shimelle's pretty paper party

First off, let me just say Happy Halloween!! I can't believe it's Halloween and November starts tomorrow!! Crazy how fast time flies as you get older!!

I signed up for Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party class a few weeks ago, but I am about 2 weeks behind on completing the prompts!! It's always good to show up fashionably late to a party right. If you want to sign up and take the class you can do so here. Like all of her classes, you can sign up at any time and have access to all of the class information forever! And, no, I don't get anything for letting you know about the class. I just love Shimelle's classes so I try to pass along the info when she has a new one.

This class is all about pattern paper and using it on our layouts. I love me some pattern paper that's for sure, so this class was perfect!! And I am determined to start and finish this class...maybe a little late on both sides, but I am doing my best to get caught up and at least finish on time...or close to on time! I will be working through all the prompts (I keep telling myself that so it comes true...I feel like I should write that out on a chalk board somewhere over and over and over...HA)!!

First order of business is to share our paper. I have lots!! I am a paper collector that's for sure. I usually get new stuff, let it sit in my stash while I actually scrap or craft with older stuff. Sometimes I just can't bring myself to cut up the brand spankin new papers!!! I am slowly getting over that thanks to Shimelle's Stash Diving class from True Scrap I (I picked up the class when they went ala carte back in May). But here is a shot of some of my paper stash...

Sorry about the quality of the photo...it's a bit dark for my taste. But this is completely unedited. I didn't move papers around for this photo, so I figured I would leave it as is...exactly how it turned out from the camera.

I will be back tomorrow with my projects from the first two prompts of the class. I am up to working on prompt #7, though I received #13 this morning (we get 6 each week). Catch you back here then...thanks for stopping by!
Deb

happy thanksgiving

Victoria is the latest host over at the Papertrey Playhouse blog, and she has challenged everyone to make a fall themed card, or if you're ready for the holiday season, to make a holiday card. Fall is my favorite season, even though there really isn't much of a fall in FL (it really just goes from summer to summer, with maybe a week or two of cold weather sometime in January...ha)! I grew up in central NY and went to college right on Lake Ontario, so I know fall and winter well...the last 11 years have not been the same for me with out the distinct change of seasons, leaves turning warm shades of red and orange, and not even the remote possibility of snow during the holiday's. So I jumped at the chance to make a fall themed card, and decided to make a Thanksgiving card to send to one of my family members in a few weeks. I used a stamp set that I've had for a while, but haven't used in a while. I did some masking and layered lots of ink colors.

I popped one of the pumpkins up off the card with some foam adhesive to give it some added dimension. It was a little flat without doing this. Loved making this card and I am going to be using this set again soon!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

bring happiness & joy

One of my new favorite stamp sets is Candy Cane Christmas (I used it yesterday and will be using it again today)...and I haven't even busted out the matching dies or inked up the actual candy cane from the set yet...that's how much I love it...so useful in creating so many fun projects. When I saw this card from Maile Belles, I knew I wanted to try to recreate it...and it was so easy. You can check out her post of this card on her blog here.

I just needed to be a bit creative because she used the Green Thumb stamp set for the ornament strings/hooks, and I do not have that one. Instead, I use the School Time set. I found that the ledger stamp set had a perfect line that I could use to recreate the look, all I needed to do was carefully ink up one line from the ledger stamp. It was perfect if I do say so myself, and a became a new use for an stamp set I already had...you know, stretching my supplies!!

I went for a non-traditional card this time around with the color scheme. I am loving aqua, pink, and light green for Christmas cards this year...and this one would be so easy to recreate. Oh and I can't forget to mention my fondness of the new Stylish Sentiments: Holiday stamp set either. I had such a hard time picking which sentiment to use on this card. I can't want to ink up another stamp from this set. I can already tell I am going to have quite a fun time making my holiday cards this year!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

sweetest christmas

I have another card to share today! I broke out some more new stamps and dies for this card, and an old impression plate that hadn't gotten much love! I am loving this color combination, too - red and rustic cream! I think rustic cream is my favorite from Papertrey Ink. I love it so! Have a looksie...

