachelle's capable of taking care of herself and she's so highly functioning, Rocky worked together with her case workers to get her moved into her very own home. She still lives in the care community but lives in her OWN home instead of the group home. We went to visit her just after she moved in and I thought it'd be nice to give her a handmade card.

Today's my day on the Scrap-Mart Blog. I didn't share all the personal details there but you can find a list of the products used in my post there today.

Zebra print...

2011-09-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

I know I mentioned to you earlier this week that I LOVE Zebra print. Well, I have a friend who does too and her birthday is coming up. I bought the Sizzix Zebra embossing folder last year at the San Marcos convention and just now used it!! Um, yeah.

Today's my day on the Scrap-Mart blog. All products and details are listed there.

Thanks for stopping by!

So excited...

2011-09-07T11:57:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone!! I hope you're all having a great week! I know sometimes it can be rough getting back into routine after a long weekend. Last week I read on the Lifestyle Crafts Blog that they were having a contest. All you had to do was submit a link to a project you had created recently using their dies. That was easy!! ha! I submitted this layout...

I was soooo excited to find out that I was one of four winners who will be receiving a $200 prize package!!! Woohoo!!! And, I'd like to thank my friend and fellow Scrap-Mart dt member, Karen, for letting me know I'd won! That's not the first time Karen's had to inform me of such a thing. LOL! I'm excited to see what they send me!

Thanks for letting me share my excitement with you. You can see the announcement post HERE and check out the other winning projects. And, if you'd like the details on my layout you can find them in the original layout postHERE.

Happy Birthday.....to me.....

2011-09-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! I hope you all had a fantastic, long holiday weekend. I know I did. Yesterday was my birthday so I very much enjoyed having everyone home and getting to spend that extra day with them. My bff Stacey came over yesterday with her hubby and their niece and nephew and we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. It was a GORGEOUS day here and my day couldn't have been any better. The garage conversion was part of my birthday present. I know, right?! Pretty BIG gift. I have the best hubby E.V.E.R.!!!

I have a Big Shot Pro die cut machine and this machine is BIG, just like it says in the name. I have really wanted a designated die cutting area for some time now and with my new space, I was able to make it a reality! I searched and researched all kinds of rolling carts and utility carts and found this one on Overstock.com...

The top is 51" wide and 18" deep but will expand to 29" with the leaf. It is perfect for my Pro and leaves me ample space on the right. Right now, I have my Grand Caliber there but it can easily be moved to make room for my Slice or my Presto Punch. ;) Here's a side view...

There are two drawers just under the top and I have my Spellbinders cutting pads in the right and all other cutting pads on the left. Then, in the cabinet below I have my Cinch and wires, Slice, Cuttlebug and Presto (on the right) and my Pro dies and Sew Easy case and mat as well as my embossing folders (on the left). When I get my Expedit shelves I will probably move my Pro dies to it but they are fine for now.

And, if that wasn't enough b-day fun, Stacey bought me this for my studio...

In case you didn't know, I have a thing for Zebra print!! lol! I LOVE it and it's just perfect!

Thanks for stoppin' by and letting me share my birthday fun! Believe it or not I am busy, busy making projects!! But, most of them are dt projects so they won't be shown quite yet. I promise to share something crafty very soon! ;) Have a great Mon-Tuesday!

A new layout...

2011-09-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! I am slowly getting settled into my new space and LOVING it! I actually had a chance to create yesterday! It felt sooooo good! Here's the layout I made...

Today is my day on the Scrap-Mart blog and I've listed all the details of my layout there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Amazed!!!

2011-08-29T06:31:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning everyone! Usually, I am not a Monday nor a morning person. But, I woke up early today, took a LONG hot shower and am now wide awake. ;) Drinking my coffee and going over my final list of to-do's and shopping before I head out this morning.

My husband constantly amazes me. He is kind, sweet, sincere, hard working, honest, loving...I could go on and on. Rocky is also a Jack-of-all-Trades. I have yet to see anything he cannot do. And, when he sets his mind to it he can really knock stuff out. I mentioned last week that he was working on our 2 car garage and that it would become my studio. I also mentioned that we anticipated 60-90 days before I could move in. Well, we were W.R.O.N.G. I moved in yesterday!!! Gasp! I know. Here's a picture of the mostly finished project before I moved in...

After moving everything out, we cleaned and repaired holes in the walls, painted then laid the epoxy floor coating. I was a bit skeptical about the epoxy floors but I really like how they turned out. Today, I'll get the trim and we'll get that up and hang my Making Memories Embellishment Center...that I bought like 4 years ago and never took out of the box. lol

Of course, after moving in it doesn't look like that now! I have to admit I had a bit more stuff than I realized. But, it will be organized soon. I ordered a large rolling kitchen island for my Big Shot Pro and am hoping it'll be here this week. And, in a few weeks we're going to Texas and I'll hit Ikea and grab one of the large Expedit shelving units. That'll do me for now.

Well, I'm off to do my duties for the day. I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday and thanks for letting me share my exciting news!

Happy Birthday LaLa Land Crafts...

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

Marci and Luka turned one and in celebration of their birthday, LaLa Land Crafts is hosting a blog hop with some fabulous blog candy...

Free digital collage personalized with Smilebox

This Blog Candy contains the following:
~ Set of 12 Copic Markers in NEW 2011 colors
~ Spica Glitter Pens (set B)
~ Pack of X-Press It Blending Cardstock
~ New Scor-pal
~ Pack of ¼” Scor-Tape
~ 3 sets of 12x12 Basic Grey Collections paper packs
~ $20 gift certificate to the La-La Land Crafts Store

What a prize package!!!

To be eligible for this FABULOUS blog prize, you must follow these 3 easy rules:
1. Become a follower and/or subscribe to our Blog.
2. Display a picture of our Blog Candy on your blog with a link back to THIS POST.
**if you don’t have a blog, please spread the word
3. Leave ONE comment on the LaLa Land Crafts blog post after completing the blog hop answering this question:
“Which stamp used on the projects in this hop is your favorite?”

You have until August 31st to leave your answer below in our comment section (one comment only please).
We will draw the winner’s name on September 3rd.

Have fun hopping and good luck to you!

Sugar n' Spice...

2011-08-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

I needed a thank you card for a friend and I couln't resist pulling out my new Sugar n' Spice Marci. I just love the LaLa Land Crafts stamps! Take a peek...

I colored sweet little Marci with my Copic markers. Then, I added a few scraps of My Mind's Eye papers, another great deal from ScrapAce, to the card base, tied it off with some crinkled ribbon and added a little heart charm. For my sentiment, I pulled out my Gazelle and used the text feature to write the "you're sweet" by simply removing my blade and adding a Copic Spica Glitter pen. I replaced the blade then cut the heart shape out around my text. The heart was adhered with some American Crafts dimensional adhesive and that was that. I added a touch of sparkle throughout the card with my clear Copic Spica Glitter pen.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow to find out how you can win some amazing blog candy from LaLa Land Crafts!!

Back to school...

