ice creamery

It's quite late in the day, but I am determined to get this blog post up today before the start of the weekend. Oh the weekend, I love the weekend, even if I work half of it! This is also my fifth and final post in my Studio Calico blog appreciation week. For this layout, I used more of the Boardwalk kit. I am so happy with the number of layouts I have made from this kit...really stretching it out since I love it so! I do think it's getting time to kill it though and move on to Glee Club soon!!

Normally, I post my sketch of the week layout on Monday's, but this week I was feeling a bit sassy and put it together early...so it's going up on Friday!! That makes me happy! It's for Shimelle's latest SOTW, which you can check out here if you're interested!!

I changed things up from the sketch a little. The sketch calls for three smaller (wallet sized perhaps) photos, but I decided to use two 4x4 instagram photos that I took in early August while on vacation. These are of a ice creamery shop near where my sister lives. I wish I could remember when she introduced me to this place, but it is by far my favorite ice cream. It's a very good thing I live so far away from this place because if I lived close, I would surely frequent it often during the summer months! All of the ice cream is home-made and they have some of the funkiest flavor names (i.e, playdough...and no I haven't tried this one). I am a creature of habit at restruants (ice cream shoppes included). Once I find something on the menu I love, I always get that. There are a lot of times that I go in with the best of intentions to try something new, and fully intend to do just that, that is until I am asked by the waiter/waitress for my order...then I fall right back to my old faithful. And my old faithful for ice cream is moose tracks!! So on this visit to the local ice creamery, I got moose tracks in a waffle cone...yummy!!! Can't wait for my family trip north next year!!!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!! Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

hello card share

Welcome to Day 4 of my Studio Calico Blog Appreciation week!! Towards the end of last week I received my latest 2peas order with lots of the new Studio Calico. I picked up items from the Classic Calico and Memoir collections. I knew right away that I wanted to make a card with some of those yummy papers from Memoir. Love the different colors in this collection and I can't wait to pick up some of the Mister Huey's that go along with it.

I trimmed 1/2 inch strips off a few of the different patterns and adhered them to a scrap piece of cardstock on an angle. I just kept adding strips and trimming off the ends until I had covered the entire scrap piece. Then I rounded the bottom two corners. I added a few strips across the card from what was left of my original 1/2 inch strips, and layered the strip piece over that. For the sentiment, I stamped the sunburst and the hello sentiment onto white cardstock and embossed with white embossing powder. I then cut it out using a 2 inch circle punch (for the record, it's not quiet the right size, but it's close enough). Then I misted the circle with some new Mister Huey's in Dewey. I added some stitching lines to finish it off!

I'll be back tomorrow with the fifth and final day of Studio Calico blog appreciation week. Until then, thanks for stopping by!
Deb

august love list

Do you ever have one of those photos that you're just not sure what to do with?? You're just not sure how to scrap it and include it in your album, but you know it has a place in your album. For me, this was that photo!!

My niece is so into the fake tattoos, so naturally she picked up two as part of her prizes from Chuck-e-Cheese. I didn't know it at the time that she picked them out, but apparently she picked the double pack so we could have matching tattoos. She tried with all her might to get me to put it on my hand like she did, but I opted for a spot on my arm that would be covered when I wore a t-shirt!! I am hoping you can all understand why! She was super exited to put hers on and put mine on me, so I played along like a good Aunt! I knew I wanted to include this photo in my album, but I wasn't exatly sure where, so I used it for my August Love List page (and one of the loves is the matching tattoos). One of the things on my 33 list was to create monthly 'love' lists (hoping to share the layout based on that soon)...so this is the first installment since my birthday was in August. I also broke out my mom's old typewriter for the journaling on this...my parents sent it to me a few weeks ago and I was just waiting for the new ink ribbon to arrive...works like a charm!!

I put this layout together as part of my Studio Calico blog appreciation week (day 3 to be exact) using the Boardwalk kit again from August. I also used their new butterfly masks and some Bluegrass Mister Huey. I am loving that color!! I used Shimelle's latest starting points challenge as the base of the layout and just went from there!

