pretty flowers.

Yesterday I was featured on the American blog with a step by step tutorial on how to make this beautiful flower frame:

Thanks for the visit today!  Hope you are having a fabulous day!!

Good Times. Laugh Happy

A few days ago I received an email from Laina Lamb (she is an AMAZING designer by the way) asking me if I would like to "play" with some of her dies and stamps.  Umm...YES!  TOTAL no brainer there!  When they arrived I looked at them and didn't really have any inspiration for the first day, the next day I really looked at the stamps and found this one:

I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to scrap, my pictures from my daughter and I going to see the Hunger Games movie!  These pictures have been waiting and I knew that I wanted to add the mocking jay on the page as well.  (it's something I made using my silhouette, using it on our shirts as well....)  I had to pull good old red out of the dusty closet OLD SIZZIX die cutting machine (seriously like 12-13 years old):

Good Times:

These are the dies I used, you can find them HERE:

and HERE:

 The Stamp set I used, you can find them HERE:

Laugh Happy:

 For this layout I used one of the stamps to create a background (see I told you ideas popped into my head!  LOVED using my Versamark ink--I don't think I stamp enough!)
Here is a little closeup of the die cut title (This is the same die cut as from above):

I used another die which can be found HERE:

This is what I used for the background can be found HERE:

The fun little stars came from this set found HERE:

I can truthfully say I enjoyed using my die cutting machine, it's been YEARS since I pulled the thing out but these dies cut SO nicely, it was like BUTTER!  I will definitely be using these dies again SOON!  Also, these stamps stamp clear with no shadowing.  I sometimes stamp stuff and it isn't a clear image all of the stamps I used stamp so crisp.  I can't wait to use these stamps on cards and my project life.  Thanks SO much Laina for the opportunity I REALLY appreciated it!

Happy Birthday.

I don't know if I have mentioned before but I make A LOT of birthday cards--I LOVE it!  I just wanted to share a couple of the batch that I made this month:

shapes: one punched with Martha Stewart punch, others are from cuts from my silhouette
the stamp:  OLD studio calico stamp set
Pattern paper: Basic Grey--Mint Julep
Washi tape: My Mind's Eye
The jewel: from the $1 section at Walmart
Pearl: Kaiser crafts.
This is a REAL quick post as I've got many things to do this morning--THANKS so much for the visit!

Exciting announcement!

I was asked to stay on the Scrapbook Circle design team for another year--(THANK YOU Lisa!)  I'm excited to work with and be inspired by the other girls on the design team.  That's what I LOVE about scrapbooking, being inspired creatively by others.  I love this family history keeping art form--awesome!

Thanks for the visit today and letting me share my news!

Peace.

Today I am up on the Scrapbook Circle blog, I had the opportunity to lift Tanya:

These particular pictures were taken with my phone and were actually up on Instagram, it was a humid monsoony day like today.  Anyway, the pictures of the palms are actually the view out of my phone, my son and I decided to lay down on the bench outside the Temple and look at the clouds.  Seeing if we could see any animals, we were waiting for my girl... 

I really wanted to use some cuts from my Silhouette to accent the background, it was fun to see which colors mixed with which.  I used the Let's Chat kit and the SOLD out add on cardstock kit for July. 

some closeups:

 thanks SO much for the visit today!!

American Crafts 2013-2014 Design Team

So I'm TOTALLY honored and MAJORLY excited to share that I have made the American Crafts design team for the 2013-2014 term!  I'm SO excited to be working with some AWESOMELY talented ladies you can see the official announcement HERE!  Thanks for the visit and letting me share my exciting news!!

cake.

Today on the Scrapbook Circle blog I was asked to focus on one item in the AWESOME Let's Chat kit, which happens to be the rub on feathers from Jenni Bowlin.

 closeups of the feathers:

some of the fun things to note on this page...I decided to rub on some of these feathers on plain white cardstock and pop them up with pop dots, and rub them on to the actually layout.  The other cut out feather is something I had just laying on my desk from some random cuts I had made--it was a last minute add in!  The tag was also a fun experiment of gesso and glitter (also on my desk) I first painted the card with gesso then pressed the glitter on top of that--it has a REALLY cool texture to it.  Lastly the arrow comes white and can be painted I lightly "painted" that with some gelato.  And funny thing about this page it started out being layered on my desk bit by bit no cardstock--that was one of the last things I added--it was a FUN challenge!  oh, one more super fun thing to note is that the round sticker at the top 'be happy' is a Scrapbook Circle original designed and printed for the kit--pretty cool right?!
thanks for the visit today--hope your day is SUPER fantastic!

sweet. thank you.

Quick post today.  I decided I wanted to play with some October Afternoon in my stash and I found a treasure in the sidewalk line, I made these two cards:

    

closeup of my popped up flower:

 another card same theme just larger.

 fun simple to the point.  LOVED just playing for me--thanks for the visit today!

happy birthday-OA style.

