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!

 

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!

This Is The Good Stuff

I have had these photos of my kids and their cousins at a family breakfast for a long time. On one of my shopping excursions I came across Martha Stewart stickers with a pancake theme. They fit the theme of my pictures perfectly, but I could never start on the page because I couldn’t find any papers that I liked to go with them and I didn’t know where to start. When I opened the Scraptastic Club Awake My Soul Kit and saw the rectangular stickers I knew they would be the perfect “home” for the pancake stickers! It was just the boost I needed to start this page.

I matted each photo on the coral cardstock and then arranged the photos with the pancake stickers and a journal block in rows. I anchored each row with a strip of navy polka dot patterned paper.

To the right of the journal block on the bottom row, I added a handcut doily from the Teresa Collins paper from the Add-On Kit. I think the doily was the perfect nod to Grandma’s Kitchen where the pancake breakfast in the photos was taking place. I added a title, enamel dots and some stamping. The machine stitching around the page adds more homespun appeal.

I also added a bit of stamping to the top of the page, along with one of the die cuts from the kit (tucked behind the pancake block).

I had so much fun creating this page! I love the colors and the way everything came together with the help of the Scraptastic Club Awake My Soul Kit.

Thanks for coming by!

More Everything I Am Pages!

Hi Everyone! I’m back to share with you the last two pages I created with the March Everything I Am Kit and Add-On for Scraptastic Club. I had so much fun with this kit! The colors are definitely new favorites!

ERRANDS WITH DAD

I had fun on this one! … Went with a more artsy, washed-out feel. I edited my photos with a sunlight effect and then built lots of little bits and pieces around them.

The stamps are a combination of the March Mr. Brightside stamps with Scraptastic’s Photo Themed stamp set. I added some drips of Tinsel Heidi Swapp mist, too.

The Freckled Fawn hearts make an appearance on this page again, along with an exclusive Ormolu flair button, and the Pink Paislee stars (in the kits). I cut the Teresa Collins doily die cuts in half so I could use them on two pages (this one and the one I posted yesterday … they were layered on top of each other on the Everything About This Moment page).

The title was added directly to the photo and then the grouping was grounded with a length of Glitz Garland (Add-On Kit) along the bottom.

A VERY SPECIAL DAY

Ooooh, how I love using hearts lately. I must have got addicted to them over Valentine’s Day or something.

On this page, I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the word “Special”. Then I used the letter stickers from the Add-On kit to build the rest of my title. I flanked each side with an arrow stamp from the Mr. Brightside stamp set.

I used puches to cut out circles from the wheels of the bicycle die cut included in the kit to add hearts to. I love the way the spokes radiate from the hearts! For the hearts I used punches I have on hand by Fiskars and Stampin’ Up, as well as the Mini Hearts die from Simon Says Stamp.

Finally, I cut a length of washi tape in half to go along the top and bottom of the design.

Thanks for stopping in to take a look at my projects! Be sure to stop by Scraptastic Club to see what the other designers created with the beautiful March kits!

Scraptastic Club March Everything I Am Kit!

I am so honored and excited to be joining the design team at Scraptastic Club! Jessica does an INCREDIBLE job putting together kits AND you should see the monthly stamps she designs! SWOON!!!! Each month there are two different kits available (two different color schemes). There is also an Add-On available for each kit. For my first month, I designed with the Everything I Am Kit and Everything I Am Add-On Kit. The Add-On kit is sold out, but here is a look at the Everything I Am kit.

It’s a BEAUTY! Right?! Eeek! But if you are in the mood for something more colorful, you might want to consider the March Mr. Brightside Kit.

But YOU GOTTA also pick up the AMAZING stamps that coordinate with each kit!

Everything I Am Stamps

Mr. Brightside Stamps

I KNOW, right?! Delish! And just wait until you see April … I’m getting excited already! You can always find the most current kits HERE. Or come grab some inspiration along with us on the Scraptastic Blog, message board, and gallery.

For my first project using the Everything I Am, we were challenged to use a pin from our own Pinterest boards to inspire our design. Now, I must admit … I am more of a Pinterest lurker than I am a pinner, but I did have a few fun finds to pull from for my first project. I decided to use THIS PIN of interesting ways to tie shoe laces to create a laced accent on my page.

I chose two coordinating patterned papers and then temporarily adhered them back-to-back while I figured out the placement of my holes. I punched them at the same time and then separated them to attach the eyelets (from my stash). Next, I adhered them to my page and started to lace them together with a long length of cream, grosgrain ribbon (also, from my stash) using the photos from my pin to help me.

Note: One thing I learned about this particular lacing pattern is that it is better to have an even number of holes. I used seven sets of holes, leaving me with a gap at the top. I remedied this by simply folding down the top two corners. Next, I tucked two doilies from the kit behind the ribbon. The silver, glitter paper heart was sitting on my desk left over from another project, and I decided to tuck it in there, as well.

Next, I added my photos and title to the left side of the page. I used pink letters every so often so that the words of the title wouldn’t run together and would be a little easier to read. I accented the title with two hearts from the kit to represent my two daughters. I also added stamping to one of the photos with the Everything I Am stamps.

On the right side of the page, I added a journaling block and a few circle accents created from the die cut buttons from the kit and the exclusive Ormolu badges (LOOOOVE!).

For this next page, I started with the deep indigo cardstock that came in the kit. Slurp! What a beautiful color! I loved the way the other elements looked on this against this dark color. I had a bit of trouble getting the color to show true in my pictures, but trust me, in real life, this color is so rich a beautiful.

Included in the kit, are three die cut cards created by Jessica. I used the “Everything” and “This Moment” cards tucked behind my photo and turned them into my title. The vellum die cut is tucked to the right of the journal block.

LOVE the hearts included in this kit … they look like little striped peppermints or something. I added them to the top right corner of my page along with some drips of Heidi Swapp Tinsel mist and sequins from my stash. I added a couple of bookpaper handdrawn leaves to the flower.

I used the washi tape and garland from the Add-On kit along the bottom of my photo, adding a few sequins from my stash for some sparkle. The Mr. Brightside stamps make an appearance on my journal block as well.

I hope you’ll check back tomorrow to see the other two pages I created with this kit (thought I would break it up into two posts, so I didn’t overwhelm you).

See you again soon!

A Couple of Cards

I have a confession … I haven’t started on any of my Christmas shopping. GULP! I know! I gotta get a move on! I’m on a mission to hit the stores today, but I thought I would let you know in case you don’t see me around here much over the next couple of weeks.

I do have a couple of quick cards to share with you today. The first one is an invitation I made for a Christmas dinner I hosted at our house last night for the young women (and their moms) from my church.

It’s a card file designed by Lori Whitlock and is available in the Silhouette Online Store. I’m sooooo thankful for predesigned files like this when I am in a hurry. They allow me to still get the handcrafted look I adore on projects without having to sit down and figure out a design.

I was in the mood to play with my Copics and stamped out a few images (KaiserCraft Tiny Woods stamps) to play around with. I was experimenting with creating a wintry feel with these images by coloring everything with blue tones. The card and banner shapes were cut using my Silhouette machine. The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp exclusive set designed by Kristina Werner. The little circles come from a My Mind’s Eye Follow Your Heart Be Happy stamp set. And the snowbank was embossed with my Cuttlebug machine and the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Okay! Off to get some shopping done!

Have a great day!

Footloose & Fancy Free

Hi Friends! I have been busy enjoying Springtime with my family and creating lots of projects here in my happy place of a scrap room! Some of the projects I can’t share with you yet, but a few of them I can!

I have been playing a bit more with my Primrose Lane kit by Noel Mignon. This next one is the page I created for the Layout Tag game on the Noel Mignon message board. I LOVE this game! It’s a bit like “Telephone,” only with pages instead of a message. Each team starts with the same inspiration page. The next person in line creates a page inspired by the first page, and then sends their new page onto the next person to gain inspiration from. At the end, we post all of the pages in a line and see how each person takes creative inspiration from the person ahead of them. It is so fun to see how the designs evolve and change as they are passed on.

I love these photos of my Camryn just being a kid. Hanging out outside, eating some lunch, riding her bike . . . and all with two mismatched socks. Awww! Now that is living carefree!

For the banner across the top of the page, I used my Cricut Expression machine, Cricut Craft Room, and Party Picks & Pennants digital image set to cut the banner shapes. I strung them all together on a bit of blue baker’s twine.

I added the Pink Paislee wood shapes from my stash and used the Blingage alphabet stamp set by Teresa Collins Designs to stamp out my title. The wheels of bike are accented with clear Bazzill buttons from the Primrose Lane kit. I also added some color to my stamped title with the blue gel pen that was included in the kit.

Thanks for letting me share! I’ll be back soon with more!

Happy Thursday!

My Cute Stamps SALE

Hi Friends!

I know I already posted this morning, but I just found out about a SALE of one of my very favorite stamp companies . . . My Cute Stamps. She is having a 50% off EVERYTHING sale for a Limited Time. I don’t know when this one will end (I just discovered it myself), but I thought I would share it with you in case you love her stamps, too.

I used to be on Holly’s My Cute Stamps design team a couple of years ago and here are a few of the projects I created.

Have a great day!

Noel Mignon Charm School Layout

Happy Monday, Everyone! The sun is shining outside and it is making me anxious for Spring! I pulled out my NEW Noel Mignon Charm School kit over the weekend and created this page of my kids and their cousins from our Easter celebration this past year. I know this kit is all about Valentine’s Day and love, but the colors work so well for everyday scrapping and other occasions, too!

I placed my photo on a background of layered patterned paper strips. I used the stamps from the kit to stamp the heart border down the side of the picture on top of the text paper. A few gems here-and-there add a touch of sparkle and whimsy.

The canvas butterflies in the kit were fun how they were, but I decided to try running them through my Cuttlebug machine to see if the embossed texture would take. It did! I love the subtle effect! I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder on the two outer butterflies and a Script Texture embossing folder on the center butterfly. The stickpins from the kit made perfect butterfly antennae!

I’m on a really weird sleeping pattern lately . . . I keep waking up at 4:00 or 5:00 am in the morning. I can’t get back to sleep so I go upstairs to my office and get a bit of work done before the rest of the family starts getting up for the day. The problem with that is that I get tired a lot earlier in the day. I’m thinking I’ll go and try and sneak in a nap before Cam gets home from Kindergarten to see if I can straighten myself out a bit. :)

See you tomorrow!

Jana

Happy Halloween!

I hope you are having fun today and getting a good chuckle from the cute costumes that are out there. My kids are off from school today, so Friday was our busy day with Halloween class parties, etc.  I snapped a few shots of the kids in their costumes before heading out the door to the Halloween school carnival on Friday night and thought I would share them here so that Gramma, Grampa, and Aunts and Uncles who live far away can see them.

Jensyn loves the Japanese culture and has been planning to go as a Japanese girl for a long time. She saved up her money and bought this beautiful Kimono to wear.

Owen has been begging to go as something “scary” for YEARS. I don’t really like the scary part of Halloween, but this year, we gave in a bit. As long as he doesn’t have blood and guts hanging out, I guess I’m good. Can you tell he is digging his costume? He refused to smile. “Mom, the Grim Reaper does NOT smile.” Yeah. You’re probably right.

Maryn and Camryn always have a tough time deciding what to be for Halloween. I mean, with all of the Princess choices out there, how can a little girl possibly choose? They change their minds 20,098,798 times and mom gets very frustrated. Hehehe! We found these Medieval Princess dresses at TJ Maxx this year and the minute they saw the hoop skirts they locked in their decision. Phew!

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Carving pumpkins at our house can be serious business. The kids really put a lot of thought into planning out their scary pumpkin faces. I scrapped this page of the kids carving their pumpkins from last year using the My Mind’s Eye Mischievous collection and the Cricut Chic & Scary Seasonal cartridge.

I welded the Cursive 101 letters together on my Gypsy to create the word “Carving” as part of my title. The “Pumpkins” word art comes from the Chic & Scary cartridge.

Cricut Machines Used:Cricut Expression, Gypsy (use Gypsy to weld the cursive letters)
Cricut Cartridges Used:  Cursive 101 (“Carving”), Chic & Scary Seasonal (Title Phrase, Bats, Pumpkins)
Other Supplies: My Mind’s Eye Mischievous collection, My Mind’s Eye Lush 2 Orange Gem Stickers, Gray cardstock

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The minute I saw these DARLING Halloween Witch Shoes by Melissa Haas on the Cricut Circle, I knew I had to make them for my friends and neighbors. (Thanks for sharing your idea, Melissa! You ROCK!) I LOVE that she thought to cut the princess shoe in black paper and use it as a witches shoe! Couldn’t you see these as Leprechaun shoes at St. Patrick’s Day or as party favors at a Bridal Shower?! So fun!

The shoes were created using the Princess Party Cartridge and the fit to page feature. The flowers (4″ <Daisy1>, 2″ <Mum2>) and leaves (1″) were made with the Flower Shoppe Cartridge, and the buckles are the slide cut (1.75″)from the Fabulous Finds Cartridge. I used Pretzel Treat Bags by Darice to create the witches stockings with the Mint Oreo Cookies.

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I whipped up a few cards using the 6X6 paper pad, chipboard stickers, and buttons from last year’s Cosmo Cricket Halloween collection called “Matilda”. I had this collection in my “Giveaway Bin” but I’m so happy that I decided to hang onto it a bit longer and utilize it this year! I still love those darling patterns and icons! And it’s a great feeling to do a little “Use-What-You-Have-Scrapbooking”. I was trying my hardest not to shop for any new Halloween papers this year because I already own so many. But I admit it I’m a sucker for Halloween and still did my fair share of shopping this year. *batting eyelashes* (What about you? Do you have a holiday/occasion/season that you just can’t seem to resist when it comes to shopping for supplies?)

The ric rac circle stamp is by Pink Persimmon Stamps, and the sentiment stamps are from We R Memory Keepers.

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“Best Witches” for a Happy Halloween! Thanks for flying by!

Jana