I used the new damask snowflake dies, the pinked circle die from the 1 3/4 inch limitless layers collection, and my trusty 1 3/4 inch circle punch. As for stamps, I broke out the new Candy Cane Christmas (love this set) and stamped the label and sentiment onto the rustic cream circle. I added some pearls for extra interest and dimension...plus I think they make that layeres snowflake look lovely!!

I didn't want to add any pattern paper to the card, but I also didn't want just a plain card base, so I used the Holly Jolly impression plate for the base of the card. So subtle, but it is a great addition to the finished card.

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

October Blog Hop Challenge

It's time for another Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!! This month it's all about autumn and fall!! Love this time of year...just wish I was back up north and able to see the leaves change!! This is the one season I miss the most since relocating to Florida!! Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas have never been the same here!!

Anyway, on to the challenge!!! It's another photo inspiration challenge!!

photo credit

For this month's blog hop inspiration we've selected something with a bit of an autumn flair. The fabric selections and pattern combinations used on these petite pumpkins are a prime way to jump-start a fabulous fall paper project. Use the colors as your inspiration, or perhaps focus on the patterns You can also utilize pumpkins or maybe some felt die-cut leaves. Whatever you choose, you are sure to have amazing results!We look forward to seeing your projects!

I decided to use the colors of the photo as my insipiration, and pulled out a stamp set that I haven't used in a long time...Autumn Aubundance! I also pulled out the paper collection that went along with this stamp set. Here's what I came up with...

I love all of the layers on this card...though it is quiet a simple card! I started with some Rustic Cream cardstock for the base of the card and layered on the dotted pattern paper from the Autumn Aubundance collection. I then used my Mat Stack 1 die (with Terracotta Tile cardstock), Layerz Mat Stack 1 die (with Orange Zest cardstock), Doily Details die (with Spring Moss cardstock), and a 1 3/4" circle punch (with Rustic Cream cardstock) to create the main focal point. I then layered this on top of some Spring Moss ribbon. I stamped the leaf image from the Autumn Aubundance stamp set using Spring Moss ink, and then stamped the sentiment from the same set using some Stampin Up Chocolate Chip ink.

I think I may be sending this to my parents as we get close to Thanksgiving...I hope they aren't looking!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

sending holiday joy

Welcome to the fifth and final week of blog appreciation. This week it's all about Papertrey Ink!! I discovered Papertrey Ink during the summer of 2009 though I didn't actually take the plunge and purchase anything until later that fall. I held off as long as I could, but I was smitten from the arrival of that very first order!! Love the color match stuff (cardstock, ribbon, ink, felt)...makes making cards and other projects so easy!!!

First up is a super simple and quick card that would be so easy to reproduce for the holidays!! I broke out my brand new Holiday Lights stamp set and some white cardstock...then picked out a bunch of ink colors to make this super fun card!

I love the string of lights!! Reminds me of all those black Friday's of my younger years when my sister and I would gang up on our dad to hang the lights on the house!! For many years it was the tradition. We'd hit the mall early in the morning for some black Friday shopping and then in the afternoon (after our naps...ha!) we'd hang the lights on the house. And by 'we' I really mean my dad...though we did help him check the strands for lights to replace!!

Love holiday memories!! I am starting to get into the mood to start cranking out my Christmas cards...but I just can't justify it yet except for the one here and there until Halloween has past!! I will likely wait to make my holiday cards until right before Thanksgiving...then it won't be so out of the ordinary to have the Christmas music playing in the background!! At least that's what I keep telling myself!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

witch hats

Welcome to a VERY late Day 5 of Echo Park Blog Appreciation!! First I got sucked into Spawn of True Scrap which made me post late on Thursday and Friday, and then we've been having such beautiful weather here I am posting this late too!! But better late than never, right!!