I will be back tomorrow with a card to share! Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

chuck-e-cheese

I had the idea a few weeks before visiting my sister last month of going to Chuck-E-Cheese for my birthday. I know it's mainly for kids, but that was just it...I figured my niece and nephew would have a blast (and if I could get in a few games of skee ball that would be just great). So that then became the plan and the kids had a blast!!

The kids had the most fun riding the car rides they had there while the adults had a blast playing the games for tickets (which we combined so the kids could get some fun prizes). Thankfully, my sister did a great job getting a pic of each kid on each ride!!

I put this together for the latest installment of 4x6 photo love over at 2peas using the Boardwalk kit from Studio Calico and the Sea Glass add-on. Speaking of Studio Calico, I can't believe it's reveal night tonight already (subbers can pick up the add-ons at noon today). I am still working through August's kit (Boardwalk) and haven't even gotten Septemeber's kit out of the box and it's reveal of October!!! Where does the time go!!

Have a fabulous day!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

family vacation 2011

Hello Monday!! I am going to be doing something a little different over the next 5 weeks! I wanted to do this earlier this spring/summer, but it just never panned out. I have a bunch of favorite manufacturers and over the next 5 weeks I am going to highlight 5 of them, one per week! I will call it Blog Appreciation (which I have seen many times before from other bloggers so I can't take credit) Now my list is much longer than 5 (more like 10-15), so I am already planning when I can highlight 5 more!! These will be done in no particular order, just what I was working with at the time. And, in early 2012, I will come back with the next round of Blog Appreciation. This week it's all about Studio Calico!!

This week I am going to feature projects made from Studio Calico products and/or Studio Calico kits (since I am a member of their monthly kit club). Making the decision last May to joint he kit club has been one of the best decisions I have made in a long time!! The kits are so fabulous and all of the work is done for you in terms of coordinating product from different manufactures. This layout features items from the Boardwalk kit with the Sea Glass add-on (August).

I put this layout together for Shimelle's latest Sketch of the Week, but you will notice that I decided to flip the sketch. I didn't have two portrait photos to use, but I did have two landscape photos...so turning the sketch 90 degrees made sense!! I also didn't use any confetti or paint splatters on this layout, instead using the dotted patterned paper to bring in that element. I also used a few brads on the title block and within the embellishment cluster at the top to tie that in.

I love these photos of my niece with my sister and my nephew with my brother-in-law from their recent vacation to New Hampshire. They were on one of the few train rides they took that week and I love that they thought to take these photos of mom and daughter, and father and son.

Have a fantastic Monday and I will see you back here tomorrow for another Studio Calico layout!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

september 2011 blog hop challenge

photo credit



It's time for another Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge!!  The Challenge: We have another amazing inspirational photo for you this month that we just know will bring out the very best in your creativity! Look closely and there are so many directions to go in! You can choose to focus on the colors, the stripes, or the repetition. We look forward to seeing your creations!

I loved the stripes and colors in the photo inspiration!! I also loved the simplicity of this even though the pattern may come off as busy! Keeping to a few different colors and the same size stripes really is pretty simplistic if you ask me. Here's what I came up with using the photo above as the inspiration...

I used Background Basics: Chevron Stripes to create the colored stripes. I used a different chevron stamp and ink color to build the background. Then I die cut some felt and used the frame from Tag-its #5 along with a sentiment from Fillable Frames Additions #1. The inks are a mix of Jenni Bowlin for Ranger (Weather Vane, Lemon Drop, and Chicken Feed), Stamping Up! (Real Red, Regal Rose), and Papertrey Ink (Hawaiian Shores). I am loving how this card turned out...and it's not too thick so it will mail easily (always a bonus)!

