Friday, September 30, 2011

fabrique friday – a halloween banner…

Hi everyone!  Remember the cute Halloween themed design card I posted about last week? 

Mystery Hallow

Well…I got mine in the mail last week and I couldn’t wait to use it!

Here’s what I made this morning:

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A black and white Halloween banner!

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No, I won’t be leaving it in my tree…but I couldn’t get a good photo inside today.

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Here are a few of the details:

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All of the shapes are cut with my Slice Fabrique – and the Mystery Hallow design card.  Starting with the skull.

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And each of the letters.

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Every letter or shape is mounted on a tombstone cut from black fabric.

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The cat isn’t very scary, but I though he was cute in that polka-dot fabric.

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After I cut the pieces of the banner, I decided the black and white fabric was a bit too stark, so I rubbed my brown sugar ink pad over the white portions to distress it a bit.  This caused the fabric edges to fray a bit, but I kind of liked that effect.

Here’s a quick peek at all of the images on the Mystery Hallow card:

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I’m excited to make some more projects for Halloween using this design card – watch for some more fun ideas soon! :o)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

87 days…

I don’t want to alarm you…but there are only 87 days left until Christmas!!!  I feel like a little kid – I’m giddy already!  In fact…I’m fairly certain I’m more excited than my kids at this point – give them another 6 weeks or so and they’ll catch up. :)
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’ve had holiday music playing non-stop on Pandora for the last several weeks.  This is why…Echo Park recently released their new Christmas/Holiday lines and I’ve been creating lots of fun projects!  I want to share some of my projects, but I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much “Christmas” all at once…so I’ll spread out my projects over the next little while.
Today I’ll share my favorite of the bunch - this layout I made with the “Season’s Greetings” line.  I love the way this line mixes modern design with vintage colors. 
sg_layout_santa
When we went to Disneyland last year over Thanksgiving break, we were lucky enough to see Santa Claus and take some pictures with him – I loved seeing him and I loved having all of my kids together in a photo with him too!
I love the stickers that are included with this line – the vintage soldiers/toys tag was my favorite!
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And the layered/dimensional stickers add a lot of personality too.
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Of course, the journaling tags are always one of my favorite additions – I love hand-written journaling!
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And I used a journaling tag behind my title too. :)
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The snowflake is part of the brad accent sheet – I love that Echo Park is adding so many fun elements to their lines – brads, chipboard, layered stickers, and STAMPS too!!
You can see more details and purchase Echo Park’s Season’s Greetings Line HERE!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

back to school lunch…

If you read my blog regularly, you probably remember these photos from this post last month.  :)  I know, it’s a minor (or major) miracle that I scrapbooked these photos already – but it’s true…I did!  The theme for Pebbles this week is “Back to School,” and this is my take on the theme.

lunch_layout

I used the new “Fresh Goods” line for my layout because I thought the primary colors worked well for the school theme AND they worked well with the photos I wanted to use.

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I always love using a single line to create a project – the guesswork is gone…everything coordinates – I love anything that simplifies the process!

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Aren’t those dimensional stickers fun?

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If you’re looking for “Back to School” projects (not just layouts, but cards, décor, and gifts) – be sure to check out the Pebbles blog this week! :)

I saw this today and thought I’d pass along the link to my blog readers:

  17ways

Two Peas is such a great place – not only for shopping, but for ideas and inspiration too!  There’s a lot in the way of resources and this blog post by Jamie outlines many of the resources and provides links to some of the features – check it out! :)

supplies2

Fresh Goods Flower Basket
Fresh Goods Local Market
Fresh Goods Daily Special
Fresh Goods Mom & Pop
Fresh Goods Window Display
Fresh Goods Signage
Fresh Goods Embossed Border Stickers 
Fresh Goods Mini ABC Stickers
Fresh Goods Chipboard Buttons
Fresh Goods Dimensional Butterflies
Fresh Goods Chips
Fresh Goods Dimensional Phrases & Icon Stickers
Thicker Chipboard Letter Stickers
Crochet Thread
Journaling Pen