So I decided to play along with the challenge at Simon Says Stamp BLOG.  I wanted to further challenge myself by using some product I tend to hoard and never use--October Afternoon.  I went through and organized what I had by collection and found that I had PLENTY of several lines I NEED to use and still love, one would be the Rocket Age line.  Anyway, the challenge over on the blog was to PIN it.  I again scoured my table (I tend to leave bits and pieces of things all over my table, not quite ever putting stuff away...) I found a VERY old paper clip from Making Memories, here is my take on the challenge:

 closeup of the pop up:

oh, and the funnest part (for me) was finding some super fun VERY old sequins.  These sequins have been around since I was a little girl in my mom's stash of items--I just HAD to use them--right?
Thanks SO much for the fun visit today, hope YOUR day is WONDERFUL!

posers.

today there is an AWESOME sketch up on the Scrapbook Circle blog by Diana Fisher (she rocks by the way)

Anyway, I decided to play along with the sketch and this is what I came up with:

yes, I've scrapped these pictures before but I found MORE! ;)  For the back ground I made a mixture of gesso, glitter, & gloss gel.  It really has a cool texture when you look at it up close...I also colored the letters with mist--LOVE the pop of blue for the title.  I used the Let's Chat kit which is the kit for July--AWESOME!
There is a FABULOUS prize if you decide to play along with the sketch all the details can be found HERE on the blog.  Good luck to you!!
And thanks so much for the visit today!

dark superman.

The Let's Chat kit from Scrapbook Circle is PACKED full of fun!  I'm loving the colors and combinations of textures.  I've made girlie pages, and boy type pages like this one:

     I took these pictures on dress up like your favorite super hero day.  Yes, he is the Dark Superman truth be told the cape is actually a vampire cape, we just tucked the high neck part down.  He didn't care--he loved what it felt like to RUN with it streaming out behind him.  I LOVE that he stopped to pose for me in his Superman way!

     This circle affect was made with the stencil found in the July Add on which can be found HERE.  I used a bit of Gesso, gloss gel, glitter and mist.  I initially started with a 12 x 12 page but wasn't really feeling it, so I cut it down to 8 1/2 x 11.  I didn't throw the dimensional bit away I kept it to use on my other pages!

closer up:

     all of the pictures are popped up off the page...(I usually do this with the pictures I print from home because the adhesive works better AND I like the dimensional affect it gives to my pages.)

 Thanks SO much for the visit today--sure hope your day is TOTALLY wonderful!!

cap'n america.

This is one of those layouts I had envisioned in my mind and it came out just like I saw it in my mind's eye:

closeup to show dimension:

(I used the Lucky Charm line from American crafts + some gesso for the background.)

 To say that this kid is hilarious pretty much sums it up!  Last October we talked about what he wanted to be for Halloween.  He told me Captain America, I looked around online for costumes--EXPENSIVE!  I didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for something he would only wear for a couple of hours.  So I went to Amazon and found this mask for $11 (free shipping), I thought PERFECT!  A few days later I went to Walmart and found a Captain America shirt for like $7.  Both were great because he can wear the mask again (he won't out grow it) and the shirt he can wear whenever he wants!  (see I'm frugal like that!)  Anyway, I didn't tell him that I had purchased the mask.  I was SO excited when it arrived (he was at school) so when he came home I pulled it out of the box he put it on and this is the shot I got!  Think he LOVES it!
Thanks SO much for the visit today!

cousins.

 So I wanted to share with you one of my new layouts using the Let's Chat kit from scrapbook circle.  I love the blend of papers and embellishments.  I especially LOVE the glitter thickers by American Crafts:

as you can see they are a cream color with newsprint behind the glitter (SO cool!)  Anyway I wanted to try an experiment to see if I could change the color but still have the bling.  I placed the letters on my acrylic stamp block and dipped my paint brush into my mist.  I then "painted" the letters adding layers of mist until I got the color I desired.  And as you can see from this layout the letters are still glitter and GORGEOUS:

closeup:

 well I'm off to a follow up appointment for the girl with her contacts--it's already been a week and she LOVES them!  Woohoo for glasses freedom! ;)
thanks for the visit today!

grandparent's day.

grandparent's day.  seriously don't know who gets more excited the kids or the grandparents. no, it's not for the food--DEFINITELY the company!  what is awesome is that my niece and nephew also attend the same elementary school as my boys, unfortunately I didn't happen to catch my niece in these pictures but I did however catch the boys:

 little closeup of the stapled veneer heart.

 Yep, that handsome guy is my dad and the beautiful lady is my mom.  And as you can tell from the date this was a few years ago, these pictures have been "waiting" their turn!  I used the new Mayberry line from American Crafts to complete this layout--such a fun and vibrant line!
Thanks SO much for the visit today!