Have a fantastic blog hop and have a super Sunday!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

lawnscaping challenge #18: text

The latest Lawnscaping challenge is all about text!! Text backgrounds, book print, newspapers, etc. I decided to make my own text background!! The only stamp set that I used for this card was Lawn Fawn's Happy Haunting, and I am not going to lie...it is by far my most favorite Halloween stamp. To be honest, I don't have that many Halloween themed stamp sets, but this is #1 among the ones that I do have!! I just love all of the images!! So much so, in fact, that I used quite a few on this card. Take a look...

I used the 'have a spectacular halloween' sentiment from the set to creat the background, stamped with dried marigold distress ink. Then for some added dimension, I stamped the Hero Arts envelope stamp using the same ink. I then added some more ink around the edges using the ink blending tool (more dried marigold). The ghosts, house, and moon where then stamped, colored (in the case of the house and moon), and cut from white cardstock. I added the small bat to the moon before coloring for added fun. I used a Papertrey Ink die to cut the banner and stamped the 'happy haunting' sentiment using white ink. Added a few twine tied buttons and called it done. I used purple for the base only because I thought that looked much better with the orange than black!!

I loved this challenge and it was fun to play along again, since it's been a while since I played along with a Lawnscaping challenge!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

so sweet

This has got to be one of my most favorite photos of my sister and her daughter! It was taken last summer on my 32nd birthday, which we spent at the aquarium in Mystic, CT. I am not even sure what animals we were looking at at this time, I just know it was perfect for a photo op!! My niece looks so cute in those Belle sunglasses!! We all had matching french braid pigtails. My sister used to do my hair like this for marching band shows since they worked so well under our hats and still looked perfect after those hats came off. I can do a single french braid in my own hair, but she's the master at the pigtail variety!! So that day, since it was my birthday, I had asked for those braids...which she obliged. Then she did hers and my nieces, too.

I love all the fun elements on this page. While I put it together based on the latest Starting Points challenge from Shimelle, I chose my patterns and colors based on the 'so sweet' tag. I used lots of My Mind's Eye, with some Studio Calico, October Afternoon, Maya Road, Doodlebug, and Lawn Fawn thrown in there.

Love those buttons!! They really do add just the perfect touch to those Lawn Fawn Blissful Botanical leaves!! I painted the chipboard butterfly with some Jenni Bowlin paint and added another Doodlebug button to the center.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend and find some crafty time!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

leaving on a jet plane

I put this layout together a while ago, but am only now getting around to posting it on the blog. I have been so busy lately!! You know...those days when there doesn't seem to be enough hours or minutes!! Some days I wish I just had more time. Or maybe my to do lists are just to big for what I can handle...you know the old eyes are bigger than stomach saying...bitten off more than you can chew saying...that's been me the last few days. I had so many big crafty plans for today, but I just decided to finish one already started project and make a card...that's it. The skies got dark and it started to pour, and I just decided a lazy day was in order for me!! But I did want to share this layout!!

These are some instagram photos from my recent trip to visit family up north. These are about my plane ride back to Florida. I did my good deed for the day and switched seats so a mom could sit with her daughter. They had gotten their tickets late and couldn't get two seats together. So I took the daughter's window seat a few aisle up so she could have my aisle seat with her mom. Gave me an opportunity to get some instagrams out the window of the plane before take off and after landing!! Love instagrams!! And I love getting them developed by postalpics (iPhone app and you just order them right off the phone...LOVE)!!

I use a lot of Studio Calico on this...items from my kits (pretty sure I used 2 different kits) and items from their regular lines. And of course some Mister Huey Calico White mist (one of my faves for sure)!

Hope you're having a wonderful Thursday!! I'll be back tomorrow with another project to share. Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

a scrap-lift

Lately, I have been finding myself checking out Maggie Holmes' blog because I am so inspired by her style. I loved her layouts for Studio Calico's Boardwalk (August) kit, which she showed here. Specifically, I loved this layout and decided to scraplift it. It's a pretty-darn-close scraplift, but I didn't get all the add-on's in August, so I had to make due with making some of the embellishments with supplies I had on-hand.

