Inspired by May Flowers

Hi Friends! Today I am up on the My Mind’s Eye Blog with a page inspired by the beautiful flowers popping up everywhere in the world around us right now. I chose to work with the Find Your Wings and Fly ”Up and Away” collection, and I’ve gotta say … I am IN LOVE with the fresh combinations of colors, patterns, and shapes in this collection. Have you checked it out yet?! You’ve GOT to! It’s such a delicious collection. When I first get a peek at Rhonna Farrer’s collections, I must admit that I’m a bit intimidated. I’m always worried that they are too hip-romantic for my style. But then I start working with them … and it’s infatuation. What can I say … I’m infatuated with EVERYTHING My Mind’s Eye makes.

SUPPLIES:

Find Your Wings and Fly “Up and Away” Collection: Be Awesome paper, Rainbow Harlequin paper, Krafty Floral paper, Mixed Media paper, Big Top paper, 12 x 12 Sticker Accessories, 12 x 12 Chipboard Accessories, Decorative Brads, Decorative Tape, Enamel Dots, Stamps

Other: Brown distressing ink, Black stamp ink, Acrylic block, Vellum, Computer and printer, Olive spray ink, Tab punch, Scissors, Trimmer, Adhesive

My jumping off point for this page was the Krafty Floral paper. *da-thump, da-thump* … because it makes my heart go pitter-patter. I mean, LOOK at those florals … go ahead … take a peek at them close up. See the patterns over the top? Yes, that keeps those flowers from feeling too gramma-ee. I placed a band of that paper across the bottom of my page, and then selected the aqua and lime green patterns to go with it.

Next, I arranged my photos in a band across the center of my page. As you can see, one of the photos is more of a headshot of my daughter and the other two are full body shots. I decided that I wanted to call more attention to the headshot photo by categorizing them and separating them from each other. In the space in between, I placed the large floral chipboard piece.

Next, I placed the banner chipboard “title” across the top of the photos and embellished it with all kinds of goodies in different shapes.

My journaling was printed on white cardstock. It felt a little too bright, so I toned it down with a spritz of olive green shimmer spray. I added a stamped phrase underneath the headshot photo and then accented the journal block with a hot air balloon stamped on vellum, small heart sticker, and enamel dots.

Thanks for taking a peek at my page today! I hope you have a great week!

 

Scraptastic Club May Kit: Destination Unknown

The school year is winding down and this is the time each year I get the urge to work on the kids school scrapbooks a bit. Aside from our family chronological scrapbooks, I keep separate school albums for each child. In these albums I create pages for their first and last day school photos, record their likes and dislikes for the year, place any pages of school programs/field trips that take place for each child that year, and then I also place a page of them wearing their Halloween costume. This is why once in awhile you’ll see me scrap a few of these topics more than once … once for our family scrapbook and another time for each child’s school scrapbook.

The bright colors of the May Scraptastic Club ”Destination Unknown” kit and Add-On are perfect for scrapping school memories and I decided to work on some pictures of Owen from a couple of years ago.

On this particluar year, the kids learned how to play the recorder. They had “Recorder Karate” where each time they passed off a song, they earned a “belt.” Owen was so proud that he made it all the way to black belt.

I arranged my photos and then layered some 4″ x 6″ and 3″ x 4″ patterned paper squares behind them. The strip of navy script paper and the blue sequins actually come from the April “Awake My Soul” kit (I love when kit contents mix seamlessly with each other like that!). I used the star stamp from the May Destination Unknown stamps to accent the embellies in a few places, added some red buttons from my stash, and then stitched a red border around the edge of my page (the red was still in my machine from making Little Red Riding Hoods last week LOL!).

I liked the journal card with the navy banner on it because it reminds me of Owen’s “black belt” he earned in Recorder Karate.

On this next page, I got in a playful mood and decided to do LOTS of layering. I printed out these headshots of my kids and their cousins (Maryn is missing because she was NOT in the mood to have her photo taken that day. LOL!) as small black and whites. I stacked them haphazardly together on a strip of red cardstock and then tied a length of string in between each row. Next, I layered several other strips of patterned paper in varying widths behind this one and adhered it to the page at a slight angle.

The “Happy” letters were cut from a 3″ x 4″ Photo Freedom (Echo Park) card. I didn’t mind that the letters weren’t all the same size … I just nestled the word “family” in the space underneath. The gray letters come from the March 2013 “Everything I Am” kit and the sequins are again from the April 2013 “Awake My Soul” kit.