I decided that halloween decor in our house was long overdue and figured I would use the Apothecary Emporium collection (with som trims from my local craft store) to make a few witch hats. And I got to give my glue gun a workout, which is always fun too!! I also added a bat and spider to two of the hats, which I cut with my silhouette using shapes from Echo Park. Here's how they turned out!!

That one with the spiders is my favorite!! That about wraps up Echo Park week here at the blog. I hope you enjoy your Sunday and I will catch you back here Monday! Until then, thanks for stopping by!
Deb

i wish i was a fish

So later turned into tomorrow!! I was distracted yesterday by Spawn of True Scrap and never did get around to posting this!! But better late than never!!!

For this layout, I knew I wanted to use Echo Park's Splash collection and I decided to start with Shimelle's latest starting points. This was a hard starting point for me since everything is a bit off and a little wonky. I don't scrap like this at all. I like everything perfectly straight in terms of my papers and photos, so this was certainly outside of my normal comfort zone!! But since I too love to use the word wonky (yes, my husband always looks at me strangely when I say it) I was down for giving it a try! So here it is...

I added some Doodlebug buttons and some Studio Calico White Mister Huey splotches for added interest and dimension. I also used some basic white acrylic paint around the blue chevron pattern paper and the tag on the right side for a bit of texture and to make those pieces pop off the page a bit. Since they were both so close in color to the background paper they got lost and swallowed up a bit, this makes them stand out more...and I really like it too!!

Not gonna lie...I love those buttons and paint splotches!!

I've got another Echo Park project share planned and hopefully I will get that up today to finish out the week!! But I won't make any promises because I may get completely sucked into the entire day of True Scrap again. It was such fun yesterday and full of a lot of new learnings that I can't wait to try!!

Have a fabulous Friday and thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

just saying hello

Welcome to Day 3 of Echo Park Blog Appreciation!! I have a quick card share today using the For The Record collection. I used scraps for this card and kept it very simple!!

Just a quick share right now, but I will be back later with another project to share! Until then, thanks for stopping by!
Deb

altered clipboard

Hello, and welcome to Day 2 of Echo Park Blog Appreciation!! I am excited to share this altered clipboard with you today! It's such a simple and quick project, but it's great for both function and decor!! For this project, I used EP's Be Mine collection (including an image from the cover sheet of the collection pack)!!

I used a small clipboard that I got from Office Depot, traced around the clipboard on my pattern paper of choice (love that pink pattern paper), then trimmed around the tracing being sure to cut inside the lines I drew. I adhered that to the clipboard with some matte gel medium. Then I just embellished the bottom with other elements from the collection. The framed birdcage is an image from the cover sheet of the collection pack. There is a sticker on the sticker sheet, but I preferred the sizing of this image. There's really no right or wrong way to embellish your clipboard if you chose to do this. Just keep adding until it looks right to you. I knew that I might want to use this for the infamous to-do list, so I kept the top portion flat with no embellishing. But you could add more and use it to hold a photo or memorabilia. The sky's the limit!! Once I was done adding the embellishment, I gave it a good coat of the matte gel medium to cover it and seal it all in!! Can't wait to have this hanging in my office!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

climb up the pole

Hello Monday and welcome to Echo Park Blog Appreciation week! It's day 1 and I have a layout to share today. I started with the latest sketch of the week from Shimelle and broke out the Playgroud collection. This collection fit perfectly with the pictures I wanted to use!!

I started with white cardstock as my base and trimmed the blue pattern paper to size (I believe it's 10x10). I put my photos down next off to the side of the blue square. I punched three different sized circles using the pink script pattern paper next, and placed them on the layout where I wanted them without adhering them just yet. I had some scraps of the heart pattern paper, but nothing that long. So to slove that problem I just trimmed two to the same width and hid the opening under the large circle!! Then I just layered pattern paper (the blue from the base, the hearts, and a green dotted paper) on the circles. I then used the letter stickers and elements stickers for each of the embellishment clusters, and used the heart and an arrow on each of the three as well for continuity. I kept the journaling to a minimum, only writing "look at me Aunt Debbie" on the banner sticker on the bottom cluster. I did another page a while back that was heavy on the journaling about this subject, and that layout will be very close to this one in my album...so there was no sense in writing all that same stuff over again on this layout.