I love the Boardwalk kit!! I am still working my way through it! I haven't even touched Glee Club yet (September)...and it's almost time for the next kit to come out!!! While, I love a lot of the items in a few of the add-on's coming later this month, I am just going with the main kit this time around!!! At least that's the plan right now!! As always, I reserve the right to change my mind!

I'll be back tomorrow with another project to share!! Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

go games

I've still got quite a few photos to get onto scrapbook pages to be able to call out Hawaii album complete, so I figured I would grab one of them for this layout, based on the latest Sketch of the Week from Shimelle. I'm a day later in posting this than usual, but oh well. Sometimes, I really don't like schedules...I'd much rather just wing it and go with the flow!!

We got to go to Hawaii because my husband was awarded with the Circle of Excellence award. The result of which was him and a guest travelling to our 50th state! On the first full day we had what was called the Go Games. These were team building activities, like volleyball, big wheel races, a frisbee toss, and others. We were on Team N, and this layout highlights our team photo!

The one game our team excelled at was the phone number frisbee toss. They had a big piece of wood painted like a cell phone with holes where the numbers go and the objective was to 'dial' the phone number of the team leader as many times as possible. You 'dialed' by throwing the frisbee into the hole for the corresponding number. Our team excelled because we picked 10 team members, each one having a specific number to hit, and we just kept going around and around in order. That way one person or a few people didn't have to remember a lot of numbers. We just had one to hit and needed to stay in order...easy peasy!! We knocked it out of the park!! But there weren't any prizes or anything, just a lot of fun to be had!!!

To keep continuity among the album, I have been using the Margarita collection from American Crafts, so I kept true to that with this layout as well. The journaling spot is from an old Fancy Pants collection....I think it's from 2006. I kept it out so I would use it again, sooner than later this time!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

a little something to share

Just a quick post today to share a few cards I made a while back. They are a mix of Hero Arts and Basic Grey. I used some distress stains mixed with perfect pearl mist on watercolor paper to create these cards. Added in some pattern paper, stamping, embossing, and a small embellishment to create the finished card. I put it all onto some Hero Arts layering paper to create the finished card.

I am not going to lie...I am a little partial to the card on the right, but I honestly love them both. I can't wait to send the to someone special!! Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

dance like no one is watching

This is one of those moments in life that you're thankful was captured on film!! A special moment between two sisters, a moment of obvious fun! To be honest, I didn't know the picture was even taken until I saw the proofs of it! My back was to the camera and I had spent most of the night enjoying the wine bar at my sister's wedding (making up for not drinking  a drop of anything at my wedding)! Those two combined made for very good odds that I wouldn't not have knowledge of this picture!! But it was a moment that I have to include in my 2005 scrapbook!!

I was my sister's Matron of Honor, just as she was my Maid of Honor!! As I said, I didn't drink a drop of anything, well except for a sip for the toast, but not a drop of anything else. I was too afraid of having to go to the bathroom with all of that dress and stuff on. Was not going to deal with that, so I just didn't drink anything...not even water! And it worked, because I never did visit the bathroom once I had the dress on. So I made up for that ten fold at my sister's wedding!! She and her new husband had their reception at a winery in upstate New York...so it was a free wine bar. I visited the same bar tender all night and she knew my choice everytime...being sister of the bride had it's perks! Toward the end of the night, I found out my dad had been visiting the same bar tender all night as well! It was quite funny when we both went to the bar and put our glasses up, and without missing a beat the bar tender grabbed one bottle in each hand and poured them out for us!! I didn't do much dancing until the end of the evening, so it was nice that this moment was captured!

I put the layout together for Shimelle's latest Starting Points challenge. It was a grid of pattern paper with a thin stip across the middle. I chose to use a 7.5 inch square block over that and embellished from there. The flowers are the craftable one's from Prima. I used Dusty Concord Distress Strain and Perfect Pearl mist to color them so they'd match the purple in the papers, with Teresa Collins Blingage in the centers. I also used some Studio AE and Papertrey Ink stamps.