The Destination Unknown star stamp makes another appearance on this page along with more Lil’ Red Riding Hood stitching. I handcut the flowers out from another Photo Freedom card and used it along with an exclusive Ormolu flair button to accent the tape cassette die cut.

Thanks for letting me share! Have a great weekend!

Oh, My! What Big Ears You Have?!

Last weekend we not only celebrated we not only celebrated Mother’s Day, but we also celebrated my youngest daughter’s birthday. Her real birthday is actually in July, but because of Independence Day, most of her friends are usually out of town or have family plans. This year we decided to avoid the conflicts and have her birthday party before school gets out. She wanted to have a picnic for her birthday party, so I asked her if she wanted to do a Teddy Bear Picnic or something along the lines of a fairytale. She decided to go with Little Red Riding Hood and I was thrilled! I have always loved fairytales and especially Little Red Riding Hood. The wheels starting spinning and we started planning … if there is anything I love as much as scrapbooking it is putting together themed birthday parties. Love it, love it, LOVE it!!! Here is a quick look at all of the fun we had.

I was so lucky to find baskets at the dollar store, along with gingham printed napkins. I used the print-and-cut feature on my Cameo machine to cut out Lil’ Red Riding Hood shaped tags for each basket using the “More Happily Ever After” artwork by Lettering Delights. (The wolf can be found in the Villians and Sidekicks set HERE.) I also decided to sew each girl a Red Riding Hood out of felt. THANK YOU JoAnn’s for such great coupons! Each hood only cost me a couple of dollars and I used a free pattern I found online from FleeceFun.com HERE. If you are my mom or sister reading this, you are probably in complete SHOCK that I decided to sew. I hate sewing fabric … infact, I haven’t touched a sewing machine since 8th grade (well, except for to stitch on my layouts). It was actually FUN! I liked challenging myself to do something out of my norm. And because felt doesn’t fray and didn’t need a lot of hemming, I couldn’t mess it up too badly, right?!

I wasn’t sure if the girls even knew the Little Red Riding Hood story, so we started the party by watching this cute lil’ story video I found online. I was worried that it might be a little too “slow” for them, but they were glued! They were so quiet, just soaking it all in and it set the tone for the rest of the party perfectly. (I love when little kids get into pretending. )

The girls got to pack their own picnic and then ventured out into the backyard to find the best picnic spot. They looked so cute sitting there on the blankets … they kept looking around nervously wondering if the Big Bad Wolf would come. Big Sister dressed up in a long black cloak and decided to sneak around to surprise them. They saw her the entire time, but the anticipation made them squeal like crazy.

The girls also made a stuffed animal friend. We found a great company here in Utah called Kozy Creation that will actually come to your house with a machine and do it all in the comfort of your living room. Kami and Andrew are AMAZING! This is the second time we have used them … Maryn had a pretend sleepover party a few months ago and she and her friends got to make a furry friend to cuddle with. If you are in Utah, be sure to check Kozy Creation out.

The girls played more games outside (Pick a Bouquet for Grandma and Colored Eggs, or in this case “Colored Cookies”), sang to Camryn, gobbled up red velvet cupcakes, and opened presents. It was so much fun!

Mother’s Day was just as fun! Here is a Mother’s Day card that I made my Mother-In-Law using leftover bits from the April 2013 Scraptastic Club Kit, “Awake My Soul” along with a sentiment and flowers from my stash. We went to church in the morning, the kids showered me with cards and presents (new cookie sheets, a cookbook, new seat cushions for my outdoor table, and lots of pretty handmade cards), and made me lunch. I got to take a long nap and then they made me dinner before going to visit my In-Laws that night. It was relaxing and perfect!

I know this post is a few days overdue, but thanks for letting me share last weekend’s festivities with you. It took me a few days to recuperate and get back into the swing of things. I’ll be back tomorrow with a couple of layout shares. Hope to see you then!

To All the Moms Out There

My husband sent this to me …. TOO CUTE!

 

Reasons We Love Mom Gift

As a child I always loved sifting through my mom’s purse looking at all of her “treasures.” Her sunglasses, wallet, checkbook, lipstick, candy …it was a magical world of grown-up fun. Grandma’s purse was the same way. Grandma always had a stick of gum to share and usually brought along a roll of Ritz crackers and squeeze cheese for the grandkids. So when I was brainstorming about a fun way to package treats for a mom this Mother’s Day, I naturally thought of purses!

I used the BasicGrey Mint Julep collection to cut out this purse on my Silhouette Cameo. Such pretty feminine papers in this collection! The purse file is from SVGAttic and can be found HERE. The flower is included as part of the file. The leaves are from a Christmas set by SVG Cuts. I used one of the Mint Julep stitched brads as the flower center.

I accented the purse’s handle with  a border sticker and made a tag out of one of the stickers from the Mint Julep Elements Sticker Sheet.

When you open up the purse you will find a pocket containing a little card for mom.

I filled the purse with “Riesen” candies (I found these at Dollar Tree) and then wrapped each candy with a strip of pretty patterned paper. On the inside of the patterned paper we wrote all the REASONS we love mom/grandma and why we think she is so SWEET. (Can you tell I love punny gifts?!   )

This gift would be so fun to give mom or grandma … or even a close girlfriend any time during the year!

Thanks for letting me share!

Teacher Appreciation Gift!

I’m up again on the My Mind’s Eye Blog today for National Teacher Day and I wanted to create something to give to my children’s teachers to show them how much we appreciate all their hard work throughout this past year. I’ve researched online and have asked several teacher friends what kinds of gifts they like to receive from their students and they always mention the same thing … GIFT CARDS! But giving a gift card can seem “last-minute” and impersonal. To avoid that stigma, I decided to dress up the gift card by packaging it in a fun way. I pulled out the My Mind’s Eye Boy Crazy collection and got to work!

I used my Silhouette Cameo and the Ice Cream Truck from this cut file set by SVGCuts to create a school bus gift box. I used the letter stickers from the My Mind’s Eye Find Your Wings and Fly collection to add the teacher’s name to the front of the bus and some words along the side. The characters from the Boy Crazy make cute passengers on the bus … and yes, I’m hoping that the teacher gets a chuckle out of me using an alien to represent the “kids.” Hehe!

The headlights were created with some glitter dome stickers I found at JoAnn’s awhile ago (Cloud 9). I used the Boy Crazy decorative buttons to accent the bus and create a flip out “stop sign” to keep the bus riders safe as they board and disembark for their stops.

The back of the bus box opens to reveal a library pocket containing the gift card and several handfuls of the delicious candy. The front of the pocket is decorated with an apple cut (Lettering Delights), a button and a bit of twine. I used my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder to add some fun texture to the apple. Each candy gets some color with a strip of paper from the Boy Crazy 6 x 6 paper pad.

The other side of the bus is adorned with a mini banner (Boy Crazy decorative buttons). Enamel Dots from the same collection make perfect warning lights and wheel accents!

Thanks for taking a peek at my project! See you again soon!

My Mind’s Eye Color Inspiration

Hi Friends! I have a new My Mind’s Eye project to share with you today! This time using a Color Inspiration board. I love color and I love using inspiration boards to guide my scrappy choices, so I was very excited when I was given this assignment for the My Mind’s Eye Blog. Here is the color board that I was sent.

(Source)

And here is my resulting page! For my layout I was inspired to use the Stripes Paper. The diagonal pattern made the perfect base of my page because it reminded me of the diagonal lines in the pattern of the dress. The yellow beaded necklace inspired the paper choice behind my favorite photo (the polka dots on the top left). I used the 6 x 6 papers behind all of my photos and tilted them slightly for a casual feeling.

Supplies:Kate & Co-Cambridge Court:  Stripes Paper, Mini Flowers Paper, Lovely Day Paper, 6 x 6 Paper Pad,  Chipboard Elements, Sticker Accessory Sheet, Decorative Stamps,  Decorative Tape, Decorative Brads, Enamel Dots

I decided to incorporate floral prints and a  couple of floral accents on my page, because of the flowers on the hat  and cake. The chipboard shape even reminds me of the shape of the  flowers on top of the pink hat. The floral strip at the top of the page was chopped at a slight angle … another nod to the assymetrical hemline of the dress.

Finally, I loved the texture the netting added to the hat in the photo and decided to use that as inspiration to add machine stitched details to my page.

I hope you have a great week!

BasicGrey Album Kit WINNER!

I hope everyone had a wonderful (Inter) National Scrapbook Day. Me? I got my scrappy on myself right here in my office. I worked on a few design team assignments that I will be sharing with you later this week.