2011-08-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

My kids went back to school a few weeks ago, August 10th actually. Can you believe it is time for school already again?! My mom was here visiting and once again I tried my hand at sewing. Something about my mom makes me want to sew. hahaha I have seen the cute Pillow Case dresses on Etsy and figured I could probably make something like that. So, I did. Here's a picture of Shelby in her new dress for her first day of Kindergarten...

I didn't have a pattern, but I did use one of her other dresses to help me get the armholes right. This was my first time working with bias tape and I was a little nervous but I am extremely happy with how the dress turned out. And Shelby loves having new clothes and it was even better that mommy made it for her. I made her a little hairbow to match her dress and even dolled up some $1 flip flops. I have purchased some more fabric and plan on making her a t-shirt dress soon!

changes are a comin'....

2011-08-23T08:14:00.000-05:00

My very own, personal and dedicated craft space has been in my sights for a LONG time. Really long time. My husband is very supportive of my crafting and is as happy as I am that I have found gainful employment in a field that I love. Rocky has made every effort to help me get my own space and has decided to make the ultimate sacrifice....he's giving me our 2 car garage!!! Yes, you read that correctly. Our garage is detached and has a heat/air unit already in it. It is insulated and other than the overhead door, you won't be able to tell it's a garage.

The decision was made just this past Friday and as you can see by the picture below, he's well on his way to getting things out and cleaned up.

By the end of this week we'll be mudding and texturing the walls and hopefully painting next weekend if not earlier. The double doors in the back are going to be painted with chalkboard paint and will serve as my calendars for class schedules and creative deadlines. LOVE IT! I know it is probably hard for you to envision now but just wait. ;)

The best part is that I will now have room to teach and host crops at HOME!! I had numerous ladies ask me this past weekend at the convention if I taught Copic classes...thankfully I was able to get their info then and tell them they're coming soon. While I will get to move into my new space in less than 60 days, I will not "open" for classes and such 'til after the first of the year. I have picked out some delicious furniture from Ikea and will blow my tax return fixin' the place up. HA!

And, with the new craft space will come a new blog but that is still in the works. Thanks for letting me share my exciting news with you! I am craftin' the day away today and will have new projects to share later this week. In the mean time, stop by tomorrow to see my latest sewing adventure.

big, Big, BIG brother...

2011-08-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

Our daughter is the youngest of four kids and the ONLY girl. So, you can imagine she is one tough little cookie. She has three great, big brothers who not only look out for her but also take their turns torturing her. hahaha But seriously, the boys are really great brothers. I snapped a photo of Shelby sitting on Brian's lap at the zoo and since I don't have many pics of the boys with Shelby individually I couldn't wait to scrap this one.

The paper strip I used for the center was just the right amount of pattern. After adhering it to my kraft background, I stuck my photo where I wanted it. The title was cut with my Slice and the Just Chillin' Teen design card and the Fonts: Essentials design card. The letters for big were cut at 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 and brother was cut at 1.5. For my smaller letters, I used my Model 150 Xyron sticker maker. If you have issues with extra adhesive around your letters when you remove them from the film, try using your Rub-on tool to burnish around each letter first. Works like a charm. I ran some twine through some October Afternoon Campfire buttons and added them to the title. My journaling is hidden by using the old trick of tucking it behind the photo. The ribbon was misted with some Strawberry Shortcake Glimmer Mist from ScrapAce (perfect match for the Campfire Buttons!) and topped off with another button.

I am definitely lovin' the 8.5 x 11 size and will keep them coming, for now. ;)

Easel Card...

2011-08-09T06:00:00.002-05:00

I have seen some amazing Easel Cards out in blogland but have yet to try making one myself, until now. As soon as I saw the new Grand Labels Twenty Three dies I knew they would look great on the front of a card. And I thought, why not try to make an Easel Card? Here's my creation...

I had to change up the sizes in the instructions to make it fit with the front I chose but I made it work. I cut, embossed and inked my Grand Labels Twenty Three and layers of Grand Rectangles then assembled the easel. After cutting the Fancy Tags Two shape, I stamped the sentiment from the JustRite Kindness cling set and added the Fancy Tags Two Nestabling. My favorite part of this card is the Spiral Blossom. I cut one from white and one from pink cardstock and made mine a bit larger. Since this card is going inside a package I wasn't worried about bulk. ;) After getting my flower together, I cut two leaves from the Foliage set and inked and tucked them under my Spiral Blossom. A bit of crinkled ribbon and some pins finish off the front. To hold the card open I cut a Scallop Petite Border and added some individual blings.

The Spellbinders CHA Summer release was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!!! I don't know how they do what they do...over and over again...but I'm glad they do. :) If you haven't seen them or pre-ordered your favorites yet you can check them out HERE. We are expecting them to arrive toward the end of August so get 'em while you can!

Try it on for size...

2011-08-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great summer. I know I am. I have been traveling a lot for work...lots of stamp and scrapbook shows! Thankfully my family has had the opportunity to tag along with me once or twice so we've had a few mini vacations in there.

One of the things I love about papercrafting is trying something new. I started scrapbooking a little over 11 years ago and from day one I always scrapped 12x12 layouts. I am guessing it is because the person who showed me how to scrapbook showed me in 12x12 size. So, recently I decided to try something new...8.5 x 11. I was a little skeptical because I am usually one of those people who likes things even on my pages...almost symmetrical. But, I tried it nonetheless and here's my very first layout...

Now, since I am new to this size I checked out some sketches before I settled in to create. I found this one from Page Maps and decided to give it a try...

You can see that I used some elements of the sketch, but still put my own spin on it. I started out by cutting my black American Crafts cardstock down to 8.5x11. Next I cut and adhered the little patterned paper squares and placed my photo. Using my Spellbinders Nesting Pennants, I created the little banner on the top right corner, with little rhinestones placed between each banner piece. Scrap-Mart's Exclusive Clouds mixed with some stickers from the paper pack finished off the top of my layout. I added a flourish bling from Want2Scrap and created some felt flowers with the Lifestyle Crafts Roses die. I cut the smaller rose from light and dark pink felt and instead of rolling them up, I just kind of folded them around, adhering as I went, 'til it was flat and formed into a flower then I tucked an American Crafts brad in the center. Next I added two Lifestyle Crafts leaves that I cut from Core'dinations cardstock. I added the title under my photo to finish the layout off. The little alpha stickers were in my paper pack and the 'girl' was cut using my Slice and the Words & Expressions Family design card. One more Cloud and a little sticker added to the bottom and that was it.

I really enjoyed working with this size and I have a few more to share with you. Tomorrow, however, I'll be back to share a card I made with some of the new Spellbinders released at CHA Summer.

Geography Bee

2011-07-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

Seth tried out for the Geography Bee team every year in elementary school. Finally, in 5th Grade, his final year there, he made the team and he was thrilled!!! He was over the moon with excitement when his team won!

Of course, Mom couldn't wait to get his photos scrapped. Here's his layout...

I knew as soon as I saw the new 4x4 Globe Die that it would work perfectly for this layout! I chose the Blue Sky font, since it was large, and incorporated the Globe into the title. By creating a large title, I was able to use less embellishments and keep the focus on the photos and the meaning of the layout. After placing my title and photos, I hand journaled...something I don't do enough...then added a small Ric Rac border. For a final touch, I cut the trophy from the new 4x4 Awards Die then colored over it with my gold Copic Spica Glitter pen. I used all American Crafts cardstock for my die cut elements. I LOVE how clean it cuts and my die cuts don't peel or fall apart after they've been cut.

I'm still in Atlanta now and am making a pit stop in Mississippi on my way home to pick up my mom. She is coming to visit for about a month. I hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for stoppin' by!

Back to work...

2011-07-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Ah, I have had a nice almost four weeks off at home. I have accomplished a LOT within our home...cooking, cleaning, time with family, etc. But alas, now it is time to return to work. Today, I am headed to Atlanta, GA for the Scrapbook Expo. So, if you're in that area and are attending the show, be sure to stop by the Scrap-Mart booth and say hi!

I am driving so it'll be a long trip. I have a post scheduled for you this Friday WITH a NEW project too! ;) Have a great week!

Operation Write Home

2011-07-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July! We did. We celebrated at our friends' new home. The hot dogs were delish and there was plenty of dessert to go around. The kids enjoyed the fireworks shows all around on the drive home too.

I was browsing the PaperCrafts Connection blog the other day and there was a blog hop that mentioned Operation Write Home. I know there are quite a few different places that do this for our heroes, but I thought I'd share about this one...since I saw it most recently.

Operation Write Home gathers cards from crafters like you and me and they send them to our deployed troops to send back to their families. Now, think about how if makes you feel to receive a handmade card. Yeah, imagine how it makes THEM feel!

OWH has a wonderful website with all the information about what types of cardst to send, what NOT to send and where to send them. If you can only send 1 card, GREAT!!! If you can send 100 cards, AMAZING!! There's no minimum...send what you can. I have a drawer of cards I have made with generic themes that I will send off soon. But, I am also setting a personal goal to send some Christmas cards off to them too. I have more than enough time to work on them so it shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks to all of our service men and women and their families for their sacrifice! We so appreciate all of you!

Bella Blvd Giveaway...

2011-07-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Did you know that Bella Blvd and Maya Road have teamed up for a week long blog hop?? They have. And you know what that means right? PRIZES!!! Take a peek at their blog for the details and see what you can win...

BELLA BLVD BLOG (today's post)

Mini pizza box...

2011-06-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

I knew the minute I saw the Mini Pizza Box from Lifestyle Crafts that I HAD to have it. At the time, it was a limited edition item available for a special Black Friday sale. Thankfully, I was able to snag one (perks of the job, courtesy of Scrap-Mart.com) at the time as they sold out very fast! Lifestyle Crafts heard the cries from crafters everywhere and decided to bring the Mini Pizza Box back as part of their core line.

I used this Mini Pizza Box on my project for Nestabling Week on the Scrap-Mart blog. Here's a peek...

For details on how this project was created and materials used, please visit the Scrap-Mart blog.

Also on today's hop list is Want2Scrap designer Michele Ciola. Hop on over and see what beautiful projects she has created to share with you today!

Nestabling week...

2011-06-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

Hello friends and happy Sunday! Today kicks off our first day of Nestabling Week on the Scrap-Mart blog. If you're not familiar with Nestabling, you'll definately want to check it out. Basically, Nestabling, by Want2Scrap, is bling that is designed to coordinate with Spellbinders Nestabilities. Gotta love that, right? And you will, I promise! This bling is high quality, holds it shape while you're removing and applying it and there's plenty of shapes and colors to choose from. So, now that I've got your attention, head on over to the Scrap-Mart blog for a peek at today's projects.

Hello????? Is anybody out there???

2011-06-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

Holy smokes!! It has been a while, eh? Once again I apologize. Between my travels and my 2 other jobs and 4 kids, I have been pretty busy. I have come up for air once or twice but have not crafted anything new. Sigh. But, I am tonight because I have a post due for Scrap-Mart tomorrow. haha

Anyway, did you know that it is Gallery Idol time again? I just happened to stumble upon it. Now, I'm not normally one for entering contests or submitting for publication. The reason being that I don't like to wait weeks or months before I share my projects. Mainly because I don't usually have time to create for much outside my work related deadlines. However, your first submission for Gallery Idol need not be new or unseen AND I just happen to have a card in my gallery that fits the theme of the first round. So I submitted. Here's a peek at my card...

This was a graduation set I gave to my hubby's friend when he finished college. Since I have already shared this project, I won't bore you with the details. However, if you're curious about the supplies used, you can visit the original post HERE.

Thanks for hanging in with me! Like I said, I will be creating tonight so I'll be back with that soon, promise!

JustRite Challenge #054...

2011-05-03T16:50:00.004-05:00

What a whirlwind week this has been! I got home mid-day Sunday from the Manchester CK Convention and here it is time for me to leave again! I did manage to whip up a card for this week's JustRite Sketch Challenge though. ;)

Here's the sketch...

and my card...

The square part of the sketch was a key point of the challenge so I left that part in tact, however, I decided to run my decorative strip horizontally along the bottom of the card rather than vertically as shown in the sketch. I created my 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 card base then layered up some patterned paper from my 6x6 Gertie paper pad from My Mind's Eye (another GREAT ScrapAce steal!). Next I stamped my rectangle image from the JustRite Fancy Frames Cling set. After stamping the rectangle, I cut the center out using Spellbinders Labels Fourteen. I re-stamped the rectangle image onto patterned paper, cut it out and pieced it back into my original frame. Then I stamped my sentiment into the white label, added some new Nestabling and adhered it over my frame using dimensional adhesive. A few more rhinestones finished out the edges of my label. To finish off the card I added a Prima flower and some heart pins, which were inspired by the circle embellishments in the upper corner of the sketch.

I'm off early tomorrow for Novi, MI. If you're attending the convention be sure to stop by the Scrap-Mart booth and say hi! Saturday is National Scrapbook Day so be sure you stop by the Scrap-Mart blog and see the new video and giveaway happening!!!!

New from Boss Kut

2011-04-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! Today I'm going to share with you about the fun new releases from Boss Kut! They now have some fun designs called Sketch Kuts. Here's an excerpt from the Boss Kut blog that explains all about them...

Our Sketch Kuts work like digi stamps. We have designed them especially to be used with copic pens or colored pencils. Each file comes with .jpgs, .wpc and a colored .jpg for coloring reference. Each folder has a .jpeg with and without the sentiment if there is one. Also one image that is just the main image. So as you can see they are very versatile. Gazelle Owners we have included a .wpc file for you as you can put in a pen and pen the design and then just put your blade in and cut the border or frame. If you are using copic pens be sure to use a pigment pen that does not smudge such as Zig Millenium. I use either a .01 or .03 to draw my image.

And here's a peek at one of the images in use on a card...

This little lady is Lucy. Isn't she cute?? This beautiful card was created by Phyllis Parkins, owner of BK. She is also the artist behind the Sketch Kuts.

So, as you can see, these new Sketch Kuts are very versatile! Even if you don't have a Gazelle, you can still print them out and use 'em! And at only $1.99 each, you can afford to have something new to play with, even in today's economy! Gotta love that!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I'll be back as soon as I can...after I recover from my travels. :)

2 Page, Multi-photo layout

2011-04-25T10:37:00.003-05:00

It seems that IF or WHEN I do actually scrapbook, I am making single page, single photo layouts. Rarely do I ever do a two pager with four or more photos. But, I had some pics from the kids coloring their eggs last weekend so I printed them off and went to work.

With the help of my Gazelle, this layout came together rather quickly. Inspiration for this layout came from this post on Scrapburbia. After adhering the photos, I trimmed them out with strips of patterned paper from the new Sassafras Lass Sweetly Smitten line. The title, eggs and grass are all cut with my Gazelle. The grass is cut from Core'dinations cardstock then lightly sanded. For my journaling, I hand wrote on strips of lines Sweetly Smitten paper then cut into strips and adhered.

I actually enjoyed doing the two pager so don't be surprised if you see more in the near future! I am leaving on Wednesday for New Hampshire for the Creating Keepsakes convention. If you're attending be sure to stop by the Scrap-Mart booth and say hi. My blogging will be rather non-existent for when I return I will only be home for 2 days and I leave again for Novi, Michigan. :) But, after I return and get settled back in I'll have more scrappy stuff to share with you.

I WILL be back tomorrow with some fun info about some new releases from Boss Kut!

JustRite Weekly Challenge & Spellbinders

2011-04-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

This week is Spellbinders week on the Scrap-Mart blog. Everyday one of our DT members is posting a project created with Spellbinders products. Today is my day.

I love participating in the JustRite challenges and since Spellbinders is their sponsor this week, it's double duty for me. ;) This week's challenge is a Technique challenge...to make your own flower embellishments. Easy enough, right?!

My niece's baby shower was last weekend and I wanted to make her something special so I decided to try my hand at making a corsage.

The new Donna Salazar Carnation Creations set was just what I needed to create the flower! I cut multiple layers of each size from some Melissa France Crepe Paper and secured them with a brad. Using my hands I crumpled and "lifted" the flower petals 'til it was full then I inked the edges all around with blue ink. After I had enough ink to satisfy me I added the tulle, pearls and leaves. The bottom was super simple! I cut kraft cardstock using the smallest Nested Pennants, then topped them off with the Banner Basics One which was embossed and inked after cutting. Then, using my JustRite Curlz font, I stamped the letters for Mom and cut them with my Small Circle Nesties. I layered them on some ribbon pieces and secured it all to the back of the corsage with hot glue and covered it with felt.

Here's a closer peek

I really love the way it turned out and my niece did too. The best thing is now she has a special keepsake from the shower that won't go bad. ;)

Rejoice...

2011-04-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello and TGIF!!! It's finally Friday! I managed to squeeze out one more card before I left so I'm sharing it with you today.

I used one of my favorite go-to shapes for my card base...Grand Labels One, die cut on the fold then embossed. Then I stamped the cross directly onto the card base. The image and sentiments used are from Heartfelt Creations Wrought Iron Pre Cut Stamp Set. I colored the image with my Copics, (YR30, YR31, V20 and V25) then cut and embossed the Exclusive Heartfelt Creations Decorative Window Scene Die and adhered that over the cross with dimensional adhesive. After stamping the sentiment I cut it out using Scrap-Mart's Exclusive Labels One die and airbrushed it with YR31 before removing it from the die. I finished the card off by adding some purple crinkled ribbon and little flowers. I stamped a coordinating sentiment inside.

Thanks for joining me this week! I'll be home from Orlando on Sunday and will get some pics of the booth and all up Monday. Have a great weekend!

Sausage-Almond Rice...

2011-04-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

As many of you may already know, I am on the road again this weekend. This time, I find myself in sunny Orlando, FL. I know, my job is tough. ;) But, I've been on such a roll blogging that I didn't want to leave you for four whole days with not post so I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes with you today.

This recipe is from a Paula Deen cookbook, The Lady and Sons Too!, my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas a few years ago. I cook it probably once a month and my entire family loves it.

Serves 6

3 cups water
One 2.1 ounce package chicken noodle soup (dry like Lipton)
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 cup raw long grain white rice
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the water and dry soup mix in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, brown the sausage and rice in a large skillet. Add the celery, onions, and bell pepper and mix well. Combine the rice mixture with the soup, add the almonds, and pour into a greased casserole dish (2 qt or larger); cover and bake for 1 hour.

I've found this dish keeps well so you can double the recipe for a day's worth of leftovers too! ;) Try it and let me know what you think!

Clean & Simple Sketch 134

2011-04-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

I first saw this sketch on Laurel's blog and knew I wanted to use it. It's Clean & Simple Sketch 134...

I was drawn to the stars right off! My first thought was a boy card. And since my niece is having a boy and her baby shower is fast approaching, I thought I could make something for her, possibly. Here's my card...

This card came together super fast, especially since I used a collection kit so all the embellishments and paper were in one spot. :) It is the Big Kids Boy collection from Making Memories...from my stash, it's an older collection.

Well, my flight for Orlando leaves just after 12 noon today and I have a few things to finish up so I'd better get moving! I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week. I'll have some pre-scheduled posts to finish out this week and will be back Monday with some pics from my trip.

Happy Mother's Day...

2011-04-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Have you guys noticed I seem to be on a craft roll these days??? hahaha I have had more crafty time in the last week than in the whole month before, and I'm lovin' it. I got the kids off to school yesterday morning and couldn't wait to get busy! I wanted to play along in this week's JustRite Inspiration Challenge and LOVED the new Card Patterns sketch for the week. So, why not combine the challenges, right? Here's the JustRite Inspiration...

You can use either the picture or the colors or both as your inspiration. The Copic colors were given simply as a reference. And here's the Card Patterns Sketch...

and my card...

As you can see, I stayed right on the sketch. I love my Big Shot Pro machine and this sketch was perfect for my A6 Scallop Card Die. After cutting my card base, I stamped my image using JustRite's Beautiful Blossoms Oval Original Ribbed stamp set and colored it with my Copics. Using the colors from the picture as my inspiration, I colored my image with Y21, YR65, YR68 and YG61 to and B21 to airbrush around the image after cutting it with my Spellbinders Oval Nesties. For the sentiment, I used the new Happy Everything Card Making Kit and airbrushed it to match after cutting and embossing it. To accent the image I cut a piece of SU! Apricot Appeal using my Spellbinders Scallop Oval Nesties. The ribbon and pearls are from my stash.

Easter Card

2011-04-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'll say it again, just like I do at the beginning of every month. I cannot believe it's already April!!! Seriously! Easter is late in the month this year, which gives me more time to plan! ;)

I have always wanted to try making a hinged card. And, I love making shaped cards. In my head, the two ideas merged and I created a hinged egg shaped card.

Believe it or not, this card was super easy to create. I used my Gazelle for all my pieces. For the egg, I used the base egg shape from the Lattice Egg digital design. I expanded the design to approximately 4" and cut it out. Then, using my scissors I free hand cut across the center so it would look "cracked". I adjusted the two pieces so that the cracked edge would slightly overlap then I stuck a brad in the far left corner and added some ribbon trim to cover the crack and the brad. Then it was time for the inside...

Again, using my Gazelle I cut out the Chick Peeker digital design and inked and assembled it. Then I tucked it behind the bottom of the egg so that he was peeking out. I stamped the sentiment from Heartfelt Creations Wrought Iron Cross pre-cut stamp set then hand cut it into a little flag shape and glued it to a toothpick. I think I am going to tuck these inside Cody and Shelby's Easter baskets and probably make one for their teachers too.

Thanks for stopping by today! I am preparing to leave for Orlando, FL on Wednesday but will do my best to have a project or something to share with you tomorrow. If you are attending the Orlando Expo or the St. Louis CK convention, be sure to look for the Scrap-Mart booth! We like to defy physics by proving we CAN be in two places at once. LOL!

Coupon book...

2011-04-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

My Seth is one of those kids who loves to drag things out. He likes to save his money and will hesitate to spend it on something, even if he really wants it, for fear that something better might come along. He's also a thinker. He likes to ponder what if's and what not's. So, I thought that giving him a coupon book as one of his birthday presents would be kind of fun. ;) Here's what I made him...

Here's the cover. I used the new Lifestyle Crafts Cookie Cutter Coupon Book dies to create the book and pages. You get 2 dies in this set and the inside page actually fits perfectly on the outside as a mat as well! For the mat on the front, I used some My Mind's Eye Hattie patterned papers I scored on ScrapAce then added the title with the Lifestyle Crafts Blue Sky font.

One of Seth's absolute favorite things to do is go to the movies. There are a few movies out right now that he'd like to see in theatres so I thought it'd be fun to give him a coupon so he could decide when and what he wanted to go see. A craftier way of giving a gift card, I suppose. I cut the page out then used my PTI ticket die and Just the Ticket stamp set to create the personalized tickets and some Sassafras Lass Cherry Delicious Glitter Alphas.

Next school year Seth enters the awkward world of Jr. High. He is becoming increasingly interested in girls and appearance so I thought it would be fun to take him clothes shopping and let him pick some stuff out that he thinks is "cool". Yes, he would've received summer clothes anyway, but this way he'll feel like it's even more special. For this page I pulled out my trusty Slice. The t-shirt is actually the onesie from the Animal Crackers design card. I simply cut the v in the neck and trimmed off the bottom half to make the shirt. The flip flops and the words are from the Summer design. The word trip was actually a double word that said Road Trip so I just trimmed off the part I didn't need. I filled in the rest of the title with some Making Memories Tiny Alpha stickers.

For the last page I created a simple Free Space page. Seth can choose whatever he wants...fishing trip, a second movie trip, iTunes. It's totally up to him. I cut some inchie squares from the My Mind's Eye scraps and staggered them across the bottom then used more Sassafras Lass Glitter Alphas to create the title across the top. I added some more Making Memories Tiny Alphas to finish off the title. All edges pages were inked with the Midnight Confessions Quick Quotes Chalk Ink.

We had a few smaller gifts for him to unwrap too, including the much requested Spanish-English dictionary. Did I mention Seth is a brainiac??? hahaha Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend and I hope to see you Monday!

Card Patterns Sketch 108...

2011-03-31T08:37:00.005-05:00

Hello!!! I managed to squeeze in a few minutes last night to whip up Seth's birthday card. I was perusing the blog world for some sketch inspiration and ran across this week's sketch from Card Patterns. I liked it, a lot, and decided to use it for his card. Here's the sketch...

I liked the circles and clean lines in this sketch and stuck pretty close to it with my card.

The patterned paper, cardstock stickers and twine are from Jillibean Soup (Soup Staples and Spotted Owl Soup). Instead of a circle at the top I cut out the largest of the Scrap-Mart Exclusive Ovalsquare Label and trimmed it to fit. Then I ran some crinkled ribbon, added my embellishments. The numbers are adhered with foam dots to give added dimension. To finish the card off I hung the tag around the bows using the bakers twine then stuck the star sticker and two gems in the lower right corner.

I loved how it turned out and I just know Seth will too! I'm enjoying trying to incorporate challenges into my crafting projects. I mean, I'm crafting anyway so I might as well try to have some fun too, right?! Thanks for stoppin' by! I'm off to work on Seth's coupon book...gotta get it done so I can give it to him tonight. :)

Versatile Blogger Award...

2011-03-30T17:59:00.004-05:00

Hello and Happy Hump Day to you all! I was busy craftin' the day away today, with a sick baby at home, and didn't get around to a post today. Then, my friend Shar, aka Scrapendipity, told me she had a blogger award for me. So, I thought that'd be a great filler post for today. And, I get to tell you all seven random facts about myself that you may not already know. So here goes...

1. I am a native Texan. I was born and raised in the San Antonio area. Now, I'm an Okie Transplant.

2. Mexican food is by far my favorite cuisine. Chinese a close second.

3. While I go by Katie now in my adulthood, all of my childhood I was called Kathy by family and friends. Long story but it changed when I moved to Oklahoma.

4. Like my buddy Shar, I am terrified of snakes. And I mean heart stopping, can't breathe, about to croack terrified. Yet, I live in the country. Hmmmm.

5. I swore I'd NEVER own a minivan. Anyone wanna guess what I drive now??? LOL!

6. My middle name is Jo.

7. I am the only one of the six of us who doesn't like or understand sugar in rice. I'm a southern girl, from SOUTH TEXAS, rice, like grits, need butter and salt. End of story.

Well there you have it. Seven random facts about me, that you probably could've lived without. :) Now, the rules also state that I have to pass this along to 15 other bloggers. I don't think I know 15 bloggers so I'll pass it to the Scrap-Mart design team and a few other friends. Fair enough??

Eva Dobilas
Jenn Lynn
Laurel Seabrook
Karen Walker
Mindy Miller
Kay Squires
Rae Barthel

Tomorrow I'll be working on Seth's birthday card and coupon book for his party tomorrow night. Then I'm back to work on a BIG project I can't share yet. But, I'm hoping to be able to share Seth's card tomorrow and the coupon book Friday. And, if all goes well I'll have ALL DAY Saturday to myself to play with paper. Life is good! 'Til then...

JustRite Challenge meets Shabby Tea Room...

2011-03-29T12:57:00.002-05:00

Happy Tuesday friends! I hope you are having a wonderful day. Scrap-Mart is needing some samples for our trade show booth and had asked for cards using the new JustRite Cling stamps. Since I was going to create with JustRite anyway I thought I'd make a second entry for this week's JustRite Challenge...an act of kindness. I was about 2/3 of the way through with my card when my dear friend, Eva, suggested I enter it into the Shabby Tea Room challenge as well. I hopped over to their blog to check it out and sure enough, my card fit the challenge. And as if that wasn't enough, JustRite just happens to be their sponsor this week as well. Score! hehehe So, here's my card...

I started my card with some of the My Mind's Eye Hazel 6x6 papers, which I scored from Scrap Ace a week or so ago. ;) This time I decided to use my new Friendship Blooms set. After some inking and layering I decided to use the border stamp and add another layer. I stamped the frame, cut it and the center circle out, stamped the sentiment on the center circle, then mounted the pieces onto a larger frame cut from patterned paper. For added dimension I used foam dots to adhere the stamped frame. The flowers were so fun to create. I stamped them using the Rock 'n Roll technique then cut them out and distressed and wrinkled them up. There's two layers per flower and foam dots in between. A bit of crinkled ribbon was added between the flowers for a leafy effect and they were topped off with pearls. All ink is from SU!...Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink. I used the coordinating Spellbinders Labels Eighteen and the Blossom Three dies to cut my pieces. I really enjoyed creating this card and hopefully you'll get to see it again on a display board in our booth. ;)

Sweetly Smitten....

2011-03-28T14:08:00.003-05:00

I just can't get enough of the new Sweetly Smitten by Sassafras Lass! I am sooo lovin' this line! Here's a layout I made over the weekend with some of the new goodies...

As soon as I saw the Lifestyle Crafts Lace Scallop die I knew I had to have it! This die is HUGE and is perfect for use on layouts! All my patterned papers and sticker elements are from the new Sweetly Smitten collection pack from Sassafras Lass. To create the flowers, I cut multiple pieces of the Cookie Cutter Bloom shapes and the Cookie Cutter Spray shapes and inked and layered them then topped them off with some gems and tucked some Cookie Cutter Leaves under the petals. For my page title, I combined letters/numbers cut using the new Blue Sky Cookie Cutter font and the alpha stickers from Sass in the collection pack. To finish off the layout, I added a few Scrap-Mart exclusive Clouds to the top of my journal sticker.

I followed this sketch from April's Mini Maps from Page Maps...

I simply created my layout in a larger format.

JustRite Friday Challenge 051...

2011-03-23T12:15:00.004-05:00

Hello and Happy Hump Day to you all! I cannot believe it's already Wednesday! Where has my week gone?? Anyway, I am here today to share a card I made for the current JustRite Friday Challenge...An Act of Kindness. The challenge is simple really, just create something for someone as an act of kindness. Could be a thank you, thinking of you or whatever. Here's mine...

I decided to use the Treat Bag from the Lifestyle Crafts Valentine Release to create a pocket card. After cutting it from white American Crafts cardstock, I inked the edges and began adding my layers. The kraft cardstock was embossed with the Quickutz Dots embossing folder and inked up. Next, I added some crinkled ribbon and one of the *NEW* Sassafras Lass Foldies die cuts. These are super fun and super easy to use! Next I stamped a border from the JustRite 2 3/8" Birthday Wishes set then I cut it out with my Spellbinders Lacey Circles and inked the edges. Next I stamped the rectangle from JustRite's Fancy Frames Cling Stamp set. Using the coordinating Spellbinders Labels Fourteen I cut out the center and adhered it to my Lacey Circle. Then, using some American Crafts foam tabs I adhered the frame over the circle. I like the simple dimension that step added. A few flowers on my ribbon and I was done.

Since it's a pocket card, I needed to fill the inside too so I grabbed a sheet of pretty patterned paper from the new Sweetly Smitten Sassafras line and cut a tag for inside. I grabbed my new Spellbinders Creative Page Tabs designed by Donna Salazar and added one to the top corner so the insert would be easy to pull out. Here's a pic of them side by side...

I love how easy it is to mix and match the Original Ribbed and new Cling Stamps. Believe it or not, I have at least one more project I want to make for this challenge. :) Okay, off to finish my to do list so I can create all day tomorrow!! Have a wonderful day and thanks for stoppin' by!

Spellbinders Bunny Hop

2011-03-22T07:12:00.002-05:00

Good morning everyone! I am headed out the door and off to Scrap-Mart today for some more shipping! ;) Fun stuff! But, I wanted to share this with you before I took off. Did you know that Spellbinders is hosting a blog hop?? Yep, they sure are. And if you know anything about their blog hops you know they are amazing, inspirational and usually full of some awesome prizes! Head on over to the Spellbinders Blog and check it out.

I'll be back tomorrow with my project for this week's JustRite Challenge. See you then!

Helloooooooo....

2011-03-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi there cyber friends! I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted. As you know, I was out of town two weekends in a row and that was a bit tougher on me that I thought it would be. Then, I had to go to Scrap-Mart on official Button Farm Club business. ;) And, let us not forget my children were on Spring Break this week! Whew, I'm exhausted. LOL! But, I am back and I have a card to share with you today!

Some of you may have seen it already but if you missed the Heartfelt Week posts on the Scrap-Mart blog, it will be new for you. :) Heartfelt Creations generously sent the SMDT a LOAD of new stamps and dies to play with and I couldn't wait to ink 'em up and color. Here's the first card I made with my new HC toys...

I started by creating my card base and background layer with the Spellbinders Grand Labels One die. I used images from the new Egg-Citing Day pre-cut set and colored them with my Copics (E00, E11, E35, E55, E57, Y11, Y13, G21, G24, G28, B000, B02, B21, B24, RV11, RV14, RV21, C5, Colorless Blender). To add more detail, I shaded in the grass and sky with chalks. I cut the image out with Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities then cut the Heartfelt Decorative Oval Window shape and layered it over my image. I wrapped some crinkled ribbons around the card front and added a few flowers. The sentiment is from the Wrought Iron Cross pre-cut set and after stamping it I cut it using the Scrap-Mart Exclusive Labels One die and airbrushed it with my Copics.

That raspberry and yellow is quickly becoming my new favorite color combo! Thanks so much for stopping by today! I WILL be back tomorrow to share another card I created.

A note of encouragement...

2011-03-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! I have a friend who is working on changing her eating and becoming more physically active...Dr.s orders! It is something she HAS to do for health. She is working really hard and this person means a lot to our family. I thought I would make her a card to give her a little encouragement and let her know how special we think she is! Here's a peek...

You can get the details on the products used and see the finished inside on the Scrap-Mart blog today. I'm on my way to Indianapolis, IN for the Heirloom Rubber Stamp Show. If you're in the area or are attending the show be sure to stop by the Scrap-Mart booth and say hi!

Before I go I'd like to give a shout out to my little man, Cody! Today is Cody's 6th birthday! Happy Birthday Baby! I love you!

Okay, I'll be back next week! Have a fabulous weekend!

Heartfelt News...

2011-03-01T10:07:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! I am so excited to tell you that the Scrap-Mart blog will be hosting Heartfelt Creations Week ALL week next week! Starting on Sunday, March 6th we will be posting projects using the gorgeous Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies AND 16 designers from HC will also be joining us! It's like a week long mini blog hop! Woohoo!

I am headed off to Indianapolis, Indiana on Thursday for an Heirloom Stamp Show. But, I'll return just in time for the blog hop! I have a few projects I NEED to get done before I go AND some regular "work" for The Button Farm Club too but I'll pop in when I can. Hope to see you next week!

Personalized Easter Eggs....

2011-02-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today is my day over on the Scrap-Mart blog and I created some fun personalized Easter eggs for my kiddos. Hop on over and check it out...

Scrap-Mart Blog

Etsy finds...

2011-02-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

I admit, I am NOT a big Etsy shopper. I rarely visit the site. I know, crazy right?! But, I decided that I wanted to find my niece some cute little burp cloths for Dax (due early June) so I headed over. Here's what I found...

Kristian does NOT like the color brown and most of what I was finding on Etsy was brown/blue. It was cuuute stuff but brown. Sigh. Then I saw this set. And it's not brown and I think it's superbly prices too. The set includes two chenille wash cloths, one burp cloth, one chenille bib, the toy rattle block AND the adorable little matchine bucket. I am so snagging this up for her. Anyway, the seller, EmmaGirlDesigns, has some great stuff in her shop and if you're needing some cute baby items or kid clothes you should check her out.

Now I just need to get to Babies 'R Us and get the carseat/stroller combo she wants and perhaps some diapers. Can't go wrong with giving diapers. hehehe

Birthday Girl...

2011-02-21T08:19:00.003-06:00

Happy Monday!! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Here in OK it was beautiful and sunny and we spent a lot of time outside.

Today I'm here to share with you a fun card I made with my Loralie Birthday Girl stamp...

I started by cutting the card base from the largest of the Spellbinders Pennants and layered the largest Lacey Pennant on top. I again cut the largest of the Pennants this time using some October Afternoon Seaside papers and layered that on the Lacey Pennant. I stamped my Loralie Birthday girl image, colored with my Copics and paper pieced it then cut it out using my Circle Nestabilities. I stamped my sentiment and cut it out using the little pennant from the set and airbrushed it. Next, I tied up some ribbon and stuck a pin through the bow to hold my sentiment. This would also make a great shaped card for a kid, don't you think? My niece is expecting her first baby soon so I am going to use these Pennants to make a name banner for above his crib! Can't wait!

JustRite Sketch Challenge

2011-02-17T07:16:00.003-06:00

Good morning! Today I'm going to share with you a card I made for JustRite's sketch challenge....

I used some October Afternoon Seaside patterned papers and American Crafts cardstock. The white panel was embossed with the Woodgrain embossing plate from PTI. The flower, from the 3 1/4" My Garden Borders and Centers, was stamped and colored twice with Copics then layered up and I added some Flower Soft to the center. The sentiment was stamped the cut and layered using JustRite's Custom Spellbinders dies. The sentiment I used is from JustRite's All Occasion Nested Sentiments and Verse and it was layered over a frame stamped and cut from JustRite's Victorian Nested Frames and Occasions.

Have you heard????

2011-02-16T08:17:00.006-06:00

The Button Farm and Scrap-Mart.com have teamed up together for a one of a kind creative collaboration! Together, they have created The Button Farm Club.

TBFC is a new monthly project kit club. Here's a peek at February's kit...

This is the front cover. Isn't it pretty??? Here's a few pics of some of the insides...

The store opened last Friday and by Monday morning the February kit was SOLD OUT!! How awesome is that?! More than 200 orders were taken in the first two days. Wow oh wow! Don't worry though, you can still sign up for the club if you're doing a 6 or 12 month membership and you will receive March's kit as your first month. March's kit is super great too! Angela is a fantastic designer!! I can't wait to share that one with you. ;)

So, you may be wondering what The Button Farm Club has to do with me? Well, remember I told you it was a collaboration between The Button Farm and Scrap-Mart? They have asked me to handle this new venture! Yep, I am the go to girl for questions, problems or well, anything to do with the club! I am super excited and so thankful for this opportunity. I get to work from home, except the one day a month when I'll venture to Scrap-Mart to kit and ship the monthly kits AND I still get to do the blog/design team AND travel to the shows. Seriously, it's a dream come true for me. It is a real blessing. Thank you for letting me share my excitement with you!

I'll be back with another crafty project tomorrow and will hopefully be able to reveal March's kit soon!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

I made these cute little Hanging Heart Boxes for my kids this year!

To create this I simply cut 2 large (aprox 6") hearts with my Gazelle. Then I created a spine for them by cutting a 2x8 inch piece of cardstock and scoring 1/2" in on both sides on the 2" side. Next, I turned it and scored it at 4" on the 8" side. After all my scoring I snipped an upside down v shape at the 4" score line on both sides. This is what it looks like when you're done...

Once you have your spine complete you're ready to assemble your box. Simply add some adhesive along the 1/2" folds and adhere it to your hearts. Follow the line of the heart being careful not to let the spine stick out. Here's what it will look like when it's assembled...

Next you can embellish and stuff it! I added a cupid and love tag, both found in my Gazelle Funtime III software then created a handle with some ribbon. To finish it off I added a double bow and some flowers to the top of the tag. Here's what it looks like all stuffed with candy...

Believe it or not this was super easy to create and once you know how to work the spine, you can create these little boxes in ANY shape!

Thanks for stoppin' by today! See you again tomorrow!

Unity Friends with Flair!!

2011-02-11T09:00:00.001-06:00

Wow, it's been a while huh?! I'm excited to be able to play this week and I have two projects to share today!

First up is a layout I created using the new Lifestyle Crafts CHA release dies and Unity's August Retailer KOTM.

I cut two of the Houndstooth Borders from American Crafts Slate cardstock and added them to a white background. Next, I layered up some October Afternoon Report Card papers and stickers. I created a mixed title but cutting the Pennants Border and trimming off only 3 of the pennants. I stamped the '5th' using my Unity August Retailer KOTM. The apple and star are also from that kit but after stamping them, I cut them and adhered them to the pennants with AC This to That Foam Squares. The Blue Sky font with shadow was the perfect finishing touch for the title. I even had Seth help me with the journaling by having him write his name on one of the tags. Now we'll always remember what his handwriting was like in 5th Grade.

I also used some Unity stamps on this card I sent to the Boss Kut CHA booth...

This card was super fun to create! After making the standard sized (A2) card base, I added some fun layers. The chocolate and white layers were cut with my Gazelle as were the flower and flourish. The flower is one of the new Pop Kut designs that will also be available in die form soon. I inked the flower up then added some details with a pen before adhering it to the card front. A bit of ruffled ribbon, some pearls and my Unity sentiment, from the (top half) of May's Retailer KOTM finished the card off.

Happy Birthday Shelby!

2011-02-10T15:55:00.003-06:00

I had planned on sharing a card I made for Shelby today. But, before I got the card made, Rocky showed up with a store bought one. Normally this would annoy me but he was so excited because he found one that had princesses on it and it had a detachable door hanger she could put on her door. So, I smiled and didn't make a second one. But, I did make her a crown to wear today...and she helped...

Here she is sporting the crown we made! She told me what colors to cut the pieces in (I used my Gazelle to cut the crown, heart and 5) and where to put them on the crown. I stapled a piece of elastic to it then covered the staples with the flowers she picked out. She's very proud of it, which is all that matters. ;)

So, a BIG Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl! Thanks for stoppin' in today! Join me tomorrow for Unity's Friends with Flair! I will be sharing a layout I created with the new Lifestyle Crafts CHA release, and Unity, of course! ;)

Oops, I forgot...

2011-02-09T14:51:00.003-06:00

I forgot to schedule today's post yesterday! I headed off into town to have lunch with my best friend, Stacey. Then I did a bit of shopping and met back up with her at the salon. I got my hair chopped! I was a bit nervous but I really like it. It's kind of a shoulder length choppy bob with a slight arch downward in the front. Nice and sleek, no more curls. :) I'll try to get an updated pic in the next day or so...when my hair AND makeup are both done. hehehe

Then I got even more distracted when I got home. See, I am a BIG Dooney and Bourke fan and had found a turqoise one that had a patent leather look to it. Thought it'd be perfect for Spring and Summer. Rocky did NOT like it at all. Pooh. So, when Stace and I were getting our hair done we were looking up purses and I found the CA-UTEST Coach bag. Now, I've never owned a Coach, just Dooney, but Stace has like a thousand of them and swears by them. Anyway, while Rocky and I were cooking dinner last night I mentioned it to him and he wanted to see it. So, I pulled it up online to show him and he said "now that's more like it. that's you." Then he proceeded to tell my to buy it, from him, because he hadn't picked anything out for me for Valentine's Day yet. Yippee!! Here's a peek at it...

Isn't it purdy??? I LOVE it! Just LOVE it. And, it's BIG which is perfect for me! If I'm lucky it'll ship today or tomorrow and I'll have it before Valentine's Day! Yeah! Thanks baby!

Okay, if you haven't heard, the Midwest got yet another round of snow last night. Yeah, like 8+ inchec where we live. It's almost comical now, really. But, this is supposed to be the last of it and I hear we're supposed to hit 60 this weekend! Ahhhh, capris and flip flops, my fav. Speaking of hear, I hear the snow plow coming through the neighborhood now. ;)

Well, I'm off to work on some projects for Boss Kut. Cute little Valentines and a birthday card for my princess, who turns 5 tomorrow. My how time flies. Stop in tomorrow to see the fun card I am making for her.

Winter Wonderland...

2011-02-08T06:00:00.001-06:00

hardly describes what we in the Midwest are dealing with now. It keeps snowing and snowing and snowing. LOL! Here in Northeast Oklahoma we received more than 20" in some areas. Our schools have been out for a week so far and no end in sight. Sigh. But, that leaves me in my house to create, right?! ;)

Now that CHA is finally over I can share with you the projects I created for the Boss Kut booth. They released new dies, and digital files, called Pop Kuts. They are fun 3D images where only parts of the image cuts out leaving pieces you can pop up. Fun, fun. Here are the two of the projects I sent to them for samples...

This first one is an 8x8 layout of my daughter and niece. Aren't they cute?? hehehe The papers I used are from the Making Memories Just Chillin' Collection. I cut the tag with the Pop Kut butterfly in it then colored the butterfly with chalk and stickles.

Next up is a card...

This entire card was created in my Gazelle software. First, I drew the card base and added the score line for the fold. Then, I added a circle window to the front of the card. To get the proper size of the window I opened the flower and adjusted my circle before adding and cutting it. After cutting the card base I then cut the flower from glitter cardstock. Since the card base was black I added a white mat inside the card to help the yellow pop even more. The leaves where cut, popped and layered on the card front and a bit of ribbon finished it off.

I hope wherever you are you are staying warm. I'll be back tomorrow with a fun birthday card using the new Spellbinders Pennant dies.

Papertrey Ink Anniversary Challenges

2011-02-06T12:47:00.006-06:00

Papertrey Ink is nearing their Fourth Anniversary. Nichole has kicked off the celebrations on her blog and so far, it's been awesome! Yesterday they did a HUGE giveaway, The Ultimate Card Kit, with 22 stamp sets, 20 dies and more. Today, her stamp designers each designed a digital tag image and you can get them all FREE on her blog HERE.

Then, you can create with one or all the tag images and post a link to your blog or gallery post to their blog for a chance to win. This time, the winner gets to work alongside Nichole to create a stamp set! You tell her what you want to see and she does the drawing/editing and such. How fun would that be?! So, I played along and here's my (first) project...

A while back I purchased some of the PTI Clear Cardstock so I thought it would be fun to make a clear card. I cut and embossed a piece of kraft cardstock with my Scrap-Mart Exclusive Oval Square Label then ran my RV04 Copic Marker around the embossed edge. After that, I added some Illuminate Smooch Ink for shimmer. Next, I cut and embossed one of the new Spellbinders Heart Circles and layered that on top. Using Spellbinders Circles I cut a small circle and stamped the hearts and I love you sentiment from PTI's Mailbox Greetings stamp set. I LOVE that set. It's soooo versatile. Actually, you can scroll down to yesterday's post to see another card I created with that set. Anyway, back to this card. After printing the tags I cut the heart tag, by Lisa Johnson, out and colored it with my Copics (RV04, RV09, G21, G24, FBG2). The label layeres were adhered inside the card while I layered the heart tag on the front. It covers up the inside sentiment perfectly. ;) I stamped the hearts and xoxo, again from Mailbox Greetings, on a ribbon from Spellbinders Lacey Pennants die set then used some PTI Twine to tie it to the ribbon. I added an array of flowers to finish it off. Here's a peek at the inside of the card...

I love the way it turned out and plan on mailing it to my Mom for Valentine's Day.

I hope to make at least one more before the end of the challenge time at 7 am tomorrow.

My favorite Christmas card...

2011-02-05T21:46:00.000-06:00

***EDITED*** This post is being re-posted to share for Papertrey's Fourth Anniversary!

Hello! I hope you had a great Monday! I'm back to share with you my favorite card that I made the other day. Now, this is my favorite card from THAT day...not sure I want to label it my fav for the year. ;)

I started with a kraft cardstock base. After stamping the image, from Papertrey Ink's Mailbox Greetings, and coloring it with my Copics I cut it out using my Spellbinders Labels Eight. I added Flower Soft to the snow and the top of the mailboxes then stamped the sentiment on the lower left corner. To separate the image and sentiment, I added some ribbon and a bow. I love the simplicity of this card. Perfect for sending in a clear envelope! ;)

Yesterday, I received my new Lifestyle Crafts dies from the Black Friday release. New ticket dies, file folders, a fun stitching alpha and a mini pizza box (sorry, it's already sold out!)!! Today, I will be creating with them!! I'll be back tomorrow, see you then!