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

don't mess with me

I can be pretty outspoken, or so I am told. My grandma was one to always speak what was on her mind, actually both of them were very much like that! They all too often, did not mince words at all. I admired that in quality in both of them. I have been told that I am very much like this. I like to think that I can tactfully tell someone what I am thinking, but sometimes you've just got to cut to the chase! When my sister was pregnant with her first child, my niece Julia, my Godmother gave her probably they best gift (in my completly biased opinion of course). It was a onesie that said "don't mess with me 'cause my Aunt kicks butt!" Of course, I loved it. Apparently, when my Aunt saw this she knew it was a perfect gift, because she knows me very well!! My niece fit into that onesie when she was about 6 months old. My nephew fit into it when he was about 3 months old.

Thankfully, I was visiting family when each child fit into the onesie so I could get a picture with them!! Two very different photos at two very different times!! I am honestly not sure where this will fit into my album because the photo with my niece is from 2007 and the photo with my nephew is from 2009, but I absolutely had to put them onto the same page! I guess I will figure it out at somepoint...but I am not going to dwell on it right now!!

I put this layout together based on the latest sketch from Shimelle. I used the Tag Sale 3 die from Papertrey Ink and stamped it with an image from the latest Anniversary set. I embellished the rest of the layout with Prima craftable flowers that I painted with Glimmer Glam from Tattered Angels. I used American Crafts pearl brads for the centers of the flowers. I used a bunch of pattern papers on this as well: Bella Blvd, Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras, The Girls' Paperie, with letters from Cosmo Cricket and Lilly Bee (the asteriks in the 'don't' is the Lilly Bee). Then I did some handstitching around the tag because I thought it would be a a great touch!

Hope your Tuesday is treating you well!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

freckle face

Ok, here's the back story on this layout. My sister has red hair, I have brown hair. She has hazel eyes, I've got brown eyes. She's got freckles all over, I've got them mainly on my face with a few here and there on my arms. My niece has light brown hair and brown eyes. My sister always said her freckles would be more like mine than like hers. Last summer when I was visiting, my niece was quick to point out her first freckle, on her arm. This summer when I was visiting, she had started to get small freckles across the bridge of her nose and a few on her cheeks...just like mine...just as my sister had predicted! I knew I had to get a close up photo of those freckles just starting out!! I don't think you'll even be able to tell in the photo of the layout, but trust me...she's got freckles!!

I was a bit unsure of Indie Bloom (new from Basic Grey) when I saw it online, but once I saw it at my LSS I had to pick some up! In fact, after I had played around with it a little, I went back for more. I love that patterned paper with the diamonds! I cut two different sections out to layer. Will be doing that again soon I am sure!!

Love those die cut tags, wheels, and fabric flowers! I love how this line layers so easily!! I know I will be scrapping with this line again very soon! I am going to use every inch of it!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

celebrate the holidays! a lawnscaping blog hop

Welcome to the first ever Lawnscaping Blog Hop!! So glad you're here!! You should have come to me by way of Eve. This month's theme is magical. Holiday projects!! The hop runs from Friday, September 9th to Sunday, September 11th! Make sure to comment on all of the blogs because there are LOTS of prizes to be won!! All the details can be found on the Lawnscaping home page.

I had originally thought that I would make a Halloween card since that is the next holiday here in the States, but it totally didn't turn out the way I had envisioned it. So I moved on to a Christmas card. Afterall, you never can start too early on those!! I featured Bows & Holly and Frosties on this card.

I decided to use a black card base for a bit of a non-traditional feel, but the focal point is very much traditional holiday colors. I stamped the black cardstock with the large snowflakes from Frosties, using versamark ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder.