But let’s get to the good stuff, shall we?! It’s time to announce the WINNER of my BasicGrey Album Kit Giveaway!!! Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter and leave a comment! It’s always fun to see all of you “come out of the woodwork.” Hehehe! And a BIG THANK YOU to BasicGrey for allowing me to giveaway such a great prize to one of my readers!

And the WINNER is . . .

KAREN ANTCZAK

CONGRATULATIONS, Karen! I will be contacting you through the email you left along with your comment to find out what Album Kit you would like.

………………………………………….

Did you get a chance to check out all of the National Scrapbook Day happenings yesterday on the BasicGrey Blog? Very inspiring! All day long layouts and challenges were posted for a chance to win PRIZES! If you would like to participate there is still time! You can submit your entries to the challenges until this coming Friday, May 10th.

I thought I would share with you the page I created for my challenge . . . using non-holiday themed paper to document a holiday. I used the Mint Julep collection to create a patriotic-looking Memorial Day page. Don’t these papers just remind you of a summertime picnic quilt?!

I wanted to keep the color scheme in the red/white/blue range, so I simply trimmed off the kraft border from the journal spot. For a pop of color, I added the yellow patterned garland. Each circle of the garland is backed with a punched red or blue cardstock circle to help it stand out from the patterned background papers. I also added a few stitched brads for dimension.

For the title, I trimmed the inner portion from the journal sticker found on the Elements Stickers sheet. I backed this with a piece of cream cardstock that I embossed with a dot pattern. I added the floral sticker to the left side and then used the blue Printed Chipboard Alpha letters and red letter stickers to build my title.

I hope you’ll stop by the BasicGrey Blog to see everything the team created. I guarantee you will leave with an itch to scrap!

Thanks for coming by!

Kiwi Lane Designs May Blog Hop!

***Please scroll down or CLICK HERE for the BasicGrey Album Kit Giveaway***

Hi Friends! Welcome to the May Kiwi Lane Designs Blog Hop. I am excited at the opportunity to Guest Design along with the Kiwi Lane Design Team this month! A random winner from ONE of the participating blogs (including the Kiwi Lane blog), will be given a $25 gift certificate to the Kiwi Lane Shop, for leaving a comment. So if you are just joining the hop, be sure you hit all of the links along the hop by going HERE to the Kiwi Lane site.

For my project, I worked with the Accents Set to create a layered flower for my page.

This page features two photos: the photo on the right is a picture of me in my princess Halloween costume, and the photo on the left is my daughter wearing that same costume as a dress-up. I wanted my page to have a soft, princess-y feel and the large, layered flower was the perfect way to add lots of girly drama.

I used the two flower shapes from the Accents set to create this flower. I traced and cut out one five-petal flower, and two six-petal flowers. I inked the edges and then used my fingers to bend the petals upward. For the six-petal layers, I wanted a bit more curl, so I drew a score line down the center of each petal and folded them upwards again.

For more drama, I added a vellum die cut (BasicGrey) and a punched pinked-edge circle. Finally, I added a soft blue button for the flower center.

SUPPLIES:

Kiwi Lane Designs Accents Templates, BasicGrey True Love Collection, Little Things Paper, Cupid’s Shower Paper, Vintage Love Paper, Entwined Paper, Kissing Tree Paper, Simple Elegance Paper, Element Stickers, Alphabet Stickers, Snippets, Printed Die Cuts & Transparencies, Printed Chipboard, Brown Distressing Ink, Journal Block, Needle & Tan Embroidery Floss, Sewing Machine & Thread, Black Journaling Pen

For more scrapbook inspiration, using Kiwi Lane Designs designer templates, be sure to check out the Kiwi Lane Blog HERE or join in on their National Scrapbook Day Celebration this weekend HERE.

Your next stop on the hop is … JEN McDERMOTT.

Happy Scrapping!

BasicGrey Knee Highs & Bow Ties

***Please scroll down or CLICK HERE for the BasicGrey Album Kit Giveaway***

This is one of those BasicGrey collections that I can use for EVERYTHING … LOVE it! Especially with Summer coming and all of it’s happy bright, popsicle colors and happy icons.

Vellum sticker accents … SWOON! Love the little hearts and patterned strips!

I even added some to the corners of the smallest photo. Gotta love the waythat the color black POPS against these fun papers. Love it!

Occasionally, I won’t add an official “title” to a page (like this one) … and it ends up feeling like it’s missing something. Hmmmm. Maybe I need to go back in and add a title across the top.

What about you? What do you like to add to your pages to make it feel more “complete?”

Happy Scrapping!