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

surprise boxes…

It’s been a while since I’ve gone through my scrapbook supplies and organized, sorted, and put together surprise boxes to sell…but I know some of you have been waiting for me to do it again – and I just wanted you to know I’m working on it right now. :)
surprise boxI am accumulating quite a stack of product that I’m ready to part with.  I’m not sure how many boxes I’ll have to sell - I can update when I have them all ready – or when they are all sold, whichever comes first. ;)  My goal is to have the product all sorted and boxed up, ready to ship, before the weekend is over.
It’ll work just like before: 
  • Boxes are all different and all random – they may include: patterned paper, cardstock, stickers, chipboard, misc. embellishments, misc. tools, etc.  I am not going to take photos of all the product in each box (thus the term “surprise boxes”), but I promise there will be a lot more than $40 worth of product in each and every box.  A lot more.
  • $40 per box (which will include flat rate USPS shipping which is $10.95)  Unless you are local, of course, you won't have to pay shipping and we can arrange for you to pick up your box.
  • US Shipping only  (sorry international friends – it just gets too complicated (and expensive) for these boxes)
  • I will accept payments by PayPal only
  • E-mail me if you’re interested…I will sell them on a first come, first served basis
Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions!
Thank you!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

from paper to digi (and a giveaway too)…

No, I’m not switching from paper to digi…(although I would really like to learn a little more about it)…I’m referring to the newest e-book from Ella Publishing.  It was written by the fabulously talented Crystal Wilkerson.  Crystal is the designer of SO many digital kits and papers and products that I have been “collecting” ever since she started selling them.  I knew that eventually I wanted to try digi scrapbooking, so I’ve been buying her stuff since I discovered it.  I’ve actually used a lot of her products for handouts I’ve made for YW and Primary too!  Anyway, back to the subject at hand – Crystal’s new book!Ella_PaperToDigi_BlogPreview1

This book is all about finding inspiration from paper layouts and converting them to digital layouts…or the other way around.  I was honored when Crystal asked if she could use one of my layouts as an inspiration piece for her book!  And I was amazed at how she converted it to a digital template and created her own digital layout with a twist.  :)

The book was just released a couple of days ago and I was able to download a copy to look over.  AMAZING.  That’s all I can say.  First of all, Crystal chose some incredible layouts to find inspiration from.  Then she put her own mad skills to work creating her own versions of those layouts.  The book is full of tips, tricks, ideas…from Crystal AND from the gals she asked to help out with her book  - many names I am sure you will recognize (Stacy Julian, Jen Jockisch, Sarah Klemish, Jennifer Pebbles, Jamie Waters, Lisa Dickinson, Kristina Proffitt, Caroline Ikeji, and Karen Grunberg).  Not only that – but it also includes a sample pack in digital form!

Don’t you love it?!?  I just love the colors and patterns – and those little labels are SO cute!

When you buy Crystal’s new e-book, you’ll also receive a coupon for 50% off the entire template collection!!

Here’s a peek at the digital templates Crystal made from the 10 inspiration layouts.  Want to guess which template is based on my layout??

Go ahead, take a guess.  Leave me a comment with your guess  -  and you just might win the digital template Crystal made based on my layout AND (more importantly) your very own FREE copy of Crystal’s book

Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you are the winner.  I’ll choose a winner on Friday morning.

** You can also read more details and see a SNEAK PEEK of Crystal’s new book HERE on the Ella Publishing website.**

Good luck!

Monday, September 12, 2011

moon dough (take 2)…

Do you remember about a year ago when Team Mom sent us some Moon Dough to try out and review?  No?  You can click HERE to read about it if you’d like. :) My kids loved it and they played with it a lot.  Eventually most of those little dough pieces crumbled away (but they never did dry out – just as the box promised!) and I hadn’t gotten around to buying refills for them.  As I said in my review, I didn’t have an issue with the dough being too messy or causing any problems…so I was a little surprised to receive an e-mail from Team Mom last month asking me if I’d like to try out and review an ALL NEW DOUGH FORMULA!  They said this amazing molding dough “now features a better consistency for molding, and is less crumbly.”  The colors are supposed to be brighter and more vibrant too!

Of course, we were all for reviewing this new and improved moon dough, so we accepted and anxiously awaited the arrival of our Moon Dough Push N’ Pop Ocean Pals set.

Zach and I were the only ones home when the UPS man delivered our long awaited package – and he was anxious to open it up and start testing it out.  I was busy doing something and told him he couldn’t open the package yet because I had to take pictures first.  He was in no mood to wait – he got my camera and took photos all by himself.

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Lots of photos.

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At various angles.

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Just like he knows his mama would have done.

Good boy.

And because he was being so cute, I stopped whatever it was I was doing and took a few photos of him with the box…

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And then I offered to let him open it up and play.  He opted to wait for Seth to come home (he LOVES his brother so much!!).

Zach was excited to be able to tell Seth about the package that had arrived.  When we got home, we opened it up – and they had a blast! 

md5_blog

I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t really notice a big difference in the dough – but remember I didn’t have any issues with the dough last year.

The Ocean Pals set included 3 “push &pop” tools, twisty animal molds, 2 colors of moon dough, and a themed mat (which is basically glossy cardboard). 

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I think it’s safe to say that Moon Dough was a hit at our house (again)!

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Oh, and in case you were wondering…Moon Dough is odor free. :)

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You can purchase Moon Dough at Toys R Us, Target, Walmart, Kmart, Amazon.com, AC Moore, Michaels and eToys.  For more information about Moon Dough, you can visit their website HERE.

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These little sets retail for just under $10, so they would make a great little gift to have on-hand for birthdays or even Christmas – yes, I said Christmas…It’s right around the corner!

Thanks to Team Mom & Moon Dough for sending us the play set to try out and review.  What you have just read was my opinion.  I was not compensated in any way, other than the product that I reviewed here. :)

Friday, September 09, 2011

jane’s doodles blog hop…

Hi there!  If you’ve just stopped by from Jen’s blog, welcome to my blog – I hope you’re enjoying the blog hop today.  If you’re visiting my blog separate from the blog hop – I welcome you too…and I’m happy you stopped by today.  If you’re not already familiar with Jane’s Doodles stamps, you can see all of her cute designs on her website HERE.  All of the images are hand-drawn by Jane herself…isn’t she so talented?!?  Jane asked me to participate by sharing cards with each of the three new sets.

First up, here’s a card featuring a couple of images from “Party Time.”

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I stamped the pennants and stacked gift boxes on various patterned papers, then cut them out and pieced them together.

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The “happy birthday” sentiment is from the same set.

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The “for you” sentiment is stamped onto a glossy sticker with StazOn ink.

 jd_happy_birthday_card1c

And there are even more cute party-themed images in this set – different shaped pennants, cakes, cupcakes, and more words too!

I used papers from Cosmo Cricket’s Upcycle 6x6 pad for this card.  If you look closely, you’ll see that I even broke out my Copics and did a little bit of coloring on the stack of gifts!


Next, a card featuring Jane’s “Big Sentiments” set:

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I chose two of the sentiments for my card – but there are a total of 10 phrases in this set. 

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There are several different handwriting styles…each one cute and appropriate for the phrase it’s written in.

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I used another Cosmo Cricket 6x6 pad for this card – this one is “Odds & Ends.”


I used Jane’s “Pretty Peonies” stamp set for my final card.  I really loved the line image of the largest flower in this set.  I stamped it onto off-white cardstock with white ink, used a paper piercer to punch holes over the lines, and then I used tan thread and a smallish needle to stitch over the lines.  The result is a very simple, but unique flower image.  I stacked a couple of buttons and tied them together for the center of my flower.

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I also added the “you are loved” sentiment from the Pretty Peonies set and inked around the edges with American Crafts Brown Sugar ink. 

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I used Cosmo Cricket’s Odds & Ends papers for this card as well.

Thanks for stopping by my blog to see the cards I created with Jane’s fun designs.  Now, the really fun part!  Jane is having a giveaway!  She’ll be sending all 3 stamp sets to one lucky winner. You must leave a comment on each blog in order to win.  The list of everyone participating in the blog hop is right below.  Good luck!   

Jane

Kelly

Mariana

Joy

Aga

Emily

Jen (Guest Designer)

Wendy Sue (Guest Designer) – you are here now. :)

Judith

Jane's Doodles

Thursday, September 08, 2011

legos…

I think there’s one toy that boys just don’t outgrow.  Legos.  It’s kind of like the universal “happy” toy for kids (and moms and dads too).  I love that it’s something all three of my boys can (and will) do together. :o)  The sizes of the blocks might vary, but they can also build something fun out of whichever set they pull out to play with.  I prefer the middle sized legos…those little ones always get lost in the weirdest places…I’m forever finding them in every nook and cranny after a big lego-fest!

legos_layout

This layout is in my Two Peas Gallery if you’d like to see the detail shots.  You can also find all of the products I used by clicking HERE.  I thought those little strips of patterned paper resembled stacked legos. ;)

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

fresh memories…

It’s a new month and that means it’s time for the new Pebbles, Inc. design team to begin sharing projects!  I feel so fortunate to be working with this great company for a second year – I love their products AND the people…and I am excited to be able to create more fun projects to share with other Pebbles lovers like myself!

My first assignment was to create a layout to showcase my style and maybe share a little bit about myself.  This is the page I put together:

 fresh_memories

(Photo by Lori Muse)

I used the brand new “Fresh Goods” line for my page – isn’t it perfect for a summer family photo?  I love that it has crisp, clean primary colors.  The colors make the more feminine “flowery” designs work well for photos with boys as well (not that I’ve ever let a FLOWER stop me from making a boy page, lol).

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These dimensional stickers are fun – I love that there is foam adhesive between each layer. :)

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And the chipboard pieces are EMBOSSED!  Love that!

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And I used that fun “masking tape” sticker too…I thought it was the perfect finishing touch to my journaling block.

Does the design of this page look a bit familiar?  Maybe you remember THIS LAYOUT that I created for a previous Pebbles assignment.  Sometimes I just need a jumping off point so I’ll go back through some of my older pages and use them for inspiration.  It’s amazing how different a page can look just by switching out the products.  No need to reinvent the wheel every single time you sit down to create, right?!?

Be sure to visit the Pebbles, Inc. blog to see the other new design team projects!

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Pebbles Fresh Goods Collection

Fresh Goods Chipboard

Fresh Goods Chipboard Buttons

Fresh Goods Dimensional Stickers

Fresh Goods Masking Tape Stickers

Fresh Goods Border Stickers

Fresh Goods Flower Basket Paper

Fresh Goods Signage Paper

Fresh Goods Window Display Paper

Fresh Goods Freshly Picked Paper

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

my baby went to kindergarten today…

I tell him it doesn’t matter how old he gets, he’ll always be my baby.  He just smiles and says okay.

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He was thrilled to be able to start Kindergarten today.  We had fun putting together a little “all about me” paper this morning.  I forgot to take a picture of it.  He did all of the writing himself – so cute.

I asked him what he wanted for lunch and he asked for Dairy Keen…so we made a quick trip to town and through the drive-thru…he ate his chicken strips and fries and lemonade slush on the way back home.

He picked out his clothes.  He was super cooperative and posed for photos – even saying “I love school” and “cheese” without me even asking him to.

(incidentally, I NEVER ask my kids to say “cheese” when I take their pictures.  Really, I don’t.)

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We walked together. :)  I hung back so I could take a picture…and suddenly my baby didn’t seem so little anymore.

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(Have I mentioned how much I LOVE living so close to the elementary school?  I love that Seth and Zach can walk to school every day!)

He didn’t want me to go onto the playground with him.  He told me if I wanted to wait with him, we should wait in the front of the school – not on the playground.  What?  My baby is embarrassed to have his mom hanging onto him?!?  We did not wait in front of the school.  We walked around to the kindergarten playground and he gave me a quick hug and then ran over to find some friends. 

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I stood outside the chain link fence with a lot of the other moms whose “babies” were starting kindergarten today.  We watched them until the bell rang.  I walked over for another quick hug when he started walking toward me. 

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Then he turned and went inside the classroom.

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Just like that…my baby is a big a kindergartener now.  And I am home in a super quiet house. 

I am so glad kindergarten is only a half-day…I don’t have to be without my little buddy for too long (yet). :o)