This layout came together pretty quickly since the papers in the collection all coordinate together!! I didn't have to dig through my stash to find papers and stickers that would work together...Echo Park did that all for me!!

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

merry christmas - a card share

Hello Friday!! I can't believe it's already Friday and the weekend is right around the corner!! It's also Day 5 of Basic Grey Blog Appreciation and I thought I would wrap up the week with a card share. I kept it quite simple, finding inspiration from two of my favorite card makers, Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire. I was inspired by this card from Kristina and this card from Jennifer.

For this card, I used the Nordic Holiday 6x6 pad and two Hero Arts stamp sets that were made to go with this collection, the Holiday Clear stamp set for the sentiment and the Poinsettia & Berries Cling stamp set for the poinsettia and leaves.

I stamped the leaves and poinsettia onto white cardstock using versamark ink, and then embossed with white embossing powder. I then colored the flower and leaves with Studio Calico Mister Huey's in Overdue and Estate Green. Once that dried, I misted again with the new Calico Shine to give it lots of shimmer. You can sort of see all that shimmer in the photo above, but it's much better in person. I then layered the leaves and the bloom for some dimension. I added in clear gems to the center of the poinsettia for added interest.

This might be my favorite holiday card I've made thus far, and simple enough for easy mass production if I decided to go this route. Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

let's go fly a kite

Welcome to Day 4 of Basic Grey Blog Appreciation!! I can't believe it's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday already. Where do the days go?

Today I wanted to share a layout that I created with the Indie Bloom collection and some baker's twine. I started with this starting point from Shimelle and went from there.

I am still not quite sure about those pink letter stickers on the green background for the title. From far away they disappear, but up close they look great.

I used photos from summer vacation 2010 when my husband and I both went to visit my sister and her family up north. All my little niece wanted to do with her Unlce Mike (my hubby) was fly her kite, but I think that the universe was against them because whenever it was windy we didn't have the kite, and when we did have the kite it wasn't windy. One afternoon, Mike was helping around the lawn and some wind came about. My sister and niece grabbed the kite out of the garage, and they managed to get a little air for a minute or so. While they kept tryingm it just wasn't meant to be for any length of time. My niece did have a lot of fun while it lasted though, and really that's all that matters!! A little bonding time between her and her Uncle Mike!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

welcome

I am back with Day 3 of Basic Grey Blog Appreciation!! I have a layout to share using an older collection, Lime Rickey. I think it's from 2008, but I still love it. I am using this collection to maintain continuity to my nephew's first year album. He's two, but better late than never I guess!! I put this layout together as the opening page. It features the first family of four photo that was taken when they brought little Matt home!!

I did some stamping on the journaling spot using a Studio AE stamp set. I think this my jump start me working on this album a little!! I only have three layouts done so far...which means I've got a long way to go!! Maybe I will have it completed by his fifth birthday...HA!! No really, I should be able to knock it out pretty quickly...using the same collection throughout makes it quite easy for me to complete a bunch of pages at a time. I've taken a lot of the work out by having all of the items choses...it becomes more about the photos, the story, and the layout design!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

apollo may 2011

Welcome to Day 2 of Basic Grey Blog Appreciation (a day late I know). I wanted to share a special project I made a little bit ago, featuring some Hipstimatic photos of my late dog, Apollo. I made this little mini book using one sheet of Basic Grey's Out Of Print paper, an Out Ot Print yo-yo, some Basics Micro Mono letter stickers, and Out Of Print journaling spot, and some silver ribbon from my stash. Yep, you heard right...the is just one sheet of pattern paper!!! Enjoy!!

I promise I will be back in a little bit with Day 3 so I can get myself back on track...not to late this time either!! Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

holiday planner 2011

Hello Monday and welcome to Day 1 of Basic Grey Blog Appreciation week!! So excited about this week (as I have been about the previous two and the next two to be honest) as I have loved Basic Grey for a long time...since the very first collection!! And if I am being completely honest, I still have some of those early collections in my stash!!

But today, I wanted to share the holiday planner I made using a composition book and last year's Jovial collection (with some Curio Micro Mono stickers). To do this, simply trim your cardstock or pattern paper to the size of the cover and adhere with a strong adhesive. I then wrapped another pattern around the spine. I covered the inside covers as well, then just embellished to my hearts content. In this instance, since I will be actually writing in this, I wanted to keep the bulk on the cover down to a minimum. I decided to stick with the cardstock stickers. Nice and simple, but completely usable!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Deb

a sparkling christmas

I said I would be back later today with Day 5 of American Crafts Blog Appreciation week, and here I am. Better late than never!! To be honest, I didn't intend for it to be this late when I got around to posting this, but it's just the way things work out, I guess!!

I decided to make a card for the final day, using the Dear Lizzy Christmas collection. I kept it very simple! That's really how I like my Christmas cards...makes them much easier to mail if they are simple and don't have too much bulk!! So here you go...

All that I used for this card was a piece of cardstock, two scraps of paper (different patterns and one had a solid on the back), a rub-on, and a few gemstones. I added the white dash lines to dress it up a little using my white gel pen.

And with that I have wrapped up the second week of Blog Appreciation. I will be back next week with more!! Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

my 2 dogs

I totally missed posting yesterday!! The day just got away from me and by the time it had settled down and I might have gotten on to share this, I was just so tired I decided it could wait until today and I would share two blog posts!! So, on that note, welcome to Day 4 of American Crafts Blog Appreciation!! Today I wanted to share a mini created with the Amy Tangerine collection...pattern papers, fabric paper, bits, thickers, mix tapes, and silhouette designs.

The finished album size is 4x4. I trimmed two sheets of pattern paper to 4x8, scored at the 4" mark, and folded them in half. I also did this same process to some kraft cardstock for the cover. Since I had 2 4" squares left of the trimmed pattern paper, I used those to cover the front and back of the album, leaving the kraft only on the inside covers. Then I stitched the up the middle using my sewing machine and covered the spine with some fabric paper (to cover the stitching and give the book a finished look). For the title, I played off an old TV show called (My 2 Dads in case you were wondering) and I cut the camera that's on the cover with my silhouette (the shape is available in the silhouette store). I used shipping tags from my local office supply store for the journaling, and this is just a few quotes about dogs that I love. I used one of the Amy Tangerine bits for the back cover to let the person know who is looking at the book just exactly who these dogs are, when the photos were taken, and who made the album. Then I decorated the tags and the back with some of the new mix tape that I just got the other day (love this stuff)!!

I will be back later with the final post for AC blog appreciation. Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

craft buddy

Welcome to Day 3 of American Crafts Blog Appreciation week!! I have a layout today that combines Dear Lizzy's Enchanted pattern papers with the stamps from Amy Tangerine. I started with Shimelle's latest starting points, which you can check out here (and you have until Saturday to play along with the challenge if you want).

This is Bum. Well, Bum III if we're being specific! My dad had the original Bum when he was growing up, we had Bum II when I was growing up, and when we were finally able to, my husband and I adopted this guy and named him Bum III. The only qualifications were male, shorthair, tuxedo cat...nothing else. He's got lots of personality that's for sure and has been my craft buddy since bringing him home. If I am at my desk crafting, he's either on the back of the chair sleeping (every now and then his leg falls and kicks my shoulder...it's quite funny actually) or he's on my second desk as in these photos. I love that he likes to hang around as much as he does!!

