Blog Candy Update

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has posted a link to my site letting others know about my 1 Year Blogaversary and the sweet blog candy I am giving away. Also, I took a few pictures of individual items in the blog candy to boost your appetite to win. Remember, you only have to post a comment on that original post in order for your name to go into the drawing. Also, if you post a link letting others know, and you mention it in your post I will throw your name in twice.

This sweet card set has only been opened so that I can give you a good photo of all the card bases and envelopes that come in the fantastic box!




These robot stickers are da bomb! The little robot lights up...you can barely see it here, but you will love it!



And here are the cards you will be getting with your blog candy reward if your name is chosen:



Also, just for fun I made this little canvas for my scrap room. It has such a summer feeling and it incorporates some of my favorite patterned papers and favorite summer trends including: triangle banners, pinwheels, and clouds. If you have never made a pinwheel before, you should totally try it. It would be fun to make with your kids if you are home with them this summer.


You could use the cutting guide win any pretty paper and then use a straight pin and a pencil with a new eraser as the stick to hold the pinwheel up and it should spin when they blow on it. I glued these to the canvas and used rolled up strips of paper as the stick, but they would be really cute on a card or summer scrapbook page! I try to change up the normal tendency to always use a flower for everything.

I guess I will get back to work...I signed up for a Christmas in July card swap and I am trying to come up with a good design...but I am failing miserably!! UGH!

Anyway, I hope this inspires you today! Have a great day!!

TWO 2-page layouts using sketches!

My favorite magazine is Creating Keepsakes. I started reading the magazine over five years ago. I love all the editors and the layouts are fantastic. I love following the magazine online too!

For this week's 'Weekly Warm-Up' the blog is featuring a Becky Higgins sketch. It happens to be one of my favorites from the summer magazine. I am not usually a huge fan of sketches, but this one was super fun! Here is the sketch:


I came up with TWO versions of this sketch. One is using pictures from my niece's 1st birthday and the other is from a recent camping trip.


Party Layout:
CTMH Desert Sand Cardstock
CTMH Heartfelt Die Cuts
My Mind's Eye Patterned paper (the plaid is my absolute favorite paper this summer!)
K&Co. Rubons, Gittered Die Cuts, Flocked stickers, Adhesive Chipboard
Jolee's Boutique Cupcake
Other: gel pen--white


Summer Adventure Layout:
Hambly Woodgrain Overlay
7gypsies Mountain vacation Stickers
Cosmo Cricket Mr. Happy Camper Paper
Creative Memories Transparent stickers
CTMH HeartFelt Die Cuts
CTMH Chipboard and Stickease
CTMH Cardstock Desert Sand
other--brads

If ya'll have an tips on photographing 2-page layouts, I would love to hear them! Cards are way easier!! Anyway, I hope the quality is decent and feel free to click on the image to see it larger and with more details!

Blogaversary BLOG CANDY--get it here!

Now is your chance to win!! I decided to give back a little bit as I celebrate my 1 YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY!

Prize pack WORTH OVER $75:
CTMH Christmas Creative basics--paper and ribbon (Worth $8.95)
With Love Stamp set--(Worth $22.95)
K&Co. Light Ideas Robot stickers-- (Worth $5.99)
Making Memories Boho Chic Trims--(Worth $3.99)
CTMH Connections Club rewards Metal Tokens and Rhinestone Frames--(Worth $1.95)
CTMH Exclusive Inks Bamboo--(Worth $5.25)
CTMH Garden Green My Accents-- (Worth $9.95)
CTMH Dimensional Elements--(Worth $4.95)
We R Memory Keepers Comstock Collection Stationary Set 'Kitchen' Notecards-- (Worth 9.95)
Hand stamped-cards by Nellie (Worth...well, priceless...but we'll just say a couple of bucks!)

To win:
Just leave me some love on this post by July 26th. Also, I will put your name in the drawing twice if you let others know about this blog candy and you mention it in your comment!

Project 52 Update mid-year (sort of!)

I meant to post this in June...but life happens so here it is!


My favorite thing about Project 52 is that I am keeping a weekly journal about the major (and minor) things in my life. I am able to throw in pockets of stuff, pictures, random found objects and my favorite stickers and papers. I am free to make collages of my favorite clothing tags, stickers or anything else I want.



I get to play with paint! I made this using extra paint during summer school. I traced a couple of circles, added lines with a ruler, painted the rays using florescent tempera paint and then I used a black pen to jot down all of my favorite memories from summer school this year.

I can scrapbook in reverse...I know I will have lots of favorite photos from a camping trip, so I made a page with some of my favorite Cosmo Cricket papers....and I will add the photos later!




First week of summer! Awaiting some pictures...I just had to use some Cosmo Cricket paper!



I can add some of my favorite stickers in with my journaling!

The pages don't have to be perfect! As long as they tell the story! This is a (nearly) chronological record of 2009.


I will definitely do Project 52 again! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with all the journaling and scrapbooking, but once I realized that I don't have to write a novel every day and I can get away with collages and pages without pictures, it became much easier. I don't realistically make a page a week, I might make 2-3 one week and then none the next, but it is definitely a fun project!

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Coffee in July

Yahooooo! I am drinking coffee....and that is exciting. I don't know what the weather has been like for you, but the past few weeks in Missouri have been extremely hot. I gave up my morning coffee and replaced it with an ice cold Pepsi!!! Today it is raining and cool, so I am enjoying a nice, hot cup of joe. And, the lighting on my porch is perfect for photographing cards! Yay!! I have several new cards to show you!

First, I don't know what your desk looks like....but no matter what I do, mine is always a crazy jumbled mess of paper scraps, loose embellishments, my favorite tools, stamped images, pieces of ribbon, and piles of junk!


This week I challenged myself to use a couple of 4X4 card bases and create as many little cards as possible with the things I found laying on my desk. Aside from a couple of sentiments, I didn't have to stamp any of the images, they were already stamped, they just needed a home!




Finally, a masculine thank you card!! This stamp set (Alfresco) is new to me, but I ordered off my website in June just to get a free set of rubons...I was super excited to use it! It came in the mail yesterday!

Sometimes I paint...and sometimes I organize!

Hey Everyone!! Sorry it has been so quiet around here!! I am enjoying my vacation!! I have officially had 3 days off and I have been completing projects around the house. Basic chores are mostly caught up like laundry and dishes but its the big ones like cleaning out my drawers, closets and organizing the bathroom that have taken up most of my time.

I found this really great birdcage jewelry stand at the mall, perfect for my earrings!!



Here is one project you might enjoy. I saw this on a blog somewhere, it is not my original idea, but it is something you might enjoy! Basically, this is a shoe organizer that has been filled up with various cords, chargers and other electronic things that don't have a home (like calculators, my iPod and accessories!). I have a small house with very little cabinet/drawer/closet space so something like this is wonderful for keeping things organized.


I created labels in Word and printed them off on cardstock. I used a couple of punches and some eyelets tied on with hemp to create the perfect label tags. I did have to put an eyelet in each of the pockets, but it went really quick with my Crop-a-Dile.

Some things do not need a label so they are just stamped with a cute 1" stamp. I am thinking about putting some pattered paper in each pouch so it looks more decorative, but I haven't quite decided yet.



Finally, I know it isn't a card, but sometimes I paint. I drug out a huge, old canvas from the basement last week. It is left over from college and I have been planning to paint over it for some time. So, Monday night I decided to paint something that I like! Here is my giant owl painting! It is finished an in my living room!!




What should I name him?

Check back later this month...it is my ONE YEAR BlogAversary and I will have some prizes for you to win!! Thanks for reading, as always your comments are welcome and appreciated!!

Fun Crop and a fun a layout!

Hey everyone!! I went to a crop last night. Yesterday was my last day of summer school and it was really hot so I must've been super tired because I only got one layout done....Between all the chatting and eating...I worked on it from about 6:00 p.m. until at least 10:30...I spent a lot of time hand cutting the letters and the flowers.





Anyway, everything on this layout is CTMH.
Extreme Happiness is the stamp set
Perfect Day and MoonDoggie papers
Lay out is from Cherish

My favorite part about scrapbooking at a crop is just talking with other people who love it as much as I do!! I also love it that we can share supplies!!



In case you are wondering about the 'Friends Don't Let Friends Crop Alone' shirts...I ordered 6 shirts from a neat website called Be Creative Scrapbooking. She offers a discount if you order 6 or more...Perfect for an entire group to go to an event! I am going to CKC-Tulsa in August and I wanted a couple of fun shirts for me and my friends to wear!! Anyway, if you want to get the discount you have to email her...so please tell her I sent you! She will give me a discount on my next order for referrals if you spend $20.00 or more!!

Still not making many MAN cards....

It has been so long since I have had a chance to play along over at 365 cards! I decided to give today's Paper Piecing challenge a whirl! (Be fore warned...I will be playing along quite often in July...and next week when school is finally out!)

I love using paper piecing. I really enjoy cutting out tiny things with my micro tip scissors and putting them in place. For my (2) cards, I decided to go with something unexpected. I am combining an animal stamp set with the color pink!


These were super fun to create!! I used some scoring and sanding on white core cardstock....and I used lots of paper piecing on the flowers, hippo, and gator!


All products are CTMH except the white flowered ribbon, it is from ribbonFX via Hobby Lobby.

Extreme Happiness....here comes summer....

Yesterday morning I came into my craft room to grab a card for some police officers who have been helping with our summer school program.

As I flipped through my card box and my card basket, I realized that with all of the cards I have on hand...nothing seemed quite right.



Worst of all, I didn't have time to make anything! My goal while I am on summer break is to make more masculine cards! I am sure that the guys didn't mind, I did have spinach artichoke dip, chips, brownies, cookies and a huge banner signed by our students....but it would've been nice to give them a hand made card. (I will probably make one and mail it soon!)

And now for a few cards. These aren't for a challenge, they are just for fun! I love this stamp set: Extreme Happiness. It is a beautiful tropical flower that is perfect for lots of layouts and cards. I am sure you will be seeing it again soon.




I got the idea to use turquoise for the flower from a great blog that I follow, Kelly Jo's Stamp pad. She used a similar color combination for a color challenge. I haven't had time to play along with any color challenges lately, but I still love great color combinations.

Here I used the back of the stamped flower to create a white version of it. I saw something similar in the idea book. I inked the edges with a foam dauber to give it some color, but I love the white!!



I will be doing this little 4X4 card at a home gathering/workshop on Wednesday. It has some cute prisma glitter on the flower!