My focal point consists of strips of patterned paper and some paper tape. I used Bows and Holly for the sentiment and holly leaves. I colored in the leaves and berries using copics, and then added glossy accents to the berries for added interest. A touch of satin ribbon finishes it off. I then added this to the card base using foam adhesive.

I hope you are enjoying the Blog Hop thus far! I have had so much fun and am beyond excited to be apart of this!! Now head on over to Jordan's blog for more holiday fun!! If you've gotten off track, don't worry!! Head on back to Lawnscaping to see the complete list of designers.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

time for a boat ride

Shimelle is doing something new over at her blog called Starting Points. She basically creates the 'starting point' for a layout in its most basic form, and that is what is to be used as our starting point for a layout of our own. She posts her finished page the day after she posts the starting point. There is a lot of room for variation!! You can check out the latest starting point here and play along if you're interested! This is was I put together this week...

I used my Studio Calico Boardwalk kit for this layout and added some white mist to the top. I also used the new Amy Tangering camera stamp since the set arrived the day I was putting this layout together. I used some liquid pearls to paint inside the heart in the stamp to tie the color in. I also used the new Weather Vane ink by Jenni Bowlin for Ranger (love, love, love this color)!!

I also did not do a lot of journaling on this layout, in fact, I didn't do any. I still have a few more photos from this day to scrap, and I am planning for that page to sit directly opposite this page inside my album. Therefore, my plan is to get all the journaling onto that page.

Stay tuned for tomorrow as I will be participating in the first ever Lawnscaping Blog Hop. There will be lots of prizes to be won! Until then, thanks for stopping by!
Deb

mr. fix it

My nephew, Matt, is very observant! Anytime anyone is making something, fixing something, building something, or doing anything really, he's all eyes watching. When my niece was little, my parents had gotten her this radio flyer car on wheels that is pushed by the riders feet. At 4, she has outgrown in, but my nephew is perfectly sized for it right now. There were two castors on the front of the car in addition to the car wheels. I guess they are there to give it stability and the ability to turn corners since the regular car wheels are plastic and fixed (meaning unable to turn). One of those casters had broke, but the car still worked. When I was visiting them in early August, and my parents were there too, my sister had asked my dad to try to fix it. So after a trip to Home Depot to get some castors, my dad ended up replacing both. We couldn't fins an exact match to the unbroken castor, so it was best to just change them both out. And of course, Matt wanted to 'help.' His version of helping was watching everything grandpa did!! Love that!!

I used Basic Grey's Oxford collection on kraft cardstock for this layout. I did a simple embellishment cluster to the right of the two photos on the bottom. The strip of pattern paper that runs across the bottom was not long enough to go all the way across, but cutting it in half and hiding the break behind the photos makes it so you can't tell!! I did some paint spots too, with a blue dauber and a white mister.

Hope you're having a fabulous Wednesday!! Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

hanging with grandpa

I love that my niece and nephew love to hang out with family! They are at that age where it's still cool to be around family. I know that it won't last forever and there will come a time where we will be the last people they want to hang around with. So for now, I am sure I speak for my entire family when I say that we will savor each minute while it lasts!! I knew that would be the theme of this layout when I decied upon the photo that I would use.

I decided to use Life of the Party by Basic Grey for this layout. I did do some misting on the kraft cardstock before I started layering the pattern papers. And I am loving the ric-rac patterned paper (I cut those strips from the paper to stretch my supplies a little).

Once I was finished layering everything and getting everything down on the page, it just looked a little empty. So to combat this, I stitched a border around the entire page. I used my Sew Easy tool to ensure the stitches were evenly placed then used regular embroidery floss to stitch with. Let me just tell you that while I LOVE the results, this took FOREVER!! I am sure I will do more stitching in the future though because the time spent on it was well worth it given the results.

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

learn something new every day

I am back with a few of my learnings from the last few days for Learn Something New Every Day.

On September 3rd, I learned that being greeted at the car door after a long day at work makes it all worth it!

On September 4th, I learned that time spent with my husband doing anything (including Sunday Starbucks), is time well spent!