Have a great Wednesday!! Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

favorite part of home

Welcome to Day 2 of American Crafts Blog Appreciation Week!! Today I am featuring a layout that uses a variety to products but the one sheet of pattern paper I am using is from the Nightfall Collection (with Doll,  Rockabye, and Hardcover Thickers...love me some Thickers!!)!!

Last week, right at the tail end of the open time to do so, I signed up for Amy Tangerine's class over at Big Picture Classes called The Good Life. There is a new lesson each Thursday. The first lesson was sewing on shirts Amy Tangerine style. Love that!! Love those shirts with the cameras that she makes!! I made mine this past weekend and will share it here soon!! The second lesson was sewing on paper and/or altering a clipboard. I haven't altered the clipboard yet (thinking I might do that later this afternoon or later this week...looks so cute...sorry if you're not taking the class I can't share any links to it...you'll just have to trust me). The sewing on paper lesson is similar to this layout from Amy Tangerine's Glee Club gallery. And since I love this layout so much, I decided to scraplift it...down to the silhouette tree (swoon)!!

Love this layout! It's a pretty close lift of the original too. Not my usual style (hence lifting it), but I like it quite a bit!! In addition to the pattern paper, I used black and vanilla American Crafts cardstock, and my white gel pen for the journaling!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

hula dance

In keeping with the blog appreciation I started last week, this week is dedicated to American Crafts. I am going to focus on a different collection each day this week and I am excited to break into some collections that I've had but haven't used yet!! First up is Margarita. I love this collection!! It's so bright and fun!! I have been using it for our Hawaiian vacation photos from 2004 and it fits these photos perfectly!!

This is probably the earliest that I have put together a layout for the 4x6 photo love class over at 2peas yet. The new classes come out on the 30th of each month, and with September's class we are to put 9 photos on a one page layout. You can check out the class at 2peas here, or at Shimelle's blog here (she's the teacher of this class).

I stitched the green dot pattern paper to the base paper (the leaves) to create a pocket. Inside the pocket are two sheets of cardstock that each hold 4 photos. Those 8 photos plus the one of the pocket, make for 9 4x6 photos on this one page layout!! Love this and will certainly recreate it again!!

Above is a look at the two cards within the pocket. I had taken so many photos of the hula dancing at the luau in Honolulu that I wanted to include them in our album, but many were dark and fuzzy. These were the best one's from the group.

These are the back sides of those cards. More photos of the hula dancing. Again they're darker and a bit fuzzy so under normal circumstances I might have left them out of the album all together, but this way I can include them and they aren't main focus of the page since they're tucked inside the pocket!!

And this is a look at the layers of pattern papers under the main photo and the title block. I love that American Crafts is including a print on the back of the UPC strip!! I used that under the title and brought it across the other side as well (mainly to cover a distracting part of the photo, but it works)!!

I hope you check out this month's lesson and maybe give it a try!! I will be back with another American Crafts project tomorrow! Until then, thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

merry christmas

I wanted to play along with the last Papertrey Playhouse challenge (to use a stamp that hasn't been used or one within a set that hasn't been used), but time slipped away from me and I didn't get a chance to. The latest challenge is another "use it" challenge, this time to use a die that hasn't been used. I decided to meld the two together and use a stamp and die that I hadn't used. So, the one thing on this project that I have used before is the white cardstock and the red and green ink. The die and all the stamps are previously unused!!

For this card I used Stampers Select White for my base. I then die cut the Simple Circles Border also using the white cardstock. I stamped Boy Basics: Simple Circles using Stampin Up's Real Red for the large circles and Garden Green for the small circles. I finished the card with a sentiment from Comminque Curves, and this is a sentiment I haven't used before. I love this CAS card. It's not thick at all, only the border die adhered directly to the card without dimensional adhesive, so that means that it will be very easy to mail. And it also means that it would be very easy to reproduce for our holiday card this year. We'll see about that as we get closer to Christmas card making time!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb