December 24, 2011

Happy Holidays!

Hanuka candles ready for lighting and wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. Yesterday we had latkas, today the boys are baking and decorating cookies. I love the holiday season! Here are a few projects I made and didn't get a chance to post before we drove north :)

I made two cards using the October Afternoon - Good Cheer - Blue Plate Special I won at the Apron Strings blog.
The alphas on this card are by BasicGray.
The sentiment on this card is Jillibean Soup.

I also decorated this paper bag with the Cosmo Cricket - Dear Mr. Claus - collage kit:


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December 19, 2011

Changes ahead

There are big changes going on in the SP & Company world and I'm happy to share that I'm part of their new challenge team. It's not all about color combos anymore, so check out the new SP & Co. blog!

So here is the card I made for the last SPCC challenge, and I have to say challenge is the right word for this combo:
I kept it simple because I was having a hard time getting the colors to go together without a patterned paper that had both. I used two SP & Co. stamp sets: Mix 'n Match Sentiments: Family Stamp Set and Hearty Hearts Backgrounds. Martha Stewart red ink and Colorbox watermark ink for the heart background. DCWV and Core'dinations cardstock, unknown ribbon, eyelet from Eyelet Outlet & Brads. And here is the color combo that drove me nuts for a whole week:
I hope you try your hand at this week's Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo -- I can't wait to see how you tackle it!

Thanks for stopping by!

December 16, 2011

Christmas in August

This LO is from a present exchange with our relatives who live in Russia:
I used My Mind's Eye - Lime Twist - packet from the the September'11 Bigger Than A Breadbox kit, plus some Core'dinations cardstock. I hand cut the clouds and outlined them with a platinum marker by Zig  to match the patterned paper. The title and gift were cut with my Cricut Expressions 2 (Designer calendar cartridge). The stitching was done with WRMK Sew Easy piercer and floss. And here is the sketch by Anam Stubbington for the My Mind's Eye challenge #30:
I moved things around a bit and stretched it to make a double-page layout.

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December 12, 2011

Happy Birthday Fun!

This week's Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo was posted today. For my card I used Imaginisce - Animal crackers - papers:
Kraft cardstock and papers from the Apron Strings March'11 STBB kit. I added some Distress ink (Antique Linen) to the striped paper because it was white and I wanted to match the kraft color. The sentiment is a SRM sticker and I rounded the top corners with a WRMK corner chomper.H ere is this week's color combo:
I hope you can play along with us at SPCC!

Thanks for stopping by!

December 10, 2011

Christmas gifts

I made some more decorated containers for the kids' teachers:
I used ice-cream containers and the Dear Mr. Claus craft kit by Cosmo Cricket:

And here is a tutorial on the bow:

1) Start with 2 strips of double-sided paper 12" long by 0.75" wide.
2) Fold one in half to mark the center, then staple the ends in the middle. I used the Tim Holtz tiny attacher. Here is what it should look like from top and side:
3) The other strip is marked in thirds, then the ends are stapled at each crease. Join the two staples and glue together to create a circle:
4) Layer the two parts to create the bow:
For a variation I also added a brad to the top circle and glued it down, as you can see in the top picture. Other tools/embellishments: 3" scalloped circle punch by EK Success, adhesive squares (regular and extreme) by GlueArts, pearl brads from Eyelet Outlet & Brads and baker's twine is from DKMdiva.
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December 6, 2011

Feliz Navidad

Just a quick card I made using the Cosmo Cricket - Dear Mr. Claus - kit:
I added some Ranger Distress ink (Antique linen) to the cutout letters so they would all match. Offray ribbon, Sticky Thumb foam adhesive.

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December 5, 2011

Simple card

This weeks Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo was posted today and my card was really simple to make:
We R Memory Keepers - Hippity Hoppity - paper, BoBunny rub-ons, ribbon from Laurl's Etsy shop, unknown button. The card base was bought at JoAnn's. And here is this week's combo:
I hope you can play along with this week's Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo! And don't forget: SP and Company Stamps is looking for a new design team. There is still some time to apply, check out the details here.


Thanks for stopping by!

November 28, 2011

Hearty Thanks

This week's Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo was posted today. The colors matched the Jillibean Soup Apple Cheddar Soup collection very well and I used The Card Kitchen October kit for my card:
From the kit: patterned paper, die-cuts, stickers, mini clothes pins, craft paper bag, green note card, May Arts ribbon. Other: Love My Tapes adhesive fabric tape, SRM sticker sentiment. I stamped the paper bag with a stamp from the Hearty Hearts Backgrounds Stamp Set by SP & Co. using Colorbox watermark ink. And here is this week's color combo:
I hope you can play along with this week's Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo! Moreover, SP and Company Stamps is looking for a new design team.If you love stamps, check out the details here.

Thanks for stopping by!
Vol 5, #1

November 25, 2011

Crabs!

Ali has a great sketch posted today at Sketches: Creatively Yours and the design team has added their own personal touches for your inspiration. Here is my interpretation:
Papers by Sassafras Lass (Cherry Delicious and Elle's Tale), Core'dinations cardstock, American Crafts Thickers, Jolee's dimensional stickers, Zig paint pen, Bic marker, unknown journaling spot. I cut the cursive part of my title with my Cricut (Opposites Attract cartridge). Here is sketch 23-11, which I rotated 90 degrees clockwise:
I hope you can join us at Sketches: Creatively Yours! Also, check out the S:CY Facebook Page! I'm looking forward to seeing your interpretation!

Thanks for stopping by!

November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're having some "quiet time" before the rest of the family arrives for the big dinner, so I figured I'd post my Thanksgiving crafts:
I cut the leaves with my Cricut Expressions 2 (Cricut Essentials and Designer Calendar cartridges) from a bunch of scraps of paper -- Scenic Route (Salem), K&Co., GCD Studio (Lost in Paradise), Jillibean Soup (Staples on Kraft). Sassafras alphabet stickers, Tim Holtz distress ink, Colorbox pigment ink. I adhered the leaves to the vine wreath with my hot glue gun.

Then the kids (and Grammy) made some place holders for the table:
I used scraps of American Crafts cardstock and 2 punches (circle and flower).

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November 23, 2011

Pick your own berries

This LO is from photos of summer 2010:
Bella Blvd papers and stickers (One Fall Day; Sunny Happy Skies), Core'dinations cardstock, Glossy Accents, Doodlebug Designs jewels, Sakura gel pen, Bic Marker, Sticky Thumb foam adhesive, Therm-o-web adhesive runner. I started out with the Bella Blvd sketch below, but things seemed to want to go their own way...

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November 21, 2011

Embossing - first attempt

This weeks Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo was posted today and for my gate-fold card I tried something different -- at least for me: heat embossing. But instead of a stamp, I used the October Afternoon rubber charm that matched the paper:
October Afternoon paper (5 & Dime) and button (Campfire) , Core'dinations/Tim Holtz cardstock, Colorbox watermark ink, Zing clear embossing powder (American Crafts), Sakura white gel pen (I added some Ranger distress ink in Antique Linen to make the white less white.), unknown floss. And here is this week's combo:
I hope you can play along with this week's Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo! And don't forget: SP and Company Stamps is looking for a new design team. If you love stamps, check out the details here.

Thanks for stopping by!

November 16, 2011

Duet

I'm in love with Jillibean Soup at the moment, so I subscribed to The Card Kitchen :)
For this LO I used the November 2011 kit: Duch Mustard Soup papers and journaling sprouts. From my stash: Jillibean Soup Chicken Noodle Soup paper and sugar pick; American Crafts cardstock, WRMK floss, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type, Bic Marker, and Ribbon by the Yard - Faux Suede Orange Stitched. The title was cut with the Cricut Expressions 2 (Opposites Attract cartridge). I'm addicted to this crisscross stitching, which was pierced with Sew Easy (blanket head).

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November 14, 2011

Scrap card

This weeks Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo was posted today:
For my card, I dug into my scrap file to look for patterned paper that matched this challenge. Here is what I came up with, quick and simple:
The white card base was bought at JoAnns. The red paper is Cosmo Cricket (Garden Variety); the green paper and scalloped tag are Scenic Route (Salem). I added an adhesive journaling tag (Reminisce) to the center of the scalloped one because it wasn't white. Sassafras glitter alphas. The flowers are a stamp from Woodware USA that didn't really work on the slick surface with the ink I used. When I wiped it off it left a faint outline that I colored with Bic markers then added some Glossy Accents to the center. I really liked the result :)
I hope you can play along with this weeks Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo! And if you are wondering what I meant by "my scrap file" here is a picture:
I bought this a few years ago to store cardstock and paper, but it got too heavy and wasn't really easy to find things. Now I keep my patterned paper sorted by collection in plastic bags in a bin on the floor by my desk. The cardstock is sorted by color in a Kaisercraft paper storage unit on my desk (you can see it in the background of the photo). Leftovers go in the file sorted by color, patterned paper in the front half and cardstock in the back.

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November 12, 2011

How to cut a round cake...

Apparently Dada's family (& friends) had never seen this cake-cutting technique where you cut a circle in the center before cutting slices. Grammy took so many pictures -- and everyone was watching me cut that cake -- that I decided to make a LO of the step-by-step:
Bella Blvd - Sophisticates - papers, American Crafts cardstock and glitter Thickers, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type, We R Memory Keepers floss, Colorbox chestnut ink, unknown buttons. Stitching holes were pierced with the WRMK Sew Easy (Blanked and Zig Zag heads). Part of the title was cut with my Cricut Expressions 2 (Opposites Attract cartridge). This LO was inspired by Allison Davis' Sketch Support 2-page #22. It's been a while since I made my own embellishments... those flowers and twirls don't really find their way onto my boy layouts :)

Speaking of sketches, make sure you check Ali's new one at Sketches: Creatively Yours.

Thanks for stopping by!