On September 5th, I learned that taking some time for myself is never a bad idea (and that taking a hot bubble bath really is the best way to end a long day)!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

these are the days

Happy Labor Day! It's Monday, so that means it's Sketch of the Week time. This is my latest version of Shimelle's latest sketch! If you hop over to Shimelle's blog and watch her video on how she put her layout based on the sketch together, you'll see that she played with some spray paint on her layout. While I find this to be a great idea...I am not quite sure it's for me. And that might just be because I don't have any spray paint here...otherwise, there may be a small possibility that I would have tried that. However, I decided to skip the paint all together...well, that is until I started laying everything out!! I broke out my Boardwalk kit (August's Studio Calico kit) for this layout and decided to use a photo of my niece all dressed up as Belle from Beauty & The Beast (she's in the dress-up phase!!). After I had everything all laid out, there was something missing. The patterned paper blended in to the cardstock a little too much, so I decided to paint a pink boarder around the edge using a paint dauber and a paint brush. Just gave it the extra pop it needed.

I used three different glimmer mists (Cosmos, Tutti Fruitti, and Bubblegum I believe) for the scallop strips. They are Mistables from Pink Paislee (also from the kit) and I am so in love with these!! I love the way these look all layered up. This is what I used in place of the spray paint!

I did a little stamping and a little layering, then added the sticker from the Amy Tangerine sticker book by American Crafts. That sticker also became my title. I am loving that sticker book and can't wait to play with some of the other Amy Tangerine crafty items that just showed up at my house!

I will be back later with some of my learnings over the past few days for Learn Something New Every Day. Until then, thanks for stopping by!
Deb

Papertrey Playhouse Same Tag Challenge

Krista is hosting the latest challenge over at the Papertrey Playhouse, and I was finally able to play along! For this challenge, she mailed each of us a bunch of goodies including a tag that we were to use on our project. We could use any of the extras that we wanted, or none at all, just so long as our project included the tag. What a fabulous idea!!! I decided to sit on this for a while mainly because I might be the only person in our group that doesn't have any of the Jar series stamps. I wondered for quite sometime how I would get the jar that is stamped off the tag that Krista made for us to fit into the overall scheme of a card when I didn't have anything to fill it with. But then it came to me and I created this...

The heart image is from Warm Happiness, Too. I decided not to fill my jar with anything, just left it empty. I added the doily and border that I received from Krista to the left of the tag. I then used the Mat Stack 2 die cut that came in my package, stamped it with an image and sentiment from the Mat Stack 2 stamp set, added a few buttons tied with twine, then added it to the card with some dimensional adhesive. I finally broke out some Pinefeather for this card too...used it for the card base and the ribbon in the tag. I was playing off the green fabric tape on the tag.

Overall I am pretty pleased with how this turned out. It is different from any other card I've created...so it was lots of fun to put together!

I will be back tomorrow with my latest layout created based on Shimelle's latest Sketch of the Week. I will also have a few days worth of Learn Something New Every Day to share as well. Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

happy birthday

Happy Saturday! And if you get to enjoy a long weekend this weekend, too, because of the Labor Day holiday, well then Happy 3 Day Weekend to you as well. I wanted to pop on quick to share a birthday card today. This one is a bit different than the two I shared a few days back, but lots of fun nonetheless. And it will also be great for a male or female recipient...which always makes me happy since it gives me more options!!

This card is made almost entirely of American Crafts Confetti collection. The ribbon that is used is from etsy. I like how bright and fun this card is! I love that cupcake...it's making me want to bake some up!! May just have to get on that!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

learn something new every day

Today was a long day at work. For some reason, Friday's usually are. And since I work in retail, it's not like it's because the weekend is just around the corner. I usually work one of the two days over the weekend. It's just for some reason, Friday seems to last forever, no matter how much stuff I put on the to-do list to stay busy. And since this is typically the case, today I learned that the couch is perfect for an after work nap!!

What did you learn today?? I'll be back tomorrow with a project share. My learning may come early Sunday. Until then, thanks for stopping by!
Deb

making the card

I know it's only September, and for me to show a Christmas layout may be a little crazy, but that's what I am about to do! I don't scrapbook my photos in chronological order, so when it strikes my fancy to scrap some holiday photos, I do...whether it's in December or August! So my apologies if this holiday layout is a little early for your taste.

In 2009, I visited my sister and her family in Connecticut the week before Thanksgiving. While there, my sister asked me to help her try to get a good photo of her two kids that she could use for their Christmas card. Let me just tell you, getting an almost 3 year old and an almost 1 year old to cooperate is quite challenging. But as she tried to get them both smiling and looking the same direction, I just snapped away, hoping to get that one perfect shot...or at least as close to perfect as we could get. And with a little cropping, we get a pretty darn good photo if I do say so myself.

I used lots of American Crafts Dear Lizzy Christmas collection on this layout. Lots of paper layering as well. And I did stamp the border on the very bottom of the pattern papers as well.

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

learn something new every day

So I am taking another class with Shimelle. Love her classes. Explore was an epic fail for me in terms of keeping up with the daily prompts every day. I know exactly why and how I fell behind, it was something that I could not prevent nor stop, it happened and I have moved on. Eventually I will begin that again, start over completely, and do all the tasks within the explore prompts. For now, I am moving on and working on this new class...in a different way with a different attitude. My plan is to go throughout each day waiting for the new learning to happen...when it does, I am sure I will recognize it. I'll record that on a post-it and put it on my calendar. Then I will 'try' to capture some representation of that learning in photo form on my iPhone using the instagram app. Then I plan to blog about it here, every day, sharing the photos as we go along as well. Then when all is said and done, I will have the contents of my book. All I will have to do is print up the photos and the blog posts...and there you have it, a completed project. And since it's all on the blog, I can put the book together whenever I want. So there will be days when I post twice, or maybe even three times, and there will be days when my learning from that day is the only thing I share. I think this will be the easiest for me since my life can be so unpredictable most of the time!!

Today, I learned that I can accomplish a lot when I am focused on one thing at a time (and I get up REALLY early). Here's proof...

Six crafty projects all completed today...all from start to finish! My office was a disaster, but I am not sure I have ever gotten this much accomplished in one day before!

If you're taking the class, too, I'd love to hear about what you learned today!! Thanks for stopping by!

Deb

you're so silly

These are some of my favorite pictures! I remember this moment very vividly! It was over 4 years ago, back in July 2007. My niece was in that stage where she was sticking out her tongue all the time and blowing raspberries. In almost every photo I have from this trip, Julia is sticking her tongue out!! So when my sister and I got together to take a few photos, on that very last one, she and I stuck our tongue out. Then in a split second, Julie looked over at me. She had that "what the heck are you doing Aunt Debbie" written all over her face. And I couldn't help but look over at here out of the corner of my eye when she turned to look at me. It was a classic moment that I am sure I will remember for a long time! And of course, I had to scrap those photos and this memory!

I did some misting on this layout, too which was quite fun! I used the kraft doily as a mask. Then I misted the doilies (both the large one on the bottom and the smaller one on the top left). The large doily started out as kraft, which I didn't like on the layout as there was no kraft, so I misted that with some Studio Calico White mist. But then the white doily on the top was off, being that it was too white. So I misted that with Studio Calico's Classic Calico to give it a bit of the kraft color so it would match the larger doily. Love how it turned out! Those flowers in the center were also white to start, but I made them pink using some Spun Sugar Distress Stain (love that stuff...and the inky fingers it leaves me with).

That's what I've got for today! I can't believe it's already September! Halloween is coming soon, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas...pretty soon it will be 2012! I can't believe how quickly time flies by as I get older. I could go onto a very long winded tangent here, I feel it coming, so I will just stop here and wish you all a fantastic start to your September! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb